Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS): An Overview
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) stands as the core postsecondary education data collection program for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). As part of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, IPEDS is designed to fulfill NCES's mandate of reporting comprehensive statistics on the state of postsecondary education in the United States, including the Virgin Islands. This article provides an overview of IPEDS, its components, and its significance in understanding the landscape of higher education.
History and Evolution of IPEDS
IPEDS replaced the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) in 1986, expanding the scope to include all institutions whose primary purpose was the provision of postsecondary education. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has collaborated with NCES since 1976 on the collection of data from postsecondary institutions through compliance reports mandated pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, first through HEGIS and then through IPEDS.
In 1998, several factors prompted a redesign of IPEDS, including externally mandated changes, advancements in data collection and dissemination technology, emerging issues in postsecondary education, and rising expectations for IPEDS. A redesign task force recommended a shift from paper forms to a web-based reporting system. This recommendation was implemented for the 2000-01 survey year, marking the transition to a fully web-based data collection system. The web-based survey instruments offer many features to improve the quality and timeliness of the data.
Participation in IPEDS
Institutions under the purview of the Department of Education that participate in or are eligible to participate in any federal student financial assistance program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 are required to report data to IPEDS. These institutions are listed as separate entities in IPEDS and are considered the "main campus," identifiable by an 8-digit OPE ID that starts with 0 and ends with 00. As of 2022-23, IPEDS collected data from 5,983 Title IV postsecondary institutions in the United States and the other jurisdictions.
The Postsecondary Education Participation System (PEPS) is the federal database that tracks PPAs, Title IV eligibility, and OPE ID assignments. Branch campuses and additional locations that conform to the IPEDS definition of branch campus and that share a PPA also report data to IPEDS. Postsecondary institutions that do not participate in Title IV programs can submit data to IPEDS on a voluntary basis; approximately 200 non-Title IV institutions elect to respond each year.
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On a yearly basis, Title IV institutions may be required to complete a reporting map before submitting IPEDS data. An institution’s IPEDS Reporting Map describes how the data from the various additional locations that are listed on the institution’s PPA are accounted for in the institution’s IPEDS reporting. If there are differences between how the institution and additional locations are listed in IPEDS and how they are listed on the PPA, the institution must explain what that means for the institution’s IPEDS reporting, using provided screens.
IPEDS Data Collection and Components
IPEDS collects data three times per year-in the fall, winter, and spring. The IPEDS program consists of several components that obtain information on who provides postsecondary education (institutions), on who participates in and completes the education (students), what programs are offered, what programs are completed, and the human and financial resources involved in the provision of postsecondary education. To avoid duplicate reporting and thus enhance the analytic potential of the database, the various IPEDS data elements and component surveys are interrelated. Survey components are tailored to each institution using institutional characteristics. In general, the most extensive data are collected from postsecondary institutions granting baccalaureate and higher degrees; less extensive data are requested from other types of institutions.
The IPEDS program currently collects information from postsecondary institutions using a combination of survey components. These components are divided into three collection periods: fall, winter, and spring. Here’s an overview of each component:
Fall Collection
The fall collection includes the following components:
Institutional Characteristics (IC): Completed each fall by all operating postsecondary institutions, the Institutional Characteristics component is the core of the IPEDS program. It serves as the control file for the entire IPEDS program and constitutes the sampling frame for all other NCES surveys of postsecondary institutions. It also helps determine the specific IPEDS screens that are shown to each institution. Specific data elements collected include institution name, address, telephone number, web address, control or affiliation, calendar system, levels of degrees and awards offered, types of programs, and student services offered. The IC component also collects information on tuition and required fees data and other cost of attendance data which include room and board charges, books and supplies, and other expenses for full‑time, first‑time students.
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Completions (C): The Completions component collects data each fall on recognized degree completions in postsecondary education programs by level (associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctor’s) and on other formal awards, both sub‑ and post‑baccalaureate. The Completions component also collects information on the availability of programs of study that can be completed entirely through distance education by CIP code and award level (beginning with the 2012‑13 data collection) and information on program completers by age, race/ethnicity, and gender (also with the 2012‑13 data collection).
12-Month Enrollment (E12): This component collects 12-month enrollment data for undergraduate and graduate students, including unduplicated headcounts and instructional activity in contact or credit hours. Instructional activity is used to compute a standardized, 12-month, full-time-equivalent (FTE) enrollment. The unduplicated data include demographic information on race/ethnicity and gender. The collection is based on the previous 12-month reporting period, which is July 1 through June 30.
