College Finance & Operations
Data/Research: College Finance & Operations
Reporting on higher education finance and operations requires background information on how colleges are funded, whether they are financially secure and how their facilities are maintained.
American Association of University Professors (AAUP): National faculty union, which produces an annual faculty compensation survey with national averages and salaries by rank and institution.
History and Background: College Finance & Operations
Little has changed regarding the financial underpinnings of American higher education in the nearly 400 years since Rev. John Harvard gave his library to what would become known — in commemoration of his generosity — as Harvard College. That private contribution supplemented funding from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and while Harvard would eventually become independent of the government, most universities and colleges are still supported by a combination of tuition and private and public funding.
Glossary: College Finance & Operations
Auxiliary Services: Dining plans, dorms, convenience stores and other amenities that are increasingly important sources of revenue for universities and colleges.
Bond Rating: A measure indicating a college’s ability to pay back the money it has borrowed from those to whom it has sold bonds, typically tracked by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. Ratings range from the top ranking of AAA to the lowest, CCC-.
The Role of Endowments
Those vaunted multibillion-dollar university and college endowments that get so much attention ($630 billion in total at the 774 institutions that report their endowment performance to the annual NACUBO-TIAA Study of Endowments) are worth a closer look. For one thing, only 13 institutions are in the $10 billion-or-more club; the median endowment is about $144 million. Nearly four in 10 have $101 million or less.
Decoding Financial Aid’s Impact on College Price
Hidden deep inside College Navigator is a particularly helpful clue to a university or college’s financial health: the proportion of its entering students who get institutional financial aid. At about 300 colleges and universities nationwide, all first-year students get institutional financial aid, evidence at wealthy institutions of admirable generosity, and at less-well-resourced ones, of potential desperation.
How to Investigate a College’s Spending Trends
By definition, university finance and operations data is scattered among myriad sources, including everything from financial audits to enrollment reports and financial aid disbursements. There are also important and reliable sources of aggregate national data that can help put an institution’s individual performance into context.
Combine these numbers and they will often lead you to universities and colleges that, despite enrollment declines, have kept hiring, building and spending.
The Other Kind of College Debt
While much of the attention about higher education borrowing is focused on student loans, universities and colleges have taken out extensive amounts of debt and collectively owe about a quarter of a trillion dollars, according to the Moody’s bond-rating agency.
Debt at individual private institutions is also listed on their Form 990s (Part X, Line 20: “Tax-exempt bond liabilities”); most higher education debt is in municipal bonds.
Obama’s Budget Proposal Would Change Student Loan Interest Rates, Boost Science Spending
In his annual budget request on Wednesday, President Obama proposed a major change to student loan interest rates that would save students money in the short term but eventually make loans more costly for borrowers.
Student Loan Rate Set to Rise, Despite Lack of Support
The interest rate on many student loans is scheduled to double on July 1, to 6.8 percent from 3.4 percent — just as it was last year, when in the midst of an election campaign, Congress voted to extend the lower rate.
A Truly Devastating Graph on State Higher Education Spending
A chart from the Center On Budget and Policy Priorities estimates how much each of the 50 states has slashed per-student funding for its university systems since the start of the recession, adjusted for inflation.
What’s the Payoff for the ‘Country Club’ College?
A new paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research analyzes the “college as country club” and the pressure on institutions to cater to students’ desire for “consumption amenities.”
State Spending on Higher Education Rebounds in Most States After Years of Decline
After falling nearly 11 percent since the 2008 fiscal year, state appropriations for higher education are on the rise in most states. But the long-term effects of budget cuts stemming from the economic downturn still could take years to erase, according to an annual survey.
National Association of College and University Business Officers
NACUBO publishes an annual survey of that year’s estimated “discount” on sticker price by private colleges that allows you to estimate net prices that families actually pay out of pocket. In conjunction with the Common Fund, NACUBO also publishes an annual estimate of the gain and level of every college’s endowment.
Trends in Pricing
The yearly report from the College Board, usually issued each October, is considered one of the most up-to-date summaries of average college net and sticker prices. Be aware, however, that there seems to be a disconnect between the net price numbers and trends published by the federal government and the numbers and trends published by the College Board. So be sure to check both because they sometimes diverge and will lead to opposite conclusions.
