New England Board of Higher Education » gender

Trends & Indicators: College Success

Shoshana Akins — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 12:52:33 +0000

Updated November 2012

New England’s traditional public and private nonprofit colleges and universities conferred more than 201,000 degrees at all levels in 2010—or more than 6% of the U.S. total, compared with the region's less than 5% of the U.S. population. However, those traditional public and private nonprofit colleges make up an ever-smaller portion of the U.S. total, and the U.S. represents a shrinking part of the global higher education market.

Among other highlights in NEBHE's annual update on measures of "College Success" ...

Amid national calls for increasing degree attainment, only 16% of students at New England’s traditional two-year community colleges graduate within three years of enrolling—and the rate is even lower among U.S. minority groups.
NEBHE and other experts are refocusing attention on student transfer between institutions—and not simply from two-year to four-year institutions, but also “reverse transfer” in an age of student "swirl."
Nearly 60% of all higher education degrees awarded in New England are conferred on women.

For other trend data, visit our continually updated Trends & Indicators or Newslink.

Figure CS 1: Graduation Rates by State, Race/Ethnicity and Type of Institution, 2010

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Note: The graduation rate is the percentage of students who complete an associate degree (at two-year institutions) within three years, or a bachelor's degree (at four-year institutions) within six years.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 2: Graduation and Transfer Rates by State and Type of Institution, 2010

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Note: The graduation rate is the percentage of students who complete an associate degree (at two-year institutions only) within three years or a bachelor's degree (at four-year institutions) within six years. Figures are based on cohorts entering in 2002 (four-year institutions) or 2005 (two-year institutions). New England data is based on the aggregate numbers of all institutions of a given type, rather than an average of the states' graduation rates.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 3: Total Degrees Awarded at New England's Colleges and Universities and New England's Share of U.S. Degrees, 2000 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 4: Degrees Awarded in New England by Gender, 1972 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 5: Attainment of College (Tertiary-Type A) Degrees for 25- to 34-Year-Olds in OECD and Partner Countries, 2009

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Note: Tertiary-type A programs are largely theory-based and designed to provide sufficient qualifications for entry to advanced research programs and roughly correspond to bachelor's and master's degree programs in the U.S. Advanced research programs correspond to doctorate programs.

Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators 2010, Table A1.3a.

Figure CS 6: Associate Degrees Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 7: Associate Degrees Awarded at New England Colleges and Universities by Selected Fields of Study, 1971 to 2010

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Note: Disciplines not listed include: Arts and Music, Education, Social Service Professions, Communication and Librarianship, Psychology, Social Sciences, Geosciences, Law, Interdisciplinary or other Sciences, Architecture and Environmental Design, Humanites, Religion and Theology, Math and Computer Sciences and unknown disciplines. These unlisted disciplines awarded 13,869 degrees in 2010.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 8: Bachelor's Degrees Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 9: Bachelor's Degrees Awarded at New England Colleges and Universities by Selected Fields of Study, 1971 to 2010

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Note: Data from 1971 to 2001 reflect 10-year intervals and data from 2003 to 2008 reflect one-year intervals. Disciplines not listed include: Communication and Librarianship, Math and Computer Sciences, Engineering, Vocational Studies and Home Economics, Science and Engineering Technologies, Social Service Professions, Physical Sciences, Architecture and Environmental Design, Geosciences, Religion and Theology, Interdisciplinary or other Science, Law and unknown disciplines. These unlisted disciplines awarded 29,977 degrees in 2010.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 10: Master's Degrees Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 11: Master's Degrees Awarded at New England Colleges and Universities by Selected Fields of Study, 1971 to 2010

