2012 - 2013 

## IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook

NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 1 

# IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook

Overview of IPEDS

................................................................................................ ......................................... 3

What is IPEDS?

................................................................................................ .......................................... 3

How is IPEDS U sed?

................................................................................................ .................................. 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

..................................................................................................... 382 012 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

................................ 712 012 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 R EPORT 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 7,0 00 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

- degree

granting institutions such as beauty colleges, and others.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 4 

# Importance of the K eyholder’s J ob

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 dat a 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
y our 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 noncomp liance 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 pol icy analysis and development; by institution s 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, retenti on 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.2 012 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

. A s potential students apply for financial aid , they can see the t uition 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 level s for policy analysis and development

.2 012 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 us es 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.2 012 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

.

S urvey components are customized for each institution, based on institutional characteristics such as levels of program offerings (undergraduate, graduate) and institutional control (public, private not

- for

profit, and private for

- profit), and on answers provided by the keyholder to screening questions (for example, Does your institution employ part

- time staff?).



## IPEDS S URVEY 

## C OMPONENTS

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 pric e/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 a wards 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 recipi ent

• Number of completers, separately by race/ethnicity, gender, age, and level of award2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 8 

## IPEDS S URVEY 

## C OMPONENTS

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 D isplayed on the College Navigator website and used to c alculate 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 ( even

numbered 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 t han 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 full

time, 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 HEOA2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 9 

## IPEDS S URVEY 

## C OMPONENTS

Collection / Component Cycle Data SPRING COLLECTION, continued

Human Resources (HR) Annual • E mployees 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 c overed, b y academic rank and gender Biennial

(odd

numbered

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

Financ e (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

• A ssets, liabilities and net assets

• Different for mats are used based on the institution’s accounting standards (GASB or FASB)2 012 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 COORDINAT E ALL ASPECTS OF DAT A 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
extract ing 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 off ices 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 wit h 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 syst ems, 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!).2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 11 

## CONTACT THE HE LP 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 surv eys 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.org2 012 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 20 12

- 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 thro ugh the Data Provider Center.



## DATA SUBMISSION CALE NDAR



# 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 Y EAR R EVISION S YSTEM C ALENDAR 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, re visions to the Completions component submitted last
year can be made during the current year Fall collection period.



# 12 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 13 Next, you’ll probably want to familiarize yourself with the survey reporting requirements by reviewing th e 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 menu s

. Here’s where you’ll find the Survey Materials and the C hanges ( also available from t he Help menu once you log into the collection system ). 

# 22 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 14 To access the Survey Materials , a nswer 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. O r, 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 Su rvey 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 201 3-14 changes column. If there are changes for next year, t hese survey screens will help you

pre pare 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 accompl ishment , and mention you by name in the email

.2 012 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. Under lined terms are links to definitions.2 012 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 Reso urces 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 :

• E quip 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.

• C onsider developing an internal reporting calendar to ensure survey compone nts are locked by the due date. If they have a UserID and password, o thers 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 oth er data providers allow you the time you need to review their surveys before you lock them. 

# 3



# 42 012 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 edi ts 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 P itfall : 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 reporte d 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
inaccurat e 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 yea r 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 t o the Prior Year Revision System using your current year UserID and password.2 012 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 i nstitutions 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

amount s 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.



## REPORT ING MAP

Each A ugust, many keyholders are asked to verify their institution’s Report ing 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 insti tution’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.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 19 

## INSTITUTIONAL CHARAC TERISTICS – HEADER INFORMATION

Classifying institutions The questions about institutional control (public, private not

- for

- profit, private for

- profit) and award
level s (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 recei ving the incorrect Finance form . I ncorrect reporting of award level s can lead to incorrect reporting of tuition and enrollment. Beyond the reporting ramifications, control and award
level s determine the classification of your institution on the College Navigator website and other places
da ta 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, w e as k that insti tutions answer Y es , 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 foc us for many of the IPEDS survey components . Selection of full

time, 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 survey s

. 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 repor t data on many other IPEDS components. See the chart on the next page for details.2 012 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 a ttendance for

full

- time, first

- time, degree/certificate

seeking 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 & f ees for all undergraduate students Average tuition & fees for an academic year For 2 nd

– 6 th 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 3 0 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

an y 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 full

time, first

- time, degree/certificate

seekin g 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:
S tudents 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).2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 21 

## INSTITUTIONAL CHARAC TERISTICS

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.

