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- Title : U.S. Universities and Colleges Report a 9-Percent Net Increase in
- Research Space Since 1988, the Majority of It Within Doctorate-
- granting Institutions
- Type : SRS Data Brief
- NSF Org: SBE / SRS
- Date : November 25, 1992
- File : db929
-
-
-
- Between 1988 and 1992 the 525 largest research-performing
- U.S. universities and colleges increased their research space
- by 9 percent. Their allocation of science and engineering
- (S&E) research space increased roughly 10 million net
- assigned square feet (NASF) over the period, reaching 122
- million NASF in early 1992.
-
- From 1988 (when the first full survey data in this series were
- gathered) to 1992, the amount of academic research space
- reported as being "suitable for use in the most highly
- developed and scientifically sophisticated research" increased
- 22 percent. Over the same period, the average proportion of
- S&E fields in which institutions reported an inadequate amount
- of research space declined from 40 percent to 34 percent.
- [Table 1]
-
- Research space was concentrated in the largest research
- universities. The 294 S&E doctorate-granting institutions
- contained 96 percent of all academic S&E research space in
- 1992, as in 1988; of these the top 100 in research expenditures
- accounted for 72 percent of the national total. Essentially all
- of the net 1988-1992 increase in research space and in
- research facilities spending occurred at the doctorate-granting
- institutions. Conversely, the approximately 230 nondoc-
- torate-granting universities and colleges with separately
- budgeted S&E research allocated 77 percent of their academic
- space to disciplines outside science and engineering, and they
- allocated most of their S&E space to functions other than
- research; collectively these institutions contained 4.6 million
- NASF of research space in 1992. This amount, almost
- unchanged from 1988, is about 4 percent of the national total.
-
- Institutions' expected spending for construction and
- repair/renovation of academic S&E research facilities
- increased from $2.89 billion for projects started in the 2-year
- period 1986+87 to $3.80 billion for project starts in 1990+91
- (dollars are not adjusted for inflation). [Table 2]
- Institutions reported plans to spend an additional $4.11
- billion for projects started in 1992+93. The 1986+87 to
- 1990+91 increase of $910 million in research facilities
- spending largely reflected increases of $350 million in
- Federal Government funds and $340 million in tax-exempt
- bonds; private donations, however, declined by $135 million.
-
- At nondoctorate-granting institutions, spending for research
- facility construction and repair/renovation steadily declined
- from a comparatively high level in 1986+87 ($45 per existing
- research NASF) to a projected level for 1992+93 that was
- well below that for doctorate-granting institutions ($20 versus
- $34 per NASF). [Chart 1] The reduction was attributable
- mainly to declining financial support from state and local
- governments and from private donations. These decreases
- were partly offset as nondoctorate-granting institutions
- increasingly relied upon indebtedness in the form of tax-
- exempt bonds (from $38 million to $104 million) and upon
- increased use of institution funds (from $4 million to $13
- million) to fund capital projects.
-
- The 70 research-performing Historically Black Colleges and
- Universities (HBCUs) represented in this study contained 2.9
- million NASF of academic S&E research space in 1992, about
- 2 percent of the national total. Most HBCUs reported little or
- no spending for construction of research facilities from 1986
- to 1991; expected HBCU spending for such construction in
- 1992+93 ($6 per NASF of existing research space) was well
- below the expected level for all research-performing academic
- institutions ($26 per NASF).
-
- This Data Brief was prepared by Dr. Ann Lanier, National
- Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Studies,
- Washington, D.C. 20550. To obtain a free copy of the full
- report, contact Julia Harriston at the same address, telephone
- (202) 634-4634.
-
- Chart 1. Trends in relative expenditures for capital projects to
- construct or repair/renovate academic research facilities at
- doctorate-granting and nondoctorate-granting institutions:
- 1986-93
-
- [Chart not available on STIS]
-
-
-
-
- Table 1. Trends in institution-assessed quality/condition of academic
- academic research facilities, by institution type and
- control: 1988, 1990, and 1992
-
- [Percentage]
-
- Institution type Suitable for most Effective for most Requires
- and control scientifically uses, but not most repair/
- sophisticated uses sophisticated renovation
-
- 1988 24% 37 39
- 1990 26 35 39
- 1992 27 35 39
-
- Top 100 in
- research
- expenditures:
-
- 1988 24 35 41
- 1990 27 33 39
- 1992 27 32 42
-
- Other doctorate-
- granting:
-
- 1988 26 40 35
- 1990 24 39 38
- 1992 29 42 30
-
- Nondoctorate-
- granting:
-
- 1988 16 50 35
- 1990 19 47 34
- 1992 17 43 40
-
- KEY: Because of rounding, components may not add to 100.
- SOURCE: National Science Foundation/SRS, Scientific and
- Engineering Research Facilities at Universities
- and Colleges: 1992, Appendix Table 5-1.
-
-
- Table 2. Trends in source of funds for capital projects to construct or
- repair/renovate research facilities at doctorate-granting and
- nondoctorate-granting institutions: 1986-91
-
- Source of funds
- Total | Doctorate-granting | Nondoctorate-granting
- | |
- 1986+87 1988+89 1990+91|1986+87 1988+89 1990+91|1986+87 1988+89 1990+91
-
- Total $2,888 3,474 3,801 2,680 3,294 3,641 208 180 160
-
- Federal
- Gov't 173 413 525 153 395 514 19 18 12
-
- State/
- local
- Gov't 1,012 1,124 1,199 892 1,034 1,175 120 90 24
-
- Private
- donations
- 588 512 454 562 454 446 27 58 8
-
- Tax-exempt
- bonds 451 390 794 412 390 690 28 0 104
-
- Other 665 1,033 830 661 1,020 817 4 13 13
-
- NOTE: Because of rounding, components may not add to totals.
- SOURCE: National Science Foundation/SRS, Scientific and Engineering Research
- Facilities at Universities and Colleges: 1992, Appendix
- Tables 4-1 to 4-4.
-
-
- Electronic Dissemination
-
- You can get information fast through STIS (Science and Technology Information
- System), NSF's online publishing system, described in NSF 91-10, the "STIS
- flyer." To get a paper copy of the flyer, call the NSF Publications Section
- at 202-357-7861. For an electronic copy, send an E-mail message to
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- Device for the Deaf capability, dial 202-357-7492.
-
-