UPDATED: February 6, 2019 at 2:52 p.m.

Syracuse University currently considers 23 colleges and universities its peers.

A peer institution is a college or university an institution believes to be similar in terms of size and ambitions, among other factors.

Here is how SU compares to its peer institutions based on tuition, highest paid employees, student population and more:

Population and endowment

Most, but not all, of SU’s peers are private universities located along the east coast, with student populations ranging from approximately 5,000 students to nearly 100,000.

Though Cornell University has a relatively small student population — 23,600 — it has the largest endowment of all of SU’s peers at $7.2 billion, according to a university release. Cornell is the only Ivy League university of SU’s peers.

The University of Connecticut has the smallest endowment — only $385 million, per the university — for its 32,000-plus students. It’s one of only two public universities SU calls a peer; the other is Pennsylvania State University, the largest of all the peer institutions with more than 97,000 students.

Six schools fall below the $1 billion endowment mark: UConn, the University of Dayton, Marquette University, Northeastern University, the University of Miami and Brandeis University.

Syracuse sits at the lower end of endowments, with about $1.2 billion, according to a university financial report. SU’s student population is about 22,000, and about half of its peers fall between the 10,000 and 20,000 student range.

Tuition

Tuition is known to be higher at private universities compared to its public counterparts, but the difference between tuition costs at SU’s private peers and the tuition of its public peers is substantial.

UConn charges only $12,848 for in-state tuition, and approximately $35,000 for out-of-state tuition. Pennsylvania State University’s in-state tuition costs $18,454, and a little less than $35,000 for its out-of-state students.

Marquette University, the third-cheapest on the list, has a $43,350 tuition charge.

Talia Trackim | Digital Design Director

The University of Southern California tops the tuition list, with $55,320, but the rest of SU’s peers don’t fall far behind. Sixteen of SU’s peers charge more than $50,000 in tuition per year.

Crime

Penn State had the highest number of arrests related to drug and alcohol law violations in 2017, according to Clery Act data published by the school. However, Penn State has nearly 100,000 students, compared to Brandeis University’s mere 5,722.

Only two schools had zero alcohol- and drug-related arrests in 2017: Brandeis and Cornell. Northwestern University only had one alcohol- or drug-related arrest that year, per Clery Act data.

Instances of sexual and relationship violence and stalking were similar across institutions in 2017, with most schools having between 35 and 65 cases.

The University of Southern California had the highest number of burglaries, car thefts and robberies, with 75 cases. Cornell also had zero cases of car thefts, burglaries or robberies reported in its annual safety report.

Talia Trackim | Digital Design Director

Highest paid employees

Of the highest paid employees across 24 institutions, seven were leaders in athletics departments — typically football or men’s basketball coaches — according to available data from 990 form filings.

Jim Boeheim, SU’s men’s basketball coach, is the second-highest paid employee at the university, earning more than $3 million in 2016. Comparatively, Chad Morris is Southern Methodist University’s highest paid employee at $2.1 million, per the filing. Athletics coaches or directors were also the highest paid at Boston College, Georgetown University, Marquette University, Northwestern University, the University of Dayton and the University of Miami.

Talia Trackim | Digital Design Director

At 11 universities, an administrative member was the highest paid, and at five schools, the highest paid employee was a faculty member. 

Published on February 5, 2019 at 1:31 am

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