AICUP
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AICUP
@aicup.bsky.social
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The 80+ members of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP) advocate for independent nonprofit education. Find AICUP on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, Twitter/X, YouTube, TikTok, or our website www.AICUP.org
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aicup.bsky.social
#Pennsylvania a better place to live and work because of its #colleges and #universities.

From the #UrbanInstitute: "𝗔 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲’𝘀 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲."

👉 www.urban.org/research/pub...
February 11, 2026 at 5:34 PM
aicup.bsky.social
Coming soon: #AICUP Regional Advocacy Meetings:

#PointPark University, Pittsburgh, February 17
AICUP #Harrisburg, February 24
#Widener University, Delaware Co, March 3
#Juniata College, Huntingdon Co, March 4

👉 Register:
survey.alchemer.com/s3/8650042/2...

🌎 Member map:
aicup.org/about-us/mem...
February 10, 2026 at 1:34 PM
aicup.bsky.social
How do #Pennsylvnia #colleges support national #defense?

Find out in the #AICUP defense survey and report.

Survey:
aicup.org/wp-content/u...

Report:
aicup.org/wp-content/u...

Sunday's #Inquirer: @inquirer.com www.inquirer.com/education/co...

🎓
@deptofwar.bsky.social #higheredbuildsamerica
February 9, 2026 at 5:03 PM
aicup.bsky.social
The top 9 colleges in #Pennsylvania for best return on investment are all #AICUP members. #PA ranks 4th in the nation with most "best schools for ROI," per Georgetown's "The Colleges Where Low-Income Students Get the Highest #ROI."

👉 Find your local #AICUP member school:
aicup.org/about-us/mem...
February 5, 2026 at 8:40 PM
aicup.bsky.social
📢 The #GrowPA application opens 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬

This #scholarship #grant for #Pennsylvania #college students is only available on a 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 basis, so hurry to get your application in as soon as possible.

👉 Learn and apply at #PHEAA:
www.pheaa.org/funding-oppo...

🎓
#financialaid #AICUP
February 5, 2026 at 4:32 PM
aicup.bsky.social
The Governor’s budget proposal recognized the value of the #AICUP sector to #Pennsylvania, with additional funding to the student-directed grants from #PHEAA.

👉 Learn more:
www.linkedin.com/pulse/govern...

🎓💪
#PAproud #PABudget @governor.pa.gov #PAGetsItDone #harrisburg #higheredbuildsamerica
February 4, 2026 at 8:23 PM
aicup.bsky.social
“If you’re betting on getting a 𝘀𝗶𝘅-𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗱𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟭 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟬.”

Read more in #Forbes magazine, by #Lumina Foundation CEO Jamie Merisotis:

“𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲, 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸? 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗵, 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲”
👉 www.forbes.com/sites/jamiem...
February 3, 2026 at 1:40 PM
aicup.bsky.social
#AICUP will be in #DC next week, February 1-4, representing 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘀𝘆𝗹𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

👉 Learn about the AICUP impact:
aicup.org/wp-content/u...

🎓
#Pennsylvania #CapitolHill #Harrisburg #PAProud #America250PA #PAGetsItDone #NAICU #NAICU50 #NAICU2026 #HigherEdBuildsAmerica
January 30, 2026 at 1:17 AM
aicup.bsky.social
Here's something we can all agree on:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮.

Read more from #AICUP Pres. Tom Foley in @usnews.com
👉 www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...

🎓
#Pell #PellGrant #DoublePell #scholarship #FinancialAid #College #University #HigherEd #Pennsylvania #HigherEdBuildsAmerica #USNews
January 27, 2026 at 1:38 PM
aicup.bsky.social
Is the #demographiccliff real, myth, or a molehill?

We’ve heard about the "cliff" enough times to assume it’s fact, but here are a few takes that may challenge the concept.

👉 Read more on the #AICUP LinkedIn page here:
www.linkedin.com/pulse/demogr...

🎓 @chronicle.com @insidehighered.com #IHE
January 20, 2026 at 6:58 PM
aicup.bsky.social
#College enrollment hits 10-year high, @washingtonpost.com:
👉 www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

The word is getting out that 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩, and people are listening.

Read more:
👉 tinyurl.com/mrt8e6zk

#AICUP map:
👉 aicup.org/about-us/mem...

🎓
#Pennsylvania #HigherEdBuildsAmerica
January 16, 2026 at 4:05 PM
aicup.bsky.social
Colleges give more to students than even federal or state financial aid. @wsj.com: "Institutional grants accounted for nearly half of all grant aid for undergraduate and graduate students..."

