NCES 2009-155 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, 

Fall 2007; Graduation Rates, 

2001 & 2004 Cohorts; and 

Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2007

First Look

Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, 

Fall 2007; Graduation Rates, 

2001 & 2004 Cohorts; and 

Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2007

First Look

MARCH 2009

Laura G. Knapp 

Janice E. Kelly-Reid

Scott A. Ginder

RTI International

NCES 2009-155

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
U.S. Department of Education

Arne Duncan

Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences

Sue Betka

Acting Director

National Center for Education Statistics

Stuart Kerachsky

Acting Commissioner

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March 2009

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Suggested Citation

Knapp, L.G., Kelly-Reid, J.E., and Ginder, S.A. (2009). Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2007; Graduation Rates, 2001 & 

2004 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2007 (NCES 2009-155). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of 

Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC. 

Content Contact

Aurora D’Amico

(202) 502-7334

aurora.d’amico@ed.gov
iii

Foreword 

This First Look report presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS) spring 2008 data collection, which included four components: Student Financial 

Aid for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for the 2007-08 

academic year; Enrollment for fall 2007; Graduation Rates for full-time, first-time degree/ 

certificate-seeking undergraduate students beginning college in 2001 at 4-year institutions or in 

2004 at less-than-4-year institutions; and Finance for fiscal year 2007. 

The data on which this report is based are available to researchers and the public through the 

IPEDS Peer Analysis System and the College Navigator. Both of these sources can be found at 

http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds. This First Look report is based on the collection of data from more than 

6,500 postsecondary education institutions that participate in Title IV federal student financial 

aid programs. 

We hope that the information provided in the report will be useful to a wide range of readers. 

Further, we hope that the results reported here will encourage researchers and others to make full 

use of the IPEDS data for analysis, for peer comparisons, or to help answer questions about 

postsecondary education institutions. 

Stuart Kerachsky 

Acting Commissioner 

National Center for Education Statistics 

Thomas Weko 

Associate Commissioner 

Postsecondary Studies Division 

v

Acknowledgments 

The information presented in this publication was provided by either state coordinators for the 

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) or officials at individual institutions. 

In addition, these persons provided much assistance in resolving questions on the data, which 

resulted in more accurate information. Their assistance was invaluable and is much appreciated. 

The U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and the 

Office for Civil Rights, with the approval of the Office of Management and Budget, cooperate in 

the collection of racial/ethnic and gender information from all postsecondary institutions that 

participate in the Enrollment and Completions components, and the Fall Staff section of the 

Human Resources component of the IPEDS survey. In this collaboration, data provided by 

postsecondary institutions are designated as Compliance Reports pursuant to the Civil Rights Act 

of 1964 (34 CFR 100.6(b)). 

The authors appreciate the thoughtful review provided by Alexandra Djurovich, Minnesota 

Office of Higher Education; Sandra Kinney, Technical College System of Georgia; and Billy 

Helton, University of North Carolina System. 

vii

Contents 

Page 

Foreword....................................................................................................................................... iii

Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................................................v

List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. viii

Introduction....................................................................................................................................1

IPEDS 2007-08.............................................................................................................................1 

Student Enrollment .......................................................................................................................1 

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions...........................................................................2 

Graduation Rates...........................................................................................................................2 

Student Financial Aid ...................................................................................................................2 

Focus of This Report.....................................................................................................................2 

Selected Findings............................................................................................................................4

Characteristics of Enrolled Students.............................................................................................4 

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions...........................................................................4 

Graduation Rates...........................................................................................................................4 

Student Financial Aid ...................................................................................................................4 

Appendix A: Survey Methodology .......................................................................................... A-1

Overview.................................................................................................................................. A-1 

Terminology Used in the IPEDS Web Collection................................................................... A-1 

Universe, Institutions Surveyed, and Response Rates............................................................. A-1 

Survey Components............................................................................................................... A-11 

Survey Procedures ................................................................................................................. A-12 

Edit Procedures...................................................................................................................... A-13 

Imputation Procedures ........................................................................................................... A-15 

Data Perturbation and Confidentiality ................................................................................... A-25 

Appendix B: Glossary of IPEDS Terms...................................................................................B-1
viii

List of Tables 

Table Page 

1. Enrollment at Title IV institutions, by control and level of institution, student level, 

attendance status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2007...............................5 

2. Enrollment in Title IV institutions, by attendance status, sector of institution, and 

student age: United States, fall 2007....................................................................................7 

3. Revenues of Title IV institutions, by level and control of institution, accounting 

standards utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2007.............................8 

4. Expenses of Title IV institutions, by level and control of institution, accounting 

standards utilized, and type of expense: United States, fiscal year 2007 ..........................10 

5. Graduation rates at Title IV institutions, by race/ethnicity, level and control of 

institution, gender, degree sought, and degree completed in the institution where 

the student started as a full-time, first-time student: United States, cohort years 

2001 and 2004....................................................................................................................11 

6. Graduation rates of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students in the 4-year 

Title IV institution where the students started as full-time, first-time students, by 

control of institution, gender, and time to degree after entry: United States, cohort 

year 2001............................................................................................................................12 

7. Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates enrolled and those 

receiving financial aid at Title IV institutions, by sector of institution: United 

States, academic years 2005-06 and 2006-07....................................................................12 

8. Number and percentage of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking 

undergraduates and financial aid recipients and average amounts of financial aid 

received by full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates at Title 

IV institutions, by sector of institution and type of aid: United States, academic 

year 2006-07 ......................................................................................................................13 

A-1. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 

2008 data collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and 

control of institution/office: United States and other jurisdictions................................. A-3 

A-1a. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 

2008 data collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and 

control of institution/office: United States...................................................................... A-5 

A-2. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2008 Enrollment component, 

by part, degree-granting status, and level and control of institution: United States 

and other jurisdictions..................................................................................................... A-7 
ix

A-2a. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2008 Enrollment component, 

by part, degree-granting status, and level and control of institution: United States ....... A-9 

A-3. Enrollment and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by control of 

institution, student level, attendance status, gender, degree-granting status, and age 

of student: United States, fall 2007............................................................................... A-17 

A-4. Entering class of undergraduate students and percentage imputed for all Title IV 

academic year institutions, by control of institution and degree-granting status: 

United States, fall 2007................................................................................................. A-17 

A-5. Number and percentage of Title IV institutions with imputed 1-year retention rates 

for first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students, by control, degreegranting status, and attendance status: United States, fall 2007 ................................... A-18 

A-6. Revenues and expenses and the percentages imputed for Title IV institutions, by 

control of institution and type of funds: United States, fiscal year 2007...................... A-20 

A-7. Student counts and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by control of 

institution and student level: United States, cohort years 2001 and 2004 .................... A-23 

A-8. Number of financial aid recipients and number and percentage imputed for all Title 

IV institutions, by type of aid and level and control of institution: United States, 

academic year 2007-08 ................................................................................................. A-26 

1

Introduction 

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collects institution-level data 

from postsecondary institutions in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia) and 

other jurisdictions, such as Puerto Rico.1

 For IPEDS, a postsecondary institution is defined as an 

organization open to the public that has as its primary mission the provision of postsecondary 

education. IPEDS defines postsecondary education as formal instructional programs with a 

curriculum designed primarily for students who are beyond the compulsory age for high school. 

This includes academic, vocational, and continuing professional education programs and 

excludes institutions that offer only avocational (leisure) and adult basic education programs. 

IPEDS 2007-08 

Participation in IPEDS was a requirement for the 6,706 institutions and 84 administrative offices 

(central or system offices) that participated in Title IV federal student financial aid programs, 

such as Pell Grants or Stafford Loans, during the 2007-08 academic year.2

 Not all 6,790 Title IV 

postsecondary entities were required to participate in all components of the spring data 

collection. For example, 14 of these institutions were not eligible for any component of the 

spring collection because they closed during the 2007-08 academic year. Hence, 6,692 

institutions and 84 administrative offices (central or system offices) in the United States and 

other jurisdictions were expected to participate in the spring 2008 collection. Four of the U.S. 

service academies are included in the IPEDS universe as if they were Title IV institutions.3

Institutions that do not participate in Title IV programs may participate in the IPEDS data 

collection on a voluntary basis. See the Survey Components section of appendix A for further 

details regarding which institutions were required to complete each component. 

Student Enrollment 

The 2008 Enrollment (EF) component collected enrollment data for fall 2007. The EF 

component was required of 6,6804

 Title IV institutions in the United States and other 

jurisdictions, and 6,669, or 99.8 percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States 

(excluding any other jurisdictions), 6,525 were required to complete this component and 6,514, 

or 99.8 percent, responded. 

 

1

 The other jurisdictions include American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, 

the Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 2

 Institutions participating in Title IV programs are accredited by an agency or organization recognized by the 

Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, have a program of more than 300 clock hours or 8 credit hours, have 

been in business for at least 2 years, and have a signed Program Participation Agreement (PPA) with the Office of 

Postsecondary Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education. 

3

 The four U.S. service academies that are not Title IV eligible are the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military 

Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. One academy, the U.S. Merchant 

Marine Academy, is Title IV eligible. Data for all five institutions are included in each of the tables and counts of 

institutions. 

4

 Twelve institutions eligible for at least one component of the spring data collection were not eligible for the 

Enrollment component. 
2

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions 

The 2008 Finance (F) component collected financial statistics for fiscal year 2007. This 

component was required of 6,7645

 institutions and administrative offices in the United States and 

other jurisdictions, and of these, 6,747, or 99.7 percent, responded. Of the institutions and 

administrative offices in the United States (excluding any other jurisdictions), 6,606 were 

required to complete this component and 6,590, or 99.8 percent, responded. 

The Finance component is designed to follow the format of institutional financial statements 

suggested by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental 

Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Most public institutions follow GASB, and as a result the 

figures in this report for public institutions represent those following GASB standards.6 All 

private institutions use FASB standards. 

Graduation Rates 

The 2008 Graduation Rates (GRS) component collected graduation rate information (completion 

within 150 percent of normal program time) for full-time, first-time7 degree/certificate-seeking 

undergraduate students beginning college in 2001 at 4-year institutions and in 2004 at less-than4-year institutions. The GRS component was required of all Title IV institutions that had fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in the reference year (2001 for 

4-year institutions and 2004 for less-than-4-year institutions.) For this collection, 5,936 

institutions in the United States and other jurisdictions were required to respond; of these, 5,916, 

or 99.7 percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States (excluding any other 

jurisdictions), 5,792 were required to complete this component and 5,773, or 99.7 percent, 

responded. 

Student Financial Aid 

The 2008 Student Financial Aid (SFA) component collected data on full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate financial aid recipients for the 2006-07 academic year. 

The SFA component was required of all Title IV institutions that had full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students. As a result, for this collection, 6,162 

institutions in the United States and other jurisdictions were required to complete the SFA 

component. Of these, 6,140, or 99.6 percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States 

(excluding any other jurisdictions), 6,015 were required to complete this component and 5,994, 

or 99.7 percent, responded. 

Focus of This Report 

Tabulations in this report present selected data items collected from the 6,551 Title IV 

institutions in the United States (excluding those in other jurisdictions) that were eligible for at 

least one component of the spring 2008 collection. In addition, 81 administrative offices in the 

United States were eligible for the Finance component and are included in the Finance 

 

5

 Twelve institutions eligible for at least one component of the spring data collection were not eligible for the 

Finance component. 

6

 Ninety-nine percent of public institutions used GASB, and 1 percent used FASB. 

7

 Throughout this publication, the term “first-time” refers to students who have not attended any institution 

previously. See the glossary for further definition of a first-time student. 
3

tabulations. Additional detailed information is available through the various IPEDS web tools, 

such as the Peer Analysis System. Information regarding IPEDS survey procedures and response 

rates is available in appendix A. Detailed definitions of terms used in this report are available in 

appendix B. 

Because the purpose of this report is to introduce new NCES data through the presentation of 

tables containing descriptive information, only selected findings are presented. These findings 

have been chosen to demonstrate the range of information available from the IPEDS rather than 

to discuss all of the observed differences; they are not meant to emphasize any particular issue. 
4

Selected Findings

Characteristics of Enrolled Students 

• In fall 2007, Title IV institutions in the United States enrolled a total of 18.7 million graduate 

and undergraduate students; 62 percent were enrolled in 4-year institutions, 36 percent were 

enrolled in 2-year institutions, and 2 percent were enrolled in less-than-2-year institutions 

(table 1). 

• One-fourth of all students enrolled in Title IV institutions in fall 2007 were 18- to 24-yearolds attending public 4-year institutions; an additional 18 percent were 18- to 24-year-olds 

attending public 2-year institutions (table 2). 

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions 

• Four-year private not-for-profit institutions using FASB standards received 26 percent of 

their revenues from tuition and fees, compared to 90 percent at private for-profit institutions 

using FASB standards, and 16 percent at public institutions using GASB standards (table 3). 

• At public 4-year institutions, 26 percent of expenses were for instruction, compared to 39 

percent of expenses at public 2-year institutions (table 4). 

Graduation Rates 

• Approximately 57 percent of full-time, first-time bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seekers 

attending 4-year institutions completed a bachelor’s or equivalent degree at the institution 

where they began their studies within 6 years (table 5). 

• Graduation rates of bachelor’s-seeking students at 4-year institutions increased when 

measured after 6 years, rather than after 4 years, from time of entry (table 6). The graduation 

rate of all bachelor’s-seeking students in the 2001 cohort is 36 percent after 4 years, 53 

percent after 5 years, and 57 percent after 6 years. 

Student Financial Aid 

• During 2006-07 academic year, 73 percent of the 2.8 million full-time, first-time degree/ 

certificate-seeking undergraduates attending Title IV institutions located in the United States 

received financial aid (table 7). 

• Proportions of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates receiving aid 

varied somewhat by institution sector: 75 percent of those attending public 4-year 

institutions; 85 percent of those attending private not-for-profit 4-year institutions; and 55 

percent of those attending private for-profit 4-year institutions received some type of 

financial aid (table 8). 

