When I first began thinking about designing my own college curriculum, I began to try and pinpoint just what exactly makes a small liberal arts college, like Bryn Mawr, so prestigious. Is it the actual courses one can take, or the impressive campus, or simply being surrounded by a multitude of brilliant and accomplished young scholars? Is it the credibility of the college's name, or a mixture of all of these things? After some thought and research, I think that all of these factors lend to the credibility of a school, and the degree to which graduating from such a school can actually help in the real world.

If I were to make my own curriculum, it would not be for a small and privileged liberal arts college. I would want to create a school that has just as much prestige and force that Bryn Mawr does, but for a school that does not revolve solely around academics. Though I am thoroughly enjoying myself at college, I am a firm believer that not everyone is destined to be a "scholar". I try to create an education for people who didn't necessarily want to be a doctor, or a philosopher or a lawyer, but rather an environment for the future generations of mechanics, construction designers, carpenters, plumbers, painters, etc. (jobs and careers that I find to be of equal importance). If I were to make such a curriculum for a liberal arts school of "trade", I think that I would need to find out what makes prestige, because I would want my students to graduate knowing that their degree would hold some weight in the real world. To find out about the "prestige" of other colleges and how I could use this information to create a top-notch curriculum, I checked out the following sources:

Farrell, Greg, and USA TODAY. "USATODAY.com - Does Harvard 'brand' matter anymore?." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. <http://www.usatoday.com/money/2005-06-06-harvard-usat_x.htm>.

This source is from USA Today, and ruminates over whether or not the name of the ivy schools, such as Harvard, really hold as much gumption as some people think it does. The answer to think question seems to be almost always yes. Giving first hand accounts from Harvard grads, it seems to be pretty obvious that being branded a "Harvardian" can get one very far in life. This article gives examples of Harvard graduates that became anything ranging from bankers, TV producers, consultants, and casting directors- all of whom are leading very successful lives because of their "brand".

Tobias, Andrew. "Should You Turn Down Harvard? No. For prestige and             powerful friends, an Ivy League diploma is worth the price. - September 10, 1990." Business, financial, personal finance news - CNNMoney.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/1990/09/10/86085/index.htm>.

This source also uses Harvard as an example of one of the prestigious educations available today. This article would come in handy when I begin to think about the economics of creating a curriculum for a college of Trade. This article claims that it is worth it to pay top dollar for an education from Harvard, especially because of all the invaluable connections one can make while being there. In this case, how would I structure the tuition for my school? I would never want to make it as pricey as the Ivies, but in order to get the prestige that I want for such a curriculum, sufficient funds are a must.

Arenson, Karen W.. "Why College Isn't for Everyone - The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/31/weekinreview/why-college-isn-t-for-everyone.html>.

I had never imagined that I would end up in a women’s college. I’ve attended co-ed primary school, middle school and high school. Thus I had no experience of living in single sex environment. The only reason that I applied to four women’s colleges was that it sounded new and interesting to me. But the result was somehow dramatic. I was accepted by three of the four women’s colleges I applied, but only four of eleven co-ed schools accepted me. I began to think that women’s college might be a better fit for me. And that’s why I came to Bryn Mawr.

After being here for about three months, I’ve found both the advantages and disadvantages of attending a women’s college. Overall, Bryn Mawr has met all my expectations of a small and academically outstanding liberal arts institution. The best thing about Bryn Mawr is that it takes care of its students so well that people feel at home here. Whenever I’m in trouble and reach out for help, there’s always someone to help out. Though Bryn Mawr doesn’t have million-volume books or enormous research opportunities, it still offers its students as much resource as they need. The alumnae connection is also one of the reason that many students chose to come here. We may not have as many as Nobel Prizers as some giant co-ed universities, but our alumnae connect to their Alma Mater more closely. However, Bryn Mawr makes itself like a giant bubble because a lot of reasons. Students are protected from the competition with men, the violence in society and all other cruel but real challenges we have to face in the future. Besides, as everyone complains, Bryn Mawr doesn’t have a normal social scene. Thus we lack the experience of cooperating and competing with opposite sex which is an essential skill for our future survival in society.