For Poor, Leap to College Often Ends in a Hard Fall
The growing role of class in academic success has taken experts by surprise since it follows decades of equal opportunity efforts and counters racial trends, where differences have narrowed. It adds to fears over recent evidence suggesting that low-income Americans have lower chances of upward mobility than counterparts in Canada and Western Europe.
13th Grade: Older, Returning Students Strain Florida’s Community and State Colleges
There are a lot of people in Florida going through what Pepper Harth is going through. Remedial classes in math, reading and writing are seeing a surge of students at Florida’s 28 community and state colleges — schools where all students are welcome as long as they have a high school diploma or G.E.D. From 2004 to 2011, Florida’s remedial education costs for both students and schools ballooned from $118 million to $168 million.
Student-Loan Delinquencies Now Surpass Credit Cards
Of the $956 billion in student-loan debt outstanding as of September, 11 percent was delinquent — up from less than 9 percent in the second quarter, and higher than the 10.5 percent of credit-card debt, which was delinquent in the third quarter. By comparison, delinquency rates on mortgages, home-equity lines of credit and auto loans stood at 5.9 percent, 4.9 percent, and 4.3 percent respectively as of September.
Student Debt and the Class of 2011
We estimate that two-thirds (66%) of college seniors who graduated in 2011 had student loan debt, with an average of $26,600 for those with loans. The five percent increase in average debt at the national level is similar to the average annual increase over the past few years. Also similar to previous years, about one-fifth of graduates’ debt is comprised of private loans.
No Income? No Problem! How the Gov’t Is Saddling Parents with College Loans They Can’t Afford
A joint examination by ProPublica and The Chronicle of Higher Education has found that Plus loans can sometimes hurt the very families they are intended to help: The loans are both remarkably easy to get and nearly impossible to get out from under for families who’ve overreached. When a parent applies for a Plus loan, the government checks credit history, but it doesn’t assess whether the borrower has the ability to repay the loan. It doesn’t check income. It doesn’t check employment status.
Debt, Jobs, Diversity and Who Gets In: A Survey of Admissions Directors
At a time of increasing national concern about debt levels of college students, a plurality of college admissions directors in a new survey by Inside Higher Ed indicated that current average loan volume for undergraduates is reasonable — and 22 percent of all admissions directors and 28 percent of those at private colleges would be comfortable with the average student debt being even higher than it is now.
A Disruption Grows Up?
Competency-based education could be a game-changer for adult students, probably more so than MOOCs. Yet despite the backing of powerful supporters, colleges have been reluctant to go all-in because they are unsure whether accreditors and the federal government will give the nod to degree programs that look nothing like the traditional college model.
Too High a Price?
Grinnell’s discussions follow closely on the heels of an announcement this summer by Wesleyan University that it was moving away from need-blind admissions, saying that if the college could not generate enough money to cover financial aid, it would consider students’ financial need in some of its decisions (possibly 10 percent of the class). The move has generated backlash among students, alumni and others at the university. Grinnell administrators said a policy like Wesleyan’s is on the table.
Democratic Party Platform Highlights Obama Higher Education, Student Loan Reforms
The party platform promotes the reform of the federal student loan program, the increased funding to Pell Grants and the new income based repayment option for federal loans. It’s a stark contrast to the Republican platform, which called for a roll back of the student loan reform to funnel money back through private banks.
Obama, GOP duel over rising college expenses
WASHINGTON – President Obama would make tax credits for college expenses permanent and expand Pell grants for students from lower-earning families. The Republican team of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would emphasize the need to curb rising tuitions and federal education spending that are burdening families and the government.
Parking Pros: UT Far Exceeds City in Tickets Issued, Revenue Returned
Each year, UT’s parking department issues twice as many tickets as the city where it is, and it compels nine out of 10 violators to pay the fine. That adds up to about $1.2 million in revenue each year.
University parking data examined by the News Sentinel reveals those details and other glimpses into the habits of thousands of campus drivers and the sweeping organization keeping them in check.
What time of day are drivers most likely to get a ticket? Watch where you park between 10 and 11 in the morning.
