Highlights of the 2001 ALISE Statistical Report

with a Five and Ten Year Comparison of Key Data Elements[1]

 

by

 

Evelyn H. Daniel and Jerry D. Saye

 

            The overall condition of library and information science education for the ALISE schools seems healthy.  No reports of impending closures have been received, more students are enrolling, faculty numbers are increasing gradually, and school are expanding their curricula and offering additional programs.  Undergraduate programs continue to grow as do offerings (and sometimes whole programs) via distance education.

 

            Below are a few key data and comparisons for each of the chapter areas.  In interpreting the data is should be noted that the schools submitting data have changed in each of the report periods.  In 1990 (data reported in the 1991 Report) there were 59 schools with master's degrees accredited by the American Library Association.  By 1995 that number had been reduced to 56 by the discontinuation of the accredited programs at Brigham Young, California - Berkeley, Columbia, and Northern Illinois and the addition of the program at Long Island.  That number and the schools with ALA-accredited programs remained unchanged in 2000.

 

            Although comparison data is all taken from the 1991 Report and the 1996 Report, it should be noted that the data in different chapters may reflect different reporting intervals.  For example, the faculty data is taken from the previous year, the student data comes from October of the report year, financial data come from the previous full year.  The comparison data is to be taken as indicator data only.

 

 

 

Faculty

 

            The average faculty size seems to be increasing, although slowly.  The table below compares average faculty size, total number of faculty, number and FTE of adjunct and part-time faculty, and estimated total number (FTE and actual).

 


Table H-1

Faculty Size Comparisons

 

Year of Report

No. of schools

Average Faculty Size

No. of Tenure-Track Faculty

# of Part-time Faculty FTE (actual)

Total no. of faculty FTE (actual)

% of Part-time Faculty (actual)

1990-1991

57

10.8

631

--

--

--

1995-1996

55

10.9

601

153

(414)

744

(1004)

41.2%

2000-2001

56

12.6

708

164

(516)

872

(1224

42.1%

 

            The Report tracks the male to female ratio on the faculty.  This year it is 50:50 after slowly changing from 51:49 five years ago and 53:48 ten years ago.  Of the new assistant professors appointed this past year in the 56 reporting schools, 30 are female and 26 male.  For U.S. appointments, 24 were white and 19 were either Black, Asian, Hispanic or Pacific Islander.  Some comparisons on age of the faculty and percent tenured appear in the table below.

 

Table H-2

Age and Tenure Status of Faculty

 

 

Year of Report

Age of Faculty

 

Percent  of Faculty Tenured

Percent 45 or younger

Percent 45-54

Percent 55 or older

1990-1991

23%

46%

31%

63%

1995-1996

28%

38%

34%

64%

2000-2001

23%

46%

31%

56%

 

            Changes in the leadership of LIS schools continues – six new deans or directors were appointed this year compared to eight both five and ten years ago.  Salaries for deans and directors ranged from $50,364 to $210,000 for fiscal year appointments and between $50,481 and $128,388 for academic year appointments.  The mean salary for U.S. deans was $106,172 and the median $95,000; for Canadian deans the mean was $95,118 and the median $90,082. 

 

            For the 56 new assistant professor appointments, the average salary was $49,798 with a range from $37,740 to $68,250.  Below is a table comparing average faculty (and dean) salaries for the past year with those of five and ten years previously.  Of interest is the fact that the dean’s average salary has increased 38% over the ten year period while assistant professors’ average salary has increased 2%, associate professors’ by 22% and professors’ by the same amount.

 


Table H-3

Average Salaries for Faculty (Fiscal Year)

 

Faculty Ranks

1990-1991

1995-1996

2000-2001

Assistant Professor

$48,804

$51,254

$49,798

Associate Professor

$59,591

$62,305

$76,383

Professor

$75,269

$73,166

$96,133

Dean/Director

$76,532

$89,405

$106,172

 

            The number of unfilled positions, the number of new positions and the number of lost positions is of interest.  The comparative numbers below suggest a healthy trend.

