NACUBO In Brief

This week on NACUBO In Brief, we bring you part two of our four-part series dissecting one of higher education's biggest challenges: financial modeling and forecasting in the face of great uncertainty.

In our last episode, we made the case for the value of forecasting. This week, we dive deeper, discussing the process of forecasting with illustrations of how institutions can build a forecasting and scenario planning process that is grounded in budgeting.

NACUBO's senior director of accounting policy Sue Menditto invites two experts in for the conversation; Larry Goldstein, President of Campus Strategies and author of College and University Budgeting, and Brett Matteo, managing director of The PFM Group and president of Synario software (formerly known as Whitebirch).

Unstable future revenues. Ballooning costs. Shifting demographics. For some, the challenges facing our institutions are no longer posing questions about what our schools will look like in the future, but whether our schools have a future at all. Even the most fortunate are concerned that there won't be sufficient resources to sustain excellence — much less fund new ambitions.

This week on NACUBO In Brief, we bring you part one of a four-part series dissecting one of higher education's biggest challenges: financial modeling and forecasting in the face of great uncertainty.

NACUBO's senior director of accounting policy Sue Menditto invites two experts in for the conversation; Larry Goldstein, President of Campus Strategies and author of College and University Budgeting, and Brett Matteo, managing director of The PFM Group and president of Synario software (formerly known as Whitebirch).

American Council on Education research vice president Lorelle Espinosa sits down with NACUBO's Lindsay Wayt this week to share key findings from the association's recent Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education report. This report's findings illuminate key underlying issues facing equity in higher education and perceptions of the value of a higher education in key demographics.

View the interactive report on ACE's website.

Links & Notes

• Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education — Report from American Council on Education
• About Lorelle Espinosa, Vice President for Research — American Council on Education

NACUBO's Liz Clark speaks with Sophia Harding of Staffordshire University and Lucy Heming of Imperial College, both university administrators from universities in England, to compare trends in public opinion about higher education and discuss how institutions are preparing to deliver on their educational missions into the foreseeable future.

State institutions are increasingly reliant on tuition dollars to fund operations in the face of declines in state appropriations. Sophia Laderman joins NACUBO's Megan Schneider and brings the latest insights from the State Higher Education Finance report to help us paint a clearer picture of today's funding landscape.

Links & Notes

• 2018 SHEF Report — State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

Institutions dedicate a significant portion of their tuition and fee revenue to help families offset the cost of college. Just how much? It's significant, says NACUBO Senior Director of Research and Policy Analysis, Ken Redd. This grant aid — aid that does not require repayment — is reaching new heights. Today on the show, Ken joins NACUBO's Liz Clark to share the latest findings from the study, focusing on private institutions' use of tuition discounting, and to discuss the challenges that come from increasing aid and the corresponding impact on net tuition revenue.

Thank you to EAB for their generous support of this research.

Links & Notes

• NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study

This week on the show, Juan Martinez, Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer of the Knight Foundation, joins NACUBO senior director of federal affairs, Liz Clark, to talk about diversity in the asset management industry. Research supported by the Knight Foundation looks at trends in women and minority-owned asset management firms— and the results challenge long-held assumptions in the field and open the door to a more aggressive acceptance of diverse portfolio ownership.

Links & Notes

• Learn more about Juan Martinez at KnightFoundation.org
• 2018 TIAA-NACUBO Study of Endowments
• Diversifying Investments: A Study of Ownership Diversity and Performance in the Asset Management Industry

Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has released their new International Graduate Admissions Survey study. On today's show, Liz Clark sits down with Lauren Inouye and Hironao Okahana from CGS to talk about the study and the impacts of the political and economic impacts on international student enrollment in the United States.

The biggest takeaway this year? The second general cycle of decline in enrollment in international graduate enrollment. But some of the reasons may surprise you. Join us today to hear about the benchmarking around the data can help you make more educated decisions in your own enrollment efforts.

Lauren Inouye serves as Vice President for Public Policy and Government Affairs and Hironao Okahana Associate VP for Research and Policy Analysis at the Council of Graduate Affairs.

Links & Notes

• Council of Graduate Schools International Graduate Admissions

Colleen Campbell, Director, Postsecondary Education for Center for American Progress (CAP) joins NACUBO's Bryan Dickson to talk about the Department of Education's Federal Student Aid proposed payment vehicle and the myStudentAid app. The initiative is designed to improve function and compliance for colleges and universities and provide convenience for students and families, but CAP has some consumer advocacy concerns.

The new program will allow students to receive their federal student aid dollars directly from the federal government — and the details are important to understand.

Links & Notes

• myStudentAid at NASFAA

For over 40 years, NACUBO has conducted a study on institutional endowments designed to answer key questions in how these financial tools are used. Over the years, this has become the largest study of its kind, offering a comprehensive set of data for policy makers, parents, students, and the broader community in how their institutions are using endowed funds.

This week, NACUBO's Director of Research and Policy Analysis, Ken Redd, and Senior Director for Federal Affairs, Liz Clark, report findings in the 2018 report. This week on NACUBO In Brief, Ken and Liz break down the current state of endowments with key areas of focus for finance leaders in the coming year.

Links & Notes

• NACUBO-TIAA Study of Endowments