2012 - 2013

IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook

NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 1 

IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook

Overview of IPEDS......................................................................................................................................... 3

What is IPEDS? .......................................................................................................................................... 3

How is IPEDS Used? .................................................................................................................................. 3

Which Institutions Report to IPEDS?......................................................................................................... 3

Importance of the Keyholder’s Job............................................................................................................... 4

Description of IPEDS Survey Components and Data..................................................................................... 7

Keyholder Responsibilities..........................................................................................................................10

Submit accurate data on time.................................................................................................................10

Manage and coordinate all aspects of data submission.........................................................................10

Be the institutional point of contact.......................................................................................................10

Work with your state and system...........................................................................................................10

Stay informed..........................................................................................................................................10

 Contact the Help Desk... ..........................................................................................................11

Getting Ready for Data Submission ............................................................................................................12

Data Submission Calendar......................................................................................................................12

Prior Year Revision System Calendar......................................................................................................12

Key Survey Concepts and Common Pitfalls ................................................................................................17

General IPEDS .........................................................................................................................................17

Reporting Map ........................................................................................................................................18

Institutional Characteristics – Header Information ................................................................................19

Institutional Characteristics....................................................................................................................21

Student Financial Aid ..............................................................................................................................23

Enrollment ..............................................................................................................................................26

Completions............................................................................................................................................29

Graduation Rates....................................................................................................................................31

Human Resources...................................................................................................................................33

Finance....................................................................................................................................................34

Using the IPEDS Data Collection System.....................................................................................................38
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 2 

Entering Data ..........................................................................................................................................40

Edits and Errors.......................................................................................................................................41

Resolving Errors ......................................................................................................................................42

Explanation Edits and Context Boxes......................................................................................................43

Locking a Survey......................................................................................................................................46

................................................................................................................................................................46

Help Menu ..............................................................................................................................................47

................................................................................................................................................................47

Communications from NCES.......................................................................................................................48

Tips from Veteran Keyholders and the IPEDS Help Desk............................................................................50

IPEDS Resources – Where to Get Help .......................................................................................................57

IPEDS Training .........................................................................................................................................57

Online Tutorials.......................................................................................................................................58

Face-to-face Workshops.........................................................................................................................58

IPEDS Listserv ..........................................................................................................................................59

IPEDS Website.........................................................................................................................................59

Data Collection System Tutorial..............................................................................................................60

Using IPEDS Data.........................................................................................................................................61

Data Availability ......................................................................................................................................61

IPEDS Data Center...................................................................................................................................62

College Navigator....................................................................................................................................65

College Affordability and Transparency Center......................................................................................65

Data Feedback Report (DFR) and Executive Peer Tool (ExPT) ................................................................66

Tabulated Data........................................................................................................................................67

If you need help using IPEDS data...........................................................................................................68

Additional Information................................................................................................................................69

List of Acronyms......................................................................................................................................69

Useful Websites......................................................................................................................................70

Statutory Requirements for Reporting IPEDS Data; Penalties for Noncompliance................................71
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 3 

Overview of IPEDS

WHAT IS IPEDS?

IPEDS is the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. It is a system of interrelated surveys 

conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics 

(NCES). IPEDS gathers information from every college, university, and technical and vocational 

institution that participates in Title IV federal student financial aid programs. The Higher Education Act 

of 1965, as amended, requires that institutions that participate in federal student aid programs report 

data on enrollments, program completions, graduation rates, faculty and staff, finances, institutional 

prices, and student financial aid. These data are made available to students and parents through the 

College Navigator college search Web site and to researchers and others through the IPEDS Data Center. 

HOW IS IPEDS USED?

IPEDS provides basic data needed to describe — and analyze trends in — 

postsecondary education in the United States, in terms of the numbers of students 

enrolled, staff employed, dollars expended, and degrees earned. Congress, federal 

agencies, state governments, education providers, professional associations, private 

businesses, media, students and parents, and others rely on IPEDS data for this basic 

information on postsecondary institutions.

WHICH INSTITUTIONS REPORT TO IPEDS?

The completion of all IPEDS surveys is mandatory for institutions that participate in 

or are applicants for participation in any federal student financial aid program (such 

as Pell grants and federal student loans) authorized by Title IV of the Higher 

Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 USC 1094, Section 487(a)(17) and 34 CFR 

668.14(b)(19)).

More than 7,000 institutions complete IPEDS surveys each year. These include 

research universities, state colleges and universities, private religious and liberal 

arts colleges, for-profit institutions, community and technical colleges, non-degreegranting institutions such as beauty colleges, and others. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 4 

Importance of the Keyholder’s Job

As an IPEDS keyholder, responsible for the submission of all IPEDS data for your institution, you have an 

important job. The quality and accuracy of your institution’s IPEDS data depend on you. 

The completion of all IPEDS surveys, in a timely and 

accurate manner, is mandatory for all institutions that 

participate in or are applicants for participation in any 

Federal financial assistance program authorized by 

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Submitting IPEDS data accurately and on time ensures that 

your institution will meet its Program Participation Agreement for participation in Title IV federal 

student financial aid programs with the US Department of Education. In this way, your institution will 

avoid fines and other possible penalties for noncompliance with IPEDS reporting requirements.

IPEDS data are a public face of your institution. They are used by students and parents, through the 

College Navigator website, to aid in the college search process; at the federal, state, and local level for 

policy analysis and development; by institutions for benchmarking and peer analysis; and by 

professional associations, private businesses, and the media. 

College Navigator is a consumer 

information and college search tool. It 

was designed to help college students, 

prospective students, and their parents 

understand the differences between 

colleges and how much it costs to attend 

college. Most of the data displayed on 

College Navigator is submitted through 

IPEDS. Users can select colleges based on 

location, programs, degree offerings, and 

a number of other characteristics, and 

obtain information on admissions, 

estimated student expenses, student 

financial aid awarded, retention and graduation rates, enrollment, completions, accreditation status, 

campus security, and varsity athletic teams. It allows users to designate favorite institutions, compare 

up to four institutions side-by-side, save sessions, and download and print out information on 

institutions. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 5 

The College Affordability and 

Transparency Center displays 

information about tuition and net 

prices at postsecondary institutions. 

The site highlights institutions with 

high and low tuition and fees as well 

as high and low net prices (the price 

of attendance minus grant and 

scholarship aid). It also shows 

institutions where tuition and fees 

and net prices are increasing at the 

highest rates. These lists are made 

from the IPEDS data you submit. 

IPEDS data are displayed on the 

FAFSA online form. As potential 

students apply for financial aid, they 

can see the tuition and fees, average 

net price, graduation rates, retention 

rates, and transfer rates for the 

schools they’re interested in. 

IPEDS data are used at the Federal, state, and local levels for 

policy analysis and development. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 6 

Each fall, you and your institution’s Chief Executive Officer 

receive a copy of your institution’s personalized IPEDS Data 

Feedback Report. This report uses graphs to compare your 

institution’s data for selected items to data reported by a group 

of comparison institutions. The result is an annual report that is 

hopefully useful to institutional executives and institutions for 

benchmarking and peer analysis, and that can help improve the 

quality and comparability of IPEDS data. PDF versions of the 

reports are available to institutions and the public from the 

Data Center and Executive Peer Tool (ExPT). 

IPEDS data are published by NCES in First Look publications, 

Web Tables state and sector reports, and are used in the Digest 

of Education Statistics and The Condition of Education.

Finally, IPEDS data are used by 

institutions, researchers, education 

providers, professional associations, 

private businesses, the media, and 

many others through the IPEDS Data 

Center.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 7 

Description of IPEDS Survey Components 

and Data

The following pages list the IPEDS survey components and the data collected by each. 

Institutions are required to submit data for all survey components, unless the data do not apply to them 

(for example, if an institution admits only graduate students, and therefore has no full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students, the Graduation Rates surveys would not apply). The 

Data Collection System will determine whether a survey component is applicable or not. If you have 

questions about this, contact the IPEDS Help Desk at 1-877-225-2568, or ipedshelp@rti.org. 

Survey components are customized for each institution, based on institutional characteristics such as 

levels of program offerings (undergraduate, graduate) and institutional control (public, private not-forprofit, and private for-profit), and on answers provided by the keyholder to screening questions (for 

example, Does your institution employ part-time staff?).

IPEDS SURVEY COMPONENTS

Collection / Component Cycle Data

REGISTRATION

IC Header

Institutional Identification

Annual • Address; telephone number; websites

• Control and affiliation

• Calendar system

• Levels of awards offered

FALL COLLECTION

Institutional Characteristics 

(IC)

Annual • Admissions requirements 

• Institutional price/cost data for full-time, first-time, 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students 

o Displayed on College Navigator website, and 

used to calculate average net price of 

attendance, as required by HEOA

• Tuition and required fees by level or program

• Room and board charges 

Completions (C) Annual • Number of awards conferred by program (6-digit CIP 

code), by level (associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, 

doctor’s, certificates), and by race/ethnicity and gender 

of recipient 

• Number of completers, separately by race/ethnicity, 

gender, age, and level of award
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 8 

IPEDS SURVEY COMPONENTS

Collection / Component Cycle Data

FALL COLLECTION, continued

12-month Enrollment (E12) Annual • 12-month unduplicated headcount, by level of student 

and race/ethnicity and gender

• Full year instructional activity, measured in credit and/or 

contact hours

o Used to compute full-time equivalent (FTE) 

enrollment

WINTER COLLECTION

Student Financial Aid (SFA) Annual • Number and percent of undergraduate and of full-time, 

first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate 

students receiving student financial aid, by type of aid 

and average amount of aid received 

o Displayed on the College Navigator website and 

used to calculate institutional average net price 

and net price by income, as required by HEOA

SPRING COLLECTION

Fall Enrollment (EF) Annual • Full- and part-time fall enrollments by level, by 

race/ethnicity and gender of student

o Four-year institutions report enrollment data by 

level, race/ethnicity, and gender for 9 selected 

fields of study (even-numbered years) 

• Number of students engaged in distance education, by 

level and location

• Age distributions by student level (odd-numbered years) 

• State of residence of first-time first-year students (evennumbered years) 

• Total number of students in the entering class

• Fall-to-fall retention rates of full-time and part-time, 

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate 

students (less than 4-year institutions), and first-time 

bachelor’s degree-seeking students (4-year institutions) 

Graduation Rates (GR) Annual • Numbers of students entering the institution as fulltime, first-time, degree or certificate-seeking in a 

particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender

• Number completing within 150% of normal time to 

program completion

• Number transferred to other institutions

• Developed to help institutions comply with 

requirements of Student Right-to-Know

• Worksheets are provided to calculate rates

200% Graduation Rates 

(GR200)

Annual • 200 percent graduation rates, as required by HEOA 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 9 

IPEDS SURVEY COMPONENTS

Collection / Component Cycle Data

SPRING COLLECTION, continued

Human Resources (HR) Annual • Employees by primary occupational activity, faculty 

status, full and part time (collected separately for 

medical schools) 

• Full-time instructional staff by academic rank, gender, 

and contract length/teaching period

• Total salary outlay and number of months covered, by 

academic rank and gender

Biennial 

(oddnumbered 

years)

• Full-time and part-time employees by primary 

occupational activity, race/ethnicity and gender

• New hires by primary occupational activity, 

race/ethnicity and gender

Finance (F) Annual • Revenues by source (e.g., tuition and fees, government, 

private gifts)

• Expenses by function (e.g., instruction, research, plant 

maintenance and operation)

• Scholarships, physical plant assets and indebtedness

• Assets, liabilities and net assets

• Different formats are used based on the institution’s 

accounting standards (GASB or FASB)
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 10

Keyholder Responsibilities

 SUBMIT ACCURATE DATA ON TIME

The primary responsibility of an IPEDS keyholder is to make sure all applicable survey components are 

submitted accurately and on time. This includes entering data into the web-based Data Collection 

System, running the edits and resolving all edit issues and errors, and locking each component. All this 

must be completed by the time the data collection closes to keyholders.

 MANAGE AND COORDINATE ALL ASPECTS OF DATA SUBMISSION

In order to submit accurate data on time, you must manage and coordinate all aspects of data 

submission on your campus, even if others on campus actually complete some components or assist by 

extracting the data from information systems. So it may be necessary for you to work with other offices 

to compile the necessary data. An important part of this coordination is to make sure the other offices 

have all the information and materials they need (blank forms, survey instructions, upload 

specifications, access to the glossary, etc.). You may also need to arrange for others to have access to 

the Data Collection System, by generating and issuing UserIDs and passwords.

 BE THE INSTITUTIONAL POINT OF CONTACT

You must register in the IPEDS Data Collection System and keep your contact information current at all 

times. As the keyholder, you are the institutional point of contact with NCES. If the Help Desk or survey 

directors have questions about the data your institution submitted, you will be contacted. You will also 

receive all prompting emails and other important notices sent out during the data collection periods.

