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Methodology

This study reports the views of 601 leaders in academia, government and business who responded to a mail survey conducted in the fall of 1998. Public Agenda mailed an invitation to participate along with the questionnaire to a sample of 3,930 individuals selected as follows:

• College professors: 750 professors from both public and private colleges and from two- and four-year institutions, randomly selected from a list provided by Market Data Retrieval.

• College administrators and deans: 750 from both public and private colleges and from two- and four-year institutions, randomly selected from a list provided by Market Data Retrieval.

• Business: 1,430 CEOs, owners, presidents, or general managers of companies with 50 or more employees, randomly selected from a list provided by Dunn and Bradstreet.

• Government: 1,000 legislators and advisors at both the state and federal level, including education advisors to governors and representatives from the state governing boards of both community colleges and four-year institutions. Names were taken from Leadership Directory's Congressional Yellow Book Summer 1997, The Capitol Source, the National Governors' Association's Governors' Staff Directory, March 1998, and lists provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO).

The initial mailing of the questionnaire was on September 16, 1998, followed shortly by a postcard reminder and a second mailing of the questionnaire. All data in this report are based on questionnaires returned by October 16, 1998. The mailings resulted in a total of 601 returned questionnaires, as follows:

• College professors: 130

• College administrators and deans: 163

• Business: 146

• Government: 162

"Total" percentages represent the average calculated after weighting each group to 150 respondents, so that each group of leaders has an equal impact on the reported total.
The questionnaire stressed that, unless otherwise indicated, we were concerned with both two-year and four-year institutions of higher education, as well as both state and private higher education. Design of the survey instrument and all interpretation of the data in the report were done by Public Agenda.

In preparation for the study, the author conducted a series of interviews with a leadership panel of 14 experts in the field, representing a variety of different perspectives on higher education (listed below). In addition, focus groups were moderated by the author at two conferences, one with college faculty (June 14, 1998, in Cincinnati) and another with legislators and legislative staff (July 22, 1998, in Las Vegas). Quotes were drawn from the leadership panel and focus groups to give voice to the attitudes captured statistically through the survey. These were supplemented by interviews conducted by telephone with respondents who agreed to be contacted after the survey.

Leadership Panel

Dr. John Brademas President Emeritus New York University

Dr. Doug D. Christensen Commissioner of Education State of Nebraska

Charles E. Cobb Jr. Cobb Partners, Inc.

John W. Creighton Senior Advisor Weyerhaeuser Company

Dr. Karen Cummings Clinical Assistant Professor in Physics Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Alfredo G. de los Santos, Jr. Vice Chancellor for Student and Educational Development Maricopa Community Colleges

Governor Daniel J. Evans Board of Regents University of Washington

Kati Haycock Director Education Trust

Dr. Daniel J. Larson Dean of the Everly College of Science Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Edward A. Lynch Associate Professor of Political Science Hollins University

Scott Miller Director of the National Task Force on Minority High Achievement The College Board

Dr. Wentworth Ofuatey-Kodjoe Executive Officer, Political Science Department Graduate School and University Center at CUNY

Dr. Anne A. Paolucci Chairwoman of Board of Trustees City University of New York

Adam Yarmolinsky Regents Professor of Public Policy University of Maryland

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