Need-Blind Policy Retained

The Grinnell College Board of Trustees voted in October 2015 to retain the policies of need-blind admission and meeting 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for domestic students, subject to annual monitoring and reassessment in 2018.

The school’s operating budget currently relies too heavily on the annual payout from its $1.8 billion endowment, according to President Raynard S. Kington. Increases in philanthropy and net student revenue are seen as long-term solutions to endowment pressure.

The board’s affirmation of Grinnell’s need-blind policy is significant in the context of national concern about rising college costs. Given Grinnell’s endowment and its position as a leader in affordability among national liberal arts schools, a decision to abandon need-blind admission could have been interpreted as a troubling signal about the long-term viability of such policies.

“We remain committed to our long-standing policies, and we are confident in our ability to ensure financial sustainability for the College,” Kington says. “We will continue to experiment with various strategies for improving net student revenue and philanthropic gifts until we reach our revenue goals.”

The College’s long-term revenue goal, Kington says, is 45 percent from endowment returns, 45 percent from net student revenue, and 10 percent from philanthropy and other revenue. Current percentages stand at 55 percent, 39 percent, and six percent, respectively.

Philanthropy has become increasingly important in reducing reliance on the endowment. Gifts to Grinnell College rose again in fiscal year 2015, with alumni giving up 8.8 percent over 2014. Total receipts for fiscal year 2015 reached $14.1 million, up 26.6 percent from the previous year.

Joe Bagnoli, vice president of enrollment and dean of admission and financial aid, says, “In order to meet the ambitious objective of generating enough student revenue to meet 45 percent of the operating budget, Grinnell will develop strategies for pricing, branding, marketing, enrollment management, and tuition discounting.”

The College also works to control costs through a campus-wide budgeting process, guiding the strategic allocation of resources.

The October vote fulfilled a 2013 board resolution instructing the College to ensure its financially sustainable future while upholding the values of financial accessibility and academic excellence. That resolution called for the board to review the College’s progress and reassess need-blind admission for domestic students in the fall of 2015.