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Demographics and Higher Education
Characteristics of U.S. Higher Education Institutions
Traditional Institutions of Higher Education
New Modes of Delivery
A key challenge for the higher education system in the United States
is to remain a leader "in generating scientific and technological
breakthroughs and in preparing workers to meet the evolving demands
for skilled labor" (Greenspan 2000). The needs of the workplace
are changing in today’s information- and service-oriented economy;
all workers require increased competency in mathematics and critical
thinking and, at minimum, an understanding of basic science and
technology concepts (Romer 2000). Despite the rising number of college-age
adults (see "Demographics and Higher Education"), the
National Science and Technology Council (NSTC 2000) has expressed
concern about the nation’s ability to meet its technical workforce
needs and to maintain its international position in S&E. This
section explains demographic trends that may affect higher education
in the United States as well as institutional resources, both traditional
and emerging, that are being mobilized to meet this challenge. The
section includes data on the growing enrollment in S&E degree
programs and the production of S&E degrees by type of institution.
The growing importance of community colleges in lifelong learning
and their role in teaching IT are also described.
Demographics and Higher Education 
Past Trends
The size of the college-age cohort has decreased in all major industrialized
countries, although within somewhat different time frames. The U.S.
college-age population decreased from 22 million in 1980 to 17 million
in 1997, a reduction of 23 percent. Europe’s college-age population
has begun an even steeper decline, from 30 million in 1985 to a
projected 22 million in 2005, a reduction of 27 percent. Japan’s
college-age population of 10 million, which began to decline in
1995, is projected to reach a low of 7 million in 2010, representing
a loss of 30 percent. (See appendix table 2-1.)
Based on these trends, the major industrialized countries have recruited
foreign students to help fill their graduate S&E departments.
See "International Comparisons of Foreign Student Enrollment
in S&E Programs" at the end of this chapter. Most of these
foreign students have been drawn from developing countries with
far larger populations of potential college students. For example,
China and India are major countries of origin for foreign graduate
students in the United States, each with approximately 90 million
in their college-age cohort. (See figure 2-1  .)
Current Trends
In the United States, the almost 20-year decline of the college-age
cohort reversed in 1997 and is projected to increase from 17.5 million
to 21.2 million by 2010, with strong growth among minority groups.
(See appendix tables 2-1 and 2-2.) This projected increase in the
college-age population by more than 13 percent in the first decade
of the 21st century, coupled with the high percentage of the college-age
population electing to attend college, signals another wave of expansion
in enrollment in the U.S. higher education system and growth in
S&E degrees at all levels.
Demographic trends show an increase in the minority group population
in the United States. (See figure 2-2 .) The white college-age population
will expand slowly until 2010 and then decline, whereas the college-age
population of racial and ethnic minorities will continue to rise.
These trends offer a challenge to the United States and an opportunity
to educate students who have been traditionally underrepresented
in S&E fields (e.g., women, blacks, Hispanics, and American
Indians/Alaskan Natives).
Characteristics of U.S. Higher Education Institutions
The defining characteristics of the U.S. higher education system
include broad access to an array of institution types and sizes
with public and private funding and flexible attendance patterns.
New ways of acquiring advanced training and skills outside these
institutions are augmenting access (see "New Modes of Delivery").
As other countries broaden their access to higher education, a wider
array of institution types and attendance patterns is also evolving
internationally.
U.S. higher education includes nearly 3,400 degree-granting colleges
and universities serving 14.5 million students, nearly 80 percent
of whom attend public institutions. In 1997, approximately 5.5 million
of these students attended two-year institutions. Institutions of
higher education at all levels awarded 2.2 million degrees in 1998,
almost one-quarter of which were in S&E fields. (See figure 2-3 .) Less than 8 percent of all students are enrolled in private
liberal arts I and II institutions, and 19 percent attend research
universities, as defined by the Carnegie Classification. (See appendix
table 2-3 and sidebar, "Carnegie Classification of Academic
Institutions.") The demographic and college attendance patterns
of the student population are changing. More than 50 percent of
all undergraduates are age 22 or older, almost 25 percent are age
30 or older, and 40 percent of all students are attending college
part time (Edgerton 1997).
Traditional Institutions of Higher Education
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1994) has
clustered institutions with similar programs and purposes to better
describe the diverse set of traditional institutions serving various
needs. The 2000 Carnegie Classification is under review, and new
categories are being defined that combine doctoral and research
universities. The changes omit references to the amount of research
support different institutions have received (McCormick 2000). For
the 1997/98 academic year enrollment and degree data used in this
chapter, the former 1994 Carnegie Classification applies.
