News from NAICU

For Immediate Release

2012 NAICU Annual Meeting

Hundreds of private college and university presidents will meet with House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers; Senior White House Education Advisor Zakiya Smith; Education Analyst and Writer Diane Ravitch; Historian & Author Douglas Brinkley; United Technologies Corporation CEO Louis Chênevert; and other speakers to explore the challenges and opportunities facing higher education, America's college students, and the nation.

WHEN:

January 29 - February 1

WHERE:

Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
400 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.
202-737-1234

Among the Questions Addressed:

●  How might the current federal budget and the year ahead in Congress affect federal student aid and the nation?

●  How can colleges better control their costs and enhance affordability?

●  How are colleges rethinking the higher education model to survive and thrive in the "new normal"?

●  How will the next phrase of education reform affect higher education and the nation's students?

●  What is the role of American business in providing higher education opportunities for employees?

●  How has Obama's election changed the course of American history?

●  How can college presidents work most effectively with their boards and senior administration teams?

●  What are best practices for creating and implementing online programs?

Among the Speakers:

●  House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers

●  Senior White House Education Advisor Zakiya Smith

●  Education Analyst and Writer Diane Ravitch

●  Historian & Author Douglas Brinkley

●  Economists & Authors Robert Archibald & David Feldman, Why Does College Cost So Much?

●  NAICU Award Recipients United Technologies Corporation (represented by CEO Louis Chênevert) and Trinity Washington University President Patricia McGuire

●  Chronicle of Higher Education Editorial Director Jeff Selingo

●  The Presidents of: Hardin-Simmons University; Heritage University; Huntington University; Saint Leo University; Sewanee: The University of the South; Stevenson University; & Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities

●  Higher Education Leadership, Management and Marketing Experts from: Diversified Investment Advisors; GDA Integrated Services; The Learning House; Performa Higher Education; Seigenthaler Public Relations; SimpsonScarborough; SRP Consulting; & Stamats

Schedule of Events: www.naicu.edu/AnnMtgSchedule (check back regularly for updates)

Media Registration: Form available at www.naicu.edu/AnnMtgMediaReg, or by calling 202-739-0474 (direct office) or 202-288-9333 (cell). You may also email your name, title, organization, and contact information to mediaregistration@naicu.edu. 

Annual Meeting Twitter Hashtag: #naicu12

Media Contact:

Tony Pals
tony@naicu.edu
direct office: (202) 739-0474
cell: (202) 288-9333

(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education today released its annual report on executive compensation at private, nonprofit colleges and universities. According to the study, median compensation (salary and benefits) was $385,909 for 2009, a 2.2 percent increase over 2008. Of the nation's 1,600 private, nonprofit colleges, 36 provided compensation of more than $1 million.)

The salaries of executives at private, nonprofit colleges and universities reflect supply and demand. Searches for these positions at a significant number of independent institutions are highly competitive, and colleges must offer compensation packages that attract qualified leaders. Salaries are largely set through marketplace studies.

Trustees, as fiduciaries of their institutions, generally exercise careful judgment in setting compensation levels and fringe benefits in consideration of the job market in higher education and beyond, and in light of generally accepted standards of propriety. A board's decisions will vary by institution, depending on such factors as marketplace, budget, and the specific challenges faced by the institution. 

The job of college president has changed dramatically in the last 30 years, as have the demands. There is just a small pool of candidates who possess the skill set that is required, and are willing to take on the stressful 24/7 nature of the position.

Presidents must have fundraising expertise, political savvy, solid management experience, a strong business sense, the ability to develop and deliver an educational vision for the institution, negotiating and mediating skills, and the ability to represent the college effectively to diverse stakeholders. Presidents must be capable of administrating organizations with thousands of employees and budgets reaching hundreds of millions of dollars at many larger institutions.

Private college leaders face increased pressure on many fronts: budgetary challenges brought on by the economic downturn, uncertainty about the long-term sustainability of higher education's traditional financial model, calls for further government regulation, greater competition from public and for-profit institutions, growing student financial need, and consumer concerns about growing sticker prices.