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Note: Data from 1971 to 2001 reflect 10-year intervals and data from 2003 to 2008 reflect one-year intervals. Disciplines not listed include: Physcial Science, Geosciences, Math and Computer Science, Psychology, Science and Engineering Technologies, Interdisciplinary or other Sciences, Religion and Theology, Arts and Music, Architecture and Environmental Design, Communication and Librarianship, Law, Social Service Professions, Vocational Studies and Home Economics and unknown disciplines. These unlisted disciplines awarded 13,460 degrees in 2010.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 12: Doctorates Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Note: Includes all doctorate degrees, doctorate degree professional practice, doctorate degree research/scholarship and other doctorate degrees.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 12a: Doctorate Research and Scholarship Degrees Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Note: A Ph.D. or other doctor's degree that requires advanced work beyond the master’s level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement. Some examples of this type of degree may include Ed.D., D.M.A., D.B.A., D.Sc., D.A., or D.M, and others, as designated by the awarding institution.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 12b: Doctorate Professional Practice Degrees Conferred on Men, Women Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Note: A doctor’s degree that is conferred upon completion of a program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credential, or license required for professional practice. The degree is awarded after a period of study such that the total time to the degree, including both pre-professional and professional preparation, equals at least six full-time equivalent academic years. Some of these degrees were formerly classified as “first-professional” and may include: Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.); Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.); Law (L.L.B. or J.D.); Medicine (M.D.); Optometry (O.D.); Osteopathic Medicine (D.O); Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); Podiatry (D.P.M., Pod.D., D.P.); or, Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), and others, as designated by the awarding institution.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 12c: Other Doctorates Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Note: A doctorate degree that does not meet the definition of a doctorate degree-research/scholarship or a doctorate degree-professional practice. An example would be doctorate degrees awarded in a single subject non-education field.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

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Trends & Indicators: Enrollment Period

John O. Harney — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:28:18 +0000

Updated December 2011 ...

Since NEBHE began publishing tables and charts exploring “Trends & Indicators” in New England higher education more than a half-century ago, few figures have grabbed as much attention as college enrollment data. These local, state, regional and national data go beyond simple headcounts of students going to college to tell the stories of New England's changing demography, the region's economic life and increasing globalization.

There is no typical New England college student. The region's student body—nearly 1 million strong—is more female than it used to be and increasingly multicultural. But the student body is hardly economically diverse. Of students born into the top quartile of family income, more than 84% graduate from high school and go on to college, compared with 41% of students from the bottom family income quartile, according to Postsecondary Education Opportunity, the data-rich newsletter published by higher education analyst Thomas G. Mortenson.

Among other findings:

More than 970,000 students were enrolled at New England’s colleges and universities in 2010, up by more than 150,000 students since 2000.
Nearly half of New England college students attend private institutions, compared with just over one-quarter nationally.
Women students began to outnumber men on New England college and university campuses in 1978, and the imbalance has grown to about 542,000 women to 419,000 men.
The number of Hispanic college students has doubled in New England since 2000. Yet Hispanics and African-Americans together still account for only 14% of New England college students.

Figure ENR 1: Total Enrollment at New England Colleges and Universities and New England's Share of U.S. Enrollment, 2000 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 2: Higher Education Enrollment in New England by Type of Institution and Full-Time Status, 2010

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Note: U.S. totals are projected by the U.S. Department of Education. Full-time and part-time breakdowns for public and private institutions were not available.
Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 3: Distribution of Higher Education Enrollment, Public vs. Private, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 4: Public vs. Private College Enrollment in New England, 2000 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 5: Undergraduate vs. Graduate Enrollment in New England, 2000 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 6: Full-Time vs. Part-Time College Enrollment in New England, 2000 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 7: Total Higher Education Enrollment by Gender in New England, 1977 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 8: New England Institutions with the Largest Undergraduate Enrollments, Fall 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 9: New England Cities with the Largest College Enrollments, 2010

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Note: Total enrollment includes full-and part-time undergraduate, graduate and non-degree students.
Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 10: Enrollment at New England Colleges and Universities by Race/Ethnicity, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 11: Minority Enrollment by State and Race/Ethnicity, 2000 and 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 12: Public vs. Private College Enrollment in New England by Race/Ethnicity, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 13: Enrollment by Type of Institution: New England and the United States, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

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LGBTQA: Big Letters on Campus

John O. Harney — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:44:10 +0000

Editor’s Note: NEJHE has strived to document and improve the experiences of groups historically underserved by higher education, including ethnic and racial minorities. Academia is more tolerant than many sectors, but spending a brief time on any campus reveals that people who are “different” in any way are also underserved and underacknowledged. This article explores the particular situation facing transgender students. —J.O.H.

For most Americans, biological sex and gender are one and the same. Infants usually fit neatly into one of two categories: A newborn is either a boy or a girl. Boys, according to stereotype, are adorned in blue, girls in pink. In short order, most boys and girls will grow up amid social pressures to behave in a manner that aligns culturally with their anatomy. They will play with gendered toys, compete on gendered athletic teams, and, for many of those lucky enough to pursue residential postsecondary education, live in gendered housing. The connection between biological sex and gender norms is woven deeply into the fabric of American society. It affects everything from the way we interact with one another to how we dress and where we use the restroom.