The websites below basically talks about the positive aspects of women’s college.   

Annotated Bibliography

Candi Brancato. “Advantages of Choosing a Women's College”. International Student Guide To The USA.  http://www.internationalstudentguidetotheusa.com/articles/women_colleges.php

This article suggests that a women’s college graduate develops higher level of self-esteem and confidence. And women’s colleges students tend to choose science related or economics as their majors, which are traditionally considered as male disciplines.

Diane Millikan “Why Choose a Women's College?” High School Graduate. http://www.thehighschoolgraduate.com/editorial/why-choose-a-womens-college.htm

The article states that students in women’s college have more access to leadership position than their counterparts in co-ed schools, and thus are more likely to become leaders in the future. Besides, women’s college students are not distracted by opposite sex and can focus on their studies better.

Cheri Lucas “Is a Women's College Right for Your Daughter?’’ Education.com http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Womens_Colleges/

Not like the previous two, this article mentions the shortcomings of a women’s college. It is more study based and thus is more trust worthy. It says women in women’s colleges cooperate more frequently with their peers and are more engaged. But women’s college is not a good choice for everyone. People have to make a decision based on their personalities and other factors.

 College consortium is something that really stands out to me when I was doing the college research. There are a few college consortiums in United States and one of them is the Quaker Consortium. I want to go to a small private liberal arts college where they have a small student faculty ratio. Yet, I still want to have access to courses at a university and other colleges. I know I will surely love my college, but there will definitely be a time where I need to get off campus for classes. Thus, I choose Bryn Mawr College.

Consortiums bring a group of colleges together and enable students to take advantage of courses, libraries, athletics, activities, and social opportunities at colleges other than their own. Bryn Mawr is part of the Quaker consortium with Haverford College, Swarthmore College, and University of Pennsylvania. Haverford and Swarthmore is the nation’s top liberal arts colleges (and so is Bryn Mawr) while University of Pennsylvania is an ivy league. Bryn Mawr students can take classes in Haverford, Swarthmore and University of Pennsylvania. For courses in UPenn, it must not be offered in the Bi-Co (Haverford and Bryn Mawr) while other kinds of courses may be taken within the Tri-Co (Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr).

“College Consortium”. Web. November 15, 2009. http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/higher_education/68968

“The Quaker Consortium”. University of Pennsylvania. Web. November 15 2009. http://www.college.upenn.edu/options/quaker.php

“Bi-Co, Tri-Co, and Penn”. Bryn Mawr College. Web. November 15 2009. http://www.brynmawr.edu/character/bico_trico_penn.shtml

 My findings highlight the biology behind successful institutions. From the first two articles, I can conclude that maybe standardized tests are not the ideal way to measure intelligence or level of achievement later on. Standardized testing, such as the SAT or IQ tests, are too simple and only test for a very small range of skills. Instead of trying to quantify intelligent or achievement (traits that are hard to quantify), it would be better to have more qualitative tests – such as real world application. Also, other more ‘unconscious’ factors may play into success – such as the time of day of classes. Some students function optimally in the morning, while others function optimally later on, thus students should either try to schedule classes when they are ‘functioning optimally’ or maybe some sort of rotating schedule should be implemented, giving students the opportunity to experience their classes at two different times. These articles raise the question of the biology and the ideal environment for learning. Maybe doing more research about what the ideal environment to learn in is, and what the ideal ‘measure’ of success or achievement would be. Also,  more scientific research on the biology behind the success of a rotating schedule would be helpful!

Kaufman, Scott B. "Confessions of a Late Bloomer." Psychology Today. 26 Oct. 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2009.  

 <http://www.psychologytoday.com/print/21061>.

