Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, 

Fall 2010; Financial Statistics, 

Fiscal Year 2010; and Graduation Rates, 

Selected Cohorts, 2002–07 

First Look

NCES 2012-280 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Enrollment in Postsecondary 

Institutions, Fall 2010; Financial 

Statistics, Fiscal Year 2010; and 

Graduation Rates, Selected 

Cohorts, 2002-07 

First Look 

March 2012 

Laura G. Knapp 

Janice E. Kelly-Reid

Scott A. Ginder

RTI International

NCES 2012-280

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

Arne Duncan

Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences

John Q. Easton

Director

National Center for Education Statistics

Jack Buckley

Commissioner

Postsecondary, Adult, and Career Education Division

Thomas Weko

Associate Commissioner

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Suggested Citation

Knapp, L.G., Kelly-Reid, J.E., and Ginder, S.A. (2012). Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2010; Financial 

Statistics, Fiscal Year 2010; and Graduation Rates, Selected Cohorts, 2002-07 (NCES 2012-280). U.S. Department 

of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved [date] from 

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch

Content Contact

. 

Aurora D’Amico

(202) 502-7334

Aurora.DAmico@ed.gov
iii

Foreword 

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

(IPEDS) spring 2011 data collection. This collection included five components: Student 

Financial Aid for the 2009-10 academic year; Enrollment for fall 2010; Graduation Rates within 

150 percent of normal program completion time for full-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking undergraduate students beginning college in 2004 at 4-year institutions or in 2007 at 

less-than-4-year institutions; Graduation Rates within 200 percent of normal program completion 

time for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students beginning college 

in 2002 at 4-year institutions or in 2006 at less-than-4-year institutions; and Finance for fiscal 

year 2010, such as revenues and operating expenditures. 

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

IPEDS Data Center 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 

7,000 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 comparisons of peer institutions, or to help answer 

questions about postsecondary education institutions. 

Thomas Weko 

Associate Commissioner 

Postsecondary, Adult, and Career Education Division
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v

Acknowledgments 

The information presented in this publication was provided by either state or jurisdiction

coordinators for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) or officials at 

individual institutions. In addition, these persons provided much assistance in resolving 

questions about their submitted 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)). 
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vii

Contents 

Page 

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

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

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

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

IPEDS 2010-11 .............................................................................................................................1

Changes in Reporting Categories .................................................................................................1

Student Enrollment .......................................................................................................................2

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

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

Graduation Rates 200....................................................................................................................3

Student Financial Aid ...................................................................................................................3

Focus of This Report.....................................................................................................................4

Selected Findings ............................................................................................................................5

Characteristics of Enrolled Students .............................................................................................5

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions ...........................................................................5

Graduation Rates...........................................................................................................................5

Student Financial Aid ...................................................................................................................6

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

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

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

Survey Components ............................................................................................................... A-13

Changes in Reporting Categories .......................................................................................... A-15

Survey Procedures ................................................................................................................. A-16

Edit Procedures ...................................................................................................................... A-17

Imputation Procedures ........................................................................................................... A-19

Graduation Rates 200............................................................................................................. A-31

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

List of Tables

Table Page 

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

attendance status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2010 ...............................7

2. Undergraduate enrollment at Title IV institutions, by first-time degree/certificateseeking student status, attendance status, level of institution, institutional category, 

and control of institution: United States, fall 2010 ..............................................................9

3. Enrollment, residence, and migration of all first-time degree/certificate-seeking 

undergraduate students enrolled at Title IV institutions, by state or jurisdiction: 

United States, fall 2010 ......................................................................................................10

4. First-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate retention rates at Title IV 

institutions, by attendance status, level of institution, institutional category, and 

control of institution: United States, fall 2010 ...................................................................12

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

standards utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2010 ...........................14

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

standards utilized, and type of expense: United States, fiscal year 2010 ..........................16

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

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

students started as full-time, first-time students: United States, cohort years 2004 

and 2007 .............................................................................................................................17

8. Graduation rates of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students at the Title IV

4-year 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 2004 ............................................................................................................................19

9. Number and percentage of students in the full-time, first-time student cohort, 

bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort, and other than bachelor’s or 

equivalent degree-seeking subcohort at Title IV 4-year degree-granting institutions, 

by cohort year, control of institution, and institutional category: United States, 

cohort years 1998, 2001, and 2004 ....................................................................................20

10. Graduation rates of students at the Title IV institution where the students started as 

full-time, first-time students, by control of institution, degree sought, level of 

institution, degree completed, and time to degree: United States, cohort years 2002 

and 2006 .............................................................................................................................22

