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Historical higher education information in the United States

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This page contains archived information on the United States' higher education system for years prior to the 2013-2014 school year. For more recent information, click here.

Admissions

Enrollment

See also: Higher education enrollment statistics

Between fiscal years 2008 and 2013, full-time equivalent student enrollment in the nation's public postsecondary institutions increased by 1,027,662, or 10 percent. Between fiscal years 2012 and 2013, enrollment declined by 281,511, or 2.4 percent. The table below details nationwide enrollment changes by number and percent. For added context, corresponding data from the states with the highest and lowest levels of funding for higher education (California and Vermont, respectively) are also provided.[1]

Full-time equivalent enrollment in public postsecondary institutions, FY 2008 to FY 2013
FY 2008 FY 2012 FY 2013 Change from FY 2012 to FY 2013 Percent change from FY 2012 to FY 2013 Change from FY 2008 to FY 2013 Percent change from FY 2008 to FY 2013
United States 10,254,148 11,563,321 11,281,810 -281,511 -2.40% 1,027,662 10.00%
California 1,507,467 1,527,259 1,478,928 -48,331 -3.20% -28,539 -1.90%
Vermont 19,797 21,765 21,319 -446 -2.00% 1,522 7.70%
Note: The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association writes that full-time equivalent enrollment "equates student credit hours to full-time, academic year students, but excludes medical students."[1]
Source: State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, "State Higher Education Finance: FY 2013"

Demographics

See also: Higher education enrollment demographics

In 2012, approximately 58 percent of the nation's postsecondary students (including those attending both two-year and four-year public and private schools) were white. Hispanic students accounted for 14.43 percent of the total student population, followed closely by black students at 14.35 percent. Other racial and ethnic groups comprised the remainder. During that time, 60.3 percent of the nation's general population was white, 15 percent was Hispanic and 14.9 percent was black, with other groups comprising the remainder. The table below provides demographic information for both the postsecondary student and general populations. For added context, corresponding data from the states with the highest and lowest levels of funding for higher education (California and Vermont, respectively) are also provided.[2]

Higher education enrollment by race/ethnicity, 2012
Population category White Black Hispanic Asian Pacific Islander American Indian/Alaska Native Two or more races Non-resident alien
United States Postsecondary students 58.04% 14.35% 14.43% 5.79% 0.31% 0.84% 2.45% 3.79%
General population 60.3% 14.9% 15% 6% 0.3% 0.9% 2.5% N/A
California Postsecondary students 33.97% 7.16% 34.56% 15.59% 0.62% 0.49% 3.80% 3.81%
General population 35.3% 7.4% 35.9% 16.2% 0.6% 0.5% 4% N/A
Vermont Postsecondary students 85.42% 2.71% 4.10% 2.40% 0.09% 0.52% 2.51% 2.25%
General population 87.4% 2.8% 4.2% 2.5% 0.1% 0.5% 2.6% N/A
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 306.60. Fall enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity of student and state or jurisdiction: 2012," accessed December 16, 2014

In fall 2012, 56.79 percent of all postsecondary students in the United States were women. The table below provides postsecondary student enrollment figures by sex for 2012.[3]

Higher education enrollment by sex, 2012
Total students Male students Percentage Female students Percentage
United States 20,642,819 8,919,087 43.21% 11,723,732 56.79%
California 2,621,460 1,196,144 45.63% 1,425,316 54.37%
Vermont 44,703 20,349 45.52% 24,354 54.48%
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 304.30. Total fall enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by attendance status, sex, and state or jurisdiction: 2011 and 2012," accessed December 16, 2014

Student costs

See also: Higher education tuition statistics

Tuition

In the 2012-2013 academic year, the national average in-state cost for tuition and required fees at a public four-year postsecondary institution totaled $8,070, which represented a 4.76 percent increase over the 2011-2012 academic year. For a private four-year institution, the average was $24,525, which represented a 4.54 percent increase over 2011-2012. The table below provides average annual tuition costs by type of institution. For added context, corresponding data from the states with the highest and lowest levels of funding for higher education (California and Vermont, respectively) are also provided.[4]

