Mainline Protestant
30% of Mainline Protestant affiliated institutions graduated more than they admitted.
EDA of Integrated Post-Secondary Data: Small/Midsized 4-Year Private Institutions
Tonya Howe
5/6/2021
IPEDS Data Exploration
Source: Filtered and selected data from the Integrated Post-Secondary Data System (https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data) relevant to private 4-year institutions of less than 5,000 students (but more than 1,999).
Data Cleaning and Exploration I summed majors and double majors, tenure and tenure track full-time faculty, and eliminated the columns I didn’t need. I replaced all NAs with averages from the column. I tested for leftover NAs, and removed three empty rows. I had a hard time selecting for the slope graph, so I ended up creating that data in excel from the main data set. I used the Explore package to do some initial investigation and generate some questions; that information has not been included in this presentation, though it is available in the RMarkdown.
Note NAs: Replacing NAs with column average is not ideal, as I want to be able to see trends by year–a better solution would be modifying the script to filter by year, first. I also created groupings of religious affiliations. This is especially visible in the scatterplots with high density.
Note Correlations and Regressions: I was able to find some strong correlatons, but when running the regression analysis, these relationships seemed less explanatory or even insignificant; as a result, I have not included them in the presentation, though they are available in the RMarkdown.
Special Thanks: Many thanks to Annie Pham and Paolo Narisco for their help, and to our whole cohort for moral support and conversation!
Summary and Head
## # A tibble: 6 x 84
## institution longitude latitude urbanization classification affiliation ay
## <chr> <dbl> <dbl> <chr> <chr> <chr> <dbl>
## 1 Adrian Coll… -84.1 41.9 Town:Distant professions pl… United Met… 2019
## 2 Albertus Ma… -72.9 41.3 City:Midsize professions pl… Roman Cath… 2019
## 3 Alfred Univ… -77.8 42.3 Town:Remote balanced some … Not Religi… 2019
## 4 American In… -72.6 42.1 City:Midsize professions pl… Not Religi… 2019
## 5 Aquinas Col… -85.6 43.0 City:Midsize arts and scien… Roman Cath… 2019
## 6 Art Center … -118. 34.2 City:Midsize professions fo… Not Religi… 2019
## # … with 77 more variables: hasTenureSystem <dbl>, not <dbl>, avgNetWaid <dbl>,
## # totalOCprice <dbl>, pctAdmit <dbl>, pctAdmitM <dbl>, pctAdmitF <dbl>,
## # ftRetRate <dbl>, sfRatio <dbl>, pctFirstTimeUGInState <dbl>,
## # pctFirstTimeUGOoState <dbl>, totalEnrollment <dbl>, FTEfallEnroll <dbl>,
## # FTEnrollment <dbl>, PTEnrollment <dbl>, FallApps <dbl>, FallAdmits <dbl>,
## # FallEnrolled <dbl>, FallEnrolledFT <dbl>, pctUGsomeDistance <dbl>,
## # pctUGnoDistance <dbl>, pctDisabledGrtr3 <dbl>, pctDisabled <dbl>,
## # SAT25th <dbl>, SAT75th <dbl>, PublishedISTuitionFees <dbl>,
## # BooksSupplies <dbl>, OCRoomBoard <dbl>, DoctorsProfPract <dbl>,
## # DoctorsOther <dbl>, MA <dbl>, BA <dbl>, Certs24yr <dbl>, Certs12yr <dbl>,
## # CertsLess1yr <dbl>, PostBAcerts <dbl>, PostMAcerts <dbl>,
## # DoctorsResearch <dbl>, GradTotalCohort <dbl>, GradRateBAwin4yrs <dbl>,
## # GradRateBAwin6yrs <dbl>, GradRateM <dbl>, GradRateF <dbl>,
## # GradRateBlk <dbl>, GradRateHisp <dbl>, GradRateAPI <dbl>, GradRateWt <dbl>,
## # GradRateNRA <dbl>, TROutRateTotalCohort <dbl>, GradRateBA6rs <dbl>,
## # GradRateBA6rsW <dbl>, GradRate6Blk <dbl>, GradRate6Hisp <dbl>,
## # GradRate6API <dbl>, GradRate6Wt <dbl>, GradRate6NRA <dbl>, EN <dbl>,
## # GEN <dbl>, BIOSCI <dbl>, MATH <dbl>, PHREL <dbl>, PHYSCI <dbl>, PSY <dbl>,
## # SS <dbl>, ART <dbl>, HE <dbl>, BUS <dbl>, HIS <dbl>, LANG <dbl>, ED <dbl>,
## # COM <dbl>, AREA <dbl>, EGN <dbl>, TTT <dbl>, affiliation_group <chr>,
## # all.certs <dbl>, all.doctoral <dbl>## institution longitude latitude urbanization
## Length:1333 Min. :-157.86 Min. :18.35 Length:1333
## Class :character 1st Qu.: -93.25 1st Qu.:34.21 Class :character
## Mode :character Median : -83.31 Median :40.75 Mode :character
## Mean : -87.49 Mean :38.51
## 3rd Qu.: -75.52 3rd Qu.:42.21
## Max. : -66.18 Max. :47.26
## NA's :13 NA's :13
## classification affiliation ay hasTenureSystem
## Length:1333 Length:1333 Min. :2009 Min. :1.000
## Class :character Class :character 1st Qu.:2011 1st Qu.:1.000
## Mode :character Mode :character Median :2014 Median :1.000
## Mean :2014 Mean :1.183
## 3rd Qu.:2017 3rd Qu.:1.000
## Max. :2019 Max. :2.000
## NA's :13 NA's :13
## not avgNetWaid totalOCprice pctAdmit
## Min. : 1.00 Min. : 2277 Min. :11990 Min. : 5.00
## 1st Qu.: 24.00 1st Qu.:19744 1st Qu.:38490 1st Qu.: 56.00
## Median : 49.00 Median :23088 Median :45268 Median : 66.00
## Mean : 72.52 Mean :23088 Mean :45268 Mean : 64.51
## 3rd Qu.: 78.00 3rd Qu.:25567 3rd Qu.:50900 3rd Qu.: 76.00
## Max. :920.00 Max. :47352 Max. :76850 Max. :100.00
##
## pctAdmitM pctAdmitF ftRetRate sfRatio
## Min. : 0.00 Min. : 5.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 1.00
## 1st Qu.: 55.00 1st Qu.: 57.00 1st Qu.: 71.00 1st Qu.:11.00
## Median : 63.35 Median : 67.00 Median : 77.00 Median :12.00
## Mean : 63.35 Mean : 65.54 Mean : 76.39 Mean :12.54
## 3rd Qu.: 74.00 3rd Qu.: 78.00 3rd Qu.: 83.00 3rd Qu.:14.00
## Max. :100.00 Max. :100.00 Max. :100.00 Max. :29.00
##
## pctFirstTimeUGInState pctFirstTimeUGOoState totalEnrollment FTEfallEnroll
## Min. : 0.0 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 10 Min. : 6
## 1st Qu.: 59.0 1st Qu.: 29.00 1st Qu.: 1877 1st Qu.:1645
## Median : 60.4 Median : 34.73 Median : 2781 Median :2388
## Mean : 60.4 Mean : 34.73 Mean : 2845 Mean :2388
## 3rd Qu.: 67.0 3rd Qu.: 36.00 3rd Qu.: 3567 3rd Qu.:3035
## Max. :100.0 Max. :100.00 Max. :15337 Max. :6090
##
## FTEnrollment PTEnrollment FallApps FallAdmits
## Min. : 6 Min. : 0.0 Min. : 0 Min. : 0
## 1st Qu.:1341 1st Qu.: 229.0 1st Qu.: 1464 1st Qu.: 906
## Median :2035 Median : 469.0 Median : 2999 Median : 1946
## Mean :2035 Mean : 583.3 Mean : 3321 Mean : 2077
## 3rd Qu.:2720 3rd Qu.: 758.0 3rd Qu.: 4465 3rd Qu.: 2784
## Max. :5139 