🗺️ New Map Update: Better Accuracy, Cleaner Data, and a Call for Your Help

The national map of private universities has just been updated — and we’re excited to share what’s new, why it matters, and how you can help shape the future of this project.

🎯 Why the Update?

This update includes important changes to improve the accuracy and reliability of the data. Specifically:

• We’ve made adjustments to better control for statistical outliers that were skewing survivability scores.
• We improved how universities are categorized into survivability groups, making the percentile filters more precise and meaningful.
• Location data has been fully validated using a previously geocoded dataset, so pins should now reflect accurate campus locations.

🛠️ Still a Work in Progress

This project is evolving. While the current map includes hundreds of private universities, we know there are:

• Schools missing entirely (often due to inaccessible or incomplete IRS Form 990 filings)
• Possible errors in denominational affiliations
• Other data gaps we’re actively working to close

We’ve included every university we could based on publicly accessible information — but we are aware that many Form 990s are still missing from federal repositories. We're pursuing alternate methods to obtain these documents.

🔮 What’s Next?

• We’ll soon integrate the newly released IPEDS and Form 990 data as it becomes available.
• We’re also working to backfill earlier years of financial and academic data to further improve the accuracy of our forecasting models.
• And yes — this mapping framework will soon expand to include faith-based universities, CCCU schools, and more!

📣 How You Can Help

This map is meant to serve the higher ed community — and we need your input:

• Do you notice any universities missing?
• Any incorrect affiliations or data issues?
• Have suggestions for how to improve the user experience?

👉 Contact me directly with any feedback, questions, or ideas. My email address is james_long@friends.edu

And if you find this resource valuable — please share it with colleagues, institutions, or anyone interested in the future of private higher education. The more people we reach, the better this tool becomes.

Thanks so much for your continued support — and let’s keep this conversation going.

—
Jim Long, PhD
Professor of Finance & Economics
Friends University
Creator, The Collegiate Deathpool