This collection encompasses material related to the overall administration of The New School from 1928-2008. It includes reports, financial papers, board of trustees meeting agendas and minutes, and documents prepared for accrediting by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The bulk of the files date from the late 1940s-early 1960s and the 1990s-2000s. Of note is "The New School Study" of 1952, also known as the "Swift Report."

This record group consists of photographic records created, commissioned and compiled by The New School's Communications and External Affairs office. The collection consists of images of campus facilities, faculty and administrators, dominated by images of Parsons School of Design classes, the Parsons fashion critics awards, commencement ceremonies, and guests of Inside the Actors Studio. While there are photographs from earlier decades, the prints, negatives, transparencies, and thumbnail printouts of digital image files largely represent the university in the 1990s through early 2000s.

Prior to 1970, when Parsons School of Design was an independent entity, it was led by a president and Board of Trustees. Upon merging with The New School, authority transferred to a central Board of Trustees for The New School and a Board of Overseers for Parsons. The collection includes minutes and reports from before and after the merger. Topics discussed include finances and development, institutional growth, curriculum, and new technologies.