CONCORD, NH – USNH is proud to report it is the most fiscally efficient public four-year system in the Northeast and more efficient than the state’s private institutions, according to analysis based on data from the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).
Being the most fiscally efficient means that USNH’s cost per student is lower than any public system in the Northeast, which includes Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
Administrative expense per student across the Northeast ranged from $2,826 (USNH, NH’s public four-year system) to $5,138 (Connecticut’s public four-year institutions). USNH expense per student is 20 percent lower than that of NH’s four-year private nonprofit institutions.
“We have always been committed to keeping our administrative costs as low as possible. Over the past few years, we have focused on finding efficiencies, like switching over to self-insurance and changing our computer purchasing contract after a competitive bidding process,” stated Chancellor Todd Leach. “Our goal is always to provide the best quality education at the lowest cost possible to New Hampshire students. This new data shows that our efforts are working.”
Institutional support (or administrative expense) includes expenses for executive management, fiscal operations, general administration, public relations, fundraising and development, and administrative information technology. Expenses include those of the institutions and system office.
Analysis compares administrative expense per full-time-equivalent (FTE) student and uses a three-year average to smooth any single year fluctuations that are inconsistent with a system’s overall spending trend. Analysis is based on 2015 to 2017 data (2017 being the most recent year of publicly available national data).
About USNH
USNH enrolls 33,000 students and consists of four public institutions: Granite State College, Keene State College, Plymouth State University and the University of New Hampshire. USNH strives to ensure the availability of appropriate and accessible higher educational opportunities throughout New Hampshire, and address critical state workforce needs. A 29-member Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the University System.