 WORK WITH YOUR STATE AND SYSTEM

Many states and systems have IPEDS coordinators who are responsible for state- or system-level 

coordination of IPEDS submissions. Roles filled by these coordinators vary from state to state and 

system to system. If your institution is coordinated at one of these levels, it is your responsibility to 

know how your role intersects with the coordinator’s role in the IPEDS data submission process. Also, it 

is your responsibility to communicate with state and system coordinators concerning shared 

responsibilities for data submission and the timing of data submission; some states and systems submit 

data for institutions from their own information systems, relieving the institutions of some of the 

burden for reporting directly to IPEDS, and some coordinators may have different due dates for data 

submission that are not reflected in the federal IPEDS due dates.

 STAY INFORMED... 

NCES sends out information regularly in “This Week in IPEDS,” an electronic update sent via email, and 

through the Message Center in the Data Collection System. Be sure to read these updates, as they 

include important and useful information. Training notices are also sent out via email. And consider 

signing up for the IPEDS Listserv, which will allow you to learn from colleagues as they discuss issues 

surrounding IPEDS reporting (and you can join in the discussion, too!). 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 11

 CONTACT THE HELP DESK...

B you are responsible for making sure all IPEDS data are submitted for your institution, please 

remember to contact the Help Desk in the following situations:

• If you do not receive a UserID and password every August; 

• If the list of applicable surveys in the Data Collection System is not correct; 

• If a survey status is not correct; 

• If you have questions about survey instructions, glossary definitions, time periods for reporting; 

• If you have problems entering data; 

• If you have problems resolving edit failures; 

• If you have problems locking your data; 

• If you have questions concerning ANY followup email; 

• If you have any other questions about IPEDS data submission. 

The IPEDS Help Desk receives consistently high ratings from keyholders and coordinators for customer 

service, helpfulness, and knowledge of IPEDS. They’re there to help you get your IPEDS data submitted 

accurately and on time. 

The Help Desk phone number is at the top of each screen in the Data Collection System:

IPEDS Help Desk

1-877-225-2568

ipedshelp@rti.org
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 12

Getting Ready for Data Submission

The first thing we suggest you do is to familiarize yourself with the data collection schedule for the 

year. The 2012-13 data collection calendar is shown below. At the end of this manual is a 

calendar that you can print out and post on your bulletin board for easy reference, and give to 

others in your institution who help with IPEDS data submission; an electronic version is available 

through the Data Provider Center. 

DATA SUBMISSION CALENDAR

IPEDS 2012-13 

Data Collection Calendar

(Keyholder UserIDs start with P or 88G)

Registration Opens 8/8 Registration

Report Mapping

Institution Identification

IC Header

Fall Collection Opens 9/5

Keyholder close 10/17

Coordinator close 10/31

Institutional Characteristics (IC)

Completions (C)

12-month Enrollment (E12)

Winter Collection Opens 12/5

Keyholder close 2/6

Coordinator close 2/20

Student Financial Aid (SFA)

Spring Collection Opens 12/5

Keyholder close 4/10

Coordinator close 4/24

Fall Enrollment (EF)

Graduation Rates (GR)

200% Graduation Rates (GR200)

Finance (F)

Human Resources (HR)

PRIOR YEAR REVISION SYSTEM CALENDAR

Revisions to data submitted by your institution last year (that is, during the 2011-12 data collection) can 

be made through the IPEDS Prior Year Revision System. Components will be open for revision during 

their regular collection period. For example, revisions to the Completions component submitted last 

year can be made during the current year Fall collection period. 

1
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 13

Next, you’ll probably want to familiarize yourself with the survey reporting requirements by 

reviewing the survey materials for the year, and by reviewing the posted changes for the 

collection.

You can access the Data 

Provider Center from the 

IPEDS home page, or from 

https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/

ipeds/. 

The Data Provider Center

has lots of good 

information available from 

the tabbed menus. Here’s 

where you’ll find the Survey 

Materials and the Changes 

(also available from the 

Help menu once you log 

into the collection system). 

2
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 14

To access the Survey 

Materials, answer a few 

questions on this screen to 

get a short list of surveys to 

choose from. Once you’ve 

completed your IC Header 

component, you can search 

for your institution’s 

customized survey materials 

by entering your UnitID or 

institution name. Or, click 

View All at the bottom of the 

page to get the complete list

of all survey component 

versions for all types of 

institutions. 

Using the Survey Materials 

option, you can download 

and print blank survey forms, 

instructions, FAQs, and edit 

and import specifications, so 

that you can prepare your 

data for submission, and alert 

others at your institution to 

the data you’ll need them to 

provide to you for 

submission. The Package 

option puts all survey 

materials together in a pdf 

file for downloading. Note 

the 2013-14 changes column. If there are changes for next year, these survey screens will help you 

prepare for them. 

Seasoned keyholders will tell you that it’s best to start early so that you aren’t trying to find and report 

all the data in a last-minute crunch. Also, if you submit all of your required data prior to the last three 

weeks before data collection closes, we’ll send an email to your president or CEO alerting them to your 

accomplishment, and mention you by name in the email. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 15

From the Data Provider 

Center, you can also get to 

some valuable tools, 

including the IPEDS 

Glossary. 

By using the IPEDS Glossary, you can access all terms and definitions used for submitting IPEDS data. 

You can search for terms or definitions, list terms by survey, pull up all terms alphabetically, or 

download the entire glossary to your computer. Underlined terms are links to definitions.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 16

Identify areas for further training. There are web tutorials available for each survey component

and one specifically for new keyholders. These are free and posted on the web, so you can do 

them on your schedule, when you have time. The component tutorials are also available from 

the survey screens, so you can access this “just-in-time” information as you’re submitting your data. 

There are also face-to-face workshops around the country every year. See the Resources section of this 

manual, and the training flyers attached to the end of this manual for more information about training 

opportunities. 

You may need others on campus to provide data for IPEDS reporting, particularly for the Student 

Financial Aid, Human Resources, and Finance components. So it’s important that you: 

• Equip these other data providers with the resources they need: 

o survey materials for the appropriate survey component, 

o instructions on how to access the IPEDS Glossary, and

o instructions on how to access the web tutorials and other training resources. 

• Communicate the importance of timely and accurate IPEDS reporting to all data providers 

on campus. 

• Consider developing an internal reporting calendar to ensure survey components are 

locked by the due date. If they have a UserID and password, others on campus may provide 

data, key enter or upload data to the IPEDS Data Collection System, and edit and clean 

them, but only you, as the keyholder, may lock the data. Make sure other data providers 

allow you the time you need to review their surveys before you lock them.

3

4
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 17

Key Survey Concepts and Common 

Pitfalls

GENERAL IPEDS

Edits and errors

You may receive error messages as you enter your data. Each survey component contains interactive 

edits that will check for blank fields, invalid values, or values that fall outside expected ranges. These 

edits are in place to protect the integrity of the data you report. They will not be triggered unless there 

is something unique about the data you report that requires additional attention.

Some errors will require you to confirm the values you entered. Some errors will require you to provide 

an explanation for the values you entered. Information entered to resolve explanation edits will not be 

made public. However, these edit explanations should provide adequate and reasonable information to 

explain anomalies in the data. Finally, some errors are ‘fatal’ and will require you to either fix a data 

problem or contact the IPEDS Help Desk for help with resolution.

 Common Pitfall: Institutions should provide adequate and reasonable information to resolve 

system edits that require explanations. The IPEDS Help Desk will follow up with institutions that 

provide inadequate explanations for data.

Outsmarting IPEDS errors

The IPEDS system includes numerous interactive edits to ensure that institutions do not make errors in 

data reporting. These edits may help the keyholder to identify an error, or it may be that the data have 

been reported accurately, but the edit needs to be overridden. If an edit needs to be overridden, the 

keyholder needs to call the Help Desk, and should not attempt to ‘trick’ the edit by entering false data.

For example, institutions receive an error message if they do not report prior year tuition data. 

However, if an institution is new, they may not have prior year tuition data. They should call the IPEDS 

Help Desk to override the fatal errors that result, and not attempt to enter inaccurate data. Entering 

inaccurate data in this case would cause errors in multiyear tuition changes as well as inaccurate

information for students available on College Navigator. 

Fixing errors from the prior year

The IPEDS Prior Year Revision System is available to allow institutions to correct errors in their prior year 

data submissions. All survey components are available for revision during their regular collection 

period. For example, revisions to the Completions component can be made during the Fall collection 

period. 

o Login to the Prior Year Revision System using your current year UserID and password. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 18

o If you failed to respond to one or more of the prior year surveys, you may also supply your 

missing data using this system

o The availability of this system DOES NOT IMPLY that institutions are no longer required to report 

data according to the current year IPEDS collection schedule. This is NOT an extension of your 

due date and the office of Federal Student Aid will continue to take appropriate action against 

schools that do not meet their IPEDS reporting requirements.

Context boxes

Optional context boxes allow you to provide more information about the data you are reporting. For 

example, on the Student Financial Aid survey component, because institutions do not report on 

amounts of grant or scholarship aid from private sources for full-time, first-time students, you may want 

to note in the context box in SFA, Part C that “Full-time, first-time undergraduate students are also 

awarded an average of $X,XXX from private sources.” 

Information entered in these context boxes may be made public on College Navigator, so make sure that 

the information you enter is understood easily by students, parents, and the general public, and is free 

from grammatical or spelling errors.

 Common Pitfall: Some institutions enter information in the context boxes that does not 

correspond with the data being reported on the screen or that is not appropriate for public 

consumption. NCES reviews the information in the context boxes and will not publish information 

that is not applicable or appropriate for public consumption.

Summary screens

Each survey component has one or more summary screens, which keyholders should review carefully. 

These screens contain reported values and calculated statistics and that will appear on College 

Navigator, the College Affordability and Transparency Center, and the Data Feedback Reports. Verifying 

the data before they appear in these very public places will prevent embarrassing mistakes.

REPORTING MAP

Each August, many keyholders are asked to verify their institution’s Reporting Map. An IPEDS Reporting 

Map describes how the data from the various campuses that are listed on the institution’s Program 

Participation Agreement (PPA) are accounted for in the institution’s IPEDS reporting. 

If there are differences between how your institution and additional locations are listed in IPEDS and 

how they are listed in on your PPA, you will need to explain what that means for your IPEDS reporting. 

You will be presented with screens on which to do this.

 Tip: Not all Program Participation Agreements are currently accurate. As a keyholder, you may 

need to work with your Financial Aid office to reconcile the IPEDS Reporting Map, and your 

institution may need to contact the office of Federal Student Aid to get PPA inaccuracies corrected.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 19

INSTITUTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS – HEADER INFORMATION

Classifying institutions

The questions about institutional control (public, private not-for-profit, private for-profit) and award 

levels (certificates and degrees) offered are used to determine which survey components and which 

versions of the survey components your institution must submit. Incorrect reporting of control can lead 

to your institution receiving the incorrect Finance form. Incorrect reporting of award levels can lead to 

incorrect reporting of tuition and enrollment. Beyond the reporting ramifications, control and award 

levels determine the classification of your institution on the College Navigator website and other places 

data are displayed. 

Enrolling students

The enrollment levels question has implications for reporting tuition data in the Institutional 

Characteristics survey, as well as reporting enrollment. If your institution offers programs at an 

enrollment level, we ask that institutions answer Yes, even if those programs do not have any current 

enrollment. 

Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students

Full-time, first-time students are a focus for many of the IPEDS survey components. Selection of fulltime, first-time students in the enrollment question is key to seeing the cost of attendance page, as well 

as reporting information in the Student Financial Aid, Graduation Rates, and Fall Enrollment surveys. 

See the Fall Enrollment section below for more information about determining who is a first-time 

student at your institution.

Calendar system

Reporting your institution’s predominant calendar system correctly is important because it affects how 

you report data on many other IPEDS components. See the chart on the next page for details.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 20

Understanding how IPEDS reporting is affected by calendar system

Academic Reporter 

Calendar Systems

Program Reporter 

Calendar Systems

*Hybrid Calendar 

Systems

IC-Header

(IC-H)

Item B3 asks the respondent institution to specify the predominant calendar 

system. For institutions that are NOT new to IPEDS, this item is preloaded 

and the Help Desk must be contacted in order to make changes.

