The Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS)
Advancing Quality in U.S. Postsecondary Administrative Data
Christopher A. Cody, PhD, Principal Researcher/IPEDS Project Director
Roman Ruiz, PhD, Senior Researcher/IPEDS Deputy Project Director

NIAD-QE University Quality Assurance Forum | September 2023

AMERICAN INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH® | AIR.ORG

Copyright © 2023 American Institutes for Research®. All rights reserved.

Agenda1. Brief history of IPEDS and overview of current data collection
2. Data collection and quality control procedures

3. Engagement with data providers and data users
4. IPEDS resources

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Brief History of IPEDS andOverview of Current Data Collection
Christopher A. Cody

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AIR.ORG

Milestones in IPEDS History• 1867: The U.S. Department of Education (ED) was established with the purpose of “collecting
such statistics and facts as shall show the condition and progress of education in the several
States and territories, and of diffusing such information. . . ”• 1966: The Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) was administered between
1966–67 and 1986–87 and included information on institutional characteristics, fall enrollment,
earned degrees conferred, finances, and faculty salaries, among other topics.
• 1974: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) was established and assigned the
responsibility for collecting and disseminating statistics and other data related to education in
the United States.
• 1985: IPEDS was phased in between 1985–86 and 1988–89, beginning with the Institutional
Characteristics (IC) survey. The universe included all institutions whose primary purpose was toprovide postsecondary education programs that were open to the public.
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IPEDS History and Origins Report
The 2023 update of the IPEDS History
and Origins report provides aninventory of IPEDS survey components
and data elements and aligns them totheir legislative origins andrequirements.

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IPEDS Universe• Approximately 6,600
institutions of higher
education (IHEs) report to
IPEDS (this number varies byyear).
• Institutions eligible forfederal student aid programs(Title IV) are required toreport to IPEDS.
• Some non-Title IV eligible
institutions choose to report
to IPEDS.

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IPEDS Universe as Sampling Frame• The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) is anationally representative sample study of postsecondary
institutions and students within those institutions that collects
data on the grants, loans, personal savings, and other sourcesthat students and families use to finance higher education.

IPEDS

NPSAS

• The institution-level sampling frame for NPSAS is constructedfrom the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics (IC) and header
files. Strata are formed by classifying institutions by control(public or private), level, and highest degree offering.
• NPSAS data provide the base-year sample for the Beginning
Postsecondary Students (BPS) longitudinal study and the
Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) longitudinal study.

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BPS

B&B

Legislatively Mandated Institutional Reporting• The HEA Amendments of 1992 (P.L. 102-325) added a provision regarding IPEDS to the Title IV
HEA Student Financial Aid Program Participation Agreement (PPA).
• HEA Sec. 487(a)(17) states that “the institution will complete surveys conducted as a part of theIntegrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) or any other Federal postsecondary
institution data collection effort, as designated by the Secretary, in a timely manner and to thesatisfaction of the Secretary (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(17)).”• The Code of Federal Regulations permit a fine of up to $67,544 for each violation of any
provision of Title IV or any regulation or agreement implementing that Title [20 U.S.C.
1094(c)(3)(B) (Section 487(c)(3)(B) of the HEA)].
• Because Title IV institutions are the primary focus of IPEDS and are required to respond, overall
response rates for Title IV institutions and administrative units are high. For example, theresponse rates in the 2022–23 IPEDS collection were greater than 99 percent for each survey
component.
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Maintaining the IPEDS Universe• Each year IPEDS adds/removes institutions based on review of their Title IV eligibility in the
Postsecondary Education Participants System (PEPS) maintained by the Office of Federal Student
Aid (FSA).
• Eligible institutions are assigned an OPEID, a unique identifier in Office of Postsecondary
Education (OPE) data systems. Only institutions with a main OPEID are required to report to
IPEDS (format 0XXXXX00; begins with “0” and ends with “00”).
• Institutions that have a location OPEID (e.g., ends with “01” to “99”) are sometimes required toreport to IPEDS (e.g., large institutions with multiple campus locations); some of these
institutions voluntarily report to IPEDS.

