Dive Brief:

• Investment returns for college endowments averaged 11.7% in the 2013 fiscal year, a big improvement over last year's slightly negative numbers, preliminary figures show.
• Half of the institutions in the preliminary survey reported an increase in charitable gifts; 30% reported a decline.
• The final version of the survey will be released in January and will include more than 800 public and private educational institutions.

Dive Insight:

While there are no figures for individual schools given in the report, it's important to remember the 11.7% figure is an average, so some schools posted even better gains. For example, Bowdoin College recently made news by reporting a 16% investment return, pushing the value of its endowment over $1 billion.