The following chart illustrates changes in key financial indicators using 1997 as a reference point. For example, the top line (marked by triangles) shows that unfunded financial aid has increased 70% during five year period 1997-2002. The irregular bottom line, representing total revenue, shows an overall slight decline during these five years. Actual data is contained in the table that follows together with breakdowns of revenue and expenses. A second table displays the same data in percentage terms.
These data are drawn from the reports that St. Olaf submits to the federal governments' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). (One 1997 entry, signaled by italic font, has been corrected since the original submission.) A table giving the complete IPEDS reports from which these data are drawn can be found at http://www.stolaf.edu/offices/irp/Pbl/Finance/IPEDS.PDF.
| FY 1997 | FY 1998 | FY 1999 | FY 2000 | FY 2001 | FY 2002 | |
| Total Net Assets | $ 181,127,802 | $ 216,166,287 | $ 231,913,225 | $ 264,319,908 | $ 271,290,086 | $ 272,899,599 |
| Unrestricted | $ 84,589,721 | $ 104,808,476 | $ 105,658,700 | $ 116,478,333 | $ 121,090,468 | $ 123,376,754 |
| Restricted | $ 96,538,081 | $ 111,357,811 | $ 126,254,525 | $ 147,841,575 | $ 150,199,618 | $ 149,522,845 |
| Total student grants | $ 15,634,330 | $ 17,799,285 | $ 18,988,948 | $ 20,455,273 | $ 22,418,299 | $ 24,936,780 |
| Funded (federal, state, inst) | $ 4,927,992 | $ 5,410,642 | $ 5,194,607 | $ 5,200,905 | $ 6,170,153 | $ 6,775,042 |
| Unfunded (Institutional) | $ 10,706,338 | $ 12,388,643 | $ 13,794,341 | $ 15,254,368 | $ 16,248,146 | $ 18,161,738 |
| Total revenues | $ 93,201,818 | $ 93,090,433 | $ 79,340,799 | $ 101,389,373 | $ 80,041,364 | $ 78,483,876 |
| Tuition and fees (net student grants) | $ 33,977,358 | $ 34,704,838 | $ 36,884,608 | $ 38,752,503 | $ 40,731,096 | $ 43,932,744 |
| Private gifts, grants and contracts | $ 29,137,188 | $ 19,814,725 | $ 14,773,661 | $ 22,369,088 | $ 15,327,991 | $ 17,266,604 |
| Investment return | $ 12,172,125 | $ 18,583,249 | $ 10,098,103 | $ 20,590,008 | $ 2,984,998 | $ (4,225,216) |
| Federal & state grants and contracts | $ 2,450,010 | $ 2,982,581 | $ 3,104,660 | $ 2,569,065 | $ 3,061,237 | $ 3,490,050 |
| Other educational activities | $ 382,425 | $ 393,309 | $ 797,464 | $ 1,726,247 | $ 1,842,419 | $ 1,608,991 |
| Auxiliary enterprises | $ 12,465,440 | $ 12,793,581 | $ 15,338,738 | $ 14,712,788 | $ 15,547,132 | $ 15,767,744 |
| Other revenue | $ 2,617,272 | $ 3,818,150 | $ (1,656,435) | $ 669,674 | $ 546,491 | $ 642,959 |
| Total expenses (by function) | $ 60,441,564 | $ 62,119,980 | $ 66,382,790 | $ 70,444,718 | $ 74,720,528 | $ 78,259,795 |
| Instruction | $ 25,745,843 | $ 25,796,732 | $ 29,026,562 | $ 29,986,924 | $ 31,548,024 | $ 33,269,971 |
| Research | $ 688,060 | $ 935,256 | $ 638,720 | $ 701,997 | $ 542,993 | $ 887,352 |
| Public Service | $ 4,353,592 | $ 4,832,426 | $ 3,160,854 | $ 3,095,246 | $ 2,486,199 | $ 3,024,459 |
| Academic support | $ 5,495,330 | $ 5,558,045 | $ 6,365,035 | $ 7,034,119 | $ 8,001,861 | $ 8,416,147 |