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Current IPEDS Data Collection• IPEDS comprises 12 interrelated survey components administered annually to all postsecondary
institutions that participate in Title IV federal student aid programs.
• Each collection year is divided into three collection periods: Fall, Winter, and Spring.
Fall(August–October)

Registration•

Institutional
Characteristics Header(IC-H)•

Winter(December–February)

Institutional
Characteristics (IC)••Completions (C)•12-month Enrollment(E12)

Spring(December–April)Student Financial Aid
(SFA)

•

Fall Enrollment (EF)•Finance (F)•Graduation Rates (GR)•

Human Resources (HR)•200% Graduation Rates(GR200)•

Academic Libraries (AL)•

Admissions (ADM)•

Outcome Measures(OM)• See Appendix for additional details on data elements collected by component.
10 | A I R . O R GVariation in IPEDS Data Collected by Institutional Characteristics
Data collected vary based on how institutions respond to certain questions on the IC-Header
component (i.e., registration period) and on screening questions within survey components.
Institutional characteristics that affect specific data collected include the following:• control (i.e., public, private nonprofit, private for-profit)• level (i.e., less than 2-year, 2-year, 4-year)• sector• calendar system (e.g., academic reporter, program reporter)• degree-granting status• number of staff (HR component)• if the institution has tenure system and/or medical school (HR component)

11 | A I R . O R GData Collection andQuality Control Procedures
Roman Ruiz

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AIR.ORG

Keyholders – IPEDS Data Providers• The keyholder is the institutional point of contact with NCES and is responsible for making sure
all applicable survey components are submitted accurately and on time.
• Keyholder tasks include entering data into the web-based data collection system; coordinatingwith other offices on campus to collect the necessary data; running data edits and resolving alledit issues and errors; and locking each component before data collection closes for keyholders.
• If NCES has questions about the data the institution has submitted, the keyholder will becontacted. The keyholder also will receive all prompting emails and other important notices sent
during data collection periods.

13 | A I R . O R GCoordinators• Many states and institution systems have IPEDS coordinators who are responsible for state- orsystem-level coordination of IPEDS submissions.
• Coordinator roles vary by state and system. Some states and systems submit data for institutions
from their own information systems—relieving the institutions of some of the burden forreporting directly to IPEDS—and some coordinators may have different due dates for datasubmission that are not reflected in the federal IPEDS due dates.
• It is the keyholder’s responsibility to know how their role intersects with the coordinator’s rolein terms of shared responsibilities for data submission and the timing of data submission.

14 | A I R . O R GOpening Data Collection
At the beginning of each collection year,
IPEDS provides extensive written guidance,technical documentation, and survey
materials including• survey forms;• reporting instructions;• frequently asked questions (FAQs);• upload file formats (keyed, fixedwidth, XML); and• narrative edits (descriptions of theedits within the data collection).

15 | A I R . O R GEdit Checks• The web-based Data Collection System (DCS) includes programmed “edits” that check forpotential data reliability and validity issues.
• There are two kinds of edit checks that are run in the DCS: screen edits and global edits.
Screen Edits•

Screen edits are run as the data are being entered onto
the screen.

•

These edits might check for such issues as no data
where data are expected and data that sum to
unexpected totals.

•

Screen edit checks are those that can be performed
with the data available within the IPEDS survey
component.

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Global Edits•

Global edits are performed after the data have beenentered and the data reporter clicks on the “Perform
Edits” button.

•

These edit might check for values that are out of the
expected range based on prior year data, other survey
components, or other parameters as decided on by theSurvey Directors.

Edit Check Types• Edits vary in their level of severity and in what steps data reporters must take to resolve them.
• All edits must be resolved before the survey components can be locked and considered
complete.
Edit Type

Description

ExampleConfirmation

An edit check in which the data reporter must simply
confirm the data reported are valid.

An institution reports a 100% fall-to-fallretention rate for its bachelor’s degreeseeking cohort.

Explanation

An edit check in which the data reporter must provide awritten explanation as to why the data reported are
valid.

An institution reports it offers distanceeducation courses and programs (IC) but
reports zero students enrolled in distanceeducation courses (E12).