This article discusses the biology behind early vs. late ‘bloomers’. It states that one of the most key parts of success is ability – which as some basis in the brain and in genes. However, simply because it is somewhat ‘hardwired into the brain’ does not mean that everyone develops their ability at the same time – ability can take time to develop. “Genes don’t act all at once but can take years to unfold”; many valuable abilities in society, such as creativity and leadership, rarely fully appear early on because they are complex abilities that are comprised of many different traits (and the ‘alignment of many different genes’). Not only that but the environment a person is in will also largely impact how ability will be expressed. Obstacles and ‘brick-walls’ have helped people succeed because it gave them the passion to (which is possibly the most important part). Many of the most successful people today were late bloomers – such as Chris Gardner, founder and CEO of Gardner Rich & Co. Thus, you cannot write someone off so quickly – teachers, parents, and “experts” cannot determine limits to what someone can achieve; everyone should be treated as if they have the potential to reach full bloom.

Kingsbury, Alex. "The Measure Of Learning." USA News & World Report. 3 Apr. 2007. Web. 15 Nov.

 2009. <http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070304/12college.htm>.

This article is about what qualifies a university or college as successful or to be ‘one of the best’. It discusses how US colleges are slowly falling behind their international counterparts because although every college ‘tries to help it’s student’s reach their full potential’ many colleges don’t know what full potential is, or how to tell whether their student’s have achieved it or not. While some argue that the best way to test this is to administer different types of standardized exams to graduating seniors as a means of measuring what exactly they have learned in their 4 years at college, other argue that this method tries to quantify what is ‘unquantifiable’ because standardized testing is too simplistic to determine what learning takes place. Some alternatives are portfolios, or different types of ‘real world application’ projects. Also, many demand that universities release more information about their students post-graduation (not just entering freshman.

Otto, Bob. "Brian Wood, San Gorgonio Principal, honored by Middle School Association." The Sun. Los

Angeles News Paper Group, 2 Dec. 2008. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. <http://blogs.sbsun.com/yucaipanow/2008/12/brian-wood-san-gorgonio-princi.html>.

            This article is about the benefits of a rotating schedule. This Middle School implemented a rotating schedule – meaning that on some days students had classes A, B and C in the morning, and classes D, E, and F in the afternoon, and then on other days they had classes D, E, and F in the morning and A, B, and C in the afternoon. With a rotating schedule, teachers get to see their students at different times, meaning that if a student isn’t functioning optimally in the morning, he or she can still ‘function optimally’ in that class because he or she will also have that class in the afternoon.  In this specific school, after the rotating schedule was implemented, the school’s Academic Performance Index (API) rose by 33 points, indicating a benefit in a rotating schedule.

          I researched the psychological/intuitive aspect of choosing a college. What I found included: a report on Harvard that looked extensively into what aspects of a school make its students happy, the website of Whitman College (which reportedly has the happiest student body), and I read a few advice pages directed at students to help them change their habits to become happier/to make the most of their experience. The overarching quality I found was a small student to teacher ratio, which fosters meaningful relationships with professors and encourages students to be more invested in their work, and leads to their being happier doing it. A lot of the advice I read mentioned Barry Schwartz. This advice insisted that finding happiness is the job of each student more than the job of the college/university. Social relationships, being extroverted, and pushing yourself outside your comfort zone were all bits of advice that all of the sources I found held in common—but again, the strongest advice in each had something to do with having a close relationship with professors.