• Considering full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students, 

approximately 45 percent borrowed through an education loan program during the 2006-07 

academic year. Borrowing varied by institution sector: 44 percent of those attending public 4-

year institutions; 59 percent of those attending private not-for-profit 4-year institutions; and 

52 percent of those attending private for-profit 4-year institutions borrowed through an 

education loan program during the 2006-07 academic year (table 8). 
5

Table 1. Enrollment at Title IV institutions, by control and level of institution, student level, attendance 

status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2007 

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit Level of institution, student level, 

attendance status, gender, and 

race/ethnicity Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total students 18,670,775 100.0 13,595,540 100.0 3,595,207 100.0 1,480,028 100.0

4-year 11,630,585 62.3 7,166,697 52.7 3,538,015 98.4 925,873 62.6

Undergraduate 8,986,267 48.1 5,813,773 42.8 2,436,958 67.8 735,536 49.7

Full time 7,148,604 38.3 4,553,264 33.5 2,033,780 56.6 561,560 37.9

Part time 1,837,663 9.8 1,260,509 9.3 403,178 11.2 173,976 11.8

Men 3,957,171 21.2 2,633,667 19.4 1,035,128 28.8 288,376 19.5

Women 5,029,096 26.9 3,180,106 23.4 1,401,830 39.0 447,160 30.2

White, non-Hispanic 5,597,054 30.0 3,722,583 27.4 1,582,035 44.0 292,436 19.8

Black, non-Hispanic 1,052,166 5.6 648,028 4.8 266,245 7.4 137,893 9.3

Hispanic 778,936 4.2 556,615 4.1 150,724 4.2 71,597 4.8

Asian/Pacific Islander 535,082 2.9 388,923 2.9 124,450 3.5 21,709 1.5

American Indian/Alaska Native 81,785 0.4 60,044 0.4 15,597 0.4 6,144 0.4

Race/ethnicity unknown 701,973 3.8 299,007 2.2 216,111 6.0 186,855 12.6

Nonresident alien 239,271 1.3 138,573 1.0 81,796 2.3 18,902 1.3

Graduate 2,293,554 12.3 1,210,278 8.9 895,197 24.9 188,079 12.7

Full time 1,112,532 6.0 555,346 4.1 431,287 12.0 125,899 8.5

Part time 1,181,022 6.3 654,932 4.8 463,910 12.9 62,180 4.2

Men 910,273 4.9 488,228 3.6 360,620 10.0 61,425 4.2

Women 1,383,281 7.4 722,050 5.3 534,577 14.9 126,654 8.6

White, non-Hispanic 1,283,224 6.9 722,508 5.3 487,875 13.6 72,841 4.9

Black, non-Hispanic 230,233 1.2 107,018 0.8 79,571 2.2 43,644 2.9

Hispanic 122,039 0.7 67,997 0.5 44,811 1.2 9,231 0.6

Asian/Pacific Islander 109,168 0.6 55,542 0.4 46,561 1.3 7,065 0.5

American Indian/Alaska Native 13,439 0.1 8,726 0.1 3,492 0.1 1,221 0.1

Race/ethnicity unknown 255,192 1.4 81,526 0.6 128,640 3.6 45,026 3.0

Nonresident alien 280,259 1.5 166,961 1.2 104,247 2.9 9,051 0.6

First-professional 350,764 1.9 142,646 1.0 205,860 5.7 2,258 0.2

Full time 316,549 1.7 136,267 1.0 178,490 5.0 1,792 0.1

Part time 34,215 0.2 6,379 # 27,370 0.8 466 #

Men 177,988 1.0 68,399 0.5 108,427 3.0 1,162 0.1

Women 172,776 0.9 74,247 0.5 97,433 2.7 1,096 0.1

White, non-Hispanic 223,523 1.2 94,696 0.7 127,514 3.5 1,313 0.1

Black, non-Hispanic 25,043 0.1 9,058 0.1 15,799 0.4 186 #

Hispanic 17,461 0.1 7,015 0.1 10,304 0.3 142 #

Asian/Pacific Islander 43,440 0.2 17,730 0.1 25,544 0.7 166 #

American Indian/Alaska Native 2,424 # 1,271 # 1,124 # 29 #

Race/ethnicity unknown 30,080 0.2 10,674 0.1 18,986 0.5 420 #

Nonresident alien 8,793 # 2,202 # 6,589 0.2 2 #

2-year1 6,740,309 36.1 6,374,245 46.9 44,843 1.2 321,221 21.7

Full time 2,789,393 14.9 2,472,915 18.2 31,247 0.9 285,231 19.3

Part time 3,950,916 21.2 3,901,330 28.7 13,596 0.4 35,990 2.4

Men 2,827,238 15.1 2,693,521 19.8 14,638 0.4 119,079 8.0

Women 3,913,071 21.0 3,680,724 27.1 30,205 0.8 202,142 13.7

White, non-Hispanic 3,791,969 20.3 3,614,859 26.6 27,431 0.8 149,679 10.1

Black, non-Hispanic 912,978 4.9 832,210 6.1 7,238 0.2 73,530 5.0

Hispanic 1,009,639 5.4 955,351 7.0 2,924 0.1 51,364 3.5

See notes at end of table. 
6

Table 1. Enrollment at Title IV institutions, by control and level of institution, student level, attendance 

status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2007—Continued 

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit Level of institution, student level, 

attendance status, gender, and 

race/ethnicity Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

2-year—Continued 

Asian/Pacific Islander 423,985 2.3 410,421 3.0 1,792 # 11,772 0.8

American Indian/Alaska Native 78,775 0.4 73,912 0.5 1,848 0.1 3,015 0.2

Race/ethnicity unknown 426,473 2.3 393,622 2.9 2,029 0.1 30,822 2.1

Nonresident alien 96,490 0.5 93,870 0.7 1,581 # 1,039 0.1

Less-than-2-year 299,881 1.6 54,598 0.4 12,349 0.3 232,934 15.7

Full time 239,241 1.3 28,861 0.2 10,743 0.3 199,637 13.5

Part time 60,640 0.3 25,737 0.2 1,606 # 33,297 2.2

Men 79,546 0.4 21,946 0.2 3,894 0.1 53,706 3.6

Women 220,335 1.2 32,652 0.2 8,455 0.2 179,228 12.1

White, non-Hispanic 125,391 0.7 34,805 0.3 3,053 0.1 87,533 5.9

Black, non-Hispanic 69,149 0.4 7,742 0.1 2,970 0.1 58,437 3.9

Hispanic 67,254 0.4 6,522 # 4,262 0.1 56,470 3.8

Asian/Pacific Islander 11,819 0.1 1,591 # 778 # 9,450 0.6

American Indian/Alaska Native 3,769 # 2,034 # 66 # 1,669 0.1

Race/ethnicity unknown 20,938 0.1 1,673 # 1,027 # 18,238 1.2

Nonresident alien 1,561 # 231 # 193 # 1,137 0.1

# Rounds to zero. 

1

In addition to these undergraduate students, eight 2-year institutions reported 309 students enrolled in graduate-level courses. 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008, Enrollment component. 
7

Table 2. Enrollment in Title IV institutions, by attendance status, sector of institution, and student age: 

United States, fall 2007 

Total students Full-time Part-time 

Sector of institution and student age Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

 

Total students 18,671,084 100.0 11,606,421 100.0 7,064,663 100.0 

Public 4-year 7,166,697 38.4 5,244,877 45.2 1,921,820 27.2

Under 18 164,703 0.9 68,699 0.6 96,004 1.4

18-24 4,802,868 25.7 4,232,176 36.5 570,692 8.1

25-39 1,682,553 9.0 819,502 7.1 863,051 12.2

40 and over 503,687 2.7 120,549 1.0 383,138 5.4

Age unknown 12,886 0.1 3,951 # 8,935 0.1 

Public 2-year1 6,374,554 34.1 2,473,017 21.3 3,901,537 55.2

Under 18 444,235 2.4 69,258 0.6 374,977 5.3

18-24 3,340,636 17.9 1,835,850 15.8 1,504,786 21.3

25-39 1,674,101 9.0 429,279 3.7 1,244,822 17.6

40 and over 881,508 4.7 129,819 1.1 751,689 10.6

Age unknown 34,074 0.2 8,811 0.1 25,263 0.4 

Public less-than-2-year 54,598 0.3 28,861 0.2 25,737 0.4

Under 18 5,375 # 689 # 4,686 0.1

18-24 17,852 0.1 10,667 0.1 7,185 0.1

25-39 19,020 0.1 11,598 0.1 7,422 0.1

40 and over 10,573 0.1 5,238 # 5,335 0.1

Age unknown 1,778 # 669 # 1,109 # 

Private not-for-profit 4-year 3,538,015 18.9 2,643,557 22.8 894,458 12.7

Under 18 58,797 0.3 30,135 0.3 28,662 0.4

18-24 2,092,094 11.2 1,944,481 16.8 147,613 2.1

25-39 982,137 5.3 530,784 4.6 451,353 6.4

40 and over 369,519 2.0 126,226 1.1 243,293 3.4

Age unknown 35,468 0.2 11,931 0.1 23,537 0.3 

Private not-for-profit 2-year 44,843 0.2 31,247 0.3 13,596 0.2

Under 18 1,337 # 431 # 906 #

18-24 23,352 0.1 19,463 0.2 3,889 0.1

25-39 14,404 0.1 8,532 0.1 5,872 0.1

40 and over 5,331 # 2,513 # 2,818 #

Age unknown 419 # 308 # 111 # 

Private not-for-profit less-than-2-year 12,349 0.1 10,743 0.1 1,606 #

Under 18 232 # 147 # 85 #

18-24 4,897 # 4,367 # 530 #

25-39 4,761 # 4,111 # 650 #

40 and over 2,379 # 2,049 # 330 #

Age unknown 80 # 69 # 11 # 

Private for-profit 4-year 925,873 5.0 689,251 5.9 236,622 3.3

Under 18 2,937 # 2,098 # 839 #

18-24 250,669 1.3 201,578 1.7 49,091 0.7

25-39 466,228 2.5 341,046 2.9 125,182 1.8

40 and over 195,464 1.0 137,011 1.2 58,453 0.8

Age unknown 10,575 0.1 7,518 0.1 3,057 # 

Private for-profit 2-year 321,221 1.7 285,231 2.5 35,990 0.5

Under 18 2,881 # 2,637 # 244 #

18-24 169,154 0.9 155,211 1.3 13,943 0.2

25-39 116,463 0.6 100,105 0.9 16,358 0.2

40 and over 28,989 0.2 24,028 0.2 4,961 0.1

Age unknown 3,734 # 3,250 # 484 # 

Private for-profit less-than-2-year 232,934 1.2 199,637 1.7 33,297 0.5

Under 18 3,409 # 2,342 # 1,067 #

18-24 118,106 0.6 104,021 0.9 14,085 0.2

25-39 85,766 0.5 71,856 0.6 13,910 0.2

40 and over 21,919 0.1 18,341 0.2 3,578 0.1

Age unknown 3,734 # 3,077 # 657 #

# Rounds to zero. 

1

Includes 309 students enrolled in graduate-level courses at eight institutions. 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008, Enrollment component. 
8

Table 3. Revenues of Title IV institutions, by level and control of institution, accounting standards 

utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2007 

4-year 2-year Less-than-2-year 

Source of funds 

Revenues

 (in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent 

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

 

 Public institutions using GASB standards1

 

Total revenues and other sources $213,133,579 100.0 $47,747,294 100.0 $1,242,063 100.0

 

Operating revenues 125,077,577 58.7 17,876,282 37.4 467,411 37.6

 

Tuition and fees (net of allowances and 

discounts) 35,126,676 16.5 7,637,171 16.0 146,700 11.8

Grants and contracts 37,908,321 17.8 7,626,341 16.0 208,973 16.8

Federal (excludes FDSL loans) 24,992,863 11.7 4,780,975 10.0 66,326 5.3

State 5,335,342 2.5 2,209,723 4.6 96,648 7.8

Local 7,580,116 3.6 635,642 1.3 46,000 3.7

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises after 

deducting discounts and allowances 17,967,295 8.4 1,892,608 4.0 16,035 1.3

Sales and services of hospitals 20,758,904 9.7 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations 663,373 0.3 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other operating revenues 12,653,008 5.9 720,163 1.5 95,702 7.7

 

Nonoperating revenues 74,532,913 35.0 26,914,625 56.4 737,353 59.4

 

Federal appropriations 1,764,493 0.8 131,709 0.3 7,364 0.6

State appropriations 48,395,487 22.7 14,302,710 30.0 364,423 29.3

Local appropriations 446,923 0.2 8,653,541 18.1 302,517 24.4

Nonoperating grants 2,403,244 1.1 1,977,044 4.1 21,750 1.8

Federal 1,625,932 0.8 1,280,066 2.7 15,538 1.3

State 705,405 0.3 638,179 1.3 4,209 0.3

Local 71,908 # 58,799 0.1 2,003 0.2

Gifts 4,745,220 2.2 256,212 0.5 4,674 0.4

Investment income 13,412,528 6.3 984,209 2.1 20,980 1.7

Other nonoperating revenues 3,365,017 1.6 609,199 1.3 15,645 1.3

 

Total other revenues and additions 13,523,089 6.3 2,956,388 6.2 37,299 3.0

 

Capital appropriations 5,064,705 2.4 2,291,293 4.8 5,783 0.5

Capital grants and gifts 3,161,015 1.5 350,189 0.7 6,050 0.5

Additions to permanent endowments 1,016,329 0.5 23,096 # 0 0.0

Other revenues and additions 4,281,040 2.0 291,809 0.6 25,465 2.1

 

 Private not-for-profit institutions (FASB standards) 

 

Total revenues and investment return $182,020,298 100.0 $656,441 100.0 $211,553 100.0

 

Tuition and fees 47,212,707 25.9 336,380 51.2 79,615 37.6

Government appropriations 1,002,871 0.6 18,109 2.8 850 0.4

Federal 461,833 0.3 11,382 1.7 0 0.0

State 528,522 0.3 6,265 1.0 850 0.4

Local 12,515 # 462 0.1 0 0.0

Government grants and contracts 15,842,394 8.7 79,998 12.2 76,957 36.4

Federal 14,238,628 7.8 60,358 9.2 65,192 30.8

State 1,078,821 0.6 17,948 2.7 9,291 4.4

Local 524,945 0.3 1,692 0.3 2,473 1.2

Private gifts, grants, and contracts 18,978,771 10.4 42,796 6.5 17,909 8.5

Contributions from affiliated entities 1,168,061 0.6 22,987 3.5 901 0.4

Investment return 55,907,217 30.7 50,931 7.8 3,748 1.8

Sales and services of educational activities 4,097,282 2.3 10,731 1.6 34,576 16.3

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises 12,254,583 6.7 52,352 8.0 2,888 1.4

Hospital revenue 12,636,904 6.9 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations revenue 5,446,222 3.0 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other revenue 7,473,287 4.1 42,158 6.4 -5,890 -2.8

See notes at end of table. 
9

Table 3. Revenues of Title IV institutions, by level and control of institution, accounting standards 

utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2007—Continued 

4-year 2-year Less-than-2-year 

Source of funds 

Revenues

 (in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent 

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

 

 Private for-profit institutions (FASB standards) 

 

Total revenues and investment return $10,307,793 100.0 $4,438,531 100.0 $2,875,984 100.0

 

Tuition and fees 9,227,102 89.5 3,743,669 84.3 2,172,136 75.5

Government appropriations, grants, and contracts 481,778 4.7 351,848 7.9 322,042 11.2

Federal 446,632 4.3 313,926 7.1 302,868 10.5

State and local 35,145 0.3 37,923 0.9 19,174 0.7

Private grants and contracts 2,426 # 1,996 # 2,702 0.1

Investment income and investment gains (losses) 37,052 0.4 13,694 0.3 16,787 0.6

Sales and services of educational activities 211,132 2.0 83,929 1.9 157,114 5.5

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises 217,725 2.1 101,047 2.3 53,153 1.8

Other revenue 130,579 1.3 142,347 3.2 152,049 5.3

# Rounds to zero. 

1

In addition to the public institutions using Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards, 27 public Title IV institutions 

reported $8.8 billion in revenue and investment return using Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standards. 

NOTE: Due to difference in GASB standards and FASB standards, figures from public institutions are not comparable to figures from 

private institutions, even in categories with identical labels. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 

(IPEDS), Spring 2008, Finance component. 
10

Table 4. Expenses of Title IV institutions, by level and control of institution, accounting standards 

utilized, and type of expense: United States, fiscal year 2007 

4-year 2-year Less-than-2-year 

Type of expense 

Expenses

 (in thousands) Percent

Expenses

(in thousands) Percent 

Expenses

(in thousands) Percent

 

 Public institutions using GASB standards1

 

Total expenses $188,903,134 100.0 $43,678,514 100.0 $1,207,076 100.0

 

Operating expenses 181,465,178 96.1 42,661,404 97.7 1,183,284 98.0

Instruction 49,011,240 25.9 16,937,833 38.8 636,298 52.7

Research 22,643,224 12.0 18,116 # 0 0.0

Public service 9,257,235 4.9 696,911 1.6 1,925 0.2

Academic support 12,613,550 6.7 3,243,335 7.4 81,368 6.7

Student services 7,145,804 3.8 4,013,131 9.2 72,573 6.0

Institutional support 13,560,449 7.2 6,048,742 13.8 142,901 11.8

Operation and maintenance of plant 11,624,749 6.2 3,869,146 8.9 108,960 9.0

Depreciation 9,140,557 4.8 1,642,527 3.8 33,914 2.8

Scholarships and fellowships (excluding 

discounts and allowances) 6,016,596 3.2 2,943,457 6.7 8,095 0.7

Auxiliary enterprises 15,809,103 8.4 2,203,330 5.0 14,551 1.2

Hospital services 20,335,825 10.8 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations 763,621 0.4 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other operating expenses and deductions 3,543,224 1.9 1,044,874 2.4 82,698 6.9

 

Nonoperating expenses 7,437,956 3.9 1,017,110 2.3 23,792 2.0

Interest 3,129,141 1.7 697,384 1.6 8,912 0.7

Other nonoperating expenses and deductions 4,308,815 2.3 319,727 0.7 14,880 1.2

 

 Private not-for-profit institutions (FASB standards) 

 

Total expenses $124,103,526 100.0 $961,974 100.0 $211,218 100.0

 

Instruction 41,069,416 33.1 558,126 58.0 134,078 63.5

Research 13,704,132 11.0 1,075 0.1 1,181 0.6

Public service 2,050,110 1.7 9,102 0.9 7,842 3.7

Academic support 10,850,486 8.7 39,494 4.1 9,658 4.6

Student services 9,522,769 7.7 75,837 7.9 9,830 4.7

Institutional support 16,698,119 13.5 168,106 17.5 33,961 16.1

Auxiliary enterprises 12,416,717 10.0 45,821 4.8 7,657 3.6

Net grant aid to students 714,555 0.6 14,106 1.5 6 #

Hospital services 10,400,055 8.4 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations 4,680,393 3.8 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other expenses 1,996,775 1.6 50,307 5.2 7,005 3.3

Private for-profit institutions (FASB standards) 

 

Total expenses $8,837,598 100.0 $4,049,500 100.0 $2,647,652 100.0

 

Instruction 1,857,765 21.0 1,286,283 31.8 950,754 35.9

Research and public service 4,303 # 2,329 0.1 8,560 0.3

Academic support, student services, and 

institutional support 5,909,914 66.9 2,233,076 55.1 1,152,232 43.5

Auxiliary enterprises 228,624 2.6 113,790 2.8 68,165 2.6

Net grant aid to students 56,930 0.6 12,220 0.3 3,854 0.1

Other expenses 780,063 8.8 401,803 9.9 464,087 17.5

# Rounds to zero. 

1

In addition to the public institutions using Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards, 27 public Title IV institutions 

reported $7.2 billion in expenses using Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standards. 

NOTE: Due to difference in GASB standards and FASB standards, figures from public institutions are not comparable to figures from 

private institutions, even in categories with identical labels. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 

(IPEDS), Spring 2008, Finance component. 
11

Table 5. Graduation rates at Title IV institutions, by race/ethnicity, level and control of institution, gender, 

degree sought, and degree completed in the institution where the student started as a full-time, firsttime student: United States, cohort years 2001 and 2004 

Level and control of institution, gender, 

degree sought, and degree completed Total 

White, 

nonHispanic

Black, 

nonHispanic Hispanic 

Asian/ 

Pacific 

Islander

American 

Indian/ 

Alaska 

Native 

Race/

ethnicity

unknown 

Nonresident

alien 

 

Total 4-year institutions (cohort year 

2001)1

 56.1 59.4 40.5 46.9 65.5 38.6 48.7 58.5

 

Public 53.5 56.2 38.4 43.1 63.4 34.9 53.0 53.1

Men 50.1 53.0 31.4 38.6 59.4 31.6 49.8 50.9

Women 56.4 59.0 43.1 46.5 66.9 37.5 55.9 56.1

 

Private not-for-profit 63.7 66.6 45.0 57.0 74.4 46.4 59.4 67.0

Men 60.9 64.0 38.6 53.4 71.8 42.0 57.1 63.4

Women 66.0 68.7 49.3 59.4 76.3 49.5 61.4 70.9

Private for-profit 43.7 52.2 40.3 46.0 48.5 49.3 25.7 36.3

Men 44.9 53.5 38.7 46.2 49.8 45.2 28.0 35.2

Women 42.1 50.5 41.7 45.8 46.8 53.1 23.2 37.4

 

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seekers 

attending 4-year institutions and 

completing bachelor’s or equivalent 

degree (cohort year 2001) 57.3 60.3 41.5 48.3 66.5 39.5 50.1 59.3

Public 55.0 57.5 40.1 45.7 64.5 37.2 53.9 55.0

Men 51.7 54.5 33.1 41.1 60.6 33.8 50.9 52.5

Women 57.8 60.2 44.8 49.1 67.9 39.8 56.7 58.2

 

Private not-for-profit 64.4 66.9 45.9 58.7 75.2 50.3 59.8 66.8

Men 61.4 64.3 38.9 55.0 72.6 47.0 57.1 63.3

Women 66.7 69.0 50.7 61.2 77.1 52.7 62.1 70.8

Private for-profit 24.5 30.3 23.8 28.8 34.3 16.6 13.9 22.5

Men 27.6 33.6 24.4 31.5 36.3 18.3 15.8 22.2

Women 21.1 25.8 23.2 26.1 31.4 14.9 12.4 22.7

 

Total 2-year institutions (cohort year 

2004) 30.9 32.1 25.8 29.8 33.2 29.4 33.5 33.9

Public 21.9 24.5 14.1 16.2 25.7 20.4 19.2 30.4

Men 21.2 23.4 14.0 15.2 24.2 20.5 18.6 27.7

Women 22.6 25.5 14.1 17.1 27.3 20.3 19.7 32.7

 

Private not-for-profit 50.2 56.5 39.2 41.7 31.4 22.0 60.1 59.3

Men 48.5 53.8 38.3 45.6 37.8 22.0 51.3 53.6

Women 51.4 58.4 40.0 38.9 28.4 22.0 65.4 63.5

Private for-profit 60.0 65.3 49.7 61.8 68.6 59.4 53.1 70.8

Men 60.4 66.7 46.9 58.6 68.2 60.5 53.8 69.3

Women 59.7 64.4 50.8 64.0 68.9 58.9 52.4 72.0

Less-than-2-year institutions (cohort 

year 2004) 65.8 — — — — — — —

 

Public 70.2 — — — — — — —

Private not-for-profit 74.7 — — — — — — —

Private for-profit 64.9 — — — — — — —

— Not available. Graduation rates data are not collected by race/ethnicity for less-than-2-year institutions. 1

The total 4-year institution cohort contains all full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, regardless of the level of the 

award sought. 

NOTE: The rates in this table reflect graduation rates at institutions regardless of the length of programs, unless otherwise indicated. The 

graduation rate was calculated as required for disclosure and reporting purposes under the Student Right-to-Know Act. This rate was 

calculated as the total number of completers within 150 percent of normal time divided by the revised cohort minus any allowable exclusions. 

The revised cohort is the current (spring 2008) estimate of the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time degree- or 

certificate-seeking undergraduates in the reference year. Allowable exclusions include those students who died or were totally and 

permanently disabled; those who left school to serve in the armed forces; those who left to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal 

government, such as the Peace Corps; and those who left to serve on official church missions. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 

(IPEDS), Spring 2008, Graduation Rates component. 
12

Table 6. Graduation rates of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students in the 4-year Title IV 

institution where the students started as full-time, first-time students, by control of institution, 

gender, and time to degree after entry: United States, cohort year 2001 

Gender and time to degree Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit

 

All students 

4-year graduation rate 36.2 29.4 50.9 18.6

5-year graduation rate 52.6 49.1 61.6 22.4

6-year graduation rate 57.3 55.0 64.4 24.5

Men 

4-year graduation rate 31.0 24.0 45.8 21.8

5-year graduation rate 48.6 44.9 58.2 25.1

6-year graduation rate 54.2 51.7 61.4 27.6

Women 

4-year graduation rate 40.6 33.9 55.0 15.2

5-year graduation rate 55.8 52.6 64.3 19.6

6-year graduation rate 60.0 57.8 66.7 21.1

NOTE: The rates in this table reflect only students seeking bachelor’s or equivalent degrees, rather than all students at 4-year 

institutions. The graduation rate was calculated as required for disclosure and reporting purposes under the Student Right-to-Know 

Act. This rate was calculated as the total number of completers within the specified time to degree divided by the revised cohort 

minus any allowable exclusions. The revised cohort is the current (spring 2008) estimate of the number of students entering the

institution as full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates in the reference year. Allowable exclusions include 

those students who died or were totally and permanently disabled; those who left school to serve in the armed forces; those who

left to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; and those who left to serve on official 

church missions. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008, Graduation Rates component. 

Table 7. Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates enrolled and those receiving 

financial aid at Title IV institutions, by sector of institution: United States, academic years 

2005-06 and 2006-07 

Academic year 2005-061 Academic year 2006-072

Sector of institution 

Number 

enrolled

Number of 

financial aid 

recipients

Percent 

receiving 

financial aid

Number 

enrolled

Number of 

financial aid 

recipients 

Percent 

receiving 

financial aid

 

Total students 2,688,094 2,024,342 75.3 2,774,796 2,033,550 73.3

Public 4-year 906,948 695,017 76.6 949,162 716,323 75.5

Public 2-year 634,148 390,155 61.5 649,919 397,724 61.2

Public less-than-2-year 25,890 14,480 55.9 30,950 16,870 54.5

Private not-for-profit 4-year 460,845 393,432 85.4 468,994 400,056 85.3

Private not-for-profit 2-year 14,043 11,178 79.6 11,716 9,581 81.8

Private not-for-profit less-than-2-year 10,906 9,050 83.0 9,875 7,620 77.2

Private for-profit 4-year 157,705 116,237 73.7 229,746 127,215 55.4

Private for-profit 2-year 222,809 190,954 85.7 195,012 170,408 87.4

Private for-profit less-than-2-year 254,800 203,839 80.0 229,422 187,753 81.8

1

The numbers shown reflect those institutions that reported having financial aid recipients in academic year 2005-06. 2

The numbers shown reflect those institutions that reported having financial aid recipients in academic year 2006-07. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2007 and Spring 2008, Student Financial Aid component. 
13

Table 8. Number and percentage of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates and 

financial aid recipients and average amounts of financial aid received by full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates at Title IV institutions, by sector of institution and type of 

aid: United States, academic year 2006-07 

Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Type of aid 

Total 

students 4-year 2-year

Less-than2-year 4-year 2-yearLess-than2-year 4-year 2-yearLess-than2-year

 

Full-time, first-time 

undergraduates 2,774,796 949,162 649,919 30,950 468,994 11,716 9,875 229,746 195,012 229,422

 

Number receiving 

 

Any financial aid 2,033,550 716,323 397,724 16,870 400,056 9,581 7,620 127,215 170,408 187,753

Federal grants 983,911 252,096 243,305 12,234 121,110 5,475 6,558 74,723 119,461 148,949

State/local grants 752,694 348,023 208,566 4,186 142,450 3,841 1,723 13,105 23,629 7,171

Institutional grants 805,609 324,196 73,360 1,748 349,060 4,722 1,018 19,399 14,991 17,115

Loans to students1

 1,250,974 415,446 122,457 6,256 278,689 6,003 4,337 119,452 146,477 151,857

 

Percent receiving 

 

Any financial aid 73.3 75.5 61.2 54.5 85.3 81.8 77.2 55.4 87.4 81.8

Federal grants 35.5 26.6 37.4 39.5 25.8 46.7 66.4 32.5 61.3 64.9

State/local grants 27.1 36.7 32.1 13.5 30.4 32.8 17.4 5.7 12.1 3.1

Institutional grants 29.0 34.2 11.3 5.6 74.4 40.3 10.3 8.4 7.7 7.5

Loans to students1

 45.1 43.8 18.8 20.2 59.4 51.2 43.9 52.0 75.1 66.2

 

Average amount2

 

Federal grants $3,076 $3,365 $2,801 $2,761 $3,728 $3,031 $3,175 $2,608 $2,948 $2,868

State/local grants 2,510 2,848 1,385 2,022 3,329 2,994 3,498 2,622 2,360 2,604

Institutional grants 6,423 3,759 1,301 3,171 10,797 3,905 2,106 1,878 1,504 384

Loans to students1

 5,084 4,433 2,889 4,948 5,558 4,633 5,163 6,989 6,190 5,220 1

Loans to students include only loans made directly to students; federal loans to parents (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students [PLUS]) 

and other loans made directly to parents are not included. 

2

Each average grant (or loan) value was calculated by dividing the total grants (or loans) awarded by the total number of recipients. 

NOTE: The numbers shown reflect only those institutions that reported the number of recipients by types of financial aid and the average 

amounts received. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 

(IPEDS), Spring 2008, Student Financial Aid component. 

A-1

Appendix A: 

Survey Methodology 

Overview 

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) defines a postsecondary 

institution as an organization that is open to the public and has a primary mission of providing 

education or training beyond the high school level. The primary focus of the IPEDS spring 2008 

collection was to collect data from Title IV institutions. These institutions have Program 

Participation Agreements (PPAs) with the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) within the 

U.S. Department of Education and thus are eligible to participate in Title IV student financial aid 

programs. There were 6,790 Title IV institutions1

 and administrative offices located in the 

United States and the other jurisdictions of the United States, such as Puerto Rico,2

 in the 2007-

08 academic year. 

The spring 2008 collection was entirely web-based. Institutions in the universe were asked to 

enter their survey responses using the IPEDS data collection website. The spring 2008 IPEDS 

data were collected between March 5, 2008 and April 30, 2008. The collection had four 

components: Enrollment, Finance, Graduation Rates, and Student Financial Aid. 

Terminology Used in the IPEDS Web Collection 

Please refer to the glossary provided at the end of this document for definitions of various terms. 