C ost 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 instit ution’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 p rograms; 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.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 22 Doctor’s degree – professional p ractice tuition and required
fees Collected for se lected 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 P itfall : 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 repo rt the percentage that the tuition is guaranteed not to go up more than.

 Common P itfall : Reporting the non

- guaranteed rate and checking tuition guarantees (for institutions with different rates)

 Common P itfall : 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 Stu dents take the Ability to Benefit test, and 50% of students
that take the test are allowed to enroll.

Selection process  Common P itfall : Only first

- time, degree/certificate

- seeking students should be reported.

 Common P itfall : S tudents should only be reported at levels that were ALSO reported in IC
Header.2 012 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 P itfall : 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 i s 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 AI D

Reporting period: Academic year Institutions report data f or 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

a nd 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 302 012 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 U ndergraduate 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 institution s: 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 a id

 For public institution s: Only those paying in

- state/in

- district tuition rates

 For program reporters: Only those enrolled in the institution’s largest program2 012 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 P itfall : Group 1 includes all undergraduate students, which means that new and continuing full

- time students, part

- time students, degree/certificate

- seeking students, and non

degree/certificate

- seeking students should be included.

Types of financial aid that should be reported
Insti tutions should report on the following types of aid:

o Federal grants

 Title IV

 Educational assistance funds from other agencies

 Note: V eterans education benefits should not be included, as they are no longer
treated as Estimated Financial Assistance for Fed eral 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 t he institution

 Common P itfall : 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 leav e 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 stude nts, 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) components2 012 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. Inst itutions 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 E nrollment is a count of students enrolled for credit on a particular date in the Fall. When th e student count is taken differs for academic reporters and program reporters, as detailed below. In contrast, the 12 -m onth E nrollment is a cumulative unduplicated headcount over the full 12

- month period of July 1 – June 30.

Fall Enrollment

Academic re porters Students enrolled as of October 15 or as of the institution’s official fall reporting date

Program reporters
and Hybrid reporters Student s enrolled anytime between August 1

– October 31

12

- Month Enrollment

All Institutions Students enrolled anytime during July 1 – June 302 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 27 Because the 12 -m onth E nrollment is a cumulative enrollment count over a full 12

- month period, this count must be greater than or equal to the F all E nrollment 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 E nrollment survey component is not greater than or equal to the fall enrollment count reported in the previous year’s F all E nrollment 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 -m onth Enrollment survey component, is intended to stan dardize 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 -m onth 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 cor rectly.

 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 be2 012 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

E nrollment survey component. Institutions should report the total contact hour activity (or credit hour activity) ove r 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 comp onent have

an impact on other sections of the Fall Enrollment component and several other IPEDS survey
components , such as the Graduation Rates s urvey (GR ) component and the Student Financial Aid (SFA) component. For example, an institutio n’s Graduation R ates 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/certificat e- 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 non

degree/certificate

- seeking until they earn their high school diploma (or equivalen t), 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 i ncludes not only
first

- time and transfer

- in undergraduate stu dents, but also non

- degree/certificate

- seeking undergraduate students new to your ins titution in the Fall. The percent of the entering class that is

repr esented by the institution’s GR cohort is then included o n 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 very2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 29 small percentage of th eir enrollment. Sho wing 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 less

than -2- year institutions, all first

- time degree/certificate

- seeking undergraduates are tracked.

 Tip: Two

- year and less

- than -2- year institutions report firs t- time degree/certificate

- seeking
students from the prior Fall that are still enroll ed but should also include those who completed their 1-y ear 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’s

seeking 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 a nd 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 be tween July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012

.

