During these difficult economic times, even colleges are getting hit hard with the need to cutback. As a result, many are looking at creative ways to save some money and to stretch their dollars further. Here’s a look at some of the strangest cutbacks colleges have been making recently.

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Phones

At the University of Washington, faculty members within the communications department have decided to do away with their landlines. Seems pretty ironic that the communications department would decide to get rid of a major communication tool, but the department chairman claims the department will save $1,100 per month by getting rid of faculty phones. Landlines will still be in place in the common areas for staff to use if necessary.

Let Our Athletes Compete Online

To help cut their transportation costs, the women’s swim team at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania decided to hold a virtual swim meet against Bryn Mawr College, which is also located in Pennsylvania but is about 112 miles away. The two teams swam in their home pools and then compared times in order to determine a winner. According to the president of Dickinson College, William G. Durden, the school saved about $900 in travel costs.

Good Luck Getting Familiarized

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, new faculty members have traditionally taken a bus tour of the state in order to become better acquainted with what it has to offer. Chancellor Holden Thorp decided to suspend the program for one year, however, as he felt people might be a bit upset by 100 faculty members being bused around the state and staying in hotels during these difficult economic times.

You Don’t Need to Look Outside Anyway

Ohio’s Oberlin College and Claremont, California’s Pitzer College are both saving money by reducing the frequency of window washing. Oberlin College claims to be saving $22,300 with the move, while Pitzer is saving an undisclosed amount of money by power washing its windows and sidewalks just once per year rather than twice.

Do You Really Need to Throw That Away?

In order to cut back three custodial positions, Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota has decided to pick up office trash once per week rather than once per day.

No More Living it Up in Style

Many colleges are also making cuts that seem a bit more reasonable and may even leave you scratching your head in wonderment as to why they offered these things in the first place. Dickinson, for example, has decided to stop offering free laundry services to its students, which is saving the school about $150,000 per year. They are also eliminating the free HBO and ESPN in student rooms, which is saving another $75,000. Students at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington will no longer be able to access free printing and will be limited to $60 worth of free printing each semester.

Here are a few other cost-cutting measures that many colleges are taking to help reduce expenses:

· Reducing the number of days dedicated to new student orientation programs
· Turning down the thermostats in buildings and dorms
· Going “trayless” in the cafeteria to help reduce food waste as well as the costs associated with washing the trays
· Placing course catalogs, brochures and phone directories online instead of printing them on paper
· Installing low-flow shower heads in the dorms
· Installing energy-saving light bulbs in the dorms
· Holding contests to see which dorm can reduce its electricity costs the most
· Switching from bottled water to tap water at school events
· Rebuilding computers rather than buying new ones
· Reducing travel by scheduling more videoconferences
· Limiting the use of campus vehicles
· Not replacing or installing voice mail equipment in dorms
· Reducing food-service options by cutting back on cafeteria hours or shutting down extra dining halls