A CHRONICLE SURVEY: WHAT PRESIDENTS THINK

The Chronicle Survey of Presidents of 4-Year Colleges

The results of The Chronicle of Higher Education's Survey of College and University Presidents are based on responses from presidents and chancellors who lead institutions that offer a four-year degree, have a comprehensive academic program, and fall into one of six classifications by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

The classifications are: Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive and -Intensive, Master's Colleges and Universities I and II; Baccalaureate Colleges-Liberal Arts and General.

Maguire Associates, of Bedford, Mass., which conducted the survey for The Chronicle, and consultant Alvin Sanoff identified 1,338 institutions that met the survey criteria. The institutions were identified from a list compiled by Market Data Retrieval, of Shelton, Conn. The presidents and chancellors of these institutions received an invitation from The Chronicle to take part in the survey and were provided with a paper copy of the survey as well as a link to an online option. In addition to numerous specific questions, the survey provided presidents and chancellors the opportunity to offer comments on the challenges they face. The data collection took place between June 23 and July 29, 2005. Respondents were assured of the confidentiality of their replies.

A total of 764 presidents and chancellors responded, a rate of 57 percent, a good response by survey standards. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents filled out the paper survey, and 32 percent completed the survey online. The respondents generally reflected the leaders of the institutions that were surveyed, so weighting of responses was unnecessary. After the surveys were completed, the responses were analyzed by Maguire Associates.