About CIC

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...Serving Independent Colleges and Universities

	Founded in 1956, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of independent colleges and universities working together to:
	support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance private higher education's contributions to society
	CIC is the major national service organization for all small and mid-sized, independent, liberal arts colleges and universities in the U.S. CIC is not a lobbying organization, but rather focuses on
providing services to campus leaders as well as seminars, workshops, and programs that assist institutions in improving educational programs, administrative and financial performance, and institutional visibility.

...Growing Steadily For Half a Century

CIC continues its steady membership growth and now serves nearly 600 independent colleges and universities, including liberal arts, comprehensive, four-year, two-year, and international institutions. More than 60 national, state, and regional organizations are Affiliate Members.

...Promoting High-Quality Education

A distinctive emphasis is the Council’s support of practical, sustainable, and cost-effective ways to raise the quality of education. Examples include:

• Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows
• Division/Department Chair Workshops
• Learning Spaces Workshop
• CIC/Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Seminar
• Ancient Greece in the Modern College Classroom Seminar
• Network for Effective Language Learning
• American Graduate Fellowships
• Reports on Business and the Liberal Arts
• Davies-Jackson Scholarship

...Making The Case For Independent Higher Education

CIC serves as a national voice for independent higher education and promotes the distinctive features of education offered by small and mid-sized, teaching-oriented, private colleges and universities. Among new and ongoing projects:

• Making the Case Website
• Historic Campus Architecture Project Website
• Media Meetings (read about CIC's New York Times Partnership)

...Fostering Institutional Effectiveness

CIC offers a wide range of programs and services to enhance decision-making on college and university campuses, including:

• Wal-Mart College Success Awards
• Data and Decision Workshops
• Collegiate Learning Assessment
• Transformation of the College Library Workshops
• Key Indicators Tool (KIT)
• Financial Indicators Tool (FIT)

...Forming Collaborations To Create And Strengthen Programs

Through collaboration among private colleges and universities and by partnering with other organizations, CIC helps member institutions create new programs and services that are both cost-effective and efficient. Among the many types of CIC-sponsored collaborations:

• Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP)
• Teachers for the 21st Century
• CIC/Harvard Open Collections Program
• CIC/New York Times Partnership
• Effective Practices Exchange

...Connecting the Leaders of Private, Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities

CIC provides opportunities for campus leaders to share ideas and learn from one another. Among the programs and services:

• Presidents Institute
• Institute for Chief Academic Officers
• Spouses Programming
• Foundation Conversation
• Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission
• Institutional Diagnostic Service for New Presidents
• President-Trustee Dialogues
• Listservs

...Listening To Institutional Leaders

CIC listens to institutional leaders in a variety of ways:

Roundtable Discussions – Occasional regional meetings with presidents—and separately CAOs—on issues confronting private higher education.

Task Forces – Representative groups from member institutions assist in planning the Presidents Institute, Institute for Chief Academic Officers, Department/Division Chair Workshops, spouses programs, and special initiatives such as those that focus on using data for decision-making and making the case for independent higher education.

Member Surveys – Annual web-based and telephone surveys of
presidents and chief academic officers.

Governance, Staffing – The Council is governed by a board of directors composed of college and university presidents and corporate and foundation executives. The Council's core staff, based at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, is augmented regularly by outside experts appointed as staff advisors. The Council regularly convenes advisory task forces of members.

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