By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - How do colleges confront the costs of college without affecting quality? In these difficult economic times, there are some good examples.

One well-known local collaboration is Bryn MawR, Haverford and Swarthmore with joint departments and courses. Currently, Gettysburg, Juniata, Muhlenberg, Ursinus and Washington & Jefferson, also in Pennsylvania, are starting to talk about combining forces on specialized and under-enrolled programs.

At Carleton Colleges, in Pomona, California, seven institutions, each with a different emphasis, share library services, some academic and activity programs and administrative functions – mail services, maintenance and human resources.

Collaboration brings to light issues such as different calendars; orientation — religious or politically liberal; schools serving only women or men; merging, where one school loses identity.

Regarding these questions, Steven Poskanzer of Carleton College in Minnesota quotes Benjamin Franklin, “Either we all hang together, or we all hang separately.”

Read the article by Scott Carlson in The Chronicle of Higher Education.