A study was conducted to assess the implications of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) amendments of 1978 that raises the mandatory retirement age for faculty. Tenured employees of colleges and universities may be retired between the ages of 65 and 70 until July 1, 1982, at which time the age 70 minimum retirement goes into effect. The purposes of the study are to generate a data base for assessing the effect of the ADEA amendments on higher education nationally and to determine what answers the data, in conjuction with findings from other recent studies, can provide to some of the more critical questions. Questionnaires were mailed to higher education institutions to obtain statistical breakdowns by age for both tenured and nontenured faculty members and to supply age-specific data on the number of vacancies created by faculty members during the current academic year (1977-78) and the three preceding years. Information was also requested on policies related to retirement, tenure, and the institution's provision of retirement benefits for faculty members. (SW)