NCES 2010-165 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, 

Fall 2008, and Salaries of Full-Time 

Instructional Staff, 2008-09

First Look
NCES 2010-165

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, 

Fall 2008, and Salaries of Full-Time 

Instructional Staff, 2008-09

First Look

NOVEMBER 2009

Laura G. Knapp 

Janice E. Kelly-Reid

Scott A. Ginder

RTI International
U.S. Department of Education

Arne Duncan 

Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences

John Q. Easton

Director

National Center for Education Statistics

Stuart Kerachsky

Acting Commissioner 

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and 

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Please direct your comments to

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November 2009

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Suggested Citation

Knapp, L.G., Kelly-Reid, J.E., and Ginder, S.A. (2009). Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2008, and 

Salaries of Full-Time Instructional Staff, 2008-09 (NCES 2010-165). National Center for Education Statistics, 

Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.

Content Contact

Aurora D’Amico

(202) 502-7334

aurora.d’amico@ed.gov
iii

Foreword 

This First Look presents findings from the Human Resources (HR) Component of the Integrated 

Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) winter 2008-09 data collection. The HR 

component consists of the following three sections: Employees by Assigned Position (EAP) and 

Fall Staff (S) for fall 2008 and Salaries (SA) for academic year 2008-09. The EAP and Salaries 

sections of the HR component were required for the winter 2008-09 collection; the Fall Staff 

section was optional. The HR data were collected through the IPEDS web-based data collection 

system. 

The data on which this report is based are available to researchers and the public through the 

IPEDS Data Center, which can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds. This First Look report 

continues the series of First Look reports based on the collection of data from more than 6,700 

postsecondary education institutions that participate in Title IV federal student financial aid 

programs.

We hope that the information provided in the report will be useful to a wide range of interested 

readers. Further, we hope that the results reported here will encourage researchers and others to 

make full use of the IPEDS data for analysis, to perform peer comparisons, or to help answer 

questions about postsecondary education institutions.

Stuart Kerachsky

Acting Commissioner

National Center for Education Statistics

Thomas Weko

Associate Commissioner

Postsecondary Studies Division
iv
v

Acknowledgments

The information presented in this publication was provided by either state coordinators for the 

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) or officials at individual institutions. 

In addition, these persons provided assistance in resolving questions about the data, which 

resulted in more accurate information. Although it is not possible to list the names of all these 

people, their assistance was invaluable and is appreciated. 

The U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and the 

Office for Civil Rights, with the approval of the Office of Management and Budget, cooperate in 

the collection of racial/ethnic and gender information from all postsecondary institutions that 

participate in the Human Resources component of IPEDS. In this collaboration, data provided by 

postsecondary institutions are designated as Compliance Reports pursuant to the Civil Rights Act 

of 1964 (34 CFR 100.6(b)).
vi
vii

Contents

Page

Foreword....................................................................................................................................... iii

Acknowledgments..........................................................................................................................v

List of Tables.............................................................................................................................. viii

Introduction....................................................................................................................................1

IPEDS 2008-09.............................................................................................................................1

Human Resources: Employees by Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries............................1

Focus of This Report.....................................................................................................................2

Selected Findings............................................................................................................................3

Employees at Title IV Institutions and Administrative Offices ...................................................3

Salaries of Full-Time Instructional Staff at Title IV Degree-Granting Institutions .....................3

Appendix A: Survey Methodology ......................................................................................... A-1

Overview.................................................................................................................................. A-1

Terminology Used in the IPEDS Web Collection................................................................... A-1

Universe, Institutions Surveyed, and Response Rates............................................................. A-1

Survey Procedures ................................................................................................................... A-3

Survey Sections ....................................................................................................................... A-6

Edit Procedures........................................................................................................................ A-9

Imputation Procedures........................................................................................................... A-10

Data Perturbation and Confidentiality ................................................................................... A-13

Appendix B: Glossary of IPEDS Terms..................................................................................B-1
viii

List of Tables

Table Page

1. Staff at Title IV institutions and administrative offices, by employment status, 

medical school staff status, control of institution, and primary function/occupational 

activity: United States, fall 2008..........................................................................................4

2. Full-time professional staff at Title IV degree-granting institutions and 

administrative offices, by control of institution, medical school staff status, level of 

institution, and faculty status: United States, fall 2008 .......................................................6

3. Full-time instructional staff at Title IV degree-granting institutions, by academic 

rank, control and level of institution, and gender: United States, academic year 2008-

09..........................................................................................................................................7

4. Adjusted 9-month average salaries of full-time instructional staff at Title IV degreegranting institutions, by academic rank, control and level of institution, and gender: 

United States, academic year 2008-09.................................................................................8

A-1. Response rates of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the 

IPEDS winter 2008-09 data collection, by survey component or section, degreegranting status, and level and control of institution: United States and other 

jurisdictions..................................................................................................................... A-4

A-1a. Response rates of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the 

IPEDS winter 2008-09 data collection, by survey component or section, degreegranting status, and level and control of institution: United States ................................ A-5

A-2. Number of staff, number of staff imputed, and percentages imputed for all Title IV 

institutions and administrative offices, by control of institution, staff employment 

status, primary function/occupational activity, institution degree-granting status, and 

medical school staff status: United States, fall 2008 .................................................... A-12

A-3. Salary outlays, amounts imputed, and percentages of outlays imputed for Title IV 

degree-granting institutions, by control of institution, staff contract length, gender, 

and academic rank: United States, academic year 2008-09.......................................... A-14

A-4. Fringe benefit expenditures, amounts imputed, and percentages of outlays imputed 

for Title IV degree-granting institutions, by control of institution, staff contract 

length, and benefit type: United States, academic year 2008-09.................................. A-15
1

Introduction

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collects institution-level data 

from postsecondary institutions in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia) and 

other jurisdictions, such as Puerto Rico.1For IPEDS, a postsecondary institution is defined as an 

organization open to the public that has as its primary mission the provision of postsecondary 

education, that is, formal instructional programs with a curriculum designed primarily for 

students who are beyond the compulsory age for high school. This definition includes institutions 

that offer academic, vocational, and continuing professional education programs and excludes 

institutions that offer only avocational (leisure) and adult basic education programs.

IPEDS 2008-09

Participation in IPEDS was a requirement for the 6,787 institutions that participated in Title IV 

federal student financial aid programs, such as Pell Grants or Stafford Loans, during the 2008-09

academic year.2Title IV institutions include traditional colleges and universities, 2-year 

institutions, and for-profit degree- and non-degree-granting institutions (such as schools of 

cosmetology), among others. In addition, 84 administrative offices (central and system offices) 

listed in the IPEDS universe were expected to participate in the Human Resources (HR) 

component. Four of the U.S. service academies are included in the IPEDS universe as if they 

were Title IV institutions.3 Other institutions that do not participate in Title IV programs may 

participate in the IPEDS data collection on a voluntary basis. For the 2008-09 HR component, 

135 non-Title IV institutions provided data.

After submitting fall 2008 data to IPEDS, 13 institutions closed, leaving 6,774 institutions and 

84 administrative offices in the United States and other jurisdictions that were required to 

complete the 2008-09 Human Resources component. 

Human Resources: Employees by Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries

The HR component consists of three sections: Employees by Assigned Position (EAP), Fall 

Staff, and Salaries. 

 The EAP section, which collects the number of staff employed by each institution by 

employment status (full or part time), faculty status, and primary function/occupational 

activity, was required of all 6,858 Title IV institutions and administrative offices, and 6,845, 

or 99.8 percent, responded (table A-1). 

 

1 The other jurisdictions include American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, 

the Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

2

Institutions participating in Title IV programs are accredited by an agency or organization recognized by the 

Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, have a program of more than 300 clock hours or 8 credit hours, have 

been in business for at least 2 years, and have a signed Program Participation Agreement (PPA) with the Office of 

Postsecondary Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education.

3 The four U.S. service academies that are not Title IV–eligible are the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military 

Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. One academy, the U.S. Merchant 

Marine Academy, is Title IV–eligible. Data for all five institutions are included in the tables and counts of 

institutions.
2

 The Fall Staff section, which is required only in odd-numbered reporting years, was not 

required during the 2008-09 HR data collection. However, of the 6,858 Title IV institutions 

and administrative offices, 3,295, or 48.0 percent, did provide data.

 The Salaries section was required of 4,365 Title IV entities, and 4,361, or 99.9 percent, 

responded (table A-1).

4

Please refer to appendix A for a detailed description of the sections of the HR component.

Focus of This Report

Tabulations in this report present selected data items collected in winter 2008-09 from 6,700

institutions and administrative offices in the United States (excluding those in other jurisdictions) 

that were eligible for the HR component (table A-1a). This includes 6,619 Title IV institutions 

and 81 administrative offices. Additional HR data are available through the IPEDS Data Center.

5

 

4 The Salaries section was applicable to degree-granting institutions except for those institutions at which all 

instructional staff were part-time, contributed their services, were in the military, or taught preclinical or clinical 

medicine. Three degree-granting institutions reported not only their own data, but also data for one non-degreegranting institution and two administrative offices because the data from the degree-granting institutions could not 

be separated from the non-degree-granting institution and administrative offices. The three additional entities are 

included in the universe and response rate numbers of the Salaries section.

5

See http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds.
3

Selected Findings

Employees at Title IV Institutions and Administrative Offices 

 Institutions in the United States reported employing approximately 3.7 million individuals in 

fall 2008 (table 1). Of the 3.7 million individuals, about 2.4 million were reported to be 

employed full time and about 1.3 million were reported to be employed part time.

 Public institutions reported employing approximately 2.4 million individuals, while private 

not-for-profit institutions reported employing about 1.1 million individuals and private forprofit institutions reported employing about 208,000 individuals (table 1).

 Of the approximately 1.4 million full-time professionals reported to be employed at degreegranting institutions (excluding medical schools), 47 percent had faculty status: 21 percent 

with tenure, 9 percent on tenure track, 10 percent not on tenure track, and 6 percent who were 

employed by institutions without a tenure system (table 2). Institutions reported that the 

remaining 53 percent of full-time professionals did not have faculty status.

Salaries of Full-Time Instructional Staff at Title IV Degree-Granting Institutions

 Of the 578,302 reported full-time instructional staff at Title IV degree-granting institutions, 

149,714 were professors, 124,653 were associate professors, 134,169 were assistant 

professors, 94,573 were instructors and 28,299 were lecturers (table 3). The remaining 

46,894 instructional staff had no academic rank.

 Based on adjusted 9-month average salaries,6institutions reported that on average professors 

earned $101,658, associate professors earned $73,246, assistant professors earned $61,479, 

instructors earned $53,107, lecturers earned $53,472, and those with no academic rank 

earned $54,743 (table 4).

