Insights & Research Hub

As independent institutions continue to add new programs and areas of study to appeal to more students, many CIC members offer more than just bachelor’s degrees.

Most CIC members take advantage of at least one CIC network and a high percentage of institutions take advantage of multiple networks. CIC offers these networks to advance your institution’s goals, mission, and priorities.

The Lilly Fellows Program, based at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, IN, in partnership with Indiana Wesleyan University’s Lumen Research Institute in Marion, IN, announces the establishment of the “Future of the Church-Related University” consultation and that CIC President Marjorie Hass will serve on the advisory board. Over the course of the last decade, the landscape […]

The Council of Independent Colleges is piloting a Corporate Affiliate program to provide members with discounted services and products and, at the same time, encourage companies to invest in the independent higher education sector.

Your One Stop Title IX Solution Student Ally is a comprehensive compliance and safety platform designed to protect colleges from the single biggest liability in higher education – sexual misconduct claims – which cost schools over $1.5 billion in settlements last year alone. Developed in collaboration with independent colleges, Student Ally was built so that […]

Challenging Times in Higher Education Require Transformational Change The headwinds facing colleges and universities today are well known: the demographic shift, changing student needs, and the struggle to address financial challenges. We know that continuous cutting of expenses does not lead to prosperity and that business model transformation will require a new approach for the […]

Read more from CIC President Marjorie Hass about how CIC programs are developing leaders, supporting campus success, and serving as a leading voice of independent higher education.

CIC announced in August 2023 the selection of 25 member institutions to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Work-Based Learning (WBL) Consortium, which will provide a national community of practice to support institutions in easing student barriers to internship access and job market preparation, particularly for students from under-represented groups.

The State Councils Annual Conference, a convening of CIC’s State Council executives and their staff, provided a forum for face-to-face networking and an opportunity to share best practices with colleagues. CIC also announced this year’s State Councils grant recipients. These grants provide CIC/UPS Scholarships for use at every four-year private college and university in the State Councils network.

CIC’s annual Teaching Pre-Modern European Art in Context seminar took place on June 18–23, 2023, at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis, TN. CIC faculty members in art history, the arts, and other disciplines who incorporate art history in their courses were invited to apply over the winter to participate.

In June 2023, CIC and Interfaith America held a multidisciplinary seminar on Teaching Interfaith Understanding for full-time faculty members at CIC member colleges and universities. This long-running seminar series seeks to broaden faculty members’ knowledge and perspective to help them strengthen the teaching of interfaith understanding, develop new courses and other resources, and join a network of faculty members.

Twenty-nine philosophers from CIC member colleges met in Baltimore, MD, on July 23–27, 2023, to explore “New Currents in Teaching Philosophy.” This was the third and final Institute in an annual series designed to help faculty members strengthen the philosophy programs at their institutions by offering students more diverse, compelling, and relevant courses.

CIC's new Presidential Renewal program is designed to support the personal revitalization of experienced member presidents at CIC institutions who will continue to serve in the vital role of the college presidency. Twelve CIC member presidents were selected to participate, and spouses and partners were welcome to join them at the Summer Seminar.

CIC's Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program (V&M) is designed for senior leaders at CIC member schools to explore their potential vocational calling to serve as a college or university president, as well as examine what types of institutional missions they might best serve. The Opening Seminar took place July 16–July 19, 2023.

The Opening Seminar for the 2023–2024 Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) took place on June 26–28, 2023. CIC, AASCU, and AALI also sponsor the Senior Leadership Academy (SLA). Both ELA and SLA had a Closing Seminar for the 2022–2023 cohort in June 2023.

CIC's Belong: An Inclusive Learning Community is well into its first year, and members of the Belong network are confirming that the programming is making a difference on campuses across the country. Faculty and staff are able to put into place actions to achieve tangible results.

In June 2023, CIC’s Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) gathered participants from all five previous cohorts of its annual faculty seminar, Teaching Vocational Exploration, at an event known as RIPEN (Recognizing Innovations and Practices to Enhance NetVUE). In addition, CIC awarded NetVUE Vocation across the Academy Grants to 14 member institutions.

This summer, CIC offered two programs devoted to the legacies of American slavery in collaboration with the Gilder Lehrman Center (GLC) for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University’s MacMillan Center. Both programs were part of CIC’s larger Legacies of American Slavery: Reckoning with the Past initiative.

New CIC members and member name changes

A list of recommended resources, including CIC's Digest of Recent Research

July 2023 – Washington, DC (Updated August 2023) The Council of Independent Colleges has selected 25 member institutions to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Work-Based Learning (WBL) Consortium. The WBL Consortium will provide a national community of practice to support institutions in easing student barriers to internship access and job market preparation, particularly […]

College presidents explain why their institutions are members of the Council of Independent Colleges.

AASCU and CIC today announced this year’s Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) participants. ELA is a yearlong program jointly sponsored by CIC, AASCU, and the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI).

CIC is saddened to share the news that former CIC employee and higher education leader Barbara “Barbe” Hetrick passed away in June 2023. Hetrick served CIC from 2007 to 2021. During that time, she held a variety of roles including director of CIC grants solicitation and stewardship, vice president for development, and later as senior advisor for […]