美国商学院遭遇募资难

Although leading US business schools appear to have weathered the recession, there are real question marks about the sustainability of less prestigious US institutions, particularly those that are state-funded.

美国顶尖商学院似乎经受住了此次衰退的影响，但名气不那么大的美国商学院的持续发展能力却存在切实的疑问，特别是那些由各州资助的商学院。

Most leading business schools saw the value of their endowment funds fall sharply during the stock market decline in 2008. Among US schools that have featured in the Financial Times Global MBA rankings since 2008*, endowment funds – savings held in perpetuity which are invested to gain returns – fell by an average of 24 per cent between 2008 and 2010.

2008年股市下滑期间，多数顶尖商学院的捐赠基金价值都大幅缩水。2008年以来进入英国《金融时报》全球MBA排行榜的美国商学院*，其捐赠基金（永久性持有的储蓄，这些储蓄被用于投资以获得收益）的价值在2008年至2010年间平均缩水了24%。

For wealthy schools that depend upon endowment returns to cover a large share of their spending, this has come as a shock.

对那些依赖捐赠基金收益来维持很大一部分开销的富有学院来说，这算得上是一个冲击。

“There was certainly a trauma among the top schools – especially the private ones – when 30 per cent or so of our endowments were suddenly lost, says Paul Danos, dean of the private Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. “It gives you pause for thought when you lose almost a quarter of your revenue.

“如果捐赠基金突然损失了30%左右，那么顶尖商学院——特别是那些私立的——无疑会受到重创。私立的达特茅斯学院塔克商学院(Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College)的院长保罗·达诺斯(Paul Danos)表示，“当你失去了近四分之一的收入时，你不得不停下来思考一下。

Although fund values have since rebounded to pre-crisis levels, the impact is still being keenly felt by many business schools.

尽管捐赠基金的价值后来回升至危机前的水平，但对很多商学院来说，现在仍能深切感受到这件事的影响。

Alison Davis-Blake, dean of the public University of Michigan Ross School, explains that this is because each year schools draw a percentage of their endowment fund’s average market value over a set period – seven years in the case of Ross. This reduces the volatility of returns year-on-year.

公立的密歇根大学罗斯商学院(University of Michigan Ross School)的院长艾莉森·戴维斯-布雷克(Alison Davis-Blake)解释道，之所以这么说，是因为商学院每年都会从捐赠基金中提取部分资金，这些资金相当于捐赠基金在某段设定期限内的平均市值的一定比例——就罗斯商学院的情况而言，这段期限为7年。这种做法降低了收益的同比涨落。

The Tepper School at Carnegie Mellon University continues to face this challenge. “In terms of funding developments, this is the toughest year for us, says Bob Dammon, the dean.

卡内基梅隆大学泰珀商学院(Tepper School at Carnegie Mellon University)就仍面临这一挑战。该学院院长鲍勃·戴蒙(Bob Dammon)表示：“就募资情况而言，今年是我们最困难的一年。

Philanthropy, the main source of endowment capital, has also declined. “People were in shell-shock after the crash, says Judy Olian, dean of the UCLA Anderson School, “[donations] didn’t dry up, but people held back until confidence returned.

捐赠资本的主要来源——慈善资金也出现下滑。“危机过后，人们心有余悸。加州大学洛杉矶分校安德森商学院(UCLA Anderson School)院长朱迪·奥利安(Judy Olian）表示，“（捐款）并没有枯竭，但在信心恢复之前，人们还是会有所犹豫。

However, following a lean period at the height of the recession, many top schools are again reporting high levels of fundraising. At both Tuck and the University of Virginia’s Darden School, 2011/12 represented a record year, with Darden receiving gifts that were 17 per cent higher than in any previous year. Last year, Stanford Graduate School of Business received a gift of $150m, the largest in its history.

然而，在衰退最严重时那段募资低迷期过后，很多顶尖商学院正再次报出较高的募资规模。在塔克商学院和弗吉尼亚大学(University of Virginia)达顿商学院(Darden school of business)，2011-12学年是募资规模创纪录的一年，达顿商学院收受的捐款较此前的纪录高出17%。去年，斯坦福大学商学院(Stanford Graduate School of Business)收受了一笔1.50亿美元的捐款，这是该学院有史以来收受的最大一笔捐款。

Strong fundraising at leading schools – particularly private institutions – combined with reserves, has supported operations through the downturn. The Darden Foundation, for example, which manages the school’s endowed funds, increased its endowment draw to maintain the school’s activities.