Average annual undergraduate costs for tuition and required fees, 2012-2013
Public in-state institution Private institution
2011-2012 2012-2013 Percent difference 2011-2012 2012-2013 Percent difference
United States $7,703 $8,070 4.76% $23,460 $24,525 4.54%
California $8,830 $8,892 0.70% $27,379 $28,345 3.53%
Vermont $13,084 $13,524 3.36% $33,174 $35,130 5.90%
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 330.20. Average undergraduate tuition and fees and room and board rates charged for full-time students in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by control and level of institution and state or jurisdiction: 2011-12 and 2012-13," accessed December 15, 2014

Financial aid

The federal government provides financial aid to undergraduate students in the form of grants and loans. Notable grants administered by the United States government include Pell Grants and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG). Loan programs administered by the federal government include the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and Federal Perkins Loan Program. Individual states may also administer student financial aid programs. In addition, postsecondary institutions often offer institution-specific financial aid to their students.[5][6][7]

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 85 percent of first-time, full-time undergraduate students at four-year institutions (public and private) received financial aid in the 2011-2012 academic year. This is up from 75 percent in the 2006-2007 academic year.

According to the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs, the states disbursed approximately $11.3 billion in state-based financial aid to postsecondary students in the 2012-2013 academic year. The table below provides figures for state-based aid. For added context, corresponding data from the states with the highest and lowest levels of funding for higher education (California and Vermont, respectively) are also provided.[8]

Total state-based financial aid, 2012-2013 (dollars in millions)
Need-based grant aid Non-need-based grant aid Non-grant aid Total
U.S. totals $7,200.770 $2,390.600 $1,693.530 $11,284.910
California $1,519.220 $1.989 $23.931 $1,545.140
Vermont $20.117 $0.080 $0.394 $20.592
Source: National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs, "44th Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student Financial Aid, 2012-2013 Academic Year"

Click on the table below to view figures on average financial aid award amount by type.

Debt

See also: Student debt in higher education in the United States

Nationwide, an average of 61 percent of all students graduated with debt for the 2012-2013 school year. This debt averaged to about $26,421 per borrower. Debt for students who graduated from a public institution averaged about $25,665 per borrower, while those graduating from private schools had debt averaging at $28,498. In some states, private school student debt was lower than public school student debt.

The tables below provide figures on student debt. For added context, corresponding data from the states with the highest and lowest levels of funding for higher education (California and Vermont, respectively) are also provided. The first table also includes their national rank, from highest to lowest debt.[9][10]

Average student debt in the United States, 2012-2013
Average debt Rank Percentage with debt Rank
United States $26,421 N/A 61% N/A
California $20,340 49 55% 36
Vermont $27,318 22 64% 16
Source: Project on Student Debt, "State-by-state data," accessed January 15, 2014


Student debt from public and private institutions, 2012-2013
Public in-state institution Private institution
Average debt of graduates Percent of graduates with debt Average debt of graduates Percent of graduates with debt
United States $25,665 60% $28,498 65%
California $18,066 53% $28,191 60%
Vermont $27,886 65% $25,875 60%
Source: The Institute for College Access & Success - College InSight, "Student debt and undergraduate financial aid data, accessed March 16, 2015."

Graduation rates

See also: Higher education graduation rates and Higher education retention rates

Graduation rates vary significantly according to the type of postsecondary institution. In 2010, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education:[11]

  • Of four-year public college students, 56 percent graduated within six years.
  • Of two-year public college students, 20.4 percent graduated within three years.
  • Of private, nonprofit four-year college students, 65.5 percent graduated within six years.
  • Of private, for-profit four-year college students, 28.2 percent graduated within six years.
  • Of private, for-profit two-year college students, 60.1 percent graduated within three years.

