In October 2007, CIC released the fourth edition of the Key Indicators Tool (KIT) to presidents of member colleges and universities. The KIT contains comparative information on 20 performance indicators in the areas of students, faculty, tuition and financial aid, and institutional revenues and expenditures.

This latest edition of the KIT featured several improvements, including two new indicators: an admissions yield rate and the average amount of unfunded institutional aid per student. A fourth sorting criterion, based on the 2005 Basic Carnegie Classifications, was also added for each indicator. In response to requests from member presidents, a new section called KIT Trends was created to provide a summary or dashboard-type presentation of the 20 indicators in the KIT.

Drawing from a database of more than 800 nondoctoral private colleges and universities, the KIT provides comparisons of institutional performance over a five-year period by region of the country, enrollment size, financial resources, and Carnegie classification. Prepared annually by The Austen Group, the KIT uses the latest data available from the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

This year, KIT reports can be easily downloaded from a secure server accessed through CIC’s website. A new download page contains Parts A and B of the 2007 KIT, along with KIT reports from previous years and the companion Financial Indicators Tool (FIT). An updated edition of the FIT is scheduled to be distributed in April 2008.

In addition to the standard KIT and FIT reports—which are provided to CIC institutional members free of charge—CIC continues to offer additional benchmarking services at modest fees. These include customized comparison group reports, assistance with selecting comparison groups, and online consultations to explain these reports to key constituents, such as members of the executive staff or the board of trustees.

The 2008 editions of these benchmarking tools are being generously supported by TIAA-CREF. Developmental support was provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundations.