"Women's Colleges in the United States: History, Issues, and Challenges,"
is a new report from the National Institute on Postsecondary Education,
Libraries and Lifelong Learning, of the Office of Educational Research and
Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education.
Below are highlights of the report:
Women's colleges have had a long and prestigious role in the education
of American women. They have prepared women for leadership roles in society
throughout their history and have adjusted their curricula and focus as
women have entered new arenas in the workforce.
Women's colleges today are largely private 4-year institutions, more
likely to be independent nonprofit institutions, located in the
Northeastern United States, and have smaller enrollments than most
institutions of higher education. Data provided to the U.S. Department of
Education reveals that enrollment at women's colleges in the Fall of 1993
did have notable proportions of part-time students, members of racial and
ethnic minorities, and older undergraduate women students.
Analysis of U.S. Department of Education data showed that today women's
colleges have far more women in professional positions, such as
administrators and full-time faculty, than comparative coeducational
institutions, thus making more women available as possible role models for
female students.
U.S. Department of Education data also revealed that women's colleges
awarded similar or larger proportions of bachelor's degrees to women in
some traditionally male-dominated fields when compared with similar
coeducational institutions.
The report provides a synopsis of educational research on women's colleges
which includes findings that they encourage leadership skills in women, as
well as encouraging women to focus on traditionally male-dominated fields
of study.
If you wish to obtain copies of this report, please contact the lead
author, Irene_Harwarth@ed.gov or call her at (202) 219-1756.