Bryn Mawr's liberal arts education has already been transformative for me. Preserving such a precious educational environment is an important goal. However, financial burden is huge on schools that provide small student to faculty ratio. Not only do hiring faculty members cost a lot, it also takes a lot to continue offering unique, specific courses that only a few out of the entire college community (which is small to begin with) are going to take each term. Unfortunately, liberal arts colleges are less popular than brand-named larger private universities and have to offer generous financial aid to attract students who would otherwise attend more renowned universities. The dilemma is that while financial aid "may be a valuable recruiting tool, colleges have to make up the income they forgo, which can amount to millions of dollars a year" (Finder). This is where the significance of promoting alumni giving comes in. "Much of the alumni donations are allocated toward faculty salaries, financial aid and funding for student-faculty research." (The Middlebury Campus). Increasing alumni giving could be a solution to preserving and maintaining liberal arts education that commits so much resources for each student. Fortunately, "small, prestigious liberal arts colleges tend to have a much higher alumni giveback rate as compared to the national average" and the distinguishable trait from these colleges is that "alums from these colleges tend to have formed more personal relationships with faculty and staff" (The Middlebury Campus). Research also shows that "those that live far away from the college will not respond as strongly to those endeavors" (Bruggink). This suggests that schools with most students living on-campus, such as Bryn Mawr, have the advantage in increasing alumni giving since students feel more attached to their campuses. While small liberal arts schools could face significantly greater financial burdens, my initial research reflects that they could use those endowment-draining characteristics of liberal arts education to, in turn, highlight advantages of it and thereby increase alumni donation.
 

Works Cited

Bruggink, Thomas H., and Kamran Siddiqui. "An econometric model of alumni giving: A case study for a liberal arts college." American Economist 39.2 (1995): 53-61. Tri-College Library. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=8944764&sid=1&Fmt=4&clientId=42764&RQT=309&VName=PQD>.
The article presents an economic model of giving behavior of alumni from liberal arts colleges. It examines the influence of various factors such as income, age, alumni activity, being single, graduating with an engineering major, affiliation with a fraternity/sorority. The authors are critical and objective in evaluating the data. However, limits from utilizing a mathematical model are inevitable. The model presented does not acknowledge these limits but does suggest that the model is meant to be used as a guiding frame.

The Middlebury Campus. "College explores alumni donation trends." The Middlebury Campus. Middlebury College, 9 Sept. 2009. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. <http://www.middleburycampus.com/story/college-explores-alumni-donation-trends>.
The article is written from the point of view of a Middlebury College student. It focuses on Middlebury's alumni giveback rate, which increased to 62% with different strategies utilized. It compares Middlebury's giveback rate to those of public universities and similar private liberal arts colleges. Although it accurately describes in detail how Middlebury increased its giveback rate, it hardly recognizes the hardships that might occur in other institutions because it is a success story written from Middlebury's point of view.

Alan, Finder. "Aid Lets Smaller Colleges Ask, Why Pay for Ivy League Retail?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/01/education/01merit.html?pagewanted=all>.
Finder clearly favors smaller liberal arts colleges than renowned Ivy League colleges. The article talks about the high price tag of liberal arts colleges and taking advantage of the ones that offer merit aids. Although the article provides a useful information on how a student can receive an Ivy League education at a "discount price" and how this perception is causing financial hardships for liberal arts colleges, it only talks about merit aid and leaves out need-based financial aid, which is becoming a greater financial burden in more prestigious institutions as socioeconomic diversity increases on campuses.

In researching the salary of faculties, I have found that there is a difference between salaries of faculty at private and public institutions. Generally, average salary for faculty at private colleges is higher than that of public colleges. At the same time, the average pay for public and private institutions’ president is also rising. The salary for the presidents at public and private institution is about the same even though there are fewer students at private institutions. This contributes to the cost of private institution. There are a lot of faculties at both kind of institutions but at the private institutions; there are fewer students which mean a more student’s faculty interaction. There are fewer students to divide the cost of this by. So to maintain this kind of private education, the cost will be more per student.

Annotated Bibliography

Byrne, Richard. “Gap Persists Between Faculty Salaries at Public and Private Institutions.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. 18 April, 2008. November 15, 2009. <http://chronicle.texterity.com/chroniclesample/20080418-sample/?pg=19?

In this article, Richard Byrne talks about the different between the salary of faculty of private and public institution. He talks about how the gap can be felt “from the top to the bottom of the pay scale.” This article gives statistic along with a hint of reason on why this is so. In general private colleges pay its faculty more. However, faculty salary at private colleges is mostly likely to be target with budget cut.