 

 

Table H-4

Unfilled, New, and Lost Faculty Positions

 

Year of Report

Unfilled Positions

New Positions

Lost Positions

1990-1991

34.5 at 26 schools

16 at 12 schools

3 at 3 schools

1995-1996

30.5 at 22 schools

12.5 at 9 schools

2.5 at 3 schools

2000-2001

54 at 27 schools

37 at 20 schools

3 at 3 schools

 

 

Students[2]

 

            Overall school enrollment for the five degree programs (bachelors, ALA-accredited master’s, other Master’s, post master’s, and doctoral) has shown a notable 44.6 percent increase since 1990.

 

Table H-5

Enrollment (Number)

 

Year of Report
Reporting Date
Enrollment

Increase over 1990

1990-1991

Fall 1990

12,291

 

1095-1996

Fall 1995

14,173

15.3%

2000-2001

Fall 2000

17,773

44.6%

 

Some of the increase can be accounted for by the addition, after 1990, of bachelor’s degree enrollments into the total figures. This does not, however, account for all of the increase.  Even when bachelor’s degree enrollments are discounted in the calculation of percentage increases for 1995 and 2000, the increases remain a very good 10.2 and 25.6 percent respectively.

 

Table H-6

Enrollment (Number) by Program

 

Program

1990

1995

2000

Number
Number

Increase over 1990

Number

Increase over 1990

Bachelor's

 

626

 

2,330

 

ALA-Accredited Master’s

11,020

11,746

6.9%

13,127

19.1%

Other Master's

639

992

52.9%

1,343

110.2%

Post-Master's

163

200

14.1%

238

46.0%

Doctoral

469

608

29.6%

735

56.7%

 

            While all five programs shown above have had growth over the decade, the ALA-accredited master’s program has witnessed the most anemic growth of all (19.1 percent).  By far the most dynamic growth has occurred in Other Master’s programs (110.2 percent).  This reflects the increased presence of separate information science degree programs in schools.  Although there are no comparative data for 1990, bachelor’s degree enrollment has increased over 270 percent between 1995 and 2000.  Doctoral program enrollments over the past ten years have increased, on average, about 6 per cent per year.

 

            Enrollment by ethnic grouping is perhaps most revealing when viewed in terms of percentages rather than numbers.  All degree programs, except for doctoral programs, have seen a decline in the percentages that White students constitute of total enrollment and an increase in diversity.  At the ALA-accredited master’s level, Whites were a slowly declining percentage of enrollment throughout the decade.  Although White students are the majority in all degree programs, that majority is lowest for Other Master’s students (61.5 percent) in 2000.

 


Table H-7

Enrollment (Percentage) by Ethnic Group and Program

Fall 1990, 1995, and 2000

 

Program
Year
AI
AP
B
H
W

Bachelor's

1990

0.0%

4.3%

9.8%

2.7%

83.2%

1995

0.0%

3.0%

6.1%

0.6%

9.03%

2000

0.6%

11.2%

11.5%

3.8%

72.8%

ALA-Accredited Master’s

1990

0.2%

2.4%

3.7%

2.7%

91.0%

1995

0.5%

3.0%

4.4%

3.3%

88.8%

2000

0.6%

2.7%

5.2%

3.1%

88.4%

Other Master's

1990

0.0%

3.1%

4.5%

3.7%

88.7%

1995

0.5%

5.1%

5.0%

1.2%

88.3%

2000

0.5%

8.7%

5.5%

1.9%

61.5%

Doctoral

1990

0.5%

6.1%

8.5%

2.4%

82.4%

1995

0.6%

3.9%

7.4%

4.1%

84.0%

2000

0.5%

5.1%

7.5%

2.4%

84.5%

 

AI=American Indian or Alaskan Native; AP=Asian or Pacific Islander; B=Black, not of Hispanic origin; H=Hispanic; W=White; I=International student; NA= Not Available.

 

            Blacks as a percentage of total enrollment, perhaps the most sensitive topic for ALA and our schools for the past four decades, have shown slow but steady improvement over the decade.  Except for doctoral programs, Black enrollment percentages are higher at each program level.  The doctoral student enrollment percentage decline of Black students from the 1990 level can be partially accounted for by the larger impact that small changes in enrollment can have on percentages given overall smaller doctoral enrollment.  At the ALA-accredited master’s degree level, there has been a steady, albeit very slow, increase in the percentage Blacks constitute of that programs’ enrollment.  The same holds true for Other Master’s enrollment. Blacks represent  13 percent of the US population and come closest to replicating this proportion in bachelor’s student enrollment with 11.5 percent in 2000.

