Departmental reports to President Seth Low indicate that he was acting as chief academic officer as well as president of what was Columbia College in 1890 and Columbia University in 1900. Departments received the circular from the President's Office (December 4, 1890 and October 4, 1900) and were asked to provide answers to numbered questions. The reports include the names and rank of current faculty and their current roles, a department's immediate financial needs (for salaries, libraries, and equipment), and what new courses they would like to offer. The 1900 reports include those from the departments of the medical school.

In 1927 the Trustees and President Nicholas Murray Butler considered initiating a major fundraising campaign to expand Columbia's capital resources. The John Price Jones Corporation, which assisted educational, philanthropic, and scientific organizations procure endowments, was hired to organize the campaign. On April 14, 1927 John Price Jones submitted its "Survey and Plan of Fund Raising for Columbia University" to the Trustees. It was estimated at the time that $8,000,000 would be raised for the University at a cost of approximately $250,000. On May 2, however, the Trustees decided not to implement the plan formulated by John Price Jones.

An important element of the study was a questionnaire sent to each of Columbia's academic departments by President Butler. Departments were asked to conduct a self-assessment and to predict their needs for the year 1950. The replies to the questionnaire were confidential and allowed the departments to provide thorough and often blunt evaluations of their role in their academic fields and of their standing compared to their competitors at other universities. They provided John Price Jones with frank and detailed information about the financial requirements and individual accomplishments of Columbia's various departments.