2022–2023 Annual Report

Connecting through Conversation

The theme of this year’s annual report is “Connecting through Conversation.” After spending the previous year listening, learning, and interpreting data from our members, CIC is meeting emerging needs and offering new and improved programs.

“We think every day about how we can bring new programs, new resources, to support the strength of our member institutions.”

Marjorie Hass, President, Council of Independent Colleges

Members Speak about the Value of CIC

“I’ve really found this to be the most valuable organization to be a part of. Both because of the services they provide, but also just because it really represents what independent higher education means in this country.”

Paul C. Pribbenow, President, Augsburg University (MN)

CIC Membership Data

Carnegie
Classification

42% Masters; 21% Baccalaureate Other; 20% Baccalaureate Arts & Sciences; 17% Doctoral

This graph illustrates the percentage of CIC members that fall into the four categories of Carnegie Classification.

Financial
Quartile

19% Bottom; 28% Third; 30% Second; 23% Top

This graph illustrates the percentage of CIC members that fall into four financial quartiles.

Enrollment Size
Undergraduate FTE

Under 1,000: 21%; 1,001-2,000: 39%; 2,001-3,000: 19%; Over 3,000: 21%

This graph illustrates the percentage of CIC members in four enrollment size ranges based on undergraduate full time enrollment.

CIC Participation Highlights

CIC Network Highlights

CIC Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP)

CIC-TEP is a network of member colleges and universities that accept full-time employees of participating institutions and their family members as full-time students, tuition-free. An online portal facilitates the student application tracking and review processes. Nearly twothirds of CIC member institutions participate.

Institutions Registered422
Institutions Importing402
Institutions Exporting378
Students Applying2,616
Applications Submitted5,150
Awards Offered1,756
Students Receiving at Least One Award1,463

Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE)

The Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) is a nationwide network of more than 300 colleges and universities formed to support and enrich vocational exploration and discernment among undergraduate students. NetVUE is supported by the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc. and member dues. Activities include a biennial national conference, regional gatherings and multi-campus collaborations, faculty seminars, campus visits and consulting services, online resources and networking, and the development of scholarly resources. In addition, a variety of grant opportunities are available to NetVUE member institutions to support professional development and vocation-related programming.

Members as of June 2023309
CIC Institutions276
Non-CIC Institutions24
Organizations9

NetVUE Grant Programs

CIC awards grants to strengthen existing vocational exploration programs that are already supported by campus budgets. Member institutions may request between $30,000 and $60,000 for use over a two-year period to further develop or extend existing initiatives.

CIC awards grants of up to $12,000 to enhance the knowledge, skills, and expertise of faculty and staff members who support undergraduate vocation-related initiatives at NetVUE member institutions. Up to $15,000 is available for projects with a special focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This grant program is designed to strengthen the link between professional preparation and students’ exploration of meaning, purpose, and identity. Three-year grants support campuswide initiatives that emphasize this link as a continuum from the first year through the senior year, and/or across the range of academic disciplines and applied fields. The grant involves a partial donor match that can bring the total award to $90,000 in CIC and third-party funding, or $105,000 for projects that create partnerships with businesses, nonprofits, and community organizations.

This program offers grants of up to $40,000 over two years to help institutions produce an updated account of their history and mission, with focused attention on the current state of the institution’s demographic profile, surrounding community, and founding organizations.

These grants are designed to help organizational members of NetVUE deepen their capacities to strengthen the networks that they comprise, to broaden opportunities to promote vocational exploration and discernment among students at their member institutions, and to communicate the benefits of NetVUE membership to those institutions within their networks that are not yet members of NetVUE.


NetVUE campus teams gather regularly for professional development and sharing of best practices. Biennial national conferences alternate with regional gatherings.

NetVUE Unconference

  • Date: March 23–25, 2023
  • Location: Virtual
  • Attendance: 300 unique logins

Regional and Topical Gatherings

Faculty Seminar on Teaching Vocational Exploration

This yearly multidisciplinary seminar helps faculty members strengthen the teaching of vocational exploration, develop new courses or course content, improve pedagogical resources, and establish an expanding network of faculty members committed to teaching vocational exploration. This year’s seminar gathered participants from all five previous cohorts.

  • Date: June 12–16, 2023
  • Location: Indianapolis, IN

Scholarly Resources Project

Five distinct groups of senior scholars, representing a wide range of theological traditions and expertise, work collaboratively to produce articles, books, and other resources for use on campuses. The fourth book and set of materials is underway and will focus on vocation, work, and the common good.

