Financial Plan - Cornell University Division of Budget & Planning

Operating plan – highlightsIntroductionCornell’s 2008-09 operating plan is illustrated belowand described beginning on page 6. Three primarysources fund this plan: user fees, government support,and private donations.• User fees are paid mainly by students for tuition,fees, room, board, and textbooks; by patients formedical services; by guests of the Statler Hotel;and by attendees of athletic events.• Government support includes state and federal appropriationsas well as almost all sponsored programs(grant and contract) activity.• Private donations take the form of operating plangifts as well as distributions (payouts) from endowmentsand other investments.The proportion of user fees in Cornell’s operating planhas grown over the past ten years, from 54 percent ofthe total to 59.3 percent. Donative support has alsogrown slightly, from 15.3 percent to 15.9 percent,while government support has declined as a percentageof the total, dropping from 30.6 percent to 24.7percent of all operating revenues due to a series of cutsin state appropriations for the contract colleges.Seventy percent of these resources are used to fund thedirect costs of the colleges, research centers, and otheracademic programs. The remaining 30 percent underwritesfinancial aid, student services, administrationand support, and the physical plant. Over the past tenyears, college and academic programs have declinedfrom 73 percent of the total to 70.1 percent whilefinancial aid has increased from 5.7 percent to 6.9percent. Student support has also declined, from 5.1percent to 4.1 percent, and physical plant costs havedropped from 8.3 percent to 6.5 percent. Administrativeand support costs have grown substantially, from7.9 percent of the total to 12.4 percent. A significantfactor in the administrative and support growth hasbeen the creation of the Weill Cornell Medical Collegein Qatar, which did not exist ten years ago. RemovingQatar from the analysis shows that administrative andsupport costs have grown, but at a lower rate, expandingfrom 7.9 percent to 9.9 percent of total costs overthis period. The growth in administrative and supportcosts unrelated to Qatar was due primarily to investmentsin administrative systems, fundraising, communications,investment management, and regulatorycompliance, among other factors. Cornell expects tooffset a significant portion of these costs with additionalrevenues derived from these activities.2008-09 UniversityOperating PlanStudent Services4.1%Financial Aid6.9%Administrative& Support12.4%Physical Plant6.5%Clinical/HospitalServiceRevenues19.9%Investments10.7%Gifts5.2%State & FederalAppropriations6.4%Sales & Servicesof Enterprises5%RevenuesOther Sources10.6%SponsoredPrograms18.3%$2.921 billionTuition &Fees23.9%Expenditures$2.815 billionColleges &Academic Programs70.1%5