Basic Classification

Institutions were included in these categories if they awarded at least 20 research/scholarship doctorates in 2019-20 or awarded at least 30 professional practice doctorates across at least 2 programs. These categories were limited to institutions that were not identified as Tribal Colleges and Universities or Special Focus Institutions.

Institutions that conferred at least 20 research/scholarship doctorates in 2019-20 and reported at least $5 million in total research expenditures in FY20 were assigned to one of two categories based on a measure of research activity. The research activity index includes the following correlates of research activity: research & development (R&D) expenditures in science and engineering; R&D expenditures in non-S&E fields; S&E research staff (postdoctoral appointees and other non-faculty research staff with doctorates); doctoral conferrals in humanities, social science, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, and in other fields (e.g., business, education, public policy, social work). The mapping of doctoral degrees to these four disciplinary clusters is documented in this Excel file. These data were statistically combined using principal components analysis to create two indices of research activity reflecting the total variation across these measures (based on the first principal component in each analysis).

One index represents the aggregate level of research activity, and the other captures per-capita research activity using the expenditure and staffing measures divided by the number of full-time faculty within the assistant, associate, and full professor ranks. The values on each index were then used to locate each institution on a two-dimensional graph. We calculated each institution's distance from a common reference point (the minima of each scale), and then used the results to assign institutions to one of two groups based on their distance from the reference point. Before conducting the analysis, raw data were converted to rank scores to reduce the influence of outliers and to improve discrimination at the lower end of the distributions where many institutions were clustered. Detailed information about how the research activity index was calculated can be found here. A more detailed description of the methodology is available here.

Doctoral degree conferrals by field were based on IPEDS Completions data reporting 2019-20 degree conferrals. Faculty counts were from the IPEDS (HR) Full-time instructional staff by academic rank, faculty and tenure status, Fall 2020. R&D expenditures came from the NSF Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey for fiscal year 2020. Research staff data came from the NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering for Fiscal Year 2018-19. These were the most current and complete data available at the time of our analysis, and we judged currency to be more important than temporal alignment of all data sources.

As in prior years, although to a lesser extent, there were some cases in which the NSF data were reported at a higher level of aggregation than is needed for classification purposes (i.e., a university system comprising multiple campuses that are distinct entities for classification purposes, but that are reported together as a single entity in the NSF data). We used the proportion of research/doctoral degrees conferred by campus as a proxy for allocating the expenditures across campuses. For the staffing data, where aggregate reporting was more slightly more common, we used the proportionate distribution of expenditures data to allocate staffing among multiple institutions reported as a single entity on the NSF research staffing survey.

Institutions were included in these categories if they awarded at least 50 master's and/or doctoral degrees in 2019-20, but fewer than 20 research doctorates (as defined above). Some institutions with smaller master's programs were also included (see below). These categories were limited to institutions that were not identified as Tribal Colleges and Universities or Special Focus Institutions.

Master's program size was based on the number of master's and/or doctoral degrees awarded in 2019-20. Those awarding at least 200 degrees were included among larger programs; those awarding 100–199 were included among medium programs; and those awarding 50–99 were included among smaller programs. The smaller programs group also includes institutions that awarded fewer than 50 master's degrees if (a) their Enrollment Profile classification is Exclusively Graduate/Professional or (b) their Enrollment Profile classification is Majority Graduate/Professional and they awarded more graduate/professional degrees than undergraduate degrees.

Some institutions that were initially classified among Master's Colleges and Universities were reclassified or given the option of classification among Baccalaureate Colleges based on their overall profile (see Exception below).

Institutions were included in these categories if bachelor's degrees accounted for at least 50 % of all degrees awarded and they awarded fewer than 50 master's degrees (2019-20 degree conferrals). In addition, these categories were limited to institutions that were not identified as Tribal Colleges and Universities or as Special Focus Institutions.

Institutions in which at least half of bachelor's degree majors were in arts and sciences fields were included in the "Arts & Sciences" group, while the remaining institutions were included in the "Diverse Fields" group.

The analysis of major field of study is based on degree conferral data (IPEDS Completions). Up to two majors can be reported, and both were considered for this analysis. Thus for an institution with 1,000 bachelor's degree recipients, half of whom completed double majors, the analysis would consider all 1,500 majors. The mapping of fields of study to arts & sciences or professions is documented in this Excel file.