11. Number of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates enrolled 

and number and percentage of those receiving financial aid at Title IV institutions, 

by sector of institution: United States, academic years 2008-09 and 2009-10 ..................23
ix

List of Tables—Continued 

Table Page 

12. Number of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, number 

and percentage of 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 2009-10 ......................................................................................................24

13. Average academic year price of attendance before aid, average grant/scholarship 

aid, and net price of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate students at 

Title IV institutions, by control of institution, level of institution, type of aid 

received, and family income level: United States, academic year 2009-10 ......................25

A-1. Number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices in the universe and 

number and percentage of Title IV institutions and administrative offices 

responding to the IPEDS spring 2011 data collection, by survey component, 

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

other U.S. jurisdictions ................................................................................................... A-3

A-1a. Number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices in the universe and 

number and percentage of Title IV institutions and administrative offices 

responding to the IPEDS spring 2011 data collection, by survey component, 

degree-granting status, and level and control of institution/office: United States .......... A-6

A-2. Number of Title IV institutions in the universe and number and percentage of Title 

IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2011 Enrollment component, by 

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

States and other U.S. jurisdictions .................................................................................. A-9

A-2a. Number of Title IV institutions in the universe and number and percentage of Title 

IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2011 Enrollment component, by 

selected part, degree-granting status, and level and control of institution: 

United States ................................................................................................................. A-11

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

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

United States, fall 2010 ................................................................................................. A-21

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 2010 ................................................................................................. A-21

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 2010 ................................... A-22
x

List of Tables—Continued 

Table Page 

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 2010 ...................... A-24

A-7. Student graduation rate component counts and number and percentage imputed for 

all Title IV institutions, by control of institution and student level: United States, 

cohort years 2004 and 2007 .......................................................................................... A-27

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 2009-10 ...................................................................................... A-30

A-9. Student graduation rate component counts and number and percentage imputed for 

all Title IV institutions, by control of institution and student level: United States, 

cohort years 2002 and 2006 .......................................................................................... A-32
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 U.S. jurisdictions (see appendix A for a list of other U.S. jurisdictions). For IPEDS, a 

postsecondary institution is defined as an organization that is open to the public and has a 

primary mission of providing postsecondary education or training beyond the high school level. 

This definition includes institutions that offer academic, vocational, and continuing professional 

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

education programs. IPEDS provides basic statistics on postsecondary institutions regarding 

tuition and fees, number and types of degrees and certificates conferred, number of students 

enrolled, number of employees, financial statistics, graduation rates, and student financial aid. 

The Higher Education Amendments of 1992 make the submission of data to IPEDS mandatory 

for any institution that participates in or is an applicant for participation in any federal financial 

assistance program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. As 

a result of this mandate, IPEDS response rates are nearly 100 percent, and the resulting database 

is used as the principal sampling frame for other postsecondary surveys. 

IPEDS 2010-11

Participation in IPEDS was required for institutions and 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 2010-11 academic year.1 Title IV institutions include 4-year colleges 

and universities, 2-year institutions, and non-degree-granting institutions (such as schools of 

cosmetology), among others. Accordingly, 7,173 institutions and 80 administrative offices 

(central or system offices) in the United States and other U.S. jurisdictions were expected to 

participate in the spring 2011 collection.

2

Changes in Reporting Categories

 See the Survey Components section of appendix A for 

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

Title IV participating institutions that are not primarily postsecondary were required to respond 

to the IPEDS survey starting in fall 2010. These institutions report data pertinent to the 

postsecondary portion of the institution. This First Look contains data from 48 such institutions 

in the United States. One additional Title IV not primarily postsecondary institution in the other 

U.S. jurisdictions is also included in table A-1. See the Changes in Reporting Categories section 

of appendix A for details. 

Beginning in fall 2008, several changes began to take effect regarding reporting of data by 

race/ethnicity for all components of IPEDS that collect data by race/ethnicity. These changes are 

 

1 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. 2 Five additional institutions and one additional administrative office were not expected to participate because they 

closed during the 2010-11 academic year. 
2

being phased in over several IPEDS collections.

3

Student Enrollment

 Data presented in this report on graduation 

rates of students of Two or more races are based on only those institutions that reported using the 

optional new race/ethnicity categories and are not representative of all students who could be 

classified into Two or more races. As a result, data on graduation rates by race/ethnicity reported 

in this First Look should be interpreted with caution. The count of institutions using the new 

categories is included in each applicable table in this report and in the Changes in Reporting 

Categories section of appendix A. All institutions were required to use the new race/ethnicity 

categories to report data on fall enrollment. Comparisons of race/ethnicity data from prior IPEDS 

collections to the data presented in this First Look should be undertaken with caution as a result 

of these changes. 

