COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ Handing dorms and cafeterias over to private operators, collaborating on health-care costs and providing more digital textbooks and study materials are among ways an Ohio study panel is recommending that colleges and universities could cut costs.
 
Gov. John Kasich created the Task Force on College Affordability and Efficiency in February. He and state lawmakers received the group's report Thursday.
 
The group's work dovetails with efforts across the country to rein in rising college costs and mounting student debt. Tuition and fees at Ohio's 4-year institutions are 12th highest among the states.
 
The group was largely silent on questions of tuition, staffing and faculty course loads. It recommended each institution carefully assess overhead and organizational issues, and urged state officials to develop a common measurement of productivity.