  • Title: Called Beyond Our Selves: Vocation and the Common Good
  • Director: Erin VanLaningham, professor of English, Loras College (IA)
  • Contributors: 12 scholars (listed in the appendix)
  • Anticipated Publication: Early 2024

NetVUE Research

CIC supports an empirical investigation of the impact of initiatives for vocational exploration and discernment at NetVUE member institutions. The work focuses on the ways that such programs can transform faculty cultures, curricular initiatives, administrative priorities, and institutional goals.

  • Topic: The impact of vocational exploration and discernment at NetVUE institutions
  • Director: To be determined
  • Anticipated Publication: To be determined

Consultants

Fiscal Year 20231
Cumulative36

Campus Visits

Fiscal Year 20232
Cumulative22

NetVUE Online Resources

CIC provides a wide range of online resources for NetVUE members, including a dedicated website, an online community site, a publicly accessible blog, a webinar series, and a social media presence.

  • Twitter: @VocationMatters
  • Blog: VocationMatters.org
  • Podcast: Callings: Conversations on College, Career, and a Life Well-Lived
    • Season 1 (2020–2021): 10 episodes
    • Season 2 (2021–2022): 11 episodes
    • Season 3 (2022–2023): 11 episodes
  • Periodic Webinars:
    • Vocational Discernment as a Wellness Tool (October 2022)
    • Vocational Narratives: Finding Meaning in Challenging Times (February 2023)
  • Newletter:
    • September 29, 2022 (sent to 1,605 contacts)
    • November 15, 2022 (sent to 1,631 contacts)
    • February 2, 2023 (sent to 1,628 contacts)
    • March 9, 2023 (UnConference edition) (sent to 1,680 contacts)
    • April 19, 2023 (sent to 1,678 contacts)

Online Course Sharing Consortium (OCSC)

The Online Course Sharing Consortium (OCSC) allows participating colleges and universities to share courses, transfer credits and financial aid, and arrange for tuition payments through an online platform maintained by CIC’s partner Acadeum. The initiative helps students complete their degrees by enrolling in online courses offered by other consortium participants, avoiding the burden of transferring courses from outside institutions and filling excess capacity at partner institutions. OCSC looks to expand in 2024 through additional services aimed at developing new majors and offering additional credentials.

Members as of June 2023307
Home Institutions245
Teaching Institutions99
Courses Available9,018

Belong: An Inclusive Learning Community

The Belong community is a network of CIC members dedicated to making their campuses more welcoming and inclusive. Designed in partnership with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), Belong offers a suite of professional development resources for faculty and staff to support student belonging.

Members as of June 202363
Credentials Available to Belong Members372
Faculty and Staff Inaugural Webinar Registrants1,800
Faculty and Staff Eligible for Belong’s Push Library10,500

The first Belong microcredential cohorts have concluded with the following findings:

  • 98 percent of course participants report the course helped with their professional practice.
  • 82 percent report more positive beliefs about inclusive teaching and 60 percent report more positive beliefs about students.
  • 34 percent of course participants had 20 or more years of experience, and still reported deep learning.
  • Each individual course participant plans to implement ten additional practices, leading to 1,710 new success practices coming to CIC campuses this fall.

State Council Members

Programs and Services

CIC’s State Councils are consortia of private colleges and universities with the mission of advancing and strengthening their member institutions. Through its State Councils program, CIC provides member services and organizational development opportunities for these consortia, as well as grants and professional support for their activities in four specific program areas:

  • Increasing recognition and enrollment of member institutions through collective public relations and branding initiatives that help “make the case” for private colleges and universities;
  • Putting a college education within reach for deserving students of all income levels by raising private gifts and grants for scholarships;
  • Expanding student internship and career opportunities, as well as developing corporate grant and sponsorship support, by connecting the private college sector to America’s business community; and
  • Enhancing curricular and co-curricular programs at member institutions by facilitating the development of multi-college approaches to key targets of opportunity, and seeking grant funding for these collaborative initiatives.

The State Councils Annual Conference is a convening of state council executives and their staff that offers a forum for face-to-face networking and an opportunity to share best practices with colleagues. Programming at the Annual Conference includes workshops, speakers, and educational sessions, providing tools for state executives colleagues to better serve their constituency of private colleges and universities.

