NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS E.D. TABS March 1995 ************************************************************ Enrollment in Higher Education: Fall 1984 through Fall 1993 ************************************************************ Postsecondary Education Statistics Division INTRODUCTION This E.D. TABS presents findings from two institutional-based postsecondary education fall enrollment surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics: the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) surveys which replaced HEGIS in 1986. HEGIS contains biennial enrollment data by racial/ethnic category from 1976 to 1984. IPEDS collected racial/ ethnic enrollment biennially from 1986 to 1990. Since 1990, the race/ ethnicity data have been reported annually. The data reported here pertain only to institutions accredited at the higher education level by an agency recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. HIGHLIGHTS In the fall of 1993, 14,306,000 students were enrolled in higher education institutions. This was about 180,000 fewer students than were enrolled in the fall of 1992. This 1.2 percent drop in total enrollment between 1992 and 1993 is the first decline in total enrollment since 1984 (table 1a) and was due entirely to a decrease in the number of white, non-Hispanic students when enrollment in all institutions is considered. Their numbers decreased by 270,000 or 2.5 percent between 1992 and 1993, the second year in a row that their numbers decreased (table 1). The decrease in white student enrollment was partially offset by increases in enrollments among all other racial/ethnic groups as well as among non- resident aliens. The number of Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander students increased by 3.6 and 3.9 percent, respectively, while the number of American Indians/Alaskan Natives and nonresident aliens increased by 2 percent. The number of black, non-Hispanic students increased by 1.3 percent (table 1). In addition to occurring only among white, non-Hispanics, the decline in total enrollment occurred exclusively among undergraduates whose numbers decreased by 1.7 percent. The number of graduate students increased by 1.2 percent, while the number of first-professional students increased by slightly over 4 percent (table 1). The decline in enrollment also occurred only in public institutions, with their enrollments declining by 1.7 percent. Private institutions increased enrollments slightly by one-half of 1 percent. These declines, taken in combination, resulted in a 3 percent decrease in the number of white, non-Hispanic undergraduates and a decrease of 3.1 percent in the number of white non-Hispanic students in public institutions. The picture of minority enrollment was somewhat different from that of whites. Their numbers increased in public institutions by 2.6 percent. In private institutions, American Indian/Alaskan Native enrollments declined by 4 percent, while the enrollment of blacks, Hispanics and Asians or Pacific Islanders increased, by 1.3, 3.8 and 5.2 percent, respectively; white enrollment declined by .2 percent. Additionally, between 1992 and 1993 the number of minority undergraduate students increased by 2.1 percent in private institutions. The enrollment of both men and women declined, with the number of men decreasing at a slightly higher rate than that of women. The number of men declined by 1.5 percent while the number of women declined by 1.1 percent (table 3). White men's enrollment dropped 3.1 percent in public institutions and 1.1 percent in privates between 1992 and 1993. White women's enrollment decreased 3.2 percent in public institutions but increased slightly in private institutions. The enrollment of men and women of color increased in both public and private institutions, although the enrollment of black men in private institutions was unchanged and the number of American Indian/Alaskan Native men and women decreased in private institutions (tables 1b and 1c). From tables 1d and 1e it would appear that most of the decline in enrollment occurred among part-time rather than full-time students. Full-time enrollment decreased by less than one-half of 1 percent while part-time enrollment decreased by more than 2.3 percent. There were 1.7 percent fewer white full-time students enrolled in 1993 than in 1992 and over 3.5 percent fewer part-time white students enrolled. Table 2 indicates that most of the enrollment declines were in 2-year institutions. This is reasonable since the number of part-time students declined and 57 percent of all part-time students attend 2-year schools (table 2d). The decline in enrollment in 4-year institutions was less than one-half of 1 percent, while enrollment was down 2.7 percent in 2-year institutions. The enrollment of white students was down in both 4- and 2-year institutions, but in 2-year institutions it was down over 4 percent, while in 4-year institutions it was down less than 1.5 percent. The number of minority students increased in 4-year institutions for all minority groups, ranging from a 2.5 percent increase for black students to an almost 7 percent increase for American Indian/Alaskan Natives. The number of black and American Indian/Alaskan Native students in 2-year institutions declined but the number of Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander students increased in 2-year schools. Total fall enrollment declined in 30 states between 1992 and 1993. The largest decline was registered in California, with a drop of over 7 percent (tables 5a and 5b). The 5.8 percent drop in enrollment in Nebraska was the second largest of all the states. Fourteen states had drops in enrollment greater than the national average decline of 1.2 percent. However, some states did have increases in enrollment. States with the largest percentage increase were Utah, with a 3.8 percent increase, Georgia with a 3.1 percent increase, Hawaii with a 2.8 percent increase, and New Mexico with a 2.2 percent increase. Tables 1a-4 indicate the share of enrollment of students from each of the 5 racial/ethnic groups, as well as students who are nonresident aliens. As may be seen from table 1a, although 74 percent of all students were white, non-Hispanic in 1993, white students have had a decreasing share of total enrollment since 1984 while all minority groups have increased their share of enrollment as have nonresident aliens. This pattern of a declining share of enrollment for white, non-Hispanic students and