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Please note: Articles below link to PDF files.
(To view, you will
need Adobe Acrobat, available for free from the Adobe
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Welcome to Making the Case Resources,
CIC’s periodic kit of tools and ideas to help you tell your institution’s
story and make the case for independent higher education.
PRESIDENTS AND OTHERS MAKE THE CASE FOR PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION
Several presidents and a journalist/author make compelling arguments for small, private, liberal arts colleges and universities.
- The Richmond Times Dispatch published op-eds by two CIC presidents in Virginia that make potent cases for small private colleges and universities. Randolph-Macon College President Robert R. Lindgren stresses that “Even in Hard Times, Private Colleges Remain Affordable” (January 11, 2009), and Hollins University President Nancy Oliver Gray in “Private Colleges, Universities Must Be in State’s Starting Lineup” (August 16, 2009) takes on the Virginia Business Higher Education Council for omitting private colleges from an initiative to enhance access to higher education.
Even in Hard Times, Private Colleges Remain Affordable 
Private Colleges, Universities Must Be in State's Starting Lineup
- Similarly, two CIC presidents opposed the Pennsylvania governor’s proposed Tuition Relief Act, which would benefit only students entering community colleges and public universities. Gannon University President Antoine Garibaldi and Mercyhurst College President Thomas Gamble provided compelling data about the success of the state’s private colleges in “All Colleges Should Benefit from Tuition Relief,” published in the Erie Times-News (May 26, 2009).
All Colleges Should Benefit from Tuition Relief
- Also making the case for the liberal arts is John Strassburger, president of Ursinus College, who wrote “Restore High Ideals to Learning,” an opinion piece that was published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. He emphasizes that “college students should study real estate less and our founding principles more” (January 16, 2009).
Restore High Ideals to Learning
- CIC President Richard Ekman was interviewed for a segment that ran on National Public Radio’s Marketplace program on Monday, February 8. In the story entitled “Education Crisis Helps Private Colleges” Ekman made the point that “private colleges and universities have enormous amounts of private financial aid money available so that it is much more affordable than many people assume. Yet the stereotypes persist that the private colleges are only for wealthy kids. It’s simply not true.” The interview can be heard here.
- Financial journalist Lynn O’Shaughnessy, author of The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price, wrote an article that appeared on CBS MoneyWatch.com (January 21, 2010) that makes a compelling case for small liberal arts colleges. In her piece, “5 Reasons to Attend a Liberal Arts College” O’Shaughnessy writes, “For all those Ivy worshipers out there, I’d suggest that you at least entertain the possibility that a liberal arts college could be as good as or superior to an Ivy.”
5 Reasons to Attend a Liberal Arts College
- And in case you missed it, The Chronicle of Higher Education published a lengthy article about Davis & Elkins College and its president, G.T. “Buck” Smith, “Turnaround President Makes the Most of His College’s Small Size” (November 15, 2009).
Turnaround President Makes the Most of His College's Small Size
BULLY PULPIT ARTICLES
The impact on higher education of the nation’s recent economic turmoil was the subject of several opinion pieces by CIC member presidents, who offered a variety of strategies for institutional leaders to contend with the recession.
- St. Edward’s University President George Martin writes that “University leaders must help elevate higher education policy to the same level as health care, Social Security, and defense, for it is just as essential to the nation’s future.” His piece, “Access Matters,” was published in the April 2009 issue of University Business.
Access Matters
- “Pausing, Pondering, and Partnering: Communicating in Financially Challenging Times,” by Karen Gross, president of Southern Vermont College was published in the November/December 2009 issue of Change magazine. Gross advises that “In tough times, campus leaders rightly want to communicate with their constituencies…. This desire to be transparent is admirable. But communicating everything immediately is not always wise…”
Pausing, Pondering, and Partnering: Communicating in Financially Challenging Times
- “Thoughtful presidents and active boards must find the right combination of conservation strategies and creative initiative that fits their institution’s situation,” writes Edwin H. Welch, president of the University of Charleston in “Economic Woes Require Strategic Investment.” The opinion piece was published in the Association of Governing Board’s Trusteeship magazine (Jan/Feb. 2009).
Economic Woes Require Strategic Investment
NEW DATA POSTED ON CIC'S MAKING THE CASE WEBSITE
Several new charts posted on CIC’s Making the Case website will be of use for speeches, brochures, and reports:
Graduation Rates by Family Income
Across all family income levels, six-year graduation rates at independent institutions are higher than at public institutions. For example, 54 percent of degree-seeking students from families with annual incomes under $25,000 attending independent colleges and universities graduate in six years or less, compared to 44 percent of similar students attending public institutions. [See Chart 1] [See Chart 2]
Education For All Age Groups
Older, non-traditional students make up a higher proportion of the enrollments at independent colleges and universities. For example, adults aged 25 and over account for 38 percent of student enrollments at private, four-year colleges and universities, compared to 30 percent at public, four-year institutions. [See Chart]
More Likely to Volunteer
Students at four-year independent institutions are not only more likely to volunteer than their peers attending four-year state colleges or universities (52 percent vs. 41 percent), but also more likely than all U.S. citizens over 16 years old (28 percent). [See Chart]
Students of Color Graduation Rates Among New England Institutions
In New England, among first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students of color, the six-year gradation rates at independent colleges and universities are more than double those at public institutions. For example, 69 percent of Hispanic students graduate in six-years or less at private, four-year colleges, compared to 33 percent at public institutions. [See Chart]
HELPFUL GUIDELINES FOR CAMPUS PR OFFICERS
Several documents that were prepared for the 2009 College Media Conference, “How Colleges Can Obtain National and Regional Publicity,” that was held in June in Baltimore will be of interest to PR directors, including:
WANT TO SHARE SOME OF YOUR WRITING?
If you have a short speech, op-ed, report, or other article that you
think would be of interest to your colleague presidents or PR directors
in CIC, please send them to us for inclusion in the next issue. For more
information or to talk about your materials, contact CIC Vice President
for Communications Laura Wilcox at (202) 466-7230 or lwilcox@cic.nche.edu.
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