Definitions of terms not included in the glossary in this document may appear in the IPEDS 

online glossary (http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/Glossary) 

Universe, Institutions Surveyed, and Response Rates 

The IPEDS universe is established during the fall collection period. For the 2007-08 cycle, 50 

postsecondary institutions included in prior IPEDS data collections were declared to be outside 

the scope of IPEDS because they were closed or were merged with another institution. Another 

193 postsecondary institutions were reported exclusively by a parent institution.3 In addition, 154 

postsecondary institutions were added to the universe. These institutions were identified from 

several sources, including a universe review by state coordinators, a review of the data file 

maintained by OPE, and information provided by the institutions themselves. Although they are 

part of the 2007-08 IPEDS universe, 14 institutions that closed during the 2007-08 academic 

year were not eligible to complete any of the components collected during the spring 2008 

collection. 

The initial set of 6,790 Title IV entities was validated by matching the IPEDS universe file with 

OPE’s Postsecondary Education Participation System (PEPS) file. Because most of the studies 

 

1

 Includes 6,706 institutions and 84 administrative (central or system) offices. The central and system offices are 

required to complete the Institutional Characteristics component in the fall, the EAP and Staff sections of the HR 

component in the winter, and the Finance component in the spring (if they have their own separate budget). 

2

 The other jurisdictions include American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, 

the Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 3

 A parent institution reports data for another institution, known as the child institution. 
A-2

that use IPEDS data concentrate on the Title IV institutions, this group is the main focus of 

IPEDS. Also, according to Section 490 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1992 (P.L. 102-

325), IPEDS is mandatory for any 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, as amended (20 USC 1094(a)(17)). Four of the U.S. service academies 

are included in the IPEDS universe as if they were Title IV institutions.4

The IPEDS database includes institutions that do not participate in Title IV financial aid 

programs. These institutions are invited to participate in the IPEDS program, and if they 

voluntarily respond to the components, the institutions are included in the College Navigator 

(http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/). The College Navigator is a website developed to help 

parents and students make informed decisions about postsecondary education. 

Not all 6,776 Title IV postsecondary entities eligible for the spring data collection were required 

to participate in all components. The Student Financial Aid (SFA) component is applicable only 

to those institutions that have full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate 

students. The Graduation Rates (GRS) component is applicable to institutions that had full-time, 

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in the reference year (2001 for 4-

year institutions and 2004 for less-than-4-year institutions.) The Finance component applies to 

all institutions and administrative (central or system) offices. See the Survey Components section 

below for further details regarding which institutions were required to complete each component. 

Table A-1 provides the number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices and response 

rates by degree-granting status and by level and control of institution for the United States and 

other jurisdictions for each of the four spring components. Because Title IV institutions are the 

primary focus of IPEDS and they are required to respond, response rates for Title IV institutions 

in the spring 2008 IPEDS collection were high. The response rate for each component was more 

than 99 percent: 99.8 percent for Enrollment, 99.7 percent for Finance and Graduation Rates, and 

99.6 percent for Student Financial Aid. 

Table A-1a provides the number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices and response 

rates by degree-granting status and by level and control of institution for those institutions 

located in the United States only (excluding any other jurisdictions). 

Some responding institutions did not report data for all parts of the Enrollment component,5

 and 

the missing parts were imputed. Hence, response rates for the Enrollment component are 

provided in table A-2 for the entire IPEDS universe and in table A-2a for those institutions 

located in the United States only (excluding any other jurisdictions). Part C, residence of firsttime undergraduate students, is not included because Part C was optional this year. 

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) requires that the potential for nonresponse 

bias for all institutions (including those in other jurisdictions) be analyzed for sectors for which 

the response rate is less than 90 percent. As shown in table A-1, no sectors required this analysis. 

 

4

 The four U.S. service academies that are not Title IV eligible are the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military 

Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. One academy, the U.S. Merchant 

Marine Academy, is Title IV eligible. Data for all five institutions are included in each of the tables and counts of 

institutions and students. 

5

 Please refer to the Survey Components section of this appendix for a description of the parts of the Enrollment 

component. 
A-3

Table A-1. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 2008 data 

collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and control of 

institution/office: United States and other jurisdictions 

Degree-granting status and Enrollment Student Financial Aid 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe 

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

 

All institutions 6,680 6,669 99.8 6,162 6,140 99.6

 

Public 2,028 2,028 100.0 1,969 1,969 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,864 1,863 99.9 1,522 1,518 99.7

Private for-profit 2,788 2,778 99.6 2,671 2,653 99.3

4-year 2,751 2,750 100.0 2,322 2,320 99.9

 Public 672 672 100.0 623 623 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,581 1,580 99.9 1,264 1,262 99.8

 Private for-profit 498 498 100.0 435 435 100.0

2-year 2,186 2,185 100.0 2,143 2,139 99.8

 Public 1,139 1,139 100.0 1,137 1,137 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 185 185 100.0 166 165 99.4

 Private for-profit 862 861 99.9 840 837 99.6

Less-than-2-year 1,743 1,734 99.5 1,697 1,681 99.1

 Public 217 217 100.0 209 209 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 98 98 100.0 92 91 98.9

 Private for-profit 1,428 1,419 99.4 1,396 1,381 98.9

 

Degree-granting 4,428 4,427 100.0 3,995 3,993 99.9

4-year 2,736 2,735 100.0 2,320 2,318 99.9

Public 671 671 100.0 623 623 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,567 1,566 99.9 1,262 1,260 99.8

Private for-profit 498 498 100.0 435 435 100.0

2-year 1,692 1,692 100.0 1,675 1,675 100.0

Public 1,039 1,039 100.0 1,037 1,037 100.0

Private not-for-profit 96 96 100.0 93 93 100.0

Private for-profit 557 557 100.0 545 545 100.0

 

Non-degree-granting 2,252 2,242 99.6 2,167 2,147 99.1

4-year 15 15 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 494 493 99.8 468 464 99.1

Public 100 100 100.0 100 100 100.0

Private not-for-profit 89 89 100.0 73 72 98.6

Private for-profit 305 304 99.7 295 292 99.0

Less-than-2-year 1,743 1,734 99.5 1,697 1,681 99.1

Public 217 217 100.0 209 209 100.0

Private not-for-profit 98 98 100.0 92 91 98.9

Private for-profit 1,428 1,419 99.4 1,396 1,381 98.9

 

See notes at end of table. 
A-4

Table A-1. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 2008 data 

collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and control of 

institution/office: United States and other jurisdictions—Continued 

Degree-granting status and Finance Graduation Rates 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

 

All institutions 6,764 6,747 99.7 5,936 5,916 99.7

 

Public 2,096 2,096 100.0 1,958 1,958 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,868 1,867 99.9 1,504 1,502 99.9

Private for-profit 2,800 2,784 99.4 2,474 2,456 99.3

4-year 2,797 2,797 100.0 2,203 2,201 99.9

 Public 711 711 100.0 615 615 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,586 1,586 100.0 1,245 1,244 99.9

 Private for-profit 500 500 100.0 343 342 99.7

2-year 2,217 2,213 99.8 2,103 2,101 99.9

 Public 1,170 1,170 100.0 1,132 1,132 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 183 182 99.5 168 168 100.0

 Private for-profit 864 861 99.7 803 801 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,750 1,737 99.3 1,630 1,614 99.0

 Public 215 215 100.0 211 211 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 99 99 100.0 91 90 98.9

 Private for-profit 1,436 1,423 99.1 1,328 1,313 98.9

 

Degree-granting 4,510 4,510 100.0 3,846 3,844 99.9

4-year 2,784 2,784 100.0 2,201 2,199 99.9

Public 711 711 100.0 615 615 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,573 1,573 100.0 1,243 1,242 99.9

Private for-profit 500 500 100.0 343 342 99.7

2-year 1,726 1,726 100.0 1,645 1,645 100.0

Public 1,071 1,071 100.0 1,033 1,033 100.0

Private not-for-profit 95 95 100.0 93 93 100.0

Private for-profit 560 560 100.0 519 519 100.0

 

Non-degree-granting 2,254 2,237 99.2 2,090 2,072 99.1

4-year 13 13 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 13 13 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 491 487 99.2 458 456 99.6

Public 99 99 100.0 99 99 100.0

Private not-for-profit 88 87 98.9 75 75 100.0

Private for-profit 304 301 99.0 284 282 99.3

Less-than-2-year 1,750 1,737 99.3 1,630 1,614 99.0

Public 215 215 100.0 211 211 100.0

Private not-for-profit 99 99 100.0 91 90 98.9

Private for-profit 1,436 1,423 99.1 1,328 1,313 98.9

† Not applicable. 

NOTE: For the Finance component response rates, administrative offices are included in the counts according to the level of the

institution(s) they serve because they complete the Finance component. Administrative offices do not complete the Enrollment, 

Graduation Rates, or Student Financial Aid components. Data were imputed for all total nonrespondents. In addition, data were 

imputed for institutions that did not respond to all Parts of the Enrollment component (partial nonrespondents). The other 

jurisdictions include American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Marianas, 

Palau, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008. 
A-5

Table A-1a. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 2008 data 

collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and control of 

institution/office: United States 

Degree-granting status and Enrollment Student Financial Aid 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe 

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

 

All institutions 6,525 6,514 99.8 6,015 5,994 99.7

 

Public 2,003 2,003 100.0 1,945 1,945 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,810 1,809 99.9 1,475 1,471 99.7

Private for-profit 2,712 2,702 99.6 2,595 2,578 99.3

4-year 2,688 2,687 100.0 2,266 2,264 99.9

 Public 654 654 100.0 606 606 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,544 1,543 99.9 1,233 1,231 99.8

 Private for-profit 490 490 100.0 427 427 100.0

2-year 2,165 2,164 100.0 2,122 2,118 99.8

 Public 1,132 1,132 100.0 1,130 1,130 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 181 181 100.0 162 161 99.4

 Private for-profit 852 851 99.9 830 827 99.6

Less-than-2-year 1,672 1,663 99.5 1,627 1,612 99.1

 Public 217 217 100.0 209 209 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 85 85 100.0 80 79 98.8

 Private for-profit 1,370 1,361 99.3 1,338 1,324 99.0

 

Degree-granting 4,345 4,344 100.0 3,919 3,917 99.9

4-year 2,673 2,672 100.0 2,264 2,262 99.9

Public 653 653 100.0 606 606 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,530 1,529 99.9 1,231 1,229 99.8

Private for-profit 490 490 100.0 427 427 100.0

2-year 1,672 1,672 100.0 1,655 1,655 100.0

Public 1,032 1,032 100.0 1,030 1,030 100.0

Private not-for-profit 92 92 100.0 89 89 100.0

Private for-profit 548 548 100.0 536 536 100.0

 

Non-degree-granting 2,180 2,170 99.5 2,096 2,077 99.1

4-year 15 15 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 493 492 99.8 467 463 99.1

Public 100 100 100.0 100 100 100.0

Private not-for-profit 89 89 100.0 73 72 98.6

Private for-profit 304 303 99.7 294 291 99.0

Less-than-2-year 1,672 1,663 99.5 1,627 1,612 99.1

Public 217 217 100.0 209 209 100.0

Private not-for-profit 85 85 100.0 80 79 98.8

Private for-profit 1,370 1,361 99.3 1,338 1,324 99.0

 

See notes at end of table. 
A-6

Table A-1a. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 2008 data 

collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and control of 

institution/office: United States—Continued 

Degree-granting status and Finance Graduation Rates 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

 

All institutions 6,606 6,590 99.8 5,792 5,773 99.7

 

Public 2,070 2,070 100.0 1,934 1,934 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,812 1,811 99.9 1,458 1,456 99.9

Private for-profit 2,724 2,709 99.4 2,400 2,383 99.3

4-year 2,731 2,731 100.0 2,149 2,147 99.9

 Public 692 692 100.0 598 598 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,547 1,547 100.0 1,215 1,214 99.9

 Private for-profit 492 492 100.0 336 335 99.7

2-year 2,196 2,192 99.8 2,082 2,080 99.9

 Public 1,163 1,163 100.0 1,125 1,125 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 179 178 99.4 164 164 100.0

 Private for-profit 854 851 99.6 793 791 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,679 1,667 99.3 1,561 1,546 99.0

 Public 215 215 100.0 211 211 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 86 86 100.0 79 78 98.7

 Private for-profit 1,378 1,366 99.1 1,271 1,257 98.9

 

Degree-granting 4,424 4,424 100.0 3,772 3,770 99.9

 

4-year 2,718 2,718 100.0 2,147 2,145 99.9

Public 692 692 100.0 598 598 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,534 1,534 100.0 1,213 1,212 99.9

Private for-profit 492 492 100.0 336 335 99.7

2-year 1,706 1,706 100.0 1,625 1,625 100.0

Public 1,064 1,064 100.0 1,026 1,026 100.0

Private not-for-profit 91 91 100.0 89 89 100.0

Private for-profit 551 551 100.0 510 510 100.0

 

Non-degree-granting 2,182 2,166 99.3 2,020 2,003 99.2

 

4-year 13 13 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 13 13 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 490 486 99.2 457 455 99.6

Public 99 99 100.0 99 99 100.0

Private not-for-profit 88 87 98.9 75 75 100.0

Private for-profit 303 300 99.0 283 281 99.3

Less-than-2-year 1,679 1,667 99.3 1,561 1,546 99.0

Public 215 215 100.0 211 211 100.0

Private not-for-profit 86 86 100.0 79 78 98.7

Private for-profit 1,378 1,366 99.1 1,271 1,257 98.9

† Not applicable. 

