Total associate degrees conferred by U.S. institutions increased by 11 percent between academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11 to a record high of close to 950,000. Among students of color, the percentage increase was even higher: 13 percent. Students of color received nearly 300,000 associate degrees or about one-third of the 2010-11 total. Among minority groups, African-American and Hispanic students attain nearly equal numbers (close to 120,000 per year each), which is more than three times greater than the next largest minority group, Asian-Americans. The data for this analysis are collected by the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, or NCES, as part of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Set, or IPEDS. This year's Top 100 analysis is based on the associate degrees conferred during the 2010-11 academic year. The collected information is considered preliminary at this point but is complete and accurate for all institutions included in the analysis, which represents the vast majority of U.S. community colleges, four-year colleges and universities.