Making the Case

Key Messages and Data • Making the Case Resources • Media Activity • Speeches and Addresses • Books and Reports •

	Key Messages and Data
	CIC’s Making the Case website documents the effectiveness of independent colleges and universities. This case is supported by reliable data that target key audiences and address changing perceptions about independent higher education. Organized around six key messages, the data show that independent institutions:

	Are Affordable for Students and Families
	Represent perceived value Provide financial assistance Enable timely degree completion.

	Provide Access and Success for Diverse Students
	Educate students of color Educate students of all income levels Educate first-generation students Educate "at-risk" students Educate non-traditional students

	Provide Personal Attention to Students
	Encourage faculty-student interaction Offer engaging classroom experiences Promote learning outside the classroom Facilitate participation in campus activities Foster development of faith and values Cultivate supportive campus community

	Enable Student Success
	Lead to higher graduation rates Improve learning outcomes Enable preparation for life

	Engender Alumni Satisfaction with Education
	Offer quality education Represent a worthwhile investment Encourage support for colleges and universities

	Involve Students and Alumni Contributing to the Public Good
	Foster values and ethics Lead to higher graduation rates Encourage community involvement Promote contributions to nonprofits

Webinar
View an online presentation ("webinar") about the Making the Case website. CIC offered a series of webinars to introduce the new website to presidents, communications directors, and others on member campuses who might use the data to make a more effective case for the forms of education offered by small and mid-sized, private colleges and universities.

Site Index
View a site index or PDF booklet of the Key Messages and Data section. (Please note: To view PDF, you will need Adobe Acrobat, available free from the Adobe website.)

Sources
For information on all data sources used on CIC's Making the Case website, visit the sources page.

Data
An important feature of the Making the Case website is that these assertions about effectiveness are backed by current data comparing the performance of independent colleges and universities with public institutions. The Making the Case sources page contains a detailed list of all data sources used on this website.

Significantly, the website includes results of two new data collection and analysis efforts, commissioned by CIC. These studies provide evidence of effectiveness in such previously hard-to-document areas as the promotion of learning, student achievement, and alumni satisfaction. One of these initiatives uses the National Survey of Student Engagement, which measures the extent to which students are engaged in educational practices that correlate with high levels of learning. These data include 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 other data initiative is the Comparative Alumni Survey, which has surveyed more than 1,170 alumni from 610 public and private institutions of higher education about their undergraduate experience.

Also, important analyses of data from the U.S. Department of Education and other sources by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) bolsters a number of these messages. Additional information on the NAICU data analyses and resulting publications is available on the NAICU website.

Audiences
This material has several intended audiences. The first audience is comprised of presidents and other institutional leaders, including administrators, faculty members, and trustees. These individuals and groups may wish to use this information not only to enlarge their own understanding of the work being done by the independent sector of higher education but also to communicate evidence of effectiveness to prospective students and their families, alumni, and possible donors. A second likely audience for this message includes organizations that influence the overall environment for higher education—journalists, philanthropic organizations, and business leaders.

Changing Perceptions
Public colleges and universities reap the benefits of sheer size, free media attention for sports, and artificially low tuition to attract 80 percent of the nation’s college students. Independent institutions often are not considered a viable option for families because of a variety of misconceptions. Yet more adults say they would prefer a private college for their children if cost were not an issue. Click here for some common misconceptions about independent higher education and some data that show positive perceptions by the public about the sector.