1. www.krcresearch.com Rice University: Image and Reputation Survey Administrators Forum Feb. 12, 2008

2. www.krcresearch.com 2 Objective –Measure awareness of, attitudes about and support for Rice among opinion leaders in strategic markets –Understand Rice’s standing among target competitors –Understand Rice’s performance in priority areas Methodology –Oct. 19 – Oct. 30, 2007 –800 interviews of opinion leaders Age 35 and older, college-educated, affluent, civic participants 150 in Houston; 150 in greater Texas; 250 East Coast (New York, D.C., Miami); 250 West Coast (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle)

3. www.krcresearch.com Findings

4. Competitive Set

5. www.krcresearch.com 5 Overall respondents are familiar with Rice, though intensity lags its competitors I am going to read you a list of colleges and universities. For each one, please tell me how familiar you are with that college or university. If you have never heard of it or are not sure, please just say so. Total Familiar 88% 84% 81% 73% 59% % Very/ Somewhat Familiar All respondents Not Familiar 12% 16% 19% 25% 37% Total

6. www.krcresearch.com 6 Proximity drives familiarity; Houstonians feel most familiar I am going to read you a list of colleges and universities. For each one, please tell me how familiar you are with that college or university. If you have never heard of it or are not sure, please just say so. Total Familiar 73% 93% CD 90% CD 60% D 49% % Very/ Somewhat Familiar Rice University Not Familiar 25% 6% 10% 36% AB 48% ABC Total BCD CD D Superscript indicates significant difference at 95% confidence level

7. www.krcresearch.com 7 Geography impacts feelings of familiarity I am going to read you a list of colleges and universities. For each one, please tell me how familiar you are with that college or university. If you have never heard of it or are not sure, please just say so. Among the competitive set, Houstonians are most familiar with Rice. Eight in 10 feel very familiar with Rice; 93% familiar overall Those in the rest of Texas (outside of Houston) also feel more familiar with Rice than they do with Rice’s competitors, though the intensity is lower than in Houston East Coast respondents feel less familiar with Rice than with Rice’s competitors, though 60% feel familiar Half of West Coast respondents feel familiar with Rice (47%). They are most familiar with Stanford

8. www.krcresearch.com 8 Those who know Rice are favorable – and intensely; more than half are very favorable Now I am going to read you the same list of colleges and universities. For each one, please tell me how favorable you are, in general, about that particular college or university. Do you feel very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable toward … ? [Asked only of those who are familiar with the college or university] Total favorable: 91%Total unfavorable: 5% Total favorable: 89%Total unfavorable: 8% Total favorable: 89%Total unfavorable: 5% Total favorable: 88%Total unfavorable: 7% Total favorable: 78%Total unfavorable: 5% All respondents

9. www.krcresearch.com 9 Favorability toward Rice is high across markets; intensity drops outside of Texas Now I am going to read you the same list of colleges and universities. For each one, please tell me how favorable you are, in general, about that particular college or university. Do you feel very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable toward … ? Base: those who are familiar with Rice, Houston N=143, Rest of Texas N=146; East Coast N=196; West Coast N=158 Total favorable: 89%Total unfavorable: 5% Total favorable: 97%Total unfavorable: 3% Total favorable: 98%Total unfavorable: 1% Total favorable: 79%Total unfavorable: 6% Total favorable: 75%Total unfavorable: 10% Rice University Superscript indicates significant difference at 95% confidence level

10. www.krcresearch.com Media Environment & Connections

11. www.krcresearch.com 11 Most respondents do not have any connection to Rice University In which of the following ways, if any, are you connected with Rice University? Do you … ? 37% have some connection to Rice All respondents

12. www.krcresearch.com 12 A connection to Rice leads to increased familiarity and favorability O indicates significant difference from those with no connection at 95% confidence level Total familiar: 93% Total favorable: 94% Connection No connection Total familiar: 62% Total favorable: 64% % Very/Somewhat Positive Response

13. www.krcresearch.com 13 Reputation, athletics and science programs are top-of-mind associations with Rice When you think of Rice University, what comes to mind? Base: those who are familiar with Rice, Total N=643 Total familiar: 73% of all respondents Reputation is largely driven by perceptions of academic excellence (32%) All respondents

14. www.krcresearch.com 14 Outside of Houston, there is a soft news environment for Rice University Have you seen, heard or read anything recently about Rice University? Base: those who are familiar with Rice, Total N=643; Houston N=143; Rest of Texas N=146; East Coast N=196; West Coast N=158 BCD CD AB Prospects (39%) and very affluent respondents (35%) are most likely to have heard something recently Superscript indicates significant difference at 95% confidence level