A study by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) illustrates the impact of the growing pressures of the job on the size of the pool of qualified candidates. CIC reports that less than one in four chief academic officers at private colleges plan to pursue a presidency.

Presidential salaries make up a very small percentage of overall campus budgets, and have virtually no impact on tuition increases. In fact, inflation-adjusted net tuition at private, nonprofit colleges and universities actually declined by 4.1 percent in the past five years, according to the College Board.

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For the third consecutive year, the College Board's college price report, like NAICU's tuition survey results released in June, shows an increase in published tuition and fees at private nonprofit colleges and universities in the mid-4-percent range. (The College Board reports a 4.5 percent increase for 2011-12; NAICU reported 4.6 percent.) This is down from an average annual increase of 6 percent during the 10 years preceding the economic downturn. The percentage increases in the past three years are among the lowest since 1972, the first year for which NAICU has data. 

According to recent NAICU surveys, institutionally provided student aid at private nonprofit colleges increased 7 percent (2011-12), 6.8 percent (2010-09), and 9 percent (2009-10) in the last three years. Nevertheless, affording a college degree is a growing challenge for American families. Private colleges are working hard to stay affordable for students from all backgrounds, and to remain the best higher education value for millions of families. More institutions are introducing creative measures to reduce students' out-of-pocket costs, including three-year bachelor's degrees, tuition freezes and cuts, programs that replace loans with grants, programs that match the price of local state universities, and other initiatives.

According to the College Board, inflation-adjusted net tuition and fees (published tuition and fees minus all grant aid and federal higher education tax benefits) at private nonprofit colleges actually dropped by 4.1 percent, from 2006-07 to 2011-12. In 2011-12, net tuition and fees at private nonprofit colleges average $12,970, compared to average published tuition and fees of $28,500.

A sharp increase in student financial need in recent years, along with cost drivers that typically increase faster than inflation - employee health care, utilities, insurance premiums, and information technology - all contribute to rising tuition. Health-care premiums for college employees, for instance, increased by 7.3 percent last year, according to the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. Institutional fund raising and endowments have not yet returned to their pre-recession levels.

Beyond the immediate steps they took to cut administrative and staff costs when the financial crisis first hit, private colleges are working strategically to cut costs and operate more efficiently over the long term, while protecting their academic core. More institutions are consolidating administrative units and flattening bureaucratic structures. They are expanding consortial activities with other institutions in their regions and states, to reduce administrative and academic redundancies, enhance efficiency, and better serve students.

Through innovative consumer affordability measures and long-term institutional cost management initiatives, private colleges are working hard to keep net tuition as low as possible, and remain a great higher education value.

NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education. With more than 1,000 member institutions and associations, NAICU reflects the diversity of private nonprofit higher education in the United States. NAICU members enroll 90 percent of all students attending private institutions. They include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, church- and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, art institutions, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.

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For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, DC - The board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities has voted to extend NAICU President Dr. David L. Warren's contract for two years beyond the 2012 end date of his current term of service. 

The announcement was made by the 2011 NAICU board chair, Dr. Dan Carey, president of Edgewood College in Madison, Wis.  Under the terms of the board action, Warren's contract will now expire July 15, 2014.

In commenting on the contract extension, Carey said, "In this time of uncertainty on so many fronts in the nation's capital, the NAICU Board felt it essential to assure stability in the association's leadership.  All of higher education will be facing key challenges in the coming years.  We are reassured that David's steady hand, which has brought the association so far over the past two decades, will continue to guide us."

Warren was named president of NAICU in 1993, after nearly a decade as president of Ohio Wesleyan University.  As president of NAICU, he heads one of the six national higher education associations in Washington, D.C., that shares primary responsibility for shaping the higher education community's positions on federal policy.  In that role, he has orchestrated and led numerous cooperative efforts with the other major higher education associations, including the Student Aid Alliance.  His efforts have been recognized with 17 honorary degrees.