Winter Collection
The winter collection includes the following components:
Student Financial Aid (SFA): This component gathers student financial aid data on undergraduate students, a cohort of full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students, and two subpopulations of that cohort. The financial aid data collected on the subpopulations are used to calculate the institution’s average net price of attendance, as well as average net price of attendance by income category. Data are collected for the previous aid year. The number of students receiving aid and total amount of aid received are collected for different aid types; the average amount of aid received by type of aid and percent of students receiving aid by type of aid are calculated. For undergraduates, total grant or scholarship aid, Pell grants, and federal loans are the aid types.
Graduation Rates (GR): This component collects data on institutions’ initial cohort of full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students; on the number of those students completing within 150 percent of the normal time; and on the number of students who transferred to other institutions. Four-year institutions report separately on their bachelor’s degree-seeking students. Data are reported by race/ethnicity and gender. These data allow institutions to disclose and/or report information on the completion or graduation rates and transfer-out rates of their students as required by the Student-Right-to-Know Act. Worksheets automatically calculate rates within the web system. One hundred percent graduation rates data are also collected. Beginning in the 201617 collection year, data on cohort size, the number of completers within 150 percent of normal time to completion, and the number of cohort exclusions were collected from further disaggregation of the existing cohorts, which included the subcohort of students who received a Pell Grant and the subcohort of students who received a subsidized Stafford Loan but did not receive a Pell Grant.
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200% Graduation Rates (GR200): This component asks institutions to report additional data on cohort students so that 200% graduation rates can be calculated. Graduation rates at 200 percent of normal time are calculated for full-time, first-time bachelor degree-seeking students at 4-year institutions, and for all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students at less than 4-year institutions.
Outcome Measures (OM): This component collects data from degree-granting institutions on 4 degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate student cohorts, specifically full- and part-time attendance levels for both first-time students and non-first-time-entering students. At each status point, institutions reported the highest level of award students earned as of that status point. For each of the 4 cohorts, the Outcome Measures component is used to collect a status update at 8 years after the cohort entered the institution.
Admissions (ADM): This component is required of all currently operating Title IV postsecondary institutions that enroll first-time undergraduate students and do not have an open admissions policy. Data are collected on admissions requirements, the number of applicants, admitted students, the number of admitted students that subsequently enrolled, and percentiles for ACT and SAT test scores. The number of applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students are disaggregated by gender; enrolled students are further disaggregated by part-time and full-time status.
Other Key Data Collected by IPEDS
In addition to the specific survey components, IPEDS collects a range of data crucial for understanding postsecondary education:
- Institutional Pricing Data: IPEDS collects institutional pricing data from institutions for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students.
- Enrollment Data: This includes fall enrollment (the traditional measure of student access to higher education), residence of first-time students (to monitor the flow of students across state lines and calculate college-going rates by state), age data (to understand the demographics of college-going cohorts), unduplicated 12-month head count (valuable for institutions with non-traditional calendar systems), and total entering class data.
- Student Financial Aid Data: IPEDS collects data on the number of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who receive different types of student financial aid, including grants and loans, from different sources at each institution, as well as data on the average dollar amount of aid received by these students.
- Completions Data: IPEDS collects data on the number of students who complete a postsecondary education program by type of program and level of award, categorized according to the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP).
- Retention Rates: The first-year retention rate measures the percentage of first-year students who persist in or complete their educational program a year later.
- Human Resources Data: IPEDS collects data on the number and type of staff supporting postsecondary education.
- Finances Data: This includes institutional revenues by source, expenditures by category, and assets and liabilities, providing context for understanding the cost of providing postsecondary education.
- Academic Libraries Data: IPEDS collects information on collections, expenditures, and services for libraries at degree-granting institutions.
Accessing and Using IPEDS Data
IPEDS data is a valuable resource for researchers, students, policy specialists, education professionals, and anyone interested in postsecondary students, faculty, staff, and resources. The NCES provides several tools and resources for accessing and analyzing IPEDS data:
- IPEDS Data Center: This online tool allows users to explore and acquire IPEDS data.
- College Navigator: This tool helps users search for colleges based on various characteristics.
- IPEDS Distance Learning Dataset Training System (DLDT): This online tool provides modules that introduce users to IPEDS datasets, design, and considerations for analysis.
The Significance of IPEDS
IPEDS plays a vital role in providing a comprehensive understanding of postsecondary education in the United States. The data collected through IPEDS are used for a variety of purposes, including:
- Policy Development: Policymakers use IPEDS data to inform decisions related to higher education funding, regulation, and accountability.
- Institutional Improvement: Institutions use IPEDS data to benchmark their performance against peer institutions, identify areas for improvement, and track progress toward institutional goals.
- Research: Researchers use IPEDS data to study trends in postsecondary education, examine the factors that influence student success, and evaluate the effectiveness of different educational programs and policies.
- Public Information: IPEDS data are used to provide the public with information about colleges and universities, including enrollment, graduation rates, student financial aid, and faculty characteristics.
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