Teacher’s Wages Garnished as U.S. Goes After Loan Default
Lawyers drained Linda Brice’s bank account and seized a quarter of her take-home pay, or more than $900 a month. Brice, a first-grade teacher and Coast Guard veteran, begged for mercy, saying she couldn’t afford food, gas or utilities.
Brice’s transgression: she defaulted on $3,100 she had borrowed more than 30 years ago to pay for college. The chief federal judge in Los Angeles took her side, ruling that Brice should pay only $25 a month. The law firm of Goldsmith & Hull – representing the federal government — then withdrew $2,496 from her bank account.
Budget Disparity Growing Among NCAA Division 1 Schools
While most higher education reporters tend to steer clear of the sports side of universities, there can be compelling finance stories in this part of campus life. “Major-college athletics departments increased the amount of money they generate by nearly $190 million in 2011, but they increased their spending by more than $267 million,” this article reports. So, how do colleges cover that difference in costs?
Taxpayers Fund $454,000 Pay for Collector Chasing Student Loans
How’s this for a startling opening sentence: “Joshua Mandelman made $454,000 in a single year as a student-loan debt collector — more than twice the pay of the U.S. secretary of education.” The article offers a revealing look at “guaranty agencies,” a little-covered part of the higher education beat that can contribute significantly to costs.
Football Fails Profit Test as Students Pay $1,000
Rutgers adds $1,000 in fees to student bills to cover costs of football program. “Rutgers funneled $28.5 million from the university budget and student fees into sports, the most among 54 U.S. public universities in the biggest football conferences, based on data compiled by Bloomberg.” The site also posts the list for these schools.
Out of Uniform: At Half a Million and Counting, Veterans Cash In on Post-9/11 GI Bill
At this moment, a new migration is under way from the military to the college campus. More than half a million veterans who served after September 11, 2001, were enrolled in college classes last year under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Thousands more are expected in the coming years as roughly two million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan return home.
Federal Regulations Are Not Making College More Expensive
Higher education expert Kevin Carey attempts to debunk a belief often touted by policymakers, administrators and critics. He concludes that “The worst thing about this whole conversation is that that there’s a much stronger argument to be made that rising college prices are a function of too little federal regulation, not too much.”
Executive Compensation at Private Colleges
Each year, The Chronicle of Higher Education publishes lists based on its analyses of how much the presidents of public and private colleges are paid. The list for public colleges also is accessible through this link.
180 Private Colleges Fail Education Dept.’s Latest Financial Responsibility Test
Every couple of years, the federal government issues an analysis of the financial strength of colleges. “Financial-responsibility scores, which are derived from the audited financial statements that colleges submit annually to the department, are supposed to offer a broad measure of colleges’ financial health. By placing restrictions on failing programs, the department seeks to protect students and taxpayers from colleges at risk of financial collapse.”
Maintenance Over Management: A Survey of Business Officers
This survey of important campus administrators including business officers and admissions officers reveals some interesting trends. “[A]bout 60 percent of all respondents to the survey disagreed or strongly disagreed that “my institution can make additional and significant budget cuts without hurting quality.”
Lost in Translation
EWA 2012 National Reporting Contest winner. Unscrupulous Chinese firms promise families and college- bound students from the mainland admission to prestigious American universities provided they pay large fees. What they get in return varies, with worst-case scenarios including living miles from the U.S. campus and thousands of dollars of unforeseen bills. Yet because of U.S. colleges’ appetite for the tuition foreign students pay, fixing the problem isn’t easy.
Many For-Profit Colleges Are ‘Managing Defaults’ to Mask Problems, Analysis Indicates
“The 3-year default rates on student loans are 5 times as high as the 2-years rates at some colleges,” according to this research.
The Business of Higher Education
EWA 2012 National Reporting Contest winner. The relationships between pharmaceutical companies and academe, the aggressive enrollment tactics at for-profit schools, and applied science competitions to beef up New York City’s tech prowess are just some of the topics covered in this multi-article series on the apparent and hidden costs of running a university.
The Best Class Money Can Buy
“Over the past twenty years, often under cover of the euphemisms with which the industry abounds, enrollment management has transformed admissions and financial aid, and in some cases the entire mission of a college or a university,” notes this classic analysis of a key part of the business of universities. “Borrowing the most sophisticated techniques of business strategy, enrollment managers have installed market-driven competition at the heart of the university.”