Semester

Quarter

Trimester

4-1-4

Continuous enrollment

Differs by program Other academic

Institutional 

Characteristics (IC)

Cost of attendance for 

full-time, first-time, 

degree/certificateseeking undergraduate 

students

Cost of attendance for 

an academic year

• Entire cost of the 

LARGEST program

• Breakdown of living 

expense costs per 

month, for students 

in the largest 

program

Cost of attendance for 

an academic year

Institutional 

Characteristics (IC)

Average tuition & fees

for all undergraduate 

students

Average tuition & fees 

for an academic year

For 2nd – 6th largest 

programs, total tuition 

& fees for the entire 

program

Average tuition & fees 

for an academic year

Student Financial Aid 

(SFA)

Reporting period

Standard academic year Defined by the 

institution; must fall 

within the period of July 

1 through June 30

Standard academic year

Student Financial Aid 

(SFA)

Student cohort

Students enrolled on 

October 15, or the 

institution’s official fall 

reporting date

Students enrolled at 

any time within the 

institution’s academic 

year, 

Students enrolled at 

any time within the 

period of August 1 

through October 31

Fall Enrollment

(EF)

Students enrolled on 

October 15, or the 

institution’s official fall 

reporting date

Students enrolled at 

any time within the 

period of August 1 

through October 31

Students enrolled at 

any time within the 

period of August 1 

through October 31

Graduation Rates

(GR & GR200)

Student cohort of fulltime, first-time, 

degree/certificateseeking undergraduate 

students

Fall cohort: Students 

enrolled on October 15, 

or the institution’s 

official fall reporting 

date

Full-year cohort: 

Students enrolled at 

any time within the 

period of September 1 

through August 31

Full-year cohort: 

Students enrolled at 

any time during the 

period of September 1 

through August 31

*Note: Hybrid institutions are those that offer programs with term-based cost of attendance (like an 

academic reporter, but enroll students throughout the year (like a program reporter).
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 21

INSTITUTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Reporting period for cost of attendance

Institutions report cost of attendance data for full-time, first-time, degree/certificate seeking 

undergraduate students in different ways, depending on reporter type. 

Academic reporters 

and

Hybrid reporters

Report cost of attendance for an academic year. 

Program reporters For the institution’s largest program, report some cost of 

attendance items for the entire program (tuition and required fees; 

books and supplies), and some cost of attendance items for one 

month (living expenses; other expenses). This allows us to calculate 

both program cost of attendance and academic year cost of 

attendance.

Cost of attendance and tuition – what’s the difference?

Undergraduate cost

of attendance

Applicable to academic, program, and hybrid reporters, and 

collected only for full-time, first-time students. Costs include tuition 

and required fees, books and supplies, room and board/living 

expenses, and miscellaneous other expenses.

Program reporters that enroll full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students report tuition & 

fees, and books & supplies for the largest 6 programs at the 

institution. Cost of attendance is reported for the institution’s 

largest program; room & board and other expenses are not 

reported for the second through fifth largest programs. 

Undergraduate 

tuition and required 

fees

Applicable only to academic and hybrid reporters, and collected for 

both full-time and part-time students. This tuition is an average of 

tuition and required fees charged to all levels (e.g., freshman 

through senior) of students.

Graduate tuition and 

required fees

Applicable only to institutions with graduate level programs;

collected for both full-time and part-time students. This is the 

average for all graduate programs, with the exception of Doctor’s 

degree – professional practice programs.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 22

Doctor’s degree – 

professional practice 

tuition and required 

fees

Collected for selected Doctor’s degree – professional practice 

programs.

On campus housing requirement

Institutions are asked whether all full-time, first-time degree/certificate seeking undergraduate students 

must live on campus.

 Common Pitfall: Indicating that all students must live on campus when exceptions are made. 

Even if 1 in 10,000 students is allowed to live off campus, this should not be selected. This causes 

problems between the IC and Student Financial Aid components and the calculation of the 

institution’s average net price.

Tuition guarantee

When reporting cost of attendance, academic and hybrid reporters are asked to indicate if the tuition 

and/or fees are covered by a tuition guarantee program. Additionally, they are asked to report the 

percentage that the tuition is guaranteed not to go up more than. 

 Common Pitfall: Reporting the non-guaranteed rate and checking tuition guarantees (for 

institutions with different rates)

 Common Pitfall: Some institutions incorrectly report large numbers (e.g., 100%, 97%) when they 

should be reporting smaller numbers (e.g., 0%, 3%)

Open admission policy

Institutions that allow a majority of students that apply to enroll at the institution are considered to 

have an open admission policy. Exceptions may be made for extraordinary circumstances, but most 

students are allowed to enroll. For example: 

Open 

admission

Students take the Ability to Benefit test, and 98% of students 

that take the test are allowed to enroll.

Not open 

admission

Students take the Ability to Benefit test, and 50% of students 

that take the test are allowed to enroll.

Selection process

 Common Pitfall: Only first-time, degree/certificate-seeking students should be reported. 

 Common Pitfall: Students should only be reported at levels that were ALSO reported in IC 

Header. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 23

 Tip: When adding together the men and women columns, the number can be less than the total, 

but not greater than the total. 

 Tip: The number of enrolled students submitting ACT/SAT scores should be less than or equal to 

the total number of enrolled students.

Estimated enrollment

 Common Pitfall: Students should only be reported at levels that were also reported in IC Header. 

 Tip: 0s should be entered for levels that are offered, but at which no students enrolled in the 

current year. 

 Tip: Cells that are not applicable to an institution should be left blank. 

Cost of attendance is more important than it seems

Cost of attendance is used, along with data submitted on the Student Financial Aid survey, to calculate 

the average net price of attendance at the institution. Incorrect reporting of cost of attendance on IC 

can have major implications for the calculated net price. The net price will be available to students via 

College Navigator, and will also be used in a series of ‘watch lists’ mandated by the HEOA and posted on 

the College Affordability and Transparency Center. It is important to make sure that you are reporting 

these data correctly so that you do not mistakenly end up on a watch list, or accidentally provide poor 

data to students. 

STUDENT FINANCIAL AID 

Reporting period: Academic year

Institutions report data for one academic year. What constitutes an “academic year” differs for 

academic reporters and program reporters. For the purposes of SFA, an “academic year” is defined as 

follows:

Academic 

reporters

and

Hybrid 

reporters

The period of time generally extending from September to 

June; usually equated to 2 semesters or trimesters, 3 quarters, 

or the period covered by a 4-1-4 calendar system

Program 

reporters

To be defined by the institution, so long as it falls within the full 

aid year period of July 1–June 30
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 24

Student cohort

Institutions report on a cohort of students based on their reporter type. For the purposes of SFA, the 

student cohorts are defined as follows:

Academic 

reporters 

Undergraduate students enrolled as of October 15 or as of the 

institution’s official fall reporting date

Program 

reporters

Undergraduate students enrolled anytime during the academic 

year, as defined by the institution

Hybrid 

reporters

Undergraduate students enrolled at any time within the period 

of August 1 through October 31

Student groups

The Higher Education Opportunity Act requires the Department to collect information about financial 

aid awarded to different groups of students. In SFA, there are four groups of students for which financial 

aid data are collected:

Group 1: All undergraduate students

Group 2: Of Group 1, full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students

Group 3: Of Group 2, students who were awarded any grant/scholarship aid from the federal 

government, state/local government, or the institution

 For public institutions: Only those paying in-state/in-district tuition rates

 For program reporters: Only those enrolled in the institution’s largest program

Group 4: Of Group 2, students who were awarded any Title IV federal student aid

 For public institutions: Only those paying in-state/in-district tuition rates

 For program reporters: Only those enrolled in the institution’s largest program
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 25

 Tip: Each part of SFA asks for different types of aid to be reported for each group. Consult the 

instructions and screens to make sure you are reporting the correct aid amounts for the correct 

groups of students.

 Common Pitfall: Group 1 includes all undergraduate students, which means that new and 

continuing full-time students, part-time students, degree/certificate-seeking students, and nondegree/certificate-seeking students should be included. 

Types of financial aid that should be reported

Institutions should report on the following types of aid:

o Federal grants

 Title IV

 Educational assistance funds from other agencies

 Note: Veterans education benefits should not be included, as they are no longer 

treated as Estimated Financial Assistance for Federal Student Aid purposes as of July 1, 

2009

o Federal loans to students

o State/local government grants, scholarships, waivers

o Institutional grants, scholarships, waivers

o Private grants or scholarships

o Private loans to students

o Other sources of aid known to the institution

 Common Pitfall: Some institutions think that they should report Title IV federal student aid only. 

This is incorrect. Institutions must also report aid from other sources.

Aid awarded

o Institutions report on grant or scholarship aid that has been awarded to students. This may be 

different from aid that was actually disbursed to students. For example, a student may be 

awarded grant or scholarship aid at the beginning of the academic year but then leave the 

institution before the entire amount is disbursed. In this case, you would report the original 

amount of grant or scholarship aid that was awarded, even though the entire amount was not 

actually disbursed to the student. 

o For reporting loans to students, institutions should report on loans that were awarded to and 

accepted by the student.

Data from other IPEDS components

The SFA component is connected to other IPEDS components. Examples of data that are carried forward 

from other IPEDS components and preloaded in the SFA component include the following:

o Data from the Institutional Characteristics (IC) component

 Cost of attendance information

 Living arrangement options

o Data from the Fall Enrollment (EF) and 12-month Enrollment (E12) components 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 26

 Undergraduate count

If you have any questions about the data that are preloaded in the SFA component, contact the IPEDS 

Help Desk.

College Affordability and Transparency Center

Net price amounts calculated in SFA will be used to populate the Department’s College Affordability and 

Transparency Center. 

ENROLLMENT

Who counts?

All students enrolled for credit (i.e., instructional activity that can be applied by the recipient toward the 

requirements of a postsecondary degree, certificate, or other formal award, irrespective of the activity’s 

unit of measurement) are included in IPEDS enrollment reporting. This includes students who are 

enrolled for credit but are not seeking a degree or certificate.

 Common Pitfall: There can be confusion around the fact that all students enrolled for credit 

should be reported to IPEDS, regardless of whether or not the students are enrolled in programs 

that participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Institutions may incorrectly think that they 

should only report students in Title IV eligible programs at their institution. If an institution is 

required to report to IPEDS (i.e., they have at least one Title IV program participation agreement 

with the Department of Education) then the institutions should report on all students enrolled for 

credit.

Reporting periods: 12-Month Enrollment vs. Fall Enrollment 

Fall Enrollment is a count of students enrolled for credit on a particular date in the Fall. When the 

student count is taken differs for academic reporters and program reporters, as detailed below. In 

contrast, the 12-month Enrollment is a cumulative unduplicated headcount over the full 12-month 

period of July 1 – June 30. 

Fall Enrollment

Academic reporters Students enrolled as of October 15 or as of the institution’s 

official fall reporting date

Program reporters 

and

Hybrid reporters

Students enrolled anytime between August 1 – October 31

12-Month Enrollment

All Institutions Students enrolled anytime during July 1 – June 30
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 27

Because the 12-month Enrollment is a cumulative enrollment count over a full 12-month period, this 

count must be greater than or equal to the Fall Enrollment count that is encompassed within the 12-

month time period. If no additional students enrolled after the Fall Enrollment reporting date/time 

period, then the 12-month count would be equal to the corresponding Fall Enrollment count.

 Tip: If the 12-month enrollment count reported in the current year’s 12-month Enrollment 

survey component is not greater than or equal to the fall enrollment count reported in the previous 

year’s Fall Enrollment survey component, a fatal error will appear. The data must be corrected or 

you must call the IPEDS Help Desk for assistance in resolving this error.

12-Month Enrollment

Instructional Activity and Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Students

FTE student enrollment, estimated from the instructional activity data reported on the 12-month 

Enrollment survey component, is intended to standardize student activity/course loads against a 

“normal’ course load. FTE is used in many derived variables in the IPEDS Data Center and in indicators in 

the Data Feedback Reports provided to institutions.

 Tip: FTE student enrollment on the 12-month Enrollment survey component is calculated 

directly from the credit hour and contact hour data reported. In order for the FTE calculated for 

your institution to be accurate, the instructional activity data (credit and contact hour data) must be 

reported correctly. 

 Tip: If credit and/or contact hour data are correctly reported and the system calculated FTE 

estimates are not reasonable for your institution, there is an opportunity to enter more accurate FTE 

data for your institution. However, the option to report an alternate FTE should be used only if the 

system calculated estimates are not reasonable and your alternate calculation method should be 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 28

clearly detailed if an edit is received. 

 Common Pitfall: Institutions that report instructional activity in contact hours have, at times, 

confused the length of a program with the instructional activity reported on Part B of the 12-month 

Enrollment survey component. Institutions should report the total contact hour activity (or credit 

hour activity) over the 12-month period, not the average hours for a student or the program length. 

Program length is reported on the Institutional Characteristics survey component. 

Fall Enrollment

First-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate student

A first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate student is a student with no prior postsecondary 

experience who enrolled with the intention of earning a degree or certificate. Students who enrolled for 

the first time in the preceding summer term and students entering with advanced standing (i.e. college 

credits earned before graduation from high school) are also considered first time for IPEDS reporting 

purposes.

 Tip: First-time student counts reported in Part A of the Fall Enrollment survey component have 

an impact on other sections of the Fall Enrollment component and several other IPEDS survey 

components, such as the Graduation Rates survey (GR) component and the Student Financial Aid 

(SFA) component. For example, an institution’s Graduation Rates Survey (GR) cohort is determined 

by the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students reported in the 

corresponding year’s Fall Enrollment component.

Non-degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate student

Non-degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students are students enrolled for credit, but are not 

intending to earn a formal award. High school students enrolled for credit are considered nondegree/certificate-seeking until they earn their high school diploma (or equivalent), regardless of 

degree/certificate intentions.

