(The Center Square) – Two of the nation’s Ivy League institutions have yet to produce documents related to a congressional tuition price-fixing investigation launched earlier this year.
This, according to a subpoena issued by House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University, both of which have been accused of colluding with the nation’s six other Ivy League schools to inflate tuition prices and maximize profits.
Citing authority vested by the U.S. Supreme Court, committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said the documents requested – regarding communications with other universities – will give lawmakers insight into crafting legislative reforms. Some may include “whether existing civil and criminal penalties and current antitrust law enforcement efforts are sufficient to deter anticompetitive practices among higher education institutions.”
The subpoena comes nearly a month after the committee heard from higher education advocacy groups and a student from Brown University about whether Ivy League institutions tailor financial aid packages, cut back on student services and shut out middle-class students as a way to fund multi-million-dollar administrative benefits.
During the June 4 congressional hearing, Brown University student Alex Shieh said the institution employs 3,805 full-time noninstructional staff for 7,229 undergraduate students.
“This isn’t education; this is bloat paid for on the backs of families who are mortgaging their futures for a shot at a better life,” he said.
Shieh said budget cuts at Brown led to dorm flooding and “unappetizing” changes to food at Brown’s dining halls while many administrators remained on payroll.
“Across the pond, a world-class education at Oxford or Cambridge can cost about half as much as an Ivy League degree, in part, due to a much lower administrative burden,” he said.
The University of Pennsylvania, in particular, has come under scrutiny after the Trump administration froze its federal funding for failure to comply with Title IX. Criticism of the university’s handling of anti-war protests and alleged antisemitic incidents have heightened tensions.
Along with the University of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania State University, The Center Square completed its own three-part investigation into the university’s reliance on federal grants to support its $2 billion research program.
Politico first reported that Brown University was also issued a subpoena.
