DATA CONNECTION

New England Journal of Higher Education, The, Summer 2005

* Number of New England institutions that rank among the top 10 liberal arts colleges nationally in professors' pay: 4

* Number of New England institutions that rank among the top 10 public universities nationally in professors' pay: 0

* Number of New England institutions among 81 nationwide identified as having a "conscience," meaning their administrators are socially responsible and their students are dedicated to serving society: 20

* Number of those that are private colleges: 16

* Average salary for New England school superintendents in 2004-05: $118,424

* Average salary for New England school teachers in 2004-05: $51,837

* Percentage of Americans who support higher pay for teachers in fields where there are shortages of qualified teachers: 72%

* Percentage of teachers who do: 52%

* Approximate number of percentage points by which a $100 increase in per-capita state taxes reduces jobs growth: 0.5

* Approximate number of percentage points by which one additional federal misconduct conviction per 100 elected officials in a state reduces jobs growth: 1.1

* National ranks of New Hampshire and Vermont, respectively, in federal misconduct convictions per 100 elected officials, 1986-95: 49th, 50th

* Number of U.S. eco-villages, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives and other "intentional communities" listed with the Missouri-based Fellowship for Intentional Community: 938

* Number located in Connecticut: 1

* Number located in Vermont: 16

* Share of Vermont farms that participate in "agritourism" such as cheese tours, hay rides or overnight stays: 1 in 3

* National rank of Maine in percentage of dwelling units that are second homes: 1st

* National rank of Vermont: 2nd

* Projected median age of Maine residents in 2030: 47

* Projected median age of Colorado residents in 2030: 36

* Percentage of Maine adults age 25 or over who have bachelor's degrees: 24%

* Percentage of Colorado adults age 25 or over who have bachelor's degrees: 36%

* Percentage of U.S. college undergraduates who have credit cards: 76%

* Of those who have credit cards, percentage who have at least four: 43%

* Average credit card interest rate as of May 2005: 13%

* Percentage of U.S. and Canadian white-collar workers who have shopped online at work: 72%

* Percentage of those who attribute this to faster computer connection speeds at work: 19%

* Percentage who attribute it to lack of time outside work: 14%

Sources: 1,2 CONNECTION analysis of Chronicle of Higher Education/American Association of University Professors data; 3,4 CONNECTION analysis of Colleges with a Conscience findings, The Princeton Review and Campus Compact; 5,6 Educational Research Service; 7,8 The Teaching Commission; 9,10,11 The Connecticut Economy; 12,13,14 Fellowship for Intentional Community; 15 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; 16,17 New England Economic Partnership (Maine, 20 percent; Vermont, 12 percent); 18,19 Charles Colgan, New England Economic Partnership; 20,21 Postsecondory Education Opportunity; 22,23 Nellie Mae; 24 Bankrate.com; 25,26,27 Bentley College and Burke Inc.