NACUBO records almost all live online events and makes the recordings available for up to one year after the original event date. After registering, you will have access to the recording for one year. CPE credit is not available for recordings at this time.
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
This session provides an overview of the results of the 2025 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments, the most comprehensive analysis of endowment investment returns, asset allocations, and governance policies and practices at U.S. higher education institutions and affiliated foundations.
The 2025 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments is expected to show that college and university endowments posted overall positive returns in fiscal year 2025. However, returns varied greatly by endowment size, institution type, and other dimensions. In addition, the prospect for continuing changes to higher education policy at the federal level, along with growing needs to increase spending from endowments to support student financial aid and other important purposes, will likely bring even more pressure to postsecondary institutions. The returns also come as campus leaders are facing rising inflation and increasing calls for controlling college costs.
College and university chief investment officers and other panelists will look back at the investment returns, asset allocations, and other factors that influenced performance in FY25. Panelists will address the challenges of the financial market conditions they are facing in 2026 and beyond.
After this webinar, you will be able to—
Compare your institution’s FY25 investment results against national averages by endowment size and institution type
Recognize differences in returns, spending rates, and spending policies by endowment sizes and asset class
Appraise the market and policy challenges in FY26 and beyond
Supported By:
This webinar is part of the 2026 Endowment Leadership Series. You may register for this webinar on its own, or register for the series.
The Bursar Fundamentals program is perfect for those new to the business office, student financial services, or the higher education workplace, or those who want a refresher on the core responsibilities of the student accounts area. Attendees will gain an understanding of the topics bursars need to be aware of, such as financial aid, refunds, processing payments, and collections. An emphasis will be placed on customer service, including ways to communicate with students and financial literacy education. Join our experienced faculty members for this concentrated learning experience. The program will conclude with a conversation on the trends student accounts staff should have their eyes on for the future.
As federal loan programs undergo major changes, higher ed institutions are reassessing how to meet evolving student financial needs. With a growing interest in institutional loan programs, school administrators face new questions around compliance, servicing, and long-term sustainability. In this shifting environment, understanding your options and responsibilities has never been more critical.
Join ECSI student loan experts for the latest industry research influencing institutional lending. We’ll share best practices for navigating the complexities of institutional loan programs, including compliance considerations and servicing strategies. Whether you’re currently offering institutional loans or considering launching a program, this session will offer critical insights for effective program design and management.
Learning Outcomes
After this webinar, you will be able to…
Understand the industry trends and upcoming changes that may impact institutional loan strategies
Explore best practices for designing and administering compliant institutional loan programs
Gain insights into servicing considerations and technology solutions that support long-term institutional loan management
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.
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.
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.
NACUBO Consulting offers free, 30-minute webinars throughout the year. Registration for this bundle provides access to recordings of past and future 2026 events, in one convenient location.
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.
Recent federal budget agreements and emerging regulatory changes could be consequential for student and institutions of higher education. New policies enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and from the White House are reshaping the student aid and research landscape. The session will explore the legislative and regulatory shifts, the advocacy environment for higher education, and help attendees understand the evolving political dynamics influencing higher education priorities.
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the impact of the current political environment on higher education
Identify key areas of advocacy for higher education institutions in 2026
Consider strategies for responding to the impact of changing regulations
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.
NACUBO Consulting offers free, 30-minute webinars throughout the year. Registration for this bundle provides access to recordings of past and future 2025 events, in one convenient location.
Complying with IRS Form 1098-T reporting requirements has long been a controversial and difficult process for many institutions. This webinar reviews the importance of information reporting, recommendations for completing the form, best practices for collecting taxpayer identification numbers, and guidance on responding to IRS penalty notices.
Experts review the definitions and examples of qualified tuition and related expenses, as well as scholarships and grants. Additionally, they address reporting exemptions, payments across multiple tax years, and best practices concerning communications with students and families.
The information covered is helpful to beginners and serves as a refresher to campus staff with experience preparing 1098-T forms.
Learning Objectives
After this webinar, you will be able to—
• Address common challenges and pitfalls • Describe the requirements needed to complete the Form 1098-T • Plan ways to streamline your institution’s reporting and communications processes
Much media and other attention is paid to endowments and foundations that have more than $1 billion in assets. However, more than half the institutions that participated in the 2024 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE) have assets under $250 million, and one quarter have funds of $100 million or less. Endowed funds at smaller institutions contribute to financial aid, research, and other important functions on campus. NACUBO and Commonfund’s 2025 Endowment Study Webinar Series explores findings from the 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.
Speakers:
Mark Slayton, Assistant Vice President of University Advancement Finance, Operations and Technology, Oswego University Foundation, Inc.
Allison Kaspriske, Managing Director, Commonfund Institute
Ken Redd, Senior Director, Research and Policy Analysis, NACUBO
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. While details for this month’s session are still being finalized, you can expect an informative update on the key issues shaping the higher education landscape.
Register to watch recordings of general sessions from the online 2025 Planning, Budgeting, and Analytics Forum. This program provides content to help business officers and their teams use data and allocate resources–including financial, facilities and infrastructure, and human resources—to support their institutions and students.
Community colleges educate more than 4 million students—more than one quarter of all undergraduates in the U.S. Yet, the vital role that community college endowments and foundations play in supporting these students is often ignored. 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.