 Four-year public institutions reported that their staff earned an average salary of $76,126, 

based on adjusted 9-month average salaries for all ranks combined, while 4-year private notfor-profit institutions reported that their staff earned $77,344 (table 4). Four-year private forprofit institutions reported a lower average salary for their staff ($46,097).

 Based on adjusted 9-month average salaries, 2-year public institutions reported that their staff

earned an average salary of $60,212 for all ranks combined (table 4). Two-year private notfor-profit institutions reported that their staff earned an average salary of $43,567, while 2-

year private for-profit institutions reported that their staff earned an average salary of 

$36,176.

 

6 Total salary outlays for full-time instructional staff (by rank) on 11/12-month contracts were adjusted to 9/10-

month outlays by multiplying the outlay for 11/12-month contracted staff by 0.8182. The ―equated‖ outlays were 

then added to the outlays for 9/10-month staff, and the resulting sum was then divided by the total number of fulltime instructional staff to determine an average salary for each rank. Salaries for staff on less-than-9-month contracts 

were not collected.
4

Table 1. Staff at Title IV institutions and administrative offices, by employment status, medical school staff status, 

control of institution, and primary function/occupational activity: United States, fall 2008

Control of institution and primary 

function/occupational activity

Total Full time Part time

Total

Staff 

(except 

those in 

medical 

schools)

Medical 

school 

staff1Total

Staff 

(except 

those in 

medical 

schools)

Medical 

school 

staff1Total

Staff 

(except 

those in 

medical 

schools)

Medical 

school 

staff1

Total 3,710,011 3,347,445 362,566 2,405,164 2,106,009 299,155 1,304,847 1,241,436 63,411

Staff whose primary responsibility is 

instruction, research, and/or public 

service 1,419,142 1,304,095 115,047 740,280 643,240 97,040 678,862 660,855 18,007

Primarily instruction 1,089,572 1,053,086 36,486 487,738 458,761 28,977 601,834 594,325 7,509

Instruction/research/public service 250,810 197,881 52,929 190,055 143,715 46,340 60,755 54,166 6,589

Primarily research 55,892 39,020 16,872 46,068 31,629 14,439 9,824 7,391 2,433

Primarily public service 22,868 14,108 8,760 16,419 9,135 7,284 6,449 4,973 1,476

Executive/administrative/managerial 237,453 216,783 20,670 228,246 208,556 19,690 9,207 8,227 980

Other professional (support/service) 755,079 642,440 112,639 655,281 556,164 99,117 99,798 86,276 13,522

Graduate assistants2334,822 314,211 20,611 † † † 334,822 314,211 20,611

Technical and paraprofessionals 205,075 168,642 36,433 163,138 131,354 31,784 41,937 37,288 4,649

Clerical and secretarial 454,465 406,579 47,886 357,483 314,024 43,459 96,982 92,555 4,427

Skilled crafts 63,730 62,394 1,336 60,988 59,691 1,297 2,742 2,703 39

Service/maintenance 240,245 232,301 7,944 199,748 192,980 6,768 40,497 39,321 1,176

Public 2,440,511 2,230,635 209,876 1,539,499 1,371,659 167,840 901,012 858,976 42,036

Staff whose primary responsibility is 

instruction, research, and/or 

public service 906,774 841,676 65,098 482,578 428,054 54,524 424,196 413,622 10,574

Primarily instruction 684,133 660,164 23,969 314,489 295,090 19,399 369,644 365,074 4,570

Instruction/research/public service 173,125 144,115 29,010 129,895 105,114 24,781 43,230 39,001 4,229

Primarily research 33,960 24,831 9,129 27,534 19,719 7,815 6,426 5,112 1,314

Primarily public service 15,556 12,566 2,990 10,660 8,131 2,529 4,896 4,435 461

Executive/administrative/managerial 115,694 108,012 7,682 110,757 103,556 7,201 4,937 4,456 481

Other professional (support/service) 495,956 421,923 74,033 426,214 362,468 63,746 69,742 59,455 10,287

Graduate assistants2270,599 255,526 15,073 † † † 270,599 255,526 15,073

Technical and paraprofessionals 151,258 132,253 19,005 118,221 101,914 16,307 33,037 30,339 2,698

Clerical and secretarial 291,805 266,656 25,149 221,289 198,625 22,664 70,516 68,031 2,485

Skilled crafts 48,110 47,474 636 46,206 45,600 606 1,904 1,874 30

Service/maintenance 160,315 157,115 3,200 134,234 131,442 2,792 26,081 25,673 408

Private not-for-profit 1,061,946 909,256 152,690 745,771 614,456 131,315 316,175 294,800 21,375

Staff whose primary responsibility is 

instruction, research, and/or 

public service 400,731 350,782 49,949 225,061 182,545 42,516 175,670 168,237 7,433

Primarily instruction 296,666 284,149 12,517 142,484 132,906 9,578 154,182 151,243 2,939

Instruction/research/public service 75,006 51,087 23,919 58,424 36,865 21,559 16,582 14,222 2,360

Primarily research 21,857 14,114 7,743 18,472 11,848 6,624 3,385 2,266 1,119

Primarily public service 7,202 1,432 5,770 5,681 926 4,755 1,521 506 1,015

Executive/administrative/managerial 100,135 87,147 12,988 96,422 83,933 12,489 3,713 3,214 499

Other professional (support/service) 215,080 176,474 38,606 187,210 151,839 35,371 27,870 24,635 3,235

Graduate assistants263,838 58,300 5,538 † † † 63,838 58,300 5,538

Technical and paraprofessionals 49,009 31,581 17,428 40,984 25,507 15,477 8,025 6,074 1,951

Clerical and secretarial 141,250 118,513 22,737 118,199 97,404 20,795 23,051 21,109 1,942

Skilled crafts 15,389 14,689 700 14,621 13,930 691 768 759 9

Service/maintenance 76,514 71,770 4,744 63,274 59,298 3,976 13,240 12,472 768

See notes at end of table.
5

Table 1. Staff at Title IV institutions and administrative offices, by employment status, medical school staff status, 

control of institution, and primary function/occupational activity: United States, fall 2008—Continued

Control of institution and primary 

function/occupational activity

Total Full time Part time

Total

Staff 

(except 

those in 

medical 

schools)

Medical 

school 

staff1Total

Staff 

(except

those in 

medical 

schools)

Medical 

school 

staff1Total

Staff 

(except 

those in 

medical 

schools)

Medical 

school 

staff1

Private for-profit 207,554 207,554 † 119,894 119,894 † 87,660 87,660 †

Staff whose primary responsibility is 

instruction, research, and/or 

public service 111,637 111,637 † 32,641 32,641 † 78,996 78,996 †

Primarily instruction 108,773 108,773 † 30,765 30,765 † 78,008 78,008 †

Instruction/research/public service 2,679 2,679 † 1,736 1,736 † 943 943 †

Primarily research 75 75 † 62 62 † 13 13 †

Primarily public service 110 110 † 78 78 † 32 32 †

Executive/administrative/managerial 21,624 21,624 † 21,067 21,067 † 557 557 †

Other professional (support/service) 44,043 44,043 † 41,857 41,857 † 2,186 2,186 †

Graduate assistants2385 385 † † † † 385 385 †

Technical and paraprofessionals 4,808 4,808 † 3,933 3,933 † 875 875 †

Clerical and secretarial 21,410 21,410 † 17,995 17,995 † 3,415 3,415 †

Skilled crafts 231 231 † 161 161 † 70 70 †

Service/maintenance 3,416 3,416 † 2,240 2,240 † 1,176 1,176 †

† Not applicable. 

1Medical schools are defined as those with M.D. and/or D.O. programs. Also includes health or allied health schools or departments that are affiliated 

with (housed in or under the authority of) the medical school.

2

By definition, all graduate assistants are part-time.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 

Winter 2008-09, Human Resources component, Employees by Assigned Position section.
6

Table 2. Full-time professional staff at Title IV degree-granting institutions and administrative offices, by 

control of institution, medical school staff status, level of institution, and faculty status: United 

States, fall 2008

Medical school staff status, level of 

institution, and faculty status

Number Percent

Total Public

Private 

not-forprofit

Private 

forprofit Total Public

Private 

not-forprofit

Private 

forprofit

Total staff11,589,379 1,010,777 506,182 72,420 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Staff (except those in medical 

schools)

2

1,373,532 885,306 415,806 72,420 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

With faculty status 640,361 439,740 178,940 21,681 46.6 49.7 43.0 29.9

With tenure 286,873 209,214 77,458 201 20.9 23.6 18.6 0.3

On tenure track 124,163 87,567 36,444 152 9.0 9.9 8.8 0.2

Not on tenure track 142,382 100,103 42,110 169 10.4 11.3 10.1 0.2

No tenure system 86,943 42,856 22,928 21,159 6.3 4.8 5.5 29.2

Without faculty status 733,171 445,566 236,866 50,739 53.4 50.3 57.0 70.1

4-year 1,158,788 693,514 412,462 52,812 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

With faculty status 511,870 322,625 177,106 12,139 44.2 46.5 42.9 23.0

With tenure 239,356 161,942 77,308 106 20.7 23.4 18.7 0.2

On tenure track 106,695 70,185 36,368 142 9.2 10.1 8.8 0.3

Not on tenure track 130,290 88,302 41,865 123 11.2 12.7 10.2 0.2

No tenure system 35,529 2,196 21,565 11,768 3.1 0.3 5.2 22.3

Without faculty status 646,918 370,889 235,356 40,673 55.8 53.5 57.1 77.0

2-year 214,744 191,792 3,344 19,608 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

With faculty status 128,491 117,115 1,834 9,542 59.8 61.1 54.8 48.7

With tenure 47,517 47,272 150 95 22.1 24.6 4.5 0.5

On tenure track 17,468 17,382 76 10 8.1 9.1 2.3 0.1

Not on tenure track 12,092 11,801 245 46 5.6 6.2 7.3 0.2

No tenure system 51,414 40,660 1,363 9,391 23.9 21.2 40.8 47.9

Without faculty status 86,253 74,677 1,510 10,066 40.2 38.9 45.2 51.3

Medical school staff2215,847 125,471 90,376 † 100.0 100.0 100.0 †

With faculty status 93,812 54,602 39,210 † 43.5 43.5 43.4 †

With tenure 21,126 13,515 7,611 † 9.8 10.8 8.4 †

On tenure track 16,880 7,104 9,776 † 7.8 5.7 10.8 †

Not on tenure track 55,334 33,983 21,351 † 25.6 27.1 23.6 †

No tenure system 472 † 472 † 0.2 0.0 0.5 †

Without faculty status 122,035 70,869 51,166 † 56.5 56.5 56.6 †

† Not applicable.

