Author Description

This report provides a normative profile of the American college freshman population for the fall of 1992 obtained from a national survey of 213,630 students from 404 of the nation's two- and four-year colleges and universities. The normative data presented are reported separately for men and women. The major stratifying factors are institutional race (predominantly black versus predominantly white), control (public, private-nonsectarian, Roman Catholic, Protestant), type (university, four-year college, two-year college), and the selectivity level of the institution. Among the major trends identified are that students are showing an interest in majoring in the health professions (15.6 percent in 1992, up from 12.9 percent in 1991 and doubled since 1987); students are increasingly basing their college choices on economic, rather than educational considerations; and student interest in business careers continues to decline. In addition, freshmen alcohol consumption is down with only 53.5 percent indicating they drink beer frequently or occasionally. Other changes in freshman attitudes include: an increase in belief that employers be allowed to drug test (82.4 percent); an overall increase in the endorsement of more responsible sexual conduct; and a continued increasing trend towards political liberalism. Appendices detail the research methodology and present the 1992 Student Information Form, the coding scheme for collapsed items, a list of the institutions participating in the Freshmen Survey, and a sample report furnished to the participating campuses. (GLR)