Undergraduate entering class

Degree-granting, academic reporting institutions report entering class data in Part D of the Fall 

Enrollment survey component. Entering class data are intended to represent all students new to your 

institution in a given Fall and provide context for the GR cohort. The entering class includes not only 

first-time and transfer-in undergraduate students, but also non-degree/certificate-seeking 

undergraduate students new to your institution in the Fall. The percent of the entering class that is 

represented by the institution’s GR cohort is then included on College Navigator with the GR data.

 Tip: The entering class data are particularly useful for institutions that enroll a large number of 

part-time undergraduates or non-degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates. For these institutions, 

the GR cohort (full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates) may reflect a very 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 29

small percentage of their enrollment. Showing the GR cohort as a percentage of the undergraduate 

entering class can indicate to data users when this is the case.

First-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate student retention

Retention data, reported in Part E of the Fall Enrollment survey component, is a Fall-to-Fall retention 

rate that tracks the number of first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates enrolled in a 

particular Fall and counts the number of those students who are still enrolled in the following Fall. For 

4-year institutions, the retention rate is for bachelor’s-seeking students only. But for 2-year and lessthan-2-year institutions, all first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates are tracked. 

 Tip: Two-year and less-than-2-year institutions report first-time degree/certificate-seeking 

students from the prior Fall that are still enrolled but should also include those who completed their 

1-year or less-than-1-yr program in that timeframe. For these institutions, the retention rate is 

calculated as:

 Common Pitfall: For primarily associate’s institutions that grant bachelor’s degrees (and thus are 

classified as 4-year institutions in IPEDS), the fact that their retention data is based on bachelor’sseeking students only (not all first-time degree/certificate-seeking students) can be confusing. Even 

though bachelor’s-seeking students may represent a small percentage of their first-time 

undergraduate students, their retention data should be based on these students only.

COMPLETIONS

Reporting period

Institutions should report completions data for degrees and certificates awarded for the 12-month time 

period beginning July 1 of the previous calendar year and ending June 30 of the current calendar year. 

For the Fall 2012 reporting period, then, the IPEDS Completions component will collect data on all 

degrees and certificates awarded between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. 

Program of study

Completions data are reported for each program of study at an institution. Programs of study are 

described using 6-digit Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) codes. Information about CIP codes 

can be obtained from the CIP 2010 User website: http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/Default.aspx?y=55. 

[(First-time students from Fall 20xx who are still enrolled in Fall 20xx+1

+ 

(First-time students from Fall 20xx who completed their program by Fall 20xx+1)]

/ 

First-time students, Fall 20xx
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 30

 Tip: You must report data for all programs that are offered. If there are no completions for the 

year, just enter 0.

 Common Pitfall: Not entering “0” for programs that are still offered but for which there are no 

completions. 

Award levels

Within each CIP code, data are reported by gender and race/ethnicity (using the new race/ethnicity 

categories) for each award level awarded by the institution. The 11 award levels are:

1. Postsecondary award, certificate, or diploma of (less than 1 academic year)

• Less than 900 contact or clock hours 

• Less than 30 SEMESTER or TRIMESTER credit hours, or 

• Less than 45 QUARTER credit hours

2. Postsecondary award, certificate, or diploma of (at least 1 but less than 2 academic years)

• At least 900, but less than 1800 contact or clock hours, or 

• At least 30, but less than 60 SEMESTER OR TRIMESTER HOURS 

• At least 45, but less than 90 QUARTER HOURS

3. Associate's degree

4. Postsecondary award, certificate, or diploma of (at least 2 but less than 4 academic years )

• 1800 contact or clock hours, or 

• 60 or more SEMESTER OR TRIMESTER credit hours, or 

• 90 or more QUARTER credit hours

5. Bachelor's degree

6. Postbaccalaureate certificate

7. Master's degree

8. Post-master's certificate

9. Doctor's degree - research/scholarship

10. Doctor's degree - professional practice

11. Doctor's degree - other

 Tip: Only credit awards conferred as the result of completion of a recognized program of study 

should be reported (the instructional activity completed as part of the program can be measured in 

contact hours, credit hours, or some other unit of measurement). Do NOT report non-credit awards, 

such as informal certificates of completion or merit.

 Common Pitfall: Reporting completions for an award level that was NOT specified as offered on 

the previous year’s last Institutional Characteristics survey component. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 31

Completions vs. completers

The Completions survey component now has two sections, that collect different data:

• The Completions section collects data on the number of degrees and certificates awarded in 

the previous 12 months. These data are reported by program (CIP code) and award level; the 

race/ethnicity and gender of the student earning the degree or certificate are also reported

• The Completers section collects data on the number of students who completed a degree or 

award. These data are reported at the total level by race/ethnicity and gender of the student; 

and by race/ethnicity, gender, and age within consolidated award levels.

 

 Tip: It is possible to have more completions than completers, because a student can receive 

more than one degree or certificate.

Difference between completions and graduation rates

o The Completions survey component provides a count of the total number of undergraduate and 

graduate degrees and certificates awarded by the institution in the previous 12 months, 

regardless of when or where the student who earned the degree started his or her education, or 

whether the student started as a full-time or part-time student. 

o The Graduation Rates survey component identifies a cohort of full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who entered the institution in a particular 

fall term or year. Members of this cohort who complete their program of study within 150% of 

normal time to completion are counted in the institution’s graduation rate calculation. 

GRADUATION RATES

Definition of Graduation Rates, per Student Right-to-Know (SRK) 

The graduation rate is based on a cohort of all first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking 

undergraduate students. The rate is the number of these students who complete their program within 

150% of the normal time of that program divided by the total number in the cohort.

Types of reporters and cohorts

Institutions report on a fall cohort or full-year cohort depending on the institutution’s reporting type. 

Reporter types are based on the predominant calendar system of the institution (see the chart earlier in 

this section). 

Academic reporters Report on a fall cohort

Program reporters

and

Hybrid reporters

Report on a full-year cohort
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 32

Who is in the cohort

The cohort for GR is made up of first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students. 

For 4-year institutions, the cohort is divided into two different sub-cohorts. These two sub-cohorts are 

those students who upon entry are seeking a bachelor’s degree, and those students who are seeking 

some other undergraduate award besides a bachelor’s. This is done so that 4-year institutions can be 

more easily compared with each other using the bachelor’s sub-cohort. 

 Common Pitfall: A student remains in the cohort even if their status changes after they enter. 

For example, if a student becomes part time after their first semester, they are still considered as 

part of the cohort. 

Cohort Revisions

Institutions have the option to revise their preloaded cohort if:

o there are eligible students they omitted in the past;

o students that were originally included should really not be part of the cohort because they were

not first-time, or full-time;

o better information regarding race/ethnicity or gender is found out on eligible students.

 Common Pitfall: The cohort should not be revised for students who have dropped out or 

transferred out.

 Tip: If the initial cohort changes by more than 20%, please make sure to add a good edit 

explanation for the large change.

Non-completers

The No Longer Enrolled column is a calculated column which is the remainder of the revised cohort after 

all of the completers, transfers, exclusions, and students still enrolled have been subtracted. 

 Common Pitfall: Some institutions try to distribute all of their students in their cohort into the 

data entry columns, leaving zero students in the calculated No Longer Enrolled column. Please only 

include students in the transfer-out and exclusion columns if they actually are eligible to be reported 

there. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 33

200% Graduation Rates

Cohorts

There are two types of cohorts tracked for the GR200. The cohort (fall or full-year) depends on the 

reporter type for the purposes of the GR component of IPEDS. 

4-year and 

above

institutions

Include only those students in the bachelor degree-seeking 

cohort

Less than 4-

year 

institutions

Include all students in the cohort

 Tip: If a 4-year institution does not have a bachelor degree-seeking cohort in the cohort year, 

this component will be not applicable for them.

Reporting the completers within 151-200% of normal time

The number of completers for both 100% and 150% of normal time will be preloaded into the GR200 

questionnaire. The GR200 component collects data for completers within 151-200% of normal time. 

 Common Pitfall: While the data for 150% of normal time are cumulative (in that it also includes 

those who completed within 100%), the data reported for the 200% of normal time should include

just those additional students who completed between 151 and 200%.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Reporting Employees

o Report employees on the payroll of the institution as of November 1, 2011

o Report each employee only once. If an employee in a single job could be coded in more than 

one occupation: 

• code the employee in the occupation that requires highest level of skill 

 - OR - 

• if there is no measurable difference in skill requirements, code the employee in the 

occupation in which they spend the most time 

o Report all staff using the new IPEDS occupational categories, which align with the Standard 

Occupational Classification (SOC) codes. More information can be found at the HR/SOC 

Resources page: http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/resource/soc.asp. 

 Tip: Report data in order of displayed screens. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 34

 Tip: Report employees difficult to categorize in any of the context boxes, including the last 

screen called “Human Resources Survey Evaluation.” 

 Tip: If a screen is N/A, enter a 0. 

Reporting “Postsecondary Teachers”

Degree-granting institutions

Postsecondary Teachers by Function

• Instruction

• Instruction/research/public service

• Research

• Public service

Non-degree-granting institutions

Postsecondary Teachers

Reporting Salaries

 Common Pitfall: Average salaries inadvertently reported instead of total salary outlays.

 Common Pitfall: Salary outlays for part-time staff inadvertently included.

FINANCE

Reporter Types

There are six IPEDS finance survey component reporter types based on institutional control and degreegranting status. Public institutions generally fill out their financial information using the GASB reporting 

standards whereas private not-for-profit and for-profit institutions report their data using FASB 

standards. Degree-granting institutions report data on their financial position, changes in net assets, and 

details of endowment assets that non degree-granting institutions do not report. These are the six 

reporter types:

Degree-granting Non-degree granting

Public √ √

Private, not-for-profit √ √

Private, for-profit √ √

Reporting period 

The finance survey component data covers financial activities for the 12-month fiscal year. Institutions 

enter the start and end dates for the fiscal year they are reporting. 

Instructional

staff
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 35

 Tip: The fiscal year reported for IPEDS in 2012-13 should be the most recent fiscal year ending 

before October 1, 2012. 

 Common Pitfall: Institutions should not try to manipulate their current fiscal year data to make 

corrections to their prior year data. Those corrections need to be made in the Prior Year Revision 

System. 

Data Source

Data are based on information from institutions’ audited general purpose financial statement (GPFS). 

However, the GPFS is only a starting point for reporting; some figures will need to be modified to meet 

IPEDS reporting requirements. Many derived variables and indicators that show on the survey screens 

and in the Data Feedback Reports use Finance and Enrollment data together, such as “Core expenses 

per FTE student.”

 Common Pitfall: If an institution gets an error message, they should revisit the IPEDS reporting 

instructions. Providing an edit explanation that, “the numbers are correct because they are pulled 

from the GPFS” is not a valid explanation. 

Recent Changes

All institutions are now reporting expenditures in a similar format with total amounts (operating and 

non-operating combined) and require allocating operations and maintenance (O&M), interest, and 

depreciation amounts across the functional expense categories.

 Tip: NACUBO has provided a resource document to help GASB-reporting institutions do these 

allocations available at: 

http://www.nacubo.org/Business_and_Policy_Areas/Accounting/Advisory_Reports/Advisory_Report_2010-

1_Public_Institution_Methodologies_for_Allocation_Depreciation_Operation_and_Maintenance_of_Plant_an

d_Interest_Expenses_to_Functional_Expense_Categories.html

 Common Pitfall: Allocating O&M, interest, and/or depreciation into only one or two categories. 

 Common Pitfall: Not allocating these expenses but including them in the total expenditures, 

with the result that these amounts are only captured in “Other” expenses. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 36

Negative Values

There are only a few variables (such as investment income/returns and changes to net assets) where it is 

acceptable to report negative amounts. The vast majority of finance variables should be positive 

amounts. Unacceptable negative amounts most commonly appear in the “Other” variables for both 

revenues and expenses because they are calculated values that institutions do not directly report.

 Tip: If you have a negative value for “Other” variables it means that the reported revenue by 

source or functional expenditure amounts have been over counted somewhere resulting in a higher 

Total (revenue or expenditure) amount than the actual reported Total amount(s). 

 Common Pitfall: Reporting negative revenues; these should most likely be counted as positive 

expenses. An example of an error explanation illustrating this pitfall: “Negative other revenue is a 

result of program expansion expenses.”

 Tip: Most GPFS include only one category for “Non-operating revenue (expense).” Negative 

dollar amounts here are truly expenses, and should be reported as such. This particularly applies to 

negative interest amounts, which should be captured in the expense section.

 Common Pitfall: Reporting negative expenses; these should most likely be counted as positive 

revenues. An example of an edit explanation illustrating this pitfall: “Other expenses amount is 

negative due to gain on disposal of property, plant, and equipment.”

 Common Pitfall: Trying to make revisions to prior year data by reporting a negative amount for 

current year data.

Student Grant Aid

Student grant aid amounts are reported in three different parts of the finance survey component: 

o Scholarships and Fellowships

o Revenues

o Expenses

 Common Pitfall: When reporting student grant aid, many institutions do not report allowances 

to tuition and fees and auxiliary enterprises, even when those monies are, in fact, used as 

discounts/allowances.

