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 collection contains student, faculty, and staff handbooks from The New School and various divisions and departments within the university. These guides cover student life, degree requirements, information about living in New York City, among other topics. Faculty handbooks offer teaching guidelines and regulations, while materials created for international students provide information on adapting to life in the United States.

The New School oral history program, initiated in 2012, consists of recorded sound interviews conducted by Archives and Special Collections staff and faculty partners to document aspects of university history that may not exist in other recorded formats. Interviewees consist of current and retired New School alumni, administrators, faculty, and staff. Topics cover different academic departments and disciplines, university offices, and affiliated institutes. As of May 2020, there are twenty-six interviews in this collection. Recordings are all in English.