Read the Curry College NEASC 2012 Self-Study Report.

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• Increased Cash and Investments, net of any outstanding balance under the working
capital line of credit, by $70 million.
• Increased net Fixed Assets by $64 million. The principal additions were an academic
building, a student center, and two residence halls.
• Increased Debt, net of the related Debt Service Reserve Fund, by $50 million.
• Increased net Fund Balances by $79 million.
• Increased traditional student enrollments by 583 students, or 47%, from 1,233 to 1,816
(as measured in full‐time paying equivalent students). Residential students accounted
for most of the increase; putting Curry at 94% of its residential capacity.
These results demonstrate the success of the College’s strategy of incurring debt responsibly to
further its core mission by simultaneously increasing enrollments and generating institutional
resources. The College’s debt service burden was 4.8% in 2001, and 7.5% in 2010 (considered
moderately high by Standard & Poor’s); it decreased to 7.2% in 2011 and is budgeted at 7.0% in
FY12. The College’s debt service coverage ratio was 1.64 times in 2001, 3.49 times in 2010, 3.93
times in 2011, and is budgeted at 1.61 times in 2012. (The 2012 budget does not include any
endowment income and includes a 3% expense contingency.) The College has not incurred debt
for five years, but has budgeted in 2012 for a $3 million capital expenditures financing for
academic and faculty space improvements.
The College has both budgeted and realized a surplus of revenues over expense each year since
its last full evaluation in 2002. The composition of the College’s surpluses of revenue over
expenses has changed in recent years, with increasing endowment earnings offsetting a
negative trend in income from operations. The most significant factor affecting operations has
been an increasing discount rate, from 26.7% in 2008 to an anticipated 32.8% in 2012, during a
period (FY2008 to the present) when traditional student enrollments have not increased. This
higher level of institutional aid reflects the change in the economy, changing demographics
with students of increasing need, and the intensely competitive marketplace with increasing
non‐need‐based financial aid awards. (Historical schedules of traditional student enrollments
and costs of attendance are provided in the workroom.)
An additional factor that impacts income from the College’s core operations is the fringe
benefit rate which, as a percentage of total faculty and staff salaries, was 24.6% in 2001, 31.0%
in 2008 when traditional enrollments peaked, and expected to be 32.1% in 2012.
The College’s five‐year financial institutional aid model shows the discount rate increasing to
approximately 37% by 2015. (This model is provided in the workroom along with the College’s
multi‐year financial model.). Although the discount rate is increasing, it is currently moderate to
low by industry standards, thereby providing some flexibility in responding to the intense
competition for students as well as supporting potential retention and persistence initiatives.
Curry has been successful in managing its balance sheet to minimize the need for borrowing. In
2001, the College had student accounts receivable of $841,000 and a bad debts provision of
$275,000 on student revenue of $29.2 million. Over the past ten years, the College has
Curry College 2012 Self-Study
Standard Nine