Columbia University Archives: Statistics

Tuition Sources

Tuition figures can be found in several places within our collections.

• Statutes of the College: For the years 1830-1894, tuition is noted in the Statutes of the College. Links to those volumes available digitally are noted below.

• Columbia University Catalogues:  Covering the years 1848-1944/45, these volumes always have a section devoted to “Fees” – whether as part of the statutes in early years or as part of a section devoted to “Fees” in later ones.  If you search a volume on the term “tuition” you will easily find the “Fees” section of the volume containing this information. The link provided will bring you to a list of these volumes available in digital format.
   
•  Annual school course bulletins:  Individual school course bulletins will also note tuition and fees for a particular year. Please visit our research guide to Course Descriptions for full information about our holdings (paper and digital) of individual school bulletins. You can also just visit the Columbia University Bulletins finding aid.  Once you find the bulletin you need, search the publication on the term “tuition” or “fees” to find the relevant pages of information.
   
• Statistical Abstract: Tuition rates from 1994 onward can also be found in the Statistical Abstract issued by the Office of Planning and Institutional Research (OPIR). Please refer to the "Statistical Abstract" tab in this research guide for links to those resources.

Enrollment Sources

Student enrollment information can be found in several different places, depending on the time period.

Early Trustee Minutes

Enrollment figures for early Columbia College can be found partially within the early Trustee Minutes. These minutes only become consistently useful for enrollment statistics beginning in 1810 and ending in 1867.  The minutes for the 19th c. are specific on the number of students attending, the number in each class year, and the curriculum for each particular year. Staff have compiled a list of all the enrollment citations found in this source which covers dates from 12 April 1770 to 1 December 1890:

ENROLLMENT STATISTICS FOUND IN EARLY TRUSTEE MINUTES (PDF file)

Matriculation Books

These volumes contain the earliest enrollment information for Columbia.

The matricula or Register of admissions & graduations, & of officers employed in King's College at New-York (1754-1777) can be found in Columbiana Manuscripts (Box 14).  One can also access digitized copies of both the original manuscript and a more readable typescript.

In the Office of the Registrar Records, there are three volumes of student matriculation information for students enrolled at Columbia College (1785-1896). Information includes names of student, age information, guardian name and address. For a time in the 19th century, the information was written in Latin rather than English. The volumes from 1785-1831 and 1832-1881 were once cataloged publications in the Columbiana book collection (call numbers CH M422 and CH M423, respectively). The volume covering the years 1882-1896 was received from the Office of the Registrar in 2000 and provides information on the last students studying at the 49th Street campus.

University Archives staff compiled statistics about enrollment during the King's College time period by counting names found in original matriculation volumes and other publications housed in our collection. You can access PDFs of the following information:

GRADUATE AND NON-GRADUATE STATISTICS for KING’S COLLEGE & EARLY COLUMBIA COLLEGE (PDF file)

ENROLLMENT STATISTICS CULLED FROM MATRICULATION BOOKS, 1832-1896 (PDF file)

In the above file, enrollment numbers are broken down by class (Senior, Junior, Sophomore, Freshman) and occasionally other categories as noted.  These numbers may be useful as a comparison to those found in the Minutes or President’s reports.

Registrar Reports

In Office of the Registrar Records, one can find a set of published annual reports containing statistical information concerning enrollment and graduates from 1924 through 1976. This run of printed reports does not include reports from 1926, 1927 or 1934. Paper copies must be consulted on site in one of our reading rooms. Links to digitized copies of annual registrar reports from 1924 to 1946 can be easily found within the online finding aid for the President's Annual Reports.

President's Annual Reports

Until the early 1920s, when Registrar Reports were instituted, enrollment figures are usually found towards the beginning of these reports under a section called “attendance” or something similar. Once Registrar Reports were published they were stitched into the back of the President’s Annual Reports volumes, along with other reports from various parts of the school.

We have no president's reports from 1948 until the one for 1968/69 followed by a run from 1975 to 1983. Reports in the 1990s include 1993/94, 1994/95, 1996/97, and 1998/99.  Note that enrollment statistics are given for the report year and the prior year.  Enrollment figures are not part of these reports after 1993.

Annual Financial Reports

Enrollment figures (of varying specificity) can be found in annual financial reports dating from 1966-67 to 2002-2003. Earlier reports tend to have more detail than later ones, but you will always find total University enrollment usually divided between undergraduate and graduate and/or full-time and part-time students. Please see the "Financial Reports" tab in this guide for available digital links to these yearly reports.

Statistical Abstracts

Maintained by the Office of Planning and Institutional Research (OPIR) since 1994, Columbia University's Statistical Abstract provides various enrollment data. Please see the "Statistical Abstracts" tab in this guide for digital links to yearly reports starting in 1997 to the present. Data in the earliest reports will stretch back into the mid-1980s.

The Office of the Provost Records

This collection of administrative records also contain copies of the older Statistical Abstracts as well as files on statistics regarding enrollment and foreign students that stretch back to the 1950s. By searching the container list on the term  "statistics", "statistical" and "foreign" you will find relevant files, including a file about enrollment stats specific to the Business School (Enrollment Statistics 1959-60 to 1982-83,1983) in Box 628. This collection is stored offsite so boxes have to be ordered in advance of a research visit.

Treasurer’s Reports and Financial Statements

Columbia University Archives maintains a collection of Treasurer and Financial reports from 1859 to 2007. You can request paper copies of these volumes by using the call number CD C725 when making a manual request in your Special Collections Research Account.

The following reports are available digitally:

Report of the Treasurer and Annual Financial Reports

1950
1953
1956
1957
1958
The following reports include financial information (income and expenditures, balance sheets, investments) but also enrollment figures.
1966-1967
1968-1969
1969-1970
1970-1971
1971-1972
1972-1973
1974-1975
1983-1984
1984-1985
1985-1986
1986-1987
1993-1994
1994-1995
1995-1996 
1998-2001
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2007-2022 reports can be found on the current Columbia Finance website.

President's Annual Reports

The Annual Reports of the President to the Trustees offer a yearly "state of the University" from 1865 to 1948. The tradition of a printed "Annual report of the President of Columbia College made to the Board of Trustees" started with University President Frederick A.P. Barnard. The reports include current events, facts and figures of students enrolled and degrees conferred, and as well as trends in each school. In addition to the President's remarks, the later reports include the Treasurer's financial reports. Each Dean reports to the President on the previous academic year at their school or division (Columbia College, Law, Business, Journalism, Barnard, Teachers College, etc.) and you will also find reports from the Librarian, the Registrar, the Secretary and other senior administrators. You can find access to the paper copies and links to the digitized reports from 1865-1948 in the President's Annual Reports finding aid.