The sampling frame for the 2000 survey was constructed using the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Members of the AAUP’s Committee on Retirement met in spring 2005 to review the 2000 survey instrument and revise it in light of emerging issues and trends. The resulting survey, which was disseminated in 2006, had a total of forty-three questions covering four main areas or topics: (a) regular retirement programs, (b) retirement-incentive programs, (c) phased-retirement programs, and (d) policies regarding retired faculty. In addition, the survey gathered information about health benefits for retirees, spouses, partners, and families.1 (See the appendix to this report for a copy of the survey instrument.) (.pdf)
Institutions that had participated in the 2000 survey for which the AAUP could identify accurate and complete contact information were invited to take part in the 2007 survey. Eligible institutions included public and private, not-for-profit colleges and universities with seventy-five or more full-time faculty members. A packet of information including a letter of invitation, a description of the project, and a copy of the survey was mailed to the president or chief executive officer of each of the 1,361 sampled institutions.
Respondents were given the option of completing a paper-and-pencil survey or an online version of the instrument. Multiple follow-up telephone calls were made to increase the number of institutions represented in the study. Completed surveys were received from 567 institutions, reflecting a response rate of 42 percent. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents returned completed surveys by mail, while 42 percent completed the survey online. Only one respondent completed the survey by telephone. Responses were received from 369 public and 198 private institutions (see figure 1). (.pdf)
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(2/15/07)