Enrollment in U.S. Higher Education by Type of Institution
Overall enrollment in U.S. institutions of higher education increased
from 7 million in 1967 to 15 million in 1992 and then continued
essentially unchanged through 1997. (See figure 2-4 .) The expansion period represented an average annual growth rate of 3 percent, but
growth rates differed greatly by type of institution. For example,
two-year colleges grew at twice this rate and accounted for the
largest share of the growth, from 1.5 million students in 1967 to
5.5 million in 1997 (including full- and part-time students). By
1997, enrollment in two-year colleges was 38 percent of total higher
education enrollment. In contrast, total student enrollment in research
universities I grew more modestly, from 1.5 million students in
1967 to 2.1 million in 1992, with fluctuations around 2.1 million
enrollments until 1997. Research universities enroll only 19 percent
of the students in higher education, but they play the largest role
in S&E degree production. (See figure 2-3 and appendix table
2-5.) Enrollment in higher education is expected to increase in
the first decade of the 21st century because of a 13 percent increase
in the college-age cohort during this period. (See appendix table
2-1.)
S&E Degree Production at All Levels of Higher Education by Type of Institution
Research-intensive universities produce most of the engineering
degrees and a large proportion of natural and social science degrees
at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. (See figures 2-5 ) and 2-6 .) In 1998, the nation’s 127 research universities awarded
more than 42 percent of all S&E bachelor’s degrees and
52 percent of all S&E master’s degrees. In addition, comprehensive
and liberal arts I institutions awarded significant numbers of bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in S&E. Associate degrees awarded
by community colleges accounted for only a small percentage of total
S&E degrees awarded but serve other important functions.
S&E Faculty by Type of Institution
More than 1.1 million faculty teach in the approximately 3,400 degree-granting
institutions of higher education. A large proportion (approximately
two-fifths) of all faculty work part time. Some institutions rely
on part-time faculty to a greater degree than others; almost two-thirds
(65 percent) of faculty at public two-year institutions hold part-time
appointments, and approximately one-fifth of faculty at public research
institutions work part time. (See text table 2-1  .)
Underrepresented minority faculty in S&E fields are more concentrated
at the associate level or in part-time positions at four-year institutions.
They constituted only 6 percent of the full-time faculty who teach
engineering and computer sciences at four-year institutions but
10 percent of the full-time faculty teaching subjects in these fields
at community colleges. (See text table 2-2 and appendix table 2-6.)
Community Colleges
Community colleges serve a diverse student population and have a broad set of
missions: they confer certificates and associate degrees, serve as
a bridge for students to attend four-year colleges, offer an array
of remedial courses and services, and enroll millions of students
in noncredit and workforce training classes (Bailey and Averianova
1999). Community colleges are an accessible and low-cost group of
institutions for lifelong learning. In 1998, 63 percent of the students
in community colleges were enrolled part time, and more than 60 percent
of these part-time students were older than age 25; in general, enrollment
in remedial courses includes a significant number of older adults
taking refresher courses (Phillippe and Patton 1999; American Association
of Community Colleges 2001).
The role of community colleges as a bridge to four-year schools is
difficult to determine because many students transfer to four-year
schools before earning an associate degree.
Approximately 25 percent of community college students transfer to
four-year institutions, but percentages differ by field and by state.
Eighteen percent of physical science students attending four-year
schools in 1994 had previously attended a community college, and 15
percent of those earning bachelor’s degrees in computer sciences
in 1994 had also earned associate degrees (U.S. Department of Education
1998). In Indiana, 67 percent of teachers surveyed took community
college courses as part of their formal education. Some states encourage
students to begin a bachelor’s program at a community college:
50 percent of students in the California State University system attended
a community college before entering a bachelor’s degree program
at a four-year institution. In addition, 75 percent of upper division
education majors in the California State University system began their
studies at community colleges (American Association of Community Colleges
2001; Pierce 2000; and Chancellor’s Office 1999).
Of all students in higher education in 1997, minority populations
were concentrated in community colleges as follows: 46 percent of
Asians/Pacific Islanders, 46 percent of blacks, 55 percent of Hispanics,
and 55 percent of American Indians/Alaskan Natives (Phillippe and
Patton 1999). A recent study indicates that minority students attending
community colleges are more likely to transfer to selective four-year
institutions than their colleagues who begin their academic career
at a four-year school. Also, the completion rate for these transfer
students is comparable with that of transfer students from other colleges
(Eide, Goldhaber, and Hilmer, forthcoming).
The importance of community colleges in advancing the nation’s
technical workforce is indicated by the number of associate degrees
and certificates in S&E fields and the number of information technology
(IT) workers reporting "some" college experience. See sidebar,
"Role of Community Colleges in Expanding Supply of Information
Technology Workers."
New Modes of Delivery
The number of earned degrees from traditional institutions does
not adequately represent the knowledge being acquired by students
in science, engineering, mathematics, and computer sciences in a
given year. Lifelong learning and various new ways of acquiring
knowledge are not all quantified or captured in current education
indicators. No indicators adequately capture the nontraditional
education acquired through industrial training, certificate programs,
and distance learning. See sidebars, "New Horizons in Science
and Engineering Education" and "Certificate Programs."
Limited data exist on student participation and completion rates for many of the cited
mechanisms. For example, national education surveys do not capture the number and types
of students enrolled in most certificate programs or those taking an array of related courses
that could lead to upgraded job skills but not a formal degree. Such data are needed to
gain a more complete picture of the nation’s S&E education and training system.
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