1Data are from degree-granting institutions only. The number of staff displayed in this table will not be equal to corresponding values 

from table 1.

2Medical schools are defined as those with M.D. and/or D.O. programs. Also includes health or allied health schools or departments 

that are affiliated with (housed in or under the authority of) the medical school.

NOTE: Full-time professional staff include those staff in the following positions: primarily instruction, instruction combined with 

research and/or public service, primarily research, primarily public service, executive/administrative/managerial, and other 

professional (support/service). Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 

(IPEDS), Winter 2008-09, Human Resources component, Employees by Assigned Position section.
7

Table 3. Full-time instructional staff at Title IV degree-granting institutions, by academic rank, control 

and level of institution, and gender: United States, academic year 2008-09

Control and level of 

institution, and gender All ranks Professor

Associate 

professor

Assistant 

professor Instructor Lecturer

No academic 

rank1

Total2578,302 149,714 124,653 134,169 94,573 28,299 46,894

Public 391,127 98,102 80,772 87,230 67,953 20,820 36,250

4-year 277,999 83,770 70,568 75,266 21,525 20,014 6,856

Men 164,122 62,218 42,076 39,115 8,394 9,041 3,278

Women 113,877 21,552 28,492 36,151 13,131 10,973 3,578

2-year 113,128 14,332 10,204 11,964 46,428 806 29,394

Men 52,280 7,107 4,721 5,208 21,595 336 13,313

Women 60,848 7,225 5,483 6,756 24,833 470 16,081

Private not-for-profit 167,447 50,560 43,127 46,412 11,974 7,479 7,895

4-year 165,948 50,432 42,908 46,126 11,285 7,471 7,726

Men 97,645 36,678 25,265 22,974 4,979 3,458 4,291

Women 68,303 13,754 17,643 23,152 6,306 4,013 3,435

2-year 1,499 128 219 286 689 8 169

Men 552 58 66 74 282 2 70

Women 947 70 153 212 407 6 99

Private for-profit 19,728 1,052 754 527 14,646 0 2,749

4-year 11,372 993 723 491 6,689 0 2,476

Men 6,459 684 407 251 3,670 0 1,447

Women 4,913 309 316 240 3,019 0 1,029

2-year 8,356 59 31 36 7,957 0 273

Men 3,921 28 13 15 3,734 0 131

Women 4,435 31 18 21 4,223 0 142

1

Includes staff at institutions without standard academic ranks.

2

Total full-time instructional staff includes those on 9/10-month and 11/12-month contracts.

NOTE: Although the Salaries section was applicable to degree-granting institutions except for those institutions at which all 

instructional staff were part-time, contributed their services, were in the military, or taught preclinical or clinical medicine, three 

degree-granting institutions reported not only their own data, but also data for one non-degree-granting institution and two 

administrative offices because the data from the degree-granting institutions could not be separated from the non-degree-granting 

institution and administrative offices. The three additional entities are included in the universe and response rate numbers of the 

Salaries section. Instructional staff are those members of the instruction/research staff who are employed full time and whose 

specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of providing instruction or teaching, including those with released time 

for research. Full-time instructional staff also include those for whom it is not possible to differentiate between instruction or 

teaching, research, and public service because each of these functions is an integral component of their regular assignment. They 

are reported as “primarily instruction” or “instruction combined with research and/or public service” in the full-time non-medicalschool part of the Employees by Assigned Position section.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Winter 2008-09, Human Resources component, Salaries section.
8

Table 4. Adjusted 9-month average salaries of full-time instructional staff at Title IV degree-granting 

institutions, by academic rank, control and level of institution, and gender: United States, 

academic year 2008-09

Control and level of 

institution, and gender All ranks Professor

Associate 

professor

Assistant 

professor Instructor Lecturer

No academic 

rank1

Adjusted 9-month average 

salaries2$72,110 $101,658 $73,246 $61,479 $53,107 $53,472 $54,743

Public 71,523 98,993 73,223 61,845 57,469 52,675 53,851

4-year 76,126 103,806 75,215 63,232 45,750 53,046 51,572

Men 82,445 106,884 77,213 65,271 46,920 56,328 53,670

Women 67,018 94,919 72,265 61,027 45,003 50,341 49,649

2-year 60,212 70,865 59,442 53,113 62,902 43,484 54,383

Men 61,478 72,737 60,423 53,897 63,862 43,090 55,406

Women 59,123 69,024 58,598 52,509 62,067 43,765 53,536

Private not-for-profit 77,042 107,778 73,674 60,894 45,760 55,689 61,198

4-year 77,344 107,913 73,805 60,995 46,069 55,713 61,669

Men 83,685 111,777 75,677 62,999 45,982 59,203 64,950

Women 68,280 97,610 71,125 59,006 46,138 52,705 57,572

2-year 43,567 54,559 48,009 44,745 40,699 33,528 39,659

Men 40,558 57,576 45,784 40,237 36,318 26,592 39,355

Women 45,321 52,060 48,969 46,318 43,735 35,840 39,875

Private for-profit 41,895 56,064 51,208 52,470 38,877 † 47,971

4-year 46,097 57,254 51,682 53,816 42,123 † 49,197

Men 46,704 58,311 50,189 54,556 43,382 † 47,300

Women 45,300 54,915 53,605 53,041 40,593 † 51,865

2-year 36,176 36,023 40,148 34,112 36,148 † 36,854

Men 37,239 35,152 40,700 34,899 37,289 † 36,197

Women 35,236 36,809 39,750 33,549 35,138 † 37,459

† Not applicable. 

1

Includes staff at institutions without standard academic ranks.

2

Total salary outlays for full-time instructional staff (by rank) on 11/12-month contracts were adjusted to 9/10-month outlays by 

multiplying the outlay for 11/12-month contracted staff by 0.8182. The “equated” outlays were then added to the outlays for 9/10-

month staff, and the resulting sum was then divided by the total number of staff to determine an average salary for each rank. 

Salaries for staff on less-than-9-month contracts were not collected.

NOTE: Although the Salaries section was applicable to degree-granting institutions except for those institutions at which all 

instructional staff were part time, contributed their services, were in the military, or taught preclinical or clinical medicine, three 

degree-granting institutions reported not only their own data, but also data for one non-degree-granting institution and two 

administrative offices because the data from the degree-granting institutions could not be separated from the non-degree-granting 

institution and administrative offices. The three additional entities are included in the universe and response rate numbers of the 

Salaries section. Instructional staff are those members of the instruction/research staff who are employed full time and whose 

specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of providing instruction or teaching, including those with released time 

for research. Full-time instructional staff also include those for whom it is not possible to differentiate between instruction or 

teaching, research, and public service because each of these functions is an integral component of their regular assignment. They 

are reported as “primarily instruction” or “instruction combined with research and/or public service” in the full-time non-medicalschool part of the Employees by Assigned Position section.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Winter 2008-09, Human Resources component, Salaries section.
A-1

Appendix A: 

Survey Methodology

Overview

IPEDS defines a postsecondary institution as an organization that is open to the public and has a 

primary mission of providing education or training beyond the high school level. The main focus 

of the IPEDS winter 2008-09 data collection was to collect data from Title IV institutions. These 

institutions have Program Participation Agreements (PPAs) with the Office of Postsecondary 

Education (OPE) within the U.S. Department of Education and thus are eligible to participate in 

Title IV student financial aid programs. There were 6,871 Title IV institutions1and 

administrative offices located in the United States and the other jurisdictions2of the United 

States, such as Puerto Rico, at the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year. Thirteen institutions 

closed before the winter 2008-09 data collection began, leaving 6,774 institutions and 84 

administrative offices.

The winter 2008-09 data collection was entirely web-based. Institutions in the universe were 

asked to enter their survey responses using the IPEDS data collection website. The winter 2008-

09 IPEDS data were collected between December 3, 2008, and January 21, 2009. The collection 

of the Human Resources (HR) component had three sections: Employees by Assigned Position 

(EAP), Fall Staff (S), and Salaries (SA). These three sections were previously separate 

components but were merged into the single HR component beginning with the winter 2005-06 

data collection to simplify reporting and better ensure data consistency and accuracy. During the 

winter 2005-06 data collection, the glossary and instructions were also restructured based on the 

new design to improve consistency of reporting between sections. For example, prior to 2005-06, 

institutions could classify librarians and counselors as either ―Faculty‖ or ―Other professional 

(support/service)‖; however, beginning with 2005-06, institutions were instructed to classify 

librarians and counselors as ―Other professional (support/service)‖ only. (For detailed 

information on the primary functions/occupational activities, refer to appendix B, Glossary of 

IPEDS Terms.) 

Terminology Used in the IPEDS Web Collection

Please refer to the glossary provided in appendix B for definitions of various terms.

Universe, Institutions Surveyed, and Response Rates

The IPEDS universe is established during the fall collection period. For 2008-09, some 31

institutions and 1 administrative office included in prior IPEDS data collections were determined 

to be outside the scope of IPEDS because they were closed or were merged with another 

institution. Additionally, 218 institutions were reported exclusively by a parent institution; also, 

 

1

Includes 6,787 institutions and 84 administrative offices (central or system offices). The administrative offices are 

required to complete the Institutional Characteristics component in the fall, the EAP section of the Human 

Resources component in the winter, and the Finance component in the winter or spring (if they have their own 

separate budget). Administrative offices are required to complete the Fall Staff section of the Human Resources

component in odd-numbered years such as 2007, but not in even-numbered years such as 2008. The U.S. service 

academies are included in the number of institutions.

2 The other jurisdictions surveyed in IPEDS are American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the 

Marshall Islands, the Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A-2

245 institutions and two administrative offices were added to the universe. These entities were 

identified from several sources, including a universe review by state coordinators, a review of the 

data file maintained by OPE, and information provided by the institutions themselves.

According to Section 490 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1992 (P.L. 102- 325), IPEDS 

is mandatory for any institutions that participate in or are applicants for participation in any 

federal financial assistance program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 

as amended (20 USC 1094(a)(17)). Therefore, most of the studies that use IPEDS data 

concentrate on the Title IV institutions, and this group is the main focus of IPEDS. To ensure the 

inclusion of all Title IV participants, the full set of 6,871 Title IV entities in the established 

IPEDS universe was validated by matching it with OPE’s Postsecondary Education Participation 

System (PEPS) file.

The IPEDS database includes institutions that do not participate in Title IV financial aid 

programs. These institutions are invited to participate in the IPEDS program, and if they 

voluntarily respond to the surveys, the institutions are included in the College Navigator 

(http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator). The College Navigator is designed to help college 

students, prospective students, and their parents learn about admission requirements, degrees 

offered, costs, graduation rates, and other characteristics of institutions that they may find helpful 

in selecting among postsecondary institutions.

