cIcu | Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities

New York State colleges and universities are essential to meeting President Obama's goal to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

• New York State's colleges and universities currently award 177,584 associate's and bachelor's degrees annually.
• To contribute their share toward the national goal, colleges and universities in New York need to graduate an additional 745,000 students by 2020. This means successively awarding 11,300 additional degrees each year.

Even in the worst recession since the Great Depression, private colleges and universities continued to expand.

• "Demand for educational services remains strong during recessions," says a recent report from the New York State Comptroller.[1]
• "New York has the largest private higher education sector in the nation, with 167,450 jobs in 2009 – more than 40 percent larger than second-ranked California."
• "New York accounts...

Independent colleges and universities are New York's leading source of bachelor's and graduate degrees.

• New York’s private, not-for-profit colleges and universities award two in three (64%) bachelor’s and graduate degrees awarded in the state.
• Students earn their degrees in less time at New York’s independent colleges and universities, avoiding additional tuition and beginning their careers or graduate studies earlier.

"If you're a college graduate, unemployment is five percent. If you're a high school graduate, it's ten percent or more. It's a very big difference."[1]

• In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes that aired December 5, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke noted:  "If you're a college graduate, unemployment is five percent. If you're a high school graduate, it's ten percent or more. It's a very big difference. It leads to an unequal society and a society which doesn't have the cohesion...

Students attending independent colleges and universities are more likely to volunteer than their peers generally, and are also more likely to volunteer now than a decade ago.

• Two in three students (64%) attending a four-year independent (private, not-for-profit) college or university volunteered in their communities in 2008, up 12 percentage points from 1999.
• Students at private, not-for-profit colleges and universities in New York State are most likely to volunteer in the areas of K-12 educational programming (87.8%),...

For science, technology, mathematics and engineering programs, and for degrees in other critical need areas such as health professions and education, most students choose private, not-for-profit colleges and universities.

• New York's private, not-for-profit colleges and universities confer 73% of engineering degrees, 50% in computer and information sciences; 55% in biological and biomedical sciences; 62% in the health professions; and 47% in education.
• In addition to educating students for high demand occupations, New York's Independent Sector is keeping alive the...

New York State ranks fourth among states in total dollar volume for Pell Grants, and second for SEOG funding.

• New York State students receive approximately $1.8 billion in Pell Grants, more than six percent of the nation's total, and almost $58 million for SEOG, just below eight percent of the nation's total.

• In FY 2009-10, more than 100,000 students attending an independent (private, not-for-profit) college or...

TAP helps low- and moderate- income New York families send their kids to college.

• Through the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), the State's students can choose the best academic fit from more than 200 public and private college and universities.
• Since 1974, TAP has annually provided grants to hundreds of thousands New Yorkers.
• Half of Independent Sector undergraduates who receive TAP support (49 percent) come from families...

New York's private, not-for-profit colleges and universities are significant employers and anchor tenants.

• New York's private colleges and universities annually contribute $54 billion to the New York State economy and directly employ 174,000 individuals.
• Campuses have a stabilizing effect in their local economies. In nine of the state's counties, private education represents five percent or more of total employment.
• In the mid-1960s, the state's...

Most students choose to enroll at New York private, not-for-profit colleges and universities.

• New York's private, not-for-profit colleges and universities enrolled four in ten (38%) of the 1.3 million students studying for degree credit in the fall of 2010.
• The Independent Sector annually awards more than 43% of all the associate and bachelor’s degrees earned in New York State, and 64% of all bachelor’s and graduate degrees.

New York's Independent colleges and universities are among the nation's best.

• New York ranks first among states for the number of private, not-for profit universities and colleges on the U.S. News and World Report’s lists of "Best National Universities" and "Best Liberal Arts Colleges."

• Eight of New York’s 12 top ranked campuses on the "Best National Universities" and "Best Liberal Arts Colleges" lists...

Private, not-for-profit colleges and universities award the largest percentage of bachelor's and graduate degrees earned in New York State.

• New York's private colleges and universities awarded more than six in every 10 (63%) bachelor's and graduate degrees, according to the latest available data (2008-09).
• In seven regions of the state, more than half of bachelor's and graduate degrees are awarded by Independent Sector campuses. In three regions (Long Island, Finger Lakes, Mid-Hudson),...

New York State ranks first in recruiting first-time freshman.

• Drawn by academic programs, campus environments, and social diversity more students from around the nation and world choose to study in New York than in any other state.

• In all, out-of-state students contribute and estimated $4.5 billion to the New York economy, according to research by Postsecondary Education...

There's no place like home.

• Each year, New York State’s independent (private, not-for-profit) colleges and universities educate nearly 300,000 New York State residents.
• Nearly one-third of these residents receive TAP awards.  This need-based financial assistance, along with institutional aid, provides an unparalleled array of financial options for New Yorkers; sets New York...

Outstanding opportunities abound.

• New York State’s independent colleges and universities award 53% of the bachelor’s and graduate degrees earned by Black, Hispanic, and Asian students.
• The number of Blacks and Hispanics who received a bachelor’s degree from an independent college or university in New York State grew by 72% between 1990-91 and 2008-09.