Congressional judiciary committees warn Ivy Leagues of possible antitrust violations from high tuition costs
Ivy League university presidents have been notified by congressional lawmakers that their institutions may be in violation of federal antitrust law in relation to tuition pricing.
Campus Reform obtained a copy of the letters in which each president is warned by the U.S. House and Senate Committees of the Judiciary about possible infringements of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Several high-ranking congressional Republicans sent a letter to all eight Ivy League university presidents to notify them that their institutions may be in violation of federal antitrust law in relation to tuition pricing.
Campus Reform obtained a copy of the letters in which each president is warned by the U.S. House and Senate Committees of the Judiciary about possible infringements of the Sherman Antitrust Act due to anticompetitive tuition pricing practices.
”We are particularly concerned that Ivy League member institutions appear to collectively raise tuition prices while engaging in price discrimination by offering selective financial aid packages to maximize profit,” the letter reads.
”These institutions establish the industry standard for tuition pricing, creating an umbrella effect for all colleges and universities to justify higher tuition costs than they could otherwise charge in a competitive market,” it continues.
The letter points to a 1994 antitrust exemption that Congress approved for Ivy League schools, which ultimately “allowed higher education institutions to lawfully
collaborate on price fixing formulas,” according to the letter. Though the exemption expired in 2022, one lawsuit from that year argued that certain schools “colluded to fix prices and did so in a way that considered a student’s ability to pay.”
The letter also references an Ivy League official who once remarked that he “[s]ure hope[s] the wealthy next year raise a few more smart kids!” in regard to finding students who could afford higher tuition prices.
Though Ivy League schools no longer possess an antitrust exemption, the lawmakers warn that the schools “benefit from their prior collusion.”
The letter includes various examples to demonstrate why the market is “not functioning properly,” such as elite institutions continuing to raise tuition despite increased demand for college and large endowments, how the admissions standards of the Council of Ivy League Presidents likely impacts the rest of college admissions practices, as well as alleged collusion by higher education nonprofits like the Common Application and College Board to facilitate collusion among universities to alter prices.
As a result, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have requested that each Ivy League president provide documentation dating back to 2019 that relates to communications on the Council of Ivy League Presidents’ Committee on Financial
Aid and Committee on Admission, tuition pricing, the College Board and the Common Application, among others.
Each university president has been given a deadline of 5 p.m. on April 22 to provide the committees with appropriate documentation.
The letter was authored by House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), as well as Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).
Campus Reform has contacted the U.S. House and Senate Judiciary Committees for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.