Not all Title IV institutions were required to complete all sections of the HR component. 

Thirteen institutions were not required to complete the HR component because they closed 

during the fall 2008 collection. The EAP section of the HR component was required of all Title 

IV institutions and administrative offices. The Fall Staff section was not required during the 

2008-09 collection, but institutions and administrative offices could choose to submit data for 

this section. The Salaries section was required of Title IV degree-granting institutions except for 

those institutions at which all instructional staff were part time, contributed their services, were 

in the military, or taught preclinical or clinical medicine. Of the 6,858 Title IV entities eligible 

for the winter 2008-09 IPEDS collection, all 6,774 institutions and 84 administrative offices 

were eligible for the EAP section, and 4,362 degree-granting institutions were eligible for the 

Salaries section. Although the Salaries section was applicable to degree-granting institutions 

only, three degree-granting institutions reported not only their own data, but also data for one 

non-degree-granting institution and two administrative offices because the data could not be 

separated by degree-granting status. The three additional entities are included in the universe and 

response rate numbers of the Salaries section.

Table A-1 provides the number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices and the survey 

response rates for the HR component and the HR sections for winter 2008-09, by degreegranting status and level and control of institution, for the United States and other jurisdictions. 

Because Title IV institutions are the primary focus of IPEDS and they are required to respond, 

response rates for Title IV institutions and administrative offices in the winter 2008-09 IPEDS 

collection were high. The overall response rate in winter 2008-09 was 99.8 percent for the HR 

component. The response rate for the EAP section was also 99.8 percent, while the response rate 

for the Salaries section was 99.9 percent. Although it was not required, 48.0 percent of Title IV 

institutions and administrative offices responded to the Fall Staff section.

Table A-1a provides the number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices and the survey 

response rates for the HR component overall and the specific HR sections for winter 2008-09 by 

degree-granting status and level and control of institution for the United States only (excluding 

any other jurisdictions). 
A-3

NCES statistical standards require that the potential for nonresponse bias for all institutions 

(including those in the other jurisdictions) be analyzed for sectors for which the response rate 

was less than 90 percent. As shown in table A-1, no sectors require this analysis.

Survey Procedures

The winter 2008-09 IPEDS data collection was conducted using the IPEDS web-based data 

collection system. Each institution appointed a keyholder, who was the person responsible for 

ensuring that survey data submitted by the institution were correct. The keyholder could generate 

UserIDs and passwords for up to six additional survey respondents who could also enter or 

review data. For many institutions, keyholders were also required to edit and lock the data: 

locking the data automatically submits the completed data to NCES. 

Many states or systems had one or more IPEDS coordinators. Coordinators are individuals who 

take responsibility for a specified group of institutions to ensure that all data are entered 

correctly. Some coordinators may be responsible for a system of institutions (e.g., SUNY—the 

State University of New York); others may coordinate all or some institutions in a state. Also, 

coordinators may elect to provide different levels of review. For example, some may only view 

data provided by their institutions, while others may upload, review, or lock data for their 

institutions.

For the 2008-09 IPEDS data collection, keyholders were asked to register before the fall 2008 

data collection. Registration information, including UserIDs and passwords, was e-mailed to 

existing keyholders in early August. Also in early August, letters were sent to chief executive 

officers (CEOs) at institutions without preregistered keyholders, requesting that they appoint a 

keyholder for the 2008-09 collection year. The package included a letter for the keyholder and a 

registration certificate with the institution’s UserID and password for the entire 2008-09 

collection period. Subsequent registration mailings were sent in late August and late September 

to CEOs of institutions at which a keyholder had still not been registered. At the beginning of the 

winter and spring collections, in early December and early March, respectively, e-mail messages 

were sent to registered keyholders and coordinators requesting that they update or confirm their 

registration contact information when the collections opened. Schools were allowed to designate 

a new keyholder at any time during the collection year, if needed. As with previous IPEDS 

studies, follow-up for nonresponse was conducted with CEOs, coordinators, and keyholders via 

mail, e-mail, and telephone throughout all three collection periods.

The web-based survey instruments offered many features designed to improve the quality and 

timeliness of the data. As indicated previously, survey respondents were required to register 

before entering 2008-09 data to ensure a point of contact between NCES/IPEDS and the 

institution.
A-4

Table A-1. Response rates of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS winter 

2008-09 data collection, by survey component or section, degree-granting status, and level and 

control of institution: United States and other jurisdictions

Degree-granting status 

and level and control of 

institution

Human Resources component

Employees by Assigned 

Position section Salaries section

Final 

universe

Number 

responded

Response

rate (%)

Final 

universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

Final 

universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 6,858 6,845 99.8 6,858 6,845 99.8 4,3652,3 4,361 99.9

Public 2,095 2,094 100.0 2,095 2,094 100.0 1,6962,3 1,695 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,867 1,865 99.9 1,867 1,865 99.9 1,616 1,614 99.9

Private for-profit 2,896 2,886 99.7 2,896 2,886 99.7 1,053 1,052 99.9

4-year 2,841 2,838 99.9 2,841 2,838 99.9 2,679 2,676 99.9

Public 711 710 99.9 711 710 99.9 663 662 99.8

Private not-for-profit 1,591 1,589 99.9 1,591 1,589 99.9 1,524 1,522 99.9

Private for-profit 539 539 100.0 539 539 100.0 492 492 100.0

2-year 2,258 2,256 99.9 2,258 2,256 99.9 1,68521,684 99.9

Public 1,167 1,167 100.0 1,167 1,167 100.0 1,03221,032 100.0

Private not-for-profit 189 189 100.0 189 189 100.0 92 92 100.0

Private for-profit 902 900 99.8 902 900 99.8 561 560 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,759 1,751 99.5 1,759 1,751 99.5 1

3

1 100.0

Public 217 217 100.0 217 217 100.0 1

3

1 100.0

Private not-for-profit 87 87 100.0 87 87 100.0 † † †

Private for-profit 1,455 1,447 99.5 1,455 1,447 99.5 † † †

Degree-granting 4,570 4,567 99.9 4,570 4,567 99.9 4,36424,360 99.9

4-year 2,826 2,823 99.9 2,826 2,823 99.9 2,679 2,676 99.9

Public 710 709 99.9 710 709 99.9 663 662 99.8

Private not-for-profit 1,577 1,575 99.9 1,577 1,575 99.9 1,524 1,522 99.9

Private for-profit 539 539 100.0 539 539 100.0 492 492 100.0

2-year 1,744 1,744 100.0 1,744 1,744 100.0 1,68521,684 99.9

Public 1,063 1,063 100.0 1,063 1,063 100.0 1,03221,032 100.0

Private not-for-profit 98 98 100.0 98 98 100.0 92 92 100.0

Private for-profit 583 583 100.0 583 583 100.0 561 560 99.8

Non-degree-granting 2,288 2,278 99.6 2,288 2,278 99.6 1

3

1 100.0

4-year115 15 100.0 15 15 100.0 † † †

Public 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 † † †

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 14 14 100.0 † † †

Private for-profit † † † † † † † † †

2-year 514 512 99.6 514 512 99.6 † † †

Public 104 104 100.0 104 104 100.0 † † †

Private not-for-profit 91 91 100.0 91 91 100.0 † † †

Private for-profit 319 317 99.4 319 317 99.4 † † †

Less-than-2-year 1,759 1,751 99.5 1,759 1,751 99.5 1

3

1 100.0

Public 217 217 100.0 217 217 100.0 1

3

1 100.0

Private not-for-profit 87 87 100.0 87 87 100.0 † † †

Private for-profit 1,455 1,447 99.5 1,455 1,447 99.5 † † †

† Not applicable. 

1

These institutions grant certificates at the postbaccalaureate and post-master’s levels; they do not award degrees.

2

Two administrative offices are included here because two degree-granting institutions could not separate their full-time instructional staff 

data by degree-granting status.

3One public less-than-2-year institution is included here because one degree-granting institution could not separate its full-time instructional 

staff data by degree-granting status.

NOTE: The Employees by Assigned Position and Fall Staff sections were applicable to all institutions and administrative offices. Although 

the Salaries section was applicable to degree-granting institutions except for those institutions at which all instructional staff were part time, 

contributed their services, were in the military, or taught preclinical or clinical medicine, three degree-granting institutions reported not only 

their own data, but also data for one non-degree-granting institution and two administrative offices because the data from the degreegranting institutions could not be separated from the non-degree-granting institution and administrative offices. The three additional entities 

are included in the universe and response rate numbers of the Salaries section. Data were imputed for all Human Resources 

nonrespondents. The other jurisdictions include American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the 

Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 

(IPEDS), Winter 2008-09.
A-5

Table A-1a. Response rates of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS winter 

2008-09 data collection, by survey component or section, degree-granting status, and level and 

control of institution: United States

Degree-granting status 

and level and control of 

institution Human Resources component

Employees by Assigned 

Position section Salaries section

Final 

universe

Number 

responded

Response

rate (%)

Final 

universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

Final 

universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 6,700 6,687 99.8 6,700 6,687 99.8 4,2802,3 4,276 99.9

Public 2,068 2,067 100.0 2,068 2,067 100.0 1,6712,3 1,670 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,810 1,808 99.9 1,810 1,808 99.9 1,573 1,571 99.9

Private for-profit 2,822 2,812 99.6 2,822 2,812 99.6 1,036 1,035 99.9

4-year 2,774 2,771 99.9 2,774 2,771 99.9 2,616 2,613 99.9

Public 692 691 99.9 692 691 99.9 645 644 99.8

Private not-for-profit 1,551 1,549 99.9 1,551 1,549 99.9 1,487 1,485 99.9

Private for-profit 531 531 100.0 531 531 100.0 484 484 100.0

2-year 2,234 2,232 99.9 2,234 2,232 99.9 1,66321,662 99.9

Public 1,159 1,159 100.0 1,159 1,159 100.0 1,02521,025 100.0

Private not-for-profit 183 183 100.0 183 183 100.0 86 86 100.0

Private for-profit 892 890 99.8 892 890 99.8 552 551 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,692 1,684 99.5 1,692 1,684 99.5 1

3

1 100.0

Public 217 217 100.0 217 217 100.0 1

3

1 100.0

Private not-for-profit 76 76 100.0 76 76 100.0 † † †

Private for-profit 1,399 1,391 99.4 1,399 1,391 99.4 † † †

Degree-granting 4,481 4,478 99.9 4,481 4,478 99.9 4,27924,275 99.9

4-year 2,759 2,756 99.9 2,759 2,756 99.9 2,616 2,613 99.9

Public 691 690 99.9 691 690 99.9 645 644 99.8

Private not-for-profit 1,537 1,535 99.9 1,537 1,535 99.9 1,487 1,485 99.9

Private for-profit 531 531 100.0 531 531 100.0 484 484 100.0

2-year 1,722 1,722 100.0 1,722 1,722 100.0 1,66321,662 99.9

Public 1,056 1,056 100.0 1,056 1,056 100.0 1,02521,025 100.0

Private not-for-profit 92 92 100.0 92 92 100.0 86 86 100.0

Private for-profit 574 574 100.0 574 574 100.0 552 551 99.8

Non-degree-granting 2,219 2,209 99.5 2,219 2,209 99.5 1

3

1 100.0

4-year115 15 100.0 15 15 100.0 † † †

Public 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 † † †

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 14 14 100.0 † † †

Private for-profit † † † † † † † † †

2-year 512 510 99.6 512 510 99.6 † † †

Public 103 103 100.0 103 103 100.0 † † †

Private not-for-profit 91 91 100.0 91 91 100.0 † † †

Private for-profit 318 316 99.4 318 316 99.4 † † †

Less-than-2-year 1,692 1,684 99.5 1,692 1,684 99.5 1

3

1 100.0

Public 217 217 100.0 217 217 100.0 1

3

1 100.0

Private not-for-profit 76 76 100.0 76 76 100.0 † † †

Private for-profit 1,399 1,391 99.4 1,399 1,391 99.4 † † †

† Not applicable. 

