Universities Save Money in Unexpected Ways
When it comes to finding ways to save money in a tight economy like this one, nothing — I repeat, nothing — is safe from scrutiny by cost-cutting zealots.
With the overall cost of college tuition, room and board easily exceeding six figures at many private four-year schools, school administrators at some universities have taken the axe to one familiar school item that will, in one fell swoop, save millions of dollars, do the environment a favor and make students feel more at home.
The ubiquitous cafeteria tray is disappearing from schools like Skidmore College, Williams College, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Cornell, the New York Times reports. In trayless cafeterias nationwide, students simply carry their plates heaped with food, and guess what? No one’s grumbling about it.
Don’t snicker. Aside from potentially helping students avoid putting on the abhorrent “freshman 15″ pounds, Williams College estimates it’s saved 14,000 gallons of water annually since eliminating the trays. Administrators at RIT attribute a food bill that’s 10% lower (despite generally rising food costs) to reduced food waste brought about by going trayless.
School administrators elsewhere claim that students waste less food because they choose more carefully when they can’t load up as easily. Others add that it makes the dining hall ambience less “institutional.”
Someday, years from now, many of us folks over the age of 40 may fondly remember college cafeteria trays (along with those conveyor belts) in the same way we muse about other dining trends that have since lost favor. You know, like the Automat, those cafeterias with the chrome-and-glass-operated machines that dispensed meals in lieu of waitresses.
Reminiscence aside, you’d probably be loony to think that creative cost-savings like this would actually cause school admissions offices to lower tuition bills. But, hey, you never know — maybe one day they’ll rein in some over-the-top new construction projects and pass the savings on to students.
