NACUBO In Brief

The Republican party's framework for tax reform appears to be moving quickly — and rather quietly — toward a bill. The framework itself is quite high-level at this point, but there are a few key areas that will absolutely impact higher ed institutions. According to Liz Clark, NACUBO's director of federal affairs, more detail is likely coming which should clear up some of the vagaries in the framew...

Consumers may have heard about Net Neutrality in recent weeks as Internet companies have made their positions clear across our favorite websites. But do you know how the fight for a fair and open Internet is poised to impact higher ed? Megan Schneider, Assistant Director of Federal Affairs for NACUBO, and Jarret Cummings, Director of Policy and Government Relations for EDUCAUSE, join us today to h...

NACUBO assistant directors of research and policy analysis Lesley McBain and Lindsay Wayt join us today to share the latest results from the  NACUBO 2016 Tuition Discounting Study , measuring the trends and strategies employed around tuition discounting across our member institutions. This week on NACUBO In Brief, Lesley and Lindsay offer valuable background on the report, and share their unique i...

Shared Services encompasses the web of possible partnerships between departments, divisions, and even across institutions that share resources to improve efficiency and decrease costs, and relieve pressure on tuition. For a small institution, streamlining processes and finding internal efficiencies is no longer enough. Forming shared services partnerships is a critical path to financial success ac...

It's early days in the new administration, but lawmakers have been all too public about their interests in legislation that could dramatically impact charitable giving. What will that mean to endowments, scholarships, and academic service? This week on NACUBO In Brief, Dickinson College's Dr. Brontè Jones and NACUBO Federal Affairs Director Liz Clark set the stage for what is sure to be a rigorous...

A Climate Action Plan documents an institution's greenhouse gas emissions and the plans they have to reduce them. In 2006, today's guest helped launch the effort to create a Climate Action Plan for University of Washington, a project that would ultimately take over three years, cataloging the massively complex infrastructure that emits greenhouse gasses across the institution. This week on NACUBO...

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 Res...

This period of transition between the outgoing Obama administration and the incoming Trump administration brings great uncertainty to finance offices across the higher ed landscape. Today on NACUBO In Brief, NACUBO assistant director for federal affairs Megan Schneider joins us to break down key incoming cabinet positions, House and Senate cabinet replacements, and broad policy implications that a...

2016 marks the third release of the National Profile of Higher Education Chief Business Officers in collaboration with The American Council on Education. Understanding CBO career trajectories and pathways, roles, responsibilities, salary levels, succession planning, and demographic information has become increasingly important in supporting our members and supporting institutions. This week on NAC...

Gary Margolis is a retired university police chief. Over his decades in campus public safety, he has watched as the boom in online activity and connections with social tools has opened new pathways for aggression between students. His role, and the role of campus public safety, has changed dramatically as a result. Today, Margolis serves as president and CEO of Social Sentinel. His company has bui...

The annual NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study (TDS) measures tuition discount rates and other indicators of institutional grant awards to freshmen and undergraduates attending four-year private, nonprofit (independent) colleges and universities. Hear the results, analysis and trends directly from the researchers who gathered the data, NACUBO's Ken Redd and Lesley McBain. For more information on the...

The demographic landscape is evolving, and in so doing, providing the richest opportunity that higher education has had in decades, according to futurist, researcher, and writer Bryan Alexander. These demographic trends, the aging of the student body, the demands of technology in and out of the classroom, all function to shake the worldview of those in a position to lead today's institutions. This...

Beginning with the heading, "The Key Attributes of an Effective Organization," Wendell Brase and his leadership team at University of California, Irvine, built a management and leadership model designed to provide the underlying foundation for operation across the institution. The result — measured and validated — is a set of 31 management and leadership variables that measure performance and guid...

Sustainability is a financial decision, according to Carleton College Vice President and Treasurer, Fred Rogers. The sustainability mindset has permeated the Carleton administration and academy, from daily activities to the college's development of a climate action plan, a part of the President's Climate Commitment and a blueprint for the College to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This week on...

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 Resea...

Managing university infrastructure is a critical responsibility for those in the role of CBO, but one shared by many groups across the institution. But what happens when you realize that infrastructure begins to lag the demands of the academy? This week, University of Washington Associate Vice President Ruth Johnston joins us to introduce TAP — Transforming Administration Program — a program desig...

Lawmakers are headed home for their holiday recess, but before they turned out the lights, they managed to pass the 2016 federal budget. This week on NACUBO In Brief, NACUBO Federal Affairs Director Liz Clark joins us to walk through the major changes that will directly impact business officers and institutions across the country. From federal student aid changes, funding for important programs an...

Dr. Audrey Bilger serves as professor of literature at Claremont McKenna College. This summer, she authored "It's Not Us versus Them," published in Business Officer magazine, in which she outlines the gap between faculty and administration in her attempt to answer a simple central question: How do faculty members think about the financial situation of our institutions? It turns out, as Dr. Bilger...

Two years ago, the NACUBO board authorized the Economic Models Project in an effort to address the issues facing higher education business models. Higher education continues to suffer in the strategic communications conversation in the media. From cost of education to endowment and fundraising, state participation to ever-evolving pedagogies and inflating program rosters, critics offer an unbalanc...

The last time FASB's reporting model changed for higher education and other non-profits was back in the 1990's. In the last 20 years however, much has changed in our industry. With those changes comes the next chapter in how we handle asset class restrictions, operating measurement, expense reporting and so much more. Today on NACUBO In Brief, NACUBO's own director of accounting policy, Sue Mendit...

Business officers who want to stay current with the changing payments market and payments security standards need a plan for how to get merchants and business centers up to date with the latest payment methods and security standards. The payments industry in the United States is migrating to EMV chip technology, replacing the magnetic-stripe bank cards and point-of-sale (POS) terminals that have b...

Universities are continually looking for ways to improve processes and reduce costs. Today, Lauralea Edwards of Washington State University joins us to share her experience helping to transform the institution by instituting change her constituents buy into. She uncovers the major obstacles they've addressed, from transitioning away from paper, to developing new technological systems that departme...

The Department of Education has defined new rules around cash management at colleges and universities, some developed as a result of concerns around agreements that a number of schools have with institutions that provide accounts to students and how they relate to disbursement of federal financial aid. Today on NACUBO In Brief, Anne Gross, NACUBO VP of regulatory affairs, and Joan Piscitello, trea...