1

These institutions grant certificates at the postbaccalaureate and post-master’s levels; they do not award degrees.

2

Two administrative offices are included here because two degree-granting institutions could not separate their full-time instructional staff

data by degree-granting status.

3One public less-than-2-year institution is included here because one degree-granting institution could not separate its full-time instructional 

staff data by degree-granting status.

NOTE: The Employees by Assigned Position and Fall Staff sections were applicable to all institutions and administrative offices. Although 

the Salaries section was applicable to degree-granting institutions except for those institutions at which all instructional staff were part time, 

contributed their services, were in the military, or taught preclinical or clinical medicine, three degree-granting institutions reported not only 

their own data, but also data for one non-degree-granting institution and two administrative offices because the data from the degreegranting institutions could not be separated from the non-degree-granting institution and administrative offices. The three additional entities 

are included in the universe and response rate numbers of the Salaries section. Data were imputed for all Human Resources 

nonrespondents. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 

(IPEDS), Winter 2008-09.
A-6

Online data entry forms were tailored to each institution based on characteristics such as degreegranting status and presence of a medical school. When data from previous years were available 

for an institution, they were preloaded on the customized forms for easy reference and 

comparison purposes. Once the 2008-09 data were entered, either manually or through file 

upload, the keyholders were required to run edit checks and resolve all errors before they were 

able to lock their data. Once data were locked, they were considered submitted, regardless of 

whether or not the coordinator had reviewed the submission.

Once the data were complete and all locks were applied, IPEDS help desk staff conducted a final 

review. If any additional problems were detected, the help desk staff contacted the institutions to 

resolve any remaining questions. Once all problems were resolved, the final data were migrated 

to the IPEDS Data Center, where they were made available to other responding institutions for 

comparison purposes. Because of confidentiality issues, Fall Staff and Salaries data were 

perturbed during the migration process to protect any individually identifiable information. See 

the end of this appendix for additional information on data perturbation and confidentiality.

Survey Sections 

Human Resources

The Human Resources (HR) component comprises three sections: Employees by Assigned 

Position (EAP), Fall Staff, and Salaries. A description of each HR section follows.

Employees by Assigned Position (EAP)

This section of the HR component was required by all Title IV institutions and administrative 

offices for winter 2008-09. The EAP section categorizes all staff on the institution’s payroll as of 

November 1 of the collection year, by employment status (full or part time), faculty status, and 

primary function/occupational activity. The medical school pages of EAP were applicable to 

institutions with Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) and/or Doctor of Optometry (D.O.) programs only. 

Employees affiliated with (housed in or under the authority of) the medical school were reported 

with the medical school. For example, if an institution’s medical school employees were housed 

with the institution’s employees in other health-related disciplines (e.g., dentistry, veterinary 

medicine, nursing), the institution was instructed to report both sets of employees in the medical 

school part of the EAP section and list the other health-related disciplines in the designated 

comment box in the EAP section. Employees who were in health disciplines that were not 

housed in the medical school were reported in the nonmedical school part of EAP.

The main functions/occupational activities of the EAP section are primarily instruction, 

instruction combined with research and/or public service, primarily research, primarily public 

service, executive/administrative/managerial, other professionals (support/service), graduate 

assistants, technical and paraprofessionals, clerical and secretarial, skilled crafts, and 

service/maintenance. If, by institutional definition, a staff member has faculty status, the staff 

member is categorized according to tenure status: with tenure, on tenure track, or not on tenure 

track/no tenure system. If a staff member does not have faculty status, he or she is counted in the 

“without faculty status” category.

All full-time instructional staff classified in the EAP full time non-medical school part as either 

(1) primarily instruction or (2) instruction combined with research and/or public service are 

included in the Salaries section, unless they are exempted because of one of the exclusions noted 

in the description of the Salaries section, which follows this section. 
A-7

Fall Staff 

This section of the HR component is required in odd-numbered years (e.g., staff in fall 2007) and 

optional in even-numbered years (e.g., 2008). There are three versions of the Fall Staff section; 

applicability of each version is determined by the degree-granting status of an institution and/or 

the number of full-time staff. The three versions of Fall Staff are described below.

1. Degree-granting institutions and related administrative offices with 15 or more full-time 

staff complete the long version of Fall Staff. This version collects the number of staff by 

employment status (full time and part time), gender, race/ethnicity, faculty status, 

contract length, academic rank, salary class intervals, and primary function/occupational 

activity. This version also collects data on newly hired full-time permanent staff. The 

long version includes the following six parts:

Part G: Faculty and tenure status of full-time staff whose primary responsibility is 

instruction, research, and/or public service, by racial/ethnic category, gender, and 

academic rank;

Part H: Full-time staff whose primary responsibility is instruction, research, and/or 

public service, by racial/ethnic category, gender, contract length, and salary class 

intervals;

Part I: All other full-time staff by racial/ethnic category, gender, primary function/ 

occupational activity, and salary class intervals;

Part J: Part-time staff by racial/ethnic category, gender, and primary function/ 

occupational activity;

1

Part K: Summary of full-time and part-time staff by racial/ethnic category and gender; 

and

Part L: New hires by racial/ethnic category, gender, and primary function/occupational 

activity.

2. Degree-granting institutions and related administrative offices with fewer than 15 fulltime staff complete one of the short versions of Fall Staff. The short version completed by 

this group of institutions and administrative offices collects the number of staff by 

employment status (full time and part time), gender, race/ethnicity, and primary 

function/occupational activity. (Data entry screens to report graduate assistants are 

included in this version.) This version includes the following three parts:

Part G: Full-time staff by racial/ethnic category, gender, and primary function/ 

occupational activity;

Part H: Part-time staff by racial/ethnic category, gender, and primary function/ 

occupational activity;

2

and

Part I: Summary of full-time and part-time staff by racial/ethnic category and gender.

3. Non-degree-granting institutions and related administrative offices complete the other 

short version of Fall Staff. This short version collects the number of staff by employment 

status (full time and part time), gender, race/ethnicity, and primary function/occupational 

 

1

Includes data entry screens to report graduate assistants.

2

Includes data entry screens to report graduate assistants.
A-8

activity; however, data entry screens to report graduate assistants are not included in this 

version. The following parts are included in this version: 

Part D: Full-time staff by racial/ethnic category, gender, and primary function/ 

occupational activity; 

Part E: Part-time staff by racial/ethnic category, gender, and primary function/ 

occupational activity;

3

and

Part F: Summary of full-time and part-time staff by racial/ethnic category and gender.

In all versions of the Fall Staff section, data are collected for staff on the payroll of the institution 

as of November 1 of the collection year.4 While most of the primary functions/occupational 

activities in the Fall Staff section are the same as the primary functions/occupational activities in 

the EAP section, the aggregate category of ―instruction/research/public service‖ staff from the 

Fall Staff section does not have a single, direct counterpart in the EAP section. The set of 

individuals reported in this portion of the Fall Staff section is equivalent to the group of people 

reported in the EAP section as primarily instruction, instruction combined with research and/or 

public service, primarily research, and primarily public service. 

Salaries 

This section of the HR component collects data on full-time instructional staff—that is, those 

persons classified as either primarily instruction or instruction combined with research and/or 

public service (except those in medical schools of the EAP section, as described above). 

Although the Salaries section is required for Title IV degree-granting institutions except for 

those institutions at which all instructional staff are part time, contribute their services, are in the 

military, or teach preclinical or clinical medicine, three degree-granting institutions reported not 

only their own data, but also data for one non-degree-granting institution and two administrative 

offices because the data could not be separated by degree-granting status. The three additional 

entities are included in the universe and response rate numbers of the Salaries section. Data are 

collected for full-time instructional staff on the institution’s payroll as of November 1 of the 

collection year.

Part D of the Salaries section collects the number of full-time instructional staff on less-than-9-

month, 9/10-month, and 11/12-month contracts by gender and academic rank (professor, 

associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, and no academic rank). In addition, 

4-year degree-granting institutions report the number of full-time instructional staff on 9/10-

month and 11/12-month contracts by faculty status, gender, and academic rank in Part D. Prior to 

the optional collection of these data in 2006-07, data by faculty status were last collected in the 

Salaries component in 1999-2000. Part E collects the salary outlays associated with the full-time 

instructional staff on 9/10-month and 11/12-month contracts reported in part D, by gender and 

academic rank (professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, and no 

academic rank). For full-time instructional staff on 9/10-month and 11/12-month contracts, part 

F collects data on the fringe benefit expenditures and the number covered by these benefits. 

Types of fringe benefits included are retirement plans, medical/dental plans, group life insurance, 

other insurance benefits, guaranteed disability income protection, tuition plan (dependents only), 

 

3 Excludes data entry screens to report graduate assistants.

4 There are slightly different reporting requirements for the new hires part of the long version of Fall Staff. For more 

information on new hires, refer to the glossary (appendix B). 
A-9

housing plan, employer portion of Social Security taxes, unemployment compensation taxes, 

worker’s compensation taxes, and other benefits in kind with cash options. 