 

            Hispanic student enrollment lags far behind the Hispanic presence in the US population.  This ethnic group suffers the most from under representation in all degree programs.  Hispanic enrollment has increased slowly over the decade at the bachelor’s and ALA-accredited master’s level while declining at the Other Master’s level and remaining stagnant at the doctoral level.

 

            Asian or Pacific Islander enrollment over the past decade is increasing in the two most technologically oriented of our programs -- bachelor’s and Other Master’s.  Their enrollment, however, in ALA-accredited master’s programs remains virtually unchanged over the ten year period and has declined throughout that period at the doctoral level.

 


Table H-8

International Student

Enrollment (Number) by Program

 

Program

1990

1995

2000

Number
Number

Percent

Increase over 1990

Number

Percent

Increase over 1990

Bachelor's

7

13

85.7%

60

757.1%

ALA-Accredited Master’s

492

375

-23.8%

416

-15.4%

Other Master's

58

52

-10.3%

280

382.8%

Doctoral

104

104

0.0%

220

111.5%

Total

 

554

-18.9 %

1034

51.4%

 

            International students enrollment has increased remarkably throughout the decade for all degree programs except the ALA-accredited master’s.  That program has actually witnessed a decline in international student presence.  In comparison, international student enrollment at the doctoral level has doubled in the decade.  The largest increase, however, occurred at the bachelor’s level with an over 700 percent increase.  This is followed by a nearly 400 percent increase in Other Master’s international student enrollment.  These two degree levels, our most technologically oriented, appear to be magnets for international students, particularly Asian students.

 

 

Curriculum

 

            The big news in the curriculum area is the expansion of degree and certificate programs and the continued growth in distance education offerings.  The growth in this area has led to the addition of several new data categories.  As a result, some characteristics cannot be compared to earlier reports.  It will be interesting to see how these two trends shape up in the future. 

 

            Degree program offerings by schools are compared in the table below showing number of reporting schools offering these programs.

 


Table H-9

Degree Program Offerings

 

Report Year

Undergraduate Major

Undergraduate Minor

Other Master’s

Post-Master’s

Doctoral

1990-1991

8

10

4

28

24

1995-1996

9

11

8

32

22

2000-2001

11

13

11

32

26

 

 

            In the past, distance education (DE) courses were usually offered at different physical locations.  To some extent that continues to be the case but, an increasing number of off-campus courses are offered via some form of telecommunication and/or the Internet.  The table below illustrates the changes.

 

Table H-10

Distance Education Offerings

 

Report Year

No. of Schools offering DE

No. of Courses offered via DE

No. of Schools Using Internet or Telecommunications

No. of Schools planning DE change 

1990-1991

35

396

10

19

1995-1996

38

506

17

10

2000-2001

42

522

36

30

 

            Cross-listed courses also reflect the larger scope and more outward stance of LIS programs.  The first column of the table below shows the number of schools cross-listing courses where the LIS school has major responsibility; the third column shows the number of schools where the other unit has the major teaching responsibility.  In general, the LIS schools seem to be initiating the majority of cross-listed courses.

 

Table H-11

Cross-Listed Courses and Major Responsibility

 

Report Year

Schools with Major Responsibility

Number of Courses

Another Unit  with Major Responsibility

Number of Courses

1990-1991

26

88

19

52

1995-1996

28

85

23

64

2000-2001

31

101

26

70

 

            Faculty may be becoming more open in their curricular decision-making.  In 2001, nine schools indicated that only faculty members served on curriculum committees, while 43 schools reported that students and others also were members.  By contrast, 16 schools reported having  faculty only committees in 1990.

 

            The volatility of curriculum remains at a relatively stable level as illustrated by the contrast in the reported number of curriculum changes made during the previous year. 

 

Table H-12

Curricular Changes

 

Report Year

New Courses Added

New Programs Added

Total Curriculum Revision

Experimental Courses Taught

1990-1991

29

6

5

24

1995-1996

28

4

8

23

2000-2001

30

5

11

39

 

 

Income and Expenditure

 

            In Table IV-1 of the Income and Expenditures chapter a 10-year summary of funding levels is provided showing an average income of $2,232,240 for the 1999-2000 year.  This represents a 9.8% increase over the previous year.