increased shares of enrollment for all other racial/ethnic groups and nonresident aliens is generally the same for students in public institutions (table 1), men and women (tables 1b and 1c), full- and part-time students (tables 1d and 1e), students in 4- and 2-year institutions (table 2), and students at all levels of enrollment (undergraduate, graduate and first- professional) (table 4). Other points of interest from the 1993 enrollment data include: The share of enrollment in public institutions was down for the second year in a row. In 1993, 78.2 percent of all students attended public institutions, down from the 78.6 percent in 1992 and the 78.8 percent in 1991 (table 1a). * Women continued to increase their share of total enrollment. In 1993 women comprised 55.1 percent of the students in higher education institutions, compared to their 55 percent share in 1992 and the 54.7 percent share in 1991 (tables 1b and 1c). Forty-three percent of students enrolled in the fall of 1993 were enrolled part-time. This was down slightly from the 44 percent that were enrolled part-time in 1992. Four-year institutions accounted for 61.1 percent of all student in 1993, up slightly from their 60.5 percent share in 1992. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Highlights Tables Table 1. Total enrollment and percentage change in institutions of higher education, by control of institution, level of study and race/ ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1990 through Fall 1993 Table 1a. Total enrollment in institutions of higher education, by control of institution and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1984 through Fall 1993 Table 1b. Male enrollment in institutions of higher education, by control of institution and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 1c. Female enrollment in institutions of higher education, by control of institution and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 1d. Full-time enrollment in institutions of higher education, by control of institution and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 1e. Part-time enrollment in institutions of higher education, by control of institution and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 2. Total enrollment in institutions of higher education, by level of institution and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1984 through Fall 1993 Table 2a. Male enrollment in institutions of higher education, by level of institution and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 2b. Female enrollment in institutions of higher education, by level of institution and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 2c. Full-time enrollment in institutions of higher education, by level of institution and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 2d. Part-time enrollment in institutions of higher education, by level of institution and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 3. Total enrollment in institutions of higher education, by sex and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 3a. Full-time enrollment in institutions of higher education, by sex and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 3b. Part-time enrollment in institutions of higher education, by sex and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 through Fall 1993 Table 4. Total enrollment in institutions of higher education, by level of study and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1984 through Fall 1993 Table 5a. Fall enrollment in institutions of higher education, by state and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1991 Table 5b. Fall enrollment in institutions of higher education, by state and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1992 Table 5c. Fall enrollment in institutions of higher education, by state and race/ethnicity: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1993 Table 6a. Fall enrollment and percentage change in enrollment in all institutions of higher education, by level of institution and state: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1992 and Fall 1993 Table 6b. Fall enrollment and percentage change in enrollment in PUBLIC institutions of higher education, by level of institution and state: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1992 and Fall 1993 Table 6c. Fall enrollment and percentage change in enrollment in PRIVATE institutions of higher education, by level of institution and state: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1992 and Fall 1993 Technical Notes Table 7. Number of higher education institutions and response rates, by control and level of institution: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1993 Table 8. Number of higher education institutions and response rates, by control and level of institution: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1993 Table 9. Fall enrollment in higher education institutions and the percent of enrollment that was imputed, by state and by control and level of institution: 50 states and the District of Columbia, Fall 1993 TECHNICAL NOTES Data Sources The enrollment statistics by racial/ethnic category in this report are derived from two data sources. The information for 1984 comes from data reported biennially by institutions of higher education in the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Fall Enrollment and Compliance Report of Institutions of Higher Education." The data for 1986 through 1993 are from information reported by institutions of higher education through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Fall Enrollment" survey. The IPEDS racial/ethnic data were reported biennially between 1986 and 1990, and annually since 1990. It should be noted that data reported for 1991 and 1992 in this report differ somewhat from those reported in other sources. Modifications have been made to the 1991 and 1992 data with the addition of late arriving data as well as corrections and updates forwarded by institutions. Overview of Methodology The Fall Enrollment survey (EF) is conducted annually by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) as part of the IPEDS. IPEDS collects enrollment data from all postsecondary education institutions in the United States and its outlying areas. However, data for this report are exclusively from higher education institutions (i.e., those institutions that are accredited at the college level by an agency recognized by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. Data