Friday, April 15, 2016

Rising college tuition prompts congressional scrutiny - Benjamin Wermund, Houston Chronicle

Asking private universities to spend more of their massive endowments for operating expenses - as some in Congress might be tempted to do - is shortsighted and could be "financially dangerous" to some of the nation's most prestigious colleges, Rice University President David Leebron said Monday. Congressional lawmakers in recent weeks have raised questions over why some of the nation's wealthiest colleges, including Rice, continue to increase tuition despite having billions of dollars set aside. Rice's endowment has grown rapidly, ballooning to more than $5.5 billion from $4.8 billion in only three years. Despite that, Rice officials last month announced they would raise tuition by more than $1,600 per year in the fall. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Rising-college-tuition-prompts-congressional-7227979.php