  • Date: April 30–May 2, 2023
  • Location: Virginia Beach, VA
  • Attendance: 42 total; 16 State Councils organizations represented
  • Sponsorship: $40,000 from four sponsors

Scholarship Programs

The CIC/UPS Educational Endowment provides grants to State Councils for innovative, collaborative projects within states and for programs that enhance access and success at private colleges for low-income, first generation, minority, or New American students. Through these grant programs dedicated to supporting the work of the State Councils, the CIC/UPS Educational Endowment has had—and will continue to have—a determinative impact on the advancement of the independent college sector nationwide.

  • Value: $45,858,210 (as of June 30, 2023)

Each year, State Councils receive grants from CIC to provide CIC/UPS Scholarships for use at every four-year private college and university in the State Councils network. The scholarships are given in the name of UPS, whose financial support was the basis for the CIC/UPS Educational Endowment. Since 1985, approximately $62.2 million has been awarded in scholarship grants to CIC State Councils to assist 22,228 first-generation, low-income, minority, or new American students at independent colleges across the country.

  • Fiscal Year 2023: $1,401,600 to 25 State Councils; $3,200 to 438 State Council member institution students
  • Cumulative: Over $65,200,000 to 23,197 students

These scholarships are provided by an endowment, established by Dorothea Waterbury of Newton, MA, to fund scholarships for Pell-eligible students enrolled at selected CIC member New England colleges and universities.

  • Fiscal Year 2023: $9,000
  • Fiscal Year 2023: $23,500 to support five students

Grant Programs

The CIC Capacity-Building Grant Program was created to provide “seed money” grants for State Councils to enhance or expand their capacity to raise money to support their programs and member colleges. The grants are intended to provide startup funding for new fundraising programs, particularly those targeted at attracting new donors and new financial support, or focus on other ways to enhance fundraising capacity for the future.

  • Fiscal Year 2023: $103,045 to 11 State Councils

Presidents of independent colleges and universities have made it clear that one of their highest priority needs is additional scholarship aid for deserving students. A second need is for scholarships that can improve student retention beyond the first year. To help address these needs, CIC offers its State Councils the opportunity to apply for challenge grants designed to leverage additional gifts for scholarships, with the CIC grant and matching moneys passed along to the State Council’s member colleges as student financial aid. To earn the CIC grant, State Councils must raise at least the challenge grant amount—but ideally more—from outside sources before the end of the fiscal year.

  • Fiscal Year 2023: $130,000 to each of six awarded State Councils with an anticipated reach of 115 State Councils colleges and universities

CIC Institute Highlights

Leaders from CIC member institutions gathered in November at the 2022 Institute for Chief Academic Officers with Chief Financial and Chief Enrollment Officers and in January for the 2023 Presidents Institute. Colleagues engaged in timely and practical discussions on how to design a thriving future for their institutions and shape the trajectory of the independent sector in higher education as a whole.

After thinking creatively in community, participants returned to their campuses with visions of their institutions’ futures that would address campus and student needs and leave a legacy of progress and innovation in a time of great change.

2023 Presidents Institute

Designing the Future of Independent Higher Education

The future of independent colleges and universities is in the hands of today’s leaders. CIC’s 2023 Presidents Institute offered presidents and other participants an opportunity to think creatively in community about how to design a thriving future for their institutions and shape the trajectory of the independent sector in higher education. The Institute took place in San Francisco, CA.

Plenary sessions included “The Presidential Challenge: Race, History, and the Urgency of Action Now,” delivered by Eddie R. Cole, associate professor of higher education and organizational change at UCLA and author of The Campus Color Line: College Presidents and the Struggle for Black Freedom; and “Designing the Future: A Guide for Presidential Leadership,” presented by Dawan Stanford, president of Fluid Hive. The Institute also drew on Bay Area and Silicon Valley industry and tech experts to discuss how independent colleges and universities can innovate with new technologies and prepare students with the skills needed for the workforce of today and the future. The session “Anticipating Workforce Needs,” featured three panelists: Katie Ferrick, senior director of workplace programs, LinkedIn; Cinthia Lopez, director of talent outreach, Google; and Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO, Futuro Health.

