If faculty and other groups are to play a significant role in the budget process, the administration should format the budget to invite discussion. A properly prepared budget can serve as an excellent means of consensus building on campus. A new technique known as "framework" budgeting is described. (MLW)

In developing an endowment spending policy, the college or university governing board should seek both endowment protection and growth while providing reasonable current budgetary support. A sound policy should include built-in features that adjust to budgetary requirements, changing economic conditions, and the dynamic investment market…

To meet demand for increased funding, in a period of probable declining investment returns, colleges and universities must fine-tune their asset suballocations to enhance returns. While the institution should adhere to major asset allocation classes, there can be much flexibility, and enhanced return, in shifting suballocations within the major…

College administrators have an obligation to educate faculty and staff as consumers of retirement plan services. Employers can face liability if they limit plan participation to overly restrictive investment alternatives. A task force representing employees should be appointed to make vendor selections. (MSE)

In retirement planning, the college or university human resources manager is positioned as representative of both the college administration, which has a simple legal obligation to employees, and employees, who must plan for financial security and independence. This administrator can affect employees' financial well-being by effective retirement…

Successful college and university investments hinge on an asset allocation strategy capable of meeting the institution's needs for income and growth in principal at the lowest possible risk. Periodic adjustments must be made when there is a shift in the institution's risk tolerance, modification in need for income distribution, and changes in…

Higher education faces many of the economic challenges of the corporate world. As financial pressures increase and the workforce changes, the campus human resource manager must understand these forces and actively promote change. Strategies include emphasis on training, cost reduction in operations, improved compensation, improved productivity,…

In excerpts from alumni magazines, the treasurers of Haverford College (Pennsylvania) and Wake Forest University (North Carolina) communicate issues involved in setting tuition and offer unique approaches to explaining the value that students receive at these private institutions. (MSE)

Complexity of employee compensation policy is examined as it applies to colleges and universities. It is argued that sound compensation policy helps the institution attract and retain qualified, skilled employees. New approaches that shift the focus from job to employee are outlined, and their implications for institutions of higher education are…

It is critical to institutional health that college clerical and administrative employees have a sense of participation in the institution. Personnel policy incorporating the principle of comparable worth in salary determination will become essential as nonfaculty employees note discrepancies between faculty and nonfaculty employment practices.…

The tax-exempt status of most independent colleges and universities will likely be challenged eventually, and institutions would be wise to take preemptive action by developing arguments, both financial and cultural, to support the claim that they provide substantial benefits to the community. A Rollins College (Florida) economic impact study…

The uncapping of college faculty retirement age in 1994 has implications for tenure, retirement programs, and potential for age discrimination litigation. Institutions should carefully examine the probable impact of the change on the quality of their academic programs and financial situation and develop contingency plans as early as possible. (MSE)