Academically gifted students tend to gravitate toward higher cost programs and benefit from out-sized merit awards, bringing what...
With the latest NACUBO survey reporting an average discount rate for private schools exceeding 50% and other analyses...
There are certain brands that have been around for our lifetime and that of our grandparents. Think of Ford,...
An attorney friend specializes in health care and higher education. His assistance has been invaluable, ensuring that contractual...
In its April 27, 2018 edition, The Atlantic reported the following: The numbers are wild: Harvard admitted just 4.6 percent of...
In an interview for an upcoming book, the author asked me to characterize the nature of private higher...
Those of us who have worked in higher education dodged a bullet with tax reform. Section 117(d) remains in...
Thinking back on my undergraduate years, a handful of relationships stand out four decades hence. Lifelong friendships were forged...
I cannot count the number of letters I have been asked to send to congress that adamantly predict...
Years ago, car salesmen kept the current month’s yellow NADA book in their desk drawer, at the ready...
It's a question we hear frequently. As hard as they’ve tried, new student numbers steadily decline while tuition discounting...
In business we talked about being “first to market” or “second champion.” This is based on the old adage,...
“It doesn’t mean a thing, but even so, after twenty-five years; it’s nice to know.” The words from...
CFO Colleague, LLC has been selected by Trevecca Nazarene University (TN) as an adviser for its merger exploration...
Every year, the Department of Education reveals it's list of those institutions who either failed their financial responsibility...
The new calendar year is upon us and, while it is not usually the fiscal year end for...
For the 1975 model year, AMC succeeded in offering what are considered three of the ugliest cars ever...
We know it as a horizontal piece of wood or metal at the base of a doorway, allowing...
Your Ohio factory makes a cast iron base for exterior light poles. Because of how heavy the product is...
It may have been twenty years ago when the idea of “branding” became an obsession of higher education. ...
When I was in private industry a couple of decades ago, most of our sales came from existing...
I normally write about higher education but today I meander into an area of avocation - cars. Bear...
Most of us file taxes, providing reams of personal financial information to federal and state governments. A few...
Every mission statement includes a common theme – students. Though some appear to concentrate on fundraising, athletics, endowment,...
Traveling from one place to another, a common theme has arisen in the quest to garner more students;...
The conversation about the level of financial aid needed to bring in next fall’s incoming class is an...
I recall a conversation with a retired Kodak exec some twenty odd years ago. His former company had...
Having visited over fifty institutions during my tenure with CFO Colleague, certain themes recur enough that it makes...
As a young auditor, I was admonished to avoid merely following the workpapers of the previous year. A...
Imagine a manufacturing operation that is receiving the final report from a cost accounting consultant. A new approach...
I begin with a favorite quote : “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to...
When my Dad entered college in 1949, the $700 annual cost seemed daunting, compared with an annual family...
I reference my previous installment on student loans. In that submission, I argue for using additional social security...
The Doctor calls, encouraging you to head to the hospital immediately in the hope of spending a few...
For those of us who came of age in the 1960s and 70s, the ‘Cuda, Cutlass and Cougar...
Every so often, one of the classic movies I enjoy has a scene from a horse race. Here...
As the higher education industry absorbed the impact of FASB pronouncements (changes in accounting standards) during the 1990s,...
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...
The headlines tell the tale of another university that is dealing with hard times. This time, it's a...
In a day of reduced student demand, a number of colleges have turned to their athletic programs to...
As a cost accountant in a former life, I have always found it interesting the way that tuition...
Some have asked whether certain expense and revenue relationships typify the successful institution. Here are six I have gleaned...
After publishing a list of twenty characteristics that are common to healthy institutions, some conversations have ensued with...
A colleague, Craig Mahler, shared this article earlier today. Having worked with a variety of boards over the...
One of the common questions I have been asked during my trek to 20+ clients over the past...
As the higher education industry absorbed the impact of SFAS 93, followed by 115 and 116, many balked...
If you do not have a degree completion or graduate program for adults, you can skip this edition....
Students have moved in, parents are back home, relationships have started … and ended, first exams delivered and...
The first week of August is upon us and whatever will betide the fall is becoming more clear....
I don’t know exactly when the move toward creating strategic plans began. I’m thinking it was higher education’s...
As I travel about, it is fascinating the variety of successes that each institution enjoys. There are likely...
I find a number of my clients are working on some sort of cost accounting process for various...
Welcome to my next installment. As I meander around various institutions of higher education, I find certain themes...
A new tax reform proposal is circulating about, with a number of provisions designed to impact higher education. As...
For many of us in the higher education world, returning from the Christmas break is not always welcomed. ...
The junior senator from Massachusetts is proposing that the use of credit reports be eliminated in connection with...
When I was in the corporate world, it was common for one of the top sales people to make the...
Some of the institutions I am visiting confront what I will call a challenging demand scenario. That is,...
Stocks can have a lot of overhead So you are entrusted with investing an endowment and are looking...
“Invest in a broad array of stocks and bonds and hold them for the long term.” Those who...
If I used the title “retirement account” my following might go up about ten-fold. All of us are...
Off campus programs (OCP) may have waned a little in popularity in the past few years but spending...
For a variety of reasons, the advancement / development / fundraising operations of an institution tend to operate...
One of the areas where a good deal of conversation has occurred of late is on the topic...
Attention now turns from revenues to costs. And, I turn from preachin’ to meddln’ Many of the institutions...
To say that the sticker price for higher ed is eye-popping is an understatement. NACUBO reports that the...
This is based on some interaction I have had with a few of you after my latest posting...
One of the more disturbing letters a President may receive comes from the Department of Education, indicating that...
As I visit various institutions there is a typical sequence of conversation. Introductions are made, backgrounds are shared...
I had a great high school basketball coach. Mind you, he benched me my senior year and it...
Our discount rate is only off by three percent. That’s not too bad, is it? Well, I hate to spoil...
A recent survey of business officers, performed by the magazine Inside Higher Ed, revealed some troubling data. A little...
Detroit’s historic bankruptcy filing this week gives us all pause for thought. The blogosphere has no shortage of...
While I have been writing about higher ed, this is a general interest piece that I worked on...
It seems like I see a story of a student contending with a boatload of educational debt about...
Hi Everybody For the past two months, I have been visiting various institutions, learning about their current issues...
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