CIC’s Making the Case website, www.cic.edu/makingthecase/index.asp, provides a wealth of data about the experiences of graduates of small and mid-sized independent colleges and universities compared with those of alumni of public institutions. Data from a variety of sources indicate that independent college alumni are more likely than their publicly-educated peers to be satisfied with their undergraduate education and to rate their undergraduate experiences as excellent.

Satisfaction across Many
Types of Institutions
A survey of public opinion on higher education for the Chronicle of Higher Education concludes that graduates of private liberal arts colleges (66 percent), large private research universities (70 percent), and mid-sized private universities (62 percent) are more likely than alumni of large public universities (54 percent) or small state colleges (45 percent) to indicate that they are very satisfied with the education they received.

Excellent Undergraduate Experience
Independent college alumni, according to a survey by Hardwick~Day, are more likely than public university graduates to rate their overall undergraduate experience as “excellent”
(61 percent vs. 40 percent).

Satisfaction across Many Aspects of College Life
An analysis by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities shows that students at independent colleges are, across-the-board, more satisfied than students at public universities with aspects of college life such as counseling, advising, class size, and contact with faculty.