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The U.S. Department of Education collects volumes of data on institutions that participate in the federal student financial aid program. But getting access to it can be a chore. Until now.
The AFT has brought online the AFT Higher Education Data Center. It compiles, institution by institution, data on faculty salaries, instructional staff levels, tenure rates, institutional revenues and expenditures, and much more. This is information that colleges and universities report to the National Center for Education Statistics as part of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
Go to the AFT Higher Education Data Center to:
- Find recent data for an institution;
- Review 10 years of data to help identify institutional trends;
- Compare institutions of comparable size, type and stature; and
- Use the center’s search functions to create a new comparison group.
The center also provides statistics on the U.S. system of higher education as a whole — a useful reference point for assessing how an institution is doing.
AFT President Randi Weingarten pointed out that the U.S. Department of Education data has some holes in it, most notably the lack of information on contingent faculty and graduate employees, particularly with regard to compensation.
“The data isn’t perfect, but it is based on official information institutions must report,” Weingarten said. “ If you see inaccuracies, bring it to the attention of administrators at your institution.”
“The data center is a powerful resource when preparing for collective bargaining, working to influence state legislation, or to educate members and the campus community about trends in higher education,” Weingarten said.
Check out the AFT data center at http://highereddata.aft.org/index.cfm.