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CIC is disseminating data from the Making the Case website targeted at seasonal campus events and activities.

Community Service

In March, as students made plans for spring break, CIC sent campus officials data which show that students at independent institutions are more likely to be engaged in community service and volunteer activities—with many choosing alternative spring break trips (see related Campus Update story). For example, the chart below shows that graduates of private institutions were more involved as students in community service and volunteer activities than alumni of public institutions.

More than half of the independent college and university graduates surveyed participated in volunteer and community service activities, a greater proportion than public university alumni (54 percent versus 45 percent).


Survey Question: Were you involved in volunteer or community service activities?
(“Yes” or “No”)
Source: Comparative Alumni Survey, Hardwick~Day, 2003


View the above chart on the Making the Case website.

Time-to-Degree for Students
at Four-Year Colleges and Universities


In May, as campuses prepared for commencement, CIC emailed data about graduation rates, which demonstrated that graduates of private colleges earn their degrees more quickly than graduates of public institutions (79 percent versus 49 percent earned their bachelor’s degrees in four years or less). The email also included an article from the New York Times (published in April) that cited recent data on graduation rates from the U.S. Department of Education, showing that 50 percent of freshmen entering private colleges in 1998 graduated in four years, and 64 percent in six years. The comparable rates for public colleges were 27 and 53 percent.

Students earn undergraduate degrees faster at independent colleges and universities than at public institutions, avoiding additional tuition expense and starting their careers sooner.


Note: “Time-to-degree” looks only at bachelor’s degree recipients and how long it took them to earn their degrees.
Sources: Analysis by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities as reported in
Twelve Facts That May Surprise You About Private Higher Education (2006). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1995–96 Beginning Postsecondary Students: Six Years Later.

View the above chart on the Making the Case website.


 

The Making the Case website contains more than 100 charts and statistics, as well as numerous other books, articles, and resources, on the effectiveness of private higher education. Visit the website.

 
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