Introductory geoscience courses in higher education are a major source of public exposure for the geosciences and anecdotally are cited as an important source for recruiting geoscience majors. The number of geoscience majors has been decreasing since a peak in the 1980s, and because of this decrease in the number of majors, some geoscience departments have been under pressure by their institutions to increase the number of students taking introductory geoscience courses.

The American Geological Institute conducted a baseline survey of geoscience departments in the United States about the levels of enrollment in various categories of introductory geoscience courses. The survey resulted in an actual census of 137,180 students in 241 reporting departments. When a simple linear estimation is made from the responding sample, the likely maximum whole enrollment in introductory geoscience courses is approximately 385,000 students.

The 2001 Report focuses on responses received from 347 (46%) of 755 U.S. degree-granting departments of geoscience.