How to use the FACTS

New England Journal of Higher Education, The, 1999

1. The higher education institutions listed in FACTS 1999 are authorized to grant academic degrees at certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's or doctoral levels. (There are a few exceptions: students at Saint Thomas Seminary in Connecticut, Forsyth School for Dental Hygienists and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Massachusetts earn degrees through affiliation with other schools.) Colleges and universities are listed alphabetically by state, with public institutions appearing first, followed by independent institutions. A special section listing law and medical schools follows the state-by-state sections.

Independent institutions listed in FACTS are nonprofit except for the following proprietary institutions: Briarwood College and Paier College of Art, Inc. in Connecticut; Andover College, Beal College and Casco Bay College in Maine; Arthur D. Little Management Education Institute, Katharine Gibbs School and Massachusetts Communications College in Massachusetts; Hesser College and McIntosh College in New Hampshire; and New England Culinary Institute in Vermont Information in the FACTS 1999 institutional listings is based on the results of a New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) survey conducted in the summer and fall of 1998.

2. Institutions generally provide their main telephone and facsimile numbers and, if available, the institution's address on the World Wide Web. (For telephone numbers of admissions offices, see the listing section titled "Admissions Information.")

3. Brief descriptions note the year the institution was founded, types of programs offered and degrees awarded.

4. The FACTS survey asks campuses to provide the names and titles of up to 30 campus officers. In general, the campus officers listed and the order in which they appear are determined by the survey respondent.

5. For consistency, descriptions of campus environment are generally limited to rural, suburban or urban. Because this information is self-reported, this item reflects how respondents perceive the institution's immediate surroundings.

6. Most New England colleges and universities are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), a regional accrediting body based in Bedford, Mass. NEASC accreditation indicates that a college has purposes appropriate to higher education, has the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through educational programs, is substantially doing so and gives reasonable evidence that it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Accreditation by NEASC applies to the institution as a whole, therefore it is not a guarantee of the quality of every course offered. NE indicates that an institution is accredited by NEASC. NE cand indicates that the institution is a candidate for accreditation by NEASC.

Some New England institutions and/or their individual programs are accredited by various national accrediting bodies. Specialized indicates that an institution or one or more of its academic programs carries such accreditation. Interested students should contact the institution directly to determine if such accreditation exists.

7. In a semester system, the academic year is divided into two equal units. In a trimester system, the year is divided into three units. In a quarter system, the year is divided into four units. Other calendar systems include 4-1-4, which features two terms of four months each and a one month intersession intended for experimental or intensive study. Variations include 4-4-1 or 4-1-4-1. A modular system is characterized by short periods of study or "mods," usually about eight weeks long.

8. An institution's student body is classified as men for men only, women for women only or coed for men and women.

9. Tuition/Fees refers to annual tuition and mandatory fees for a typical undergraduate (except in the case of institutions that enroll only graduate students). For public institutions, in-state tuition and mandatory fees are listed first, followed by out-of-state tuition and mandatory fees. Tuition and fees are current for the 1998-99 academic year. Fees may include the cost of health insurance required by some institutions if students are not covered by comparable health insurance. The figures listed for Tuition/Fees do not include room and board charges unless otherwise indicated.

10. Room and Board refers to average annual charges for students living on campus and participating in a standard meal plan (unless otherwise noted) during the 1998-99 academic year. On campus housing is categorized as: mr-housing for men; w-housing for men; w-housing for women; c-coed housing; and f-housing for families or married students.

11. Listing shows the market value of institutional endowment as of June 30,1998, unless otherwise indicated. Endowments under $1 million are not reported. In some cases, institutions report only directly held endowment funds, though substantial funds may be maintained by affiliated foundations or other groups. In most cases, the values of endowments listed in the law and medical school section of FACTS are also included in the affiliated institution's total endowment in the state-by-state listings.