Program of study
C ompletions data are reported for each program of study at an institution. Programs of study are described using 6

- d igit 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 20xx2 012 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

• A t 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 mor e 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. D octor'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 Characteri stics survey component

.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 31 C ompletions 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 recei ve 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 surve y 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. M ember s 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 S tudent Right

- to

- Know (S RK ) The graduation rate is based on a cohort of all first

- time, full

- time degree/certificate

- seeki ng 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 o r 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 f all cohort

Program reporters
and Hybrid reporters Report on a f ull

- year cohort2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 32 Who is in the cohort
The cohor t for GR is made up of first

- time, full

- time degree/certificate

- seeking undergraduate s tudents

.

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 comp ared with each other using the bachelor’s sub

- cohort.

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

F or example

, if a student become s 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 actual ly are eligible to be reported
there.2 012 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 comple ters 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 f or 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 -

• i f 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.2 012 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 degree granting status. Public institutions generally fill out their financial information using the GASB reporting standards whereas private no t- for

- profit an d 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 t he 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 staff2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 35  Tip: T he 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 t hat 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
instruct ions. 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
allocat ions 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_Cate gories.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 cap tured in “Other” expenses.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 36 Negative Values There are only a few variables ( suc h as investment income/returns and changes to n et assets) where it is acceptable to report negative amounts. The vast majority of finance variables should be positive

amoun ts. 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 P itfall: 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 Reve nues

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 n ot 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.2 012 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.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 38 

# Using the IPEDS Data Collection System

You will use the IPEDS web

- based D ata C ollection S ystem 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, percent age s, rates, and some derived variables (such as
full

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

• Bu ilt

- 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 edit ing.2 012 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.

O n 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 Defin itions

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 E dit R eport 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

.2 012 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. S ome screens have links to web tutorials applicable to the screen, also at the top of the screen.

Th e 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 time

saver in the long run.2 012 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
issue s 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. E rror icons will usually appear on a screen next to a data field; the icons identify t he kind of error, and the severity of the problem. If you click on an icon you will get a descripti on 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 une xpected 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 likel y 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

.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 42 

## RESOLVING ERRORS

All err ors 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 R esolved column will tell you if action is still required on your part to resolve the error. All edits must show Yes in
the R esolved 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. Re solve 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 survey2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 43 

## EXPLANATION EDITS AND CONTEXT BOXES

Explanation edits and context boxes are NOT the same, a lthough 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 c onfirmation 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 nurs ing 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.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 44 

## More e xplanation e dit 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 mo re 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 15 1- 200%:

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

• All s tudents who completed did so within 150%.



## Context boxes are optional. They are your friend s , because they give you the opportunity to provide further information or “context” that may help reviewers and data users understand and interpret the data . P lease 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 t hat 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.2 012 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.2 012 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.2 012 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

.2 012 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 open ed

• Email to keyholder, if no data have been entered by 4 w eeks 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 C EO , if no data have been entered by 2 w ee ks 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 w eeks before the collection closes

• Email to keyholder if all surveys are not locked by 1 w ee k before the collection closes
Additional reminders are sent during the Spring collection

, because it is so long.



## ONE LAST CHANCE POLI CY Remember, there are NO reporting extensions in IPEDS. However, every institution can get special post

collection 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 SYST EM 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 component s 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 accomplish ment

.2 012 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

.



## T RAINING 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 CONCERNIN G 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 th e 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 d ata 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.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 50 

# Tips from Veteran Keyholders and the IPEDS Help Desk

GET TING 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 t o 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 e ach 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 Smit h 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 De sk

A lways 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 Surve y 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 Massac husetts

- Dartmouth & Patricia Gerrald IPEDS Help Desk2 012 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

L ook at all the reporting dates for the various surveys before the reporting year even start s . My first time through I thought I needed more current semester census data for the fall reports th a n was actually needed. I was still able to complete the reports on time, but it would have been less of a rush with better plann ing

