Historically Black institutions play a unique role in providing educational opportunities to African Americans and other traditionally disadvantaged students. Endowed funds at these institutions get very little attention, but they play a vital role in financial aid, research, and other important expenditures. NACUBO and Commonfund’s 2025 Endowment Study Webinar Series explores findings from the 2024 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE) and shares valuable insights and benchmarking data that focus on the unique roles and challenges facing these institutions as they leverage endowment funds to support their mission and students.

The Institutional Viability Metric (IVM) is a strong predictor of financial risk that incorporates measures of financial position, market demand, and student outcomes to create a dynamic and timely view of an institution’s health. During this session, the presenters will speak to why it’s important to conduct this kind of assessment, when it is most valuable, and how it differs from and intersects with the annual budgeting process. They will also discuss changes they’re making to resource allocation because of this assessment work and the impact on their institutions.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe how the IVM is calculated and how it can be used to assess institutional health. 
  
• Utilize a step-by-step approach to assessing current state resource allocation and identifying opportunities for reallocation. 
• Recognize challenges that can arise in conducting resource analysis and ways to mitigate these challenges. 

NOTE: This session is a live reprisal of a session previously offered during the NACUBO 2025 Annual Meeting.

Maintaining an institutional workforce consumes a large share of budgets and attention. As institutions navigate recent policy shifts and funding disruptions, data and analytics can provide insights into labor costs and inform strategies to support a sustainable, healthy workforce. In this TADA conversation you’ll hear how an organized, collaborative data and analytics strategy can inform labor planning and budgeting decisions. You’ll have the opportunity to share insights and challenges with peers and begin shaping practical ideas to take back to your institution. 

This session is part of the 2025 Talk About Data and Analytics Series. Attendees will register separately for each session.

Sessions are not recorded.

This TADA session is presented by: 

This event is provided for general informational purposes only. The views expressed in the event are those of the event sponsor and/or individual speakers and not NACUBO. NACUBO does not necessarily endorse any information, views, products, or services discussed in the event.

Join Dan Greenstein for a NACUBO Consulting webinar demonstrating data-driven insights into the financial health of universities and colleges. Based on an analysis of nearly 1,500 institutions across 14 years of IPEDS data and more than three dozen key indicators, this new research identifies clear, observable risk patterns that reliably predict an institution’s financial trajectory. These insights function as an early-warning system – arming leaders to understand vulnerabilities and take action before it’s too late.

Explore the evolving higher education landscape, focusing on significant trends and challenges that are driving mergers and acquisitions (M&A), strategic partnerships, and joint ventures within the sector. The presenters will discuss the rising costs of education, explore the increasing number of campus closures, examine the growing enrollment of non-traditional and adult learners, and share effective approaches to address institutional sustainability. You’ll also hear the impact of digital transformation, the benefits of shared services, and the role of strategic partnerships in enhancing college and university resilience.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze key trends and challenges in higher education.
• Outline and implement effective M&A strategies.
• Ensure that acquisitions and partnerships promote equitable access to education and support diverse student populations.

NOTE: This session is a live reprisal of a session previously offered during the NACUBO 2025 Annual Meeting.

Colleges and universities are facing rising levels of past-due student accounts, with many still managing pre-collections in-house while contending with limited staff and outdated systems. This session will present new benchmarking data gathered from hundreds of institutional financial statements to establish clear, comparable metrics for assessing the health of student receivables at your campus. Attendees will learn how their institution’s A/R position stacks up against peers by size, type, and region, and leave with a framework for monitoring exposure and managing allowances more effectively.

What to Expect:

• Review of Key Metrics: Learn about Student A/R Exposure (Student A/R as a share of net tuition revenue) and Share of Allowances (allowances for doubtful accounts as a share of A/R), two benchmarks for evaluating portfolio health
• Sector-wide Findings: See how student receivables are trending across higher education, including breakdowns by institution size, sector, and tuition revenue bands.
• Impact of Operational Challenges: Explore how staffing shortages, technology gaps, and policy shifts (such as transcript bans) are shaping student receivables outcomes.
• Actionable Takeaways: Gain practical insights into how institutions can strengthen receivables management, reduce allowances, and improve resolution of past-due accounts through modern, student-first approaches.

Presented By:

This webinar and associated materials are provided for general informational purposes only. The views expressed in the webinar are those of the sponsor and/or individual speakers and not NACUBO. NACUBO does not necessarily endorse any information, views, products, or services discussed in the webinar.

Recording

This webinar will be recorded. Registrants will receive an email when the recording is available.

This session explores the establishment and effective administration of a successful institutional loan program in light of the legislative phase-out of GradPLUS and new limits on Parent PLUS. Participants will gain an understanding of the strategic, financial, and operational considerations required to design and sustain a program.

Key Topics and Learning Objectives

• Student Communication: Building clear, ethical, and proactive communication strategies to enhance borrower understanding.
• Program Design & Legal Structure: Selecting the right legal framework and design for your institution.
• Financing Options: Exploring funding mechanisms such as internal capital, endowment funds, external lines of credit, participation with third-party lenders, accessing the capital markets—and the benefits and risks of each approach.
• Underwriting & Origination: Establishing eligibility criteria, credit assessment standards, and transparent application processes.
• Servicing & Risk Management: Managing repayment, delinquency, and default risk while supporting students and alumni.
• Partnerships & Compliance: Evaluating potential banking, origination, and servicing partners, maintaining regulatory compliance, and ensuring institutional accountability.

Amidst the surge of headlines and market chatter, it can be challenging to cut through the noise and grasp what’s really happening in private markets — and what it means specifically for higher education portfolios. 

Mercer’s Matt Vokes, Cori Trautvetter, and Texas Hemmaplardh will explore the investment asset classes that are currently capturing the attention of colleges and universities. Together, they will analyze the key challenges, emerging opportunities, and strategic insights across alternative asset classes such as private equity, private debt, and real estate.

Presented By: 

This event is provided for general informational purposes only. The views expressed in the event are those of the event sponsor and/or individual speakers and not NACUBO. NACUBO does not necessarily endorse any information, views, products, or services discussed in the event.

January 28-30, 2026

CPE Available: Estimated 10 Credits in Accounting and Accounting Governmental

This program is a fantastic introduction for new professionals moving into higher education accounting as well as those individuals seeking to learn more about nonprofit and governmental accounting. This accounting and financial reporting workshop covers net asset classes, restrictions, endowments, investment pool unitization, grants and contributions, capital assets, debt, revenue recognition, expense reporting, and operating activities.

Attendees receive a thorough explanation of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) guidance relevant to higher education institutions. There is emphasis placed on preparing and understanding the financial statements as well as all external higher education reporting requirements. Concurrent operating and campus process panels allow faculty and attendees to focus on the public and not-for-profit/private sectors of higher education.