15. www.krcresearch.com 15 News recall focuses on sports and lacks specificity What did you see, hear or read? Anything else? Base: Respondents who had seen, heard, or read anything recently about Rice, Total N=176 Respondents across geographies cited news about sports. On the West Coast, most recalled general news (note: small n size on the West Coast. N=20) All respondents

16. www.krcresearch.com 16 Overall, respondents most often get Rice news from their local paper Where did you see, hear or read this news about Rice University Base: Respondents who had seen, heard, or read anything recently about Rice, Total N=176 All respondents

17. www.krcresearch.com 17 Outside of Texas, word of mouth, the Internet and Rice publications are sources Houston (A) Rest of Texas (B) East Coast (C)West Coast (D) Local newspaper58 BCD 32 D 156 The Internet18202514 Local television news17231518 Friends and family17121633 University publication179-24 Local radio117-- Friends and family who work at or attend the University97-6 NPR42-- Magazines-21118 Other91526- Don’t know/refused-56- Where did you see, hear or read this news about Rice University? Base: Respondents who had seen, heard, or read anything recently about Rice, Houston N=90, Rest of Texas N=47, East Coast N=19, West Coast N=20 (note: small N size for East and West Coast respondents)

18. www.krcresearch.com 18 When respondents do hear or see news about Rice, it drives positive feelings Total more favorable: 62%Total less favorable: 4% Total more favorable: 63%Total less favorable: 4% Total more favorable: 61%Total less favorable: 2% Total more favorable: 57%Total less favorable: 11% Total more favorable: 63%Total less favorable: 5% C C Did this information – what you saw, read or heard about Rice University – make you much more favorable, somewhat more favorable, somewhat less favorable or much less favorable? Base: Respondents who had seen, heard, or read anything recently about Rice, Houston N=90, Rest of Texas N=47, East Coast N=19, West Coast N=20 (note: small N size for East and West Coast respondents)

19. www.krcresearch.com Performance & Goals

20. www.krcresearch.com 20 Respondents prioritize a high-quality education and world-class faculty Now I am going to read you some goals a PRIVATE college or university may have may have. Using a scale of 1 to 10, where a 1 is “not at all important” and a 10 is “very important,” please tell me how important you feel each of the following goals should be for a private college or university. 96% 85% 86% % Very (9-10)/ Somewhat (7-8) Important First Tier Goals All respondents 88% 85% First tier goals are those about which respondents feel most intense – that is have the highest percentage saying “very important” Total

21. www.krcresearch.com 21 State of the art classrooms and research are second-tier priorities Now I am going to read you some goals a PRIVATE college or university may have may have. Using a scale of 1 to 10, where a 1 is “not at all important” and a 10 is “very important,” please tell me how important you feel each of the following goals should be for a private college or university. % Very (9-10)/ Somewhat (7-8) Important 80% 76% 74% Second Tier Goals All respondents 77% 73% 76% 70% 73% Total

22. www.krcresearch.com 22 Third tier goals lack intensity 24% Now I am going to read you some goals a PRIVATE college or university may have may have. Using a scale of 1 to 10, where a 1 is “not at all important” and a 10 is “very important,” please tell me how important you feel each of the following goals should be for a private college or university. 69% 49% % Very (9-10)/ Somewhat (7-8) Important Third Tier Goals All respondents 57% Total

23. www.krcresearch.com 23 Those familiar with Rice describe it as providing a high-quality education Now I’d like to read you the same list and ask you how well that describes Rice University. Using a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is “does not describe at all” and 10 is “describes completely,” please tell me how well that attribute or phrase describes Rice University. Base: those familiar with Rice, N=643 74% 67% 72% 60% 64% First Tier Descriptions 57% % Very (9-10)/ Somewhat (7-8) Describes All respondents Neutral/ DK 25% 30% 26% 38% 35% 41% Total First tier descriptors are those about which respondents feel most intense – that is have the highest percentage saying “describes very well” 59%38%

24. www.krcresearch.com 24 On a second tier, respondents describe Rice as prestigious and a value Neutral/ DK Now I’d like to read you the same list and ask you how well that describes Rice University. Using a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is “does not describe at all” and 10 is “describes completely,” please tell me how well that attribute or phrase describes Rice University. Base: those familiar with Rice, N=643 57% 52% 51% 56% 52% Second Tier Descriptions % Very (9-10)/ Somewhat (7-8) Describes All respondents 33% 44% 43% 47% Total 61%36%

