SPECIAL REPORT: Luther College is closely watching enrollment trends

Luther College President Rick Torgerson

Luther College's Task Group 150 has recommended $2.2 million in budget cuts over the next three years at the college.  Luther officials say the moves are being made to make sure Luther's finances remain in good shape.

That's not just because the pool of graduating high school students in the Midwest is predicted to shrink over the next three years.  It's also because Luther officials are closely watching the trends in college choices made by those high school students.

Luther College President Rick Torgerson says the question being asked on campus is whether there is a financial tipping point at which high school students and their parents begin to object to the cost of attending Luther College.

With a comprehensive fee of over $40,000, Luther College is still nearly $20,000 a year cheaper than, say, Sarah Lawrence University.  But Luther's "sticker price" is enough to give some parents pause.

The average student at a private college last year received a 42 percent discount on the "sticker price," according to an industry survey.  College admission officers say more students now are willing to attend their second choices in colleges if those colleges offer better financial aid.  Part of the trend is fueled by the fact that parents have less equity in their homes and are thus less able to borrow money to pay for their child's college education.
 
All of this has put pressure on all colleges to carefully watch the money they spend.  Torgerson says the study done by Task Group 150 has shown "how fragile and tenuous a business model" private colleges have.  The budget cuts the college is putting into effect are Luther College's way of making sure the school still has the money it needs in the future to continue providing the type of education it has provided in the past.