Stanford first uni to raise $US1 billion

A REPORT has found roughly 3500 US colleges and universities raised $US31 billion in the 2012 fiscal year.

STANFORD University has set a new record in tertiary education fundraising in the US, becoming the first institution to collect more than $US1 billion ($A970.69 million) in a single year.

For the eighth straight year, Stanford ranked first in the Council for Aid to Education's annual college fundraising survey, which was released on Wednesday.

The report found roughly 3500 US colleges and universities raised $US31 billion in the 2012 fiscal year.

That's 2.3 per cent more than the previous year but just below the 2008 record of $US31.6 billion.

Topping the list was Stanford on $US1.035 billion, followed by Harvard University on $US650 million, Yale University on $US544 million, the University of Southern California on $US492 million and Columbia University on $US490 million.

The top 10 fundraising schools collected $US5.3 billion, or 17 per cent, of the $US31 billion.