Max. :3720.0 Max. :19733 Max. :13417
##
## FallEnrolled FallEnrolledFT pctUGsomeDistance pctUGnoDistance
## Min. : 0.0 Min. : 0.0 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00
## 1st Qu.: 332.0 1st Qu.: 314.0 1st Qu.: 1.00 1st Qu.: 85.62
## Median : 469.5 Median : 455.4 Median : 9.56 Median : 85.62
## Mean : 469.5 Mean : 455.4 Mean : 9.56 Mean : 85.62
## 3rd Qu.: 590.0 3rd Qu.: 582.0 3rd Qu.: 9.56 3rd Qu.: 98.00
## Max. :3121.0 Max. :2523.0 Max. :89.00 Max. :100.00
##
## pctDisabledGrtr3 pctDisabled SAT25th SAT75th
## Min. :-2.000 Min. : 4.000 Min. :281.0 Min. :420.0
## 1st Qu.: 1.000 1st Qu.: 7.000 1st Qu.:460.0 1st Qu.:570.0
## Median : 2.000 Median : 8.751 Median :488.1 Median :595.7
## Mean : 1.508 Mean : 8.751 Mean :488.1 Mean :595.7
## 3rd Qu.: 2.000 3rd Qu.: 8.751 3rd Qu.:500.0 3rd Qu.:610.0
## Max. : 2.000 Max. :34.000 Max. :750.0 Max. :800.0
##
## PublishedISTuitionFees BooksSupplies OCRoomBoard DoctorsProfPract
## Min. : 4428 Min. : 0 Min. : 5000 Min. : 0.00
## 1st Qu.:25200 1st Qu.:1000 1st Qu.: 8500 1st Qu.: 0.00
## Median :30506 Median :1199 Median :10303 Median : 0.00
## Mean :30506 Mean :1199 Mean :10303 Mean : 23.05
## 3rd Qu.:35952 3rd Qu.:1290 3rd Qu.:11878 3rd Qu.: 6.00
## Max. :59050 Max. :5620 Max. :19840 Max. :758.00
##
## DoctorsOther MA BA Certs24yr
## Min. : 0.0000 Min. : 0.0 Min. : 0.0 Min. : 0.0000
## 1st Qu.: 0.0000 1st Qu.: 60.0 1st Qu.: 298.0 1st Qu.: 0.0000
## Median : 0.0000 Median : 147.0 Median : 451.3 Median : 0.0000
## Mean : 0.4354 Mean : 200.5 Mean : 451.3 Mean : 0.2423
## 3rd Qu.: 0.0000 3rd Qu.: 273.0 3rd Qu.: 582.0 3rd Qu.: 0.0000
## Max. :39.0000 Max. :2016.0 Max. :1041.0 Max. :26.0000
##
## Certs12yr CertsLess1yr PostBAcerts PostMAcerts
## Min. : 0.000 Min. : 0.000 Min. : 0.000 Min. : 0.000
## 1st Qu.: 0.000 1st Qu.: 0.000 1st Qu.: 0.000 1st Qu.: 0.000
## Median : 0.000 Median : 0.000 Median : 0.000 Median : 0.000
## Mean : 1.588 Mean : 3.281 Mean : 8.667 Mean : 9.025
## 3rd Qu.: 0.000 3rd Qu.: 0.000 3rd Qu.: 2.000 3rd Qu.: 1.000
## Max. :103.000 Max. :144.000 Max. :216.000 Max. :762.000
##
## DoctorsResearch GradTotalCohort GradRateBAwin4yrs GradRateBAwin6yrs
## Min. : 0.000 Min. : 12.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.0
## 1st Qu.: 0.000 1st Qu.: 50.00 1st Qu.:33.00 1st Qu.: 49.0
## Median : 0.000 Median : 59.39 Median :47.00 Median : 59.0
## Mean : 4.485 Mean : 59.39 Mean :46.72 Mean : 58.9
## 3rd Qu.: 0.000 3rd Qu.: 69.00 3rd Qu.:60.00 3rd Qu.: 69.0
## Max. :236.000 Max. :100.00 Max. :93.00 Max. :100.0
##
## GradRateM GradRateF GradRateBlk GradRateHisp
## Min. : 0.00 Min. : 11.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00
## 1st Qu.: 44.00 1st Qu.: 54.00 1st Qu.: 33.00 1st Qu.: 38.00
## Median : 55.00 Median : 63.00 Median : 46.00 Median : 53.00
## Mean : 54.45 Mean : 62.97 Mean : 46.89 Mean : 52.33
## 3rd Qu.: 65.00 3rd Qu.: 72.00 3rd Qu.: 59.00 3rd Qu.: 66.00
## Max. :100.00 Max. :100.00 Max. :100.00 Max. :100.00
## NA's :13
## GradRateAPI GradRateWt GradRateNRA TROutRateTotalCohort
## Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00
