Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2001 and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2001, The Education Statistics Quarterly: Vol. 5, Issue 4 2004

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Vol 5, Issue 4, Topic: Postsecondary Education

Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2001 and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2001

By: Laura G. Knapp, Janice E. Kelly, Roy W. Whitmore, Shiying Wu, Burton Levine, and Seungho Huh

This article was originally published as the Summary of the E.D. TAB report of the same name. The universe data are from the NCES Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

Introduction
Characteristics of Enrolled Students
Characteristics of Students at Degree-Granting and Non-Degree-Granting Institutions
Undergraduate Enrollment by Age
Full-Time, First-Time Undergraduate Financial Aid Recipients
Revenues of Degree-Granting Institutions

Introduction

This report presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) spring 2002 data collection, which included enrollment data for fall 2001, financial statistics for fiscal year 2001, and student financial aid data for the 2000–01 academic year. These data were collected through the IPEDS web-based data collection system.

IPEDS began collecting data in 1985 from all postsecondary institutions in the United States (the 50 states and the District of Columbia) and its outlying areas.¹ For IPEDS, a postsecondary institution is defined as an organization that is open to the public and has as its primary mission the provision of postsecondary education. IPEDS defines postsecondary education as formal instructional programs with a curriculum designed primarily for students who are beyond the compulsory age for high school. This includes academic, vocational, and continuing professional education programs and excludes institutions that offer only avocational (leisure) and adult basic education programs.

Participation in IPEDS is a requirement for the 6,615 institutions that participated in Title IV federal student financial aid programs such as Pell Grants or Stafford Loans during the 2001–02 academic year.² In addition, some of the 81 central and system offices included in IPEDS are required to respond to the Finance component of the survey if they have their own operating budgets (separate from the budgets of the individual campuses). Institutions that do not participate in Title IV programs may participate in the IPEDS data collection on a voluntary basis.

Tabulations in this report present data collected from the 6,615 Title IV institutions in spring 2002. Institutions provided enrollment, finance, student financial aid, and graduation rate data. Graduation rate data are not included in this report because the Title IV 4-year institutions were not required to provide these data in spring 2002.³

Characteristics of Enrolled Students

In fall 2001, Title IV institutions in the United States and its outlying areas enrolled 16.6 million students (table A). Of these, 86.5 percent were enrolled in undergraduate programs, 11.6 percent were enrolled in graduate programs, and 1.9 percent were enrolled in first-professional programs. The majority of students, 60.0 percent, were enrolled full time, while 40.0 percent were enrolled part time.

Women accounted for 56.6 percent of all postsecondary students enrolled in Title IV institutions in fall 2001. White, non-Hispanic students constituted 62.2 percent, and students in groups other than White constituted 28.5 percent of fall 2001 enrollment in Title IV institutions. The remaining enrollment in Title IV institutions was made up of students whose race/ethnicity was unknown and nonresident aliens (5.8 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively).

Table A. Enrollment in Title IV institutions, by student level, attendance status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States and outlying areas, fall 2001

Student level, attendance status, gender, and race/ethnicity	United States and outlying areas		United States
	Total students	Percent	Total students	Percent
Total students	16,582,108	100.0	16,334,134	100.0
Student level
Undergraduate	14,346,797	86.5	14,120,740	86.4
Graduate	1,923,146	11.6	1,904,721	11.7
First-professional ¹	312,165	1.9	308,673	1.9
Attendance status
Full time	9,942,376	60.0	9,745,598	59.7
Part time	6,639,732	40.0	6,588,536	40.3
Gender
Men	7,204,353	43.4	7,104,212	43.5
Women	9,377,755	56.6	9,229,922	56.5
Race/ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic	10,320,247	62.2	10,318,832	63.2
Black, non-Hispanic	1,839,470	11.1	1,837,837	11.3
Hispanic	1,767,347	10.7	1,534,051	9.4
Asian/Pacific Islander	964,606	5.8	955,322	5.8
American Indian/Alaska Native	153,845	0.9	153,826	0.9
Race/ethnicity unknown	967,345	5.8	965,690	5.9
Nonresident alien	569,248	3.4	568,576	3.5

¹A first-professional student is one who is enrolled in any of the following degree programs: chiropractic, dentistry, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, podiatry, theology, or veterinary medicine.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. The outlying areas are American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2002.

Characteristics of Students at Degree-Granting and Non-Degree-Granting Institutions ⁴

During fall 2001, 16.3 million students attended Title IV institutions located within the United States (table B). Almost all of these students (15.9 million) attended degree-granting institutions, while about 406,000 students attended non-degree-granting institutions.

