WASHINGTON (AP) — A new report out Tuesday finds that the nation’s college and university endowments had strong growth last year. That’s a bit of good news for higher education institutions under pressure to hold down tuition costs amid some enrollment declines.

More than 80 institutions reported endowments from the 2013 budget year valued at more than $1 billion. Overall, endowments returned an average of nearly 12 percent. The analysis was by the National Association of College and University Business officers and Commonfund