Fatal

An edit check that does not allow the data reporter to“lock” and submit the survey component but rather
requires that data be corrected or overridden by the
Help Desk or Survey Director.

An institution reports a greater number ofadmitted students than applicants.

17 | A I R . O R GContext Boxes• Context boxes are optional text boxes on survey screens in which data reporters can provide
additional information to help in the interpretation of the data submitted.
• Some context boxes are published on the College Navigator website, an NCES college searchtool.

18 | A I R . O R GIPEDS Help Desk
Research Triangle International (RTI), the contractor for the IPEDS web-based data collection, staffs
a Help Desk Call Center to assist data reporters with submitting accurate data on time.
Key Help Desk responsibilities:• responding to questions via phone and email• helping keyholders resolve edit errors• performing email and phone follow-up prompting for nonresponse• reviewing edit explanations and context notes• alerting NCES to problems and data anomalies• conducting quality control (QC) follow-up on potentially problematic data

19 | A I R . O R GOne Last Chance (OLC) Policy• IPEDS offers a One Last Change (OLC) policy that allows institutions a one-time chance to submit
data in the event they miss a deadline.
• After each seasonal collection period closes, the IPEDS Help Desk contacts institutions thatmissed the reporting deadline and have not already used their OLC.
• Once the Help Desk makes contact, the nonreporting institution has 2 additional weeks tosubmit its data.

• The Help Desk staff can reopen the outstanding survey(s) or work with the keyholder to get thedata cleaned and the survey component locked.

20 | A I R . O R GQuality Control• Quality control (QC) is an iterative process and involves the entire IPEDS team (NCES andcontractors).
• The first line of QC is the edits performed during the data collection process.

• After the data have been collected and migrated, RTI and NCES both perform a series of QC
checks.
• Any cases that are flagged for further review are sent to the Help Desk and the Survey Director
is notified. When necessary, the Help Desk will conduct additional follow-up with institutions toverify or correct submitted data.
• In the rare instance that an institution does not submit data—or does not submit complete
data—data are imputed, usually using a nearest neighbor methodology. Imputed cases are
flagged in IPEDS data files.
21 | A I R . O R GPrior Year Revision System• The Prior Year Revision (PYR) System allows institutions to correct errors made in their prior year
data submissions.
• Survey components open for revision during their regular seasonal data collection period,
except for Fall components, which open a week after the current-year data collection opens.

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Engagement With Data Providers andData Users
Christopher A. Cody

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AIR.ORG

Data Collection Communications• RTI is responsible for all communications with keyholders, coordinators, and CEOs of institutions.
• Key communications include drafting and distributing This Week in IPEDS (TWII), sending
reminder emails at scheduled intervals, and managing of prompting calls for nonrespondents.
• The IPEDS Knowledge Exchange (which also functions as a listserv) is a free online community
for discussion of IPEDS-related questions and topics like best practices and methods for pulling

data from student data systems.
• AIR develops the monthly editorial campaign for the IPEDS Twitter account (@ipeds_nces),
which includes data reporting reminders, data release announcements, and topical statistics. In
2022, AIR published 166 tweets that earned 87,000 impressions.

24 | A I R . O R GIPEDS Help Desk Communications
Help Desk Communications Activity for 2022–23 Data Collection, by Season and Mode
Inbound calls
0

5,000

Fall

WinterSpringEmails received
15,000

4,626

7,354

NOTE: Data are as of April 7, 2023.

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10,000

8,136

5,754

Outbound calls

3,905

2,333

4,220

20,000

8,179

5,337

25,000Conferences and Meetings
Convening

Description

Conferences

NCES and contractors develop presentations on IPEDS-related topics and attend national andregional conferences (e.g., SHEEO, AIR Forum, SAIR, NEAIR, NASFAA) to share IPEDS updates andadvances in data products directly with IPEDS data reporters and users.

Technical Review
Panel (TRP)

Meetings of the IPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP) are conducted by RTI to obtain peer review of
IPEDS-related project plans and products and to foster communications with potential users of thedata. TRP meetings are typically held twice a year over a 2-day period in the Washington, DC, area.
RTI selects a group of TRP panel members (approximately 25) to attend.

