EDITORIAL: Can we afford Penn in 5 years?

Administrators need to lower tuition and fees increases to match the rate of inflation. We appreciate that administrators are trying to keep the costs down -- this year's increase was the lowest in 29 years. Penn also has the second lowest total fees increase of all the Ivy League schools behind Cornell. But no matter how many ways you look at the increase, there will still be an additional $1,258 in total costs of attending Penn next year. There has to be a way the University could charge less while providing the same amount of quality. Tuition should not be raised to fund capital projects administrators are currently planning to undertake. Administrators should dip into the endowment to fund these projects, since that is the purpose of having an endowment. Also, administrators should focus on soliciting donations for these projects. The restructuring plans for the University should be generating savings as Penn tries to cut administrative costs. Surely administrators figure in these savings to their cost projections for the upcoming years. Costs are rising for the University but restructuring should ensure that they aren't increasing to the point where tuition needs to be raised by 5 percent every year. In a time where slimmer budgets translate into departments and programs being cut, we are losing educational opportunities when we have to pay more. The University needs to set a goal for itself in reducing tuition increases instead of just saying it is committed to the idea of a declining rate of increase. We suggest that by the time the Class of 2001 graduates, the administration should lower tuition increases to match the rate of inflation. Keeping the increasing cost of education parallel with the nation's economy may seem idealistic, but we think it can be done. The University needs to do something before higher education becomes too expensive for our parents and us.