NOTE: For the Finance component response rates, administrative offices are included in the counts according to the level of the

institution(s) they serve because they complete the Finance component. Administrative offices do not complete the Enrollment, 

Graduation Rates, or Student Financial Aid components. Data were imputed for all total nonrespondents. In addition, data were 

imputed for institutions that did not respond to all Parts of the Enrollment component (partial nonrespondents). 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008. 
A-7

Table A-2. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2008 Enrollment component, by part, 

degree-granting status, and level and control of institution: United States and other 

jurisdictions 

Degree-granting status and Part A, by race/ethnicity and gender Part B, by age and gender 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

 

All institutions 6,680 6,668 99.8 6,680 6,662 99.7

 

Public 2,028 2,028 100.0 2,028 2,028 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,864 1,863 99.9 1,864 1,861 99.8

Private for-profit 2,788 2,777 99.6 2,788 2,773 99.5

4-year 2,751 2,750 100.0 2,751 2,748 99.9

 Public 672 672 100.0 672 672 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,581 1,580 99.9 1,581 1,578 99.8

 Private for-profit 498 498 100.0 498 498 100.0

2-year 2,186 2,185 100.0 2,186 2,183 99.9

 Public 1,139 1,139 100.0 1,139 1,139 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 185 185 100.0 185 185 100.0

 Private for-profit 862 861 99.9 862 859 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,743 1,733 99.4 1,743 1,731 99.3

 Public 217 217 100.0 217 217 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 98 98 100.0 98 98 100.0

 Private for-profit 1,428 1,418 99.3 1,428 1,416 99.2

 

Degree-granting 4,428 4,427 100.0 4,428 4,423 99.9

 

4-year 2,736 2,735 100.0 2,736 2,733 99.9

Public 671 671 100.0 671 671 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,567 1,566 99.9 1,567 1,564 99.8

Private for-profit 498 498 100.0 498 498 100.0

2-year 1,692 1,692 100.0 1,692 1,690 99.9

Public 1,039 1,039 100.0 1,039 1,039 100.0

Private not-for-profit 96 96 100.0 96 96 100.0

Private for-profit 557 557 100.0 557 555 99.6

 

Non-degree-granting 2,252 2,241 99.5 2,252 2,239 99.4

 

4-year 15 15 100.0 15 15 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 14 14 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 494 493 99.8 494 493 99.8

Public 100 100 100.0 100 100 100.0

Private not-for-profit 89 89 100.0 89 89 100.0

Private for-profit 305 304 99.7 305 304 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,743 1,733 99.4 1,743 1,731 99.3

Public 217 217 100.0 217 217 100.0

Private not-for-profit 98 98 100.0 98 98 100.0

Private for-profit 1,428 1,418 99.3 1,428 1,416 99.2

 

See notes at end of table. 
A-8

Table A-2. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2008 Enrollment component, by part, 

degree-granting status, and level and control of institution: United States and other 

jurisdictions—Continued 

Part D, total entering class1 Part E, retention rates2 Degree-granting status and 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

 

All institutions 4,084 4,083 100.0 5,996 5,983 99.8

 

Public 1,730 1,730 100.0 1,972 1,972 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,429 1,428 99.9 1,519 1,516 99.8

Private for-profit 925 925 100.0 2,505 2,495 99.6

4-year 2,340 2,339 100.0 2,375 2,372 99.9

 Public 628 628 100.0 629 629 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,269 1,268 99.9 1,277 1,274 99.8

 Private for-profit 443 443 100.0 469 469 100.0

2-year 1,576 1,576 100.0 2,154 2,153 100.0

 Public 1,055 1,055 100.0 1,136 1,136 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 137 137 100.0 166 166 100.0

 Private for-profit 384 384 100.0 852 851 99.9

Less-than-2-year 168 168 100.0 1,467 1,458 99.4

 Public 47 47 100.0 207 207 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 23 23 100.0 76 76 100.0

 Private for-profit 98 98 100.0 1,184 1,175 99.2

 

Degree-granting 3,805 3,804 100.0 4,055 4,052 99.9

 

4-year 2,340 2,339 100.0 2,373 2,370 99.9

Public 628 628 100.0 629 629 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,269 1,268 99.9 1,275 1,272 99.8

Private for-profit 443 443 100.0 469 469 100.0

2-year 1,465 1,465 100.0 1,682 1,682 100.0

Public 1,028 1,028 100.0 1,036 1,036 100.0

Private not-for-profit 84 84 100.0 94 94 100.0

Private for-profit 353 353 100.0 552 552 100.0

 

Non-degree-granting 279 279 100.0 1,941 1,931 99.5

 

4-year 0 0 † 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 0 0 † 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 111 111 100.0 472 471 99.8

Public 27 27 100.0 100 100 100.0

Private not-for-profit 53 53 100.0 72 72 100.0

Private for-profit 31 31 100.0 300 299 99.7

Less-than-2-year 168 168 100.0 1,467 1,458 99.4

Public 47 47 100.0 207 207 100.0

Private not-for-profit 23 23 100.0 76 76 100.0

Private for-profit 98 98 100.0 1,184 1,175 99.2

† Not applicable. 

1

These data are not required for program-reporting institutions. 

2

These data are not required for institutions that have only less-than-1-year programs. 

NOTE: The other jurisdictions include American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the 

Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008, Enrollment component. 
A-9

Table A-2a. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2008 Enrollment component, by part, 

degree-granting status, and level and control of institution: United States 

Degree-granting status and Part A, by race/ethnicity and gender Part B, by age and gender 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

 

All institutions 6,525 6,513 99.8 6,525 6,507 99.7

 

Public 2,003 2,003 100.0 2,003 2,003 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,810 1,809 99.9 1,810 1,807 99.8

Private for-profit 2,712 2,701 99.6 2,712 2,697 99.4

4-year 2,688 2,687 100.0 2,688 2,685 99.9

 Public 654 654 100.0 654 654 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,544 1,543 99.9 1,544 1,541 99.8

 Private for-profit 490 490 100.0 490 490 100.0

2-year 2,165 2,164 100.0 2,165 2,162 99.9

 Public 1,132 1,132 100.0 1,132 1,132 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 181 181 100.0 181 181 100.0

 Private for-profit 852 851 99.9 852 849 99.6

Less-than-2-year 1,672 1,662 99.4 1,672 1,660 99.3

 Public 217 217 100.0 217 217 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 85 85 100.0 85 85 100.0

 Private for-profit 1,370 1,360 99.3 1,370 1,358 99.1

 

Degree-granting 4,345 4,344 100.0 4,345 4,340 99.9

 

4-year 2,673 2,672 100.0 2,673 2,670 99.9

Public 653 653 100.0 653 653 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,530 1,529 99.9 1,530 1,527 99.8

Private for-profit 490 490 100.0 490 490 100.0

2-year 1,672 1,672 100.0 1,672 1,670 99.9

Public 1,032 1,032 100.0 1,032 1,032 100.0

Private not-for-profit 92 92 100.0 92 92 100.0

Private for-profit 548 548 100.0 548 546 99.6

 

Non-degree-granting 2,180 2,169 99.5 2,180 2,167 99.4

 

4-year 15 15 100.0 15 15 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 14 14 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 493 492 99.8 493 492 99.8

Public 100 100 100.0 100 100 100.0

Private not-for-profit 89 89 100.0 89 89 100.0

Private for-profit 304 303 99.7 304 303 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,672 1,662 99.4 1,672 1,660 99.3

Public 217 217 100.0 217 217 100.0

Private not-for-profit 85 85 100.0 85 85 100.0

Private for-profit 1,370 1,360 99.3 1,370 1,358 99.1

 

See notes at end of table. 
A-10

Table A-2a. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2008 Enrollment component, by part, 

degree-granting status, and level and control of institution: United States—Continued 

Part D, total entering class1 Part E, retention rates2 Degree-granting status and 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

 

All institutions 3,981 3,980 100.0 5,851 5,839 99.8

 

Public 1,706 1,706 100.0 1,948 1,948 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,386 1,385 99.9 1,473 1,470 99.8

Private for-profit 889 889 100.0 2,430 2,421 99.6

4-year 2,284 2,283 100.0 2,319 2,316 99.9

 Public 611 611 100.0 612 612 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,238 1,237 99.9 1,246 1,243 99.8

 Private for-profit 435 435 100.0 461 461 100.0

2-year 1,558 1,558 100.0 2,133 2,132 100.0

 Public 1,048 1,048 100.0 1,129 1,129 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 134 134 100.0 162 162 100.0

 Private for-profit 376 376 100.0 842 841 99.9

Less-than-2-year 139 139 100.0 1,399 1,391 99.4

 Public 47 47 100.0 207 207 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 65 65 100.0

 Private for-profit 78 78 100.0 1,127 1,119 99.3

 

Degree-granting 3,731 3,730 100.0 3,979 3,976 99.9

 

4-year 2,284 2,283 100.0 2,317 2,314 99.9

Public 611 611 100.0 612 612 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,238 1,237 99.9 1,244 1,241 99.8

Private for-profit 435 435 100.0 461 461 100.0

2-year 1,447 1,447 100.0 1,662 1,662 100.0

Public 1,021 1,021 100.0 1,029 1,029 100.0

Private not-for-profit 81 81 100.0 90 90 100.0

Private for-profit 345 345 100.0 543 543 100.0

 

Non-degree-granting 250 250 100.0 1,872 1,863 99.5

 

4-year 0 0 † 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 0 0 † 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 111 111 100.0 471 470 99.8

Public 27 27 100.0 100 100 100.0

Private not-for-profit 53 53 100.0 72 72 100.0

Private for-profit 31 31 100.0 299 298 99.7

Less-than-2-year 139 139 100.0 1,399 1,391 99.4

Public 47 47 100.0 207 207 100.0

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 65 65 100.0

Private for-profit 78 78 100.0 1,127 1,119 99.3

† Not applicable. 

1

These data are not required for program-reporting institutions. 

2

These data are not required for institutions that have only less-than-1-year programs. 

NOTE: The other jurisdictions include American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the 

Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008, Enrollment component. 
A-11

Survey Components 

Enrollment 

This component of the web-based survey has five separate parts. Parts A, B, C, and D data are 

reported as of the institution’s official fall reporting date (or October 15, 2007) for this data 

collection. Part A collects summary data on the number of students enrolled in the fall, including 

the number of first-time6

 degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate (freshmen) students; the total 

number of degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates; total undergraduates; total graduate 

students; and total first-professional students—all by race/ethnicity, gender, and enrollment 

status (full or part time). Part B (which was required this year, but is optional when data 

correspond to the fall of an even-numbered year) collects summary data on the number of 

students enrolled in the fall in each student level (undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional) 

by age category, gender, and enrollment status. Part C (which is optional this year, but is 

required when data correspond to the fall of an even-numbered year) collects summary data on 

the residence of first-time degree/certificate-seeking (undergraduate) students and the number of 

those students enrolled in the fall who completed high school in the last 12 months, by state of 

residence. Part D collects data on the total number of undergraduate students who entered the 

institution for the first time in the fall term. This includes both full-time and part-time 

undergraduate students, whether degree/certificate-seeking or not, and any students who 

transferred into the institution. 

Part E collects data on retention rates. Four-year institutions report one rate for full-time, firsttime bachelor’s-seeking undergraduate students and another for part-time, first-time bachelor’sseeking undergraduate students. Less-than-4-year institutions report one rate for full-time, firsttime degree/certificate-seeking students and another for part-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking students. 

Finance 

This component of the web-based survey collects summary data on each institution’s financial 

status in fiscal year 2007. The Finance component has different versions of the form based 

mainly on control of the institution: public, private not-for-profit, and private for-profit. This 

year public institutions were allowed to choose between two versions of the component 

depending on which standards were used for their internal accounting: (1) Governmental 

Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statements 34 and 35 reporting standards or (2) Financial 

Accounting Standards Board (FASB) reporting standards. 

For public institutions that use GASB reporting standards to prepare their financial statements, 

data are collected on statement of net assets, plant, property, and equipment (Part A), revenues 

and other additions (Part B), expenses and other deductions (Part C), summary of changes in net 

assets (Part D), scholarships and fellowships (Part E), component units that report using FASB 

standards (Part F), component units that report using GASB standards (Part G), and endowment 

assets (Part H). Additionally, certain data are collected for the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 

including revenue data (Part J), expenditure data (Part K), and debts and assets (Part L).7

 

6

 Throughout this publication, the term “first-time” refers to students who have not attended any institution 

previously. See the glossary for further definition of a first-time student. 

7

 Part I has been discontinued and is no longer applicable. 
A-12

Private not-for-profit institutions and public institutions that use FASB reporting standards to 

prepare their financial statements report data on their statement of financial position (Part A), 

summary of changes in net assets (Part B), student grants (Part C), revenues and investment 

return (Part D), expenses by functional and natural classification (Part E), and endowment assets 

(Part H). A shortened version of the not-for-profit form has been developed for private for-profit 

institutions, and data are collected on balance sheet information (Part A), summary of changes in 

equity (Part B), student grants (Part C), revenues and investment return (Part D), and expenses 

by function (Part E). 

Graduation Rates 

This component collects the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the 

number of students in this cohort completing within 150 percent of normal time to program 

completion; the number who transferred to other institutions. This component was developed to 

help institutions comply with requirements of the Student Right-to-Know legislation. For 4-year 

institutions, the cohort consists of those students who first started in the 2001-02 academic year, 

and for 2-year and less-than-2-year institutions, the cohort is those students starting in the 2004-

05 academic year. Institutions operating on standard academic terms (semester, trimester, 

quarter) report on a fall cohort; all other institutions report on a full 12-month cohort (September 

1 through August 31). 

Student Financial Aid 

This component of the web-based survey has two parts: a section on student counts and a section 

on financial aid. Data were collected based on the 2006-07 academic year for those institutions 

that were part of the IPEDS universe and indicated that they enrolled full-time, first-time 

students in 2006-07. Student counts were collected based on fall 2006 enrollment or 

unduplicated counts for 2006-07, and institutions that charge tuition based on residency were 

asked to provide student counts by in-district, in-state, and out-of-state residency status. The 

number of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who received 

financial aid is collected by type of aid. For each type of aid, the average amount of aid received 

by those students for the entire academic year is also collected. Types of aid include federal 

grants (grants/educational assistance funds), state/local grants (grants/scholarships/waivers), 

institutional grants (scholarships/ fellowships), and loans to students. 

The 2007-08 survey forms are available at 

http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/web2000/SpringDataItems.asp. 

Survey Procedures 

The IPEDS spring 2008 data collection was entirely web-based. Each institution designated a 

keyholder, who was the person responsible for ensuring that data submitted by the institution 

were correct. The keyholder could generate UserIDs and passwords for up to six additional 

survey respondents who could also enter and review data. For most institutions, keyholders were 

also required to edit and “lock” the data; locking is equivalent to submitting completed data to 

NCES. 

Additionally, many states or systems had one or more coordinators who took responsibility for a 

specified group of institutions to ensure that all data were entered correctly. Some coordinators 
A-13

may be responsible for a system of institutions (e.g., SUNY—the State University of New York); 

others may coordinate all or some institutions in a state. Also, coordinators may elect to provide 

different levels of review. For example, some may only view data provided by their institutions, 

while others may upload data from state databases, review, and/or lock data for their institutions. 

For the 2007-08 IPEDS data collections, keyholders were asked to register prior to the fall 2007 

data collection. Registration information, including UserIDs and passwords, were e-mailed to 

existing keyholders in early August. Also in early August, letters were sent to chief executive 

officers (CEOs) at institutions without preregistered keyholders requesting that they appoint a 

keyholder for the 2007-08 collection year. The package included a letter for the keyholder and a 

registration certificate with the institution’s UserID and password for the entire 2007-08 

collection period. Subsequent registration mailings were sent to CEOs at institutions at which a 

keyholder had still not been registered in late August and late September. At the beginning of the 

winter and spring collections (in early December and early March, respectively), e-mail 

messages were sent to registered keyholders and coordinators requesting that they update or 

confirm their registration contact information when the collections opened. Schools were 

allowed to designate a new keyholder at any time during the collection year, if needed. As with 

previous IPEDS studies, follow-up for nonresponse was conducted with CEOs, coordinators, and 

keyholders via mail, e-mail, and telephone throughout all three collection periods. 

The web-based survey instruments offered many features designed to improve the quality and 

timeliness of the data. As indicated above, survey respondents were required to register before 

entering 2007-08 data to ensure a point of contact between NCES/IPEDS and the institution. 

Online data entry forms were tailored to each institution based on characteristics such as degreegranting status, control of institution (public, private not-for-profit, private for-profit), and level 

of institution (4-year, 2-year, and less-than-2-year). 

