NACUBO Research Projects

In addition to annual survey collections, NACUBO routinely collects data on a broad range of business topics.

Current Projects
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: Recommendations for Higher Education Follow-Up Survey; NACUBO Benchmarking for Student Financial Services

Recently Completed Projects (2004-Present):
Student Financial Services Survey; Public Flagship Institutions Survey; NACUBO/AGB Survey on College Cost Oversight;  Hazardous Waste Survey; Survey on Responses to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; Internal Financial Reporting Survey; and Institutional Performance Measurement Survey.

Past Projects (Prior to 2004):
1098-T Reporting Survey; Tuition Payments by Credit Card Survey; Cost of College Study; IT Funding Survey; and Comparative Financial Statistics.

Current Projects:

• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: Recommendations for Higher Education Follow-Up Survey (December 2007):  In 2004, NACUBO conducted a survey around NACUBO Advisory Report 2003-3, The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: Recommendations for Higher Education. Three years later, issues related to governance, ethics, audit, and internal controls in higher education continue to receive public and media attention.  As a result, NACUBO and the Association of College and University Auditors (ACUA) partnered on a follow-up survey.  Data collection is complete and analysis is currently underway.
  
  
• NACUBO Benchmarking for Student Financial Services
  A committee of student financial services professionals from NACUBO member institutions has developed a draft survey that collects data on 12 performance measures, such as the percentage of student accounts in a collections process; number of third-party bills per FTE staff assigned to bills, and student financial services operating budgets per FTE student.  Those institutions that participate in the full survey, slated for rollout in late fall 2008, will be able to benchmark the efficiency of their institution's student financial services with a self-selected peer institution group using the NACUBO Benchmarking Tool. 
  

Recently Completed Projects (2004-Present):

• Student Financial Services Survey (2007): NACUBO surveyed student financial service professionals at member institutions on the types of financial services provided to students; accepted methods of payment for tuition and fees; number of third-party payors; and level of integration of student financial services.  A report--Designed to Serve: 2007 NACUBO Student Financial Services Survey--highlights the major findings of the survey.  
  
  
• Valuation of Land and Other Real Estate Held as Investments 
  In January 2007, NACUBO surveyed its member public institutions on their practices of valuing land within their investment portfolios.  A brief summary of the findings are included in the above bulletin.  Since the survey, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has issued an Exposure Draft that would require permanent and term endowment funds to report land and other real estate held as investments at fair market value.  In response to this draft, NACUBO submitted a comment letter to the GASB on behalf of its members.
  
  
• Public Flagship Institutions Survey (2007): NACUBO's Research Universities Council asked all 102 member public research-extensive universities to complete this survey in order to explore the level of autonomy public research institutions have in academic, fiscal, and administrative areas, as well as how many institutions had legislation approved to increase their fiscal and or managerial autonomy.  A report —“The Evolving Relationship: Public Institutions and Their States”—highlights the major findings of the survey. 
  
  
  
• NACUBO/AGB Survey on College Cost Oversight (2007): NACUBO partnered with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) to conduct a survey about best practices in working with boards on financial issues, common performance indicators, areas where trustee education is needed, and other ways to improve institutional success in the area of college costs.  As part of the AGB Cost Project, a paper discussing the results is available as is a summary of the survey data.
  
  
• Hazardous Waste Survey (2005):  NACUBO surveyed members about the hazardous waste management function at their institutions as part of our ongoing efforts to inform the Environmental Protection Agency about the difficulties of applying some waste management rules to academic labs. Completed surveys were submitted by 395 institutions.  Full descriptive results of the survey are available.
  
  
• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: Recommendations for Higher Education (2004):  NACUBO and the Accounting Principles Council designed a member survey around NACUBO Advisory Report 2003-3, The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: Recommendations for Higher Education, to gauge practices currently in place and learn about future plans on campuses. Completed surveys were submitted by 353 institutions.  Full descriptive results of the survey are available.  An article based on the survey results, "On the Transparency Track," was published in Business Officer  (May 2005).
  
  
• Internal Financial Reporting Survey (2004): NACUBO collected data from controllers regarding the increasing pressure on the business office to provide management and stakeholders with financial management information. The purpose of the survey was to assess current industry practices with regards to internal financial reporting. Completed surveys were submitted by 662 institutions.  Survey results are available.
  
  
• Institutional Performance Measurement Survey (2004): NACUBO collected data from members regarding the use and reporting of performance measures by colleges and universities.  The survey asked about the use of internal and external performance reporting, the opinions on and use of several categories of measures, how closely what is being reported correlates to what should be reported, and opinions and self-reported achievement of the GASB suggested criteria for performance reporting and related issues.  Selected results are available.
  
  
• 1098-T Reporting Survey (2004): The survey collected information on participants’ experiences with the implementation of 1098-T financial reporting. The results of the NACUBO 1098-T survey indicate that the first year of the IRS reporting requirements created challenges for responding institutions.  A full analysis of the survey results is available. Further information about 1098-T reporting is available on the Education Tax Credits Resource Page.
  
  

Past Projects (Prior to 2004):

• Tuition Payment by Credit Card Survey (2003):  In July and August 2003, NACUBO collected data from its members regarding their acceptance of credit card payments for tuition and fees. Nearly 500 institutions completed the survey, providing information regarding all aspects of accepting credit cards for tuition and fees on college and university campuses.  A report detailing the survey results is available.  An article based on the survey results, "Paying with Plastic," was published in Business Officer (April 2004).
  
  
• IT Funding Survey (2003):  NACUBO and the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) conducted a study to determine how IT funding priorities are established and implemented on college and university campuses. The report, Information Technology Funding in Higher Education, explores this critical issue with both CIO’s and CBO’s to provide an institutional assessment of IT budgets, funding, and investment decision-making practices.
  
  
• Cost of College Study (2002): The NACUBO Cost of College Project developed a common methodology for use by any college or university to calculate the average annual cost of providing a single year of undergraduate education. Use of the method assists institutional representatives in displaying data about the major expenditures it makes during the year and explaining the institution incurs in the context of its mission and undergraduate education programs.  This study was completed in February 2002. 
  
  
• Comparative Financial Statistics (1998):  The last collection period was for fiscal year 1998 data. The Comparative Financial Statistics study provides institutions with an opportunity to conduct peer analyses useful to institutional decision-making. It draws primarily from data collected by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).