How Students Could Save Money

President Obama on Friday surprised legal educators by saying that cutting law school from three years to two would yield a less expensive education for students. Inside Higher Ed asked those on Twitter to suggest (in Twitter-length replies) other ways to cut costs. Here are some of the responses:

• Pay business faculty on the same scale as social science and humanities faculty. (might be more zero-sum than savings) -- @jondresner
• Fewer admins, fewer Vice Presidents of [whatever buzzword is hot], fewer contingent faculty -- @ProfessorF74
• Reduce a college's federal aid by what it spends on non-instructional salaries and benefits (or a portion thereof) -- @JohnM_Armstrong
• Use foreign exchange from intl students to create scholarships and grants for Americans for study abroad/intl research, etc. -- @mitchlev
• Model administration along lines of 1980s - flatten middle management, stop treating students as customers & abolish tenure -- @daniel_bilar
• Offer more college credit classes in high school. Partner more with the community for services -- @coachwhiteswife
• More stipends or incentives (cheaper housing) 4 student leaders. It'll make college more affordable & encourage involvement! -- @brianhasfun
• Incentivize on-time graduation w/ loan-to-grant programs for completion of a degree within 150% time -- @lennasliney
• More skilled advising & clear transfer policies - many students could complete degrees faster & more efficiently -- @humgeek
• Provide clear info on net price and grad probability/post-college outcomes. Unfortunately, this will take unit record data -- @rkelchen
• Stop requiring texts if they won't be used -- @JemLibrarian
• Eliminate athletics (from several)
• Prepaid tuition plans, 4 year guaranteed rate, Oregon's pay it forward plan -- @Spartypants
• Take a hard look at the rapid expansion of administrative positions (compared to the adjunctification of the faculty) -- @jsench
• Have universities stop teaching Gen Ed altogether. Transfer a big chunk of the funds they spend on Gen Ed to community colleges so they can expand their excellent work -- Mills Kelly, via e-mail

Your ideas welcome in comments.