NACUBO Data Source Reference

The NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE) is the most comprehensive annual survey of U.S. college and university endowments, covering ~650 institutions representing over $870 billion in assets. The Education Data Portal mirrors a limited subset (7 market-value columns); full investment, allocation, spending, and governance data requires direct NACUBO access.

CRITICAL: Portal Mirror Scope

The Education Data Portal mirrors contain only 7 columns of endowment data, focused on market values. Full investment data (returns, asset allocations, spending rates, governance) requires access to the complete NACUBO study.

Portal columns: year, unitid, inst_name_nacubo, fips, endow_total, endow_per_fte, endow_chg_mktval

Value Encoding:

Variable	Portal Format	Notes
fips	Integer (6 = California)	Not string abbreviations ("CA")
year	Integer (2022)	Fiscal year ending year
endow_total	Float64 (USD)	Full dollar amount, NOT thousands
endow_chg_mktval	Float64 (decimal fraction)	0.059 = 5.9% change, NOT 5.9
Missing data	null	NOT -1, -2, -3

See ./references/variable-definitions.md for complete encoding tables.

What is NACUBO?

The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) is a nonprofit professional organization representing chief administrative and financial officers at higher education institutions.

• •Collector: NACUBO with Commonfund Institute (currently); TIAA partnership FY2018-2022
• •Coverage: ~650 participating colleges, universities, and affiliated foundations (voluntary)
• •Scope: Investment returns, asset allocations, spending rates, governance practices, market values
• •Frequency: Annual survey (September-December collection, February publication)
• •Available years: 1974-present (50+ years of study); Portal mirror covers 2012-2022 (11 years)
• •Primary identifier: unitid (IPEDS 6-digit institution ID)
• •FY2024 total: 658 participants representing $873.7 billion in assets

Reference File Structure

Decision Trees

What endowment data do I need?

Endowment research topic?
├─ Market values / fund size
│   ├─ Individual institution values → NCSE public tables
│   ├─ Size distribution → ./references/variable-definitions.md
│   └─ Historical trends → ./references/endowment-metrics.md
├─ Investment returns
│   ├─ One-year returns → ./references/endowment-metrics.md
│   ├─ Multi-year returns (3/5/10/25-year) → ./references/endowment-metrics.md
│   └─ Returns by size/type → ./references/variable-definitions.md
├─ Asset allocation
│   ├─ Traditional vs alternative → ./references/asset-allocation.md
│   ├─ Private equity/VC allocation → ./references/asset-allocation.md
│   └─ ESG/responsible investing → ./references/asset-allocation.md
├─ Spending and distributions
│   ├─ Spending rates → ./references/endowment-metrics.md
│   ├─ Spending purposes (aid, faculty, etc.) → ./references/endowment-metrics.md
│   └─ Budget contribution → ./references/endowment-metrics.md
└─ Data quality concerns
    ├─ Coverage/participation → ./references/data-quality.md
    ├─ Self-reported data issues → ./references/data-quality.md
    └─ Comparability across years → ./references/data-quality.md

Which data source should I use?

Comparing NACUBO vs IPEDS for endowment data?
├─ Need ALL institutions → Use IPEDS (mandatory reporting)
├─ Need investment returns → Use NACUBO (IPEDS doesn't have)
├─ Need asset allocations → Use NACUBO (IPEDS doesn't have)
├─ Need spending rates → Use NACUBO (IPEDS doesn't have)
├─ Need just market values → Either works
│   ├─ More institutions → IPEDS
│   └─ More detail → NACUBO
└─ Need governance/policies → Use NACUBO (IPEDS doesn't have)

Understanding study name changes

Which study by year?
├─ FY2023-present → NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE)
├─ FY2018-FY2022 → NACUBO-TIAA Study of Endowments (NTSE)
├─ FY2009-FY2017 → NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE)
└─ Before FY2009 → NACUBO Endowment Study (NES)

Quick Reference: NACUBO Data

Portal Coverage Note: The Education Data Portal mirrors contain only 7 columns focused on endowment market values. Full investment data (returns, asset allocations, spending rates, governance) requires access to the complete NACUBO study. See "Full Report Access" section below.

Portal Mirror Columns (Verified)

These are the only columns available in the Portal mirror (nacubo/colleges_nacubo_endow):

Important format notes:

• •endow_total is in full USD (e.g., 1.05e9 = $1.05 billion), not in thousands
• •endow_chg_mktval is a decimal fraction, not a percentage (multiply by 100 for display)
• •Missing data uses null, not coded values (-1/-2/-3)

# Correct: convert decimal fraction to percentage for display
df = df.with_columns(
    (pl.col("endow_chg_mktval") * 100).alias("pct_change")
)

# Correct: endow_total is already in full USD
df.filter(pl.col("endow_total") > 1_000_000_000)  # Endowments over $1B

Key Metrics Available

Key Identifiers

Endowment Size Categories

Institution Types

Typical Return Ranges (Historical)

Missing Data Codes

Note: Unlike other Education Data Portal sources (CCD, CRDC, etc.), NACUBO data uses null values for missing data rather than coded values like -1, -2, -3. NACUBO is a voluntary survey with simpler missing data patterns; the Portal preserves null rather than applying coded values.

# Correct: Check for null
df.filter(pl.col("endow_per_fte").is_null())

# Incorrect: Checking for -1/-2/-3 (these don't exist in NACUBO)
# df.filter(pl.col("endow_per_fte") == -1)  # Won't find anything

Data Access

Datasets for NACUBO are available via the mirror system. See datasets-reference.md for canonical paths, mirrors.yaml for mirror configuration, and fetch-patterns.md for fetch code patterns.

Codebooks are .xls files co-located with data in all mirrors. Use get_codebook_url() from fetch-patterns.md to construct download URLs:

url = get_codebook_url("nacubo/codebook_colleges_nacubo_endowments")

Truth Hierarchy: When interpreting variable values, apply this priority:

1. •Actual data file (what you observe in the parquet/CSV) -- this IS the truth
2. •Live codebook (.xls in mirror) -- authoritative documentation, may lag
3. •This skill documentation -- convenient summary, may drift from codebook

If this documentation contradicts the codebook, trust the codebook. If the codebook contradicts observed data, trust the data and investigate.

Public NACUBO Tables

Free tables available at: https://www.nacubo.org/Research/2024/Public-NCSE-Tables

Includes:

• •Participating institutions by market value
• •Average/median returns by size and type
• •Asset allocation summaries
• •Spending rate summaries

Full Report Access

• •Participants: Free access
• •NACUBO Members: $250
• •Non-members: $1,500
• •Academic researchers: Contact Commonfund Institute

Common Pitfalls

Key Caveats

Common Use Cases

Related Data Sources

Topic Index