• Introduction
• Institutional Characteristics Information
• Completions Information

This report presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). These data, collected in fall 2000, were the first to be collected through the IPEDS Web-based data collection system.

IPEDS collects data from about 9,400 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 was a requirement for the approximately 6,600 institutions that participated in Title IV federal student financial aid programs such as Pell Grants or Stafford Loans during the 2000–01 academic year.² In addition, institutions that do not participate in Title IV programs are offered the opportunity to participate in the IPEDS data collection process. About 30 percent of the IPEDS institutions located within the 50 states and the District of Columbia (2,711 institutions) did not participate in Title IV programs during the 2000–01 academic year and are thus not the main focus of this report. Since IPEDS does not identify all postsecondary institutions, the U.S. Department of Education currently has plans to conduct an extensive nationwide search to identify postsecondary institutions that are not currently included in the IPEDS database. The project also includes plans to collect a limited amount of information from both those formerly identified and the newly identified non–Title IV institutions.

Tabulations in this report present data collected from the approximately 6,600 Title IV postsecondary institutions regarding both institutional characteristics for the 2000–01 academic year and completions (degrees and other formal awards conferred) during the 1999–2000 academic year (July 1, 1999, through June 30, 2000). This report presents institutional characteristics data for all Title IV postsecondary institutions and completions data for those Title IV institutions that granted degrees and were located within the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

NCES and other researchers use data from the IPEDS “Institutional Characteristics Survey” to classify postsecondary institutions based on a variety of characteristics. Data on sector, level, control, and affiliation allow classification within general categories. More specific categories of institutions can be defined by using additional data, such as types of programs offered, levels of degrees and awards, accreditation, calendar system, admission requirements, student charges, and basic enrollment information. Basic directory information also is provided.

Table A provides counts of institutions by several of these identifying and classifying characteristics. Institutions were divided geographically by their presence within the 50 states and the District of Columbia or in an outlying area. About 98 percent of Title IV postsecondary institutions (6,479 institutions) were located within the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the fall of 2000, and the remaining 2 percent (157 institutions) were located in the outlying areas.

Institutions were further classified by their degree-granting status. Institutions were considered degree granting if they awarded at least one associate’s or higher degree in academic year 1999–2000. About 65 percent of Title IV postsecondary institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia (4,182 institutions) and just over half of Title IV postsecondary institutions in the outlying areas (83 institutions) granted a degree during this period (table A).

During the 1999–2000 academic year, almost 2.4 million degrees were awarded by Title IV degree-granting institutions located in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Of the total number of degrees awarded, 24 percent were associate’s degrees, 52 percent were bachelor’s degrees, 19 percent were master’s degrees, 2 percent were doctor’s degrees, and 3 percent were first-professional degrees³ (table B).

Public institutions awarded two-thirds (66 percent) of all degrees during the 1999–2000 academic year, while private not-for-profit institutions awarded 30 percent and private for-profit institutions awarded 4 percent of all degrees (table C). Public and private not-for-profit institutions were more likely to award bachelor’s degrees than any other type of degree. Bachelor’s degrees accounted for 52 percent of all degrees awarded by public institutions and 57 percent of all degrees awarded by private not-for-profit institutions during 1999–2000 (table B). Private for-profit institutions, on the other hand, were more likely to award associate’s degrees. Associate’s degrees accounted for 69 percent of the degrees awarded by private for-profit institutions during the 1999–2000 academic year.

Public institutions awarded the majority of degrees at all degree levels, except at the first-professional level. They awarded 79 percent of associate’s degrees, 66 percent of bachelor’s degrees, 53 percent of master’s degrees, and 63 percent of doctor’s degrees (table C). The majority of first-professional degrees (59 percent) were awarded by private not-for-profit institutions, while public institutions awarded 41 percent of the degrees at this level.

Overall, women earned more degrees than men. About 57 percent of all degrees awarded in academic year 1999–2000 went to women (table C). Considering degrees by level, women earned more associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees than men in 1999–2000. Women earned 60 percent of the associate’s degrees, 57 percent of the bachelor’s degrees, and 58 percent of the master’s degrees. On the other hand, men earned 56 percent of the doctor’s degrees and 55 percent of the first-professional degrees.

Over two-thirds (70 percent) of all degrees conferred during the 1999–2000 academic year were awarded to White students, 21 percent were awarded to minority students, and 9 percent were awarded to nonresident aliens or individuals whose race/ethnicity was unknown. The majority of degrees at each level were awarded to White students: 70 percent of associate’s degrees, 72 percent of bachelor’s degrees, 66 percent of master’s degrees, 59 percent of doctor’s degrees, and 72 percent of first-professional degrees.

The proportion of degrees awarded to minority students was highest at the associate’s level. Minorities received 25 percent of associate’s degrees. They were also awarded 21 percent of bachelor’s degrees, 16 percent of master’s degrees, 13 percent of doctor’s degrees, and 22 percent of first-professional degrees. This general decline by level was even greater when the awards to Asian/Pacific Islanders were excluded from the minority count. Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians/Alaska Natives received 20 percent of all associate’s degrees, 15 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, 12 percent of all master’s and all first-professional degrees, and 8 percent of all doctor’s degrees.

The proportion of degrees awarded to nonresident aliens varied by level. Nonresident aliens received less than 5 percent of associate’s, bachelor’s, or first-professional degrees; however, they received 12 percent of all master’s degrees and 24 percent of all doctor’s degrees.

When considering degrees awarded by field of study, 21 percent of all bachelor’s degrees conferred during 1999–2000 were in the field of business management and administrative services (table D). The social sciences and history program area accounted for 10 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, and education accounted for 9 percent.⁴

Business management and administrative services and education were popular fields of study at the master’s level, together accounting for over half of all master’s degrees conferred in 1999–2000. Twenty-four percent of master’s degrees were in the field of business management and administrative services, while 27 percent of master’s degrees were in the field of education. Health professions and related sciences accounted for 9 percent of awards at this level.

Six fields of study accounted for two-thirds of all doctor’s degrees awarded in 1999–2000: 15 percent of the doctor’s degrees were awarded in education, 12 percent in engineering, 11 percent in biological sciences/life sciences, 10 percent in psychology, 9 percent in social sciences and history, and 9 percent in physical sciences.