Lewin, Tamar. “23 Private College Presidents Made More Than $1 Million.” The New York Times. 2 November, 2009. 15 November, 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/education/02college.html?

This article talks about the rise in the presidents’ salary. How there are 23 presidents from private colleges made more than one million and over 100 presidents from private institution made over $500,000. It also stresses the fact that these data were made before the economic crisis and that many of these presidents have “moderated, or frozen, salary increases.”

Lewin, Tamar. “Presidents’ Pay Rises Faster at Public Universities Than Private Ones, Survey Finds.” The New York Times. 17 November, 2008. 15 November, 2009. < http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/education/17college.html>

In this article, Lewin talks about how the rise in presidents’ salary is faster at public university than private ones. However, the highest earning president still comes from a private one. This article not only talks about the salary of president but also the salary of faculty between private and public university. It talks about how there is an interesting gap when comparing faculty salary. The average salary for faculty at public institutions is lower than those at private ones.

It would seem that small colleges do face difficulties that larger schools do not have to worry about because of their size.  Issues of finding funding (or needing more from unwilling donors), providing social and extra-curricular activities, and making attendance more affordable for the student body plague small colleges annually.  However, there are strengths in the smaller sized schools, such as strong teacher-to-student bonds, and greater academic flexibility. I believe that the best piece of advice comes from Peterson’s: schools that fall between a student body size of 1,000 to 3,000 students allow for the benefits of a smaller school’s academics, while also providing more social life typically attributed to large schools.

"Sizing Up Colleges: Big vs. Small." Find a College. 2009. Collegeboard, Web. 13 Nov 2009. <http://www.collegeboard.com/student/csearch/campus-life/37003.html>.

Collegeboard.com takes an even look at what both kinds of schools—small colleges and large universities—have and lack, and how that might determine the student’s experience at that type of school.  For small colleges, they highlight the strong teacher-to-student connection, the flexibility in designing a major, and the strong sense of community among the student body. However, Collegeboard notes the lack of well-known sports programs, the stifling social environment, and limited housing options. For large schools, they highlight the variety of majors/minors, distinguished faculty, and the range of academic and social opportunities. Large schools tend not to have faculty, but rather TAs teach classes. Also, there is less flexibility in the curriculum of a large university, as well as large, impersonal classes.

Petersons. "Big Colleges vs. Small." Ask the Dean. 2009. College Confidential, Web. 13 Nov 2009. <http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000217.htm>

In Peterson’s article, he draws an important point that students often misjudge their preferences for school size and transfers are common if the size of the school is undesirable.  He notes that while small schools offer more personal attention to students who lack self-motivation or extroversion, they can be “stifling” and offer little in the way of a social life.  Schools in urban environments are the same: while they are situated in an urban setting, the school itself provides little in the way of extra-curricular activities or entertainment. This can get expensive for students.  Larger colleges make up for the pitfalls of smaller schools, but tend to lose sight of students who are not self-directed. Peterson’s final piece of advice is that students do the best at medium sized schools (meaning a student body of anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 students).

Selingo, Jeffry. "At Meeting of Small Private Colleges, Presidents Don't Worry Too Much About Economy." The Chronicle of Higher Education. 05 Jan 2009. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Web. 13 Nov 2009. <http://chronicle.com/article/At-Meeting-of-Small-Private/42191>.

In Jeffry Selingo’s article, he addresses a curious issue that surrounds small colleges during times of economic upheaval: how do we continue functioning with limited funds and a student body feeling the crunch of the recession?  Philanthropic foundations begin to pull out of supporting small colleges with money; colleges must make the embarrassing move to ask alumni and living donors to scholarships to contribute additional, annual gifts; the college does not get as much revenue because students opt for non-residential living arrangements. To make things a little more complicated, faculty has never been more bountiful than during times of recession. While this is good for the college academically, the hiring of new or additional faculty puts another financial burden on the small school.  Some colleges have adjusted their budget plans in order to asses how many accepted applicants will attend, which allows the school some flexibility in knowing how much to ask for from the students.  In all, although there are tough problems facing schools of a small size, it seems that because of the nature of their school they are able to be flexible and depend on their alumni for further financial assistance.

