Dr. A. Hope Williams, president of North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, or NCICU, said the finding shows the “continued macroeconomic impact” of private, nonprofit colleges in the Tar Heel State.
“This report highlights that independent higher education is a rapidly growing, high-yield driver of commerce, jobs, and community infrastructure across North Carolina,” Williams said in a statement. The $38 billion impact includes support for 154,342 jobs, $16.1 billion in labor income, and $5.6 billion in tax revenues, according to NAICU.
The report states that more than 69,400 people are employed by North Carolina’s independent colleges and their affiliated networks. Of those employees, about 43,100 are directly employed as faculty, administrators and staff. Close to 26,300 are employed within the Duke University Health System.
“This shows the vast healthcare and clinical research architecture directly linked to the state's independent higher education infrastructure,” NAICU stated in a press release.
The organization noted that NCICU’s 36 campuses enroll about 84,000 students annually and thus serve as a “primary pipeline for the state’s professional workforce.”
“These campuses confer one in four of all bachelor's degrees and one in three of all professional degrees awarded in North Carolina,” the NAICU press release states.
While NAICU’s report seeks to portray the organization’s member schools in a positive light, it comes at a time when many of those schools are facing an “increasing challenge” when it comes to enrollment.
“Twenty-eight of the state’s 38 private institutions of higher education with at least 500 students reported enrollment declines over the past four years,” Business North Carolina magazine reported in 2025, citing federal data. “Overall, 13 schools reported declines of at least 15 percent.”
One of those schools, St. Augustine’s University, filed for bankruptcy in April.
In a recent Forbes report on the financial health of private not-for-profit colleges with enrollment of more than 500 students, only 10 of the 38 in North Carolina earned A’s and B’s. Seventeen got C’s and seven got D’s.