The 2011 Enrollment component collected enrollment data for fall 2010. This component was 

required of 7,1714

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions

Title IV institutions in the United States and other U.S. jurisdictions, and 

7,165, or 99.9 percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States (excluding any other 

U.S. jurisdictions), 7,014 were required to complete this component and 7,009, or 99.9 percent, 

responded. 

The 2011 Finance component collected financial statistics for fiscal year 2010. This component 

was required of 7,1595

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, so the figures in 

this report for public institutions represent those following GASB standards.

 institutions and 80 administrative offices in the United States and other 

U.S. jurisdictions, and 7,228, or 99.8 percent of the 7,239 Title IV entities, responded. Of the 

institutions and administrative offices in the United States (excluding any other U.S. 

jurisdictions), 7,080 were required to complete this component and 7,070, or 99.9 percent, 

responded. 

6

Graduation Rates

 Aggregate totals 

for public institutions using FASB standards are included in the footnotes of tables displaying 

Finance data. All private institutions use FASB standards.

The 2011 Graduation Rates (GRS) component collected counts of full-time, first-time7

 

3 For more information, see 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students beginning college in the cohort year and their 

completion status as of August 31, 2010 (150 percent of normal program completion time) at the 

same institution where the students started. Four-year institutions use 2004 as the cohort year, 

http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/reic/resource.asp. 4 Of the 7,173 institutions eligible for at least one component of the spring data collection, 2 were not eligible for the 

Enrollment component because they closed.

5 Of the 7,173 institutions eligible for at least one component of the spring data collection, 14 were not eligible for 

the Finance component because they were not in operation during fiscal year 2010.

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 appendix B, Glossary, for further definition of a first-time student.
3

while less-than-4-year institutions use 2007 as the cohort year. For 4-year institutions operating 

on standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter), students beginning in cohort year 

2004 are those who first attended college in the fall of the 2004-05 academic year. For 4-year 

institutions operating on other than standard academic terms, students beginning in cohort year 

2004 are those who first attended college between September 1, 2004, and August 31, 2005. 

Similarly, for less-than-4-year institutions operating on standard academic terms, students 

beginning in cohort year 2007 are those who first attended college in the fall of the 2007-08 

academic year. For less-than-4-year institutions operating on other than standard academic terms, 

students beginning in cohort year 2007 are those who first attended college between September 

1, 2007, and August 31, 2008. 

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

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in the reference period. For this collection, 

6,182 institutions in the United States and other U.S. jurisdictions were required to respond; of 

these, 6,172, or 99.8 percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States (excluding any 

other U.S. jurisdictions), 6,038 were required to complete this component and 6,029, or 99.9 

percent, responded.

Graduation Rates 200

The 2011 Graduation Rates 200 (GR200) component collected counts of full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students beginning college in the reference period and 

their completion status as of August 31, 2010 (200 percent of normal program completion time) 

at the same institution where the students started. Four-year institutions report on bachelor’s or 

equivalent degree-seeking students and use cohort year 2002 as the reference period, while lessthan-4-year institutions use cohort year 2006 as the reference period and report on all students in 

the cohort. For 4-year institutions operating on standard academic terms, students beginning in 

cohort year 2002 are those who first attended college in the fall of the 2002-03 academic year. 

For 4-year institutions operating on other than standard academic terms, students beginning in 

cohort year 2002 are those who first attended college between September 1, 2002, and August 

31, 2003. Similarly, for less-than-4-year institutions operating on standard academic terms, 

students beginning in cohort year 2006 are those who first attended college in the fall of the 

2006-07 academic year. For less-than-4-year institutions operating on other than standard 

academic terms, students beginning in cohort year 2006 are those who first attended college 

between September 1, 2006, and August 31, 2007. 

The GR200 component was required of all Title IV institutions that had full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in the reference period. For this collection, 

5,700 institutions in the United States and other U.S. jurisdictions were required to respond; of 

these, 5,696, or 99.9 percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States (excluding any 

other U.S. jurisdictions), 5,563 were required to complete this component and 5,560, or 99.9 

percent, responded.

Student Financial Aid

The 2011 Student Financial Aid (SFA) component collected data on the number of full-time, 

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate financial aid recipients for the 2009-10 

academic year. The SFA component was required of all Title IV institutions that had 
4

undergraduate students. As a result, for this collection, 6,807 institutions in the United States and 

other U.S. jurisdictions were required to complete the SFA component. Of these, 6,797, or 99.9 

percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States (excluding any other U.S. 

jurisdictions), 6,657 were required to complete this component and 6,648, or 99.9 percent, 

responded. 