## 1st Qu.: 47.00 1st Qu.: 54.00 1st Qu.: 50.00 1st Qu.:23.52
## Median : 58.75 Median : 63.00 Median : 61.21 Median :23.52
## Mean : 58.75 Mean : 62.28 Mean : 61.21 Mean :23.52
## 3rd Qu.: 75.00 3rd Qu.: 72.00 3rd Qu.: 75.00 3rd Qu.:23.52
## Max. :100.00 Max. :100.00 Max. :100.00 Max. :55.00
##
## GradRateBA6rs GradRateBA6rsW GradRate6Blk GradRate6Hisp
## Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00
## 1st Qu.: 44.00 1st Qu.: 53.00 1st Qu.: 33.00 1st Qu.: 50.00
## Median : 54.29 Median : 62.36 Median : 48.03 Median : 59.55
## Mean : 54.29 Mean : 62.36 Mean : 48.03 Mean : 59.55
## 3rd Qu.: 65.00 3rd Qu.: 72.00 3rd Qu.: 60.00 3rd Qu.: 76.00
## Max. :100.00 Max. :100.00 Max. :100.00 Max. :100.00
##
## GradRate6API GradRate6Wt GradRate6NRA EN
## Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00
## 1st Qu.: 32.00 1st Qu.: 54 1st Qu.: 50.00 1st Qu.: 16.00
## Median : 46.00 Median : 62 Median : 61.99 Median : 21.94
## Mean : 46.28 Mean : 62 Mean : 61.99 Mean : 21.94
## 3rd Qu.: 58.00 3rd Qu.: 72 3rd Qu.: 78.00 3rd Qu.: 21.94
## Max. :100.00 Max. :100 Max. :100.00 Max. :101.00
##
## GEN BIOSCI MATH PHREL
## Min. : 0.0 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.000
## 1st Qu.:10.5 1st Qu.: 38.00 1st Qu.: 9.00 1st Qu.: 7.000
## Median :10.5 Median : 40.38 Median :10.35 Median : 8.895
## Mean :10.5 Mean : 40.38 Mean :10.35 Mean : 8.895
## 3rd Qu.:10.5 3rd Qu.: 40.38 3rd Qu.:10.35 3rd Qu.: 8.895
## Max. :73.0 Max. :126.00 Max. :68.00 Max. :42.000
##
## PHYSCI PSY SS ART
## Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00
## 1st Qu.:14.11 1st Qu.: 35.00 1st Qu.: 33.00 1st Qu.: 26.00
## Median :14.11 Median : 44.82 Median : 57.62 Median : 31.18
## Mean :14.11 Mean : 44.82 Mean : 57.62 Mean : 31.18
## 3rd Qu.:14.11 3rd Qu.: 44.82 3rd Qu.: 57.62 3rd Qu.: 31.18
## Max. :69.00 Max. :172.00 Max. :278.00 Max. :148.00
##
## HE BUS HIS LANG
## Min. : 0.0 Min. : 0.0 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00
## 1st Qu.: 70.1 1st Qu.: 93.0 1st Qu.:11.00 1st Qu.:11.00
## Median : 70.1 Median :122.2 Median :14.46 Median :15.54
## Mean : 70.1 Mean :122.2 Mean :14.46 Mean :15.54
## 3rd Qu.: 70.1 3rd Qu.:122.2 3rd Qu.:14.46 3rd Qu.:15.54
## Max. :314.0 Max. :474.0 Max. :76.00 Max. :82.00
##
## ED COM AREA EGN
## Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00 Min. : 0.00
## 1st Qu.: 46.98 1st Qu.: 25.00 1st Qu.:11.37 1st Qu.: 19.57
## Median : 46.98 Median : 31.01 Median :11.37 Median : 19.57
## Mean : 46.98 Mean : 31.01 Mean :11.37 Mean : 19.57
## 3rd Qu.: 46.98 3rd Qu.: 31.01 3rd Qu.:11.37 3rd Qu.: 19.57
## Max. :326.00 Max. :137.00 Max. :77.00 Max. :113.00
##
## TTT affiliation_group all.certs all.doctoral
## Min. : 7.0 Length:1333 Min. : 0.0 Min. : 0.00
## 1st Qu.: 88.0 Class :character 1st Qu.: 0.0 1st Qu.: 0.00
## Median :117.4 Mode :character Median : 0.0 Median : 0.00
## Mean :117.4 Mean : 22.8 Mean : 27.97
## 3rd Qu.:131.0 3rd Qu.: 21.0 3rd Qu.: 25.00
## Max. :318.0 Max. :786.0 Max. :758.00
## Exploratory Map
Non-religiously affiliated institutions have good presence in the upper northeast, the west coast, and the upper midwest.
