Why Support Private Colleges?
More than 70% of graduates from a private college or university in Iowa are more likely to stay in Iowa after they graduate to further their schooling or to begin working.
Plus, our 22 member schools:
- Save Iowa taxpayers over $295 million annually by providing higher education to 30,000 students who, if they were attending public institutions,
would receive taxpayer subsidies towards tuition costs.
- Employ more than 10,000 Iowans.
- Generate more than $1.8 billion in annual economic impact for the cities and towns across the state in which they reside.
Additional facts:
- While ICF’s member schools enroll only 25% of the total undergraduate students in Iowa, they award 45% of all four-year degrees and 34%
of all graduate degrees.
- Only 1% of state dollars appropriated for higher education go to Iowa’s private colleges.
- The average taxpayer cost per student at ICF’s colleges and universities is $2,001 while for Iowa’s public institutions it is $10,588.
- A special bond often exists between Iowa’s private colleges and the communities in which they reside with 56% of their students participated
in volunteer activities averaging eight hours per week.