Although postsecondary schools are classified as four-year and two-year institutions, relatively few students actually complete degrees within these time frames. At four-year schools, students commonly take between four and six years to complete their degrees. Likewise, students at two-year institutions commonly take three years to complete their degrees. To illustrate this point, both four-year and six-year completion rates are provided in the table below (only three-year rates are provided for two-year institutions, owing to a lack of information regarding two-year completion rates). For added context, corresponding data from the states with the highest and lowest levels of funding for higher education (California and Vermont, respectively) are also provided.[11]

Graduation rates by institution type, 2010
State Four-year institutions Two-year institutions
Completion within four years Completion within six years Completion within three years
Public four-year colleges Private nonprofit four-year colleges Private for-profit four-year colleges Public four-year colleges Private nonprofit four-year colleges Private for-profit four-year colleges Public two-year colleges Private for-profit two-year colleges
United States 31.30% 52.50% 20.30% 56% 65.5% 28.2% 20.4% 60.1%
California 34.8% 60.8% 20.1% 65.1% 72.9% 28.4% 25.3% 65%
Vermont 46.1% 59.9% N/A 62.9% 67.3% N/A 15.6% N/A
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, "College Completion: Who graduates from college, who doesn't, and why it matters," accessed December 15, 2014

Funding

See also: Higher education funding

Public higher education funding nationwide totaled an estimated $76.2 billion in fiscal year 2014, according to Illinois State University's Center for the Study of Education Policy and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). This represented a 5.66 percent increase over fiscal year 2013. Meanwhile, average adjusted public postsecondary appropriations per full-time student declined 23 percent from fiscal year 2008 to 2013 in the United States. According to SHEEO, funding for higher education began to decline in 2009 after the start of the recession. Although funding rose in 2013 and again in 2014, enrollment had increased by 10 percent between 2008 and 2013, and per-pupil appropriations are still below pre-recession levels.[12][1]

Higher education funding mechanisms differ depending on the type of institution. Public colleges receive the lion's share of their funding from state and local governments. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, state and local appropriations accounted for 53 percent of higher education revenues nationwide in 2013. By contrast, private institutions do not receive direct government funding. Instead, these institutions rely primarily on tuition, gifts and endowments.[13][14]

The table below provides total public higher education funding figures, as well as funding appropriations per full-time student. For added context, corresponding data from the states with the highest and lowest levels of funding for higher education (California and Vermont, respectively) are also provided.

Financial support for higher education, 2013 and 2014
Fiscal year 2013 Fiscal year 2014 Percent change
U.S. totals $72,156,979,373 $76,238,167,052 5.66%
California $9,577,505,000 $10,535,904,000 10.01%
Vermont $89,340,755 $92,315,902 3.33%
Source: State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, "State Higher Education Finance: FY 2013"


Public higher education appropriations per full-time student (in constant 2013 dollars)
Fiscal year 2008 Fiscal year 2012 Fiscal year 2013 FY12 to FY13 change Percent change FY08 to FY13 change Percent change
U.S. averages $7,924 $6,020 $6,105 $85.00 1.40% -$1,819.00 -23.00%
California $8,650 $6,743 $7,096 $353.00 5.20% -$1,554.00 -18.00%
Vermont $3,103 $2,651 $2,655 $4.00 0.10% -$448.00 -14.40%
Notes: "Educational appropriations are a measure of state and local support available for public higher education operating expenses including ARRA funds, and exclude appropriations for independent institutions, financial aid for students attending independent institutions, research, hospitals, and medical education."
"Adjustment factors, to arrive at constant dollar figures, include Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), Enrollment Mix Index (EMI), and Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA).The Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is not a measure of inflation over time."
Source: State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, "State Higher Education Finance: FY 2013"

Faculty

See also: Higher education faculty statistics
Employment of faculty at four-year public institutions

The number of faculty increased by nearly 73 percent from 450,368 to 780,127 between the 1991-1992 and 2011-2012 school years in order to keep up with increasing student enrollment. As of the 2011-2012 school year, part-time faculty at public four-year institutions, including teaching and research assistants, comprised 55.8 percent of the total number of faculty nationwide, up from 43.5 percent 20 years earlier. This figure was even higher at public two-year institutions: 70 percent.[15]

From the 1999-2000 to the 2012-2013 school years, the average salary for professors across all higher education institutions rose from $74,410 to $108,310, a slower rate of increase than that of the average American worker.[15]

In the 2011-2012 school year, the percentages of female, black and Hispanic faculty members reached their highest levels ever: 41.3 percent, 5.3 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively. However, black and Hispanic representation in college faculty still fell below the proportion of both the general and college student populations who were black and Hispanic.[15]

Employment status

Below is a table that provides figures on full-time and part-time faculty employment for the 1991-1992 and 2011-2012 school years. For added context, corresponding data from the states with the highest and lowest levels of funding for higher education (California and Vermont, respectively) are also provided.