Mainline Protestant institutions generally among the south and south east central parts of the US, with some extension into midwest–more distributed than other affiliations.
Catholic institutions are usually concentrated either in the upper north east and upper midwest or the south/gulf coast.
Evangelical protestant institutions are often in exactly the same place as other institutions, weirdly. There are few private institutions in midwest and west, and more private institutions in the east and mideast.
Exploratory counts
Most private institutions are located in midsized cities. The further away from population, the less likely you are to have private institutions of this size.
Most private institutions offer a balance between professions, liberal arts, and graduate coexistence. Institutions with high graduate coexistence are fewer in number.
Most private institutions are either Roman Catholic or not religiously affiliated.
Price
Density chart of total cost for on campus students, off campus students; and published price.
After the recession, private institutions began offering much more aid. While published prices have grown steadily over time, the net price after aid has grown at a slower rate. At private institutions, this aid is often subsidized by the institution in the form of discounts.
Explore the cost of a year’s worth of education after aid (off campus) at each institution in the data set, colored by Carnegie classification. Data shows 2019 only. Dotted line shows median; black line shows mean.
Room and board prices have been increasing steadily. Typically, room and board is not included in the discount options at private institutions. Explore this interactive chart, color coded by Carnegie classification.
Admission, Types of Degrees, and Graduation Rates Overview
What are the general admission habits at private institutions?
In most cases, graduation rates have been going up, with the highest clear increase among Hispanic students at 4-year private institutions of under 5,000 enrolled. Black/African American students at these institutions seem to experience more variability, with no clear trend, from this summary of means. Graduation rates generally increased over the past 10 years for all demographics except Black/African American students. Rates of women graduating are declining, and men, increasing slightly. Asian and Pacific Islanders have remained consistent. Note that 2009 was weirdly missing a lot of data for BLK and WT, so when I added in the averages for NAs, it may have skewed.
Tenure Exploration
The data between 2009-2011 suggests an anomaly; given its difference from the larger trends, I would want to explore these institutions more fully. Bottlenecks occurred 2012 and 2014, though the causes of this are unclear. In 2015, a large dip in tenured faculty positions occurred across the board, as well as a drop in non-tenured positions. This is an interesting anomaly that can be explored more fully at a later date.
