Database: a sampling of higher-education facts and figures - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Education, April, 2001

Internet Infiltration

Market Data Retrieval's annual survey on the use of technology in colleges reveals the Internet has become ubiquitous. In 2000, 100% of colleges reported that they provide Internet access to students in the library, followed closely by the computer lab, at 94%. Also, 40% offer Internet access in the dorms and 41% offer it in student centers. In addition, schools appear to have moved rapidly during the past year to extend Internet access into the classrooms. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of colleges now offer Internet access in classrooms, up from 49% in 1999.

(When completed in September 2000, MDR received a total of 1,319 responses to the survey.)

IT Occupations with
Anticipated High Job
Growth 1996-2006

(Employment listed in thousands)

                                1996    2006       change

Database Administrators,
Computer Support
Specialists, and all other
Computer Scientists             212      461       118%

Computer Engineers              216      451       109%

Systems Analysis                506     1,025      103%

Desktop Publishing
Specialists                      30       53       74%

Data Processing
Equipment Repairers              80      121       52%

Engineering, Science,
and Computer Systems
Managers                        343      498       45%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Monthly Labor Review, 1997
The Rise of the Chief Information Officer's
Role in Higher Ed

Results from the 1999 National Survey on Academic CIOs

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

Do You Have
Academic
Tenure or the
Equivalent?

No     78.4%
N/A     2.5%
Yes    19.1%

Have you published professional
articles, books,
etc. in the
past five
years?

No     44.6%
Yes    41.7%
N/A    13.7%

Do you consult regularly
(for pay/profit
outside
your
current
job)?

No     63.7%
Yes    22.1%
N/A    14.2%

(204 individuals completed an online survey conducted by Dewitt
Latimer, director of Computing and Network Services at the University
of Tennessee)

Note: Tables made from a pie chart.
Faculty Trends

Faculty Reporting Some or Extensive Stress with
Information Technology, by Age

Less than 35                   48%
35-44                          62%
45-54                          71%
55-64                          73%
Over 65                        69%

Older faculty experience more stress related to information
technology: among faculty who are 45 or older, more than two-thirds
are stressed about keeping up with technology, compared
with less than half of the faculty who are younger than 35.

Growing Personal Stress Among Faculty

                              1989    1998

Household responsibilities     64%     71%
Physical health                38%     48%
Care of elderly parent         26%     34%

Faculty have faced increasing pressures in their personal
lives. As compared with faculty in 1989, today's faculty are
more likely to experience stress due to household responsibilities,
their physical health, and caring for elderly parents.

Source: the 1998 Faculty Survey (Higher Ed Institute, UCLA)

Note: Tables made from a bar graph.
Technology and the
"Going-to-College"
Experience

Embark, an online resource for students,
conducted a survey
of more than 600 high school junior
and senior visitors to its Web site.

Does the quality of a school's Web site
influence your opinion of the college?

Not Sure    40.8%
No          18.6%
Yes         40.6%

Note: Table made from a pie chart.

Would you want to get any of the
following items from a college?

E-mail reminders               68%
Online catalogs                50%
E-mail newsletters             45%
Online information sessions    44%
Post Office mail               27%

Note: Table made from a bar graph.
Sources of
Influence Over
Students Final
College Choice

      WWW/Internet     5%
Guidance Counselor    16%
          Rankings    17%
           Friends    23%
         Graduates    24%
Catalogs/Viewbooks    30%
  Admissions Staff    31%
  College Web Site    31%
  Current Students    32%
    Parents/Family    46%
   Visit to School    69%

Source: Art and Science Group, a higher
ed consulting firm, and Embark, an online
resource for students

Note: Table made from a bar graph.

Rise in American Students Abroad

The number of U.S. college students receiving credit for study abroad in 1998-1999 jumped nearly 14% from the previous year, reaching a record total of 129,770.