A majority of students attended school full time in both degree-granting and non-degree-granting institutions (59.3 percent and 73.4 percent, respectively); likewise, a majority of the students were women in both types of institutions (56.3 percent and 64.7 percent, respectively). However, the proportion of students attending degree-granting or non-degree-granting institutions differed by race/ethnicity. Table B shows that 63.5 percent of the students attending degree-granting institutions were White, non-Hispanic, compared to 48.9 percent of those attending non-degree-granting institutions. Looking at members of groups other than White, they accounted for 27.0 percent of all students at degree-granting institutions and 43.5 percent of the students at non-degree-granting institutions. The remainder were either students whose race/ethnicity was unknown or nonresident aliens.

Table B. Enrollment in Title IV institutions, by degree-granting status, level and control of institution, attendance status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2001

Level and control of institution, attendance status, gender, and race/ethnicity	All institutions		Degree-granting		Non-degree granting
	Total students	Percent	Total students	Percent	Total students	Percent
Total students	16,334,134	100.0	15,927,987	100.0	406,147	100.0
Level of institution
4-year	9,678,426	59.3	9,677,408	60.8	1,018	0.3
2-year	6,352,269	38.9	6,250,579	39.2	101,690	25.0
Less-than-2-year	303,439	1.9	†	†	303,439	74.7
Control of institution
Public	12,370,079	75.7	12,233,156	76.8	136,923	33.7
Private not-for-profit	3,198,354	19.6	3,167,330	19.9	31,024	7.6
Private for-profit	765,701	4.7	527,501	3.3	238,200	58.6
Attendance status
Full time	9,745,598	59.7	9,447,502	59.3	298,096	73.4
Part time	6,588,536	40.3	6,480,485	40.7	108,051	26.6
Gender
Men	7,104,212	43.5	6,960,815	43.7	143,397	35.3
Women	9,229,922	56.5	8,967,172	56.3	262,750	64.7
Race/ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic	10,318,832	63.2	10,120,366	63.5	198,466	48.9
Black, non-Hispanic	1,837,837	11.3	1,756,684	11.0	81,153	20.0
Hispanic	1,534,051	9.4	1,460,088	9.2	73,963	18.2
Asian/Pacific Islander	955,322	5.8	937,953	5.9	17,369	4.3
American Indian/Alaska Native	153,826	0.9	149,764	0.9	4,062	1.0
Race/ethnicity unknown	965,690	5.9	938,523	5.9	27,167	6.7
Nonresident alien	568,576	3.5	564,609	3.5	3,967	1.0

† Not applicable.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2002.

Undergraduate Enrollment by Age

During fall 2001, 13.7 million undergraduates attended Title IV degree-granting institutions located within the United States (table C). Of these, 62.6 percent were between 18 and 24 years old, the traditional age for college attendees. Only 3.5 percent were under 18 years old, while 10.2 percent were 25 to 29 years old, 18.3 percent were 30 to 49 years old, and 3.3 percent were 50 or older. Age was unknown for 2.0 percent of undergraduates.

Full-time students were more likely to be traditionally aged undergraduates than their part-time counterparts. Over 80 percent of full-time undergraduates, but only 34.7 percent of part-time undergraduates, were 18 to 24 years old. Considering institution control, undergraduates at private not-for-profit institutions were more likely to be of traditional age. Almost three-fourths of undergraduates at private not-for-profit institutions, 61.4 percent of undergraduates at public institutions, and 42.8 percent of undergraduates at private for-profit institutions were 18 to 24 years old.

Table C. Undergraduate enrollment in Title IV degree-granting institutions, by attendance status, control of institution, and age of student: United States, fall 2001