. 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 pers onnel 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 in formation 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
in volved. Patricia DeWitt Ass istan t V ice P resident 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 timeline s and answer any questions. Sandra Kinney Research Manager Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education2 012 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
Ass istan t Dir ector, 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 d istributed 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 Per kins 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 k eyholder. 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

m inute. Because there wi ll 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 College2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 53 A lways 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 wh o 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 y ou 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, fina ncial aid, the business office, and the IT people. Do them favors whenever possible. Patricia DeWitt Ass istan t V ice P resident 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
Researc h 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 inst ances. Using College Navigator, look at how your institution is portrayed. Does it look right? Yvonne Kochera Kirby
Ass istan t Dir ector, Institutional Research University of Arkansas2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 54 We believe in visual trend check s

. Our worksheet s 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 no tes 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 s urvey components with forms, instructions, FAQs,

n arrative e dits, g lossary t erms, and u pload i nstructions. Dividers are added as necessary for misc ellaneous 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 District2 012 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 p rovides 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

T o improve or to invent your institution's p rocess , 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

T he 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 College2 012 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. Th e 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 res earch 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, over ride requests, or other assistance without wait ing 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 surve ys early, you have plenty of time to get help if you run into difficulty. Call early! Patricia Gerrald IPEDS Help Desk2 012 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 develop ed 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/i peds

.

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 flyer s with training information that you can print out to remind yourself, and give to others on your campus. The flyer s are also available in the Help Menu in the Data Collection System

.2 012 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 da ta for the different survey forms. The se 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

. Th is workshop provides you with a thorough introduction to the IPEDS data collection cycle and reporting requirements. Created specifically for new IPEDS k eyholders, this workshop outlines the roles and responsibilities of a k eyholder and the resources available to ass ist 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 t his workshop is limited to new k eyholders , there is no
fee to att end, 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 effec tively 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 worksho ps. Some travel assistance is available. Attendance preference is given to keyholders.

Training emails sent to keyholders will alert you to these workshops.2 012 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.



## I PEDS 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 Resources2 012 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.2 012 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. T he Help Desk begins migrating the data wh ile the data collection is still in progress

.

Once the data are migrated , the y 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 leve l 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 Qu ality 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 Cente r.

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)2 012 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 -r ight

- hand corner.

Please note that the IPEDS Tools Help Desk phone number is on every screen in the Data Center.2 012 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 in stitution(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 variab les 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.2 012 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.2 012 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 lo cation, 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 AFFOR DABILITY AND TRANSPA RENCY CENTER

The College Affordability and Transparency Center , available at http://collegecost.ed.gov/
, includes information for students, parents, and policymakers about college costs at
Am erica’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 o utlined 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

.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 66 

## DATA FEEDBACK REPORT (DFR) AND EXECUTIVE PEER TOOL (EXPT)

The D ata F eedback 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 da ta 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 collecti on 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 statisti cal 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; c reate and download a Statistical Analysis Report showing statistics, tables, and graphs for the selected variables; d ownload a n institution’s IPEDS DFRs for several recent years ; d ownload the most recent printed IPEDS DFRs for comparison group inst itutions; d ownload 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/

.2 012 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.2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 68 

## IF YOU NEED HELP USI NG 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.or g2 012 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 – F all 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 – O ffice 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 Panel2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 70 

## USEFUL WEBSITES

IPEDS Home Page http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/

• F ind 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

• F ind information on

• Data s ubmission 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 categories2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 71 

## STATUTORY REQUIREMEN TS FOR REPORTING IPE DS DATA; PENALTIES F OR 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 WIT H PROGRAM PARTICIPAT ION AGREEMENTS The completion o f 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. Institut ions 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 the se 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.2 012 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/ETHNICI TY AND GENDER OF STU DENTS 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)
reg ulations 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 atte ndance, 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 a n 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, enroll ment status, and residency; number of transfer students; students registered with the disability office; retention rates; graduation rates within normal time of program completion2 012 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 a id, 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 star ting salaries are also required2 012 IPEDS New Keyholder Handbook Page 74

# IPEDS D ATA 

# P ROVIDER 

# C ENTER 

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

IPEDS 

# 201 2-13 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 4/1 0 Coordinator close 4/2 4 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 1/2/1 3 – 7/1 6 /1 3

# 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 ii Effectiveness (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