See the Survey Components section of appendix A for further details regarding which 

institutions were required to complete each component. In addition, a response and applicability 

indicator variable for each component is available for each institution in the data available for 

download from the IPEDS Data Center.

Focus of This Report

Tabulations in this report present selected data items collected from the 7,016 Title IV 

institutions in the United States (excluding those in other U.S. jurisdictions) that were required to 

respond to one or more components of the spring 2011 collection. In addition, 77 administrative 

offices in the United States were required to complete the Finance component and are included 

in the Finance tabulations. Additional detailed information is available through the IPEDS 

Compendium and State Tables, as well as various IPEDS web tools such as the IPEDS Data 

Center. Information regarding IPEDS survey procedures and response rates is provided in 

appendix A. Detailed definitions of terms used in this report are provided in appendix B. 

The purpose of this report is to introduce new data through the presentation of tables containing 

descriptive information. As a result only selected findings are presented. These findings have 

been chosen to demonstrate the range of information available when using the IPEDS data rather 

than to discuss all of the observed differences, and they are not meant to emphasize any 

particular issue.

Table 9 in this First Look displays trends over time. The time points displayed were chosen to 

demonstrate the range of data available from IPEDS for trend analysis, not to emphasize any 

particular period of change.
5

Selected Findings

Characteristics of Enrolled Students

•

•

•

•

In fall 2010, Title IV institutions enrolled 19 million undergraduate and 3 million graduate 

students (table 1). Of the 19 million undergraduates, 56 percent were enrolled in 4-year 

institutions, 42 percent in 2-year institutions, and 2 percent in less-than-2-year institutions. 

Overall, 15 percent of undergraduate students were full-time, first-time8

Considering the proportion of first-time undergraduates enrolled in an institution within their 

state or jurisdiction of residence,

 students and 4 

percent were part-time, first-time students (table 2). 

9

Overall, first-time undergraduate student 1-year retention rates were higher for full-time 

students (72 percent) than for part-time students (44 percent) (table 4).

Texas (92.5 percent) and New Jersey (92.0 percent) had 

the highest proportions (table 3). Conversely, the District of Columbia (11.9 percent) and 

Vermont (36.8 percent) had the lowest proportions. 

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions

•

•

Public 4-year institutions received 19 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees, 

compared with 33 percent at private nonprofit institutions, and 91 percent at private for-profit 

institutions (table 5). 

At public 4-year institutions, 30 percent of expenses were for instruction, compared with 42 

percent at public 2-year institutions and 52 percent at public less-than-2-year institutions 

(table 6).

Graduation Rates

•

•

•

Approximately 58 percent of full-time, first-time students attending 4-year institutions in 

2004 who were seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree completed a bachelor’s or 

equivalent degree within 6 years at the institution where they began their studies (table 7). 

The percentage of full-time, first-time students attending 4-year institutions in 2004 who 

were seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree who graduated in 4 years was higher at 

nonprofit institutions (52 percent) than at public (31 percent) or for-profit institutions (20 

percent) (table 8). 

The proportion of the total cohort made up of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

students at 4-year institutions in 2004 varied by control of institution: 91 percent at public 

institutions, 94 percent at nonprofit institutions, and 29 percent at for-profit institutions 

(table 9). 

 

8 First-time students include those seeking any degree or certificate that had not previously attended college at any 

institution. 

9 State or jurisdiction of residence is defined as the state or jurisdiction identified by the student as his/her permanent 

address at the time of application to the institution. 
6

• Graduation rates of full-time, first-time students in 2006 increased from 23 percent to 37 

percent at 2-year institutions and from 45 percent to 70 percent at less-than-2-year 

institutions when the time students were tracked was extended from within 100 percent of 

normal time to program completion within 200 percent of normal time (table 10). 

Student Financial Aid

•

•

•

Of the 3.3 million full-time, first-time undergraduate students attending Title IV institutions

during the 2009-10 academic year, about 82 percent received financial aid (table 11). 

Institutions reported that roughly 53 percent of full-time, first-time undergraduate students 

borrowed through a student education loan program during the 2009-10 academic year 

(table 12). 

Among full-time, first time undergraduate students receiving any grant aid, differences in 

average price of attendance before aid and net price of attendance10 varied by institutional

sector. For those attending public 4-year institutions, average price before aid was 

approximately $16,900 and net price was about $10,200; for those attending nonprofit 4-year 

institutions, average price before aid was roughly $32,700 and net price was about $16,700; 

and for those attending for-profit 4-year institutions, average price before aid was 

approximately $27,900 and net price was about $23,800 (table 13).

