A profile of private liberal arts colleges as a group was constructed from a study of approximately 690 such colleges in the U.S. This study has six chapters, including an introduction that presents a cursory view of some major aspects of the condition of higher education in general. The next four chapters examine trends in institutional and enrollment growth, changes in students and the impact of these changes upon curriculum, the status of faculty and staff, and finances. The final chapter, recapitulates the major trends discussed in the preceding chapters. The text contains 26 tables and the appendix provides 17 additional tables. (Author/SPG)