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Survey and Reports

The MAA, in partnership with other mathematical sciences organizations, supports data-collection efforts to provide faculty and departments with the information necessary to inform productive decision-making. 

Task Force Reports

Annual Survey of the Mathematical Sciences

The Annual Survey of the Mathematical Sciences collects information each year from departments in the mathematical sciences at four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The data collected on
 
  • New Ph.D. recipients (dissertations, gender, race/ethnicity and citizenship, and employment plans)
  • Faculty (size, recruitment, hiring, and salaries)
  • Graduate students (enrollment status, gender, and citizenship)
  • Degrees awarded (Ph.D., master's, and bachelor's)
  • Course enrollments (graduate and undergraduate)
provides invaluable information to the mathematical sciences community. Specialized peer group analyses are used by department chairs to gain support from administrators for program expansions and faculty salary negotiations.
 

CBMS Statistical Survey of the Mathematical Sciences

The Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) sponsors a national survey of undergraduate mathematical and statistical sciences in the nation's four-year and two-year universities and colleges. The national data collected on
 
  • Enrollments
  • Curriculum
  • Bachelor's degrees awarded
  • Course availability
  • Faculty demographics
  • Special one-time topics, which in the past have included:
    • impact of the calculus-reform movement
    • academic resources available to undergraduates
    • the mathematical education of pre-service K-8 teachers
    • requirements of of the national mathematics major
are of use to academic planners at all levels and department chairs seeking additional resources from college and university administrators. Survey results are used at the state and national level in making a case for greater attention to and funding for programs in mathematics, science, and technology.
 

Quantitative Literacy Reports

This contains information and reports concerning Quantitative Literacy that were formerly located on the website of the National Council on Education and the Disciplines (NCED) at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey. Questions or suggestions should be addressed to the President of the National Numeracy Network or the Chair of the MAA SIG-QL .

Publications and Reports:

  • 2008   Calculation vs. Context: Quantitative Literacy (PDF Format)
  • 2006   Current Practices in Quantitative Literacy (PDF Format)
  • 2004   Achieving Quantitative Literacy: An Urgent Challenge for Higher Education. (PDF Format)
  • 2003   Quantitative Literacy: Why Numeracy Matters for Schools and Colleges. (PDF Format)
  • 2001   Mathematics and Democracy: The Case for Quantitative Literacy. (MAA Bookstore)   (PDF format)
  • 1994   Quantitative Reasoning for College Graduates. (Report of an MAA Committee)

Organizations and Projects: