The Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) is an inflation index designed specifically for use by institutions of higher education. Compiled from data reported by government agencies and industry sources, HEPI measures the average relative level in the price of a fixed market basket of goods and services purchased by colleges and universities each year through current fund educational and general expenditures, excluding research. A more accurate indicator of cost changes for colleges and universities than the Consumer Price Index (CPI), HEPI is used primarily to project future budget increases required to preserve purchasing power. With compilations dating back to 1961, HEPI offers more than 50 continuous years of higher education inflation data. It is an essential tool enabling schools to determine increases in funding necessary to maintain both real purchasing power and investment. In 2005, Commonfund Institute assumed responsibility for the index and the proprietary model used to calculate HEPI's values from Research Associates of Washington, D.C. In subsequent years, in keeping with its commitment to improving and expanding the index, Commonfund Institute has initiated a number of additional HEPI services and refinements. HEPI is compiled using data items from publicly-available sources that are released at different points in the academic fiscal year, from July 1 through June 30. This HEPI report uses the accumulated data set as of June 30, and may be subject to further small adjustments when the last of the underlying data items are finalized in November. Due to a change in methodology for deriving faculty and compensation data published by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), this year's report uses reasonable estimates for changes in faculty salaries and fringe benefits to aid in the transition from FY2015 to FY2016. [For the 2015 Update, see ED586443.]