About three years ago, a regional legal firm posted an article about endowment issues It is found here: http://www.beneschlaw.com/Files/Publication/07329c5a-fde0-4127-a966-ac812ea51267/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/1760ab62-cf04-413a-bdc0-b25ad1ffb2a7/Benesch_Perspectives_Sept2012_100112.pdf I was particularly interested in what was written about borrowing from endowment. Many institutions see this as a way to get through a particularly difficult time operationally. The author introduces some helpful ideas, including the rationale that […]

As a cost accountant in a former life, I have always found it interesting the way that tuition remission is handled. Basically, the full cost of the benefit is apportioned to fringe benefits under “operating costs” and the entire amount of tuition is recognized as revenue, with no offsetting tuition discount. Let me identify a […]

A colleague, Craig Mahler, shared this article earlier today. Having worked with a variety of boards over the past year and a half, I am pleased to see this level of attention paid to their role. My observation is that individual board members either accept everything that comes from the administration or are skeptical and […]

One of the common questions I have been asked during my trek to 20+ clients over the past two years involves the financial performance statistics institutions should be shooting for. That is, what are the benchmarks that typify the better-performing colleges and universities? Here is a rundown of twenty, based on my numerous visits: GAAP-based […]

If you do not have a degree completion or graduate program for adults, you can skip this edition. For those who have such programs, a common approach is to recruit a group of students as a cohort. Ideally, that cohort remains together throughout the program, encouraging each other to stay with it and accomplish the […]

Students have moved in, parents are back home, relationships have started … and ended, first exams delivered and disciplinary counsels are full of agenda items. Yup, it’s that time of year. Oh, and the traditional census is underway, with a crowd awaiting the puffs of smoke, signaling the year’s revenue projection has been calculated. There […]

I find a number of my clients are working on some sort of cost accounting process for various programs.  What they are discovering is that there are precious few processes in place anywhere that address this need.  So with many of those that I either work with or talk to engaged in projects of this […]

Welcome to my next installment.  As I meander around various institutions of higher education, I find certain themes to be consistent.  One relates to the processing of student refunds.  For many non-traditional programs, Pell recipients who also borrow the maximum allowed from the Stafford loan program receive more in federal and state aid than they […]

A new tax reform proposal is circulating about, with a number of provisions designed to impact higher education.  As one might expect, any assault of even the tiniest nature against the industry results in the typical claim that these provisions will adversely impact the ability of families to pay for an education.  On closer examination, I […]

The junior senator from Massachusetts is proposing that the use of credit reports be eliminated in connection with job applications.  The only exception she is willing to consider is for government employees seeking a security clearance. There does seem to be an incongruity in the ubiquitous use of credit ratings in connection with the hiring decision.  After […]