顶尖商学院、尤其是私立商学院出色的募资结果，再加上它们自身的资金储备，在整个经济低迷时期支撑了它们的日常运营。例如，负责管理达顿商学院捐赠基金的达顿基金会(Darden Foundation)提高了基金的提取额，以保证学院各项活动的开展。

“Without question, we would not have otherwise been able to avoid faculty lay-offs, says Trip Davis, president of the foundation.

该基金会总裁特里普·戴维斯(Trip Davis)表示：“毫无疑问，不这么做的话，我们就避免不了要解聘教员。

Among Financial Times-ranked schools, the endowments at public institutions average only 40 per cent of those at their private counterparts. While wealthy state schools, such as Darden and Ross, which receive negligible government contributions, have been little affected by state-level cuts, the impact has been significant among the second-tier state schools.

在跻身英国《金融时报》MBA排行榜的商学院中，公立商学院的捐赠基金规模平均只有私立商学院的40%。尽管达顿和罗斯等富有的州立商学院几乎没有受到州一级支出削减的影响（它们接受的政府资助少得可以忽略不计），但二线州立商学院受到的影响却是巨大的。

“We have had a big hit in terms of state funding, says Larry Pulley, dean of the College of William and Mary’s Mason School. The recent cuts are an acceleration of a long-term decline in government funding, he adds, which has fallen from 40 per cent of the school’s operating budget in the 1980s to about 10 per cent today.

威廉玛丽学院梅森商学院(College of William and Mary Mason School)院长拉里·普利(Larry Pulley)表示：“在政府资助方面，我们受到了巨大影响。他补充称，最近的减支意味着政府资助的长期下滑开始加速。政府资助占梅森商学院运营预算的比例已从上世纪80年代的40%下滑到现在的10%左右。

“If you look at the great demands on state budgets ... it’s hard to believe that this will turn around.

“如果你看看各州预算面临的巨大需求……就很难相信这一趋势会发生逆转。

John Fernandes, president of AACSB International, the accreditation body in the US, anticipates that many state schools face serious adjustments to balance their books. “Schools are leaving faculty positions unfilled and eliminating programmes that are not delivering a positive return ... Often now I hear about faculty-to-student ratios rising.

美国认证机构“国际精英商学院协会(AACSB International)主席约翰·费尔南德斯(John Fernandes)预测，很多州立商学院将迎来重大调整，以求平衡自身账簿。“商学院不去填补教员岗位的空缺，而且还在砍掉没能带来正回报的项目……现在我经常听到师生比不断下降的消息。

Cost-cutting measures at the administrative level – including rationalisation, sharing services and centralising procurement within universities – have been widely employed. “In the boom period of philanthropy, government support and student demand, universities haven’t needed to be efficient in their management, says John Nelson, managing director of Moody’s public finance group.

在管理层面削减成本的措施——包括在大学内进行合理化改造、共享服务和集中采购——已得到广泛采用。穆迪(Moody's)公共金融集团董事总经理约翰·纳尔逊(John Nelson)表示：“在慈善捐款、政府资助和学生需求旺盛的时期，大学在管理方面不需要做到那么高效。

“Responding to the crisis, there was a lot of low-hanging fruit, [for schools to reduce costs], but this only gets you so far ... reforms will have to be more structural.

“在应对本次危机时，（商学院要想降低成本）有很多可轻而易举实施的措施，但它们只能让你支撑到现在……接下来的改革必须更多地从结构上着手。

Faced with declining revenue streams, most schools have increased fees significantly over the past few years. Among FT-ranked schools, private institutions increased their full-time MBA tuition fees by an average of 22 per cent in the four years between the 2007/08 and 2011/12 academic years. In the same period, state schools increased MBA fees for instate students – who are charged less – by an average of 53 per cent. Out-of-state fees have risen by 36 per cent.

面对收入不断下滑的局面，多数商学院在过去几年里大幅提高了学费。在跻身英国《金融时报》MBA排行榜的学院中，私立商学院的全日制MBA学费在2007-08学年至2011-12学年的4年间平均上涨了22%。同期，州立商学院将州内MBA学生（他们的学费较低）的学费平均提高了53%。州外学生的学费则涨了36%。

“This is something that we have needed to do as state support has been drying up, says Prof Pulley.

普利教授表示：“随着政府资助日趋枯竭，我们不得不这样做。

“In some cases, fee increases were a matter of catch-up, says Hugh Courtney, dean of Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business. “There was room for manoeuvre at many state institutions.

