Independent Colleges: Innovating & Optimistic

The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) just released a timely report of college presidents showing that campuses are innovating and optimistic about their future prospects.  CIC President Richard Ekman notes that the findings of the study fundamentaly challenge the prevailing and incorrect view that the, "...liberal arts college is nearing the end of its lifecycle."    

James C. Hearn, professor and associate director, and Jarrett B. Warshaw, presidential fellow and doctoral candidate, at the University of Georgia Institute of Higher Education are authors of the study, Mission-Driven Innovation:  An Empirical Study of Adaptation and Change among Independent Colleges.  Over two-hundred college presidents participated in the study with 60% serving small institutions under 2,000 students. 

In detailed findings on the types of innovations, the study authors note that campuses are focusing on both cost control and revenue enhancement.  Further, the report shows that few colleges are avoiding tough choices.  Two-thirds or more of the presidents report changes that address core structural or operational processes.