 When I think about what first attracted me to Bryn Mawr, one thing that immediately comes to mind is the traditions.  I decided to research the role traditions play at other colleges and universities and how important they are to students.  I compared Dartmouth College, University of Michigan, and Pomona College because they all vary in size and location. 

At each school traditions seem to be a major part of student life.  When I searched “traditions” on the U of M website, I was lead to a separate site about traditions and history.  University of Michigan has its own committee dedicated to traditions on campus and keeping them alive, as well as promoting their history.  Dartmouth is famous for their ancient traditions involving sports and homecoming night.  When I searched “traditions” on their website, I saw numerous articles by students about the special traditions on campus and one page even mentioned special student tours that focus on the school’s traditions.  While the traditions at Pomona do have the historical significance that bonds the traditions at Michigan and Dartmouth, traditions still seem to be a very vital part of students’ lives.  Finding information about the traditions at Pomona was slightly more difficult than Dartmouth and Michigan and I had to turn to other student sites such as Unigo to find details.  I think that Pomona traditions seem to be relatively new and student lead, so the website has not yet developed such devotion to traditions that Dartmouth and Michigan have. 

I think that my findings prove that no matter size, history, or location, traditions are about the students and in general, students enjoy their traditions and enjoy working to keep them alive.  Traditions are definitely something that attract students to schools and I think that overall, traditions seem to be growing at more and more universities. 

"Hill Winds, Granite Brains, and Other Dartmouth Traditions ." Dartmouth Parents and Grandparents. 01/08/2008. Dartmouth College, Web. 15 Nov 2009. <http://parents.dartmouth.edu/news_and_events/news_articles/traditions.html>.

"University of Michigan History and Traditions." University of Michigan. 09/27/2004. University of Michigan, Web. 15 Nov 2009. <http://www.umich.edu/pres/history/about.html>.

"Pomona College." Unigo. 11/29/2008. Unigo, Web. 15 Nov 2009. <http://www.unigo.com/pomona_college/photos/>.

            When discussing curriculum reform, its important to discuss the basic structure of a curriculum (i.e. closed curriculum and divisional requirements). I decided to look at the structure of Bryn Mawr’s curriculum and two other schools that are similar in other aspects of Bryn Mawr. At Bryn Mawr we must complete two credits above 2.0 in the three divisions: social science, natural science, and humanities. At Barnard, another all-women liberal arts college, students must complete one credit in reason and value, social analysis, historical studies, cultures in comparison, laboratory science, quantitative and deductive reasoning, language, literature, and the visual and performing arts. At Wellesley, another all-women liberal arts, students must complete three units from language and literature, and visual arts, music, theater, film, and video; three units from social and behavioral analysis, epistemology and cognition, religion, ethics, and moral philosophy, and historical studies; and three credits from natural and physical science and mathematical modeling and problem solving in the natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science. Within each of these groupings, some have more specific requirements, in the language and arts categories, one credit much come from each, and the last credit can come from either.

              After my brief research, the first thing I can appreciate is the simplicity of Bryn Mawr’s divisional requirements. All three colleges have requirements, as opposed to letting students taking whatever credits they want with no restrictions, which make them closed curriculums. However, Barnard has many more categories where students must take classes than Bryn Mawr’s. Wellesley seems to split their requirements into three sections like Bryn Mawr, but have specific sub categories where they have more confusing requirements, where within the three credits one must come from a specific sub category. Wellesley and Barnard’s curriculum are much more structured. I might be biased, but I believe Bryn Mawr structure is the best at being “liberal arts”. This is because students must dip their toes into different subjects that they wouldn’t normally, but still have the freedom to choose very widely within the divisional requirements. 

Kellmer, Tracy. Divisional Requirements. 25 Aug. 2008. Bryn Mawr College. 15 Nov. 2009 <http://www.brynmawr.edu/catalog/2008-09/curriculum/div...>.