Speakers:
Gretchen Wood, Oswego University Foundation, Inc., Monroe Community College
Allison Kaspriske, Managing Director, Commonfund Institute
Ken Redd, Senior Director, Research and Policy Analysis, NACUBO
Join us for a dynamic multi-session webinar series that explores the intersection of strategic finance and student success. Designed for higher education professionals, this series examines practical strategies and tools to align financial practices with student-centered outcomes. Each session will spotlight Student Success Hub resources, equipping attendees with actionable insights for implementation. Featuring real-world perspectives from institutional leaders, this series is essential for those seeking to enhance financial sustainability while driving student success.
Today’s colleges and universities face a dramatically shifting risk environment—marked by political volatility, regulatory upheaval, climate crises, cyber threats, and enrollment uncertainty. In this timely and thought-provoking session, attendees will explore the top emerging risks impacting higher education and learn how to proactively protect institutional finances, operations, and reputation.
This session will present global and national risk data, and actionable strategies tailored for higher education leaders. Topics will include the impact of federal executive actions on institutional funding, the evolving insurance and markets landscape, crisis communication missteps, and the critical importance of risk management frameworks.
Participants will gain insights into how business officers and campus leaders can embed resilience across their institutions—through scenario planning, data-driven decision-making, risk financing strategies, and cross-functional collaboration.
As student expectations and communication preferences evolve, colleges and universities must rethink how they engage with students about outstanding balances. With the implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Regulation F, the landscape of financial communications has shifted toward more digital, consumer-friendly approaches.
This webinar will explore how institutions can apply lessons from the broader financial services industry to improve outreach and enhance student engagement while also supporting financial responsibility. Attorney Chad Echols will discuss the role of digital communication, data-informed strategies, and evolving consumer behavior in shaping effective student account practices. If your institution still relies on outdated outreach methods, this session will provide practical ideas for modernizing your approach in ways that align with today’s students.
In a rapidly evolving policy landscape, NACUBO policy experts will provide a timely update on federal funding negotiations, executive orders, and regulatory developments affecting higher education. Hear how recent federal actions—particularly the FY26 budget proposal and efforts in Congress to advance a comprehensive tax package—may reshape student aid, institutional operations, research funding, and the tax treatment of students, employees, and institutions.
Proposals under consideration include significant cuts to campus-based aid programs, elimination of subsidized and Grad PLUS loans, new risk-sharing requirements, and potential changes to tax benefits and reporting obligations. As Congress moves forward with appropriations and tax legislation, the NACUBO team will break down what business officers need to know and offer actionable insights to help institutions prepare for financial and operational impacts in the months ahead.
In this presentation, attendees will gain insights into WKU's transition to a responsibility center management (RCM) budget model, the methodologies employed by the finance team in tuition revenue analysis and fee structuring, and the establishment of forward-looking financial plans. Presenters will share their processes and lessons learned along the way, as well as how these changes have enabled them to make data-driven decisions institution-wide to drive strong financial performance.
Given the current complex and ever-changing political landscape, colleges and universities cannot afford to sit back and wait to see what happens—they must proactively prepare. Huron and campus chief business officers will team up for a lively discussion that addresses governmental directives and threats. Brett Dalton, principal, and Rick Rohrbach, managing director, Huron, will present a framework designed to help institutions understand financial exposures and provide strategies to prioritize response efforts with agility as a key desired outcome.
Also during the webinar, Lee Smith, managing director, Huron, will facilitate a discussion with Nichol Luoma, executive vice chancellor for administration and chief administrative officer, Washington University, and Dr. Dan Layzell, vice president for finance and operations and treasurer, University of Alabama. The three will share insights and recommendations for navigating today’s emerging challenges. You will learn the specific steps their institutions have taken as well as practical advice and examples that you can use as you work to tackle these same issues.
Watch online sessions from the 2025 Higher Education Accounting Forum and get the latest information on trends and best practices in financial accounting and reporting, managerial analysis, and leadership issues for all types of institutions. This event for advanced-level accounting and finance professionals serves as both an annual update and future outlook where participants hear discussions on timely subjects impacting the higher education community.
Join NACUBO's policy experts for a timely update on critical federal policy and regulatory issues impacting higher education. With a continuing resolution (CR) now in effect through September 30, and congressional action on budget resolutions and reconciliation underway, institutional leaders face ongoing funding uncertainty, new regulatory requirements, and shifts in federal priorities.
In this 60-minute webinar on April 9, NACUBO's policy team will discuss recent developments in appropriations, budget processes, executive actions, and regulatory updates. Participants will gain actionable insights to navigate these evolving challenges effectively.
Attendees will:
Understand the implications of the continuing resolution through September 30 and upcoming budget resolutions for higher education funding.
Analyze recent executive actions impacting colleges and universities.
Review key regulatory updates from federal agencies.
Learn advocacy strategies tailored for campus business officers to influence legislation on Capitol Hill.
Presenters:
Liz Clark, Vice President, Policy and Research, NACUBO
Bryan Dickson, Director, Student Financial Services and Educational Programs, NACUBO
Ashley N. Jackson, Director, Government Affairs, NACUBO
In a rapidly evolving policy landscape, NACUBO’s experts will provide a timely update on federal funding negotiations, executive orders, and regulatory developments affecting higher education. As the March 14 appropriations deadline nears, uncertainty looms and institutional oversight questions abound as the Trump administration continues issuing executive orders and regulatory guidance affecting college operations. Business officers must be ready to navigate budget impacts, evolving regulations, and shifting federal priorities.
This 60-minute webinar will break down key updates and provide actionable insights to help institutions prepare. Join NACUBO’s policy team for an in-depth discussion on these pressing issues.