👉 www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

#WSJ #college #HigherEdBuildsAmerica #Pennsylvania #Harrisburg #AICUP
January 13, 2026 at 4:03 PM
aicup.bsky.social
This is the final week to enter the 𝗔𝗜𝗖𝗨𝗣 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: Apply by Friday, January 16th to recognize your team's outstanding work in communications.

Entries are welcomed from all the #AICUP member #universities and #colleges across #Pennsylvania.

👉 aicup.org/communicatio...
January 12, 2026 at 7:37 PM
aicup.bsky.social
"The #College Backlash Is a Mirage," from @theatlantic.com

"most American students are paying less in tuition"
"the returns on going to college more than offset the cost"
"the average person with a bachelor’s degree earns about 70 percent more"

👉 Read more:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The College Backlash Is a Mirage
Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the value of a degree—but enrollment keeps going up.
www.theatlantic.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:36 PM
aicup.bsky.social
𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘀𝘆𝗹𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮.

The AICUP sector helps build our state's #workforce and economy with
• 279,000 students
• $29B annual impact
• 200,000 jobs

👉 Learn about the #AICUP impact:
aicup.org/wp-content/u...

🎓
#HigherEdBuildsPennsylvania #HigherEdBuildsAmerica #Pennsylvania
January 6, 2026 at 1:19 PM
aicup.bsky.social
A #veteran dad and his daughter share the #college experience with help from the #GI Bill. This AICUP-school example appeared in the #Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
www.post-gazette.com/news/educati...

Learn more from the annual #AICUP #VeteransDay Survey: aicup.org/wp-content/u...
January 5, 2026 at 4:16 PM
aicup.bsky.social
Students: Apply early to the #Finnegan #Fellowship (deadline January 26), which offers a monetary award and summer #internship in the #Pennsylvania state #government.

Learn more:
👉
www.finneganfoundation.org/2026-essay-c...

#policy #advocacy #polisci #intern #Harrisburg #Capitol #AICUP 👍
December 22, 2025 at 3:20 PM
aicup.bsky.social
Here's a chart showing average earnings for people with and without a college degree. At age 22, they earn 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦, but see what happens next, over the span of a career.

#College is #worthit

👉 brookings.edu/articles/wha...

🎓 #Pennsylvania #AICUP #Brookings @brookings.edu
#HigherEdBuildsAmerica
December 18, 2025 at 7:14 PM
aicup.bsky.social
"Why Workers in Their 40s Are Going Back to School:" @wsj.com.

52% of #Pennsylvania adult working-age students learn at an #AICUP member college. Find the best school near you:
👉 aicup.org/about-us/mem...

Read the #WSJ story here:
👉 www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...

🎓🙌
#BacktoSchool
December 16, 2025 at 2:23 PM
aicup.bsky.social
Here's what the COO of the world's 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 asset manager had to say about #hiring #humanities majors...

👉 www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...

🎓 #BlackRock #Inquirer @inquirer.com #college #university #liberalarts #STEM #Pennsylvania #AICUP
December 8, 2025 at 3:46 PM
aicup.bsky.social
Turns out, 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁, despite repeated college-bashing messages from politicians and the news media.

👉 hechingerreport.org/no-college-d...

🎓
#Pennsylvania #AICUP #college #university #degree #worthit #paperceiling #higheredbuildsamerica
December 2, 2025 at 2:29 PM
aicup.bsky.social
One week 'til #GivingTuesday

Invest in #Pennsylvania by #donating to an independent #nonprofit #college or #university #AICUP
👉 aicup.org/about-us/mem...

🙏 💕
#GivingTuesday2025 #unselfie #Thanksgiving #HappyThanksgiving #BlackFriday #Harrisburg #Pittsburg #Philly #Philadelphia #PA #Donate #Thanks
November 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
aicup.bsky.social
15 free tuition initiatives were confirmed in a recent AICUP survey.

100% of the 80+ AICUP member colleges offer institutional financial aid and #scholarships.

Learn how you can earn a degree affordably by visiting the #AICUP member #Pennsylvania #college nearest you:
👉 aicup.org/about-us/mem...
November 20, 2025 at 7:10 PM
aicup.bsky.social
We loved this quote so much that we put it on a billboard. What do you think?

You can read the full piece in The #morningcall, in an essay by Tom Whalen about the value of #college:

👉 www.mcall.com/2025/11/16/o...

#AICUP #Pennsylvania 🎓 @aicup.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 7:22 PM
aicup.bsky.social
Which narrative do you think has more traction with kids?

Hard facts from The Wall Street Journal and Federal Reserve based on decades of research highlighting the true value of a #college education... 🎓

...or....

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦?! 🤸
🤔

Now, who knows a good animator?! 🎨
November 14, 2025 at 9:10 PM