Edit Procedures 

Edit checks were built into the web-based instrument to detect major reporting errors. The 

system automatically generated average salaries or totals for each section (as required), and edit 

checks compared current responses to previously reported data. The edit checks could be run at 

any time during the collection. As edit checks were executed, survey respondents were allowed 

to correct any errors detected by the system. If data were entered correctly but failed the edit 

checks, the survey respondents were asked either to confirm that the data were correct as entered 

or to explain why the data appeared to be out of the expected data range. All edit checks had to 

be resolved (confirmed, explained, or corrected) before the survey could be locked. Survey 

respondents were also provided with boxes to explain any special circumstances that might not 

be evident in their reported data and to report staff members who were difficult to categorize. In 

addition, the data were manually reviewed for additional inconsistencies by coordinators (when 

applicable) and the IPEDS help desk staff. When necessary, keyholders were contacted to verify 

the accuracy of the data.

For all sections, current year data (winter 2008-09) were compared to the previous year’s data 

(winter 2007-08) and large discrepancies had to be explained. 

Within the Fall Staff section (if data were provided), the total number of full-time staff whose

primary function was instruction, research, and/or public service by gender and race/ethnicity 

reported in Part G had to match the total number of full-time staff whose primary function was 

instruction, research, and/or public service by gender and race/ethnicity reported in Part H 

(headcount). Likewise, the total number of full-time staff whose primary responsibility was 

instruction, research, and/or public service by gender and race/ethnicity in Part H had to be 

greater than or equal to the number of newly hired full-time permanent staff whose primary 

responsibility was instruction, research, and/or public service by gender and race/ethnicity in Part 

L (new hires), and the total number of all other full-time staff by primary function/occupational 

activity, gender, and race/ethnicity in Part I had to be greater than or equal to the number of 

newly hired full-time staff in the corresponding primary function/occupational activity by gender 

and race/ethnicity in Part L (new hires). 

Within the Salaries section, average salaries were calculated, and checks were in place to detect

unusually high or unusually low averages. The number of full-time instructional staff receiving 

fringe benefits could not exceed the total number of full-time instructional staff by contract 

length, except for the tuition plan (dependents only) benefit.5The number of full-time 

instructional staff in the Salaries section had to be equal to the number of full-time non-medical 

school staff reported as either primarily instruction or instruction combined with research and/or 

public service in the EAP section and less than or equal to the number of full-time 

instruction/research/public service staff in the Fall Staff section.

 

5 The number of persons reported for the tuition plan (dependents only) benefit represents the number of dependents 

(e.g., children, spouse) of full-time instructional staff receiving tuition benefits, rather than the number of full-time 

instructional staff receiving this benefit. For example, if a full-time instructional staff member is receiving tuition 

benefits and two children of the same staff member are also receiving tuition benefits, the two children should be 

reported in the “tuition plan (dependents only)” benefit category; however, the staff member should not be reported 

in this case.
A-10

When comparing across sections, the total number of staff reported in the Fall Staff section was

required to match the total number of staff reported in the EAP section. More specifically, the 

total number of staff by employment status (full-time plus part-time) and primary function/

occupational activity for the EAP and Fall Staff sections were required to match. Totals from the 

EAP section were carried forward to the Fall Staff section for comparison purposes and to ensure 

the consistency of data being reported. Staff classified as primarily instruction, primarily 

research, primarily public service, and/or instruction combined with research and/or public 

service in the EAP section had to be reported in the Fall Staff section by race/ethnicity and 

gender in the single category “staff whose primary responsibility is instruction, research, and/or 

public service”; otherwise, a fatal error occurred. The number of full-time instructional staff in 

the Salaries section had to be equal to the number of full-time nonmedical school staff reported 

as either primarily instruction or instruction combined with research and/or public service in the 

EAP section and had to be less than or equal to the number of full-time instruction/research/

public service staff in the Fall Staff section.

Imputation Procedures 

All required sections of the HR component were subject to imputation for nonresponse. The EAP

and Salaries data for Title IV institutions were imputed for both total (institutional) nonresponse 

and partial (item) nonresponse. The imputation base was restricted to institutions satisfying the 

following conditions:

 The institution must participate in Title IV student financial aid programs.

 The institution must be currently active6in IPEDS.

 The institution must not be a child institution (a child institution’s data are reported by 

another institution, referred to as the ―parent‖).

 For the Salaries section, the institution must be a degree-granting institution.

 For the Salaries section, the institution’s instructional staff must not all fall into one of the 

following categories:

 Instructional staff who are employed on a part-time basis.

 Instructional staff who contribute their services.

 Instructional staff who are military personnel.

 Instructional staff who teach preclinical or clinical medicine.

The HR component was imputed using 84 imputation groups as necessary to ensure imputed data 

were donated from institutions with characteristics similar to those of the nonresponding 

institution. The imputation groups were formed based primarily on institutional sector and 

undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional offerings.

The following imputation methods7 were used to impute missing data in the HR component:

Carry Forward

Reported prior year data were carried forward to the current year. The prior year data were used 

as the base value for the imputation. To adjust for year-to-year change, the base value was then 

 

6

Institutions that did not respond were verified as currently active (open for business) prior to imputation through 

telephone calls or e-mail.

7

Imputation methods are listed in order of preferred usage. If data are not available for application of one method, 

the next method is used.
A-11

multiplied by an adjustment ratio for each section of the HR component. The adjustment ratio 

varied depending on the data being imputed. For employee counts, the adjustment factor used 

was the ratio of total staff reported in the current year to those reported in the prior year in EAP, 

within the imputation group. For salary outlays and benefit expenditures, an inflation adjustment 

was used. This ratio is total salary outlays (or benefit expenditures) in the current year to total 

salary outlays (or benefit expenditures) in the prior year, within the imputation group. 

Nearest Neighbor

Previous year Fall Enrollment data were used to determine the distance between an imputee and 

a potential donor. The distance measure was full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment, defined as 

the sum of all full-time students and one-third of the part-time students. Each nearest neighbor 

imputee was imputed with the current year HR data from the donor in the same imputation group 

with the nearest value of the distance measure. The donor’s data values were adjusted by 

multiplying by the ratio of the imputee’s distance measure to the donor’s distance measure.

Group Median

If insufficient prior year data were available to perform any of the previously described methods, 

the group median method was used. For each imputation group, the sum of all full-time staff and 

one-third of the part-time staff was calculated for each institution. The institution with the 

median value of this measure within each imputation group was the donor institution.

For the EAP section, table A-2 depicts information on the total number of staff along with the 

number and percentages of staff that were imputed for all Title IV institutions and administrative 

offices in the United States, by control of institution, staff employment status, primary function/ 

occupational activity, institution degree-granting status, and medical school staff status.
A-12

Table A-2. Number of staff, number of staff imputed, and percentages imputed for all Title IV institutions and 

administrative offices, by control of institution, staff employment status, primary function/occupational activity, 

institution degree-granting status, and medical school staff status: United States, fall 2008

Staff employment status, 

primary function/occupational 

activity, institution degreegranting status, and medical 

school staff status

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit

Staff

Imputed

Staff

Imputed

Staff

Imputed

Staff

Imputed

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total 3,710,011 1,545 # 2,440,511 1,064 # 1,061,946 339 # 207,554 142 0.1

Full-time staff 2,405,164 1,355 0.1 1,539,499 981 0.1 745,771 266 # 119,894 108 0.1

Primarily instruction 487,738 143 # 314,489 0 0.0 142,484 97 0.1 30,765 46 0.1

Instruction/research/

public service 190,055 396 0.2 129,895 396 0.3 58,424 0 0.0 1,736 0 0.0

Primarily research 46,068 0 0.0 27,534 0 0.0 18,472 0 0.0 62 0 0.0

Primarily public service 16,419 0 0.0 10,660 0 0.0 5,681 0 0.0 78 0 0.0

Executive/administrative/ 

managerial 228,246 221 0.1 110,757 168 0.2 96,422 30 # 21,067 23 0.1

Other professional 

(support/service) 655,281 115 # 426,214 73 # 187,210 42 # 41,857 0 0.0

Technical and 

paraprofessionals 163,138 91 0.1 118,221 59 # 40,984 31 0.1 3,933 1 #

Clerical and secretarial 357,483 161 # 221,289 104 # 118,199 23 # 17,995 34 0.2

Skilled crafts 60,988 73 0.1 46,206 55 0.1 14,621 18 0.1 161 0 0.0

Service/maintenance 199,748 155 0.1 134,234 126 0.1 63,274 25 # 2,240 4 0.2

Part-time staff 1,304,847 190 # 901,012 83 # 316,175 73 # 87,660 34 #

Primarily instruction 601,834 56 # 369,644 0 0.0 154,182 31 # 78,008 25 #

Instruction/research/

public service 60,755 50 0.1 43,230 50 0.1 16,582 0 0.0 943 0 0.0

Primarily research 9,824 0 0.0 6,426 0 0.0 3,385 0 0.0 13 0 0.0

Primarily public service 6,449 0 0.0 4,896 0 0.0 1,521 0 0.0 32 0 0.0

Executive/administrative/ 

managerial 9,207 27 0.3 4,937 13 0.3 3,713 10 0.3 557 4 0.7

Other professional 

(support/service) 99,798 7 # 69,742 0 0.0 27,870 7 # 2,186 0 0.0

Graduate assistants1334,822 0 0.0 270,599 0 0.0 63,838 0 0.0 385 0 0.0

Technical and 

paraprofessionals 41,937 9 # 33,037 0 0.0 8,025 9 0.1 875 0 0.0

Clerical and secretarial 96,982 30 # 70,516 12 # 23,051 14 0.1 3,415 4 0.1

Skilled crafts 2,742 0 0.0 1,904 0 0.0 768 0 0.0 70 0 0.0

Service/maintenance 40,497 11 # 26,081 8 # 13,240 2 # 1,176 1 0.1

Degree-granting 3,644,233 1,403 # 2,419,138 1,064 # 1,057,172 339 # 167,923 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting 65,778 142 0.2 21,373 0 0.0 4,774 0 0.0 39,631 142 0.4

Staff (except those in medical 

schools) 3,347,445 1,545 # 2,230,635 1,064 # 909,256 339 # 207,554 142 0.1

Medical school employees 362,566 0 0.0 209,876 0 0.0 152,690 0 0.0 † † †

† Not applicable.

# Rounds to zero.

1

By definition, graduate assistants are part-time.

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No staff were imputed for institutions in other jurisdictions.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Winter 

2008-09, Human Resources component, Employees by Assigned Position section.
A-13

For the Salaries section, table A-3 depicts the total salary outlays along with the amounts and 

percentages that were imputed for Title IV degree-granting institutions in the United States, by 

control of institution, staff contract length, gender, and academic rank. Table A-4 provides the 

total fringe benefit expenditures along with the amounts and percentages that were imputed for 

Title IV degree-granting institutions in the United States, by control of institution, staff contract 

length, and fringe benefit type.

