Welcome to the College Health Surveillance Network

The information presented here, abstracted from the College Health Surveillance Network (CHSN), provides a current glimpse into the health concerns of students attending 4–year universities in the United States. CHSN, a project supported by the CDC and the University of Virginia, provides the first national database specific to the epidemiologic trends and health service utilization for college students. To view an overview with CHSN's Executive Director, please click here

For the last decade, students enrolled in colleges and universities have consistently represented more than one-third of the young adult population of the United States. Currently over 18 million students are enrolled in American institutions of higher education (IHEs).  Only 10.6% of the 105,781 students surveyed at 129 IHEs reported living at home (Spring 2011 ACHA-NCHA survey). Despite the fact that Student Health Centers are the primary source of health services for this large and important segment of the United States, there has been no national database of health related information for this population. In an era in which health policies and plans are typically guided by data, we remain relatively blind to information about the diagnoses, epidemiologic trends and health care needs of young adults attending colleges and universities. This project establishes the necessary foundation for identifying the health concerns and preventive health needs of college students as a unique population. For questions, please contact CHSN

Currently, twenty 4-year universities, from all geographic regions of the United States, contribute data monthly to CHSN. All data is abstracted from the de-identified electronic medical records maintained by the Student Health Center at each university. Each university uploads current data monthly.

The table below describes the characteristics of the sample. Click on Trends to see some of the latest information about college students’ health and use of student health services.

  
   

CHSN TOTAL ENROLLMENTa DEMOGRAPHICS BY U.S. CENSUS REGIONb

REGION

# of IHEsc

TOTAL ENROLLMENT

TOTAL UNDERGRAD.

ENROLLMENT

TOTAL MALE ENROLLMENT

Age:

< 18d

Age:

18-24d

Age:

25-34b

Age: 35+d

Age: Unknownd

NORTHEAST

6

174,271

102,141 (58.6%)

85,364

(50%)

1,283

 

112,266

 

49,806

 

10,264

 

6,202

 

SOUTH

7

214,749

 

164,240

(76.5%)

99,057

(46.1%)

1,423

159,448

38,360

15,514

4

MIDWEST

4

165,318

124,002

(75%)

83,916

(50.8%)

1,047

126,362

29,075

8,834

0

WEST

2

53,497

 

42,359

(79.2%)

26,145

(48.9%)

456

40,024

8,820

4,194

3

TOTAL

19

607,835

432,742

(71.2%)

294,482

(48.4%)

4,209

438,100

126,061

38,806

6,209

 

CHSN TOTAL ENROLLMENTa RACIAL DEMOGRAPHICS BY U.S. CENSUS REGIONb

REGION

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Hispanic

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more races

Race/ethnicity unknown

Nonresident alien

NORTHEAST

420

(0.2%)

19,623

(11.3%)

8,206

(4.7%)

9,930

(5.7%)

96

(0.06%)

89,493

(51.4%)

2,804

(1.6%)

18,362

(10.5%)

25,337

(14.6%)

SOUTH

1179

(0.5%)

11,102

(5.2%)

19,688

(9.2%)

18,184

(8.5%)

169

(0.08%)

145,660

(67.82%)

2,418

(1.1%)

6,065

(2.8%)

10,284

(4.8%)

MIDWEST

530

(0.3%)

7,405

(4.5%)

6,850

(4.1%)

5,485

(3.3%)

140

(0.08%)

123,336

(74.6%)

1,801

(1.1%)

4,095

(2.5%)

15,736

(9.52%)

WEST

352

(0.7%)

1912

(3.6%)

978

(1.8%)

3,172

(5.9%)

209

(0.4%)

39,316

(73.5%)

1,569

(2.9%)

3,034

(5.7%)

2,955

(5.5%)

TOTAL

2,481

(0.4%)

40,042

(6.6%)

35,722

(5.9%)

36,771

(6%)

614

(0.1%)

397,805

(65.4%)

8,592

(1.4%)

31,556

(5.2%)

54,312

(8.9%)

a Numbers represent the most recent semester enrollment data available from IPEDS for each institution (Fall 2010)

b U.S. Census regions are as follows: North East (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NJ, NY, PA) ; South (DE, MD, DC, WV, VA, NC, GA, FL, KY, TN, AL, MS, AR, LA, OK, TX); Midwest (ND, MN, SD, IA, NE, KS, IA, MO, WI, MI, IL, IN, OH); West (AK, HI, WA, OR, CA, MT, ID, WY, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM)

c Institutions of Higher Education

d There are several IHEs within the College Health Surveillance Network that report Age data biennially so the totals in the age categories do not match the enrollment totals which are reported annually.