 

            The source of funds has been changing over the past decade as the abbreviated table (from Table IV-4) also shows:

 

Table H-13

Sources of Funding

 

Report Year

Parent Institution

Percent of Total

Federal Funds

Percent of Total

Other Sources

Percent of Total

1990-1991

$1,021,075

82.9

$78,390

6.4

$132,172

10.7

1995-1996

$1,241,563

75.7

$199,446

12.2

$199,709

12.2

1999-2000

$1,614,206

72.3

$370,299

9.8

$247,735

17.9

 

            Thirty-three schools reported federal funding of some sort, a relatively constant number.  The average amount for 1999-2000 was $370,299 with a range from $3,000 to $2,283,511 and a median of $148,520.

 

            Schools with doctoral programs, now reaching nearly half of all the schools, enjoy the lion’s share of funding.  School with doctoral programs reported average income over 3 million dollars in 1999-2000 compared to 1 million dollars average income for schools without a doctoral program.

 

            The proportional expenditures for various categories of spending show some interesting shifts over the past decade.  Due to an “Other” category (not shown) , the numbers do not equal 100%.

 

Table H-14

Proportional Expenditures for Major Expenses

 

Report Year

Salaries & Wages

Teaching & Admin.

Library

Computing Lab

Research

Student Aid

Continuing Education

1990-91

78.0

9.6

0.9

Data not collected

3.5

5.4

1.4

1995-96

60.9

9.8

2.5

Data not collected

14.2

6.4

1.6

1999-00

71.3

10.0

0.3

1.6

9.2

5.0

0.6

 

            The amount of spending for computing now eclipses the amount schools spend on their libraries.  This may be a result of the fact that many LIS libraries are a part of the main library and are at least partially funded from that source.  While 20 schools report having a separate library, 53 schools report having a separate computing lab.  The major support for the latter comes from the LIS programs.

 

            Travel costs fluctuate a great deal from school to school as well as over time as the following table shows. 

 

Table H-15

Travel Expenditures per School – Mean and Range

 

Report Year

Mean Travel Expenditures

Range of Travel Expenditures

1990-1991

$21,582

$300 - $112,802

1995-1996

$15,489

$1,697 - $122,776

2000-2001

$35,956

$1,247 - $293,268

 

 

Continuing Education

 

            Forty-six schools engaged in some form of non-degree continuing education activity last year -- a relatively consistent number over the years as shown in the table below.

 


Table H-16

Continuing Education Events and Attendance

 

Report Year

No. of Schools

No. of Events

Total Attendance

1990-1991

42

508

21,772

1995-1996

43

716

30,341

2000-2001

46

667

26,661

 

            Schools that have engaged at high levels of continuing education through the decade include South Carolina and Wisconsin-Madison.   Toronto reported that it plans to greatly increase its offerings the next year. 

 

            Nine schools employ a coordinator for continuing education activities.  These schools are among the most active in developing events and programs.  These schools also rely most heavily on fees to support the activities.  Most of the more active schools award Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to participants.

 

 

Conclusion

 

            This analytical summary of the highlights has concentrated on data taken from the Report with comparisons to data reported in prior years.  As noted in the 1997 Report, this data “freely contributed by the school, collected and analyzed by volunteers with the support of their institutions, and then made available by ALISE to members schools as part of their membership benefits … constitutes a remarkable accomplishment.”

 

 

References

 

Library and Information Science Statistical Report, 1991.  Timothy W. Sineath, ed.  Association

      for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE): Sarasota, FL, 1991.

 

Library and Information Science Statistical Report, 1996.  Timothy W. Sineath, ed.  Association

      for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE): Raleigh, NC, 1996.

 

Library and Information Science Statistical Report, 2001.  Evelyn H. Daniel and Jerry D. Saye,

      eds.  Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE): Reston, VA, 2001.



[1]  The data in several of the tables in this chapter differ from the data originally reported in the 1991 and 1996 Reports.  This is particularly true in the discussion of Students.  In most cases the difference is the result of a correction of a computational error of totals reported in the original Reports.

[2]   ALA-accredited master’s student data in 1990 are for 56 schools rather than the 59 offering that program.  Two schools, Drexel and North Texas, did not report student data for that year.  Those schools are included in 1995 and 2000 although the data for those years no longer includes those of  California – Berkeley, Brigham Young, Columbia, and Northern Illinois.  The data for those four schools are reported for 1990.