The Atlas of American Higher Education - Hardcover

James W. Fonseca is Professor of Geography and Dean of Ohio University-Zanesville

The book is divided into 10 chapters, with 86 maps in all. The first includes maps that give background information to aid in interpretation of the data presented in the rest of the chapters. Maps showing U.S. population, the distribution of African American and Hispanic populations, and household income are here. The following chapters contain maps that chart enrollment, students and faculty, cultural diversity, specialized institutions, two-year colleges, outcomes of higher education, student costs and student aid, and the financing of higher education. The last chapter summarizes major findings. Tables citing the original source of the maps form an appendix. A bibliography of sources and a subject index are also included.

Some of the maps are surface maps, in which the distribution of dollars or population appears as a topographic surface. Most are choropleth maps, in which quantities and ratios are assigned different shadings and plotted on a state-by-state basis. The authors state in the introduction that, in most cases, they have divided data into three categories in order to keep the maps clear and simple. They have also made an effort to emphasize regional differences by their choices of data intervals. For instance, by breaking the data set for the distribution of minorities in higher education into just three groups (less than 7 percent, 7-15 percent, and more than 15 percent), the authors create a map that shows a peripheral rim of eastern, southern, and western states with the highest percentages of minorities in higher education, and the midwestern and north-central states with the lowest. Had the data been broken into a greater number of equal intervals, the map would have less impact. Each map is accompanied by a lengthy analysis of the data, including references to the original statistics and other maps that may help to further understanding. Some maps, such as the "Summary Map," can be interpreted only after reading the accompanying text. Most are self-explanatory, with such titles as "Educational Attainment: Hispanics (Proportion Over 25 with 4 or More Years of College, by Region, 1989)."

Libraries serving college and university administrators, public policymakers, educators, and geographers will find this atlas useful because of its unique approach to statistical information.