Age of student	All students	Full time	Part time	Public	Private
Age of student	All students	Full time	Part time	Public	Not-for-profit	For-profit
Number enrolled
All institutions	13,715,610	8,327,640	5,387,970	10,985,871	2,257,718	472,021
Under 18	485,530	136,173	349,357	423,386	52,632	9,512
18–19	3,353,652	2,867,445	486,207	2,597,804	687,469	68,379
20–21	3,118,763	2,518,302	600,461	2,395,850	656,812	66,101
22–24	2,107,903	1,323,528	784,375	1,748,470	292,045	67,388
25–29	1,402,187	591,967	810,220	1,169,387	151,707	81,093
30–34	890,776	289,489	601,287	733,249	103,115	54,412
35–39	673,977	184,201	489,776	553,012	83,694	37,271
40–49	944,442	217,791	726,651	785,657	116,202	42,583
50–64	380,201	58,181	322,020	334,758	35,348	10,095
65 and over	78,655	3,912	74,743	75,337	2,828	490
Age unknown	279,524	136,651	142,873	168,961	75,866	34,697
Percent distribution
All institutions	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Under 18	3.5	1.6	6.5	3.9	2.3	2.0
18–19	24.5	34.4	9.0	23.6	30.4	14.5
20–21	22.7	30.2	11.1	21.8	29.1	14.0
22–24	15.4	15.9	14.6	15.9	12.9	14.3
25–29	10.2	7.1	15.0	10.6	6.7	17.2
30–34	6.5	3.5	11.2	6.7	4.6	11.5
35–39	4.9	2.2	9.1	5.0	3.7	7.9
40–49	6.9	2.6	13.5	7.2	5.1	9.0
50–64	2.8	0.7	6.0	3.0	1.6	2.1
65 and over	0.6	#	1.4	0.7	0.1	0.1
Age unknown	2.0	1.6	2.7	1.5	3.4	7.4

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2002.

Full-Time, First-Time Undergraduate Financial Aid Recipients ⁵

IPEDS collects information on full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates who receive financial aid. In fall 2000, there were nearly 2.0 million of these undergraduates in Title IV degree-granting institutions located in the United States (table D). About 70.3 percent of these students received financial aid during the 2000–01 academic year. The proportion of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates who received financial aid varied by institution level and control. About 56.5 percent of this cohort of undergraduates at public 2-year institutions and 71.3 percent at public 4-year institutions received financial aid, while larger proportions received aid at private institutions. At private not-for-profit institutions, 82.6 percent received aid—82.9 percent at 4-year institutions and 77.5 percent at 2-year institutions. At private for-profit institutions, 76.2 percent received aid—63.8 percent of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates in 4-year institutions compared to 84.3 percent in 2-year institutions.

Overall, the proportions of these undergraduates receiving financial aid did not change dramatically between 1999–2000 and 2000–01.⁶ The percentage of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates receiving financial aid rose from 69.0 percent in 1999–2000 to 70.3 percent in 2000–01. The largest difference was in private not-for-profit 2-year institutions, where the percentage of students receiving aid increased from 66.4 percent in 1999-2000 to 77.5 percent in 2000–01.

In addition to aggregate numbers of financial aid recipients, data were collected on four specific types of financial aid: federal grants, state and local government grants, institutional grants, and student loans. On average, 45.0 percent of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate financial aid recipients received one or more federal grants during the 2000–01 academic year (table E). This percentage varied somewhat by institutional control. Nearly 65 percent of these undergraduate aid recipients attending private for-profit institutions received federal grants, compared to 45.9 percent at public institutions and 34.4 percent at private not-for-profit institutions.

The proportions of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates receiving each type of aid varied by institutional control. Those aid recipients at public institutions were more likely to receive state and local grants than those attending private not-for-profit or private for-profit institutions (51.2 percent vs. 38.5 percent and 19.9 percent, respectively). Whereas students at 4-year private not-for-profit institutions were more likely (84.6 percent) to receive institutional grants than students at other types of institutions, 13.1 percent and 5.7 percent of students at 4-year and 2-year private for-profit institutions, respectively, received institutional grants. Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students at private for-profit institutions were more likely than those attending public or private not-for-profit institutions to borrow money to attend college; 83.4 percent of these aid recipients at private for-profit institutions had student loans, compared to 46.9 percent at public institutions and 69.9 percent at private not-for-profit institutions.

Table D. Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled and those receiving financial aid in Title IV degree-granting institutions, by control and level of institution: United States, academic years 1999–2000 and 2000–01

Control and level of institution	Academic year 1999–2000¹			Academic year 2000–01²
Control and level of institution	Number enrolled	Number of financial aid recipients	Percent receiving financial aid	Number enrolled	Number of financial aid recipients	Percent receiving financial aid
Total students	1,815,469	1,253,022	69.0	1,976,600	1,390,527	70.3

Public	1,293,335	829,698	64.2	1,333,236	872,109	65.4
4-year	770,443	538,883	69.9	804,793	573,430	71.3
2-year	522,892	290,815	55.6	528,443	298,679	56.5

Private not-for-profit	422,828	344,740	81.5	439,369	363,044	82.6
4-year	405,426	333,179	82.2	419,499	347,638	82.9
2-year	17,402	11,561	66.4	19,870	15,406	77.5

Private for-profit	99,306	78,584	79.1	203,995	155,374	76.2
4-year	38,931	28,894	74.2	81,075	51,739	63.8
2-year	60,375	49,690	82.3	122,920	103,635	84.3

¹The numbers shown reflect those institutions that reported having financial aid recipients in academic year 1999–2000.