But gender—or what might be called “gender identity” or “gender expression”—often differs from biological sex. “Transgender” people identify themselves as something other than simply male or female. A transgender person might be biologically male but identify culturally as a woman, or vice versa. Moreover, the male/female binary tells an incomplete story even about biological sex. While transgender persons constitute as much as 8% of the population, some researchers estimate that intersex individuals (those whose anatomy is neither fully male nor fully female) account for nearly 1.7% of births worldwide. Given the culturally sensitive nature of nonconforming gender expression and biological sex, data on these populations are often incomplete and hard to nail down. What’s clear, however, is that not everyone fits into boxes labeled either “male” or “female.”

Colleges and universities know little about their transgender populations. Many institutions support student- or staff-led “affinity groups” designed to give students interested in LGBTQA (i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, straight ally) issues a forum for likeminded personal connections and sustained and safe discussion space. Still others sponsor awareness or education programs for their students about transgender issues or maintain residential facilities that cater to transgender student needs. But, from a data collection standpoint, institutions and, indeed, the federal government use a system predicated on the gender binary; in large part, when colleges and universities collect gender data about their students they ask simply “male or female?”

There are strong indications that gay, lesbian, and transgender student populations—like other culturally marginalized student groups—persist through the college ranks and complete postsecondary training, on the whole, less successfully than their peers in the cultural mainstream. Threats of physical violence, pressures to hide their identities, fear or discomfort in residential settings all contribute to higher-than-normal attrition rates for gay, lesbian, and transgender students at American colleges and universities. But again data are hard to come by. At the national level, institutional data collection processes (e.g. IPEDS reporting) seek student information along gender lines and make no allowance for transgender or intersex students. This practice renders transgender students invisible to data analysis; researchers are not entirely sure how these students are faring from year to year.

Admissions

At the institutional level, a handful of colleges and universities collect information on student gender identities beyond biological sex, but the trend is in its nascent stages. Institutions like Carleton College, Duke University, and, in New England, Tufts University allow students to communicate a nonconforming gender identity in admissions application forms. These colleges either offer students a blank space in which to describe their gender identities or, in the case of Tufts, they provide a third option—“Other:”—added to check boxes for male and female identities. Either of these strategies involves transgender students in data collection and trend analysis. As college applications convey not only academic qualifications but the personalities, experiences and identities of applying students, as well, these questions also grant transgender students a more representative voice in the college matchmaking process. At some institutions, student identity plays an important role in admission decisions; applicants are asked about their racial and family backgrounds, their personal and academic interests, and even their religions. College admission, at many institutions, is about identity and student background as much as academic qualifications and test scores. Why, then, is gender identity omitted from the conversation at most postsecondary institutions?

Initiatives seeking to include gay, lesbian, and transgender student identities in institutional data collection and admissions decision-making processes are beginning to gain traction. In 2010, Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania joined the nonprofit advocacy group Campus Pride in calling for an alteration to the Common Application. The Common Application allows a college applicant to prepare an admission application by responding to a battery of demographic inquiries, questions about life experiences and interests, and an open-ended essay prompt. That single document—with teacher recommendations, transcripts, institution-specific supplements, and application fees appended—conveys the candidacy of that applicant to as many member institutions as the applicant chooses. More than 400 institutions—including every Ivy League university, Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and each of the top 10 national liberal arts colleges (as ranked by U.S. News & World Report)—use the Common Application. The Common App, as it’s known, accounts for millions of college applications submitted each year, and it requires students to report their gender as either male or female.

Dartmouth, Penn, and Campus Pride petitioned the Common Application to either add a third category to gender (akin to the “Other” box at Tufts) or, in deference to federal reporting guidelines, add a question separate from biological sex relating to gender identity. The Common Application polled its members and decided against altering the document, citing the need to conform to federal guidelines and the potential for increased student anxiety as justifications. Common Application officials suggested that asking a student to report a gender identity outside of the male/female binary, even optionally, would place a student in an uncomfortable or even dangerous position with parents and high school officials. (The dilemma is reminiscent of the debate over don’t ask/don’t tell.) Despite the failure of proponents in securing a change to the Common Application, higher education officials and admissions officers around the nation are beginning to recognize that this issue needs serious consideration.

Student services

Transgender students, an often hidden population on many college and university campuses, frequently face embarrassment and discomfort, as well as safety concerns, when it comes to residential life. A biologically male student who identifies as female, for example, can present a challenge for a residential life coordinator who does not know how to best handle the sensitive issues at hand when accommodating a transgender student. While the student may feel most comfortable living in a female dormitory, there may be concerns from roommates, floormates, and parents who feel uncomfortable with such a placement.

