CIC recently announced the Alliance for Strategic Innovation (ASI) to coordinate efforts to strengthen independent higher education. The ASI is an umbrella under which CIC and its members will investigate, refine, and launch projects that have potential to help our sector thrive through radical collaboration.
Over the past year, CIC convened some of the best and most committed sector leaders—including college and university presidents, higher education scholars, funders, accreditation experts, and corporate supporters—to help identify some initial areas for action. CIC is particularly interested in initiatives that will support the unique missions of our members, enhance institutional financial sustainability, elevate student success, and bend the cost curve for students and their families. These conversations were led by Mary Marcy, president emerita of Dominican University of California and author of The Small College Imperative: Models for Sustainable Futures who will continue to serve as a senior advisor to ASI and to support its growth.
Three initial concepts emerged for wider discussion and development:
- A national career center to support campus career offices, build pipelines to employers, make use of state-of-the-art technology, and ensure that campus leaders and faculty have access to current, relevant information about the careers of the future.
- A renewed and redesigned bachelor’s degree that ensures the liberal arts remain relevant and available through both new and traditional modalities.
- A streamlined admissions process to increase access and enrollment in the face of the rapidly growing “direct admissions” movement.
With the endorsement of CIC’s Board of Directors and generous support from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, CIC will spend the coming year refining the three concepts and building a coalition of engaged member presidents.
CIC anticipates hosting a design workshop in Spring 2026 to bring campus teams and career development experts together to develop models for a national career center that would effectively augment career preparation at CIC member institutions. A convening on the redesign of the bachelor’s degree will likely be held the following year. We are also working with state council executives to ensure that CIC members are able to be at the table in states that are adopting direct admissions and seeking grant funding to support the creation of alternative admissions processes.
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