 Common Pitfall: Following GASB accounting standards, Pell grants should be recorded as Federal 

non-operating revenue and should have an offsetting allowance for tuition and fees that shows the 

amount applied to students’ accounts. This also applies to private institutions that do not treat Pell 

grants as pass-through transactions.

 Common Pitfall: Most loans, including FDSL, should not be reported as a revenue or expense 

because these are pass-throughs. These amounts are accounted for when they are paid to the 

institution from students as a tuition & fee and/or auxiliary enterprise revenue.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 37

 Tip: There is a tip sheet explaining the treatment of scholarships and fellowships, discounts and 

allowances, and net scholarship and fellowship expenses on the IPEDS resources page: 

http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/factsheets/fct_ipeds_finance_03072007_3.asp. 

Endowment Assets

For FASB- and GASB-reporters, when reporting endowment assets at the beginning of the year, there 

were sometimes discrepancies with the end of the prior year. The IPEDS instructions state: “Report the 

amounts of gross investments of endowment, term endowment, and funds functioning as endowment 

for the institution and any of its foundations and other affiliated organizations. ... For institutions 

participating in the NACUBO Endowment Study, this amount should be comparable with values reported 

to NACUBO.”

 Common Pitfall: The value of endowment assets does not change overnight. It may be that 

some institutions realized that they controlled other entities that hold endowments assets and have 

included them in the current year data rather than in prior year revisions.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 38

Using the IPEDS Data Collection System

You will use the IPEDS web-based Data Collection System to submit your data. Here are some tips for 

using it.

The Data Collection System

is password protected. You 

will receive a UserID and 

password each August 

when registration opens. 

You can create up to 6 

additional UserIDs and 

passwords for others on 

your campus (through the 

Tools menu).

Log in through the Data 

Provider Center.

Data Collection System Features:

• Survey screens are customized for each institution, based on criteria such as institution level, 

degree-granting status, and responses to screening questions.

• The system calculates totals, differences, percentages, rates, and some derived variables (such as 

full-time equivalent enrollment and average net price of attendance), based on data entered.

• Built-in interactive edits flag potential data problems, discrepancies, and errors.

• The system pulls data forward from one section to another where totals need to match.

• Prior year reported values are included, in red, on many screens for comparison and editing.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 39

This is the screen you see 

once you log into the Data 

Collection System. Across 

the top is a menu bar; 

clicking Surveys will bring 

you back to this screen.

Instructions are included on 

most screens from a link in 

the upper right-hand corner.

The Message Center will tell 

you if you have new, unread 

messages. 

If you have any questions about whether you’ve submitted all required data for a particular collection, 

click the AM I DONE? icon for an answer. 

On the Surveys screen, each survey is listed, along with its due date, status, steps that can be taken in 

order to get to the point where the survey is ready to be locked, and any options that are available. 

Click on the underlined links to perform the desired action. 

Survey Status Definitions

Not Applicable Institution is not required to complete the survey. 

Content is not relevant to the institution. 

NO DATA Screening questions have not been answered.

Responses to screening questions are required to generate survey screens. 

No Data Screening questions have been answered but no data have been provided.

Has Data Some data have been entered, but survey is not complete. 

Perform edits must be run. 

Edited Edits have been run. 

Go to Edit Report to resolve any errors. 

Clean All edit errors and issues have been resolved. 

Can proceed to lock the survey component. 

Locked Data have been successfully submitted by the institution.

Final lock must still be applied (by system level or state level coordinator). If 

there are no “locking” coordinators, the survey status will go straight to 

Complete.

Complete All locks have been applied. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 40

ENTERING DATA

There are two options for entering data into the Data Collection System: manual key entry and data 

upload. You can use different methods for different surveys.

When keying data into the 

system, each screen is saved 

separately, using the buttons 

at the bottom of the screen.

Underlined terms that appear 

on the survey screens are 

linked to the glossary; 

mouseover the link for the 

definition. Instructions for 

each screen are available by 

clicking the Instructions link in 

the upper right-hand corner of 

the screen. Some screens have 

links to web tutorials applicable to the screen, also at the top of the screen.

The File Upload 

option is found under 

the Tools menu. 

You’ll need to have a 

file formatted to 

specifications in order 

to perform the 

upload. Upload specifications are part of the survey materials.

There are 3 upload formats:

• Fixed width file

• Key value file

• XML

Keyholders who have done the 

programming to produce upload 

files say that it’s a real timesaver in the long run.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 41

EDITS AND ERRORS

No matter how you enter your data, you will need to run the interactive edits to see if there are any edit 

issues or potential errors. Some edits are run automatically when you save data on a screen. Other 

edits are run when you click the Perform Edits link on the Surveys page. Error icons will usually appear

on a screen next to a data field; the icons identify the kind of error, and the severity of the problem. If 

you click on an icon you will get a description of the problem.

The error icon descriptions are displayed on each screen:

Error Types

Invalid data type An alpha character has been entered into a field that is restricted to 

numeric characters, for example.

Confirmation Certain data must be verified to check that the data entered is what is 

intended. No explanations are necessary.

Explanation The data have been flagged because an unexpected value was entered. 

Check for keying errors. Check to make sure the data are correct. If the 

data are correct, enter an explanation. The icon turns grey when an 

explanation has been entered. Explanations may be edited by clicking on 

the icon.

Fatal The data have been flagged for a serious error. This could be due to 

missing data, because the data violate internal consistency between parts 

or components, because they violate reporting rules, or because you’ve 

entered a value that is not likely for most institutions. Please review the 

data for accuracy, and correct any incorrect data. Check for keying errors. 

Do NOT fiddle with the data to try to erase the error. If the data are 

correct, contact the IPEDS Help Desk for an override. If you do not 

understand the nature of the error, contact the IPEDS Help Desk.

Override by administrator A fatal error has been overridden by an IPEDS Help Desk administrator, 

because of the explanation provided by the keyholder. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 42

RESOLVING ERRORS

All errors must be resolved before the component can be locked. This means that all confirmation edits 

need to be confirmed, explanations must be entered for all explanation errors, and all fatal errors must 

be fixed or overridden.

Once you have clicked Perform Edits on the Surveys screen, you will be able to access the Edit Report. 

This is a concise listing of all edit errors and issues with the data for the component. This report will also 

tell you the status of each error.

On this screen, you can see a description of each edit that has flagged out for your review. The Resolved

column will tell you if action is still required on your part to resolve the error. All edits must show Yes in 

the Resolved column before you can lock your survey. Click on the underlined Explanation link in the 

Severity column to enter an explanation. Click on the links in the Options column to return to the 

survey screens.

Follow the Steps to Locking for EACH survey:

1. Enter data 

2. Perform edits 

3. Resolve errors (enter explanations in edit report, or correct data when appropriate) 

4. Perform edits again 

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 as needed, until survey status is Clean 

6. Lock survey 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 43

EXPLANATION EDITS AND CONTEXT BOXES

Explanation edits and context boxes are NOT the same, although they’re similar because explanations 

and additional information are provided in both cases. The Help Desk reviews ALL edit explanations and 

context box text.

Explanations must be 

entered to resolve some

edits. Please provide clear 

and comprehensive 

explanations for why the 

data are correct as entered. 

This will minimize questions 

and followup during the 

NCES data review process; 

you will be contacted if we 

cannot understand your 

explanation, or if the 

explanation does not speak 

to the problem. Explanations are NOT published, and do not appear on College Navigator.

Explanation edits are requesting reasons for changes or other data submitted. If we only need an 

acknowledgment that data are correct, a confirmation edit will be in place, and you will only need to 

click a button. But if we ask for an explanation, please enter a reason, not a confirmation.

Explanation Edit examples:

Enrollment increased.

This is not an explanation and, in fact, is the reason the data were flagged. What caused the large 

increase in enrollment? 

Better #1: Enrollment increased due to increased recruitment efforts.

Better #2: The increase is due to the addition of a nursing program, which has been very 

popular.

The ratio is correct.

Again, this is not an explanation. How was the ratio calculated?

Better: The ratio provided was calculated based on X, Y, and Z reasons and accurately reflects 

the ratio at our institution.

IPEDS has last year’s number wrong.

Better: The person responsible for reporting last year incorrectly reported the value. This year 

we are correcting the error and will correct last year’s data in the Prior Year revision system.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 44

More explanation edit examples that you can use as a guide: 

For large variances from the prior year:

• A popular new program in Massage Therapy fueled enrollment increases for first-time/part-time 

female students.

• Average institutional grants increased as we sought to emphasize scholarships for meritorious 

achievement, since Pell was increased for needy students.

• Graduation rates decreased in part because several programs were discontinued and students in 

those majors transferred elsewhere.

• Average tuition costs rose more than 20% for several reasons. First, the institution had not 

raised tuition in more than four years. Second, we have implemented more intensive programs 

that have higher tuition rates, and these programs are popular, which affects the average tuition 

rate. Third, students are choosing to take more credits per semester than previously, which also 

affects average tuitions.

For not having additional completers between 151-200%:

• Our accreditation body does not allow students to continue beyond 150%.

• All students who completed did so within 150%.

Context boxes are optional. They are your friends, because they give you the opportunity to 

provide further information or “context” that may help reviewers and data users understand and 

interpret the data. Please pay special attention to those that will appear on College Navigator, and edit 

for grammar and punctuation as well as suitability for display on the college search website. Also, note 

that the text that you enter will appear along with the data on that same screen, so ONLY include 

context notes that are relevant to the displayed data, otherwise the users of Navigator will likely have 

difficulty understanding the context you provide.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 45

Context box text examples

Context box text should be clear and concise, explanatory and factual.

Examples of good context notes:

• Open admission is available only for the College of Professional Studies' non-traditional bachelor of 

science degree in Management and Organizational Development. All other programs do not have 

an open admissions policy.

• Tuition and fees for programs offered through the traditional on-campus format are reflected in 

this tuition and fee section. Tuition and fees for programs offered through the on-line modality or 

the evening modality are different from those reflected here and are available in the Example 

College Catalog or by contacting Example College.

Context box text should NOT be a marketing opportunity or an edit explanation.

Examples of what to avoid: 

• Example College is one of the nation’s most innovative liberal arts colleges. In addition to strong 

academic majors in the humanities, social and natural sciences, the College features inventive 

programs of study... 

This is marketing and information should be factual, not flowery.

• Our tuition rates are the best public tuition rates in our state. We offer students the most 

opportunity for their dollar. 

This is advertising, and it may or may not be factual.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 46

LOCKING A SURVEY

The survey status must be 

Clean before a survey can 

be locked. To lock a 

survey, click on the Lock

link in the Steps to Locking 

column on the Surveys

screen. Once a survey is 

locked, the data become 

“view only.” However, if 

you discover later that you 

need to make a correction 

to the data you’ve 

submitted, contact the Help Desk and ask them to unlock the survey for you. A confirmation email will 

be sent to you when you apply the lock; some keyholders print these out for their records.

Once you’ve locked your 

survey, you can print out 

the data for your records

and save a PDF to your 

computer; use the Print 

Data/Get PDF link in the 

Options column.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 47

HELP MENU

There are many resources 

available under the Help

menu in the Data Collection 

System. Also, please don’t 

forget to contact the IPEDS 

Help Desk if you have any 

questions, at 1-877-225-

2568, or ipedshelp@rti.org. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 48

Communications from NCES

REMINDER EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS

NCES sends out many followup emails to keyholders, to remind them of survey due dates. Here is the 

schedule for each collection:

• Email to keyholder that the collection has opened

• Email to keyholder, if no data have been entered by 4 weeks before the collection closes

• Email to new keyholder, if all surveys are not locked by 4 weeks before the collection closes

• Phone call to keyholder or CEO, if no data have been entered by 2 weeks before the collection closes

• Phone call to new keyholder or CEO, if all surveys are not locked by 2 weeks before the collection 

closes

• Email to keyholder if all surveys are not locked by 2 weeks before the collection closes

• Email to keyholder if all surveys are not locked by 1 week before the collection closes

Additional reminders are sent during the Spring collection, because it is so long.

ONE LAST CHANCE POLICY

Remember, there are NO reporting extensions in IPEDS. However, every institution can get special postcollection assistance to finish up their reporting for ONE collection. We call this the One Last Chance 

policy. Contact the Help Desk if you anticipate needing this assistance.

DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM EMAILS

An automatic email is sent to keyholders upon registration, and when contact information is updated. 

Automatic emails are also sent to keyholders (and coordinators) when each survey is locked.

MESSAGE CENTER

Each time you log into the Data Collection System, check the upper-right-hand corner for new messages. 

You can re-read messages using the Message Center function under the Tools menu.

THANK-YOU EMAILS

If all survey components for a collection are locked by 3 weeks before the collection closes, a thank-you 

email will be sent to your institution’s CEO. This email will mention the keyholder by name, as the 

person primarily responsible for this accomplishment. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 49

THIS WEEK IN IPEDS

These emails are sent out whenever there is important information or announcements that need to be 

communicated to keyholders. This Week in IPEDS can also be found on the IPEDS website, in the 

Newsroom. 

