The article is about UK Universities. Stanford is not broke. http://facts.stanford.edu/administration/finances
They can easily use any potential savings by adjusting the way their scholarships taper off versus income.
That said, some of the boat may have to do with government oversight for their research grants.
After said activity there is more administration and less of everything else.
"This workout routine is a waste of time and effort. See, look at Usain Bolt doing it."
The cost of a university education has far outpaced inflation. Harvard cost $2,600 in 1970.
https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/16/why-college-costs-are-so-hig...
Second, since you brought it up, can you explain how they determine the cost of tuition? If it’s unimportant maybe they can simply eliminate it for everyone. Are other universities the same?
Sticker price is an important value signal, which draws elites who, as alumnae, support the institution, so what elite universities do is have high sticker prices and then internal need-based financial aid packages that cover much of the costs for non-wealthy students. This also, incidentally, maximizes tuition revenue, as those who can pay from their own pocket or outside scholarships do pay. But maximizes revenue is incidental, because tuition is not the main source of revenue.
http://nordic.businessinsider.com/how-ivy-league-financial-a...
It may be hopelessly optimistic, but I think that eventually, tuition will and should be eliminated for everyone.. As it stands now, where students from wealthier families pay more, it is a good consolation prize.
Sort of 'progress through increasing the highest possible score'. In this light, spending excessively on administrators and absurd things is a form of virtue signalling meant to elicit further gifts through demonstrating they are already wealthy beyond all imagining.
That's not a joke: that's actually how it works, and there are many parallels, for instance in the stock market.