This faceted scatterplot shows the relation between tenure positions and non-tenure positions filled by Carnegie classification. It shows all years in the data, so each institution has multiple points. It is interactive. Upper left of each small multiple shows high non-tenure positions with low tenure positions; lower left, low non-tenure positions and high tenure positions. Arts & Sciences with no Graduate Coexistence is the category least reliant on non-tenured positions.
## Warning: Ignoring unknown aesthetics: nameThis faceted scatterplot shows the relation between tenure positions and non-tenure positions filled by Carnegie classification in 2019 only, so each institution has a single point.
## Warning: Ignoring unknown aesthetics: nameFall Enrollment Trends
What does fall enrollment look like at different Carnegie-classified institutions?
What does fall enrollment look like in different affiliation groups?
Relation between admit and graduation rates
Roman Catholic
This exploratory chart for Catholic institutions shows that University of Dallas, Providence College, and College of the Holy Cross are the only institutions in 2019 that graduated at higher rates than they admitted. Spring Hill College, Mount Mercy College, LeMoyne, and Dominican University graduated and admitted around the same numbers. Universidad Central de Bayamon and Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University admitted far greater numbers than they graduated.
Only 19% of all Catholic institutions graduated more than they admitted, but there are overall fewer institutions that graduated radically less than admitted.
Evangelical Institutions
Only 23% of Evangelical Protestant institutions graduated at higher rates than they admitted.
Not Religiously Affiliated
48% of non-religiously affiliated private institutions graduated more than they admitted. 
Relation between admit and graduation rate by Carnegie classification.
Relationship between admit and graduation faceted by affiliation.
## Warning: Ignoring unknown aesthetics: nameHigh Retention Rates
Institutions over the last 10 years with retention rates higher than 95% are predominantly Arts & Sciences focused.
## # A tibble: 40 x 4
## institution classification ftRetRate ay
## <chr> <chr> <dbl> <dbl>
## 1 California Institute of T… arts and sciences plus profession… 98 2019
## 2 Claremont McKenna College arts and sciences no graduate 96 2019
## 3 Pomona College arts and sciences no graduate 97 2019
## 4 Wellesley College arts and sciences no graduate 97 2019
## 5 California Institute of T… arts and sciences plus profession… 98 2018
## 6 Claremont McKenna College arts and sciences no graduate 96 2018
## 7 Pomona College arts and sciences no graduate 97 2018
## 8 Wellesley College arts and sciences no graduate 96 2018
## 9 California Institute of T… arts and sciences plus profession… 98 2017
## 10 Claremont McKenna College arts and sciences no graduate 97 2017
## # … with 30 more rowsLow Retention Rates
Institutions with retention rates lower than 50% are predominantly online and professions-focused.
## # A tibble: 16 x 4
## institution classification ftRetRate ay
## <chr> <chr> <dbl> <dbl>
## 1 Johnson & Wales Universi… professions focus some graduate 25 2019
## 2 Missouri Valley College professions plus arts and sciences… 42 2019
## 3 Johnson & Wales Universi… professions focus some graduate 0 2018
## 4 Missouri Valley College professions plus arts and sciences… 44 2018
## 5 Universidad Central de B… professions focus some graduate 48 2018
## 6 Johnson & Wales Universi… professions focus some graduate 33 2017
## 7 Missouri Valley College professions plus arts and sciences… 45 2017
## 8 Universidad Central de B… professions focus some graduate 48 2017
## 9 Johnson & Wales Universi… professions focus some graduate 0 2016
## 10 Missouri Valley College professions plus arts and sciences… 43 2016
## 11 Missouri Valley College professions plus arts and sciences… 45 2015
## 12 Missouri Valley College professions plus arts and sciences… 44 2013
## 13 Missouri Valley College professions plus arts and sciences… 49 2012
## 14 Virginia Union University arts and sciences plus professions… 49 2012
## 15 Benedict College professions plus arts and sciences… 47 2011
## 16 Missouri Valley College professions plus arts and sciences… 48 2009Institution classification with mean retention rate over all available years
Three types of private institutions have higher retention rates: Professions with A&S and High Graduate Coexistence, A&S and no Graduate Coexistence, and A&S plus Professions with High Graduate Coexistence. The presence of Arts & Sciences is the common factor.