 

10 Net price of attendance is calculated as the price of attendance before aid minus the average grant aid received by 

the students whose net price is being described. The calculation of net price of attendance does not include loan aid.
7

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

status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2010

Student level, level of institution, 

attendance status, gender, and 

race/ethnicity

Total Public Private nonprofit Private for-profit

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total students 21,588,124 100.0 15,280,273 100.0 3,881,906 100.0 2,425,945 100.0

4-year 13,335,777 61.8 7,924,813 51.9 3,822,683 98.5 1,588,281 65.5

2-year 7,847,996 36.4 7,284,613 47.7 44,060 1.1 519,323 21.4

Less-than-2-year 404,351 1.9 70,847 0.5 15,163 0.4 318,341 13.1

Full time 13,537,645 62.7 8,843,309 57.9 2,909,668 75.0 1,784,668 73.6

Part time 8,050,479 37.3 6,436,964 42.1 972,238 25.0 641,277 26.4

Men 9,240,120 42.8 6,744,888 44.1 1,647,887 42.5 847,345 34.9

Women 12,348,004 57.2 8,535,385 55.9 2,234,019 57.5 1,578,600 65.1

American Indian or Alaska Native 189,017 0.9 147,095 1.0 23,245 0.6 18,677 0.8

Asian 1,138,531 5.3 872,346 5.7 208,399 5.4 57,786 2.4

Black or African American 2,902,749 13.4 1,904,016 12.5 427,704 11.0 571,029 23.5

Hispanic or Latino 2,643,952 12.2 2,061,933 13.5 264,579 6.8 317,440 13.1

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific

Islander 60,772 0.3 42,608 0.3 8,761 0.2 9,403 0.4

White 11,943,403 55.3 8,723,156 57.1 2,289,156 59.0 931,091 38.4

Two or more races 312,127 1.4 226,904 1.5 52,390 1.3 32,833 1.4

Race/ethnicity unknown 1,689,804 7.8 848,345 5.6 380,924 9.8 460,535 19.0

Nonresident alien 707,769 3.3 453,870 3.0 226,748 5.8 27,151 1.1

Undergraduate total 18,650,251 100.0 13,841,712 100.0 2,680,074 100.0 2,128,465 100.0

