Spotlight Online for Career Services Professionals, February 17, 2010 

The average operating budget for 2009-10 is $72,616, down 2.5 percent from the average 2008-09 budget ($74,470), according to the NACE 2009-10 Career Services Benchmark Survey for Four-Year Colleges and Universities. 

However, that average is skewed, and the median is just $34,000. That’s also down from last year: The median operating budget for 2008-09 was $34,500—1.5 percent higher than the current median.

The majority of respondents (57.5 percent) saw their operating budgets decline, with nearly 11 percent of responding career centers reporting declines in excess of 20 percent. Just 9 percent of respondents said their budget increased in 2009-10.

The survey was conducted September through November 2009; 557 college members, or 40.1 percent, took part. (Note: Participants receive a complimentary copy of the full survey report.)

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