While at Calvin, Hoogstra also served as a cabinet member who became familiar with team building, campus-wide planning and communications.

[5] She has served in a variety of volunteer leadership roles for CCCU institutes and commissions, and is the Council's first female president.

[10] CCCU seeks to provide a unified voice for faith-based institutions of higher learning on policy matters that affect its constituency and to equip members to engage in effective advocacy on the state and local level.

Other member services include webinars, grant-making opportunities for scholarship and research, discipline specific forums, networking communities, a tuition waver exchange program, and an online career center.

[12] Members also receive access to the Council's biannual magazine called CCCU ADVANCE, as well as regular news updates, website resources on scholarship, and information related to Christian higher education policy and issues.

CCCU institutions are accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities whose missions are Christ-centered and rooted in the historic Christian faith.

[18] A task force was appointed to examine the rationale for the existing associational categories plus address how to remain rooted in traditional Christianity, leading to the announcement of a new membership policy in 2016.

[19] Bluffton University also withdrew its membership in the council in December 2015 when it announced a policy change to allow hiring gay and lesbian employees.

Thus, institutions that do not offer a comprehensive undergraduate program (including Bible colleges or seminaries) can be associate members.

Institutions that do not require all of their faculty to be professing Christians and/or do not agree with all elements of the CCCU's advocacy agenda, but nevertheless wish to take part in the council's programs and partnerships, may be collaborative partners.