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES EMAILS

Special emails are sent out periodically to alert keyholders to IPEDS training opportunities. See the 

Resources chapter of this handbook for more information. 

SOME NOTES CONCERNING COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE HELP DESK

If you receive a communication from Help Desk personnel or NCES requesting a response, please do not 

ignore it. Many times, we are trying to prevent you from having compliance issues or unfavorable (and 

incorrect) data that will show on College Navigator, the FAFSA website, the College Affordability and 

Transparency Center, and in the Data Feedback Reports. 

Many keyholders have complained about the emails that say that we will contact your CEO if you 

haven’t responded by a particular date. This is not intended to be a threat, but a safeguard, as quite 

frequently a failure to respond indicates that the keyholder has left the institution and has not been 

replaced. These calls start approximately two weeks prior to the end of collection, which would still give 

a replacement keyholder time to get the data and complete the surveys. At the end of collection, we 

call regarding data quality issues. At this point, we would have either a request for clarification of an 

explanation or we have found a problem that needs to be addressed. Frequently, these issues can be 

resolved in just a minute or two, although sometimes there are deeper problems that do take more 

time. It’s not that we want to bug you or don’t understand that you have other things for which you are 

responsible. We are required to keep calling until we get the matter resolved. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 50

Tips from Veteran Keyholders and the 

IPEDS Help Desk

 

GETTING READY

Read all the training materials available through the IPEDS Help menu in the Data Collection System

completely, several times. The tutorials are especially helpful. Set internal deadlines for yourself and 

the people at your institution who need to provide data to you. Start early - the alternative is a wild 

rush at the end, and possibly missing the IPEDS deadline. 

Donald Wonnell

Assistant Ohio IPEDS Coordinator

Start submitting data for your surveys early during each collection period. Since there are no extensions 

for submitting data, starting early will allow you to have sufficient time to address any questions 

or issues you may encounter. If you start within a week of the collection opening, you’ll have plenty of 

time to research/find the data needed. The AIR web tutorials are a good place to become familiar with 

the key concepts you’ll need in order to do your IPEDS reporting. 

Puska Smith 

IPEDS Help Desk

Make sure that you have a general understanding of all the surveys and where the data originate. 

Create your own set of audits for each survey to allow a quick check before locking the survey. 

Sandra Kinney

Research Manager

Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education

Review, thoroughly, all of the items under the Help menu in the Data Collection System. You might not 

need them now, but in the future you’ll know where to get answers to questions.

Donald Hairston

IPEDS Help Desk 

Always print out a copy of the survey before you complete it or send it to an external office such as 

financial aid. To generate a survey form, you can either click the Survey Materials link from the 

Overview page of each survey or you can go to Survey Materials under the Help tab. If you need to 

access prior year data, you can click on Previously Reported Data on the Overview page or you can 

retrieve the surveys in the Prior Year Revision System at https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ipeds_py using 

your current ID and password to make access. READ the survey before attempting to answer it. READ 

the instructions. READ the FAQs. They help. 

Tammy Silva

Director, Institutional Research

University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

& 

Patricia Gerrald 

IPEDS Help Desk
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 51

I think it is very important to use the glossary for every data unit.

Eileen Brennan

Institutional Research

Oakland Community College

Look at all the reporting dates for the various surveys before the reporting year even starts. My first 

time through I thought I needed more current semester census data for the fall reports than was 

actually needed. I was still able to complete the reports on time, but it would have been less of a rush 

with better planning. 

Claire Goverts 

Office of Institutional Research 

St. John Fisher College

There are several good reasons to work on your surveys as soon as the collection opens: you won’t have 

to wait on the phone for help from the Help Desk, and the Help Desk personnel can give you more of 

their time since there won’t be any calls in queue; if you complete all surveys early, your CEO will get an 

email recognizing your efforts for early completion; and there will be no need to go into panic mode 

when you realize the survey deadline is within the next couple of days. 

Dianne Ferris

IPEDS Help Desk

Filling in the IPEDS surveys is the easy part, but dealing with one's own institutional data systems is the 

hard part. I believe I can generalize about dealing with the information system to some extent. It is a 

three-step process: (1) querying the student information system (SIS) for data, (2) conditioning and 

cleaning it, and (3) running the appropriate reports to acquire summary statistics. I use saved queries on 

the SIS that address IPEDS reporting needs, and SPSS scripts to help clean and classify the data 

afterwards. I have to make sure I stay in touch with any coding changes that are made in the SIS. The 

SIS could be used alone if it contains the proper classification codes for IPEDS reporting and appropriate 

reports. But in this case one would want to run some exception reports to show any data that need 

correction (such as SATs below 200 or dates of birth that haven't occurred yet). So three steps are still 

involved.

Patricia DeWitt 

Assistant Vice President for Planning and Institutional Effectiveness 

Shorter College

ENLISTING THE HELP OF OTHERS

Communicate with each office that will complete the IPEDS surveys. Before each collection period, 

contact each office (financial aid, business office, human resources) that provides data for each survey. 

Ensure that each office also has access to or a copy of the instructions for their particular survey. 

Discuss timelines and answer any questions. 

Sandra Kinney

Research Manager

Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 52

Determine who your institutional contacts are early. Be sure to highlight any changes to the survey that 

have been made since the last submission. Make it as easy as possible for your colleagues to help with 

the survey and help them understand the importance of the submissions. 

Yvonne Kochera Kirby 

Assistant Director, Institutional Research 

University of Arkansas

Keyholders can assign/designate additional users if necessary, so all reporting burden may not fall on 

just you, as the keyholder. There are up to six additional IDs and passwords that can be distributed to 

other folks on your campus so that they can assist with entering and reviewing data. As the keyholder, 

you have the ability to restrict these users’ access to specific surveys if you desire. Only the keyholder 

may lock the data. 

Racquel Perkins

IPEDS Help Desk

At the start of each year, I send the links to all of the new IPEDS survey forms, instructions, what's new, 

and upload instructions to the individuals who will be preparing the survey that year. I follow up with a 

reminder at the start of each collection period. Since people are prepared they complete their data 

entry earlier and that makes the edit and locking process much easier for the keyholder.

Darline Morris

Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Research and Planning

Texas State Technical College Waco

If you involve other players from across your institution in data entry and data acquisition, always have 

the extra usernames and password established by the day that particular survey opens. Send the 

opening day email from IPEDS to all other players immediately, the very day the email arrives. Follow up 

with each of them, and meet with them to walk through the required data. Be sure to tell other players 

assisting you that the deadline is one week prior to the real, actual IPEDS deadline. Do not allow them to 

have an extension beyond that time frame as you will still need time to go in and verify all their data, 

run error reports, and lock it down. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO LOCK! Remind others 

assisting you that these surveys are not optional and that the CEO will be notified if things do not occur 

on schedule.

Jack Mahoney

Director of Institutional Research & Assessment

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Don't wait until the last minute. Meaning especially: don't let your data sources wait until the last 

minute. Because there will frequently be some glitch or error in the data which requires follow-up and 

correction and maybe consultation with the Help Desk, etc. If it's your own data, you can keep hacking 

away at it until it's fixed, but if it's flawed data from somebody else's office, you're going to have a 

process involving going back-and-forth, and that takes time. 

Mike Tamada 

Director of Institutional Research 

Occidental College 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 53

Always run the report by the institutional offices that are responsible for the data entry before entering 

it in the IPEDS system. I have sometimes found that changes in personnel in other offices can affect the 

data integrity, making previously used coding obsolete without any warning. Having the office 

responsible for the data bless the reported output can save later problems.

Janet H. Maddox 

Director of Institutional Research 

Oglethorpe University

Create a positive work environment for those who are part of your IPEDS Team. Thank folks for taking 

the time to gather the data you need. Be available to answer questions and provide your 

assistance. Always respect the timing of other projects your colleagues may be working on and schedule 

things you can, like prior year data collection, when workloads are lighter. 

Donna Silber

Coordinator, Institutional Effectiveness

Maricopa Community College District

A good piece of advice is to stay close to the registrar's office, the admissions office, financial aid, the 

business office, and the IT people. Do them favors whenever possible.

Patricia DeWitt 

Assistant Vice President for Planning and Institutional Effectiveness 

Shorter College

Don’t take it personally if people aren’t happy to see you. Being an IPEDS keyholder is sometimes 

difficult, especially when deadlines approach and offices on campus have a focus on something other 

than filling out an IPEDS survey. 

Sandra Kinney

Research Manager

Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education

VERIFYING YOUR DATA

I’ve found it's vital that I compare each year's new data with as many prior years as possible. Beyond 

what IPEDS automatically does, this provides a trend and enables me to look at the items in summary 

form to be sure that we're not way off on the items we're reporting. 

Jan W. Lyddon, Ph.D.

Director of Institutional Effectiveness

Franklin University

Compare data compiled in IPEDS to other reports (financial statements, CDS, VSA, state reports, etc.) 

and double check the definitions. Compile data from peer institutions and see how your data compare. 

There is always the chance that people are interpreting directions differently and this is one way to help 

catch those instances. Using College Navigator, look at how your institution is portrayed. Does it look 

right? 

Yvonne Kochera Kirby 

Assistant Director, Institutional Research

University of Arkansas
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 54

We believe in visual trend checks. Our worksheets usually have trend data for each school. We can add 

the new data in and look at the chart.

Duncan Hsu

Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education

KEEPING RECORDS

I document profusely -- what files I used, queries, recoding of data to match IPEDS, etc. Also, I 

document questions or issues I may run into and why I resolved them the way I did. I have saved myself 

so much headache by having good notes from previous years. 

Julie Saville 

Institutional Assessment and Analysis 

Brigham Young University

When I took this job there was already a big white board in the office that outlined when each report 

was due -- for the entire year. That was very helpful. I added notes on where I pulled data from -- and 

this helped me to get the big picture. Also made notes on what information was duplicated for state 

and feds. So, my #1 tip - take copious notes on how you got what you got. At the time, it sometimes 

feels like a waste but I find I always appreciate it a year later. 

Angie Carrico

Southwestern Michigan College

In addition to an electronic filing system for IPEDS, I also keep hard copies of the IPEDS survey reports in 

binders. These binders are organized/labeled/sorted by collection and by year. Along with hard copies 

of the completed surveys are procedures manual, worksheets, programming scripts, and communication 

pieces pertaining to the survey. Having such binders readily available for referencing would provide 

instant search of needed info and help with new staff training as well.

Jion Liou Yen, Ph.D. 

Executive Director of Institutional Research and Planning 

Lewis University

I create binders for each of the individual IPEDS survey components with forms, instructions, FAQs, 

narrative edits, glossary terms, and upload instructions. Dividers are added as necessary for 

miscellaneous categories, for example: questions and resolutions; contacts for each individual 

section; supporting documentation; directions/links to all electronic copies of our completed 

reports. Every year I update the binder, making sure to save a copy of the blank forms and 

instructions. IPEDS forms can change from year to year, and if we have to use the Prior Year Revision 

System to resubmit one of our surveys, we have the blank prior year forms to work with. 

Donna Silber

Coordinator, Institutional Effectiveness

Maricopa Community College District
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 55

When you lock your surveys, create a .pdf version of your submission and save it. I also try to share the 

final submission with the office that is responsible. This provides quick and easy access to institutional 

data, and fosters good communication and interoffice support.

Ellen Peters, Director 

Institutional Research and Assessment Support 

Bates College

GETTING ADVICE

To improve or to invent your institution's process, consult with keyholders from similar institutions, 

whether neighbors or others with whom you have a good working relationship. 

Eileen Brennan

Institutional Research

Oakland Community College

GETTING HELP 

The best thing to do when you are unsure of anything is to call the IPEDS help line. They are the best!!!

Katherine Palmieri

20-year IPEDS veteran 

Modern Welding School

Don't be afraid to call the Help Desk! They are very knowledgeable and very good at helping you resolve 

issues. Whenever it looks like the IPEDS data requested doesn't exactly fit our institution, I always rely 

on them for further explanation.

Katy Hill 

Director, Assessment & Institutional Evaluation 

Westwood College

Don’t wait until the last minute to lock your survey. You can always call or email the help desk to unlock 

it for changes. 

Tammy Silva

Director, Institutional Research

University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

Even after almost 20 years of doing IR, almost every year I will call the Help Desk at least once, and they 

are very responsive. Best Help Desk I've ever encountered.

Mike Tamada 

Director of Institutional Research 

Occidental College
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 56

When you don’t understand something or the Data Collection System doesn’t seem willing to accept 

data that are known to be correct, call the Help Desk rather than fudging or guessing at the data you 

think the system is looking for. 

Dianne Ferris

IPEDS Help Desk

If you are not certain of the questions being asked, there are several ways to get assistance. On each 

page of the surveys, there is a hyperlink in the upper right hand corner to the instructions for that 

page. Also, each underlined word in the surveys is a hyperlink to the glossary definition of that 

word. The full set of instructions and FAQs is available under the HELP tab in “Survey Materials.” Most 

importantly, do not hesitate to call the Help Desk for assistance. We deal with most of the questions 

that you will have on a daily basis, and know how to research more unusual questions efficiently. We 

can often save you a great deal of frustration if you call us.

