Cohort crowding: how resources affect collegiate attainment

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Data AppendixThe primary sources of data for this analysis are: institutional surveys of colleges anduniversities, the decennial Census files, the decennial Census publications, population estimatesby the Census Bureau, and standard measures of labor markets characteristics.Population dataPopulation measures by state and age are primary to our analysis. There are two sourcesfor our population measures: age-specific estimates from the Census bureau and measures of birthcohort size from the Vital Statistics tabulations.Measures of birth cohort size for each state from 1928 – 1975 were entered from vitalstatistics data distributed by the National Center for Health Statistics. The original data camefrom birth registrations. (These are the cohorts that would have been 22 between 1950 and 1997).For the most recent three decades, data on population by state and single year of age areavailable through the Bureau of the Census website. For the years between Census enumerations,these numbers are estimates which take into account mortality and migration. See:http://eire.census.gov/popest/topics/methodology/stage98.txt for a discussion of thismethodology. For the years before 1970, we combine data on the state and single year of ageenumerations published in the U.S. Census Bureau State Volumes for 1950 (Table 51), 1960(Table 94) and 1970 (Table 19) and the total population in each state and year for single yearsfrom 1950-1970. Because the population measures between census enumerations are estimates,measurement error is a logical concern with these data. We discuss in the text why we do notbelieve this to be a significant problem.College enrollment and BA degree outcomesThe primary measures of collegiate attainment are collected from federal surveys ofcolleges and universities. The degree data are based on the annual “Earned Degrees Conferred”survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which records degreesawarded in the 12-month academic year from July to June. 37 The enrollment data are from the“Fall Enrollment” surveys which record the number of students enrolled in classes in the fall.Through 1986, these surveys were part of the larger NCES Higher Education General InformationSurvey (HEGIS), which was subsequently redesigned as the Integrated Postsecondary EducationData System (IPEDS) collection.The complete “Earned Degrees Conferred” survey records degrees and certificatescompleted by field and level, though this analysis makes use of only the total baccalaureatedegree series. Similarly, the “Opening (Fall) Enrollment” survey records enrollment by level(undergraduate/graduate) and full-time/part-time status. We work primarily with the totalenrollment variable as this is available from 1950 forward.Historical data (primarily in the years prior to 1966) are keypunched from publishedtabulations in the government document publications under the titles “Earned Degrees Conferred”37 In 1960-61, the survey began to separately delineate first professional and baccalaureatedegrees. Prior to this point, the two were combined, reflecting the fact that in the early part of the centuryfirst professional programs were concurrently undergraduate degree programs at some institutions.35
and “Opening Fall Enrollment.” Machine-readable data are employed after 1966 (1967 forenrollment), which allows for the distinction of institutions by control (public/private) andCarnegie Classification.Another source of data from institutional collections is the Residence and MigrationSurvey conducted periodically by the by the Office of Education and later the Department ofEducation. Data for the following years are available: 1949, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1972, 1975, 1979,1981, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1994, and 1996. This survey records first-time freshmanenrollment by state of residence and state of attendance.A final source of data based on institutional responses in the Annual Survey of Colleges,conducted each fall by the College Board. This proprietary survey asks colleges and universitiesabout the characteristics of the entering undergraduate class, admissions procedures, courseofferings and expectations for undergraduates. Machine readable data are available from 1986-2000,In addition to the data which record degrees awarded and enrollment in each year andstate by colleges and universities, the decennial Census enumerations record college attainment toindividuals by state of birth and age (or, implicitly, year of birth). As discussed in the text, theCensus data are conceptually different from the institutional data in that they do not record theyear or state of degree receipt. As is well known, the form of the Census question on educationalattainment changed to a degree-based question from an item that recorded years of attainmentwith the 1990 Census. When we employ data from the 1970 and 1980 enumerations, we treatcompleting 16 years as equivalent to BA degree receipt.Higher education finance variablesEach year as part of the institutional reporting to the federal government, colleges anduniversities complete a survey of institutional finances in which they report basic income andexpense items including the sources of revenues and expenses. We are particularly interested indistinguishing sources of public support from tuition and fee revenue, while also measuring thetotal level of educational expenditures. For this purpose, we focus on the collection of fourvariables:Revenues-Tuition and fees: Includes all tuition and fees assessed (net of refunds) againststudent for current operating purposes (except receipts from the Veterans’ Administration andFederal grants or contractual payments for research which are included in FederalAppropriations). Tuition and fees remissions or exemptions are assessed and reported as revenueeven though there is no intention of collecting from the student. An amount equal to suchremissions or exemptions is reflected as expenditures and classified in the category Scholarshipsand Fellowships or Staff Benefits (i.e. if for faculty, staff or their offspring’s tuition). Schools areinstructed to include tuition and fees collected by the institution, sent to the state and returned tothe institution in the form of appropriations.Revenues-State appropriations : Those monies received from or made available to aninstitution through acts of the state legislative body, except institutional fees and other incomereappropriated by the legislatures to the institution (i.e. tuition and fees collected by the institutionand returned to the institution in the form of appropriations are subtracted as they already appearas tuition and fees). This line item also includes Federal aid received through State channels andregional compacts.36
Page 5 and 6: Cohort Crowding: How Resources Affe
Page 7: education, including a mix of commu
Page 14: elative to cohort size) was more se
Page 17 and 18: Explaining the Divergence between R
Page 19 and 20: appropriate measures. Where there a
Page 22: analysis is whether results we attr
Page 27 and 28: ReferencesBaker, Michael, Dwayne Be
Page 29 and 30: Figure 1: Public university adjustm
Page 31 and 32: Table 1: Distribution of revenues,
Page 33 and 34: Table 3: Regression of total enroll
Page 35 and 36: Table 5: Regressions of revenue var
Page 37: Table 7: Effects of cohort size on
Page 41 and 42: Primary-secondary school quality me
Page 43 and 44: GeorgiaIdahoLn Inst BA degrees10.21
Page 45 and 46: NebraskaNevadaLn Inst BA degrees9.2
Page 47: TexasUtahLn Inst BA degrees11.16719

Cohort crowding: how resources affect collegiate attainment

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?