DATA POINTS

The new Data Points section examines this year in higher education. What is the state of colleges, faculty members, and students in America in 2020? What can a detailed look at growing student-loan debt tell us about borrowers? How has the Covid-19 pandemic influenced higher education? As the new academic year approaches, this section offers a look at where things stand.

Here’s a sampling of statistics researched by The Chronicle data team.

In a May 2020 Chronicle survey, about 60 percent of faculty members, and a similar share of academic administrators, said the spring’s courses were worse than their face-to-face counterparts.

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The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund provided roughly $12.5 billion to colleges to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus.” At least half of that money was required to be used for emergency financial aid to students.

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Specialized institutions — and not necessarily those that get the most attention — lead the list of colleges that have the highest long-term ROI at the 40-year mark. Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences leads the way at $2.72 million.

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More data points

• 36 Million Americans Went to College but Didn’t Earn a Degree. Here’s What We Know About the Ones Most Likely to Return and Succeed.
• Who Holds America’s $1.5-Trillion Student-Loan Debt?
• Higher Ed: You’ve Missed Your Completion Goal