NSOPF was conducted in response to a continuing need for data on faculty and instructors - persons who directly affect the quality of education in postsecondary institutions. Faculty are the pivotal resource around which the process and outcomes of postsecondary education revolve. They often determine curriculum content, student performance standards, and the quality of students' preparation for careers. Faculty members perform research and development work upon which this nation's technological and economic advancement depends. Through their public service activities, they make valuable contributions to society. For these reasons, it is essential to understand who they are; what they do; and whether, how, and why they are changing. This study was designed to provide data about faculty to postsecondary education researchers, planners, and policymakers. NSOPF is the most comprehensive study of faculty in postsecondary educational institutions ever undertaken.
Recent Publications
March 25, 2008:
Digest of Education Statistics, 2007The 43rd in a series of publications initiated in 1962, the Digest’s primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school.
July 26, 2007:
Digest of Education Statistics, 2006The 42nd in a series of publications initiated in 1962, the Digest’s primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school.
April 24, 2007:
2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:04) Institution Data Analysis SystemThe NSOPF:04 Institution DAS contains data on 920 institutions that responded to a nationally representative sample of all public and private not-for-profit postsecondary institutions that offered an associate's or higher degree in the U.S. in fall 2003 and participated in federal Title IV student aid programs.
November 7, 2006:
Institutional Policies and Practices Regarding Postsecondary Faculty: Fall 2003This report describes recent hiring and retirement patterns as well as tenure-related changes and actions taken by public and private not-for-profit postsecondary institutions that offered an associate’s or higher degree in fall 2003 and participated in federal Title IV student aid programs.