Confidence Interval
Find confidence interval and upper/lower bound based on FT retention rates in 2019. We can be 95% sure that graduation rates for full time students at private institutions will fall between 74.44% and 78.31%–this is only based on 2019 data, though.
## [1] 74.45171 78.29475Major Course of Study
Major enrollments have shifted over the last decade, despite some selected upward trends. Education and English have fallen substantially; Communication and Art have fallen slightly. Health and Biological Sciences have risen. Engineering programs at smaller private institutions are still few and far between; however, they are growing notably.
##
## ── Column specification ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
## cols(
## MAJOR = col_character(),
## COUNT = col_double(),
## YEAR = col_double()
## )
English majors have declined in the last 10 years. After 2015, the decline has been irregular, and punctuated with some upticks.
While thre has been an overall decline of English majors in most types of affiliations, the number has surprisingly gone slightly up in Evangelical Protestant institutions.
The number of English majors enrolled in the last 10 years has recently gone up very slightly among institutions designated as Professionally-focused with Arts & Sciences and Some Graduate Coexistence. The numbers of EN majors will be higher overall, as there are more of these types of institutions, but this trend is interesting.
Basic Regressions
I was unable to find any useful explanations of significance, with two exceptions, suggesting on the one hand, the interdependence of humanities enrollment, and on the other, the interdependence of retention and persistence. In the first set, the correlation between EN and HIS is 66%. The regression summary shows an adjusted R squared of .43, and a very small p-value. This regression shows high explanatory power with significant data: English majors predict History majors, and vice-versa.
In the second set, the correlation between Full Time Retention Rate and Total Cohort Graduation Rate is 80%. The regression summary shows an adjusted R-squared of .64, and a very small p-value. This regression shows high explanatory power with significant data; there is a close relation between retention rate and persistence. However, this is only to be expected.
## [1] 0.6587608##
## Call:
## lm(formula = ipeds.clean2$EN ~ ipeds.clean2$HIS)
##
## Residuals:
## Min 1Q Median 3Q Max
## -45.192 -3.509 0.000 0.000 48.491
##
## Coefficients:
## Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|)
## (Intercept) 7.59807 0.51285 14.81 <2e-16 ***
## ipeds.clean2$HIS 0.99189 0.03105 31.94 <2e-16 ***
## ---
## Signif. codes: 0 '***' 0.001 '**' 0.01 '*' 0.05 '.' 0.1 ' ' 1
##
## Residual standard error: 9.053 on 1331 degrees of freedom
## Multiple R-squared: 0.434, Adjusted R-squared: 0.4335
## F-statistic: 1020 on 1 and 1331 DF, p-value: < 2.2e-16
## [1] 0.8023633##
## Call:
## lm(formula = ipeds.clean2$ftRetRate ~ ipeds.clean2$GradTotalCohort)
##
## Residuals:
## Min 1Q Median 3Q Max
## -76.394 -2.483 0.271 2.901 49.142
##
## Coefficients:
## Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|)
## (Intercept) 44.39191 0.67555 65.71 <2e-16 ***
## ipeds.clean2$GradTotalCohort 0.53881 0.01099 49.05 <2e-16 ***
## ---
## Signif. codes: 0 '***' 0.001 '**' 0.01 '*' 0.05 '.' 0.1 ' ' 1
##
## Residual standard error: 6.39 on 1331 degrees of freedom
## Multiple R-squared: 0.6438, Adjusted R-squared: 0.6435
## F-statistic: 2406 on 1 and 1331 DF, p-value: < 2.2e-16