[Alumni-chat] does Toni speak truth?

[J. David Coldren]

Laura,

You said, earlier today:

=========================
-all but two of the institutions 'subsidized' the cost per student. That is,
for the average revenue per student, the average cost per student anywhere
from 10% to 100% greater then that revenue.

-Places with larger endowments spent more per student, and subsidized more
per student, then those with smaller endowments.
=========================

Do you have at hand the 'subsidized' cost per student as a percent of FTE at
Antioch over the past three or four years vs. our 'sister' schools such as
Oberlin, Reed, Bennington, Goddard, etc.?

That might help answer one of Jim Jaffe's questions. We already know about
our pitiable endowment and successive failures to increase it. One question
might legitimately be raised: what has been the strategy in the last decade,
say, to reduce the average subsidized cost per student by tailoring a
program that attracts students who can afford to pay FTE or close to it or?

As Jim Jaffe's questions imply, it ain't over 'til it's over. And as Jim
once famously is reputed to have said: "Keep Hope Alive."


J. David Coldren '65


This e-mail and any attachments transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are
addressed. Further, they may be subject to Executive Privilege or the
attorney work product doctrine. If you are not the named addressee, this
e-mail and any attachments have been received by you in error and you are
legally prohibited from reading, copying, retaining in any format or
disseminating this e-mail or any of its attachments. Your erroneous receipt
of this e-mail and any attachments shall not constitute a waiver of any
privilege or confidentiality, Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail
if you have received this e-mail and any attachments in error and delete
them from your system.







-----Original Message-----
From: alumni-chat-bounces at w3.antioch.edu
[mailto:alumni-chat-bounces at w3.antioch.edu] On Behalf Of Laura Fathauer
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 4:47 PM
To: Alumni Chat List
Subject: RE: [Alumni-chat] does Toni speak truth?

During my research in the fall, I came across the article on budgeting at
liberal arts institutions. It compared 50 liberal arts institutions. Key
points
were-

-all but two of the institutions 'subsidized' the cost per student. That is,
for the average revenue per student, the average cost per student anywhere
from
10% to 100% greater then that revenue.

-Places with larger endowments spent more per student, and subsidized more
per
student, then those with smaller endowments.

This is still going on. Liberal arts colleges are still making it today as
viable educational institutions. The base factors in budgeting in those
other
institutions are the same base factors in budgeting at antioch- there is no
magic involved in "antioch college budgeting". 

The way Antioch is unique today is not that "liberal arts colleges are not
viable" as the chancellor believes. The way Antioch College is unique is
that
we have a small endowment, AND the traditional other source of revenue
(adult
programming) no longer wants to contribute to the home institution. It is
not
liberal arts education that is not viable- it is the funding and the
governance
structure at Antioch that is not viable.

Antioch College struggles because of the lack of "renewable resource" type
funding to make up the difference between the revenue per student and the
cost
per student. The interest on endowment or revenue-generating programs you
see
at other institutions are continually taken away from the College- from
spending the endowment on expansion, to canceling summer programs, to adult
campuses that don't want to fulfill their historical obligations to the
College
(McGregor). 

Think about McGregor- a weekend and evening program, that utilized campus
buildings when the College program wasn't. The same buildings are producing
revenue during times they'd normally be unused. That's why those types of
programs succeed in generating revenue. This stupid bloody university built
a
completely separate building- so now at every single hour of every day of
the
week, the University has unused facility resources in Yellow Springs. 

Toni's vision of 'viability' is budgeting based on the principles at
revenue-driving, adult campus programs. The revenue of tuition covers the
cost
of education.

Its not bloody rocket science.

I have an article written by Shay in 1976 that lays it out better.. I'll
post
some when I get home tonight.

-l



 
____________________________________________________________________________
________
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster
Total Access, No Cost.  
http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text5.com
_______________________________________________
Alumni-chat mailing list
Alumni-chat at w3.antioch.edu
http://w3.antioch.edu/mailman/listinfo/alumni-chat
Visit http://www.Antioch-College.edu today!