“就某些例子而言，学费上涨只是一种‘找补’。西北大学(Northeastern University) D’Amore-McKim商学院(D’Amore-McKim School of Business)院长休·考特尼(Hugh Courtney)表示，“很多州立商学院当时存在涨价的空间。

But there is broad consensus that any underpricing has now been rectified and that tuition fees cannot continue to increase at the same rate. “There’s very little ability to raise prices with such flat demand [for MBAs], notes Prof Dammon.

不过，人们的普遍共识是，学费定价较低的现象现已得到纠正，不可能再以上面所说的那种速度上涨。戴蒙指出：“鉴于MBA面临的需求很平淡，学费上涨的空间非常校

“It’s basic economics says Anand Anandalingam, dean of the University of Maryland’s Smith School. “Most state schools need to reassess their fee increases because the market simply will not sustain it.

“这是基本的经济学道理。美国马里兰大学(University of Maryland)史密斯商学院(Smith School)院长阿南德·阿南达令格姆(Anand Anandalingam)表示，“大多数州立商学院都需要对其学费上涨进行重新评估，因为市场对此根本形不成支持。

At leading institutions the market for MBAs remains robust, however, with international demand ensuring they can command premium prices.

然而，在顶尖商学院，MBA的市场依然稳健，国际需求确保了它们能够收取较高的学费。

“Given the global brand of the leading schools and the quality of their programmes, pricing will retain a limited elasticity, says Mr Fernandes. “The top schools are ... riding the crest of international demand, whereas lesser schools are dependent on regional demand, which is pretty stagnant, says Prof Danos.

“鉴于顶尖商学院的全球品牌及其项目质量，学费的定价将保持有限的灵活性。费尔南德斯表示。“顶尖商学院……仰仗的是强劲的国际需求，而知名度较小的商学院则仰仗于地区需求，地区需求现在相当不景气，达诺斯教授表示。

. . .

……

This structural problem faced by second-tier schools is compounded by inflation in teaching costs driven by competition for leading professors.

对知名教授的争夺推升了教学成本，加剧了二线商学院面临的上述结构性问题。

“If you want to compete at the top level – and we do – you end up paying what the market dictates, says Prof Olian.

奥利安表示：“如果你想与其他顶尖商学院展开竞争——我们就有这种想法——那么你付出的成本最终会与市场的要求相一致。

Retention is a further issue for schools. Prof Dammon admits that he has lost academics to schools offering salaries that he was unable to match. His priority is to retain key senior professors to nurture younger teaching staff who form the school’s backbone.

留住人才是商学院面临的又一个问题。戴蒙教授承认，他手下的教师流失到其他商学院，那些商学院开出的薪水是他无法提供的。他的优先任务是留住重要的资深教授、以培养更年轻的教员，他们是这所学院的骨干。

“We can’t pay these super salaries for big names ... so we have to do things differently.

“我们无法为知名教授开出超高的薪水……因此我们必须采取别的方式。

Without the wealth of their better endowed peers, second-tier schools – public and private – will be increasingly challenged to keep pace.

由于手中的财富比不上那些受捐额更高的同行，二线商学院——无论是公立的还是私立的——要想不掉队将面临越来越大的挑战。

“It’s not like they’re going out of business, says Prof Danos, “but they are facing a long-term squeeze.

“这也不是说它们要干不下去了，达诺斯教授表示，“不过，它们显然面临着长期的资金紧张。

And, as the number of lower-cost alternatives to full-time study grows, particularly in online programmes which in turn threatens demand for two-year programmes, Prof Olian believes that only elite institutions with brand value will continue to command a premium.

随着全日制MBA的低成本替代项目逐渐增多——特别是对两年期MBA需求构成威胁的在线项目——奥利安教授认为，只有具备品牌价值的精英商学院才能继续收取高学费。

“The high-cost MBA model is not viable for the vast majority of schools, she says.

她表示：“对于绝大多数商学院而言，高成本MBA模式是不可行的。

* Analysis includes data from 63 US schools ranked in the FT Global MBA Ranking, 2008 to 2012; 34 institutions are private, 29 are public. Endowment and budget data exclude six institutions where no data were available

* 分析涵盖了来自2008年至2012年英国《金融时报》全球MBA排行榜中的63所美国商学院的数据；其中34所为私立商学院，29所为公立商学院。捐赠和预算数据未涵盖6所无可用数据的商学院。