Employment status of instructional faculty at public four-year institutions
1991-92 2011-12
Full-time faculty Part-time faculty Teaching and research assistants Part-time total as a percent of all faculty* Full-time faculty Part-time faculty Teaching and research assistants Part-time total as a percent of all faculty*
U.S. total 254,363 63,866 132,139 43.5% 344,940 157,123 278,064 55.8%
California 26,125 10,850 19,121 53.4% 34,499 16,502 29,087 56.9%
Vermont 1,156 276 5 19.6% 1,484 769 570 47.4%
*"Part-time total" includes teaching and research assistants, who also work part-time.
Source: Southern Regional Education Board, "Higher Education Faculty & Administrators," accessed January 12, 2015

Demographics

The table below provides demographic information for full-time faculty at public four-year colleges and universities from the 1993-1994 to the 2011-2012 school years. For added context, corresponding data from the states with the highest and lowest levels of funding for higher education (California and Vermont, respectively) are also provided.

Demographics of full-time faculty at public four-year colleges and universities
Year Total full-time faculty Percent men Percent women Percent white Percent black Percent Hispanic Percent other*
U.S. total 1993-94 265,685 70.2% 29.8% 87.1% 4.8% 2.2% 6.0%
2011-12 344,940 58.7% 41.3% 78.5% 5.3% 4.1% 11.5%
California 1993-94 25,432 71.3% 28.7% 81.0% 3.1% 4.7% 11.3%
2011-12 34,499 60.0% 40.0% 68.4% 2.8% 6.8% 21.7%
Vermont 1993-94 1,050 60.0% 30.8% 95.4% 1.1% 0.9% 2.7%
2011-12 1,484 69.2% 40.0% 88.4% 2.5% 2.3% 6.3%
*Represents Asian/Pacific Islanders and American Indian/Alaskan Native
Source: Southern Regional Education Board, "Higher Education Faculty & Administrators," accessed January 12, 2015

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, "State Higher Education Finance: FY 2013," accessed December 16, 2014
  2. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 306.60. Fall enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity of student and state or jurisdiction: 2012," accessed December 16, 2014
  3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 304.30. Total fall enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by attendance status, sex, and state or jurisdiction: 2011 and 2012," accessed December 16, 2014
  4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 330.20. Average undergraduate tuition and fees and room and board rates charged for full-time students in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by control and level of institution and state or jurisdiction: 2011-12 and 2012-13," accessed December 15, 2014
  5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Fast Facts - Financial aid," accessed December 18, 2014
  6. ↑ Federal Student Aid: An Office of the U.S. Department of Education, "Grants and Scholarships," accessed December 18, 2014
  7. ↑ Federal Student Aid: An Office of the U.S. Department of Education, "Loans," accessed December 18, 2014
  8. ↑ National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs, "44th Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student Financial Aid, 2012-2013 Academic Year," accessed December 18, 2014
  9. ↑ Project on Student Debt, "State-by-state data," accessed January 15, 2015
  10. ↑ College Insight, "State-by-state comparison," accessed January 15, 2015
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Chronicle of Higher Education, "College Completion: Who graduates from college, who doesn't, and why it matters," accessed December 15, 2014
  12. ↑ Illinois State University College of Education, "Grapevine Summary Tables, Fiscal Year (FY) 2013-14," accessed December 15, 2014
  13. ↑ Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "States Are Still Funding Higher Education Below Pre-Recession Levels," May 1, 2014
  14. ↑ Business Insider, "Public Vs. Private College: Which Is Better For Your Wallet?" May 22, 2013
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Southern Regional Education Board, "Fact Book on Higher Education, 2013," accessed January 14, 2015
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