Articles of Governance. 2 Sept. 2008. Wellsley College. 15 Nov. 2009 <http://www.wellesley.edu/DeanCollege/bk2a1.

The Curriculum. Barnard College. 15 Nov. 2009 <http://www.barnard.edu/catalog/cur/liberalarts.php>.

I chose to focus my research on the economic decisions and difficulties that come with dining services at colleges. The first article I found, from a magazine focusing on changes in the food industry, was an overview of the many changes schools had to make for the 2009-10 academic year because of the economic downturn. After reading that article, I decided to look at changes in dining services in the past two years since the downturn for a large university, Harvard, and a small liberal arts college, Grinnell. The article on Grinnell talked about the decision to consolidate two dining halls, but instead of just using one of the dining halls, the college actually built an entirely new building. I think this is actually beneficial in the long run, because they won't have to make any more changes for a long time, and they used the construction to expand their catering service and increase revenue. Alternatively, Harvard's endowment decreased by 27% over the year, and the Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) decided to eliminate the hot breakfast option. I found this information on a blog the HUDS runs as a forum for the students to contact them about dining at Harvard. The comments on the blog post about eliminating breakfast all agreed that this decision was a bad idea, citing the number of students that do use the service and the necessity of having breakfast in the morning, as nutritionists say it is the most important meal of the day.

Works Cited

Hume, Scott. “College Dining: Smart Strategies for Tough Times.” Restaurants & Institutions. Reed Buisness Information, 1 Aug. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6674686.html?nid=4004&rid=13747304>. This article covers what many colleges are doing about food services at a time when they need to cut costs for the new academic year with the recent economic downturn. It mentions some of the schools that were forced to consolidate their dining halls, including the College of Wooster or cut meal options entirely, like Harvard University’s decision to stop offering a hot breakfast. Colleges are unsure about the number of students that are financially able to return or come to the schools and it’s affecting their ability to plan their food services before the start of the school year. Many colleges looked at cutting their associations with food service corporations such as Aramark and Sodexo, and found that making some foods from scratch actually cuts costs. These food corporations are also helping the colleges they work with by showing them discounts in food products and offering them deals. At the same time, the colleges’ dining halls are still making an effort to become more environmentally-friendly by increasing the use of on-campus farms, and offering more products in biodegradable packaging.

Mayer, Ted. “Residential Dining Changes.” Harvard University Dining Services: A Forum for Dialogue Between Students and Harvard University Dining Services’ Executive Director, Ted Mayer. Harvard University Dining Services, 11 May 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://harvarddining.blogspot.com/2009/05/residential-dining-changes.html>. This is a blog post from Harvard’s Dining Services executive director, explaining the reasoning behind their decision to cut the hot breakfast service for the 2009-10 academic year. Following a need for a 7.6% decrease in food spending, the Dining Services (HUDS) chose to offer continental breakfast options because they found that only 30% of students use the hot breakfast services. The changes also affected HUDS staff, and they were offered an early retirement package. Students have the opportunity to comment at the end of the blog post, and every post is against the change, and often asks for compromises in the breakfast plan.

White, Lisa. “Grinnell’s Dining Overhall, Grinnell Iowa.” Food Service Equipment & Supplies. Reed Buisness Information, 15 Dec. 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.fesmag.com/article/CA6617580.html>. This article, from a newsmagazine that covers new innovations or changes in the professional food industry, is about the changes Grinnell College made to their dining program for the 1500 students on campus. Grinnell had two main dining halls that needed to be consolidated in to one new building with a budget of $42 million, and the college hoped to make the new dining hall as environmentally friendly as possible. The U.S. Green Building Council approved their design and the college constructed a dining hall that would accommodate the multitude of food options the dining hall offers, from a vegan bar to a pizza area to a stir-fry wok station. They also increased their catering service, which brings in $650,000 in yearly revenue. The article also mentions that with the new facility, their equipment repair costs went from $3,500 to $18,000.