How Duke meets the cost

Many sources of income for Duke-including patient fees and housing charges-are devoted to related expenses. Included in this group is the majority of Duke's endowment income. Endowed funds have been established to support research, faculty, and a variety of other needs. At the start of the 2005-06 academic year, endowment assets dedicated to financial aid totaled about $740 million or roughly one-fifth of the university's overall endowment.

Other sources of income-including tuition and gifts to the Duke Annual Fund-provide Duke with more flexible capital. These unrestricted dollars support the provost's and deans' operating budgets and are used, in large part, to fund the academic programs that make Duke such an exciting place.

In 2005-06, income from financial aid endowments, coupled with gifts to the Iron Dukes and other resources dedicated to student aid, covered only about a quarter of Duke's $143 million financial aid commitment. The balance had to be funded from Duke's limited pool of operating funds. As the breakdown below illustrates, only the university's small merit aid program has sufficient endowment. While endowments for undergraduate merit scholarships covered about 90 percent of their cost, less than 20 percent of Duke's spending on need-based aid came from financial aid endowment

Next: Now is the time to build financial aid endowment