About NAICU:

NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education.  Since 1976, the association has represented private colleges and universities on policy issues with the federal government, such as those affecting student aid, taxation, and government regulation.  With more than 1,000 member institutions and associations, NAICU reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States.  NAICU members enroll nine out of every 10  students attending private institutions.  They include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, comprehensive universities, church- and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, art institutions, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions. 

Contacts:
Roland King, roland@naicu.edu
Office: (202) 739-0475 | Cell: (202) 380-8172
Tony Pals, tony@naicu.edu
Office: (202) 739-0474 | Cell: (202) 288-9333

For Immediate Release (PDF)

Contacts:
Amit Katzir, Project Interchange
818-384-3954
katzira@projectinterchange.org

Roland King, NAICU
202-739-0475
roland@naicu.edu

NAICU President Co-chairs Visit to Israel
by Presidents of Major U.S. Universities
to Enhance Bilateral Academic Cooperation

Group to meet with senior Israeli and Palestinian
officials in week-long tour

(Jerusalem, Israel) - A group of university presidents from across the United States and the leader of a major U.S. higher education association are traveling throughout Israel, July 4-10, on an educational program sponsored by Project Interchange, an educational institute of the American Jewish Committee.

The week-long program was designed by Project Interchange in consultation with the participating higher education heads, and is being co-chaired by Barbara R. Snyder, president, Case Western Reserve University, and David L. Warren, president, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. It will be conducted in an intensive seminar format, offering the group broad exposure to the complex issues facing Israel and the region.

Strong thematic emphasis will be given to higher education, and the delegation will meet with their executive counterparts at such institutions as Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, Al Quds University, and Al-Qasemi College. They will receive in-depth briefings on state-of-the-art research initiatives being undertaken and will discuss opportunities for academic exchange and research collaborations at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels. 

The delegation also is to meet with senior government officials, including Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. 

In order to enhance academic ties with Israel among a wide cross-section of U.S. campuses, Project Interchange reached out to leaders of a diverse set of academic institutions, including large and small, public and private, liberal arts, and "up-and-coming" universities.  

The 17-member delegation includes:

J. Timothy Cloyd, President, Hendrix College
John Anderson Fry, President, Drexel University
Jeffrey Herbst, President, Colgate University
George E. Martin, President, St. Edward's University
Beheruz N. Sethna, President, University of West Georgia 
Barbara R. Snyder, President, Case Western Reserve University 
Holden Thorp, Chancellor, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
David Warren, President, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
Henry Yang, Chancellor, University of California, Santa Barbara

The group also will participate in briefings by Israeli and Palestinian experts on a host of political and societal matters, including Israel's diverse makeup and efforts toward interfaith co-existence. Justice Aharon Barak, former President of Israel's Supreme Court, and Daniel Reisner, former Head of the International Law Department of the Israel Defense Forces, will lead discussions on various legal topics, including human rights and international law.

Sam Witkin, executive director of Project Interchange, said, "We are tremendously pleased to host this exceptional delegation of university leaders for their first of hopefully many trips to Israel. The world-class research and educational facilities at Israeli universities and colleges, a number of which will be visited during the program, provide a fitting setting for great minds to share information, discuss research partnerships, and explore opportunities for mutually-beneficial collaboration."

Recent Project Interchange delegations have included French and German political leaders, Chinese and Indian-American Academic leaders, Latina students, college newspaper editors, counter-terrorism experts from Europe and the United States, and journalists from across the world, with an upcoming seminar for leading figures of India's film industry, or "Bollywood."

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About Project Interchange:
Project Interchange, a non-profit institute of AJC (American Jewish Committee), develops and conducts educational seminars in Israel for current and emerging United States and international leaders. Founded in 1982, Project Interchange has brought over 5,000 influential figures to Israel from more than 60 countries, offering them broad exposure to the complex issues facing Israel and the region. http://www.projectinterchange.org/

About the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities:
NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education.  Since 1976, the association has represented private colleges and universities on policy issues with the federal government, such as those affecting student aid, taxation, and government regulation.  With over 1,000 member institutions and associations, NAICU reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States.  NAICU member institutions include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, comprehensive universities, church-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, and two-year colleges. http://www.naicu.edu/