College coffers are in the pink: 9.7% average return is healthy for endowments

U.S. colleges and universities earned ââ?¬Å?respectable returnsââ?¬Â on their endowments last year as wealthier schools posted higher averages than less wealthy ones, a report shows today. Annual returns on endowments averaged 9.7%, says the Commonfund Benchmarks Study. It is based on 729 education institutions, primarily public and private universities but also independent schools and private education foundations.