The findings from two studies commissioned by CIC and completed this spring, as well as other national data on private higher education, are being synthesized for CIC’s Making the Case initiative. The first study used data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to compare results of private four-year colleges and universities with their public institution counterparts. The NSSE survey, which measures the extent to which students are engaged in educational practices that correlate with high levels of learning, included survey responses from more than 171,631 students (first-year and senior) at 650 four-year colleges and universities (367 of which are private institutions) during the 2001-2003 survey administrations.
     The second study expanded the sample size of the Comparative Alumni Research Project, administered by Hardwick-Day, a higher education research firm, to ensure a nationally representative study that assesses learning effects and compares perspectives of alumni from private colleges and universities with those from public institutions. Interviews with more than 1,100 alumni drawn from more than 600 public and private institutions (of the alumni interviewed, over one-third graduated from private colleges) were conducted by telephone among individuals graduating from four-year institutions during 1970-1998.
     The results of these studies suggest that private college students tend to be more engaged in the learning process and alumni tend to have more favorable experiences than students and alumni of public institutions (see “CIC Previews Early Findings on Effectiveness of Private Higher Education” in the Winter/Spring 2004 issue of the Independent).
     As a next step, CIC is drawing on these studies as well as other existing data and recent research from a variety of national and state-based sources to craft—and document—key messages about the character and benefits of attending independent colleges. The messages are organized under five key issue areas:

• Accessibility and Affordability—availability of grants and loans, differing graduation rates, presence and success of first-generation students, and minorities.
• Student Learning and Life—faculty-student interaction, rigor and engagement in class, prevalence of extra- and co-curricular learning, communities that support learning and emphasize values and ethics.
• Student Success—degree completion, acquisition of broad life and career skills, acquisition of values and ethics, completion of graduate degrees, income.
• Satisfaction with Education—satisfaction with education and preparation for life after college, financial and volunteer support for undergraduate institution, belief that private education was a worthwhile investment.
• Contribution to the Public Good by Private Colleges, Their Students, and Graduates—volunteering and community service, personal values and priorities, employment in and/or financial support for nonprofit and educational organizations; financial and personal involvement with religious organizations.

The documentation is now being converted into materials that will serve as resources to CIC member presidents as they communicate with a wide range of audiences; provide tools that can help CIC to advocate on behalf of private colleges and universities with audiences such as philanthropic leaders, the business community, and governmental policymakers; and establish CIC as a trusted source of information about higher education in general and private colleges in particular.
     A printed document as well as a comprehensive and expandable website is being developed and will be officially launched at the 2005 Presidents Institute in Florida in January.

Independent
The Council of Independent Colleges
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 320 • Washington, DC 20036
tel: (202) 466-7230 • Fax: (202) 466-7238 • e-mail: mailto:cic@cicnche.edu • www.cic.edu

Last updated: August 2004
Copyright © 2004 The Council of Independent Colleges