American higher education is in transition and if there ever was a "golden age" for faculty, it probably is behind us. The best historical data on the composition of faculty is collected annually by the American Mathematical Society. Between 1967 and 2009, the share of full-time faculty with PhDs remained constant at about 90 percent at…

Undergraduate education in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) needs improvement, a conclusion that multiple national reports over the past two decades have reached. Critiques of STEM education may emphasize different aspects of the STEM undergraduate education problem. Nevertheless, each delivers one clear and…

The author states that the U.S. is at risk of falling behind in the global economic competition because too few of the young people are choosing to study fields like engineering and science. A 2005-06 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index survey found that while American teenagers are comfortable with rapid technological change and optimistic about the…

A comparative study was conducted between the minimum required number of humanities and social science credits for graduation at top-tier undergraduate universities in the US and similar, English-medium universities in the Arabian Gulf. It was found that on average the US universities required students to complete a higher proportion of humanities…

Here, we look at the enrolments of students in undergraduate mathematics courses in a number of countries. The data show various increases and decreases and we suggest some common reasons for the fluctuations. These include students' goals of a secure and well-paid job, government actions and the state of the economy in the country concerned. We…

This Statistics in Brief uses nationally representative data to determine the representation of military students in undergraduate and graduate education and to examine how their demographic and enrollment characteristics compare with their nonmilitary peers. The brief draws upon two nationally representative studies of postsecondary students, the…

International students who mainstream into American colleges and universities face complex and varied linguistic, cultural and sociolinguistic challenges. Although the number of Turkish students enrolling in American institutions continues to increase, little research has focused on their academic experience from the perspective of the cultural…

The nature of higher education is by no means fixed: it has evolved over time; different models of higher education co-exist alongside each other at present; and, worldwide, there are demands for higher education to change to better help support economic growth and to better fit changing social and economic circumstances. This book examines, from…

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collects institution-level data from postsecondary institutions in the United States (the 50 states and the District of Columbia) and other jurisdictions, such as Puerto Rico. For IPEDS, a postsecondary institution is defined as an organization that is open to the public and has as its…

Digital games are marketed, mass-produced, and consumed by an increasing number of people and the game industry is only expected to grow. In response, postsecondary institutions in the UK and the U.S. have started to create game degree programs. Though curriculum theorists provide insight into the process of creating a new program, no formal…

This study explored the state of bachelor's degree offered at top Library and Information Science schools in the United States in 2009. Schools selected were accredited on the Master's level and ranked as top five Library and Information Science schools by the American Library Association, ALA. The study embraced the comparative analysis…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its companion projects serve colleges and universities committed to monitoring and improving the quality of the undergraduate experience. While participating institutions receive detailed customized reports, the "Annual Results" series presents noteworthy aggregate findings from the…

The economic and noneconomic benefits of higher education, both private and social are undeniable. The higher the average education level of the population, the better off people are. College is not for everyone, but college ought to be possible for anyone who wants to try and who has taken the steps to help themselves succeed. State-funded…

The Business-Higher Education Forum's (BHEF's) Securing America's Leadership in STEM Initiative has broken new ground in addressing one of the nation's most critical challenges--increasing the number of students who are interested in and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, the so-called "STEM" fields. The…

In 2015, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) collected responses from more than 315,000 first-year and senior students attending 585 bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. This report presents selected NSSE results from students at 541 U.S. institutions or subsets of that group where…