4-year 10,397,904 55.8 6,486,252 46.9 2,620,851 97.8 1,290,801 60.6

Full time 8,086,482 43.4 5,043,049 36.4 2,174,391 81.1 869,042 40.8

Part time 2,311,422 12.4 1,443,203 10.4 446,460 16.7 421,759 19.8

Men 4,570,050 24.5 2,965,138 21.4 1,117,974 41.7 486,938 22.9

Women 5,827,854 31.2 3,521,114 25.4 1,502,877 56.1 803,863 37.8

American Indian or Alaska 

Native 84,937 0.5 57,584 0.4 16,646 0.6 10,707 0.5

Asian 549,268 2.9 396,806 2.9 127,364 4.8 25,098 1.2

Black or African American 1,337,325 7.2 745,958 5.4 304,883 11.4 286,484 13.5

Hispanic or Latino 1,053,700 5.6 735,154 5.3 188,962 7.1 129,584 6.1

Native Hawaiian or Other 

Pacific Islander 26,525 0.1 15,298 0.1 5,977 0.2 5,250 0.2

White 6,058,845 32.5 3,957,862 28.6 1,601,011 59.7 499,972 23.5

Two or more races 161,685 0.9 103,188 0.7 40,207 1.5 18,290 0.9

Race/ethnicity unknown 829,001 4.4 294,354 2.1 233,863 8.7 300,784 14.1

Nonresident alien 296,618 1.6 180,048 1.3 101,938 3.8 14,632 0.7

2-year 7,847,996 42.1 7,284,613 52.6 44,060 1.6 519,323 24.4

Full time 3,497,257 18.8 2,991,971 21.6 32,724 1.2 472,562 22.2

Part time 4,350,739 23.3 4,292,642 31.0 11,336 0.4 46,761 2.2

Men 3,346,603 17.9 3,146,609 22.7 15,634 0.6 184,360 8.7

Women 4,501,393 24.1 4,138,004 29.9 28,426 1.1 334,963 15.7

American Indian or Alaska 

Native 84,587 0.5 78,432 0.6 1,943 0.1 4,212 0.2

Asian 409,605 2.2 394,280 2.8 1,855 0.1 13,470 0.6

Black or African American 1,152,180 6.2 1,025,841 7.4 8,738 0.3 117,601 5.5

Hispanic or Latino 1,320,084 7.1 1,218,926 8.8 3,712 0.1 97,446 4.6

Native Hawaiian or Other 

Pacific Islander 26,936 0.1 24,604 0.2 188 # 2,144 0.1

White 4,110,981 22.0 3,878,766 28.0 24,647 0.9 207,568 9.8

Two or more races 117,823 0.6 109,310 0.8 312 # 8,201 0.4

Race/ethnicity unknown 525,764 2.8 458,378 3.3 1,332 # 66,054 3.1

Nonresident alien 100,036 0.5 96,076 0.7 1,333 # 2,627 0.1

See notes at end of table.
8

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

status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2010—Continued

Student level, level of institution, 

attendance status, gender, and 

race/ethnicity

Total Public Private nonprofit Private for-profit

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Less-than-2-year 404,351 2.2 70,847 0.5 15,163 0.6 318,341 15.0

Full time 322,790 1.7 39,926 0.3 11,105 0.4 271,759 12.8

Part time 81,561 0.4 30,921 0.2 4,058 0.2 46,582 2.2

Men 113,722 0.6 29,720 0.2 5,610 0.2 78,392 3.7

Women 290,629 1.6 41,127 0.3 9,553 0.4 239,949 11.3

American Indian or Alaska 

Native 4,257 # 2,250 # 91 # 1,916 0.1

Asian 13,746 0.1 2,570 # 1,213 # 9,963 0.5

Black or African American 99,024 0.5 7,576 0.1 3,346 0.1 88,102 4.1

Hispanic or Latino 96,421 0.5 17,491 0.1 4,914 0.2 74,016 3.5

Native Hawaiian or Other 

Pacific Islander 1,661 # 574 # 96 # 991 #

White 156,852 0.8 36,534 0.3 4,683 0.2 115,635 5.4

Two or more races 4,061 # 440 # 49 # 3,572 0.2

Race/ethnicity unknown 25,969 0.1 3,063 # 447 # 22,459 1.1

Nonresident alien 2,360 # 349 # 324 # 1,687 0.1

Graduate total 2,937,873 100.0 1,438,561 100.0 1,201,832 100.0 297,480 100.0

Full time 1,631,116 55.5 768,363 53.4 691,448 57.5 171,305 57.6

Part time 1,306,757 44.5 670,198 46.6 510,384 42.5 126,175 42.4

Men 1,209,745 41.2 603,421 41.9 508,669 42.3 97,655 32.8

Women 1,728,128 58.8 835,140 58.1 693,163 57.7 199,825 67.2

American Indian or Alaska Native 15,236 0.5 8,829 0.6 4,565 0.4 1,842 0.6

Asian 165,912 5.6 78,690 5.5 77,967 6.5 9,255 3.1

Black or African American 314,220 10.7 124,641 8.7 110,737 9.2 78,842 26.5

Hispanic or Latino 173,747 5.9 90,362 6.3 66,991 5.6 16,394 5.5

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific 

Islander 5,650 0.2 2,132 0.1 2,500 0.2 1,018 0.3

White 1,616,725 55.0 849,994 59.1 658,815 54.8 107,916 36.3

Two or more races 28,558 1.0 13,966 1.0 11,822 1.0 2,770 0.9

Race/ethnicity unknown 309,070 10.5 92,550 6.4 145,282 12.1 71,238 23.9

Nonresident alien 308,755 10.5 177,397 12.3 123,153 10.2 8,205 2.8

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. Percentages in the columns of this table use the corresponding 

count in the appropriate total row of each section as the denominator. 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 2011, Enrollment component.
9

Table 2. Undergraduate enrollment at Title IV institutions, by first-time degree/certificate-seeking student status, 

attendance status, level of institution, institutional category, and control of institution: United States, 

fall 2010

Level of institution, institutional 

category, and control

All students

First-time degree/

certificate-seeking students

Other than first-time degree/

certificate-seeking students

Total Percent Full-time Percent Part-time Percent Full-time Percent Part-time Percent

All institutions 18,650,251 100.0 2,723,602 14.6 661,443 3.5 9,182,927 49.2 6,082,279 32.6

Public 13,841,712 100.0 1,838,138 13.3 563,263 4.1 6,236,808 45.1 5,203,503 37.6

Private nonprofit 2,680,074 100.0 516,080 19.3 16,959 0.6 1,702,140 63.5 444,895 16.6

Private for-profit 2,128,465 100.0 369,384 17.4 81,221 3.8 1,243,979 58.4 433,881 20.4

