In the summer of 2006, several major news outlets gave prominent coverage to a sociological study with a grim message: Americans' social isolation had increased radically since the 1980s. Whereas in 1985, Americans reported that, on average, they had 2.94 friends or family members with whom they discussed important matters, by 2004 that number had…

As colleges and lawmakers seek better data about the employment success of graduates, a lack of standardized tracking makes much of the information unreliable. Many colleges release placement rates based on scant information: More than a third of colleges' reported rates in 2010 were based on responses from half of their graduates or fewer,…

When it comes to hard data about what they do, policy makers and educators in the humanities have been mostly left out in the cold, forced to rely on isolated statistics that do not give an overview of the field. That changed this month, as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences unveiled the prototype of its long-awaited Humanities Indicators…

A chart summarizes state appropriations in the United States for major higher education institutions and programs for 1999-2000, noting the percentage change over the previous year. A second chart ranks the states by appropriation amounts and by one-year percentage change, and also provides specific appropriation amounts and five-year average…

Data tables from a 1999 survey of college freshmen provide extensive data concerning demography (e.g., parental occupation, family income), reasons for college choice, college major plans for men and women, financial status, frequent activities, high school grades, opinions and goals, (DB)

When the American Council of Learned Societies held its annual meeting in Montreal last week, topics such as open access, scholarly publishing, and "The Global Academy and the Geography of Ideas" figured on the agenda. This article discusses the first item of business at the meeting: the debut of the Humanities Indicators project, with a first set…

Reports that American colleges and universities raised an estimated $20.4 billion in private gifts in the 1998-99 academic year, an increase of 10.9 percent over the previous year. Provides data on total gifts by type of institution and lists the top 20 institutions in total giving, in alumni giving, in giving from non-alumni individuals, and in…

The 108 university research libraries with the largest collections and 11 public and special libraries with large research holdings are listed. Data include rank (universities only), numbers of volumes, volumes added in 1991-92, current serials, permanent staff, and total expenditures in 1991-92. University libraries' total operating expenditures…

A National Collegiate Athletic Association report on athletes' graduation rates provides data that can support either side of the debate over academic standards. Rising academic requirements for incoming athletes may cause higher graduation rates, but may also force blacks out of sports in disproportionate numbers. Graduation data for 1987-88 and…