What’s Keeping CBOs Up at Night?

Colleges and universities are under increasing pressure to rethink costs, but many chief business officers say they lack the insight needed to make difficult decisions: Only 13 percent of CBOs say their institution understands per-student costs by program or activity very well, while relatively few institutions have undertaken major cost restructuring in recent years, finds the 16th annual Inside Higher Ed/Hanover Research Survey of College and University Chief Business Officers, out today (N=213). CBOs also identify academic programs, athletics, financial and discounting, and facilities as top sources of cost-revenue misalignment. Deferred maintenance remains widespread, with nearly half of CBOs reporting that their institution funds less than 10 percent of identified needs annually.

Personnel costs also remain one of the most significant financial pressures facing colleges and universities, with nearly a third of CBOs (31 percent) saying health-care and retirement benefits place a great deal of pressure on financial sustainability.

On artificial intelligence, more than half of CBOs say it’s helping them make more informed decisions in their own work (57 percent), but far fewer see clear institutional benefits in the form of improved efficiency or stronger student support. In other areas of innovation, serious merger talks remain rare, happening at 13 percent of institutions represented. Many more are exploring other forms of collaboration, including shared administrative functions and academic partnerships, however.

Download the full results here. Read more about the survey and how CBOs are increasingly eyeing structural change—beyond responding to one-off crises—here.

The independent 2026 Survey of College and University Chief Business Officers was made possible by support from TIAA and Strata Decision Technology.