In an evolving financial landscape where institutions find themselves with little financial flexibility, how can advancement teams collaborate with business officers and legal counsel to maximize the use of restricted resources? Panelists will share practical approaches for both loosening fund restrictions and leveraging restricted and internally committed balances to address financial needs. They will also cover effective strategies to engage stakeholders in deploying underutilized funds, developing contingency plans, and lessening the financial impact of recent federal directives. This session will conclude with a discussion on innovative uses of AI that can help ensure fund deployment aligns with donor intent and enhances institutional financial resilience.

After this webinar, you will be able to—

• Identify the root causes for underutilization of restricted funds
• Apply best practices for managing restricted funds to ensure compliance, optimize financial resources, and build long-term institutional resilience
• Determine how AI tools can assist the efficient deployment of restricted funds

CPE Available: 1 Credit in Finance

This webinar is part of the 2026 Endowment Leadership Series. You can register for this webinar on its own or register for the series.

February 17-March 12, 2026

In conjunction with the release of the highly influential 2025 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments, NACUBO will again offer a robust, online series diving deep into key endowment topics. Over the course of nine webinars, thought leaders from leading investment companies and higher education will share their expertise on current trends and challenging topics. This series is designed to be all-encompassing endowment education—from the basics to advanced, nuanced management questions. Participants will leave with insights into how to effectively manage their institution’s portfolio—and ideas for where to go next.

Peruse the schedule for details about each webinar. Sessions are available à la carte, or at a discount if you register for the full series.

CPE Available: 9 Credits in Specialized Knowledge, Finance, and Information Technology

CPE Available: 1 Credit in Finance

This session will bring together concepts addressed throughout the Endowment Leadership Series and offer a deeper content dive. Expected topics include spending, borrowing from endowment funds, large withdrawals from board designated funds functioning as endowments, approaches for honoring donor wishes that are no longer applicable, financial statement disclosures and other endowment communications, governance, and administrative and fund tracking considerations.

After this webinar, you will be able to—

• Explain how governance impacts strategic and operational objectives
• Contrast true endowment versus quasi endowment management
• Develop communication techniques for explaining the value of your endowment
• Understand legal parameters that affect the use of endowment funds

This webinar is part of the 2026 Endowment Leadership Series. You can register for this webinar on its own or register for the series.

Join NACUBO for an engaging webinar on the benefits and practical uses of the IPEDS Peer Benchmarking Dashboards—one of the toolkits within the Student Success Hub. Based on today’s evolving higher education landscape, this session will highlight how institutions can use the dashboards to compare performance with peer and aspirational institutions, identify trends, and support data-informed decision-making. Speakers will share perspectives on how the toolkit can help institutions navigate current challenges, strengthen institutional effectiveness, and advance student success through meaningful peer-based insights.

April 6, 2026

Join NACUBO’s policy and advocacy team for our monthly Washington Update webinar, where we share timely insights on the latest federal legislative, regulatory, and policy developments impacting higher education business offices. You can expect an informative update on the key issues shaping the higher education landscape.

Register now to reserve your spot and stay informed.

Many institutions view Perkins liquidation as the inevitable end point of the program. But deciding when and how to liquidate, or whether to pursue assignment or continued servicing, requires more than a compliance checklist. Moving too quickly can introduce unexpected administrative, operational, and financial burdens, particularly if institutions are not fully prepared from a documentation or staffing perspective. 

This webinar focuses on the decision process, not the technical steps. Panelists will walk through the key considerations before declaring intent to liquidate, including portfolio characteristics, servicing and staffing capacity, documentation readiness, timelines, and financial statement implications, and financial aid office coordination. Participants will gain a clearer framework for sequencing decisions and aligning stakeholders across accounting and student financial services. Attendees should consider having a copy of their institution’s FISAP on hand to follow along with the discussion. 

April 13-15, 2026

CPE Available: Up to six (6) credits

This event for advanced-level accounting and finance professionals offers the latest information on trends and best practices in financial accounting and reporting, managerial analysis, and leadership issues for all types of institutions.

The program features plenary speakers as well as smaller sessions to address special topics.

Roundtable exchanges—broken out by managerial and technical topics of interest to all types of institutions—allow participants to share ideas.

This forum serves as both an annual update and future outlook where participants hear and engage in discussions on timely subjects impacting the higher education community.

Looking to attend onsite in Boston? Learn more here: 2026 Higher Education Accounting Forum.

With stopouts impacting both students and the institutions they invest in at greater numbers than ever, campuses are being forced to revisit and evaluate how they plan for, react to, and assist students when faced with the need to take time away from their studies. This session will explore the various reasons why students are being forced to consider temporary leaves as well strategies to help support students impacted or considering a potential stop out. Historically, a stopout or withdrawal was seen as a roadblock to success however with the right strategies and tools in place, campuses can redefine this experience into one of positivity and successful outcomes.

After this webinar, you will be able to–

1. Understand the various reasons impacting student enrollment and what drives stopouts, including a quantitative breakdown.
2. Be able to identify and list solutions that campuses are initiating to support students considering a stopout–before, during, and after.
3. Learn what peer campuses have implemented to better assist students who incur a stopout as part of their enrollment management strategies.

This Partner Webinar is created by GradGuard and offered free for members thanks to their generous support