Many institutions have enacted gender-neutral housing as a way to combat any prejudices a transgender student might experience when attempting to find on-campus housing. According to Brown University’s Gender-Neutral Housing Policy, “a gender-neutral optional housing designation simply means that either a single-gender group or mixed-gender group may select these rooms, suites, or apartments." Such choice is seen to provide more comfort and safety to transgender residents who want the option to choose whom they will live with, regardless of biological sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, more than 50 institutions have gender-neutral housing policies, including New England campuses such as Connecticut College, Northeastern University, Tufts University and the University of Vermont. While Northeastern has a gender-neutral housing policy “in order to provide a welcoming living environment,” such an option is offered only to junior to senior students, meaning that transgender freshmen and sophomores still must choose between the gender binaries if they are to live on campus.

At Connecticut College, gender-neutral housing is available to students beginning in their sophomore year. According to one trustee, Prescott W. Haffner, “the availability of gender-neutral housing sends an affirming message to all students. It reinforces that the college community welcomes people as individuals, whatever their differences." The policy was enacted in 2009 after a group of students came together, requesting that such a change be implemented on campus.

In fall 2003, the University of Vermont Office of Residential Life “began making selected rooms with private shower facilities available to transgender students upon request,” according to Dot Brauer, director of the LGBTQA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Allies) at UVM. That same year, signage on more than 20 gender-specific, single-use bathrooms were replaced with gender-neutral signs. More recently, in fall 2010, residential life began offering students more access to gender-neutral housing.

At Tufts, accommodations for transgender students have been existence since fall 2004, with the creation of the transgender housing option, which allows a transgender student to live with whomever they chose, regardless of gender identity. Yet. this past February, Students Acting for Gender Equality (SAGE) at Tufts put together a proposal for gender-neutral housing, meaning that anyone, regardless of if they identify as transgender or cisgender (meaning a match between biological identity and gender identity) can choose to live together in a double-occupancy room. Tom Bourdon, the director of the LGBT Center at Tufts, notes that a move to gender-neutral housing provides more accommodations to cisgender students, as transgender students were already protected under the transgender housing option. Bourdon does note, though, that allowing all people, regardless of gender identity, to live with one another would “shift the general tone of roommate housing,” perhaps making it so transgender students would not “stand out so much” in their housing decisions.

The need for transgender student services spans beyond residential life, though. In the classroom, transgender students can feel uncomfortable being identified by professors and teaching assistants by their legal names.

In 2003, a University of Vermont, student wrote a senior thesis on how the university could become more accommodating to transgender students. That same year, the university created software for its student information system that “puts students’ preferred names and pronouns on class rosters and identification cards but retains their legal names on financial aid and medical forms.”

This arrangement makes things more comfortable for both students and faculty, as it minimizes the confusion as to how students identify. The system also provides a more comfortable way for students to let professors know how they prefer to be identified without having to “out” themselves personally to professors as a transgender student, which can be a highly uncomfortable and emotional experience. According to Brauer, UVM’s registrar completed the coding work in January 2009, allowing the new naming system to be implemented.

Tom Bourdon sees the University of Vermont “at the forefront” of accommodating transgender students. He notes that Tufts is in the process of upgrading its computer system, which will allow it to enact a similar naming system as UVM.

UVM, in spring 2003, also formed the annual Translating Identity Conference, which has brought greater awareness of transgender culture to UVM and surrounding communities. Moreover, in 2005, UVM’s Board of Trustees approved the inclusion of “gender identity and expression” in the institutions’ non-discrimination and harassment policy. According to Brauer, such activism and awareness has come about through “transgender-identified and transgender advocate and activist students, staff and faculty at UVM,” who have “actively participated in informing and shaping the direction of institutional change.”

When asked why such radical changes were able to take place on UVM’s campus, Brauer responded that there is a “different kind of civic culture” in the state of Vermont, combined with the “progressive politics” that lend themselves to the changes that have been enacted at UVM. Other states, she notes, may be fighting an uphill battle when it comes to implementing such changes: “You’re not always going to have a sympathetic provost, willing vice president, and eager registrar”.

Darrell P. Aaron, David Mabe and Courtney Wilk pursued this project as policy interns at NEBHE and students at Harvard Graduate School of Education. They all now work in college admissions.