New Haven — Yale University reports that its endowment grew to a record high $25.6 billion based on an 11.5 percent return for the fiscal year that ended June 30.

The new endowment numbers reported Thursday were a 7.1 percent increase from the previous fiscal year.

Harvard University's endowment is the nation's largest at $37.6 billion. The University of Texas is second, and Yale third.

Yale said in a release it plans to spend $1.2 billion from the endowment during the current academic year, which represents about one-third of the Ivy League university's operating budget.

William Jarvis, managing director for the Commonfund Institute in Wilton, which serves as an investment manager for nonprofits, told the New Haven Register that Yale's 11.5 percent return is among the best in the nation among colleges.