Standard 9: Financial Resources

Dartmouth's overall financial condition is exceptionally strong, the result of many years of generous support and careful stewardship. It has an AAA credit rating, which is indicative of its overall strength financially and operationally. Dartmouth has a very manageable level of debt and a record of effective endowment management and prudent decision-making about the mix of current spending and reinvestment for the future. It also has an extremely impressive fundraising record and a budget that is honestly and sensibly balanced. These facts speak well of Dartmouth's overall management over many years, and they demonstrate that the College is positioned extremely well for the future.

Dartmouth's most important financial challenge is identified by the College in its self-study, which reads: "the pressure for new or reallocated resources seems greater than ever, almost certainly because the pace at which aspirations are expected to be met is increasing. There has never been more building underway at the College and there is pressure for more. Desire for new programs and added support for our many constituencies surface regularly. Dartmouth has been very disciplined in its financial management, but the rate at which new initiatives are accumulating could jeopardize this discipline if the College is not careful" (Self-Study, page 72). This situation is somewhat different from the situation Dartmouth has faced in recent years, and much more challenging. It requires careful and formal planning, including the establishment of priorities and the careful identification and analysis of options.

We are pleased that the Administration is working with a consultant to develop better and more formal planning tools. However, Dartmouth also needs to develop decision-making processes that allow the College to relate its short-term resource allocation decisions to its long-term educational and scholarly mission. This means that Dartmouth must intensify its already considerable efforts to solicit input from faculty members and students, and to explain the outcomes and results to the community (see Standard Two: Planning). Expanding Dartmouth's planning process will require an increased investment of time on everyone's part, including staff to support the process. It is quite possible that there will be offsetting gains in terms of improved decision making and stronger support for the decisions that are made. We encourage all members of the Dartmouth community to talk about these possibilities.