National
Postsecondary
Education
Cooperative (NPEC)NPEC is a voluntary organization with members that encompass all sectors of the postsecondary
education community, including federal agencies, postsecondary institutions, associations, andother organizations with a major interest in postsecondary education data collection. NPEC’s
mission is to promote the quality, comparability, and utility of postsecondary data and informationthat support policy development at the federal, state, and institution levels. NPEC shapes theresearch and development agenda for IPEDS by identifying topics that will help improve the data
for the postsecondary education community, consumers, and policymakers.

26 | A I R . O R GIPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP)• RTI invites groups of technical experts to discuss and make suggestions related to• emerging areas of concern;• legislation and regulations affecting IPEDS;• minimizing the time burden of reporting data; and• maintaining and enhancing federal data for data users including policymakers, researchers,
institutions, and the public.

• TRP meetings occur twice a year. Recent past TRP topics include• The IPEDS Finance (F) survey component;• nondegree credentials; and• incarcerated students and federal Pell Grant eligibility.
• TRP summaries are posted on the RTI website for public comment.
27 | A I R . O R GIPEDS Updates and OMB Process
IPEDS follows a cyclical research and development process that results in substantive changes tothe data collection every 3 years following the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance
process.
OMB Clearance Process: IPEDS 2025–26 Through 2027–28
Early 2024

Early Spring 2024

Late Spring 2024

Early Summer 2024

August 2024

Start of 60-day
comment period

Close of 60-day
comment period

Start of 30-day
comment period

Close of 30-day
comment period

Start of IPEDS
data collection

NCES submits proposedchanges for the IPEDS
2025–26 through 2027–
28 data collections
requesting clearance toenable IPEDS to makechanges and to continue
the IPEDS collection of
postsecondary dataover the next 3 years.

NCES reviews andresponds to comments
and makes any necessarychanges.

NCES submits any
revisions to the proposedchanges.

NCES reviews andresponds to comments
and makes any necessarychanges.

New survey materials areavailable on the IPEDS
Survey Materials
webpage.

28 | A I R . O R GIPEDS Resources
Roman Ruiz

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Association for Institutional Research IPEDS Training Center• The Association for Institutional Research(AIR) is an international nonprofit membershiporganization that provides information,
resources, and training for professionals whocollege, analyze, interpret, and communicate
data in higher education. AIR holds thesubcontract for IPEDS training.
• AIR provides training in a variety of modalities:• IPEDS workshops (virtual and in-person)• IPEDS keyholder courses (online)• IPEDS video tutorials (online)• NCES data institute (hybrid)
30 | A I R . O R GData Feedback Report• The Data Feedback Report(DFR) is an annual reportpublished by NCES thatgraphically summarizes selected
IPEDS data, such as enrollment
demographics and student
success outcomes.
• Institutions can use the DFR tocompare and benchmark theirreported data with a group ofpeer institutions.

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Resource Pages
Interactive web-based resource pages provide guidance on key IPEDS topics for data reporters
and users.

32 | A I R . O R GBrochures
Static PDF brochures
serve as primers on key
IPEDS topics, including
specific survey
components andbroader concepts suchas timing of datacollection and data tools.

33 | A I R . O R GTip Sheets
Tips sheets are short guidance documents written for data reporters on IPEDS topics that require
specialized or supplemental information. These sheets help to improve understanding and ensure
accurate reporting.

34 | A I R . O R GData Tools• IPEDS offers a suite of data tools designed for users with a range of experience levels and data
analysis needs.
Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced•

College Navigator•

Data Feedback Report (DFR)•

Custom data files•

Data Explorer•

Statistical tables•

Complete data files•

Data trends (“Trend Generator”)•

Summary tables•

Access database•

Look up an institution•

Compare institutions• In addition to staffing the IPEDS Help Desk Call Center for keyholders and other data reporters,
RTI staffs a second Help Desk to support data users with NCES data tools.