Remember that during the last two weeks of each collection period, it is more difficult to reach the Help 

Desk for assistance with questions, override requests, or other assistance without waiting on hold. The 

middle weeks of each collection are often lull times, and Help Desk personnel have more time available 

to help you understand the surveys and learn how to use the system. If you do the surveys early, you 

have plenty of time to get help if you run into difficulty. Call early! 

Patricia Gerrald 

IPEDS Help Desk
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 57

IPEDS Resources – Where to Get Help

IPEDS TRAINING

The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) is the contractor responsible for IPEDS Training. They 

have developed web tutorials and face-to-face workshops on various IPEDS topics. The materials and 

information are available from the AIR website, at http://www.airweb.org/ipeds. 

Direct links are also available from the Training and Outreach menu on the IPEDS website, through the 

Data Collection System Help menu, and from the Data Provider Center.

At the end of this manual are two flyers with training information that you can print out to remind 

yourself, and give to others on your campus. The flyers are also available in the Help Menu in the Data 

Collection System. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 58

ONLINE TUTORIALS

Professionally produced online tutorials covering IPEDS data submission and data use are available from 

the AIR website. These are free, and are available 24 hours a day, so you can use them on your

schedule. 

The New Keyholder Online Tutorial is specifically for new keyholders, and provides an overview of 

keyholder responsibilities and how the IPEDS data submission process works.

The survey component web tutorials will assist you in understanding the key concepts and common 

pitfalls you need to know in order to accurately submit data for the different survey forms. These can 

be accessed from the survey screens, and through the Training and Outreach menu on the IPEDS 

website, the Data Collection System Help menu, and from the Data Provider Center. The survey 

component web tutorials are posted by the opening of each data collection period. You will be alerted 

through a training email.

FACE-TO-FACE WORKSHOPS

New IPEDS keyholders find the full-day New Keyholders Workshop particularly valuable. This workshop 

provides you with a thorough introduction to the IPEDS data collection cycle and reporting 

requirements. Created specifically for new IPEDS keyholders, this workshop outlines the roles and 

responsibilities of a keyholder and the resources available to assist in the IPEDS planning and reporting 

processes. The workshop also provides you an opportunity to create an IPEDS planning calendar for the 

upcoming data collection cycle. Attendance at this workshop is limited to new keyholders, there is no 

fee to attend, and you can request up to $500 to offset the cost of travel. Watch for special email 

announcements. 

New this year is the Best Practices for Reporting and Using IPEDS Data workshop. This workshop 

focuses on best practices for efficiently and effectively submitting IPEDS data and maximizing the value 

of IPEDS by utilizing the data for other purposes on campus.

Other IPEDS face-to-face workshops for IPEDS data providers and users include the following topics: 

• IPEDS Data as the Public Face of an Institution

• IPEDS Data and Benchmarking: Supporting Decision Making and Institutional Effectiveness

• IPEDS Finance Training

There is no charge to attend any of these workshops. Some travel assistance is available. Attendance 

preference is given to keyholders.

Training emails sent to keyholders will alert you to these workshops.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 59

IPEDS LISTSERV

Become a member of the IPEDS Listserv through the Data Provider Center and join in on discussions of 

IPEDS topics of interest to keyholders and others.

IPEDS WEBSITE

The IPEDS website is available at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/. Once there, you will find access to a lot of 

good information.

• Keep current in the Newsroom

• Learn in Training & Outreach

• Read interesting reports in Publications

• Find definitions in the Glossary

• Submit data and get data submission help through the Data Provider Center

• Look up your institution on College Navigator; see the College Affordability and Transparency 

lists

• Find data in the IPEDS Data Center and Tables Library

• Get answers through IPEDS Resources
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 60

And, of course, 

don’t forget the

IPEDS Help Desk: 

1-877-225-2568

ipedshelp@rti.org

DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM TUTORIAL

A tutorial that explains 

how to use the IPEDS 

Data Collection System 

can be found under the 

Help menu. This 

tutorial is also available 

through the Data 

Provider Center.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 61

Using IPEDS Data

DATA AVAILABILITY

Once IPEDS data have been entered, edited, cleaned, and locked, they pass 

through additional review by the IPEDS Help Desk and NCES. The Help Desk 

runs additional checks on the data before they are migrated to the 

dissemination server. At this time, the edit explanations and context notes 

are reviewed, and the keyholder may be contacted if questions about the 

data submission arise. The Help Desk begins migrating the data while the 

data collection is still in progress. 

Once the data are migrated, they are available at the collection level in the 

Data Center. Keyholders (and anyone who has a UserID and password for 

the Data Collection System) can access the collection level data in the Data 

Center as soon as their own institution’s data are migrated; to do this, go 

through the Tools menu in the Data Collection System. Migration continues 

after the data collection closes.

Once the data are migrated, NCES does additional Quality Control checks; 

keyholders may be contacted if questions arise. 

Soon after the data collection closes, College Navigator is updated, the First 

Look publication is released, Preliminary (unimputed) data are publicly 

available through the Data Center.

Approximately 3 months after that, the First Look publication is reissued, 

and Provisional (imputed) data are publicly available through the Data Center.

Approximately 1 year after that, the Final data are made public through the Data Center.

Final Release

(revised)

Preliminary 

Public Release

(unimputed)

Migration to DC 

Collection Level

Locking 

of Survey Data

Editing 

of Survey Data

Data Entry by 

Respondents

Provisional 

Public Release 

(imputed)
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 62

IPEDS DATA CENTER

The IPEDS Data Center is the place to go to get IPEDS Data. A table that explains how to use the Data 

Center functions follows. Once you’ve accessed the Data Center, an extensive user manual is available 

under the Help icon in the upper-right-hand corner.

Please note that the IPEDS Tools Help Desk phone number is on every screen in the Data Center.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 63

How to Use the IPEDS Data Center Functions

What do you want to 

do?

What should you use? What do you get?

Generate reports with 

predetermined 

variables

Look up an institution

(this is the only 

function that limits 

viewing to one 

institution at a time)

Allows users to select a single institution and view 

predetermined data for that institution. The 

‘Institution Profile’ option provides selected data for 

an institution and is a great option for someone 

looking for a quick ‘snapshot’ of a single institution. 

The ‘Reported Data’ option provides the actual 

reported data, and is great for keyholders who need 

to know how the data were reported in previous 

years. The ‘Data Feedback Reports’ option provides 

access to the institution’s annual reports in .pdf 

format. Each option can be printed or downloaded 

with Adobe. 

Generate pre-defined 

reports

Generates packaged reports for the institution(s) 

selected. The user simply selects institutions and 

then selects a template of interest for a quick and 

easy report. An Excel file can be downloaded via a 

Zip file.

Generate reports with 

one user-selected 

variable 

Rank institutions on 

one variable

Allows the user to order a variable based on the 

values provided by institutions, and can be 

downloaded or printed using Adobe.

View trend for one 

variable

Use this function to quickly look at a single variable 

over multiple years. Graphs can be viewed for each 

institution, the report can be downloaded in Adobe, 

or users can download the data into a comma 

separated file. 

Generate reports by 

selecting multiple 

variables using the 

IPEDS variable tree 

Compare individual 

institutions

Select variables using the IPEDS variable tree, and 

download into a comma separated file to 

manipulate in Excel. Users can select as many 

variables as they like – but should remember that 

Excel has limits, and computer connections may 

time out.

Create group statistics Generate statistics including sum, minimum and 

maximum, mean and median, percentiles, and 

standard deviation. View results on screen to access 

a graph, or download into comma separated format 

to create your own. Recent enhancements allow the 

user to obtain separate analyses for subgroups and 

create more detailed analyses by groups, and to 

weigh comparison institution variable values against 

multiple subgroups.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 64

How to Use the IPEDS Data Center Functions

What do you want to 

do?

What should you use? What do you get?

Generate large data 

files in multiple formats 

using all available IPEDS 

variables 

Download survey data 

files

Download the full data files for each survey to use in 

SAS, STATA, or SPSS. This option also allows access 

the data dictionaries.

Download custom data 

files

Select data using all available IPEDS variables, 

including variables not in the IPEDS variable tree, 

and use in SAS, STATA, or SPSS. This option also 

allows access the data dictionaries.

Generate a table or 

make simplified peer 

comparisons 

Executive Peer Tool 

(ExPT) and Data 

Feedback Report (DFR)

Create a peer report, including statistical reports and 

graphs, using the variables used in the IPEDS DFR or 

download the IPEDS DFR.

Trend Generator Generate trend data for certain IPEDS data. Display 

trends at aggregate level, or by institutional and 

student characteristics.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 65

COLLEGE NAVIGATOR

College Navigator is a consumer 

information and college search tool. It 

was designed to help college students, 

prospective students, and their parents 

understand the differences between 

colleges and how much it costs to attend 

college. Users can select colleges based 

on location, programs, degree offerings, 

and a number of other characteristics, 

and obtain information on admissions, 

estimated student expenses, student 

financial aid awarded, retention and 

graduation rates, enrollment, 

completions, accreditation status, campus security, and varsity athletic teams. It allows users to 

designate favorite institutions, compare up to four institutions side-by-side, save sessions, and 

download and print out information on institutions. Access College Navigator from the IPEDS home 

page at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/. It’s always a good idea to look at your own institution’s listing on 

College Navigator periodically, to see the information that prospective students are seeing.

COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY CENTER

The College Affordability and 

Transparency Center, available at 

http://collegecost.ed.gov/, includes 

information for students, parents, and 

policymakers about college costs at 

America’s colleges and universities. The 

Center includes several lists of institutions 

based on the tuition and fees and net 

prices (the price of attendance after 

considering all grant and scholarship aid) 

charged to students. These lists meet 

requirements outlined in the Higher 

Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) and will 

be updated annually and posted on the 

College Navigator website by July 1. 

These lists are generated using the IPEDS 

data that your institution reports. Since additional reporting requirements are mandated for institutions 

that appear on some of the lists, it’s important to make sure that the data you’ve reported are accurate. 

Additional information about how the lists are generated can be found at 

http://collegecost.ed.gov/catc/about.aspx. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 66

DATA FEEDBACK REPORT (DFR) AND EXECUTIVE PEER TOOL (EXPT)

The Data Feedback Report provides each institution a context 

for examining the data they submitted to IPEDS. The goal is to 

produce an annual report that is useful to institutional 

executives and institutions for benchmarking and peer analysis, 

and that can help improve the quality and comparability of IPEDS 

data. 

The report presents selected indicators and data elements for 

your institution and a comparison group of institutions. If the 

keyholder did not specify a comparison group to use, NCES 

selected one for this report. The figures are based on data 

collected during the most recent completed IPEDS collection 

cycle. Additional information is provided in the report, along 

with a list of the institutions used in the comparison group, and 

the criteria used for their selection.

The report is mailed to Chief Executive Officers and emailed to 

IPEDS institutional keyholders and coordinators each fall. PDF 

versions of the reports are available to institutions and the public from the Data Center and Executive 

Peer Tool (ExPT). 

The ExPT may be used to view printed IPEDS DFRs, create Custom DFRs, and create statistical reports on 

selected variables. Users can create and download a Custom DFR using different charts or a different 

comparison group than used in the printed report; create and download a Statistical Analysis Report 

showing statistics, tables, and graphs for the selected variables; download an institution’s IPEDS DFRs 

for several recent years; download the most recent printed IPEDS DFRs for comparison group 

institutions; download a data file of ExPT variables for the focus and comparison group institutions. 

The ExPT has an extensive User Manual, so it’s really easy to use. You can access this tool through the 

IPEDS Data Center at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 67

TABULATED DATA

The IPEDS Tables Library can be accessed from the IPEDS homepage. The Tables Library has tabulated 

data on enrollments, graduation rates, institutional prices, student financial aid, faculty and staff, and 

more. 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 68

IF YOU NEED HELP USING IPEDS DATA....

There are online tutorials covering IPEDS data use tools on the AIR IPEDS Tutorials website, at 

http://www.airweb.org/ipeds. 