When data from previous years were available for an institution, they were preloaded on the 

customized forms for easy reference and comparison purposes. Once the 2007-08 data were 

entered, either manually or through file upload, the keyholders were required to run edit checks 

(programmed into the web system based on criteria determined by NCES) and resolve all 

identified errors before they were able to lock (submit) their data. Once data were locked, they 

were considered submitted, regardless of whether or not the coordinator had reviewed the 

submission. 

Once the data were complete and all locks were applied, IPEDS help desk staff conducted a final 

review of all edit error explanations and of all caveats. Additionally, a randomly selected sample 

of institutions had their complete data visually reviewed. If any additional problems were 

detected, the help desk staff contacted the institutions to resolve any remaining questions. Once 

the data were reviewed and, if necessary, problems resolved, most data were migrated to the Peer 

Analysis System (PAS), where they were made available to other responding institutions for 

comparison purposes. Because of confidentiality issues, Student Financial Aid and Graduation 

Rates data were not immediately available in the PAS, but were made available after the 

application of perturbation procedures. 

Edit Procedures 

Edit checks are built into the web-based data collection instrument to detect major reporting 

errors. The system automatically generates percentages for many data elements, and totals for 
A-14

each survey page. Based on these calculations, edit checks compared current responses to 

previously reported data. The percent variance necessary to trigger an edit check varied 

depending on the data element being compared, but typically were considered out of the 

expected range if the variance was greater than 25 percent. Edit checks can be run by the 

keyholder at any time during the collection, and all edit failures were required to be resolved 

before the keyholder could lock the data. As edit checks are executed, survey respondents are 

allowed to correct any errors detected by the system. If data were entered correctly but failed the 

edit checks, the survey respondents were asked either to confirm that the data were correct as 

entered or to key in a text message explaining why the data appeared to be out of the expected 

data range. Additionally, some edit failures were “fatal”; in these cases, the data had to be 

corrected by the keyholder rather than confirmed or explained. For the Graduation Rates 

component, respondents were permitted to change the initial cohort (previously reported 

numbers brought forward from responses to the Enrollment component) if the data were 

originally reported incorrectly. Survey respondents are also provided with a caveats box for each 

survey component and are encouraged to use this area to explain any special circumstances that 

might not be evident in their reported data. 

The Enrollment component had several automated edit checks designed to ensure internal 

consistency. Among them, the number of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking 

undergraduate students had to be less than or equal to the total number of students. Student 

counts, by level, were compared to activity hours reported in earlier components to ensure that 

the numbers of undergraduate and graduate students were reported in a way that was consistent 

with previously reported data. Total first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students 

in Part A (reported by race/ethnicity) had to equal the number reported in Part B (reported by 

age). For this collection cycle, Part C (reported by state of residence, U.S. territory, or foreign 

country) data were optional; however, if provided, total first-time degree/certificate-seeking 

students in Part A (reported by race/ethnicity) had to equal total first-time degree/certificateseeking students in Part C. If the system detected discrepancies in the numbers reported in Parts 

A, B, and C, balance amounts were generated and these balances were entered into “unknown” 

fields. Additionally, current year data for all sections were compared to data from previous years, 

and large discrepancies (typically 25 percent or greater) had to be justified by the keyholder in 

the edit explanations. 

Edits were also applied to the Student Financial Aid component of the survey. For example, the 

number of full-time, first-time students had to be less than or equal to the total number of 

undergraduate students enrolled. The number of full-time, first-time students who received any 

financial aid during the full academic year had to be less than or equal to the number of full-time, 

first-time undergraduate students. For public institutions that charged by residency, the sum of 

in-district, in-state, and out-of-state full-time, first-time undergraduate students could not exceed 

the number of full-time, first-time undergraduate students. The number of full-time, first-time 

undergraduate students receiving federal grants could not exceed the number of full-time, firsttime undergraduate students who received any financial aid during the full academic year. The 

same criteria applied to state/local grants, institutional grants, and loans to students. 

For the Finance component, current year data were compared to the previous year’s data and 

large changes from one year to the next had to be justified in the edit explanations. In the version 

of the Finance component for private not-for-profit institutions, total net assets had to equal total 

unrestricted net assets plus total restricted net assets. Total net assets also had to equal total 
A-15

assets minus total liabilities. For all versions of the Finance component, selected fields—such as 

other sources of revenue, other expenses, and long-term debt outstanding at the end of the fiscal 

year—were generated by the collection system using predetermined formulas. Institutions were 

instructed to review the generated totals and resolve any data entry errors. 

For the Graduation Rates component, the initial cohort of full-time/first-time degree- or 

certificate-seeking students was preloaded using data collected in the Enrollment survey for the 

applicable cohort year in order to ensure consistent reporting. Revisions to the initial cohort were 

permitted if better data had become available, and such revisions were to be explained in the 

caveat boxes. Individual cells were summed to ensure that they did not exceed the revised cohort 

for any race/ethnicity or gender classification. Institutions reporting very high or very low 

numbers of completers (as a percentage of the total cohort) were required to explain this 

anomaly. Finally, if cohort members were reported for either section of the Graduation Rates 

component (bachelor’s-seeking or other-than-bachelor’s-seeking), at least one cell had to be 

completed in each applicable section. 

Imputation Procedures 

The Enrollment data, Finance data, Graduation Rates data, and Student Financial Aid data were 

all subject to imputation for nonresponse—both institutional nonresponse and item nonresponse. 

In addition, the imputation base was restricted to institutions satisfying all of the following 

conditions: 

• The institution must participate in Title IV student financial aid programs. 

• The institution must be currently active8

 in IPEDS. 

• The institution must not be an administrative office. 

• The institution must not be a child institution (a child institution’s data are reported by 

another institution, referred to as the parent). 

• For the Graduation Rates component, the institution must have enrolled full-time, first-time 

students for the cohort year.

Enrollment 

For Part A of the Enrollment component, 111 imputation groups were formed primarily based on 

institutional sector and undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional offerings. 

The following imputation methods were used (in order of preference) to impute missing data in 

enrollment Parts A and B: 

• Carry Forward—Reported 2006 (or 2005) enrollment data were carried forward to the 

current year. The number of students reported in 2006 (or 2005) was used as the base value 

for the imputation. This base value was then multiplied by either the ratio of current year to 

past year median part-time students or the ratio of current year to past year median full-time 

students (whichever was applicable) within the imputation group to adjust for year-to-year 

change. Medians were determined within imputation groups. 

 

8

 Institutions that did not respond were verified as currently active (open for business) prior to imputation through 

telephone calls and e-mail. 
A-16

• Nearest Neighbor—The completions data for academic year 2006-07 were used in defining 

the distance measure for this method. In particular, the distance between two institutions was 

defined as the maximum relative difference in award count among the levels of study 

(undergraduate, graduate, first-professional). The nearest neighbor of the imputee was 

selected from the responding institutions in the same imputation group as the donor. The 

donor’s fall enrollment counts were multiplied by the ratio of the imputee’s award count to 

the donor’s award count to adjust for the difference between the two institutions. These 

adjusted values were used as the imputed values. Donors for Part B were identified after Part 

A was imputed in order to ensure that the total enrollment in a given institution was the same 

across all parts of the Enrollment component. 

• Group Median—For each imputation group, the median enrollment count of all responding 

institutions was calculated. The responding institution that had the closest enrollment count 

to this median was designated as the “median” institution. Enrollment counts were imputed 

using the values from the median institution. For public institutions, if there were at least 

three donors from the imputee’s state, the median institution was chosen from the institutions 

within the same state as the imputee. Otherwise, the median institution was chosen from the 

entire imputation group. 

• For total nonrespondents, if there were past enrollment data, then the Carry Forward method 

was used. Alternately, if there were past completions data, the Nearest Neighbor method was 

used. Otherwise the Group Median method was used. Partial imputations were also 

conducted using the above methods when an entire part of the Enrollment component was 

missing. 

Table A-3 provides the fall enrollment counts (reported and imputed) and percentages that were 

imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United States, by control of institution, student level, 

attendance status, gender, degree-granting status, and age of student. 

Table A-4 provides counts of students enrolling for the first time at an institution (reported and 

imputed) and percentages that were imputed for all Title IV academic year institutions, by 

control of institution and degree-granting status. 

Table A-5 provides the number and percentage of institutions with imputed 1-year retention rates 

for first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for all Title IV institutions in the 

United States, by control, degree-granting status, and attendance status. 
A-17

Table A-3. Enrollment and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by control of institution, student level, 

attendance status, gender, degree-granting status, and age of student: United States, fall 2007 

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Imputed Imputed Imputed Imputed 

Student level, attendance 

status, gender, degreegranting status, and age of 

student 

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent 

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent 

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent

All students 18,671,084 727 # 13,595,849 0 0.0 3,595,207 201 # 1,480,028 526 #

 

Undergraduate 16,026,457 727 # 12,242,616 0 0.0 2,494,150 201 # 1,289,691 526 #

First-time, first-year 2,959,489 367 # 2,087,664 0 0.0 508,573 82 # 363,252 285 0.1

Other undergraduate 13,066,968 360 # 10,154,952 0 0.0 1,985,577 119 # 926,439 241 #

Graduate 2,293,863 0 0.0 1,210,587 0 0.0 895,197 0 0.0 188,079 0 0.0

First-professional 350,764 0 0.0 142,646 0 0.0 205,860 0 0.0 2,258 0 0.0

 

Full time 11,606,421 576 # 7,746,755 0 0.0 2,685,547 195 # 1,174,119 381 #

Part time 7,064,663 151 # 5,849,094 0 0.0 909,660 6 # 305,909 145 #

 

Men 7,952,330 250 # 5,905,875 0 0.0 1,522,707 118 # 523,748 132 #

Women 10,718,754 477 # 7,689,974 0 0.0 2,072,500 83 # 956,280 394 #

Degree-granting 18,248,128 201 # 13,490,780 0 0.0 3,571,150 201 # 1,186,198 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting 422,956 526 0.1 105,069 0 0.0 24,057 0 0.0 293,830 526 0.2

Age of student 

Under 18 683,906 9 # 614,313 0 0.0 60,366 1 # 9,227 8 0.1

18-19 4,033,450 120 # 3,102,696 0 0.0 787,099 27 # 143,655 93 0.1

20-21 3,707,896 151 # 2,759,943 0 0.0 771,915 18 # 176,038 133 0.1

22-24 3,078,282 187 # 2,298,717 0 0.0 561,329 31 # 218,236 156 0.1

25-29 2,623,426 173 # 1,781,060 0 0.0 534,094 41 # 308,272 132 #

30-34 1,410,207 122 # 930,726 0 0.0 272,803 44 # 206,678 78 #

35-39 1,011,800 58 # 663,888 0 0.0 194,405 16 # 153,507 42 #

40-49 1,299,075 50 # 870,048 0 0.0 252,345 15 # 176,682 35 #

50-64 641,566 27 # 454,072 0 0.0 119,521 14 # 67,973 13 #

65 and over 78,728 1 # 71,648 0 0.0 5,363 1 # 1,717 0 0.0

Age unknown 102,748 1,592 1.5 48,738 0 0.0 35,967 358 1.0 18,043 1,234 6.8

# Rounds to zero. 

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No students were imputed for institutions in other jurisdictions. This table is based on the enrollment by 

race/ethnicity and gender section (Part A) and the enrollment by age and gender section (Part B) of the Enrollment component. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 

2008, Enrollment component. 

Table A-4. Entering class of undergraduate students and percentage imputed for all Title IV academic year institutions, 

by control of institution and degree-granting status: United States, fall 2007 

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Imputed Imputed Imputed Imputed 

Degree-granting status 

Entering 

class Number Percent 

Entering 

class Number Percent

Entering 

class Number Percent 

Entering 

class Number Percent

All institutions 4,627,240 793 # 3,631,359 0 0.0 694,502 793 0.1 301,379 0 0.0

 

Degree-granting 4,599,147 793 # 3,619,683 0 0.0 689,736 793 0.1 289,728 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting 28,093 0 0.0 11,676 0 0.0 4,766 0 0.0 11,651 0 0.0

# Rounds to zero. 

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No students were imputed for institutions in other jurisdictions. This table is based on the total entering 

class section (Part D) of the Enrollment component. Total entering class consists of all first-time, first-year undergraduate students and students 

transferring into any undergraduate classification (if the student has not previously attended the institution) enrolling at a particular institution in the fall 

term, regardless of degree/certificate-seeking status and full/part-time status. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 

2008, Enrollment component. 
A-18

Table A-5. Number and percentage of Title IV institutions with imputed 1-year retention rates for first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students, by control, degree-granting status, and attendance status: 

United States, fall 2007 

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Degree-granting status Imputed Imputed Imputed Imputed 

and attendance status 

All 

institutions Number Percent 

All 

institutions Number Percent

All 

institutions Number Percent 

All 

institutions Number Percent

All institutions 5,743 33 0.6 1,933 8 0.4 1,457 6 0.4 2,353 19 0.8

 

Full-time students 5,712 27 0.5 1,928 4 0.2 1,451 4 0.3 2,333 19 0.8

Part-time students 3,713 13 0.4 1,794 5 0.3 784 3 0.4 1,135 5 0.4

 

Degree-granting 3,900 5 0.1 1,629 1 0.1 1,319 3 0.2 952 1 0.1

Full-time students 3,886 4 0.1 1,628 1 0.1 1,313 2 0.2 945 1 0.1

Part-time students 2,848 2 0.1 1,590 0 0.0 750 2 0.3 508 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting 1,843 28 1.5 304 7 2.3 138 3 2.2 1,401 18 1.3

Full-time students 1,826 23 1.3 300 3 1.0 138 2 1.4 1,388 18 1.3

Part-time students 865 11 1.3 204 5 2.5 34 1 2.9 627 5 0.8

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. Retention rates were imputed for one institution in other jurisdictions. This table is based on the 

retention rate section (Part E) of the Enrollment component. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 

2008, Enrollment component. 

Finance 

For the Finance component, Parts A through E of the public GASB reporting form, the private 

not-for-profit FASB reporting form, and the private for-profit F-3 reporting form were subject to 

imputation. The imputation groups were created separately for public, private not-for-profit, and 

private for-profit institutions. Fifty-four imputation groups were formed based primarily on 

institutional sector, graduate or first-professional offering, medical degree offering, state (for 

public only), and religious affiliation (for private not-for-profit only). 

The following imputation methods were used (in order of preference) to impute missing data in 

the Finance component of the survey: 

• Carry Forward—Reported prior finance data were carried forward to the current year. The 

values were then multiplied by a median inflation adjustment from within the imputation 

group to account for year-to-year change. For variables deemed proportional to enrollment, 

such as total tuition and fees or total student grants, further adjustment by FTE enrollment 

ratios was made. 

• Nearest Neighbor FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) —Data from a nearest neighbor of the 

imputee based on previous years’ FTE enrollment values within the imputation group were 

used as the imputed values. An imputee/donor FTE adjustment for variables closely related 

to FTE was made to the imputed values. For public imputees, only institutions within the 

same state as the imputee were considered as potential donors. If there were no potential 

donors within the same state, then this restriction did not apply. 

