2023 Demographics

Gender | Ethnicity | Areas in Which Members Work | Institutions by Size Code | Institutional Members by Control | Institutional Members by Class | Institutional Members, United States | Institutional Members by Country, Outside the United States

Each year, demographic data is surveyed from the AACRAO membership. The following contains data from the 2022-2023 membership year.

When AACRAO was founded in 1910, the membership was overwhelmingly comprised of men, which was a reflection of the higher education profession at the time. Much has changed since then and gender identity has become an important issue on campuses for both students and administrators. AACRAO's membership has also evolved over time and has now been comprised of a majority women for over 20 years. Keep track of the ongoing issues with AACRAO's Trending Topic on Gender Identity/Expression.

While just under 60% of AACRAO members do not report on ethnicity, the data from those who do report shows that AACRAO members are a diverse group that is generally reflective of the higher education industry as a whole. How similar is AACRAO's membership to the general trends of U.S. higher education? Check out this IPEDS report to compare for yourself.

AACRAO Committees, specifically those in Group 5, are in place to ensure that our members, and their students, get the recognition they need to succeed in their education and their careers.

All AACRAO institutional members fall into one of six size codes based on a combination of their part-time and full-time enrollment. As evident from the above bar graph, most of AACRAO's institutional members are in the smallest two size codes, which include schools with fewer than 2,500 students. However, when looking at the distribution of individuals across those size codes, a much more even distribution is clear. This means that institutions of all sizes are represented and have equal opportunity to have their voices heard within the association. 

With the steady closing of schools in recent years, particularly for-profit college systems, AACRAO has seen a small decline in the number of member schools. It's important to also recognize that governmental regulations on higher education always vary depending on the current administration, and the shakeup in those regulations can have serious and lasting impacts on the industry. AACRAO Transcript provides members with timely court, industry, and international news as well as the latest developments in the areas of federal relations and compliance.

"Until the Civil War, the American college system was based on the English model. Most colleges stood alone, rather than being part of a university and the baccalaureate was the only degree awarded. Since there was little opportunity for postbaccalaureate study in the United States, students sought higher education abroad. ... Higher education based on the European model, with major emphasis on graduate programs, was achieved in America with the establishment of Johns Hopkins University in 1876." 

Perry, M.R. 1979. Preparing for commencement. In Admissions, Academic Records, and Registrar Services: A Handbook of Policies and Procedures, edited by James C. Quann. San Francisco: Jossy-Bass

While AACRAO has members in all 50 states, California has the most members when counting by institution and people. AACRAO's largest states: California, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Illinois account for a total of 686 institutions. That's roughly 30% of AACRAO's membership in just 5 states.

AACRAO has member institutions from countries all across the globe. While most of these countries have only one or two member institutions, Canada has 79, which accounts for roughly 60% of AACRAO's international members.