Giving to America’s colleges rose 6 percent in 2017, lifted by a surge in giving by alumni, according to data released Tuesday. Colleges’ fundraising performed better than that for nonprofits over all. The most recent "Giving USA," which covered 2016, saw only a 1.4 percent uptick in private support. (Most institutions in the new Voluntary Support of Education survey, conducted by the Council for Aid to Education, end their fiscal years in June.)