This document, presents a statistical portrait of the Virginia's 17 public higher education institutions. Data provided include: enrollment figures (broken down in categories such as sex, residency, full- and part-time status, residence, ethnicity, age, and level of postsecondary education); FTE figures; admissions statistics (such as number applied, accepted and enrolled); and degrees awarded from associate's degrees to professional degrees; course distribution; financial aid data; faculty data (such as percentage tenured and average salary); figures on research activity; and financial data (such as tuition and operating budgets). The following institutions are included: Christopher Newport University, Clinch Valley College, College of William and Mary, George Mason University, James Madison University, Longwood College, Mary Washington College, Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Military University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and SU, Virginia State University, Richard Bland College, and Virginia Community College System. Brief overviews of each institution precede the data. Individual institution information is preceded by an overview of the Virginia public higher education system. Noteworthy results include: (1) headcount enrollment for fall, 1996 was 292,412; (2) 56% of enrolled students were female, 86% were from in state, and 90% were white; (3) 9,052 associate degrees, 23,515 bachelor's degrees, 8,554 master's degrees, 1,024 doctoral degrees, and 1,210 professional degrees were awarded in 1995-96. (AMA)