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August 29, 2008

Lawmakers to Hold a Discussion about University Endowment Spending

Two key lawmakers — Sen. Charles E. Grassley and Rep. Peter Welch — announced this week that they will assemble university administrators, education officials, and financial analysts to discuss the relationship between endowments and college costs, reports The Financial Times.

This meeting marks the latest step taken to support measures that would require that colleges spend more of their endowments to help needy students.

To compel institutions to spend more of their money and to give more needy students access to financial aid, Mr. Grassley has suggested that universities distribute at least 5 percent of their endowments annually, the same rule that now governs private foundations.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported this week that Congress has asked the speakers to meet on September 8 to discuss issues such as what an endowment is and whether mandatory payouts make sense.

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Friday August 29, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

1. Have any studies been done to determine how much of their endowments schools are currently spending? My guess would be it is already around 5%, except for those with smaller or newer endowments that are still being grown. With all the coverage on this topic, nobody ever mentions the current standards. Just because their aren’t laws in place doesn’t mean there aren’t standards of practice.

   — Ana    Aug 29, 02:57 PM    #

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