Annual Impact Reports

What impact does the independent sector have on California’s higher education ecosystem? This report highlights enrollment, demographic, and other important data collected over the past year.

View report by year: 2025, 2024, 2023

Federal Inserts

This report outlines the impact that federal and institutional student aid has on independent California colleges and universities.

View report by year: 2025

Educator Programs

The AICCU Education Deans and Directors Council represents 44 colleges, schools, and programs of education which train and credential California's future educator workforce, including teachers and administrators. This report provides insights into the impact of our programs on California’s future educator workforce.

View report by year: 2025, 2024, 2023

Grad PLUS (October 2025)

The Graduate PLUS (Grad PLUS) loan program, which provides graduate students access to federal borrowing beyond unsubsidized loan limits, will end for new borrowers on July 1, 2026. With the program’s elimination, ICCU institutions face significant challenges sustaining student access to advanced degrees in critical workforce areas. These programs serve as essential pipelines to professions in primary care, mental and behavioral health, dentistry, allied health, education, and law.

View the full report here.

HEERF Utilization (November 2023)

To help higher education institutions and students through the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government provided financial support through the three COVID-19 relief acts—the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplement Appropriations Act (CRRSAA), and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). In California, nearly $10.1 billion in COVID-19 relief aid was awarded to higher education institutions and students via the HEER Fund. Of this total statewide amount, 85.6% has been spent as of November 30, 2022. This report provides a high-level summary of the disbursement of CARES Act HEERF for institutions and students.

View the full report here.

Physician Assistant (October 2023)

California is the state with the highest employment level in physician assistants (PA) and 95% of PA graduates come from independent, nonprofit colleges and universities.

View the full report here.

Affordability (October 2021)

ICCUs collectively educate nearly 200,000 undergraduates, including over 28,000 Cal Grant recipients and nearly 50,000 Pell Grant students. Given our large statewide presence – from the Bay Area to San Diego – ICCUs represent the majority of four-year higher education institutions, making the independent sector a critical partner in providing regional access and preparing the state's skilled workforce. Institutional financial aid officers work to make these institutions truly accessible to students of all backgrounds and means.

View the full report here.

Annual ADT State Status Reports

This report to the Legislature and Department of Finance, submitted by AICCU on behalf of California independent, nonprofit higher education institutions, provides an annual status update on the implementation of the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) Commitment between AICCU and the California Community College Chancellor’s Office.

View report by year: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020  

Annual Admissions Reports

This report to the California State Legislature and Department of Finance, submitted on behalf of independent, nonprofit higher education institutions by AICCU, provides statutorily mandated admissions reports per California Education Code Section 66018.5.

View report by year: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020

Making the Leap: CCC to ICCU Transfer (June 2022)

This report presents findings from AICCU’s regional exploration of student transfer from California community colleges to independent colleges and universities, including national-clearinghouse data and regional case studies.

View the full report here.

Survey Report on COVID-19 Return to Campus (November 2021)

This fact sheet highlights how AICCU institutions returned to in-person operations in Fall 2021, noting enrollment shifts, continued student support needs, and key campus safety measures.

View the full report here.

Research Brief on the Enrollment Impact of COVID-19 (November 2020)

This brief examines how COVID-19 affected enrollment across freshman, transfer, and continuing student populations at California’s independent nonprofit colleges, revealing notable declines and increased summer melt during Fall 2020.

View the full report here.

SB 85 Reporting 2017-2018 (March 2018)

In response to the Legislature and Department of Finance (DOF), independent, nonprofit higher education institutions represented by the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU) have an obligation under Education Code Section 69432 (2017, Chapter 23, Section 5 (SB 85)1 , effective June 27, 2017) to submit a report demonstrating their progress toward increasing the number of low-income students, California transfer students, and online education offerings.

View the full report here.

Campus Climate Report 2017 (November 2017)

AICCU committed to providing the Legislature with a campus climate report for California’s private, nonprofit colleges and universities, within the confines of privacy protections for student data under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The purpose of this report is to provide greater information, policies in place at campuses, and to broaden the understanding of the campus climate.

View the full report here.