Data Perturbation and Confidentiality 

IPEDS data are not collected under any pledge of confidentiality. However, NCES takes steps to 

protect potentially individually identifiable data in the IPEDS Human Resources, Graduation 

Rates, and Student Financial Aid data files by perturbing the data. Perturbation of the data is 

performed in such a manner that the totals and averages at the institutional level are not affected. 

The data for the surveys noted above that are in the IPEDS Data Center are perturbed.
A-14

Table A-3. Salary outlays, amounts imputed, and percentages of outlays imputed for Title IV degree-granting 

institutions, by control of institution, staff contract length, gender, and academic rank: United States, 

academic year 2008-09

[Salary amounts are in thousands of dollars]

Gender and academic 

rank

Total1Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit

Salary 

outlays

Imputed Salary 

outlays

Imputed Salary 

outlays

Imputed Salary 

outlays

Imputed

Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent

9/10-month contract

Total $35,497,291 $43,152 0.1 $24,234,424 $43,152 0.2 $11,203,845 $0 0.0 $59,022 $0 0.0

Men 21,683,544 30,808 0.1 14,470,434 30,808 0.2 7,180,878 0 0.0 32,232 0 0.0

Professor 9,753,094 16,369 0.2 6,056,405 16,369 0.3 3,691,029 0 0.0 5,661 0 0.0

Associate 

professor 

4,813,440 7,970 0.2 3,120,017 7,970 0.3 1,689,334 0 0.0 4,090 0 0.0

Assistant professor 3,842,117 5,756 0.1 2,565,720 5,756 0.2 1,272,531 0 0.0 3,866 0 0.0

Instructor 1,737,216 713 # 1,559,777 713 # 166,360 0 0.0 11,079 0 0.0

Lecturer 594,828 0 0.0 415,341 0 0.0 179,487 0 0.0 † † †

No academic rank 942,849 0 0.0 753,175 0 0.0 182,138 0 0.0 7,536 0 0.0

Women 13,813,747 12,344 0.1 9,763,990 12,344 0.1 4,022,967 0 0.0 26,790 0 0.0

Professor 3,408,812 5,012 0.1 2,207,152 5,012 0.2 1,199,282 0 0.0 2,378 0 0.0

Associate 

professor 

3,209,110 3,046 0.1 2,100,309 3,046 0.1 1,104,927 0 0.0 3,873 0 0.0

Assistant professor 3,435,934 3,608 0.1 2,262,148 3,608 0.2 1,168,382 0 0.0 5,404 0 0.0

Instructor 2,082,663 679 # 1,845,359 679 # 225,679 0 0.0 11,625 0 0.0

Lecturer 665,838 0 0.0 478,554 0 0.0 187,284 0 0.0 † † †

No academic rank 1,011,390 0 0.0 870,467 0 0.0 137,413 0 0.0 3,510 0 0.0

11/12-month contract

Total 7,582,662 9,195 0.1 4,571,080 3,210 0.1 2,073,569 5,462 0.3 938,013 522 0.1

Men 4,525,901 5,512 0.1 2,780,127 2,353 0.1 1,238,018 3,160 0.3 507,755 0 0.0

Professor 1,904,097 4,152 0.2 1,357,435 2,353 0.2 503,630 1,800 0.4 43,032 0 0.0

Associate 

professor 

802,480 838 0.1 506,064 0 0.0 275,801 838 0.3 20,614 0 0.0

Assistant professor 557,534 425 0.1 327,596 0 0.0 217,287 425 0.2 12,651 0 0.0

Instructor 700,768 43 # 260,537 0 0.0 89,008 43 # 351,223 0 0.0

Lecturer 163,390 0 0.0 132,480 0 0.0 30,911 0 0.0 † † †

No academic rank 397,632 55 # 196,015 0 0.0 121,382 55 # 80,235 0 0.0

Women 3,056,761 3,682 0.1 1,790,953 858 # 835,551 2,303 0.3 430,258 522 0.1

Professor 610,924 1,389 0.2 412,165 858 0.2 179,532 531 0.3 19,227 0 0.0

Associate 

professor 

551,386 432 0.1 342,148 0 0.0 192,394 432 0.2 16,843 0 0.0

Assistant professor 628,649 1,122 0.2 365,182 0 0.0 253,651 1,122 0.4 9,815 0 0.0

Instructor 769,097 739 0.1 350,637 0 0.0 101,527 217 0.2 316,933 522 0.2

Lecturer 145,257 0 0.0 115,391 0 0.0 29,867 0 0.0 † † †

No academic rank 351,448 0 0.0 205,429 0 0.0 78,580 0 0.0 67,439 0 0.0

† Not applicable.

# Rounds to zero.

1

Although the Salaries section was applicable to degree-granting institutions except for those institutions at which all instructional staff were part time, 

contributed their services, were in the military, or taught preclinical or clinical medicine, three degree-granting institutions reported not only their own 

data, but also data for one non-degree-granting institution and two administrative offices because the data could not be separated by degree-granting 

status. The three additional entities are included in the universe and response rate numbers of the Salaries section.

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No salary outlays were imputed for institutions in other jurisdictions.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Winter 

2008-09, Human Resources component, Salaries section.
A-15

Table A-4. Fringe benefit expenditures, amounts imputed, and percentages of outlays imputed for Title IV degree-granting 

institutions, by control of institution, staff contract length, and benefit type: United States, academic year 2008-

09

[Expenditure amounts are in thousands of dollars]

Fringe benefit type

Total1Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit

Expenditures

Imputed ExpendituresImputed ExpendituresImputed ExpendituresImputed

Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent

9/10-month contract

Retirement plans—vested 

within 5 years $2,394,541 $0 0.0 $1,459,104 $0 0.0 $933,986 $0 0.0 $1,451 $0 0.0

Retirement plans—vested 

after 5 years 902,127 5,258 0.6 873,008 5,258 0.6 28,912 0 0.0 207 0 0.0

Medical/dental plans 3,528,488 1,509 # 2,595,968 1,509 0.1 928,429 0 0.0 4,091 0 0.0

Group life insurance 81,120 7 # 48,302 7 # 31,907 0 0.0 911 0 0.0

Other insurance benefits 47,920 0 0.0 33,931 0 0.0 13,875 0 0.0 114 0 0.0

Guaranteed disability 

income protection 84,237 0 0.0 49,833 0 0.0 34,323 0 0.0 80 0 0.0

Tuition plan 257,347 0 0.0 46,483 0 0.0 210,794 0 0.0 71 0 0.0

Housing plan 17,246 0 0.0 32 0 0.0 17,211 0 0.0 3 0 0.0

Social Security taxes 2,178,758 53 # 1,414,616 53 # 760,931 0 0.0 3,211 0 0.0

Unemployment 

compensation taxes 58,091 0 0.0 34,811 0 0.0 22,999 0 0.0 281 0 0.0

Worker’s compensation 

taxes 195,753 0 0.0 136,525 0 0.0 58,971 0 0.0 256 0 0.0

Other benefits in kind with 

cash options 64,322 0 0.0 35,665 0 0.0 28,630 0 0.0 28 0 0.0

11/12-month contract

Retirement plans—vested 

within 5 years 437,641 333 0.1 270,099 0 0.0 156,954 307 0.2 10,588 25 0.2

Retirement plans—vested 

after 5 years 192,780 480 0.2 174,685 444 0.3 12,268 35 0.3 5,826 0 0.0

Medical/dental plans 594,126 1,078 0.2 363,219 78 # 169,208 947 0.6 61,699 54 0.1

Group life insurance 20,394 31 0.2 11,777 1 # 6,753 27 0.4 1,864 3 0.1

Other insurance benefits 20,239 0 0.0 11,068 0 0.0 3,930 0 0.0 5,241 0 0.0

Guaranteed disability 

income protection 22,944 24 0.1 13,002 0 0.0 8,403 24 0.3 1,539 0 0.0

Tuition plan 41,243 326 0.8 7,076 0 0.0 27,214 326 1.2 6,953 0 0.0

Housing plan 7,076 0 0.0 22 0 0.0 6,985 0 0.0 69 0 0.0

Social Security taxes 436,069 445 0.1 246,581 0 0.0 132,689 419 0.3 56,799 26 #

Unemployment 

compensation taxes 17,959 0 0.0 4,985 0 0.0 5,560 0 0.0 7,414 0 0.0

Worker’s compensation 

taxes 39,844 99 0.2 21,445 0 0.0 12,323 99 0.8 6,076 0 0.0

Other benefits in kind with 

cash options 17,050 0 0.0 10,927 0 0.0 5,754 0 0.0 369 0 0.0

# Rounds to zero.

1

Although the Salaries section was applicable to degree-granting institutions except for those institutions at which all instructional staff were part time, 

contributed their services, were in the military, or taught preclinical or clinical medicine, three degree-granting institutions reported not only their own data, 

but also data for one non-degree-granting institution and two administrative offices because the data could not be separated by degree-granting status. The 

three additional entities are included in the universe and response rate numbers of the Salaries section.

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No expenditures were imputed for institutions in other jurisdictions.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Winter 2008-

09, Human Resources component, Salaries section.
A-16
B-1

Appendix B: 

Glossary of IPEDS Terms

11/12-month salary contract/teaching period: The contracted teaching period of instructional staff 

employed for the entire year, usually for a period of 11 or 12 months.