• Nearest Neighbor EAP (Employees by Assigned Position)—Data from a nearest neighbor of 

the imputee based on the current or previous year EAP data within the imputation group were 

used as the imputed values. The number of total employees reported in the EAP dataset was 
A-19

used in defining the distance measure. An imputee/donor adjustment, based on the EAP data, 

was made to the imputed values. For public imputees, only institutions within the same state 

as the imputee were considered as potential donors. If there were no potential donors within 

the same state, then this restriction did not apply. 

If an institution was a nonrespondent and had finance data from at least 1 of the previous 2 years, 

then the Carry Forward method was used. If finance data from the previous 2 years were not 

available but enrollment data were, then the Nearest Neighbor-FTE method was used. If neither 

finance nor enrollment data were available, the Nearest Neighbor-EAP method was used if the 

EAP data for the previous years were available. Partial nonresponse was determined by 

comparison with the existing past data. Partial nonrespondents were imputed by applying the 

above methods to the missing parts. 

Since no information was available on whether they actually adopted GASB or FASB to prepare 

their financial statements, public imputees were imputed using data from public GASB donors. 

Private not-for-profit imputees were imputed using data from private not-for-profit donors, not 

from public FASB donors. 

Table A-6 provides the revenues and expenditures/expenses (reported and imputed) as well as 

the percentages of these amounts that were imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United 

States, by control of institution and type of funds. 

Graduation Rates 

For the Graduation Rates component, all sections were subject to imputation. Missing data on 

cohort size, completers, transfers, and exclusions were imputed, as was the associated detailed 

information (e.g. completers within a specified number of year from entry). The variables used to 

define imputation groups for the GRS component were 

• sector; 

• medical offering; 

• first-professional offering; 

• graduate offering; 

• bachelor’s degree offering; and 

• less-than-1-year or at-least-1-but-less-than-2-years or associate’s degree or at-least-2-butless-than-4-years offerings. 

Each combination of the above criteria formed a unique imputation group. Imputation groups for 

institutions in sector 9 (private for-profit less-than-2-year institutions) were also defined by the 

combination of less-than-1-year and at-least-1-but-less-than-2-year offerings. A donor was 

selected from the same imputation group as the imputee. 

The following imputation methods were used (in order of preference) to impute missing data in 

the GRS component of the survey: 

• Carry Forward—The imputed school’s previous year’s data were used as the donor values. 

No year-to-year adjustment was necessary because the graduation rate for last year’s cohort 

is the best estimate of the graduation rate for this year’s cohort. 
A-20

Table A-6. Revenues and expenses and the percentages imputed for Title IV institutions, by control of 

institution and type of funds: United States, fiscal year 2007 

[Amounts are in thousands of dollars] 

Total Public (GASB)1

 Public (FASB)2

Imputed Imputed Imputed 

Type of funds Total funds Amount Percent Total funds Amount Percent Total funds Amount Percent

 

Total revenues and 

investment 

returns $471,413,073 $13,990 # $262,122,937 $0 0.0 $8,779,536 $0 0.0

 

Tuition and fees 107,769,467 18,284 # 42,910,547 0 0.0 2,087,309 0 0.0

Government 

appropriations, 

grants, and contracts 144,788,243 516 # 124,514,842 0 0.0 2,096,556 0 0.0

 Federal 51,629,173 452 # 34,665,266 0 0.0 1,063,088 0 0.0

 State and local 93,159,070 64 # 89,849,576 0 0.0 1,033,467 0 0.0

Private gifts, grants, and 

contracts 24,641,041 9 # 5,006,106 0 0.0 588,334 0 0.0

Sales and services of 

educational activities 4,734,762 1,487 # † † † 139,998 0 0.0

Auxiliary enterprises 33,112,985 0 # 19,875,938 0 0.0 555,299 0 0.0

Hospitals 35,212,363 0 0.0 20,758,904 0 0.0 1,816,555 0 0.0

Contributions from 

affiliated entities 1,192,038 0 0.0 † † † 89 0 0.0

Investment return 71,651,884 20 # 14,417,718 0 0.0 1,204,738 0 0.0

Independent operations 

revenue 6,134,246 0 0.0 663,373 0 0.0 24,651 0 0.0

Other revenue 42,176,045 3,276 # 33,975,509 0 0.0 266,007 0 0.0

 

Total expenses 381,846,915 15,380 # 233,788,724 0 0.0 7,246,722 0 0.0

 

Instruction 114,331,619 7,794 # 66,585,371 0 0.0 1,889,825 0 0.0

Research and public 

service 49,921,082 1 # 32,617,411 0 0.0 1,515,037 0 0.0

Academic support, 

student services, and 

institutional support 95,081,321 4,603 # 46,921,855 0 0.0 1,455,985 0 0.0

Operation and 

maintenance of plant 15,602,854 0 0.0 15,602,854 0 0.0 † † †

Scholarships and 

fellowships/aid 9,785,605 0 0.0 8,968,148 0 0.0 15,787 0 0.0

Auxiliary enterprises 31,430,948 0 # 18,026,984 0 0.0 523,189 0 0.0

Hospitals 32,539,100 0 0.0 20,335,825 0 0.0 1,803,220 0 0.0

Independent operations 5,465,077 0 0.0 763,621 0 0.0 21,063 0 0.0

Other expenses 27,689,309 2,983 # 23,966,654 0 0.0 22,616 0 0.0

 

See notes at end of table. 
A-21

Table A-6. Revenues and expenses and the percentages imputed for Title IV institutions, by control of 

institution and type of funds: United States, fiscal year 2007—Continued 

[Amounts are in thousands of dollars] 

Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Imputed Imputed 

Type of funds Total funds Amount Percent Total funds Amount Percent

 

Total revenues and 

investment 

returns $182,888,292 $910 # $17,622,308 $13,081 0.1 

 

Tuition and fees 47,628,703 727 # 15,142,907 17,557 0.1 

Government 

appropriations, 

grants, and contracts 17,021,178 125 # 1,155,668 391 # 

 Federal 14,837,393 74 # 1,063,426 378 # 

 State and local 2,183,785 51 # 92,242 13 # 

Private gifts, grants, and 

contracts 19,039,476 9 # 7,125 0 0.0 

Sales and services of 

educational activities 4,142,589 0 0.0 452,175 1,487 0.3 

Auxiliary enterprises 12,309,823 0 0.0 371,926 0 # 

Hospitals 12,636,904 0 0.0 † † † 

Contributions from 

affiliated entities 1,191,949 0 0.0 † † † 

Investment return 55,961,895 10 # 67,533 11 # 

Independent operations 

revenue 5,446,222 0 0.0 † † † 

Other revenue 7,509,554 38 # 424,975 3,238 0.8 

 

Total expenses 125,276,718 2,114 # 15,534,751 13,266 0.1 

 

Instruction 41,761,620 1,728 # 4,094,802 6,066 0.1 

Research and public 

service 15,773,442 0 0.0 15,192 1 # 

Academic support, 

student services, and 

institutional support 37,408,258 386 # 9,295,222 4,217 # 

Operation and 

maintenance of plant † † † † † † 

Scholarships and 

fellowships/aid 728,667 0 0.0 73,003 0 0.0 

Auxiliary enterprises 12,470,195 0 0.0 410,579 0 # 

Hospitals 10,400,055 0 0.0 † † † 

Independent operations 4,680,393 0 0.0 † † † 

Other expenses 2,054,087 0 0.0 1,645,952 2,983 0.2 

† Not applicable. 

# Rounds to zero. 

1

Public institutions that use Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards to prepare their financial statements. 2

Public institutions that use Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standards to prepare their financial statements.

NOTE: All public FASB data are reported, not imputed, because public imputees are imputed using data from public GASB donors. 

This table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. For institutions in other jurisdictions, $915,764 in revenues and $830,099 in 

expenditures were imputed. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008, Finance component. 
A-22

• Nearest Neighbor—The responding institution with the nearest “distance” to the imputee 

within the imputee’s imputation group was used as the donor. The distance was calculated 

from a predicted graduation rate and either the Completions data or the Enrollment data. 

• Group Median—A median institution in each imputation group was determined and used as 

a donor for imputees in that imputation group. 

If a nonrespondent institution had GRS data in either of the previous two years, then the Carry 

Forward procedure was used. When previous years’ data were not available, the Nearest 

Neighbor imputation method was used if sufficient data were available. Otherwise, the Group 

Median imputation procedure was used. Group Median and Nearest Neighbor imputations were 

performed within the 40 imputation groups formed for the GRS component. 

Table A-7 provides the GRS cohort student counts (reported and imputed) and percentages that 

were imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United States, by control of institution and 

student level. 

Student Financial Aid 

For the Student Financial Aid (SFA) component, all student counts and aid amounts were subject 

to imputation. To conduct imputations, 83 imputation groups were formed primarily based on 

institutional sector; calendar system; medical degree offering; and first professional, graduate, 

bachelor, associate, and less-than-2-year award offerings. 

The following imputation procedures were used to impute missing data in the SFA component of 

the survey. 

If available, we first obtained 

• for academic year reporters, the total number of undergraduates and number of full-time, 

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates from the enrollment data for fall 2006; 

and 

• for program reporters, the unduplicated count of all students enrolled from the unduplicated 

count data for academic year 2006-07. 

Then the following imputation methods, in order, were used to impute the remaining missing 

data: 

• Carry Forward—This method was for institutions that responded to the previous years’ SFA 

component. Reported prior student financial aid data were carried forward to the current 

year. The values were then adjusted for year-to-year changes. 

• Nearest Neighbor—The responding institution with the nearest distance to the imputee 

within the imputee’s imputation group was used as the donor. The distance was calculated 

from the Finance data or the Enrollment data. An imputee/donor adjustment was made to the 

imputed values. 

• Group Median—A median institution in each imputation group based on ranks of “student 

count” and “average aid amount” variables was determined and used as a donor for imputees 

in that imputation group. The donor’s values were assigned to the imputee with no 

adjustments. 
A-23

Table A-7. Student graduation rate component counts and counts and percentage imputed for all Title 

IV institutions, by control of institution and student level: United States, cohort years 2001 

and 2004 

Total Public 

Imputed Imputed 

Student level Students Number Percent Students Number Percent

Section II—Bachelor’s degree-seeking 

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 1,215,768 151 # 782,463 0 0.0

Total exclusions 5,060 0 0.0 2,513 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

subcohort 1,210,708 151 # 779,950 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 701,613 72 # 431,789 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 1,335 43 3.2 274 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 6,067 3 # 2,169 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 694,211 26 # 429,346 0 0.0

Completed the program in 4 years or less 438,807 299 0.1 229,460 273 0.1

Completed the program in 5 years 197,513 184 0.1 153,497 184 0.1

Completed the program in 6 years 57,891 39 0.1 46,389 39 0.1

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 108,577 22 # 89,918 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 400,518 57 # 258,243 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 1,138 0 0.0 668 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 399,380 57 # 257,575 0 0.0

Section III—Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking at 4-year 

institutions 

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 135,067 234 0.2 59,025 0 0.0

Total exclusions 574 0 0.0 223 0 0.0

Adjusted other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 134,493 234 0.2 58,802 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 53,018 362 0.7 16,826 195 1.2

Completers of programs of <2 years 17,829 218 1.2 1,430 100 7.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 28,444 95 0.3 10,709 95 0.9

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 6,745 49 0.7 4,687 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 9,846 234 2.4 8,967 234 2.6

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1

 71,629 124 0.2 33,009 57 0.2

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 101 0 0.0 38 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 71,528 124 0.2 32,971 57 0.2

Section IV—Degree/certificate-seeking at less-than-4-year 

institutions 

Degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 1,100,049 995 0.1 667,833 0 0.0

Total exclusions 2,252 9 0.4 1,028 0 0.0

Adjusted degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 1,097,797 986 0.1 666,805 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 428,316 592 0.1 158,923 7 #

Completers of programs of <2 years 308,862 585 0.2 58,548 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 119,454 7 # 100,375 7 #

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 122,223 29 # 118,368 19 #

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1

 547,258 450 0.1 389,514 59 #

Still enrolled in programs of 3 years or longer 1,761 0 0.0 1,584 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 545,497 450 0.1 387,930 59 #

See notes at end of table.
A-24

Table A-7. Student graduation rate component counts and counts and percentage imputed for all Title 

IV institutions, by control of institution and student level: United States, cohort years 2001 

and 2004—Continued 

Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Imputed Imputed 

Student level Students Number Percent Students Number Percent

Section II—Bachelor’s degree-seeking 

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 402,321 86 # 30,984 65 0.2

Total exclusions 2,515 0 0.0 32 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

subcohort 399,806 86 # 30,952 65 0.2

Total completers within 150% 260,199 19 # 9,625 53 0.6

Completers of programs of <2 years 561 16 2.9 500 27 5.4

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 2,349 3 0.1 1,549 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 257,289 0 0.0 7,576 26 0.3

Completed the program in 4 years or less 203,588 0 0.0 5,759 26 0.5

Completed the program in 5 years 42,831 0 0.0 1,185 0 0.0

Completed the program in 6 years 10,870 0 0.0 632 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 18,483 22 0.1 176 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1

 121,124 45 # 21,151 12 0.1

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 470 0 0.0 0 0 †

Other noncompleters1 120,654 45 # 21,151 12 0.1

Section III—Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking at 4-year 

institutions 

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 23,196 0 0.0 52,846 234 0.4

Total exclusions 46 0 0.0 305 0 0.0

Adjusted other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 23,150 0 0.0 52,541 234 0.4

Total completers within 150% 9,367 0 0.0 26,825 167 0.6

Completers of programs of <2 years 1,228 0 0.0 15,171 118 0.8

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 6,516 0 0.0 11,219 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 1,623 0 0.0 435 49 11.3

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 597 0 0.0 282 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 13,186 0 0.0 25,434 67 0.3

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 63 0 0.0 0 0 †

Other noncompleters1 13,123 0 0.0 25,434 67 0.3

Section IV—Degree/certificate-seeking at less-than-4-year 

institutions 

Degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 21,775 23 0.1 410,441 972 0.2

Total exclusions 52 0 0.0 1,172 9 0.8

Adjusted degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 21,723 23 0.1 409,269 963 0.2

Total completers within 150% 13,152 21 0.2 256,241 564 0.2

Completers of programs of <2 years 9,974 21 0.2 240,340 564 0.2

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 3,178 0 0.0 15,901 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 1,407 0 0.0 2,448 10 0.4

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1

 7,164 2 # 150,580 389 0.3

Still enrolled in programs of 3 years or longer 22 0 0.0 155 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 7,142 2 # 150,425 389 0.3

† Not applicable. 

# Rounds to zero. 

1

This line is calculated from the numbers in the table. It is not represented in the dataset. 

NOTE: This table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. Cohort year 2001 is applicable to 4-year institutions, while cohort year 2004 

is applicable to 2-year and less-than-2-year institutions. For institutions in other jurisdictions, 370 students in the cohort were 

imputed and 231 completers were imputed. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008, Graduation Rates component. 
A-25

Table A-8 provides the number of financial aid recipients (reported and imputed) and 

percentages that were imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United States, by type of aid and 

level and control of institution. 

