<p>@ Kil</p>
<p>First, pay scale relies on self reported incomes. Secondly, it depends exactly on who those 1000 people are they are using to calculate median incomes. If they are using more business and engineering majors than A and S alums, then off course their median salaries will be higher. A and S alums however make up a huge portion of alums. Thirdly, they also didn’t take into account student lloan debt, interest payment on that debt, and counted it against ROI. According to USNWR, the average student loan debt for a VU grad is quite sizable (30k+). Also,that’s just the average and not median, which I bet is even higher.</p>
<p>If we are going to look at numbers then let’s look at VU’s form 990 over the past several years from 01-08 (09 and 10 not available). [Foundation</a> Center - 990 Finder](<a href=“http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/esearch.php]Foundation”>http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/esearch.php). (type in villanova)</p>
<p>From 01 to the beginning of 08, VU increased its total assets value by roughly 1.5x. That’s an increase of over 10% per year. How exactly does this happen? I doubt somehow VU managed to find amazing individuals that are better than everyone else to manage their portfolios. I bet it was because an increasing amount of tuition moneywas being diverted to investing and capital construction. If you did deeper on the form 990s you can see VU increased its investment in the stock market by $100 million over those 7 years. Thats an increase of roughly 6% per year, nothing outrageous yes, but if you look VU got torched on the market by the end of 2008. I bet it was because they were taking increasing risks on the stock market by betting on derivatives and in thhings like hedge funds.</p>
<p>Now I don’t have a problem with universities trying to increase their value as long as students see the benefit. However if you look at the 990s VU helped 3700 students with tuition in 2001 but in 2008 helped 3350 students. Yes aid went from $39 million to 71 million, but after you factor in the increses in tuition, the level of aid has nearly remained the same and given to less students.</p>
<p>I for one won’t give alumni contributions so the school can gamble on the stock market, capital construction projects, and other riskier investments. I thought it was a school not an investment firm. </p>
<p>I remember listening to the presentation claiming that college grads earn $1million more over their lifetime (which the collegeboard doesn’t even use now because it has been proven false over and over again)and that an education at VU would be worth the significant debt. Who do you think we’re going to be ****ed off at when those promises never come to fruition and we’re sinking in 20 years ofloans that were used to pay the massive tuitions–are large portion of which went to gambling on the stock market,building construction ,and to increase the university’s total worth rather than towards increasing the quality of overall education and financial aid to students.</p>