As in the past, some institutions that had been classified among Master's Colleges and Universities or Doctoral/Professional Universities are given the option of classification among Baccalaureate Colleges based on their overall profile. These institutions met the following criteria:

• FTE enrollment of fewer than 4,000 students
• Highly residential (Size & Setting classification)
• And one of the following:
  • Enrollment Profile classification of Very high undergraduate or High undergraduate, combined with No graduate coexistence or Some graduate coexistence (Undergraduate Instructional Program classification)
  • Enrollment Profile classification of Majority undergraduate combined with No graduate coexistence.

We continue to provide this choice and used previous requests for exception to determine which institutions were granted this exception.

For institutions that conferred associate degrees as the highest degree level offering, we used the methodology introduced with the 2015 update. First, the institutions were separated according to whether their total awards (associate degrees and certificates), were primarily in one or a few disciplinary fields. These fields were identified according to the first two digits of the CIP* code. Institutions that meet the criteria of being a special focus institutions (see section below) were classified into one of four Special Focus groups noted below. Two-year institutions not designated as special focus were classified according to the combination of two factors, each divided into three groups (3x3=9 categories total): program mix and student mix.

Because IPEDS does not capture information regarding type of associate degree conferred (e.g., AA, AS, AAA or AAS), we use the field of study for awarded associate's degrees and longer term certificates (at least 1 but less than 2 years) as a proxy measure to categorize institutions into one of three program mix groups: high transfer, mixed transfer/career-technical, and high career-technical. This designation was derived starting with the arts & sciences and professions distinction used for classifying baccalaureate colleges. The "professional" disciplines are then further distinguished according to the percent of awards nationally, awarded at the associate degree or less than two-year certificate levels. The CIP codes were then further reviewed and additional ones changed from professional to career & technical if they were in a sequence where the majority were career & technical, or if it was obvious that the field of study was associated with employment opportunities that did not require a higher credential. The detailed disciplinary designations are available in an Excel spreadsheet.

Institutions in which 35.7% or less of awards were in career & technical disciplines were designated as having a high transfer program mix. Those with at least 53.8% of programs in such disciplines were considered as having a high career & technical program mix. Institutions between which 35.7% and 53.8% of awards were in career & technical fields were categorized as mixed transfer/career & technical program mix. This categorization is based on the rationale that the career & technical programs are designed to provide the award recipient with a credential for immediate employment within that field. Awards in other fields (professional and arts & sciences) generally require further education to obtain employment requiring a postbaccalaureate or higher credential in the field. We recognize that many associate's colleges offer awards in the specific field, "Liberal Arts & Sciences, General Studies or Humanities" as a "Transfer Degree." However, in this classification, we take a broader view of transfer preparation to include fields in which the terminal associate's degree or more than one-year but less than two-year certificate is not sufficient for employment in positions within the field that require a baccalaureate or higher credential. In creating this classification, we recognize that individual states and individual institutions vary in their policies and practices as to whether such non-career-technical fields (by our definition) prepare students for transfer to a four-year institution.

Student mix, within this classification, is determined by a combination of the proportion of total enrollment accounted for by "degree-seeking" students (as opposed to "non-degree" students), and the ratio of fall headcount to annual unduplicated headcount. Specifically, we multiply these two ratios and designate as "high traditional" student focus those institutions for which the product is greater than 0.628. Institutions for which the product is lower than 0.533 are designated as "high non-traditional," and the remaining institutions are designated as "mixed traditional/nontraditional." The student mix index was created by examining the distribution of students within these institutions across the stated variables as well as percent part-time students and the percent students age 25 or older. The derived factor was selected due the comprehensiveness of data availability and the distributional properties that allowed for identification of cutoff points for groups of three roughly equivalent numbers of institutions.

The special-focus designation was based on the concentration of degrees in a single field or set of related fields, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Institutions were determined to have a special focus if they met any of the following conditions:

• Conferred at least 75% of degrees in just one field (as determined by the first two digits of the CIP Code) other than "Liberal Arts & Sciences, General Studies or Humanities" (CIP2=24) and did not confer degrees in any more than 6 different CIP2 categories
• Conferred 70-74% in one field and conferred degrees in no more than 2 other CIP2 categories.
• Conferred 60-69% in one field and conferred degrees in no more than 1 other CIP2 category.

We also examined institutions’ past classifications to determine if the special focus designation was still appropriate. Institution web sites also were consulted to determine the nature of the institution’s mission and program mix.