
Princeton and the other seven Ivy League universities are under investigation by Congressional Republicans for allegedly colluding on tuition prices in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. In an April 8 letter sent to President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, the committees allege that the Ivies “collectively raise tuition prices while engaging in price discrimination by offering selective financial aid packages to maximize profit.”
Identical letters were sent to each Ivy League president and requested documents including communication between the schools related to tuition, financial aid, and admissions practices. According to the letters, schools must submit the requested documents by 5 p.m. on April 22.
In a statement to The Daily Princetonian, University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill said that Princeton had “received the April 8 letter, are reviewing the requests, and plan to cooperate with the inquiry.”
The investigation was launched by House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan, Senate Judiciary chair Chuck Grassley, Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee chair Mike Lee, and House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee chair Scott Fitzgerald, who signed the letters.
“The House and Senate Committees are concerned that the Ivy League member institutions' coordinated practices and alleged collusion violate the Sherman Act and that the institutions continue to benefit from their prior collusion, despite no longer having an antitrust exemption. The structure and operation of the higher education market strongly suggests the market is not functioning properly and is subject to widespread violations of antitrust laws,” the letters state.
In 1994, Congress passed the Improving Schools Act which included an antitrust exemption that allowed universities to work together to determine tuition prices. The exemption expired in 2022.
This new probe comes on the heels of another government probe from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights which threatens “enforcement actions” against Princeton and 59 other colleges and universities across the country currently under investigation for antisemitism in March, and notices from multiple federal agencies suspending “several dozen” research grants on March 31 and April 1.
2 Responses
Jeremy White ’91
3 Months AgoPrice Fixing Investigation
Although the Congressional Republicans who are investigating this are likely acting in bad faith, and just using this to attack higher learning, it is certainly possible that Ivies are guilty in this particular case.
Norman Ravitch *62
4 Months AgoTrump Administration Investigations of Anti-Semitism
Those who believe Trump’s alleged philo-semitism are ignorant of his upbringing and history.