The New School central administration collection consists of reports, surveys, budgets, board and committee meeting minutes. This material was primarily created or commissioned by The New School President's office, administrators, department chairs, and the board of trustees. While the collection contains material from the late 1920s through the early years of the twenty-first century, the bulk of the contents are from the late 1940s-1950s and from the 1990s.

A large part of the collection consists of reports, written for both internal and external audiences. These reports, which span from 1928 to 2003, provide valuable insight into the programs, student body, faculty, administrative structure, and finances of The New School at various points in its history. The reports also often contain reflections on the past and future of The New School, with recommendations for new directions and strategies. Among the most significant reports in this collection is the The New School Study of 1952, also known as the "Swift Report," after the director of the study, sociologist Arthur Swift. The Swift Report was one of the first attempts at a comprehensive understanding of The New School's structure, programs, mission, and future. It led the administration and board to reevaluate many aspects of the university. The collection contains drafts of the Swift Report, supplementary information, and a report from the board of trustees on actions taken in response. Other reports include those on specific programs and departments and those related to particular aspects of the administration of the school including finances, affirmative action, and exploratory reports on the creation of new programs.

The reports contain extensive information on the 1963 budget crisis, and the resulting fundraising campaign. Also in the reports are court documents related to the 1970 student occuption of The New School's Graduate Faculty building in protest of the Vietnam War.

Material from the board of trustees includes meeting minutes, agendas, memoranda, statements from the board, and additional reports. The years 1955-1960 are particularly well covered by these records. Additionally, the board of trustees series contains agendas, minutes, and memoranda from a number of committees. Of note are the responses from an Evaluation Committee survey of New School lecturers. This 1948 survey questioned lecturers on what they believed to be the strengths and weaknesses of the university.

The series "Middle States Association" consists of accreditation reports prepared by The New School from the 1960s through 2003. These reports contain detailed study body statistics, overviews of the university's mission and history, and descriptions of specific schools and programs.

The 1990s and 2000s at The New School are represented in the series "University Discussion Papers," also known as Seminar Papers. These papers present information "about important aspects of the University and overviews of current issues and topics of interest to the University community." The topics were sometimes reports from specific departments or committees, or presentations on general trends in higher education. The program seems to have been initiated in the fall of 1994 and continued at least through 2008, though sometimes under the title "Seminar Papers." These should not be confused with the popular academic lectures, called "General Seminars," at which Graduate Faculty members presented papers.