Institutional Efficiency

Composite financial index (CFI)

The CFI is a measure of overall financial performance based on four core financial ratios, each representing a particular domain of financial operations: (1) the primary reserve ratio, indicating resource sufficiency; (2) the viability ratio as a gauge of debt management; (3) the return on net assets ratio to track financial asset performance; and (4) the net operating revenues ratio measuring operating results. These ratios are then standardized, weighted, and combined into a single index score, the CFI, to indicate the financial health of the institution. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) considers a total CFI of 1.1 or higher as indicative of good financial health. In 2024, CFI was restated for prior years according to the most recent guidance from HLC. CFI is available by individual UW universities only. The measure is endorsed by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and was developed by Prager, Sealy & Co.; KPMG; and BearingPoint.

core expenditures per degree

Core expenditures include spending on instruction, student services, academic support, and institutional support. Degrees include degrees conferred at all degree levels. Beginning in fiscal year 2020, university totals include the former UW Extension and UW Colleges. (Due to an IPEDS decision to exclude costs incurred under the UW-Colleges and UW-Extension administrative entities from their survey structure, associated expenditures are not reflected in fiscal year 2019 totals.) Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Note: beginning in fiscal year 2010, operation and maintenance expenses were distributed among other expenses and no longer reported as a separate category. In June 2024, the following values were updated to match IPEDS: FY22 at all universities except UW-Madison and UW-Stout, and FY20 and FY21 at UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout. Also, FY18 at UW-Madison was updated to reflect a revision to the data available in IPEDS.

Tuition fund balances

Tuition fund balances are reported by Universities of Wisconsin Administration to the Board of Regents. The Universities of Wisconsin total includes UW Administration and UW-wide funds. Balances are reported by five levels of commitment developed by the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau (Report 13-17, November 2013). The levels of commitment categorize the degree of flexibility campus officials, or others, may have in directing balances to be used for one purpose or another. For example, balances in certain funds, such as university housing, are generally restricted to being used for their original purpose. In contrast, balances accumulated from tuition payments may be used for the broad academic mission and general university operations that tuition payments typically fund. For tuition fund balances, auditors differentiated between earmarked funds, like those for contractual obligations, and funds allocated for a planned event or purchase, where their flexibility allowed for reallocation, should a higher priority develop. In developing the levels of commitment, the auditors placed high importance on the amount and type of documentation the institution could produce to describe the detail of the plan and how it was developed. The five levels of commitment are (1) Obligated, (2) Planned, (3) Designated, (4) Reserves, and (5) Undocumented.

Instructional margin ratio

The instructional margin ratio is a measure of overall financial health related to a university’s instructional mission. It compares the instructional revenue of a university to its instruction-related expenses. A ratio greater than 1.0 indicates revenue exceeded expenses, while a ratio of less than 1.0 indicates deficit spending.

Administrative expenditures as % of overall operating expenditures

Spending on administration is identified using the “institutional support” classification developed by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and is a standard mandated by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Administrative expenditures are shown as a proportion of total expenditures and deductions. Beginning in fiscal year 2020, university totals include the former UW Extension and UW Colleges. (Due to an IPEDS decision to exclude costs incurred under the UW-Colleges and UW-Extension administrative entities from their survey structure, associated expenditures are not reflected in fiscal year 2019 totals.) Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Note: beginning in fiscal year 2010, operation and maintenance expenses were distributed among other expenses and no longer reported as a separate category.

Tuition and fees as percent of family income

Published tuition and fees are for Wisconsin resident undergraduates enrolled full-time for both fall and spring semesters at UW universities. When more than one UW university is selected, published tuition and fees are weighted by full-time fall resident undergraduate enrollments. Peer and national tuition and fees are for public four-year institutions and are from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Peer institution tuition and fees may reflect average tuition rates at institutions with cohort-based tuition and/or different tuition rates for different programs of study. National tuition and fees are weighted by total undergraduate enrollments. State and national median family income is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for the calendar year that includes the fall semester, except in 2020-21, when 2019 family income was used because 2020 data was not available due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wisconsin is the state used for UW universities; peer institutions use the state where the institution is located. Neither tuition and fees nor state median family income is inflation-adjusted.

UW Tuition Peers xlsx