A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has found job markets in big cities to be the most attractive to recent college graduates. The study focused on examining job matching, that is, a job that matches closely to the students’ earned degree. Large cities have denser, more diverse job markets that increase both the likelihood and quality of a match from college education to entering the job market. While matching a recent grad to a job that fits their degree relies on many factors, the diversity and specialization of a large city can increase the chances. Read More.

A recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) shows a three-year trend of decreased enrollment and increased attrition across all sectors of higher education. As NACUBO reports, Spring 2013 enrollment was down 2.3 percent from the previous year for all sectors studied, an increase from the 1.8 percent drop in the Fall 2012 enrollment. Both full-time and part-time students have falling enrollments across all sectors from 2012 to 2013 (-2.7 percent and -1.6 percent, respectively). These losses are not exclusive to just 2012-2013. Two different age groups in the study – those traditionally aged 24 and under and those over 24. Read More.

An eye-opening report from McKinsey & Company, “Voice of the Graduate” , paints a concerning picture of recent college graduates. The view of a higher education degree as valuable and necessary comes at odds with the realities facing recent graduates. Among the study’s findings: 53% of all graduates would choose a different major or different school 6 times as many graduates are working in retail or hospitality than desired to Liberal arts majors fare worse in every measure (lower pay, higher debt, less happily employed, more likely to wish they had chosen differently) The report goes on to call for a deeper link between on-campus learning and. Read More.

While few new standards have appeared from the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), leaders in higher education should continue to monitor developments. As Business Officer Magazine reports, FASB and GASB have reemerged to issue a variety of statements and proposals for standards alterations. Standards coming into effect in the coming year from FASB include: One standard that impacts higher education institutions—Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2012-05, on classifying sale proceeds related to certain donated assets in the statement of cash flows. Two proposals that could affect colleges and universities (credit losses, and liquidity and interest rate risk).. Read More.

The recent NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE) showed flat-to-negative growth for 2012 endowments. This decline is particularly painful in the face of 2011′s double-digit growth. In a recent post, NACUBO examines the impact of this downturn, both short- and long-term, and whether a change in long-term investment policy may be in order based on risk and volatility. Despite the recovery, many alternative asset classes still trail the overall market. Hedge funds, for instance, rose just 5.5 percent overall during calendar year 2012, according to CNN/Money, while the S&P 500 Index increased 13.4 percent. Kraus believes these results demonstrate that institutions still have time to shift some of their assets to areas that. Read More.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will not include student health insurance in the single-risk pool created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As NACUBO reports, the premium rate for student health plans can be based on community rates by school. HHS had suggested that student health insurance be included in the general individual market risk pool in proposed rules published on November 26. NACUBO joined the American Council on Education and several other associations in comments objecting to combining student health plans with all other individual coverage in each state to set premium levels. (Student health plans are not. Read More.