University Costs Rise 1,000 Times Since 1810, Now Reach $30 Millions

The cost of running the University today has increased nearly 1,000 times since 1810, and ten times since 1915, according to an article by R. Keith Kane '22, and Dana Doten '29, in the current Alumni Bulletin.

Forty thousand dollars was enough to run the College in 1926, the year of the first Treasurer's report, but in 1920 the cost had risen to $4,000,000, and in 1950 had soared to $30,000,000. The reasons for this rise have been twofold-inflation and added educational services.

Three sources supply the money to meet these costs--income from endowments, student fees, and gifts for immediate use. In 1826 50 percent of the costs of operating the College was paid out of income from endowments, and even in 1920 endowment income accounted for roughly half the costs. After World War 1 it began to drop, slowly at first, but since 1945 very rapidly, so that today income from endowments defrays only 25 percent of the total cost.

Yet despite the decreasing percentage paid from endowments, the actual endowment of the University has increased by almost $170,000,000 since 1915.

With this decrease in endowment income in relation to total income, the student fees and gifts for immediate use have shared more of the University's expenses. Student fees for tuition, board, and room traditionally took the other half of the operational cost in the last century, and still account for over 40 percent of it today. The rest of the cost is made up by the annual gifts, and since the endowment income has fallen the University has relied increasingly on gifts. Now the gifts themselves total over 25 percent, where in the 19th century, they were practically nothing.

Modern Harvard is a university, however, and the University costs cannot be considered except in the various categories of the different schools. The schools are separate financial entities, and the terrific increase in cost over the last 35 years can be traced at least in part to the growth of these graduate schools. Sources of Harvard Income, 1930-1950   Endowment 1930 % 1950  Student Fees 1930 % 1950  All Other 1930 % 1950 Arts and Sciences (includes College)  36 33  54 50  10 17 Business School  13 7  63 55  24 38 Law School  21 20  73 74  6 6 Medical School  52 29  31 24  17 47