from noncollegiate institutions are not included. Students included in the Fall Enrollment survey: * students enrolled in courses creditable toward a degree or other formal award; * students enrolled in courses that are part of a vocational or occupational program, including those enrolled in off-campus centers; and * high school students taking regular college courses for credit. Students excluded from the Fall Enrollment survey: * students enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or vocational program; * students enrolled exclusively in remedial courses; * students exclusively auditing classes; * students studying abroad (e.g., at a foreign university) if their enrollment at the institution is only an administrative record and the fee is only nominal; * students in any branch campus located in a foreign country; and * students exclusively earning continuing education units (CEU's). Institutions Surveyed and Response Rates Some version of the 1993 Fall Enrollment survey was sent to 3,602 higher education institutions in the summer of 1993. Table 7 shows the number of higher education institutions that received the 1993 Fall Enrollment survey (or the Consolidated form) by level and control of institution; the number institutions that responded; and the response rates. The response rate is based on the number of in-scope institutions responding to the 1993 survey divided by the number of institutions receiving the survey. Table 8 shows the response rates by institutional sector and by state. Follow-up As part of the enrollment survey follow-up procedures, nonresponding institutions were contacted by letter and telephone. These institutions were asked to provide the total number of men and women enrolled, by level of enrollment and total enrollment, by race/ethnicity and sex. Editing All data were edited for major reporting errors. Generated totals were compared to reported totals and replaced the reported totals when they were within an acceptable range. Data were also compared to the prior year's response for consistency of reporting. Institutions were contacted to resolve major reporting discrepancies. Imputations Although the HEGIS and IPEDS data reported here are historically comparable in terms of the reporting institutions (i.e., those accredited at the college level by agencies recognized by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education), there are some differences in the imputation procedures used in the two surveys. In HEGIS, data for totally nonresponding institutions (i.e., those that did not return an enrollment survey form), were imputed whenever possible by using previously reported information. In a few cases, imputations could not be performed; as a result total enrollment as well as enrollment by racial/ethnic category may be underestimated. For responding institutions with incomplete or missing racial/ethnic data, the racial/ethnic data were not imputed. However, this was not a major problem because totals by racial/ ethnic category were always within 0.3 percent of the actual totals. In IPEDS, a procedure similar to that used for the prior HEGIS surveys is followed in that previously reported information is used if it is available. If no previously reported data are available, imputations are based on current year group means or ratios derived from similar institutions with reported data in both the previous and current year. Additionally, in IPEDS for responding institutions with incomplete racial/ ethnic data, reporting, the difference between the sum of enrollment across the racial/ethnic categories and the reported totals is redistributed based on the distribution of the racial/ethnic enrollment reported by the institution. For institutions with missing racial/ethnic data, data are imputed by using the distributions of racial/ethnic enrollment reported by institutions in the same state and of the same level and control. Prior to 1986 (i.e., HEGIS survey years), data were imputed only for institutional totals and not across racial/ethnic categories. As a result of the distribution process, in the transition between HEGIS and IPEDS, enrollment counts increased proportionately for all racial/ethnic categories including nonresident aliens. Table 9 indicates the percent of enrollment that was imputed by state and institutional control and level. The reader should be aware that a large percentage of imputed data may affect the quality of that data at the state level and at the national level as well. Race/Ethnicity Unknown Beginning in 1990, a "race/ethnicity unknown" category was incorporated into the Fall Enrollment survey. To allow for analysis of enrollment trends by race/ethnicity, enrollment reported in the race/ethnicity unknown category are distributed across all racial/ethnic categories based on the institution's reported racial/ethnic distribution. These data, however, are not distributed to the nonresident alien category. Cautionary Notes Table 4 contains data by level of study (undergraduate, graduate, and first- professional). The reader is cautioned that the level of study data presented here may differ from data in other NCES publications. HEGIS data, which appear in publications prior to 1986, contained information on unclassified students, by level (only undergraduate and graduate student categories). The material in this report is based upon activities supported by the National Science Foundation under Agreement No. SRS-9413866. Any opinion, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. **** This ED Tab has been compressed for storage with a program called PKZIP. The tables associated with this file are saved in Lotus ver. 2.3 format. If you do not have this program to unzip your files, we offer PKUNZIP (ver. 204g). This program is available in this gopher under the Main Menu: About this Gopher/ Ed Utilities for files of this gopher/ (Platform Specific Directories) Note: This gopher server WILL NOT download ".exe" or ".zip" files with the properly named extension; the downloaded file will have NO extension. When the file has been successfully downloaded on your PC, please rename the file with the correct extension (zip or exe). (e.g. c:\rename pkunzip pkunzip.exe) (e.g. c:\rename ef93tab ef93tab.zip) (e.g. c:\pkunzip.exe ef93tab.zip) File Name File Size(zipped) Unzipped size Description --------- -------------- ------------- ------------------------ ef93tab.zip 1,000,000 Enrollment in Higher Ed: Fall 1984-93 (zip) ***last updated 3/8/95 (rkorb)***