4-year 10,397,904 100.0 1,643,366 15.8 143,357 1.4 6,443,116 62.0 2,168,065 20.9

Public 6,486,252 100.0 1,037,401 16.0 73,274 1.1 4,005,648 61.8 1,369,929 21.1

Private nonprofit 2,620,851 100.0 500,989 19.1 14,258 0.5 1,673,402 63.8 432,202 16.5

Private for-profit 1,290,801 100.0 104,976 8.1 55,825 4.3 764,066 59.2 365,934 28.3

2-year 7,847,996 100.0 950,560 12.1 490,855 6.3 2,546,697 32.5 3,859,884 49.2

Public 7,284,613 100.0 782,540 10.7 480,200 6.6 2,209,431 30.3 3,812,442 52.3

Private nonprofit 44,060 100.0 10,701 24.3 1,047 2.4 22,023 50.0 10,289 23.4

Private for-profit 519,323 100.0 157,319 30.3 9,608 1.9 315,243 60.7 37,153 7.2

Less-than-2-year 404,351 100.0 129,676 32.1 27,231 6.7 193,114 47.8 54,330 13.4

Public 70,847 100.0 18,197 25.7 9,789 13.8 21,729 30.7 21,132 29.8

Private nonprofit 15,163 100.0 4,390 29.0 1,654 10.9 6,715 44.3 2,404 15.9

Private for-profit 318,341 100.0 107,089 33.6 15,788 5.0 164,670 51.7 30,794 9.7

Degree-granting, graduate 

with no undergraduate 

degrees 1,225 100.0 241 19.7 13 1.1 692 56.5 279 22.8

Public 0 † 0 † 0 † 0 † 0 †

Private nonprofit 1,133 100.0 241 21.3 13 1.1 600 53.0 279 24.6

Private for-profit 92 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 92 100.0 0 0.0

Degree-granting, primarily 

baccalaureate or above 9,112,272 100.0 1,481,697 16.3 77,619 0.9 5,918,090 64.9 1,634,866 17.9

Public 5,759,504 100.0 950,591 16.5 32,717 0.6 3,763,481 65.3 1,012,715 17.6

Private nonprofit 2,487,061 100.0 482,524 19.4 11,198 0.5 1,621,606 65.2 371,733 14.9

Private for-profit 865,707 100.0 48,582 5.6 33,704 3.9 533,003 61.6 250,418 28.9

Degree-granting, not primarily 

baccalaureate or above 1,259,201 100.0 158,788 12.6 63,533 5.0 517,042 41.1 519,838 41.3

Public 701,815 100.0 84,226 12.0 38,365 5.5 235,092 33.5 344,132 49.0

Private nonprofit 132,550 100.0 18,203 13.7 3,047 2.3 51,110 38.6 60,190 45.4

Private for-profit 424,836 100.0 56,359 13.3 22,121 5.2 230,840 54.3 115,516 27.2

Degree-granting, associate's 

and certificates 7,705,974 100.0 892,132 11.6 482,926 6.3 2,482,886 32.2 3,848,030 49.9

Public 7,242,971 100.0 767,120 10.6 474,133 6.5 2,195,019 30.3 3,806,699 52.6

Private nonprofit 32,660 100.0 8,773 26.9 855 2.6 14,328 43.9 8,704 26.7

Private for-profit 430,343 100.0 116,239 27.0 7,938 1.8 273,539 63.6 32,627 7.6

Non-degree-granting, above 

the baccalaureate 107 100.0 21 19.6 0 0.0 86 80.4 0 0.0

Public 0 † 0 † 0 † 0 † 0 †

Private nonprofit 107 100.0 21 19.6 0 0.0 86 80.4 0 0.0

Private for-profit 0 † 0 † 0 † 0 † 0 †

Non-degree-granting, subbaccalaureate 571,472 100.0 190,723 33.4 37,352 6.5 264,131 46.2 79,266 13.9

Public 137,422 100.0 36,201 26.3 18,048 13.1 43,216 31.4 39,957 29.1

Private nonprofit 26,563 100.0 6,318 23.8 1,846 6.9 14,410 54.2 3,989 15.0

Private for-profit 407,487 100.0 148,204 36.4 17,458 4.3 206,505 50.7 35,320 8.7

† Not applicable.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. Percentages in the rows of this table use the corresponding count in the “All students” 

column as the denominator. Primarily baccalaureate refers to institutions where the total number of degrees/certificates awarded at or above the 

bachelor's level is more than 50 percent of the total number of degrees/certificates awarded. Associate’s and certificates refers to institutions 

with an associate’s degree as the only degree offering, but that may also offer postsecondary certificates of any level. Details may not sum to 

total because of rounding.

