College Associations Call Endowment Proposals Too ‘Simplistic’

Four major higher-education associations told a Senate panel Wednesday that mandating endowment payouts “may sound appealing” but that such “simplistic policy proposals” don’t take other complexities into account, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

The American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges criticized testimony at a Senate hearing last month that recommended that colleges with endowments of at least $1-billion spend at least 5 percent of the money each year, as private foundations are mandated to do.

Last month’s testimony, the associations stated, “mischaracterized how college and university endowments function and their uses and benefits.”