Collage of five photos from the 2023 Presidents Institute, showing speakers on stage, participants seated in sessions and standing to ask questions

2023 Institute Fast Facts

Most popular sessions at the Presidents Institute, according to Guidebook app:

  • By the Numbers: Using Big Data to Build and Shape Enrollment Success
  • Financially Sustainable Strategies for Smaller Colleges
  • How to Manage Changing Workplace Expectations of Faculty and Staff
  • Innovative Mergers, Collaborations, and Partnerships
  • Legal Issues that Keep Presidents Up at Night
  • Maximizing the President-Spouse Partnership in Fundraising

2022 Institute for Chief Academic Officers with Chief Financial and Chief Enrollment Officers

Tenacious. Confident. Forward-Looking.

The 2022 Institute for Chief Academic Officers with Chief Financial and Chief Enrollment Officers provided the opportunity to engage with colleagues on timely and practical questions. After three years of an unpredictable pandemic that has tested everyone, the Institute showed that we are ready to move forward with hope and bold optimism. This optimism is based on the core belief that collectively we can achieve much more than the sum of our individual efforts to support our students and advance independent higher education. The Institute took place in Dallas, TX.

Plenary sessions included “Campuses at the Inflection Point: Strategic Innovation for Sustainability and Equity,” delivered by Mary B. Marcy, president emerita of Dominican University of California and author of The Small College Imperative: Models for Sustainable Futures; and a plenary panel that featured Anita Jones Thomas, executive president and provost at St. Catherine University (MN); Glenn Getchell, director of admissions at Berry College (GA); and Robert S. Blue, vice president for finance and administration at Centenary College (LA), who shared their approaches to improved collaboration between different areas on campus.

Collage of five photos from the 2022 CAO Institute, showing speakers on stage, participants seated in sessions and standing to ask questions

2022 Institute Fast Facts

Most popular sessions at the Institute for Chief Academic Officers, according to Guidebook app:

  • Attracting and Retaining a Student Population that Meets Academic, Enrollment, and Financial Needs
  • Badges, Microcredentials, and Certificates
  • Cultivating Leadership Teams that Work Well Together
  • Data Informed Program Portfolio Development
  • Effective Practices in Supporting Diverse Student Populations
  • Navigating a Challenging Landscape: Endowments and Financial Sustainability
  • Strategic Program Expansion: Adding Graduate Programs and Professional Programs

CIC Development Program Highlights

Leadership Development Programs

Faculty Development Programs

Institutional Development Programs

Research and Resources

CIC provides resources and materials about the sector to support members and their missions.

Key Indicators Tool (KIT) Benchmarking Report

The goal of the KIT Report is to provide benchmarking information to each member institution in areas such as student enrollment and progress, faculty composition and compensation, tuition revenue and financial aid, and institutional resources and expenditures relative to peers.

  • Funding: Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL)
  • Special Information: Reports are based on IPEDS data and prepared by the Austen Group. The 2023 KIT reports were distributed in May 2023.

Financial Indicators Tool (FIT) Benchmarking Report

The goal of the FIT Report is to provide benchmarking information to each member institution in areas such as resource sufficiency, debt management, asset performance, and operating results, along with an overall score for financial strength relative to peers.

  • Funding: RNL
  • Special Information: Reports are based on IPEDS data and prepared by the Austen Group. The 2023 FIT reports were distributed in July 2023.

Both KIT and FIT are provided free of charge to institutional member presidents. RNL provides financial support for the KIT and FIT through an in-kind donation. The Austen Group, a unit of RNL, produces the reports in coordination with CIC. Consultations and custom benchmarking reports are also made available.

Additional Benchmarking Reports

In response to member needs and requests, CIC has developed two new benchmarking reports that are based on voluntary data submissions from members using IPEDS data that is reported to the U.S. Department of Education but will not be publicly released until the subsequent year.

  • KIT Part C: Data presented in this report allow institutions with graduate programs to see institutional data broken down between graduate and undergraduate programming. Standard KIT reports aggregate data across ALL students and the new Part C report disaggregates the contributions of undergraduate and graduate programs.
  • FIT Supplemental: This report allows institutions to provide IPEDS data that were just reported to the Department of Education and benchmark against other institutions that voluntarily reported this early data. These data are what will be publicly released in January of the subsequent year so there is a six-month advance that can be useful in planning.

Digest of Recent Research

With support from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, CIC publishes occasional digests of new research of special relevance to leaders of private colleges and universities with the goal of highlighting timely and pertinent research presidents and senior campus leaders might find helpful. CIC releases one issue with 12—15 entries per year.

  • Funding Source and Amount: $90,000 from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
  • Special Information: The Digest is edited by Matthew J. Mayhew, William Ray and Marie Adamson Flesher Professor of Educational Administration, Ohio State University, and funded through 2025. The most recent Digest was completed in March 2023 and released in Summer 2023 with successful completion of the new CIC website launch.

