A national survey of colleges and universities found that investment returns on endowment funds continued to be healthy and were slightly higher than the previous year. Market value of endowment assets and life income fund assets for 435 institutions in 1993 are detailed in tables, with some narrative analysis. (MSE)

A college or university thinking of leasing out facilities for an auxiliary activity on campus should consider including a percentage rent provision in the contract, to benefit from increased sales. Issues to consider include definitions and reporting of gross sales, audits of reported sales, and auditing procedures and reporting. (MSE)

It is argued that colleges and universities have created extremely complex and convoluted accounting/reporting systems using fund accounting. Recent changes in accounting standards should be seen as an opportunity to streamline many of the processes that have been designed to support funds, allowing introduction of other approaches. (MSE)

College financial officers may be assuming that current high returns on endowment investments will continue. Mean reversion theory suggests that returns may be depressed in future years, making adherence to current investment policy difficult. Institutions have several financial management alternatives to minimize such problems. (MSE)

Results of a survey of 15 colleges and universities switching away, at least in part, from investment in the Teachers' Insurance and Annuities Fund and College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) for faculty retirement illustrate a trend toward increased competition and some definite patterns in fund preference. (MSE)

The fifteenth annual national Comparative Financial Statistics study shows that almost half the two-year colleges in the United States experienced funding cuts in fiscal 1992. In response, institutions tightened purse strings and instituted hiring freezes and reductions in staff through attrition, fee increases, and travel, staff, and program…

A discussion of the interrelationships between college tuition pricing, family resources, externally funded financial aid, and institutionally funded financial aid suggests that, as the range of tuition levels broadens, institutions must focus more closely on net tuition income in their forecasting or face erosion of revenues. (MSE)

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…

Prairie View A&M University's (Texas) experiences are offered as lessons in how to establish institutional priorities and procedures for retrenchment. Thirty-one specific cost-reduction strategies and policy changes are presented, and the evolution of a formal, institutionalized budget process, nonexistent until fiscal year 1991, is described.…

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…

Changing times, public attitudes, and political strategies have shifted the approach to leadership in higher education from an academic to a business perspective. Colleges and universities are being asked to restructure, reinvent themselves, and rightsize, but none of these will work unless more attention is paid to the problem of revenue. (MSE)

Discussion of investment of planned gifts to colleges and universities identifies three common administrative problems (inappropriate investment strategies, tracking of performance, no performance comparisons), three factors focusing greater attention on planned gifts (fiduciary responsibilities, rapid growth in planned giving, donor…

The sources of rising costs vary considerably among colleges and universities of different sectors, missions, and size. In addition, the changing environment of the 1980s led institutions in different directions, depending on the faculty and students they sought to attract and the sources of revenue available. (MSE)

It is argued that analysis of tuition and fees revenue contributions can enable colleges and universities to develop pricing, admissions, and student aid policies that produce desired financial outcomes. Long-term trends of three tuition and fees revenue contribution ratios are explained and illustrated. (MSE)

Data from a national survey conducted by the National Association of College and University Business Officers of 516 community colleges are summarized, with highlights concerning trends in state and local appropriations, revenues, expenditure patterns (general and per student), staffing, faculty employment patterns and salaries, enrollment,…