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Table A-6. Response rates for science, engineering, and health organizational units: 1975–2016

Year Total Total response Complete response Partial response Nonresponse
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
1975a 9,162 8,998 98.2 8,998 98.2 NA NA 164 1.8
1976 9,275 9,148 98.6 9,148 98.6 NA NA 127 1.4
1977 9,513 9,432 99.1 9,432 99.1 NA NA 81 0.9
1978b 8,242 8,077 98.0 8,077 98.0 NA NA 165 2.0
1979 9,796 9,446 96.4 9,446 96.4 NA NA 350 3.6
1980 9,930 9,593 96.6 9,593 96.6 NA NA 337 3.4
1981 9,917 9,207 92.8 8,594 86.7 613 6.2 710 7.2
1982 9,776 8,848 90.5 8,104 82.9 744 7.6 928 9.5
1983 9,663 8,886 92.0 8,070 83.5 816 8.4 777 8.0
1984 8,748 8,133 93.0 7,490 85.6 643 7.4 615 7.0
1985 9,025 8,490 94.1 7,818 86.6 672 7.4 535 5.9
1986 9,097 8,596 94.5 7,817 85.9 779 8.6 501 5.5
1987 9,254 8,745 94.5 8,030 86.8 715 7.7 509 5.5
1988 10,295 9,782 95.0 8,812 85.6 970 9.4 513 5.0
1989 10,318 9,799 95.0 8,908 86.3 891 8.6 519 5.0
1990 10,483 9,937 94.8 8,884 84.7 1,053 10.0 546 5.2
1991 10,705 10,238 95.6 9,052 84.6 1,186 11.1 467 4.4
1992 10,936 10,604 97.0 9,066 82.9 1,538 14.1 332 3.0
1993 11,146 10,711 96.1 9,156 82.1 1,555 14.0 435 3.9
1994 11,411 10,972 96.2 8,863 77.7 2,109 18.5 439 3.8
1995 11,598 11,244 96.9 9,514 82.0 1,730 14.9 354 3.1
1996 11,592 11,373 98.1 9,851 85.0 1,522 13.1 219 1.9
1997 11,597 11,385 98.2 9,720 83.8 1,665 14.4 212 1.8
1998 11,718 11,528 98.4 9,822 83.8 1,706 14.6 190 1.6
1999 11,833 11,685 98.7 9,396 79.4 2,289 19.3 148 1.3
2000 11,899 11,783 99.0 9,818 82.5 1,965 16.5 116 1.0
2001 11,967 11,852 99.0 10,121 84.6 1,731 14.5 115 1.0
2002 12,126 12,001 99.0 10,434 86.0 1,567 12.9 125 1.0
2003 12,261 12,052 98.3 10,343 84.4 1,709 13.9 209 1.7
2004oldc 12,240 12,035 98.3 10,426 85.2 1,609 13.1 205 1.7
2004newd 12,240 11,998 98.0 10,524 86.0 1,474 12.0 242 2.0
2005d 12,396 12,053 97.2 10,783 87.0 1,270 10.2 343 2.8
2006d 12,320 11,991 97.3 10,814 87.8 1,177 9.6 329 2.7
2007e 12,629 12,310 97.5 11,020 87.3 1,290 10.2 319 2.5
2008 13,166 13,010 98.8 11,574 87.9 1,436 10.9 156 1.2
2009 13,285 13,187 99.3 11,709 88.1 1,478 11.1 98 0.7
2010f 13,711 13,583 99.1 11,601 84.6 1,982 14.5 128 0.9
2011f 13,785 13,627 98.9 11,622 84.3 2,005 14.5 158 1.1
2012 13,952 13,898 99.6 11,914 85.4 1,984 14.2 54 0.4
2013 14,019 13,979 99.7 12,056 86.0 1,923 13.7 40 0.3
2014oldg 14,369 14,336 99.8 12,413 86.4 1,923 13.4 33 0.2
2014newg 14,845 14,798 99.7 12,832 86.4 1,966 13.2 47 0.3
2015 15,202 15,119 99.5 12,714 83.6 2,405 15.8 83 0.5
2016 15,853 15,774 99.5 13,617 85.9 2,157 13.6 79 0.5
NA = not available; organizational units providing partial responses are included in complete response column prior to 1981 and reported separately beginning in 1981.
a The 1976 survey also collected 1975 data from master's-granting institutions.
b Master's-granting institutions were not surveyed in 1978; totals represent estimates based on 1977 and 1979 data.
c Calculated using response-rate formula used through 2003. See appendix A, "Technical Notes."
d Calculated using response-rate formula used from 2004 to 2006. Schools closed in 2005 because of Hurricane Katrina were counted as nonrespondents.
e Calculated using response-rate formula implemented in 2007. See appendix A, "Technical Notes."
f The 2010 and 2011 postdoctoral appointees (postdocs) and doctorate-holding nonfaculty researcher data were reimputed following the 2012 data collection; these numbers have been updated to reflect the reimputed data and supersede those contained in previous reports.
g In 2014, the survey frame was updated following a comprehensive frame evaluation study. The study identified potentially eligible but not previously surveyed academic institutions in the United States with master's- or doctorate-granting programs in science, engineering, or health. A total of 151 newly eligible institutions were added, and two private for-profit institutions offering mostly practitioner-based graduate degrees were determined to be ineligible.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.