Senate Joint Resolution No. 21 directed the State Council of Higher Education to study the role of private colleges and universities in Virginia higher education. It has provided the Council once more with the opportunity to explore new ways for all Virginia institutions of higher education, both public and private, to enter into cooperative· activities and jointly participate in Statewide planning.

The concern of the State Council of Higher Education for the development of a coordinated system of higher education in Virginia to include public-private cooperation has been sharpened in the past several years by a financial crisis among institutions of higher learning. This threat, particularly in private colleges and universities, unless wisely met, could result in a lessening of educational opportunity and choice for students. Of particular concern in Virginia is the fact that private institutions, in spite of their best efforts, are serving a diminishing proportion of students attending college.

Responding to the Resolution, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in cooperation with the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, secured statewide data to describe the role and relationships of the private sector in the Virginia higher education community. Institutional representatives were consulted and appropriate data were obtained as a basis for a thorough study of the private colleges' position in the Commonwealth. Simultaneously, the State Council secured a prominent panel of experts through Associated Consultants in Education to assist it in the survey and analysis of the data. The consultants were also asked to indicate their own recommendations for providing the most educational opportunities and choices to Virginia citizens, including private higher education.

The resulting research has been compiled for the State Council of Higher Education in a special report. While the State Council does not concur with all the consultants' recommendations, these provide a substantial basis for our own recommendations which follow.