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Regents approve wide-ranging endowment policy revisions, including differentiated match levels and reporting requirements
Summary
After a two‑year NACUBO review, staff recommended and the Board approved revisions to endowment matching and investment policies — including STEM chair floors, caps on annual submissions, adjusted match ratios, standardized audits, and expanded reporting — with most changes effective July 1, 2025.
The Board of Regents approved comprehensive revisions to endowment program and investment policies on the recommendation of staff, following a two‑year review that included an external NACUBO evaluation and stakeholder outreach.
What changed: staff proposed four categories of revisions — program‑based (chairs and professorships), general policy clarifications, investment policy updates, and new staff outreach activities. Major elements include a differential floor for base endowment levels (higher floors for high‑cost STEM chairs), a cap on campus submissions (two chairs or 5% of a campus’s chairs per year), and an updated approach to guaranteed match ratios (retaining 60/40 for certain thresholds but otherwise using an 80/20 ratio). The board will guarantee two matched slots per campus, and staff will allow institutions to seek higher matches than the minimum.
Reporting and compliance: the board asked for increased, standardized reporting on endowment use and compliance (including required AUP/audits). Staff proposed a standardized agreed‑upon‑procedures audit format and a limited audit relief (three years off) for campuses that show no findings. Investment policy caps and composition limits will be studied by a new committee including regents, treasury, campuses and outside investment managers.
Donor control and conversions: staff emphasized donor intent remains paramount and said conversions (for example, UNO's request to repurpose the Schlitter chair into four professorships) require donor permission and board ratification; UNO's requested Schlitter conversion was approved in committee with donor consent.
Board action: committee and board members discussed outreach to HBCUs and community colleges; staff said they had multiple listening sessions, a mailing list of about 250 stakeholders, webinar series and participation from roughly 20 campuses during the process. The board approved the staff recommendations by voice vote. Most policy changes were set to be effective July 1, 2025, with a national search waiver provision effective immediately.
Implications: the revisions aim to align Louisiana matching policies with national norms for high‑cost disciplines, provide clearer guidance on allowable spending, and give campuses greater clarity and flexibility while maintaining donor protections.
