cIcu | Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities

About cIcu

 Founded in 1956 by a small group of private, not-for-profit college and university presidents, the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (cIcu) now represents 110 independent (private, not-for-profit) campuses across New York State.  cIcu is a statewide association representing the public policy interests of the chief executives of more than 100 independent colleges and universities in New York State.

Although not a government agency, cIcu received its charter from the State Board of Regents. Its mission is to develop consensus among a diverse membership and to advance higher education public policy.

The Commission is the formal organizational liaison with the New York State Board of Regents, the State Commissioner of Education, and the chancellors of the State University (SUNY) and City University (CUNY); and with the proprietary sector. The Commission is governed by a Board of Trustees composed of chief executive officers or institutional trustees of member campuses who represent the diversity of the cIcu membership in terms of institutional type, size, and geographic location. Its president is Abraham M. Lackman.

Member colleges compose the largest private sector of higher education in the world. Collectively, they:

• Enroll nearly 460,000 students, including 300,000 New Yorkers;
• Award 57 percent of the baccalaureate degrees, 72 percent of the master's degrees, and 81 percent of the doctoral and first professional degrees earned in the state;
• Employ 139,000 people with a payroll totaling $15.3 billion annually;
• Generate $41.4 billion in economic activity within their communities and the state; and
• Sponsor 500 research centers and institutes that are available to businesses and the community.

Since 1981, cIcu's Outreach Programs have produced helpful publications for students, parents, and schools about cIcu's 100+ member private colleges and universities, college admissions, and financial aid. Available free of charge, the latest series includes: Your College Search, the Admissions & Financial Aid Bulletin, and Affording College. Publication distribution exceeds 500,000 copies to New York State high school guidance and principals' offices; school superintendents' offices; public libraries; and to selected high schools in surrounding states. Our outreach also includes the Sector's admissions and financial aid Web site, www.nycolleges.org.

The Commission coordinates its advocacy efforts with the Council of Governing Boards (CGB), a statewide association that represents the policy interests of more than 3,000 independent college and university trustees.