²The numbers shown reflect those institutions that reported having financial aid recipients in academic year 2000–01.

NOTE: Student financial aid data are not imputed. The item response rates for all cells on this table range from 91.8 percent to 100.0 percent.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2001 and Spring 2002.

Table E. Types and average amounts of financial aid received by full-time, first-time undergraduate students in Title IV degree-granting institutions, by control and level of institution: United States, academic year 2000–01

Control and level of institution	Number of financial aid recipients	Number receiving	Percent receiving	Average amount¹	Number receiving	Percent receiving	Average amount¹
		Federal grants			State/local grants
Total students	1,390,527	625,443	45.0	$2,487	617,139	44.4	$2,039

Public	872,109	399,918	45.9	2,408	446,272	51.2	1,707
4-year	573,430	213,814	37.3	2,569	293,958	51.3	2,068
2-year	298,679	186,104	62.3	2,222	152,314	51.0	1,010

Private not-for-profit	363,044	124,925	34.4	2,880	139,918	38.5	2,999
4-year	347,638	115,149	33.1	2,931	135,173	38.9	3,002
2-year	15,406	9,776	63.5	2,272	4,745	30.8	2,898

Private for-profit	155,374	100,600	64.7	2,312	30,949	19.9	2,498
4-year	51,739	29,249	56.5	2,296	9,671	18.7	2,897
2-year	103,635	71,351	68.8	2,319	21,278	20.5	2,317
		Institutional grants			Student loans²
Total students	1,390,527	614,405	44.2	$4,740	791,976	57.0	$3,765

Public	872,109	302,525	34.7	2,275	408,692	46.9	3,050
4-year	573,430	238,454	41.6	2,616	327,676	57.1	3,212
2-year	298,679	64,071	21.5	1,005	81,016	27.1	2,397

Private not-for-profit	363,044	299,198	82.4	7,368	253,724	69.9	4,020
4-year	347,638	294,089	84.6	7,458	243,895	70.2	4,000
2-year	15,406	5,109	33.2	2,175	9,829	63.8	4,514

Private for-profit	155,374	12,682	8.2	1,555	129,560	83.4	5,518
4-year	51,739	6,758	13.1	1,621	46,794	90.4	5,750
2-year	103,635	5,924	5.7	1,479	82,766	79.9	5,387

¹Each average grant (or loan) value was calculated by dividing the total grants (or loans) awarded by the total number of recipients.

²Student loans include only loans made directly to students; federal loans to parents (PLUS) and other loans made directly to parents are not included.

NOTE: Student financial aid data are not imputed. The item response rates for all cells on this table range from 90.5 percent to 99.3 percent. The numbers shown reflect only those institutions that reported the number of recipients by types of financial aid and the average amounts received.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2002.

Revenues of Degree-Granting Institutions

The Finance component of the spring 2002 IPEDS collected information on the revenues and expenditures of Title IV institutions during fiscal year (FY) 2001. Revenue data were collected by source of revenue, such as tuition and fees and government appropriations, while expenditure data were collected by purpose of expenditure, including instruction, research, and public service.

As shown in table F, the largest source of revenues differed by level and control of institution. Public 4-year institutions received close to one-third (31.9 percent) of their revenues from government appropriations, while public 2-year institutions received over half (54.9 percent) of their revenues from government appropriations. Both public 4-year and public 2-year institutions received nearly one-fifth of their revenues from tuition and fees (17.8 percent and 19.5 percent, respectively).

Private not-for-profit 4-year institutions received 38.0 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees. Due to a poor investment market, the 4-year private not-for-profit institutions realized negative investment returns in FY 2001. In previous years, investment return provided an important source of funds for these institutions, whereas for FY 2001, they depended more on private gifts, grants, and contracts, and government grants and contracts (18.4 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively). In addition to revenues from tuition and fees (53.1 percent), the 2-year private not-for-profit institutions relied on government grants and contracts for 12.1 percent of their revenues and on private gifts, grants, and contracts for another 9.7 percent.

Private for-profit institutions, regardless of level, received the largest proportion of their revenues from tuition and fees. Four-year private for-profit institutions received 87.5 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees, and 2-year private for-profit institutions received 87.2 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees.

