In part one of a two-part series, a mathematician and former college president looks at how best to utilize and invest endowments. Consideration of the needed and desirable percentage return on investments is discussed. (MSE)

Institutional survival will require attention to credit-hour management and the cost effectiveness of the sale of credit hours, physical plant use, and the attraction of students with the ability to pay educational costs. (MSE)

Claremont Men's College's investment policy that concentrated on three growth and three growth-and-income mutual funds is described. Diversification, professional management, accounting, exchanges, liquidity, expenses, and how a mutual fund works are discussed. (Author/MLW)

The chairman of the financial committee of the Smith College Board found that it is wise to avoid getting directly involved in investment, but that it is better to fix goals and guidelines, leaving specifics to professional management. Comments and examples are provided by Henry H. Porter and William A. Wilson. (LBH)

Seven questions are provided for trustees to ask when making decisions about institutional planned borrowing, debt management, and land development that involve external parties or complex financing mechanisms. (MSE)

A higher return on endowment--and knowing how and when to spend it--can help prevent large tuition increases. The extent to which endowment income can and should support operating budgets is the product not only of wise investment policies but of appropriate spending philosophies. (MLW)

The treasurer of Smith College describes their use of the unit method of investment, in which each endowment is given shares in the total investment pool, and the total return concept, which emphasizes the use of a modest portion of investment appreciation for operating purposes to supplement the yield from interest and dividends. (JT)

The President of Kalamazoo College recommends a "total resource strategy" that brings together resource development and resource management to yield significantly larger returns in available operating income and underlying capital resources together than they can separately. Two models for new organizational staffing patterns for the…

Investment strategies for colleges and universities are discussed. Colleges must begin their strategic investment planning with regular sources of income to ensure year-to-year survival. Cash management, short-term investment, investment grade, and creating endowment are discussed. (MLW)

With health insurance costs soaring for both current employees and retirees, governing boards of institutions of higher education must contain costs. Possible strategies include shifting some expenses from employer to employee, establishing flexible-benefit or cafeteria plans, using managed care to reduce unnecessary medical procedures,…

The debate about the "cashability" of faculty pension benefits raises questions about intent, fairness, and who controls what. Boards must weigh whether to allow faculty and staff to withdraw or transfer pension funds such as TIAA-CREF (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund). (Author/MSE)

Trustees need to understand that they have an entrepreneurial function governed by the law of corporations, as well as governed by the law of trusts. The entrepreneurial function involves risks but its presence is seen as essential. Institutions must be looked at as businesses. (MLW)

A cooperative, interinstitutional plan offering individual tuition accounts based on lump-sum payments as a means of saving for college expenses is proposed as an alternative to loan options, savings bonds, and tuition futures. (MSE)

Describes the effort to keep Yankton College alive. Students, alumni, churches, and local citizens were mobilized in a campaign which raised a half million dollars, but it was the subsequent debt reorganization, based on realistic arguments for continuing the small church-related college, which, according to the author, assured its continuation.…

College and university administrators and trustees have an obligation to maximize the return on all available resources consistent with law and with prudent conduct. Assessing and minimizing risk is an essential component of developing a creative financing program. (MLW)