Graph of the Week

Final figures for fall show the 21st consecutive year of enrollment growth among Ohio's independent colleges. This fall's preliminary figures will be available in the middle of October - with final data next spring.

Graph of the Week Archives

Ohio's independent colleges educate more than their share of one of the state's targeted groups: undergraduates age 30 and over.

Ohio's new strategic plan for higher education emphasizes attracting out-of-state students, with the hope that many will settle here after graduation. Ohio's independent colleges lead in this effort.

Ohio's independent colleges award more than 3/4 of the grants received by their students - a commitment to their students unmatched by any other education sector.

Independent colleges enroll about a third of the state's undergraduates at four-year colleges and universities - but almost half of those who finish on time.

Not only does completing a bachelor's degree mean more time at work, but propotionately more income. For every dollar earned by a bachelor's degree holder, an associate degree holder earns just 69 cents.

Ohio's independent colleges, by and large, are heavily dependent on tuition income to support their teaching, research, and service programs. Of our 51 members, 36 get more than half their revenue from their students, even when considering the amount of financial aid the campused themselves offer.

Note how the stewards of the freedoms the founders demanded on July 4, 1776, are all graduates of independent colleges and independent law schools.

Regardless of how well you did on your ACT - even if your school doesn't require the ACT - you're much more likely to graduate on time at an AICUO member institution.

New data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows the continued high perfromance of Ohio's independent colleges and universities in graduating their freshman on time.

Ohio's independent colleges have a large and increasing share of providing financial aid grants to their students - totaling nearly 3/4 of a billion dollars in the 2006-07 academic year.

The total dollars awarded in institutional financial aid grants by AICUO members jumped by 136 percent in a decade, far outstripping the 10-year increase in tuition and fees of 61%.

This fall, nearly 2/3 of the financial aid given to first-time, full-time freshman at AICUO member institutions came from the institutions themselves.

Ohio independent colleges shine in graduating scientists, engineers, artists, linguists...

Even engineers, as only a handful of independent colleges can afford to offer engineering programs, and one of every five of Ohio's bachelor's degrees in that area come from our members.

Persistence and four-year graduation rates Ohio independent and public four-year institutions

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Four out of every five new freshmen return the next year to the campus where they started at both Ohio public and Ohio independent four-year colleges and universities. But after four years, the share who have completed their bachelor's degrees is nearly 20 percent higher.

Median Family Income v. Educational Attainment By State, 2006

Source: US Census Bureau

States whose populations have proportionately more bachelor's degrees than Ohio also have higher family incomes.

Foreign students at AICUO member colleges and universities succeed at an even higher rate than American students.

At Ohio's independent colleges, new undergraduates have a higher share of transfers and part-time students - nontraditional students - than those at the state's public four-year main campuses.

Although Ohio's youger population is increasingly better educated, the state still has work to do just to even reach the nation's average.

Ohio's independent colleges have long been receptive to students who begin their studies at a community college. Fully half of those earn bachelor's degrees at an Ohio college who transferred credit from a two-year campus earned their four-year degree at an AICUO member campus: compared to 1/3 of bachelor's degrees overall.

Independent College Share of Ohio Undergrads and Alumni

More than two thirds of the undergraduates at Ohio's independent colleges come from the Buckeye State - and more than two thirds of the graduates are still here three years after graduation.

Source: AICUO Annual Report Survey

Undergraduate Financial Aid by Source

Ohio's independent colleges are the single largest source of financial aid to theirstudents - a half billion dollars annually.

Ohio Undergraduates by Age Cohort

Ohio's independent colleges demonstrate their commitment to adult students each year, enrolling a disproportionate share of those over the age of 25.

Projections of Change in Public High School Grads

Ohio colleges and universities face substantial demographic challenges in the coming years, as the number of high school graduates available to continue to higher education will start to fall off precipitously.

AICUO MemberEndowment Market Values

Half of Ohio' private nonprofit colleges and universities have endowments of less than $25 million.

Transfers In at Member Institutions by Sector

Of the more than 6,000 students who transferred into Ohio independent colleges and universities this past fall, more than 2/3 — 4,185 in all — came to complete their education from the state’s community and technical colleges, or were attracted here from an out of state institution.

Student Choice Grant Levels

Although the current state budget cut the Student Choice Grant for Ohio students at the state’s independent colleges by almost a third, the grant still removes more than $2,500 from a student’s loan debt after four years of study.

Graduation Rates of Ohio College Students
Ohio Independent and Public 4-Year Institutions

WHY TAKE AN EXTRA YEAR TO GRADUATE?
More than half of the entering students at Ohio's independent colleges earn their bachelor's degrees in four years or less — while at the public campuses it takes an extra year until half their entering freshmen have finished.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

Enrollment Comparison: Public vs. Independent Institutions

A Major Share Of Ohio's Enrollment Growth.
Since the late 1980s, Ohio's independent colleges have contributed 1/3 of the state's increase in higher education enrollments, even though they enroll only 1/5 of the total students.

Source: Ohio Board of Regents Student Inventory Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Population Projection for 18- to 24-Year-Olds

It's not just the baby boom that's making Ohio Older.
As fewer Ohioans in the future will be of "traditional" college age, colleges and universities will need to add a new focus on adult learners.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Public High School Graduates in Ohio- Actual and Projected to 2016

#degreesbyrace

By 2010, the number of new high school graduations in Ohio will begin a precipitous decline. Where will the new college students come from?

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Independent College Share of Ohio 4-year Undergraduates v. Ohio Bachelor's Degrees, 2005-06

Ohio's independent colleges and universities are more productive in assisting minority populations to reach their educational goals.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

4- and 5-Year Baccalaureate Graduation Rates At Ohio Higher Education Institutions

Independent College Share of 4-Year Undergraduates By Age, Fall 2005

Ohio's private nonprofit colleges and universities do more than their share of educating the state's adult learners.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Family Income Distribution at Ohio 4-Year Colleges and Universities AY 2003-04

Economically speaking, the undergraduate student bodies of Ohio's public and independent colleges and universities are nearly identical.

Source: Family income survey of ACT and SAT takers enrolled in Ohio institutions, via Ohio Board of Regents