| Student services | $ 3,940,896 | $ 4,096,628 | $ 5,041,772 | $ 5,695,834 | $ 6,058,381 | $ 6,530,116 |
| Institutional support | $ 7,191,670 | $ 8,298,961 | $ 9,373,115 | $ 10,333,576 | $ 11,242,905 | $ 11,480,908 |
| Auxiliary enterprises | $ 13,026,173 | $ 12,601,932 | $ 12,776,732 | $ 13,597,022 | $ 14,840,165 | $ 14,650,842 |
| Expenses by Natural Classification | $ 60,441,564 | $ 62,119,980 | $ 66,382,790 | $ 70,444,718 | $ 74,720,528 | $ 78,259,795 |
| Salaries & Wages | $ 27,135,030 | $ 28,073,354 | $ 30,996,304 | $ 32,263,932 | $ 33,223,599 | $ 35,211,742 |
| Benefits | $ 5,954,393 | $ 5,784,773 | $ 6,798,465 | $ 6,557,293 | $ 7,257,973 | $ 8,057,997 |
| Depreciation | $ 2,932,993 | $ 3,187,649 | $ 3,310,642 | $ 4,316,667 | $ 5,148,632 | $ 5,774,024 |
| Interest | $ 1,328,288 | $ 1,339,604 | $ 1,210,791 | $ 1,588,226 | $ 1,749,872 | $ 1,947,799 |
| All other | $ 23,090,860 | $ 23,734,600 | $ 24,066,588 | $ 25,718,600 | $ 27,340,452 | $ 27,268,343 |
| FY 1997 | FY 1998 | FY 1999 | FY 2000 | FY 2001 | FY 2002 | |
| Total Net Assets | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Unrestricted | 46.7% | 48.5% | 45.6% | 44.1% | 44.6% | 45.2% |
| Restricted | 53.3% | 51.5% | 54.4% | 55.9% | 55.4% | 54.8% |
| Total student grants | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Funded (federal, state, inst) | 31.5% | 30.4% | 27.4% | 25.4% | 27.5% | 27.2% |
| Unfunded (Institutional) | 68.5% | 69.6% | 72.6% | 74.6% | 72.5% | 72.8% |
| Total revenues | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Tuition and fees (net student grants) | 36.5% | 37.3% | 46.5% | 38.2% | 50.9% | 56.0% |
| Private gifts, grants and contracts | 31.3% | 21.3% | 18.6% | 22.1% | 19.2% | 22.0% |
| Investment return | 13.1% | 20.0% | 12.7% | 20.3% | 3.7% | -5.4% |
| Federal & state grants and contracts | 2.6% | 3.2% | 3.9% | 2.5% | 3.8% | 4.4% |
| Other educational activities | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 2.3% | 2.1% |
| Auxiliary enterprises | 13.4% | 13.7% | 19.3% | 14.5% | 19.4% | 20.1% |
| Other revenue | 2.8% | 4.1% | -2.1% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% |
| Total expenses (by function) | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Instruction | 42.6% | 41.5% | 43.7% | 42.6% | 42.2% | 42.5% |
| Research | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.1% |
| Public Service | 7.2% | 7.8% | 4.8% | 4.4% | 3.3% | 3.9% |
| Academic support | 9.1% | 8.9% | 9.6% | 10.0% | 10.7% | 10.8% |
| Student services | 6.5% | 6.6% | 7.6% | 8.1% | 8.1% | 8.3% |
| Institutional support | 11.9% | 13.4% | 14.1% | 14.7% | 15.0% | 14.7% |
| Auxiliary enterprises | 21.6% | 20.3% | 19.2% | 19.3% | 19.9% | 18.7% |
| Expenses by Natural Classification | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Salaries & Wages | 44.9% | 45.2% | 46.7% | 45.8% | 44.5% | 45.0% |
| Benefits | 9.9% | 9.3% | 10.2% | 9.3% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| Depreciation | 4.9% | 5.1% | 5.0% | 6.1% | 6.9% | 7.4% |
| Interest | 2.2% | 2.2% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.5% |
| All other | 38.2% | 38.2% | 36.3% | 36.5% | 36.6% | 34.8% |