There is also an IPEDS Data Tools Help Desk, ready to answer your questions about how to use IPEDS 

data tools. They’ll even walk you through the process of getting your data from the Data Center. Here’s 

how to contact them:

IPEDS Data Tools Help Desk

1-866-558-0658 

ipedstools@rti.org 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 69

Additional Information

LIST OF ACRONYMS

AIR – Association for Institutional Research, develops and conducts IPEDS training

C – Completions survey component

CIP – Classification of Instructional Programs

DC – Data Center

DFR – Data Feedback Report

E12 – 12-month Enrollment survey component

EF – Fall Enrollment survey component

ExPT – Executive Peer Tool

F – Finance survey component

FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid

FSA – Office of Federal Student Aid

FTE – Full-time equivalent

GR – Graduation Rates survey component

GR200 – 200% Graduation Rates survey component

HEA – Higher Education Act

HEOA – Higher Education Opportunity Act

HR – Human Resources survey component

IC – Institutional Characteristics survey component

NCES – National Center for Education Statistics

OPEid – Office of Postsecondary Education Identification number (for Title IV)

PPA – Program Participation Agreement (for Title IV)

RTI – RTI International, operates IPEDS Help Desk

SFA – Student Financial Aid survey component

SOC – Standard Occupational Classification system (used in IPEDS HR reporting)

SRK – Student Right-to-Know

TRP – Technical Review Panel
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 70

USEFUL WEBSITES

IPEDS Home Page http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/

• Find links to 

• Data Provider Center

• College Navigator

• IPEDS Data Center

• Glossary

• Newsroom

• Resources

• Training information

IPEDS Data Provider Center https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/IPEDS/

• Log in to the Data Collection System

• Find information on 

• Data submission procedures and requirements, including survey materials and 

submission calendar

• Links to tools, including AIR/IPEDS web tutorials, glossary, IPEDS Prior Year Data Revision 

System, IPEDS Listserv

• Technical information

AIR/IPEDS Training Website http://www.airweb.org/ipeds

• Access IPEDS online tutorials

• Get information on face-to-face workshops

CIP 2010 User Website http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode

• Get information on Classification of Instructional Programs codes for reporting IPEDS data

HR/SOC Information Center http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/resource/soc.asp

• Get information to assist with reporting using the new IPEDS occupational categories
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 71

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS FOR REPORTING IPEDS DATA; PENALTIES FOR 

NONCOMPLIANCE

GENERAL MANDATE 

NCES is authorized by law under the Section 153 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-

279). Accordingly, NCES "shall collect, report, analyze, and disseminate statistical data related to 

education in the United States and in other nations, including - 

• collecting, acquiring, compiling (where appropriate, on a state by state basis), and disseminating 

full and complete statistics on the condition and progress of education, at the pre-school, 

elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels in the United States, ...; 

• conducting and publishing reports and analyses of the meaning and significance of such 

statistics; 

• collecting, analyzing, cross-tabulating, and reporting, to the extent feasible, so as to provide 

information by gender, race, ...; and 

• assisting public and private educational agencies, organizations, and institutions in improving 

and automating statistical and data collection activities..."

MANDATORY REPORTING FOR INSTITUTIONS WITH PROGRAM PARTICIPATION 

AGREEMENTS 

The completion of all IPEDS surveys, in a timely and accurate manner, is mandatory for all institutions 

that participate in or are applicants for participation in any Federal financial assistance program 

authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended. The completion of the 

surveys is mandated by 20 USC 1094, Section 487(a)(17) and 34 CFR 668.14(b)(19).

The Department of Education relies on postsecondary institutions to accurately report data to IPEDS, 

and nearly all institutions do. Institutions themselves sometimes identify misreporting issues and work 

with ED to correct those problems without the need for further action by the Department. The 

Department is concerned about any instances of intentional or significant misreporting. Under these 

circumstances, the Office of Federal Student Aid may take administrative action to appropriately 

address the issue.

Title IV, HEA program regulations 34 CFR 668.84, 668.85, and 668.86 provide that the Department may 

initiate a fine action or other administrative action, such as a limitation, suspension or termination of 

eligibility to participate in the Title IV, HEA programs, against institutions that do not comply with the 

requirement to complete and submit the surveys. The regulations permit a fine of up to $27,500 for 

each violation of any provision of Title IV, or any regulation or agreement implementing that Title. In 

determining the amount of a fine, the Secretary considers both the gravity of the offense and the size of 

the institution (34 CFR 668.92(a)). 

Each year, the Office of Federal Student Aid issues fine notices to institutions for not completing their 

IPEDS surveys in a complete and accurate manner within the required timeframes. Other institutions 

are sent warning letters. According to the Office of Federal Student Aid, an institution's failure to 

accurately complete and submit these surveys is a serious violation of its obligations under the Higher 

Education Act, and appropriate action will be taken.
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 72

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION DATA 

IPEDS responds to certain of the requirements pursuant to Section 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins 

Vocational Education Act. The data related to vocational programs and program completions are 

collected from postsecondary institutions known to provide occupationally specific vocational 

education.

DATA ON RACE/ETHNICITY AND GENDER OF STUDENTS 

The collection and reporting of race/ethnicity and gender data on students and completers are 

mandatory for all institutions which receive, are applicants for, or expect to be applicants for Federal 

financial assistance as defined in the Department of Education (ED) regulations implementing Title VI of 

the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (34 CFR 100), or defined in any ED regulation implementing Title IX of the 

Education Amendments of 1972 (34 CFR 106). The collection of race/ethnicity and gender data in 

vocational programs is mandated by Section 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act.

FALL STAFF DATA 

The collection and reporting of race/ethnicity and gender data on the Fall Staff (S) section of the Human 

Resources (HR) component are mandatory for all institutions which receive, are applicants for, or expect 

to be applicants for Federal financial assistance as defined in the Department of Education (ED) 

regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (34 CFR 100). The collection of data are 

also mandated by P.L. 88-352, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Equal 

Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 (29 CFR 1602, subparts O, P, and Q). Institutions with 15 or more 

full-time employees are required to respond to the IPEDS Fall Staff component under this mandate.

STUDENT RIGHT-TO-KNOW 

Sections 668.41, 668.45, and 668.48 of the Student Assistance General Provision (34 CFR 668) were 

amended to implement the Student Right-to-Know Act, as amended by the Higher Education 

Amendments of 1991 and further by the Higher Education Technical Amendments of 1993 and 1999. 

The final regulations require an institution that participates in any student financial assistance program 

under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, to disclose information about 

graduation or completion rates to current and prospective students. The final regulations also require 

such institutions that also award athletically related student aid to provide certain types of data 

regarding the institution's student population, and the graduation or completion rates of categories of 

student-athletes, to potential athletes, their parents, coaches, and counselors.

CONSUMER INFORMATION 

• Section 101 of the Higher Education amendments of 1965 (P.L. 105-244) requires that NCES 

collect the following information about undergraduate students from institutions of higher 

education: tuition and fees, cost of attendance, the average amount of financial assistance 

received by type of aid, and the number of students receiving each type.

• Section 132 of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008 (P.L. 110-315) requires that 

NCES make the following consumer information about postsecondary institutions available on 

the College Navigator college search web site: the institution’s mission statement; a link to the 

institution’s website that provides, in an easily accessible manner, information on student 

activities, services for individuals with disabilities, career and placement services, and policies on 

transfer of credit; admissions rates and test scores; enrollment by race and ethnicity, gender, 

enrollment status, and residency; number of transfer students; students registered with the 

disability office; retention rates; graduation rates within normal time of program completion 
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 73

and 150% and 200% of normal time; number of certificates and degrees awarded, and programs 

with the highest number of awards; student-to-faculty ratio and number of faculty and graduate 

assistants; cost of attendance and availability of alternative tuition plans; average grant aid and 

loans, and number of students receiving such aid, by type; total grant aid to undergraduates; 

number of students receiving Pell Grants; three years of tuition and fees and average net price 

data; three years of average net price disaggregated by income; a multi-year tuition calculator; 

College Affordability Lists and reports; Title IV cohort default rate; and campus safety 

information. Some of these items will be phased in over a 5-year period from passage of the 

bill. State spending charts and a link to Bureau of Labor Statistics information on starting 

salaries are also required
2012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 74
IPEDSDATA PROVIDER CENTER

https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/IPEDS/ 

IPEDS 2012-13 

Data Collection Calendar

(Keyholder UserIDs start with P or 88G)

Registration Opens 8/8 Registration

Report Mapping

Institution Identification

IC Header

Fall Collection Opens 9/5 

Keyholder close 10/17

Coordinator close 10/31

Institutional Characteristics (IC)

Completions (C)

12-month Enrollment (E12)

Winter Collection Opens 12/5 

Keyholder close 2/6

Coordinator close 2/20 

Student Financial Aid (SFA)

Spring Collection Opens 12/5 

Keyholder close 4/10 

Coordinator close 4/24 

Fall Enrollment (EF)

Graduation Rates (GR)

200% Graduation Rates (GR200)

Finance (F)

Human Resources (HR)

IPEDS Help Desk

Mon – Fri, 8:30 am – 5 pm Eastern

1-877-225-2568

ipedshelp@rti.org

Prior Year Data Revisions:

• Revisions to data submitted for 2011-

12 can be made through the IPEDS 

Prior Year Revision System. 

Components will be open for revision 

during their regular collection period. 

For example, revisions to the 

Completions component can be made 

during the fall collection period.

Average Net Price for College 

Affordability and Transparency 

Center (CATC) and College 

Navigator:

• The 2013 CATC lists will be generated 

using IC and SFA data submitted in 

2011-12, and revised, if necessary, in 

the Prior Year Revision System. Cost of 

attendance data on IC can be revised 

during the fall data collection. 

Financial aid data can be revised 

during the winter collection. The lists 

will be posted by 7/1/13. Revised net 

price data will be posted on College 

Navigator in March 2013.

Custom Comparison Group Upload 

for 2013 Data Feedback Report

1/2/13 – 7/16/13 

Association for Institutional Research

Guide for NEW IPEDS Keyholders

Suggested Path of Study for New IPEDS Keyholders

www.airweb.org/ipeds

As a professional association of more than 4,000 institutional researchers, planners, and decision 

makers from more than 1,500 higher education institutions around the world, AIR helps advance 

research that improves the understanding, planning, and operation of higher education institutions.

IPEDS Resources

New Keyholder Training & IPEDS Workshops Questions?

AIR IPEDS Team: 850-385-4155 x202 or ipedsworkshops@airweb.org

Institution specific data collection questions? 

IPEDS Help Desk: 1-877-225-2568 or ipedshelp@rti.org

Institution specific data tools questions? 

IPEDS Help Desk: 1-866-558-0658 or ipedstools@rti.org

AIR offers IPEDS training and information at no charge to participants through face-to-face workshops 

and online tutorials. The New Keyholder Overview Tutorial and New Keyholder Workshop are 

specifically designed for new IPEDS Keyholders. Funding for this work comes from the U.S. Department 

of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). 
Association for Institutional Research

AIR’s IPEDS Resources: www.airweb.org/ipeds

AIR offers IPEDS training and information at no charge to participants through face-to-face workshops 

and online tutorials. Funding for this work comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s National 

Center for Education Statistics (NCES). 

AIR’s IPEDS Resource Center provides additional information, including: List of Current IPEDS 

Trainers, NCES Presentations and Links, and General FAQs. 

As a professional association of more than 4,000 institutional researchers, planners, and decision 

makers from more than 1,500 higher education institutions around the world, AIR helps advance 

research that improves the understanding, planning, and operation of higher education institutions.

 

Online Tutorials

Tools Tutorials: Overviews and guidance for using IPEDS data tools including the 

Data Center, Trend Generator, Executive Peer Tool, College Navigator, and Net Price 

Calculator.

New Keyholder Overview Tutorial: Instructions and tips on completing IPEDS 

surveys including entering, editing, and locking data.

Survey Component Tutorials: Guidance on specific terms and definitions (first-time, 

full-time students) for completing IPEDS surveys.

Face-to-Face Workshops

AIR’s IPEDS curriculum includes full-day workshops for 40-60 participants. Travel assistance is also available. 

The New Keyholder and IPEDS Data for Office Efficiencies Workshops are specifically designed for IPEDS 

Keyholders.

New Keyholder Workshop

Outlines the roles and responsibilities of a Keyholder and the resources available to 

assist in the IPEDS planning and reporting processes.

Best Practices for Reporting and Using IPEDS Data to Improve 

Office Efficiencies

Focuses on best practices for efficiently and effectively submitting IPEDS data and 

maximizing the value of IPEDS by utilizing data for other purposes on campus.

Additional IPEDS Workshops

Training sessions for IPEDS data providers and users covering the following topics:

• IPEDS Data as the Public Face of an Institution

• IPEDS Data and Benchmarking: Supporting Decision Making and Institutional 

iiEffectiveness (Part 1 and 2)

• IPEDS Finance Training
IPEDS Listserv

To read and/or participate in discussions about IPEDS, please join the IPEDS Listserv: 

http://ipedslistserv.rti.org/

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has contracted with RTI International to provide the IPEDS Help Desk. 

We are proud to have served in this role since July of 2000.

The IPEDS Help Desk is comprised of 16 to 18 staff, many of them with years of experience on IPEDS, operating out of 

RTI’s Call Center in Raleigh, NC. We respond to phone calls and emails, make prompting (reminder) calls during the last 2 

weeks of each collection, and review all survey data after locked and complete. Please call or email if we may be of 

any assistance to you, or the schools that you coordinate.

The help desk is open weekdays 8:30am to 5:00pm Eastern time throughout the year. During the final 10 days of each 

collection, we also operate evening and weekend hours.

IPEDS Help Desk

IPEDS Help Desk 

1-877-225-2568

ipedshelp@rti.org

IPEDS Data Tools Help Desk 

1-866-558-0658

ipedstools@rti.org