Is gender equity closer to reality in K-12 independent schools than in higher education? According to NBOA research, about 60 percent of independent school top business and operational leaders are women. But new res
There's Mom and Dad and the grandparents, there are college savings plans, and now there's GoFundMe. In looking for other ways to foot the college tuition bill, more than 130,000 students turned to the social fundraising
Potentially coming soon to a campus near you: "listicles." A growing list of colleges and universities are using BuzzFeed to market to prospective students, experimenting with the internet giant's use of n
What employee retirement plan records must your school retain, and for how long? ERISA requires employers to keep some records for a six-year period, but it may make sense to keep certain records even longer, whether to
Boards and Trustees
Governance
How's the gender composition on your school's board of trustees? If women hold more than one in five of those seats, you're ahead of most large U.S. companies not only in gender parity, but possibly also i
Looking to hire and retain in-demand employees? Independent schools have always stood out with their collegial environments and built-in attributes like free use of dining and fitness facilities, but the bar continues to
Members of the higher education community worldwide have condemned Donald Trumps executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Within days of the order, immigration
"Freedom to develop and tweak curriculum, genuine gratitude from parents... and collegiality of highly educated faculty" are among the factors millennial teachers and staff appreciate in independent schools, ac
What impact could Betsy DeVos, the newly confirmed secretary of education, have on independent preK-12 schools? While few specifics about matters such as academic standards emerged in contentious Senate hearings over her
Charitable giving to U.S. colleges and universities reached $41 billion in the fiscal year ending in June 2016, according to the Council for Aid to Education. That's an increase of just 1.7 percent above the 2015 to
As public services disappear, nonprofits may fill the space more capably, argues Tivoni Devor, manager of partnerships and outreach at the Urban Affairs Coalition. To take on new roles, nonprofits need to be nimble,
Longstanding recess practices, like holding it after lunch and withholding it as punishment, may soon be going by the wayside. The Society of Health and Physical Educators has released new guidelines and 19 evidence-base
The big data analysis that sports teams and healthcare companies have long used to predict outcomes (the kind made famous in Moneyball) is taking hold on college campuses. Companies have developed models that will p
In issuing an executive order blocking entrance to the United States by people from seven nations, President Trump leaves many independent schools unclear about the status of students and staff from the affecte
Accounting services will cost taxpayers 6.1 percent more this year, up from the 2016 increase of 5.3 percent, according to 30,000 firms surveyed by the National Society of Accountants. Tax preparation fees are expec
With an average return of -1.9 percent net of fees, higher-education endowments in fiscal 2016 had their worst year since the 2008-2009 recession. At the same time, college and university endowment spending increased&nbs
Crisis Management
International
The "Trump effect" on international students intensified over the weekend after the new president issued an executive order halting immigration from the Muslim-majority nations of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan,
South Korea is the fourth-largest "sending market" of international students to independent schools in the U.S., Canada and Australia. Amid shifting demand patterns, a growing number of South Korean students are see
The first important IRS deadline is almost upon independent schools. A few important IRS deadlines for 2017:
Independent schools, like other workplaces, are increasingly reliant on a strong relationship between the CFO and CIO. While the two may sometimes feel they speak a different language, they'll work together more suc
