Comprehensive Survey of Undergraduate Mathematics Released

July 15, 2002

Providence, RI: The most recent comprehensive survey of undergraduate mathematics and statistics programs in the U.S. by the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) has just been released. The report indicates that despite rising overall college enrollments during the 1990s, enrollment levels in mathematics and statistics in 2000 at both two-year and four-year institutions were substantially the same as those reported in the 1990 survey. The mathematics enrollment figures represent an increase of almost 10% from 1995 levels for four-year colleges and universities, and a decrease of 8% from 1995 levels for two-year colleges.

Survey findings from CBMS 2000 concerning four-year college and university undergraduate mathematics programs include:

• Since 1995 the number of mathematics bachelors degrees dropped by about 14%;
• There has been a 35% increase in part-time faculty since 1990;
• Statistics course enrollments rose 45% over the past 10 years.

The report also contains extensive data about mathematics programs at two-year colleges, including:

• There was a 600% increase in temporary full-time faculty and an 8% drop in full-time permanent faculty since 1995;
• For the first time, the number of women full-time permanent faculty equals the number of men;
• Classes offered at local high schools, taught by selected high school faculty and providing students with simultaneous high school and college credits, accounted for 14% of algebra, precalculus and calculus sections.

The complete survey report, Statistical Abstract of Undergraduate Programs in the Mathematical Sciences in the United States, is available online.

The report comes out at a time when both the scientific community and the general public are becoming more aware that mathematics is the foundation for the other sciences. Mathematical and statistical skills are critical in computer science, physics, engineering, and increasingly in biology and medicine (for instance, in the Human Genome Project), with additional applications ranging from national security to meteorology.

With the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), CBMS has surveyed two- and four-year college and university mathematics programs every five years since 1965. It is the only national survey of two-year college mathematics programs. The report includes cumulative data on enrollments, majors, curriculum, and faculty and is circulated to mathematics and statistics departments, college and university administrations, and to the NSF and other government agencies as a resource to aid in allocating resources and planning effective programs.

Contacts:

Four-year college and university:
David J. Lutzer, Mathematics Department, College of William and Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795; Email: Lutzer@math.wm.edu ; telephone 757-221-4006

Two-year college:
Stephen B. Rodi, Austin Community College, Rio Grande Campus, 212 Rio Grande Street, Austin, TX 78701-1785; Email: srodi@austincc.edu ; telephone 512-223-3301

Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the 30,000-member American Mathematical Society fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and to everyday life.