Today, the University of Wisconsin will stop accepting bids from consulting firms searching to aid UW administrators in their goal of cutting the university’s operating costs, a process which began on August 20. Chancellor Biddy Martin is looking to emulate institutions such as the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of California at Berkeley, which have also hired consultants to examine their budgets in order to find wasteful spending.

To use a similar example, UNC saved an estimated $166 million dollars as a result of hiring the firm, according to Joe Templeton, a special assistant to UNC’s chancellor. And although it would be premature to apply such a return on investment to this institution, an estimated cost of $3 to 4 million for a savings of $166 million appears to be much less of a power grab than a conscientious attempt to pursue all options during the worst chapter of the country’s history as far as higher education is concerned.

UW does have members that specialize in organizational management, and it is certainly reasonable to ask why they were not consulted first. However, this board agrees with the argument that it may be more prudent to hire an outside evaluator for the simple reason of objectivity. Naturally, faculty members may be unwilling to seriously evaluate the budgets of their peers relative to their objective merits.

Additionally, Martin is not obligated to take all or any of the recommendations contained in the prospective report. While this board has often been critical of the absurdities to which administrators have often taken their authority, ? la Michael Morgan, a degree of cautious hope is merited in assuming Martin and her peers will use discretion in evaluating which elements of any cost-cutting proposal are feasible.

We are, to say the least, relieved by the idea that tuition increases will not serve as the sole facilitators of the university’s long term goals. While tuition will inevitably increase, this should be a measure of last resort. If Martin does hire a firm to evaluate areas in which costs can be cut, she will be ensuring that the students she serves are not held hostage to the increasingly turbulent economy in which they must exist.

However, whoever Martin picks to evaluate this university’s metastasizing budget, we encourage them to stay far, far away from professor salaries. Ann Arbor is tempting enough for faculty members already.