Data Perturbation and Confidentiality 

IPEDS data are not collected under any pledge of confidentiality. However, NCES takes steps to 

protect potentially individually identifiable data in the IPEDS Human Resources, Graduation 

Rates, and Student Financial Aid data files. Thus these data files are subject to perturbation. 

Perturbation of the data is performed in such a manner that the totals and averages at the 

institutional level are not affected. The data files for the surveys noted above that are included in 

the Peer Analysis System are perturbed. 
A-26

Table A-8. Number of financial aid recipients and number and percentage imputed for all Title IV 

institutions, by type of aid and level and control of institution: United States, academic year 

2007-08 

Federal grants State/local grants 

Imputed Imputed 

Level and control of institution 

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Total recipients 983,911 693 0.1 752,694 185 #

4-year 447,929 140 # 503,578 157 #

Public 252,096 0 0.0 348,023 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 121,110 140 0.1 142,450 157 0.1

Private for-profit 74,723 0 0.0 13,105 0 0.0

2-year 368,241 59 # 236,036 9 #

Public 243,305 0 0.0 208,566 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 5,475 6 0.1 3,841 9 0.2

Private for-profit 119,461 53 # 23,629 0 0.0

Less-than-2-year 167,741 494 0.3 13,080 19 0.1

Public 12,234 0 0.0 4,186 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 6,558 13 0.2 1,723 0 0.0

Private for-profit 148,949 481 0.3 7,171 19 0.3

Institutional grants Loans to students 

Imputed Imputed 

Level and control of institution 

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Total recipients 805,609 135 # 1,250,974 706 0.1

4-year 692,655 105 # 813,587 193 #

Public 324,196 0 0.0 415,446 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 349,060 105 # 278,689 193 0.1

Private for-profit 19,399 0 0.0 119,452 0 0.0

2-year 93,073 27 # 274,937 62 #

Public 73,360 0 0.0 122,457 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 4,722 5 0.1 6,003 13 0.2

Private for-profit 14,991 22 0.1 146,477 49 #

Less-than-2-year 19,881 3 # 162,450 451 0.3

Public 1,748 0 0.0 6,256 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 1,018 0 0.0 4,337 11 0.3

Private for-profit 17,115 3 # 151,857 440 0.3

# Rounds to zero. 

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. For institutions in other jurisdictions, 181 recipients were imputed. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008, Student Financial Aid component. 
B-1 

Appendix B: 

Glossary of IPEDS Terms 

academic year: 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.

adjusted cohort: In the Graduation Rates component of IPEDS, an institution’s revised cohort minus 

any allowable exclusions. 

administrative office: The system or central office in a multi-campus environment. 

auxiliary enterprises revenues: Revenues generated by or collected from the auxiliary enterprise 

operations of the institution that exist to furnish a service to students, faculty, or staff and that charge 

a fee that is directly related to, although not necessarily equal to, the cost of the service. Auxiliary 

enterprises are managed as essentially self-supporting activities. Examples are residence halls, food 

services, student health services, intercollegiate athletics, college unions, college stores, and movie 

theaters. 

bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking cohort: In the Graduation Rates component of IPEDS, a 

cohort of students who were seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree upon entry. 

child institution: An institution that has its data reported by another institution, known as the parent 

institution. 

cohort: A specific group of students established for tracking purposes. 

completers within 150 percent of normal time: Students who completed their program within 150 

percent of the normal (or expected) time for completion. 

component unit: This term applies to GASB institutions only. A component unit is a legally separate 

organization for which the governing board and/or management of the primary institution is 

financially accountable. It can be another organization for which the nature and significance of its 

relationship with a primary institution is such that exclusion would cause the primary institution’s 

financial statements to be misleading or incomplete. 

control (of institution): A classification of whether an institution is operated by publicly elected or 

appointed officials (public control) or by privately elected or appointed officials and derives its major 

source of funds from private sources (private control). 

coordinator: The person responsible for Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 

survey related coordination activities for a specified group of schools within a state. This person may 

have certain viewing, verifying, and locking privileges on the data collection system. 

degree/certificate-seeking students: Students enrolled in courses for credit who are recognized by 

the institution as seeking a degree or other formal award. At the undergraduate level, this is intended 

to include students enrolled in vocational or occupational programs. 

degree-granting institution: An institution offering an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctor’s, or 

first-professional degree. 

donor: A responding institution whose values are assigned to the imputee. 
B-2 

exclusions: Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the 

Graduation Rates data collection, students may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution 

for one of the following reasons: died or were totally and permanently disabled; to serve in the armed 

forces; to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or to 

serve on official church missions. 

fall cohort: The group of students entering in the fall term established for tracking purposes. For the 

Graduation Rates component, this includes all students who enter an institution as full-time, firsttime degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the fall term of a given year. 

FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board): FASB is recognized by the American Institute of 

Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) as the body authorized to establish accounting standards. In 

practice it defers to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) for the setting of 

accounting standards for local and state government entities. 

federal grants: Grants provided by federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education, 

including Title IV Pell Grants and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG). Also 

includes need-based and merit-based educational assistance funds and training vouchers provided 

from other federal agencies and/or federally-sponsored educational benefits programs, including the 

Veteran’s Administration, Department of Labor, and other federal agencies. (Used for reporting on 

the Student Financial Aid component.) 

financial aid: Grants, loans, assistantships, scholarships, fellowships, tuition waivers, tuition 

discounts, veteran’s benefits, employer aid (tuition reimbursement) and other monies (other than 

from relatives/friends) provided to students to meet expenses. This includes Title IV subsidized and 

unsubsidized loans made directly to students. 

first-professional student: A student enrolled in any of the following degree programs: 

Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.) Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) 

Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.) Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) 

Law (L.L.B., J.D.) Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.) 

Medicine (M.D.) Theology (M.Div., M.H.L., B.D., or Ordination) 

Optometry (O.D.) Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) 

first-time student (undergraduate): A student attending any institution for the first time at the 

undergraduate level. Includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. Also includes 

students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term, as 

well as students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from 

high school). 

full-time student: Undergraduate—A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or 

more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week each term. Graduate—A student enrolled 

for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or 

dissertation preparation that is considered full time by the institution. First-professional—As defined 

by the institution. 

full-year cohort: The group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period September 

1 through August 31 that is established for tracking and reporting Graduation Rate (GRS) data for 

institutions that primarily offer occupational programs of varying lengths. Students must be full time 

and first time to be considered in the cohort. 
B-3 

GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board): The Governmental Accounting Standards 

Board (GASB) establishes accounting standards for local and state entities including governmental 

colleges and universities. 

government appropriations (revenues): Revenues received by an institution through acts of a 

legislative body, except grants and contracts. These funds are for meeting current operating expenses 

and not for specific projects or programs. The most common example is a state’s general 

appropriation. Appropriations primarily to fund capital assets are classified as capital appropriations. 

government grants: Transfers of money or property from a government agency to the education 

institution without a requirement to receive anything in return. These grants may take the form of 

grants to the institutions to undertake research or they may be in the form of student financial aid. 

(Used for reporting on the Finance component.) 

graduate student: A student who holds a bachelor’s or first-professional degree, or equivalent, and 

is taking courses at the post-baccalaureate level. These students may or may not be enrolled in 

graduate programs. 

graduation rate: The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-toKnow. This rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150 percent of normal time 

divided by the revised cohort minus any allowable exclusions. 

imputation: A method of estimating data for an entity that did not respond to a data item or survey. 

imputee: A nonresponding institution that has its values imputed. 

in-district student: A student who is a legal resident of the locality in which he/she attends school 

and thus is entitled to reduced tuition charges if offered by the institution. 

in-state student: A student who is a legal resident of the state in which he/she attends school and 

thus is entitled to reduced tuition charges if offered by the institution. 

institutional affiliation: A classification that indicates whether a private not-for-profit institution is 

associated with a religious group or denomination. Private not-for-profit institutions may be either 

independent or religiously affiliated. 

institutional grants: Scholarships and fellowships granted and funded by the institution and/or 

individual departments within the institution, (i.e., instruction, research, public service) that may 

contribute indirectly to the enhancement of these programs. Includes scholarships targeted to certain 

individuals (e.g., based on state of residence, major field of study, athletic team participation) for 

which the institution designates the recipient. 

keyholder: The person designated by an official institutional representative to have in their 

possession the necessary UserID and password to gain access to the Integrated Postsecondary 

Education Data System (IPEDS) data collection system to complete the survey. The keyholder is 

responsible for entering data and locking the site by each survey completion date. 

level (of institution): A classification of whether an institution’s programs are 4 years or more (4-

year), at least 2 but less than 4 years (2-year), or less than 2 years (less-than-2-year). 

loans to students: Any monies that must be repaid to the lending institution for which the student is 

the designated borrower. Includes all Title IV subsidized and unsubsidized loans and all 
B-4 

institutionally and privately sponsored loans. Does not include PLUS and other loans made directly 

to parents.

nonresident alien: A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this 

country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely. 

normal time to completion: The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all 

requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years 

(8 semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree in a 

standard term-based institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer 

terms) for an associate’s degree in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times 

for certificate programs. 

non-degree-granting institution: An institution offering only postbaccalaureate, post-master’s, or 

first-professional certificates, or certificates or diplomas of 4 years or less. 

OPE: Office of Postsecondary Education 

other degree-seeking subcohort: A cohort of students who were seeking a degree or certificate 

other than a bachelor’s degree upon entry. 

out-of-state student: A student who is not a legal resident of the state in which he/she attends 

school. 

parent institution: An institution that reports data for another institution, known as the child 

institution. 

part-time student: Undergraduate—A student enrolled for either 11 semester credits or less, or 11 

quarter credits or less, or less than 24 contact hours a week each term. Graduate—A student enrolled 

for either 8 semester credits or less, or 8 quarter credits or less, excluding those involved in thesis or 

dissertation preparation that is considered full time by the institution. First-professional—As defined 

by the institution. 

PEPS (Postsecondary Education Participation System): Database used by OPE to track all 

institutions eligible for Title IV federal student financial aid programs. 

postsecondary institution: An institution that has as its sole purpose, or one of its primary missions, 

the provision of postsecondary education. Postsecondary education is the provision of a formal 

instructional program whose curriculum is designed primarily for students beyond the compulsory 

age for high school. This includes programs whose purpose is academic, vocational, and continuing 

professional education, and excludes avocational and adult basic education programs. For IPEDS, 

these institutions must be open to the public. 

Program Participation Agreement (PPA): A written agreement between a postsecondary 

institution and the Secretary of Education. This agreement allows institutions to participate in any of 

the Title IV student assistance programs other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the 

National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs. The PPA conditions the 

initial and continued participation of an eligible institution in any Title IV program upon compliance 

with the General Provisions regulations, the individual program regulations, and any additional 

conditions specified in the program participation agreement that the Department of Education 

requires the institution to meet. Institutions with such an agreement are referred to as Title IV 

institutions. 
B-5 

private for-profit institution: A private institution in which the individual(s) or agency in control 

receives compensation other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of risk. 

private not-for-profit institution: A private institution in which the individual(s) or agency in 

control receives no compensation, other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of 

risk. These include both independent not-for-profit schools and those affiliated with a religious 

organization. 

programs of less than 2 years: Programs requiring less than 2 years of full-time-equivalent collegelevel work (4 semesters or 6 quarters) or less than 1,800 contact hours to obtain a degree, diploma, 

certificate, or quarter in the summer. 

public institution: An educational institution whose programs and activities are operated by publicly 

elected or appointed school officials and which is supported largely by public funds. 

race/ethnicity: Categories used to describe groups to which individuals belong, identify with, or 

belong in the eyes of the community. The categories do not denote scientific definitions of 

anthropological origins. A person may be counted in only one group. The groups used to categorize 

U.S. citizens and resident aliens (and other eligible noncitizens) are as follows: 

 White, non-Hispanic 

 Black, non-Hispanic 

 Hispanic 

 Asian/Pacific Islander 

 American Indian/Alaska Native 

resident alien (and other eligible noncitizens): A person who is not a citizen or national of the 

United States but who has been admitted as a legal immigrant for the purpose of obtaining permanent 

resident alien status and who holds one of the following: an alien registration card (Form I-551 or I151), a Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) with a 

notation that conveys legal immigrant status such as Section 207 Refugee, Section 208 Asylee, 

Conditional Entrant Parolee or Cuban-Haitian.

Retention rate: A measure of the rate at which students persist in their educational program at an 

institution, expressed as a percentage. For 4-year institutions, this is the percentage of first-time 

bachelors (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates from the previous fall who are again 

enrolled in the current fall. For all other institutions, this is the percentage of first-time degree/ 

certificate-seeking students from the previous fall who either reenrolled or successfully completed 

their program by the current fall. 

revised cohort: Initial cohort after revisions are made. This is the number from which graduation 

and transfer-out rates are calculated. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that incorrect 

data were reported in an earlier year. 

sector: One of nine institutional categories resulting from dividing the universe according to control 

and level. Control categories are public, private not-for-profit, and private for-profit. Level categories 

are 4 years and higher (4-year), at least 2 but less than 4 years (2-year), and less than 2 years (lessthan-2-year). For example: public 4-year institutions. 
B-6 

state and local government grants: State and local monies awarded to the institution under state 

and local student aid programs, including the state portion of State Student Incentives Grants (SSIG) 

(used for reporting Student Financial Aid data). 

student charges: Average amount for tuition and fees, room or board charged to all students by the 

institution. Tuition and fees may vary by the level of student (undergraduate, graduate, or firstprofessional). 

Student Right-to-Know Act: Also known as the “Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security 

Act” (P.L. 101-542), which was passed by Congress November 9, 1990. Title I, Section 103, requires 

institutions eligible for Title IV funding to disclose completion or graduation rates of certificate- or 

degree-seeking, full-time students entering an institution to all students and prospective students. 

Further, Section 104 requires each institution that participates in any Title IV program and is 

attended by students receiving athletically related student aid to annually submit a report to the 

Secretary. This report is to contain, among other things, graduation/completion rates of all students as 

well as students receiving athletically related student aid by race/ethnicity and gender and by sport, 

and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years. These data are also 

required to be disclosed to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes when the institution offers 

athletically related student aid. The Graduation Rates component of IPEDS was developed 

specifically to help institutions respond to these requirements. 

subcohort: A predefined subset of the initial cohort or the revised cohort established for tracking 

purposes on the Graduation Rates (GRS) component of IPEDS (e.g., athletic subcohort). 

Title IV institution: An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that 

allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance 

programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant [SSIG] and the National Early Intervention 

Scholarship and Partnership [NEISP] programs). 

transfer-in student: A student entering the reporting institution for the first time but known to have 

previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level (e.g., undergraduate, graduate). The 

student may transfer with or without credit. 

transfer-out rate: Total number of students who are known to have transferred out of the reporting 

institution within 150 percent of normal time to completion divided by the revised cohort minus 

allowable exclusions. 

transfer-out student: A student who leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another 

institution. 

undergraduate student: A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor’s degree program, an 

associate’s degree program, or a vocational or technical program below the baccalaureate. 

UserID: A series of numbers possibly with an alpha prefix that is created for a specific user to be 

able to access a system. For security purposes, each user is required to have a UserID and a password 

in order to access the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data collection 

system.