9/10-month salary contract/teaching period: The contracted teaching period of instructional staff

employed for two semesters, three quarters, two trimesters, two 4-month sessions, or the equivalent.

child institution: An institution that has its data reported by another institution, known as the parent 

institution.

clerical and secretarial: A primary function or occupational activity category used to classify 

persons whose assignments typically are associated with clerical activities or are specifically of a 

secretarial nature. Includes personnel who are responsible for internal and external communications, 

recording and retrieval of data (other than computer programmer) and/or information and other 

paperwork required in an office. 

control (of institution): A classification of whether an institution is operated by publicly elected or 

appointed officials (public control) or by privately elected or appointed officials and derives its major 

source of funds from private sources (private, not-for-profit or private, for-profit control).

coordinator: The person responsible for Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 

survey-related coordination activities for a specified group of schools within a state. This person may 

have certain viewing, verifying, and locking privileges on the data collection system.

degree-granting institution: An institution offering an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctor’s, or 

first-professional degree.

donor institution: A responding institution whose values are assigned to the imputee.

executive, administrative, and managerial: A primary function or occupational activity category 

used to classify persons whose assignments require management of the institution, or a customarily 

recognized department or subdivision thereof. Assignments require the performance of work directly 

related to management policies or general business operations of the institution, department or 

subdivision. Assignments in this category customarily and regularly require the incumbent to 

exercise discretion and independent judgment.

faculty: Persons whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of providing 

instruction or teaching, research, or public service as a principal activity (or activities). They may 

hold academic rank titles of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, or 

the equivalent of any of those academic ranks. Faculty may also include the chancellor/president, 

provost, vice provosts, deans, directors, or the equivalent, as well as associate deans, assistant deans, 

and executive officers of academic departments (chairpersons, heads, or the equivalent) if their 

principal activity is instruction combined with research and/or public service. Graduate, teaching, and 

research assistants are not included in this category.

four-year institution: A postsecondary institution that offers programs of at least 4 years’ duration 

or one that offers programs at or above the baccalaureate level. Includes schools that offer 
B-2

postbaccalaureate certificates only or those that offer graduate programs only. Also includes freestanding medical, law, or other first-professional schools.

fringe benefits: Cash contributions in the form of supplementary or deferred compensation other 

than salary. Excludes the employee’s contribution. Employee fringe benefits include retirement 

plans, employer portion of Social Security taxes, medical/dental plans, guaranteed disability income 

protection plans, tuition plans, housing plans, unemployment compensation plans, group life 

insurance plans, worker’s compensation plans, and other benefits in-kind with cash options.

full-time instructional staff: Those members of the instruction/research staff who are employed full 

time and whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of providing instruction 

or teaching, including those with released time for research. Also includes full-time staff for whom it 

is not possible to differentiate between instruction or teaching, research, and public service because 

each of these functions is an integral component of their regular assignment. 

graduate assistants: Graduate-level students who are employed on a part-time basis for the primary 

purpose of assisting in classroom or laboratory instruction or in the conduct of research. Graduate 

students having titles such as graduate assistant, teaching assistant, teaching associate, teaching 

fellow, or research assistant typically hold these positions.

imputee: A nonresponding institution that has its values imputed.

instruction combined with research and/or public service: A primary function or occupational 

activity category used to classify persons for whom it is not possible to differentiate between 

instruction or teaching, research, and public service because each of these functions is an integral 

component of their regular assignment. These employees may hold academic rank titles of professor, 

associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, or the equivalent. These employees may 

also hold titles such as deans, directors, or the equivalent, as well as associate deans, assistant deans, 

and executive officers of academic departments (chairpersons, heads, or equivalent) if their principal 

activity is instruction combined with research and/or public service.

keyholder: The person designated by an official institutional representative to have in their 

possession the necessary UserID and password to gain access to the Integrated Postsecondary 

Education Data System (IPEDS) data collection system to complete the survey. The keyholder is 

responsible for entering data and locking the site by each survey completion date.

less-than-2-year institution: A postsecondary institution that offers programs of less than 2 years’ 

duration below the baccalaureate level. Includes occupational and vocational schools with programs 

that do not exceed 1,800 contact hours.

less-than-9-month salary contract/teaching period: The contracted teaching period of instructional 

staff employed for less than two semesters, three quarters, two trimesters, or two 4-month sessions.

level (of institution): A classification of whether an institution’s programs are of at least 4 years’ 

duration or beyond a baccalaureate level (4-year institution), at least 2 but less than 4 years (2-year 

institution), or less than 2 years (less-than-2-year institution).

medical school staff: Staff employed by or staff working in the medical school (M.D. and/or D.O.) 

component of a postsecondary institution or in a freestanding medical school. Does not include staff 

employed by or employees working strictly in a hospital associated with a medical school or those 

who work in health or allied health schools or departments such as dentistry, veterinary medicine,
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nursing, or dental hygiene unless the health or allied health schools or departments are affiliated with 

(housed in or under the authority of) the medical school.

new hires: Full-time permanent staff who were included on the payroll of the institution between 

July 1st and October 31st of the survey year, either for the first time (new to the institution) or after a 

break in service and who were still on the payroll of the institution as of November 1st of the same 

survey year. Does not include persons who have returned from sabbatical leave or full-time staff

working less-than-9-month contracts/teaching periods.

non-degree-granting institution: An institution offering only postbaccalaureate, post-master’s, or 

first-professional certificates, or certificates or diplomas of 4 years or less.

nonprofessional staff: Staff of an institution whose primary function or occupational activity is 

classified as one of the following: technical and paraprofessional; clerical and secretarial; skilled 

crafts; or service/maintenance.

not on tenure track: Personnel positions that are considered non-tenure-earning positions.

on tenure track: Personnel positions that lead to consideration for tenure. 

OPE: Office of Postsecondary Education.

other professional (support/service): A primary function or occupational activity category used to 

classify persons employed for the primary purpose of performing academic support, student service, 

and institutional support, whose assignments would require either a baccalaureate degree or higher or 

experience of such kind and amount as to provide a comparable background.

parent institution: An institution that reports data for another institution, known as the child 

institution.

PEPS: Postsecondary Education Participation System (database used by OPE to track all institutions 

eligible for Title IV federal student financial aid programs).

postsecondary education institution: An institution that has as its sole purpose, or one of its 

primary missions, the provision of postsecondary education. Postsecondary education is the provision 

of a formal instructional program whose curriculum is designed primarily for students beyond the 

compulsory age for high school. This includes programs whose purpose is academic, vocational, or 

continuing professional education, and excludes avocational and adult basic education programs. For 

IPEDS, these institutions must be open to the public.

primarily instruction: A primary function or occupational activity category used to classify persons 

whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of providing instruction or teaching 

and who may hold academic rank titles of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, 

instructor, lecturer, or the equivalent. Includes deans, directors, or the equivalent, as well as associate 

deans, assistant deans, and executive officers of academic departments (chairpersons, heads, or 

equivalent) if their principal activity is instruction.

primarily public service: A primary function or occupational activity category used to classify 

persons whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of carrying out public 

service activities such as agricultural extension services, clinical services, or continuing education 

and who may hold academic rank titles of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor. 

Includes deans, directors, or the equivalent, as well as associate deans, assistant deans, and executive 
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officers of academic departments (chairpersons, heads, or equivalent) if their principal activity is

public service. 

primarily research: A primary function or occupational activity category used to classify persons 

whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of conducting research and who 

may hold academic rank titles of professor, associate professor, of assistant professor or titles such as 

research associate or postdoctoral fellow. Includes deans, directors, or the equivalent, as well as 

associate deans, assistant deans, and executive officers of academic departments (chairpersons,

heads, or equivalent) if their principal activity is research.

primary function/occupational activity: The principal activity of a staff member as determined by 

the institution. If an individual participates in two or more activities, the primary activity is normally 

determined by the amount of time spent in each activity. Primary functions/occupational activities 

are designated as follows: executive, administrative, and managerial; primarily instruction; 

instruction/research/public service; primarily research; primarily public service; graduate assistants; 

other professional (support/service); technical and paraprofessional; clerical and secretarial; skilled 

crafts; and service/maintenance (see separate definitions).

private for-profit institution: A private institution in which the individual(s) or agency in control 

receives compensation other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of risk.

private institution: An educational institution controlled by a private individual(s) or by a 

nongovernmental agency, usually supported primarily by other than public funds, and operated by 

other than publicly elected or appointed officials. These institutions may be either for-profit or notfor-profit.

private not-for-profit institution: A private institution in which the individual(s) or agency in 

control receives no compensation, other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of 

risk. These include both independent not-for-profit schools and those affiliated with a religious 

organization.

professional staff: Staff of an institution whose primary function or occupational activity is 

classified as one of the following: primarily instruction; instruction/research/public service; primarily 

research; primarily public service; executive, administrative, managerial; other professional 

(support/service); or graduate assistant.

Program Participation Agreement (PPA): A written agreement between a postsecondary 

institution and the Secretary of Education. This agreement allows institutions to participate in any of 

the Title IV student assistance programs other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the 

National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs. The PPA conditions the 

initial and continued participation of an eligible institution in any Title IV program upon compliance 

with the General Provisions regulations, the individual program regulations, and any additional 

conditions specified in the program participation agreement that the Department of Education 

requires the institution to meet. Institutions with such an agreement are referred to as Title IV 

institutions.

public institution: An educational institution whose programs and activities are operated by publicly 

elected or appointed school officials and which is supported largely by public funds. 

race/ethnicity (old definition): Categories used to describe groups to which individuals belong, 

identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community. The categories do not denote scientific 

definitions of anthropological origins. A person may be counted in only one group. The groups used 
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to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible noncitizens are as follows: American 

Indian/Alaska Native; Asian/Pacific Islander; Black, non-Hispanic; Hispanic; White, non-Hispanic.

race/ethnicity (new definition): Categories developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and 

Budget that are used to describe groups to which individuals belong, identify with, or belong in the 

eyes of the community. The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological origins. 

The designations are used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible noncitizens.

Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as

 Hispanic or Latino; or

 Not Hispanic or Latino.

Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:

 American Indian or Alaska Native;

 Asian;

 Black or African American;

 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and

 White.

sector: One of nine institutional categories resulting from dividing the universe according to control 

and level. Control categories are public, private not-for-profit, and private for-profit. Level categories 

are 4 years and higher (4-year institutions), at least 2 but less than 4 years (2-year institutions), and 

less than 2 years (less-than-2-year institutions). For example: sector 1 = public 4-year institutions; 

sector 2 = private not-for-profit 4-year institutions.

service/maintenance: A primary function or occupational activity category used to classify persons 

whose assignments require limited degrees of previously acquired skills and knowledge and in which 

workers perform duties that result in or contribute to the comfort, convenience, and hygiene of 

personnel and the student body or that contribute to the upkeep of the institutional property. 

skilled crafts: A primary function or occupational activity category used to classify persons whose 

assignments typically require special manual skills and a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of 

the processes involved in the work, acquired through on-the-job-training and experience or through 

apprenticeship or other formal training programs. 

technical and paraprofessional: A primary function or occupational activity category used to 

classify persons whose assignments require specialized knowledge or skills which may be acquired 

through experience, apprenticeship, on-the-job training, or academic work in occupationally specific 

programs that result in a 2-year degree or other certificate or diploma. Includes persons who perform 

some of the duties of a professional in a supportive role, which usually requires less formal training 

and experience than normally required for professional status.

tenure status: Status of a personnel position with respect to permanence of the position. 

Title IV institution: An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that 

allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance 

programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant [SSIG] and the National Early Intervention 

Scholarship and Partnership [NEISP] programs).

two-year institution: A postsecondary institution that offers programs of at least 2 but less than 4 

years’ duration. Includes occupational and vocational schools with programs of at least 1,800 hours 
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and academic institutions with programs of less than 4 years. Does not include bachelor’s degreegranting institutions where the baccalaureate program can be completed in 3 years.

UserID: A series of numbers possibly with an alpha prefix that is created for a specific user to be 

able to access a system. Each user is required to have a UserID and a password for security purposes 

in order to access the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data collection 

system.