Princeton's President Criticizes Plan to Double College Tuitions

A boost in tuition charges in private colleges to meet the full cost of education would be "ill-considered," Robert F. Goheen, president of Princeton University, declared in his 1958 annual report.

This proposal to hike charges has been advanced by Seymour E. Harris '20, chairman of the Department of Economics. Harris believes that tuitions should be doubled immediately, and the cost spread over a 20 to 40 year period through long-term loans.

While endorsing the principle of long-term loans, Goheen said that no Princeton student is ever likely to pay twice the present tuition. No student intent on learning should be denied a Princeton education because of financial need, he added.

Harris, however, is not alone in proposing increased tuitions. A. Whitney Griswold, President of Yale University has suggested that the student be charged more nearly the full cost of his education. Goheen specifically rejected this argument.

It is not generally appreciated, emphasized Goheen, that the parents of Princeton students pay only 45 per cent of their sons' instruction costs. Although he is opposed to radical tuition increases, Goheen announced a rise of $250--up to $1450--in Princeton tuition next year.

The Princeton president also attacked critics who would "equate educational with industrial efficiency." He rejected the frequent proposal that colleges operate year-round, graduating students in only three years.