Among the topics at last weekend’s New York meeting of the Oberlin Board of Trustees Executive Committee was Oberlin’s over budget operating costs, which have brought the College’s $139 million budget into deficit. As a result, students should be prepared for an above average increase in the College’s 2002-2003 tuition.
According to board member William L. Robinson, “We’ve worked very hard to keep tuition increases at Oberlin below the norm, but budget realities are budget realities.”
“Institutions that have already published their [tuition] increases [have made] increases much higher than they have been in previous years,” Evans said. “Ours will be in that ballpark as well.”
Typically Oberlin increases tuition four to five per cent annually, keeping with inflation rates. Last year, however, the rate exceeded inflation rates, a trend expected to continue this year as well.
The recent surge in operating costs is a result of low payouts from its endowment, paired with a dramatic rise in claims for its employee health plan. Vice President of Finance Andrew Evans said that while both the endowment troubles and rising health care costs fall in line with national trends, and are “out of our control,” cuts in faculty and staff health care plans are necessary in order to move out of deficit. “Experts tell us that our health care plan is out of line with what most schools offer. Our plan is richer than most,” Evans said. “What we have seen is a huge rise in the usage of prescription drugs. That impacts our costs.” In the past year the number of prescription drugs ordered under the College’s health care has doubled.
College Secretary Robert Haslun explained that, to cut costs, the College Benefits Committee began suggesting changes to the health plan during the fall semester, and some changes were put in place this year.
Among the changes were an increase in the salary percentage charged for the plan, “requiring spouses of College employees who had access to health care plans where they worked — assuming they did not work at OC — to go on their own employee plan, [and] increasing fees, called co-payments, for doctors’ visits and for prescription drugs,” Haslun said.
But those changes alone will not greatly affect Oberlin’s health burden, and the committee is now seeking outside consultation before recommending further alterations to the plan.
Adjustments to employee health benefits aren’t the only means of tackling our deficits. At this week’s general faculty meeting, College President Nancy Dye also warned that the current hiring freeze will remain in effect into next year, although the College did recently hire two new food service workers and is searching for a controller to replace long-time finance administrator Pearl Lin who resigned last week. The College is also keeping all unfilled faculty positions open. Approximately 45 percent of the College’s budget goes to paying salaries.

Research for this article done by Ariella Cohen