Webinars

In response to CIC member data and requests for more information about ongoing topics in the sector, CIC hosted multiple webinars:

  • “Cracking the Code: Hiring Algorithms and Career Services on Campus” was offered on February 23, 2023. This webinar addressed emerging uses of technology in the hiring process.
  • “ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence, and the Independent College: Challenges and Opportunities” was offered on March 2, 2023, in response to member requests to discuss and learn more about the impact on higher education of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence platforms.
  • “Using Open Educational Resources to Make Course Materials Inclusive and Culturally Responsive” was offered on April 21, 2023, and demonstrated strategies for using Open Educational Resources to make teaching more inclusive and culturally responsive.
  • The “Work-Based Learning Consortium Webinar” was held on May 17, 2023, to provide information on a new CIC initiative that launched in July 2023.

Listservs

CIC provides 35 listservs and communities for various campus constituencies. All of the listservs are reserved exclusively for employees from CIC member institutions. They include:

Campus Role Listservs

  • Presidents Listserv
  • CAO Listserv
  • Advancement Listserv
  • Chairs Listserv
  • Chiefs of Staff Listserv
  • Data Listserv
  • Deans Listserv
  • Enrollment Listserv
  • Finance Listserv
  • HR Listserv
  • PR Listserv
  • Presidential Assistant Listserv
  • Presidential Spouse Listserv
  • Student Affairs Listserv

Network Listservs

  • Tuition Exchange Program Listserv
  • NetVUE Listserv
  • State Councils Listserv

Legacies of American Slavery Blog and Resource Database

In 2022, CIC introduced a blog and resource database as part of its ongoing initiative, Legacies of American Slavery: Reckoning with the Past. The blog includes curated links, updates from the network of participating colleges and universities, and other resources to help institutions and individuals explore, teach, and address the multiple legacies of slavery in American life. The resource database is a growing list of ongoing work at CIC member institutions related to the legacies of slavery. The blog and database can be found at legaciesofslavery.net.

Foundation Conversation

For over 30 years, CIC has held a biennial meeting to connect senior administrators at member institutions with leaders at philanthropic foundations that support the independent sector of higher education. This event aims not only to inform member institutions about key foundation priorities and trends, but also to help foundation leaders better understand the unique needs and strengths of independent, liberal arts colleges and universities.

Traditionally open exclusively to college presidents and held in New York City, the Conversation between Foundation Officers and College and University Presidents was reimagined in 2022 as the Foundation Conversation, a series of webinars open not only to presidents but also to chief academic officers and chief advancement officers, who play a significant role in fundraising from foundations.

Three webinars were held in October 2022, each featuring a panel discussion between two program officers from national foundations on a shared priority that is also of great interest to the independent higher education sector:

  • “College to Career Pathways,” featuring Carnegie Corporation of New York and Strada Education Foundation, was offered on October 3, 2022.
  • “Building a Diverse STEM Pipeline to Careers and the Professoriate,” featuring the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the National Science Foundation, was offered on October 13, 2022.
  • “Social Justice through the Humanities,” featuring the Teagle Foundation and the Mellon Foundation, was held on October 20, 2022.

New Website Information

CIC launched a new website this year that allowed us to rethink how we present information about and to members. The Fast Facts section on the main page focuses on the collective strength and power of CIC institutions. The Membership Data section provides a snapshot of our member profile in terms of who they are and the CIC services they use. The Insights Hub houses all news, research, and resources that CIC makes available for the benefit of its members.

Independent Newsletter

CIC’s Independent newsletter, published since 1956, includes information on CIC’s recent and upcoming programs and services as well as a column on higher education issues, news briefs on higher education research, and news highlights from member institutions. The newsletter is published three to four times a year. View all issues.

  • Summer 2022
  • Winter 2023: CIC 2022–2023 Institutes
  • Spring 2023

Social Media

  • Twitter: @CICnotes (2,610 followers as of June 2023)
  • LinkedIn: Council of Independent Colleges (645 followers as of June 2023)
  • LinkedIn Group: “Council of Independent Colleges – Members” (70 members as of June 2023)

Letters to Government Officials

  • Letters Signed: 4 (ACE)
  • Briefs Filed: 1
CIC 2022-2023 Annual Report: Connecting Through Conversation

Council of Independent Colleges