25. www.krcresearch.com 25 Respondents are least likely to describe Rice as having a growing student body 23% Neutral/ DK 47% 56% 51% 70% Now I’d like to read you the same list and ask you how well that describes Rice University. Using a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is “does not describe at all” and 10 is “describes completely,” please tell me how well that attribute or phrase describes Rice University. Base: those familiar with Rice, N=643 48% 42% 43% Third Tier Descriptions % Very (9-10)/ Somewhat (7-8) Describes All respondents Total 36% 47%

26. www.krcresearch.com 26 Top descriptors for Rice are similar across regions Percent total describes (7-10 on a 10-point scale) Houston (A) Rest of Texas (B) East Coast (C) West Coast (D) Provides a high-quality undergraduate education94 BCD 86 CD 5153 Is located in a city/town that offers lots of educational and entertainment opportunities90 CD 85 CD 3644 Is highly ranked among other colleges and universities across the country90 BCD 81 CD 5155 Has an appealing and attractive campus90 BCD 70 CD 3031 Has world class faculty and researchers88 BCD 72 CD 3943 Provides an undergraduate education that emphasizes science and technology84 BCD 72 CD 3734 Conducts cutting edge research84 BCD 66 CD 3432 Offers students a strong campus community and active campus life83 BCD 61 CD 3238 Offers a wide range of majors and academic experiences80 CD 67 CD 44 Has world class professional schools such as architecture, business and music79 BCD 55 CD 2930 Is as prestigious as Ivy League schools77 CD 68 CD 4035 Offers a good value for the money76 BCD 62 CD 2634 Maintains a low student to faculty ratio76 BCD 64 CD 2430 Provides an undergraduate education that emphasizes the humanities66 BCD 51 CD 3336 Has an increasingly diverse student body64 BCD 50 CD 2523 Is expanding state of the art classrooms, labs and other facilities62 BCD 46 CD 2624 Has world class professional schools such as medicine and law3943 CD 3129 Is increasing the size of the student body36 CD 26 CD 12 Now I’d like to read you the same list and ask you how well that describes Rice University. Base: those who are familiar with Rice, Total N=643; Houston N=143; Rest of Texas N=146; East Coast N=196; West Coast N=158 Superscript indicates significant difference at 95% confidence level

27. www.krcresearch.com 27 The ability to rate Rice diminishes with distance Now I’d like to read you the same list and ask you how well that describes Rice University. Base: those who are familiar with Rice, Total N=643; Houston N=143; Rest of Texas N=146; East Coast N=196; West Coast N=158 Houston and Texas respondents see Rice as high-quality, highly ranked and well-located East and West Coast respondents often do not know how to describe Rice. They are more likely than Houston and Texas respondents to say they “don’t know” if an attribute describes Rice. They are not more likely to say an attribute does not describe Rice

28. www.krcresearch.com Location

29. 29 The majority – even those outside of Texas – have visited Houston before Have you ever been to Houston, TX? CD AB CD Superscript indicates significant difference at 95% confidence level

30. www.krcresearch.com 30 Outside of Texas, the Houston location does not impact feelings toward Rice Total more favorable: 37%Total less favorable: 20% Total more favorable: 72%Total less favorable: 6% Total more favorable: 35%Total less favorable: 25% Total more favorable: 23%Total less favorable: 23% Total more favorable: 18%Total less favorable: 27% BCD BC As you may or may not know, Rice University is located in Houston, TX. Hearing that, does that make you feel more favorable or less favorable about Rice University? D AA ABAA AA 67% of those who know Rice say being “located in a city or town that offers lots of educational and entertainment opportunities” describes the University

31. www.krcresearch.com Conclusions & Implications

32. www.krcresearch.com 32 Positive Starting Point Rice University enjoys a relatively positive position across markets –At least half in all markets are aware of Rice –Those who know Rice are positive –No entrenched negatives –Quality (in academic offerings, faculty and student experiences) is associated with Rice across markets –Location is seen as having either a neutral or positive impact –Familiarity breeds positive reactions: Houston respondents are more likely to feel favorably toward Rice and to rate Rice higher on attributes

33. www.krcresearch.com 33 Areas for Work Rice will need to reinforce positives within Texas outside of Houston In East and West Coast markets, Rice must introduce itself to key audiences –Awareness of Rice is lower in East and West Coast markets –Though overall levels are high, there is a lack of intensity in favorability levels among those who know Rice in these markets –The media environment tends to be soft – recall of Rice in the news is vague or athletics-driven –While negatives are not entrenched, many feel unable to rate Rice on key performance metrics

34. www.krcresearch.com 34