Pressure keeps rising on large college and university endowments, even as early returns show their investment performance falling. Last week, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized universities, alleging they do not use enough of their tax-free endowments to assist students with tuition, and then dangling the idea of killing federal tax breaks for wealthy institutions that don’t lower costs sufficiently. Trump included the idea in a speech coming just nine days after the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee held a hearing on tax-exempt college and university endowments. It also came as U.S. Representative Tom Reed, a New York Republican, continues to push legislation that would penalize institutions with large endowments that do not spend enough on student aid.

September 30, 2016 ・ From Inside Higher Ed