Table F. Revenues of Title IV degree-granting institutions, by level and control of institution and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2001

Source of funds	4-year		2-year
Source of funds	Revenues (in thousands)	Percent	Revenues (in thousands)	Percent
	Public institutions¹
Total revenues and investment return	$145,182,096	100.0	$31,463,119	100.0
Tuition and fees	25,784,677	17.8	6,134,934	19.5
Government appropriations	46,305,760	31.9	17,265,480	54.9
Government grants and contracts	20,722,758	14.3	4,462,620	14.2
Private gifts, grants, and contracts	8,571,836	5.9	376,486	1.2
Endowment income/investment return	1,324,192	0.9	27,797	0.1
Sales and services of educational activities	4,759,931	3.3	228,442	0.7
Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises	14,804,051	10.2	1,697,784	5.4
Hospital revenue	16,759,921	11.5	0	0
Independent operations revenue	801,778	0.6	134,893	0.4
Other revenue²	5,347,193	3.7	1,134,683	3.6
	Private not-for-profit institutions
Total revenues and investment return	$81,568,928	100.0	$605,564	100.0
Tuition and fees	30,996,381	38.0	321,724	53.1
Government appropriations	770,523	0.9	8,912	1.5
Government grants and contracts	10,708,529	13.1	73,435	12.1
Private gifts, grants, and contracts	14,978,461	18.4	58,617	9.7
Contributions from affiliated entities	810,408	1.0	11,827	2.0
Investment return	-3,623,323	-4.4	20,996	3.5
Sales and services of educational activities	3,452,731	4.2	15,949	2.6
Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises	8,703,316	10.7	39,294	6.5
Hospital revenue	7,125,648	8.7	694	0.1
Independent operations revenue	3,499,024	4.3	2,020	0.3
Other revenue²	4,147,227	5.1	52,096	8.6
	Private for-profit institutions
Total revenues and investment return	$2,952,254	100.0	$2,015,446	100.0
Tuition and fees	2,583,644	87.5	1,756,833	87.2
Government appropriations, grants, and contracts	141,801	4.8	132,901	6.6
Private grants and contracts	1,659	0.1	1,189	0.1
Investment income and investment gains (losses)	12,574	0.4	7,163	0.4
Sales and services of educational activities	40,081	1.4	23,311	1.2
Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises	106,327	3.6	66,660	3.3
Other revenue²	66,168	2.2	27,389	1.4

¹Categories are combined for public institutions that use Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards and public institutions that use Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standards to prepare their financial statements.

²A change in the definition of "other revenue" resulted in a decrease in the proportion of revenues classified as "other revenue," relative to earlier E.D. TAB reports.

NOTE: Public and private institutions use different accounting standards; thus, the categories differ. When reporting standards for private not-for-profit institutions changed under statements 116 and 117 of the FASB, accounting for scholarships changed, requiring that most scholarships be netted against tuition revenue. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2002.

Footnotes

¹The outlying areas are American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

²Institutions participating in Title IV programs are accredited by an agency or organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, have a program of over 300 clock hours or 8 credit hours, have been in business for at least 2 years, and have a signed Program Participation Agreement (PPA) with the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education.

³According to the regulations implementing the Student Right-to-Know Act, institutions offering athletically related student aid are required to report graduation rates beginning with the group of students who entered the institution between September 1, 1996, and August 31, 1997. Four-year institutions must start providing these data in the IPEDS spring 2003 data collection. All other institutions are required to respond as part of their Program Participation Agreement.

⁴Degree-granting institutions are those that grant associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctor's, or first-professional degrees. Non-degree-granting institutions award only certificates of completion; these institutions are primarily occupational/vocational schools awarding certificates in such programs as cosmetology, nursing, mechanics, aviation systems, computer and information sciences, dental assistant, and law enforcement.

⁵Financial aid, as used here, includes federal grants, state and local grants, institutional grants, and student loans; PLUS loans and other loans made directly to parents and college work-study programs are not included.

⁶Student financial aid data were not imputed; percentages are based on responding institutions only and may be subject to nonsampling error.

Data source: The NCES Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2001 and 2002.

For technical information, see the complete report:

Knapp, L.G., Kelly, J.E., Whitmore, R.W., Wu, S., Levine, B., and Huh, S. (2003). Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2001 and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2001 (NCES 2004–155).

Author affiliations: L.G. Knapp, consultant; J.E. Kelly, R.W. Whitmore, S. Wu, B. Levine, and S. Huh, RTI International.

For questions about content, contact Aurora D'Amico (aurora.d'amico@ed.gov).

To obtain the complete report (NCES 2004–155), visit the NCES Electronic Catalog (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch).