Overview

• TICUA membership includes 31 four-year colleges and universities, and 3 professional colleges.

Participation

• Nearly 76,000 students are enrolled in TICUA institutions, about half of which are students who graduated from high school in Tennessee.
• TICUA member colleges and universities enroll students from every county in the state.
• About a quarter of the undergraduate students attending TICUA member colleges and universities identify as non-white. 

Affordability

• Historically, the median family income of students attending one of the state’s four-year private colleges or universities is less than the median family income of students attending one of the state’s four-year public colleges and universities. 

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  Financial Aid
  • About 90% of first-time, full-time students attending TICUA member institutions receive some form of financial aid.
  • For every $1 the state spends on higher education, $.02 goes to students attending private colleges and universities through the Tennessee Student Assistance Award (TSAA) grant.  This funding reaches close to 4,700 low-income students a year at an average award amount of about $3,908.
  • In 2010-11, nearly 12,400 students attending TICUA institutions received the TELS award.
  • In 2010-11, more than one-third of all undergraduate students (19,409) attending TICUA member institutions received the Federal Pell Grant award. The average yearly award amount for these students totaled over $4,422. 
• Tuition and Fees
• • Undergraduate tuition and fees at TICUA member colleges and universities average 27% less than the national average to attend a private college or university.

Degree Completion

• TICUA institutions award more degrees than any other sector in the state.
• In 2009-10, our colleges and universities graduated more than 3,200 business and management leaders, 3,500 educators, and 2,700 health care professionals. Private institutions also awarded more than 1,500 degrees in STEM majors - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.