Gainful Employment Informational Rate Data Description

The unit of analysis for the informational rate data file is the unique combination of opeid6, credlev, and 

cipcode. The universe of programs includes programs with at least one completer reported to IPEDS in 

2014-15 and/or 2015-16 and programs with reported earnings data from the IRS with at least 30 

reported individuals in the cohort. The universe of programs excludes those in foreign institutions and 

programs in institutions that are not currently operating.

Data element Description

opeid6 Six-digit Office of Postsecondary Education Identification Number

instnm Institution name

state State where the institution is located

control Control of institution

hbcu_flag HBCU flag assigned at the opeid6 [1=Yes 0=No]

tccu_flag Tribally controlled college/university flag [1=Yes 0=No]

cipcode Four-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code

ciptitle Description of the cipcode

credlev

Credential level code:

1: Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas

2: Associate’s Degrees

3: Bachelor’s Degrees

4: Post-Baccalaureate Certificates

5: Master’s Degrees

6: Doctoral Degrees

7: First Professional Degrees

8: Graduate / Professional Certificates

creddesc Credential level description

geprogram Gainful Employment (GE) program [1=Yes 0=No]

inDTE GE program with debt to earnings data n>30

inET GE program with earnings data n>30

ipeds_c

Count of completers reported to IPEDS in 2014-15 and 2015-16 for 

all associated programs1

earn_count_ne_3yr

Count of individuals used in the annual earnings calculation for GE 

programs

earn_ne_mdn_3yr

Annual earnings of individuals who completed in 2014-15 and 2015-

16 three years post-completion for GE programs with at least 30 

individuals in the calculation reported in 2019 inflation-adjusted 

dollars

earnings_threshold_pass_all

Program median earnings > median earnings of a high school

graduate aged 25-34 in the state,

2 among all graduates [1=Yes 

0=No]

1

See appendix for crosswalk methodology between IPEDS award levels and credential levels 

2

For jurisdictions not included in the ACS, 150% of the Federal Poverty Level was used (i.e., $18,735 for 2019)
earnings_threshold_pass_pos

Program median earnings > median earnings of a high school 

graduate aged 25-34 in the state, among graduates with positive 

earnings [1=Yes 0=No]

median_debt_plus

Cumulative median debt calculations inflation-adjusted to 2016 

dollars including Stafford loans, graduate PLUS loans, and parent 

PLUS loans for students who completed in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

annual_loan_payment_plus

The annual loan payment with parent PLUS derived from the 

cumulative median debt calculation amortized using at 10-, 15-, or 

20-year payment scheme depending on the credential level and 

interest rates based on the average between 2014 and 2016. 

Undergraduate interest rates apply to undergraduate programs and 

graduate interest rates apply to graduate programs.

dte_annual_rate_plus

Annual rate with Parent PLUS = annual loan payment with Parent 

PLUS/ annual earnings

dte_disc_rate_plus

Discretionary rate = annual loan payment with parent PLUS / 

(annual earnings - 150% of poverty in 2019 ($18,735))

dte_overall_pass_plus Overall passing status (with PLUS) [1=PASS or non-GE, 0=FAIL]

dte_annual_rate_pass_plus Annual passing status (with PLUS) [1=PASS or non-GE, 0=FAIL]

dte_disc_rate_pass_plus Discretionary passing status (with PLUS) [1=PASS or non-GE, 0=FAIL]

pfDTE

For DTE: Pass – no data or non-GE program; Pass – based on GE 

data; or Fail – based on GE data (with PLUS)

pfET

For ET: Pass – no data or non-GE program; Pass – based on GE data; 

or Fail – based on GE data. Uses earnings_threshold_pass_pos.

gesector

Categorizes programs by credential and, for certificate programs 

only, by control; see geprogram for an indicator of which programs 

are GE programs

st_fips State FIPS code

state_mdincearn

Median earnings for a high school graduate (age 25-34) in the state 

where the institution is located, according to 2019 American 

Community Survey (ACS); jurisdictions not covered in ACS are set to 

150% of the federal poverty level for an individual in 2019

state_mdincearn_lf

Median earnings for a high school graduate (age 25-34) in the state 

where the institution is located, who were in the labor force or had 

positive earnings according to 2019 American Community Survey 

(ACS); jurisdictions not covered in ACS are set to 150% of the 

federal poverty level for an individual in 2019
Appendix 1. Correspondence of NSLDS credential level to IPEDS award level 

NSLDS Credential Level IPEDS Completions Data Award Levels 

Aggregated

1: Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas Certificates of less than 1 year, 

at least 1 but less than 2 years, or 

at least 2 but less than 4 years

2: Associate’s Degrees Associate’s degrees

3: Bachelor’s Degrees Bachelor’s degrees

4: Post-Baccalaureate Certificates Not available

5: Master’s Degrees Master’s degrees

6: Doctoral Degrees Doctoral degrees – research/scholarship

Doctoral degrees – other

7: First Professional Degrees Doctoral degrees – professional practice

8: Graduate / Professional Certificates Postbaccalaureate certificates

Post-master’s certificates