Sources & Notes
These sources and notes explain data for the individual 50 states and the District of Columbia as well as summary data for the United States.
The figures are comparable from state to state and, in all cases, were the latest available at press time. The time covered by the statistics varies from item to item, as shown on this list. Data are for degree-granting institutions unless otherwise specified.
The U.S. Department of Education typically releases statistics from its surveys of colleges and universities a few years after collecting the data. The latest figures on academic degrees conferred cover 2009-10, for example.
Percentages are rounded and so may not add up to 100 percent. The designation “n/a” indicates that the data are not available or not applicable. In some instances, U.S. totals may include data on military institutions and outlying areas that are not shown separately.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Population:
SOURCE: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program
DATE: 2011
Age distribution:
SOURCE: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program
DATE: 2010
Racial and ethnic distribution:
SOURCE: Census Bureau, United States Census 2010
DATE: 2010
NOTE: The complete names of the racial and ethnic categories are as follows: American Indian and Alaska Native alone, Asian alone, black or African-American alone, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone, Hispanic or Latino, white alone, two or more races, and some other race. Hispanics may be of any race.
Educational attainment of adults (highest level):
SOURCE: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2010
DATE: 2010
NOTE: Figures describe people 25 years old and older.
Proportion who speak a language other than English at home:
SOURCE: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2009
DATE: 2009
NOTE: Figures cover people 5 years old and older.
Per capita personal income:
SOURCE: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts
DATE: 2011 (estimates updated on March 28, 2012)
Poverty rate:
SOURCE: Census Bureau, American Community Surveys 2009 and 2010
DATE: 2010
NOTE: Poverty thresholds vary by family size and composition. In 2009, for example, the average threshold for a family of four was $22,314.
New public high-school graduates, and projected change in number of graduates:
SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences
DATE: Projections were prepared for publication in January 2011.
NOTE: Projections cover only graduates of public high schools.
New GED diploma recipients:
SOURCE: GED Testing Service, American Council on Education
DATE: 2011
NOTE: General Educational Development credentials are high-school-equivalency certificates awarded to high-school dropouts who pass the GED test.
FINANCE
Average tuition and fees:
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
DATE: 2010-11
NOTE: The figures cover undergraduate charges and are weighted by full-time-equivalent undergraduate enrollment. The figures for public institutions represent charges to state residents.
State funds for higher-education operating expenses:
SOURCE: Center for the Study of Education Policy, Illinois State University, in cooperation with State Higher Education Executive Officers
DATE: 2011-12
NOTE: Figures are estimates released in January 2012 and revised in March 2012 of the one-year change from 2010-11 to 2011-12 and so do not reflect midyear budget reductions made after that date. Spending includes state tax appropriations, federal stimulus moneys, and other state moneys appropriated for colleges and universities, student aid, and governing and coordinating boards. North Dakota and Wyoming each enact a single budget every two years.
State spending on student aid:
SOURCE: National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs
DATE: 2010-11
NOTE: The statistics cover aid to both undergraduate and graduate students. The category “nongrant aid” includes loans, tuition waivers, work-study, loan-assumption programs, and conditional grants. Figures may not add up to totals because of rounding.
Total spending on research and development by colleges and universities:
SOURCE: National Science Foundation
DATE: 2009-10
NOTE: Figures are based on reporting by colleges and universities of their expenditures in the natural and social sciences and in engineering.
Largest endowment:
SOURCE: National Association of College and University Business Officers
DATE: As of June 30, 2011
Top fund raisers:
SOURCE: Council for Aid to Education
DATE: 2010-11
NOTE: Figures are based on a survey of 1,009 institutions, which together received about 85 percent of all private contributions to colleges and universities. Rankings may be heavily influenced by the timing of fund drives, unusually large gifts, and other factors.
THE PROFESSION
Average pay of full-time professors:
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
DATE: 2010-11
NOTE: Figures cover full-time members of the instructional staff on nine-month contracts. Figures do not include medical-school faculty members. The average for all faculty members includes the categories of instructors, lecturers, and faculty members without rank. Those categories are not shown separately.
STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
Enrollment:
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
DATE: Fall 2010
NOTE: Figures show total enrollment of full- and part-time students. For-profit institutions include four- and two-year colleges and universities. Figures for some states include large numbers of students living elsewhere who enrolled in online-only courses offered by for-profit institutions based in those states—for example, at the University of Phoenix, in Arizona. Such out-of-state students are not reported separately.
Degrees awarded:
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
DATE: 2009-10
NOTE: Doctorates include professional degrees such as medical and law degrees.
Residence of new students:
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
DATE: Fall 2010
NOTE: Figures cover only freshmen who graduated from high school in the previous year.
Graduation rates at public 4-year institutions:
SOURCE: Chronicle analysis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and the Voluntary System of Accountability’s Success and Progress Rate
DATE: 2010
NOTE: Figures show the proportion of first-time, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates who entered four-year public institutions in the fall of 2004 and graduated within six years.
ACCESS AND EQUITY
Enrollment highlights:
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
DATE: Fall 2010
NOTE: Figures for American Indians include Alaska Natives. Figures for racial categories exclude people of Hispanic ethnicity, who are shown separately and may be of any race. Foreign students are nonresident aliens studying in the United States on a temporary basis. All proportions are based on total enrollment of undergraduate and graduate students attending full and part time. Underrepresented minorities are American Indian, black, and Hispanic students, who attend college at disproportionately low rates compared with the percentage of those groups in the U.S. population. Minorities are those groups plus Asians, Pacific Islanders, and students of two or more races. Figures for some states include large numbers of students living elsewhere who enrolled in online-only courses offered by for-profit institutions based in those states—for example, at the University of Phoenix, in Arizona. Such out-of-state students are not reported separately.
Test scores:
SOURCE: ACT; College Board
DATE: ACT, 2012; SAT, 2011
NOTE: The ACT is scored on a scale from 1 to 36. The College Board’s SAT is scored on a scale from 600 to 2400. For each state, one score is given, depending on which test was taken by the larger percentage of students.
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Number of institutions:
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
DATE: 2010-11
NOTE: Statistics include four- and two-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions eligible to participate in federal financial-aid programs. Public institutions include those controlled by local and state governments, as well as military academies and other institutions operated by the federal government.
Institutions censured or sanctioned by the AAUP:
SOURCE: American Association of University Professors
DATE: Action as of July 2012
NOTE: The AAUP censures institutions when it finds they have violated its standards of academic freedom and tenure. The standards seek to protect the rights of faculty members to free speech without fear of penalty, and to due process in decisions on appointment, promotion, and tenure. The standards are included in the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, which was developed by the AAUP and the Association of American Colleges and Universities and endorsed by more than 150 other academic organizations. Censure is imposed on administrative officers at the institutions. The association also sanctions institutions for infringements of shared governance. The four institutions that have received that sanction are identified with the word “governance.”
Institutions under NCAA sanctions:
SOURCE: National Collegiate Athletic Association
DATE: Action as of July 2012