35 | A I R . O R GUse the Data Webpage

36 | A I R . O R GData Tool Examples

37 | A I R . O R GChristopher A. Cody

Roman Ruiz

Principal Researcher/IPEDS Project Director+1.202.403.5000

Senior Researcher/IPEDS Deputy Project Director+1.202.403.5000

AMERICAN INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH® | AIR.ORG

09/23

Appendix

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AIR.ORG

IPEDS Components and Data Elements
Institutional Characteristics (IC)Directory information
Physical and web addresses

Levels of enrollment

Other identification numbers

Mission statement

Control (public, private not-for-profit, private for-profit)

Veteran’s questions

Award levels

Percentage of students with disabilities

Student charges
Cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books and supplies; living costs; othercosts) for full-time, first-time students

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Tuition and fees for full- and part-time students for all undergraduate
students, all graduate students, and selected professional practiceprograms

IPEDS Components and Data Elements (continued)
Fall Enrollment (EF)Level (undergraduate, graduate) and full- or part-time status

Race/ethnicity and gender

Age category (odd years)

Migration (student state of residence; even years)

Distance education enrollment

Retention rates

12-Month Enrollment (E12)
Unduplicated headcountLevel (undergraduate, graduate) and full- or part-time status

Race/ethnicity and gender

Distance education enrollment

Dual enrollment (high school students enrolled for credit)

Instructional activity (number of credit/contact hours)
Undergraduate, graduate, and doctor’s professional practice

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Used to calculate full-time equivalent (FTE) students

IPEDS Components and Data Elements (continued)
Completions (C)Number of degrees, certificates, or other recognized postsecondary credentials (completions)
Race/ethnicity and gender

Level of award

Classification of instruction program (CIP) code

Students who receive a degree, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credentials (completers)
Race/ethnicity and gender

Level of award

Age category

Graduation Rates (GR)Full-time, first-time students only

Race/ethnicity and gender

Bachelor’s and other subcohorts

Completers within 100% and 150% of normal time to completion

Graduation Rates 200 (GR200)
Full-time, first-time students only

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Completers within 200% of normal time to completion

IPEDS Components and Data Elements (continued)
Outcome Measures (OM)
Cohorts
Full- and part-time students

First-time and non-first-time students

Pell Grant recipients and nonrecipients

CountsStudents who have received an award (4, 6, and 8 years)

Students still enrolled at reporting institution (4, 6, and 8 years)

Students subsequently enrolled at another institution (8 years)

Students whose subsequent status is unknown (8 years)

Admissions (ADM)
Admissions considerations

Test scores (SAT/ACT)Counts of applications, admitted, enrolled

Student Financial Aid (SFA)

Aid awarded and average amount of different aid types for different
student subgroups

Information on some Veteran and Defense Department benefits

Calculation of the net price of attendance

Edits to prior years of cost of attendance

43 | A I R . O R GIPEDS components and data elements (continued)
Human Resources (HR)Race/ethnicity and gender

Salaries for instructional staff

Tenure status for facultyStandard Occupational Classifications (SOC) for staff

Finance (F)Revenues and expenses

Scholarships and fellowships (public)/student grants (others)

Endowments

Assets and liabilities

Academic Libraries (AL)
Library collections/circulation

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Expenditures

IPEDS Key Webpages
WebpageURL

IPEDS survey methodology

https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/survey-components/ipeds-survey-methodology

IPEDS survey materials

https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/public/survey-materials/index

IPEDS survey components

https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/survey-components

Use the Data

https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data

Technical Review Panel (TRP)

https://ipedstrp.rti.org/

National Postsecondary Education
Cooperative (NPEC)

https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/join-in/npec

Association for Institutional Research
IPEDS Training Center

https://www.airweb.org/collaborate-learn/ipeds-training-center

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References
Jaquette, O., & Parra, E. E. (2014). Using IPEDS for panel analyses: Core concepts, data challenges, and empiricalapplications. In M. B. Paulsen (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 29, 467–533). Springer
Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8005-6_11
McNeely, E. M. (2023). The history and origins of survey items for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System:2022–23 update (NPEC 2023). U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics.
https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/pdf/NPEC/data/The-History-and-Origins-of-Survey-Items.pdf
Miller E. S., & Shedd J. M. (2019). The history and evolution of IPEDS. New Directions for Institutional Research,2019(181), 47–58. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.20297

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