Membership Data

CIC’s membership includes more than 700 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils of independent colleges, and other higher education affiliates. Members are diverse in size, location, mission, resources, and interests.

Information on this page is updated as of June 30, 2024, and included in the 2023–2024 CIC Annual Report.

CIC Institutions by Region

The map shows the percentage of CIC members among all private, not-for-profit, accredited, and degree granting institutions in the U.S. (CIC also has international members.)

Map of United States depicting percentage of CIC members by region: Midwest 29%; South 26%; Mid-Atlantic 19%; West 11%; New England 8%; Far West 7%
Total private, not-for-profit, accredited, degree granting institutions: 1,586 (as of June 2024)
Source: IPEDS

Carnegie Classification of CIC Member Institutions

Data indicate that the majority of CIC colleges and universities are offering graduate programs at the master’s and doctoral levels, creating a more complex and nuanced depiction of CIC member institutions beyond simply being baccalaureate institutions offering degrees in the arts and sciences.

CIC Institutions by Carnegie Classification pie chart: 23% Baccalaureate Colleges Arts & Sciences; 21% Baccalaureate Colleges Other; 39% Masters; 16% Doctoral
Total private, not-for-profit, accredited, degree granting institutions: 1,586 (as of June 2024)
Source: IPEDS

Financial Quartile of CIC Member Institutions

CIC monitors financial health using a variety of metrics. One such metric is the financial quartile, which combines net tuition revenue per student and endowment assets per student. This chart shows the distribution of CIC institutions into the quartiles, with more than 50 percent of CIC institutions being in the top two quartiles.

Top Quartile: 24%; Second Quartile: 30%; Third Quartile: 28%; Bottom Quartile: 18%

Enrollment Size of CIC Member Institutions

CIC member institutions are diverse in size, with the majority of members having more than 1,000 students (based on undergraduate full-time enrollment).

Enrollment Size by undergraduate FTE: 35% under 1,000; 40% 1,000-2,000; 16% 2,001-3,000; 9% over 3,000
Total private, not-for-profit, accredited, degree granting institutions: 1,586 (as of June 2024)
Source: IPEDS

With nearly 80 percent of CIC member institutions reporting some kind of graduate-level offerings following a significant 20-year growth trend, it is clear that CIC members are significantly invested in graduate education. CIC initiated a study in 2023–2024 to better understand the changing landscape and needs of graduate education among its members.

Graduate Program Study - The study suggest the need for support in five main areas: market data; resources; infrastructure; services; and retention

CIC Network Participation

Members of CIC have the option of joining networks to make the most of benefits and connections to other independent colleges and universities.

*As of June 2024, CIC waived the annual fee for participation in the CIC Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP) to increase the value of membership. The CIC-TEP network is an exclusive member benefit that provides up to eight semesters of tuition free college to eligible full-time employees, their spouses, and their dependents. Tens of thousands of employees and their families have been able to attend college tuition-free using CIC-TEP.

Network participation bar graph: CIC-TEP: 423 (63%), OCSC: 313 (47%), NetVUE: 288 (43%)
Council of Independent Colleges