Like the families of many of our students, the men and women who manage BU’s budget, from the president down to our financial officers, face a variety of complex pressures. We are a large, global research institution with 16 schools and colleges—the fourth-largest private university in the country, in fact. But despite our size, we don’t live by tuition and fees alone. Nor by endowment. The constant changes and fluctuations across the educational and economic landscapes mean we must remain nimble in our actions and diverse in our revenue sources. Undergraduate tuition and fees represent only 35.7% of our revenue (with another 16.7% from graduate programs). And sure, the growth of our endowment—up to $1.6B in FY2014—comes into play, generating an increasing income distribution while maintaining purchasing power.

Another significant revenue stream is the $350.3M in total sponsored research we took in last year (about the same as the year before, but with fierce competition for a shrinking pool of dollars, we’re pleased). Robust philanthropy and alumni donations, along with auxiliary revenue, contribute to the bulk of the remainder. All the while, we’ve been cutting expenses and right-sizing operations. Taken together, these financial moves, along with prudent management, caught the attention of Standard & Poor’s, which moved us from A-Stable to A-Positive. That change in outlook brings us more in line with the A1 rating Moody’s gave us in FY2013.

If you want an even closer look at our numbers, download our financial statement.