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

Spring 2011, Enrollment component.
10

Table 3. Enrollment, residence, and migration of all first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate 

students enrolled at Title IV institutions, by state or jurisdiction: United States, fall 2010

State or jurisdiction

Enrollment in

institutions

located in the

state or 

jurisdiction

Residents of the 

state or 

jurisdiction

enrolled in any 

state or 

jurisdiction1

Residents of 

the

state or 

jurisdiction

enrolled in 

 the same state 

or jurisdiction

Percent 

enrolled in the 

state or 

jurisdiction

who are 

residents of 

the same state 

or jurisdiction

Students of 

unknown 

residency 

enrolled in 

institutions 

located in the 

state or 

jurisdiction

Migration of students2

Into the

state or

jurisdiction3

Out of

the state 

or 

jurisdiction

Net

migration4

Alabama 53,676 46,650 40,526 75.5 1,419 11,731 6,124 5,607

Alaska 5,331 6,774 4,573 85.8 66 692 2,201 -1,509

Arizona 82,938 62,900 57,328 69.1 2,046 23,564 5,572 17,992

Arkansas 31,018 29,067 25,667 82.7 141 5,210 3,400 1,810

California 436,190 435,737 400,042 91.7 8,566 27,582 35,695 -8,113

Colorado 58,326 53,617 44,153 75.7 656 13,517 9,464 4,053

Connecticut 38,328 43,198 27,112 70.7 79 11,137 16,086 -4,949

Delaware 9,693 8,710 5,999 61.9 234 3,460 2,711 749

District of Columbia 11,526 4,473 1,367 11.9 300 9,859 3,106 6,753

Florida 205,848 192,786 174,368 84.7 2,728 28,752 18,418 10,334

Georgia 103,693 104,283 86,691 83.6 473 16,529 17,592 -1,063

Hawaii 11,162 12,468 9,036 81.0 197 1,929 3,432 -1,503

Idaho 13,300 13,129 9,255 69.6 83 3,962 3,874 88

Illinois 123,949 134,527 103,462 83.5 428 20,059 31,065 -11,006

Indiana 84,208 76,370 67,619 80.3 468 16,121 8,751 7,370

Iowa 47,981 34,436 30,094 62.7 344 17,543 4,342 13,201

Kansas 34,897 32,551 27,844 79.8 247 6,806 4,707 2,099

Kentucky 44,701 42,743 37,031 82.8 177 7,493 5,712 1,781

Louisiana 45,131 43,690 38,661 85.7 302 6,168 5,029 1,139

Maine 12,539 13,264 9,297 74.1 28 3,214 3,967 -753

Maryland 56,135 64,773 45,024 80.2 269 10,842 19,749 -8,907

Massachusetts 83,898 74,830 54,006 64.4 691 29,201 20,824 8,377

Michigan 107,479 109,893 97,989 91.2 455 9,035 11,904 -2,869

Minnesota 56,977 59,801 45,342 79.6 413 11,222 14,459 -3,237

Mississippi 37,703 36,984 32,024 84.9 349 5,330 4,960 370

Missouri 66,990 63,801 54,191 80.9 611 12,188 9,610 2,578

Montana 10,193 9,483 7,535 73.9 18 2,640 1,948 692

Nebraska 19,543 19,002 15,908 81.4 190 3,445 3,094 351

Nevada 20,013 22,693 18,353 91.7 110 1,550 4,340 -2,790

New Hampshire 14,182 14,069 8,040 56.7 229 5,913 6,029 -116

New Jersey 81,969 111,657 75,431 92.0 336 6,202 36,226 -30,024

New Mexico 23,308 22,110 18,925 81.2 510 3,873 3,185 688

New York 214,547 208,488 173,189 80.7 1,757 39,601 35,299 4,302

North Carolina 97,273 92,249 80,523 82.8 624 16,126 11,726 4,400

North Dakota 9,359 7,014 5,195 55.5 4 4,160 1,819 2,341

Ohio 135,158 133,471 116,049 85.9 955 18,154 17,422 732

Oklahoma 46,939 43,086 38,729 82.5 1,163 7,047 4,357 2,690

Oregon 36,985 33,687 28,192 76.2 214 8,579 5,495 3,084

Pennsylvania 153,539 133,200 112,365 73.2 747 40,427 20,835 19,592

Rhode Island 16,744 11,112 7,664 45.8 25 9,055 3,448 5,607

South Carolina 49,206 45,012 38,961 79.2 252 9,993 6,051 3,942

South Dakota 10,370 8,989 7,109 68.6 410 2,851 1,880 971

Tennessee 65,980 65,790 56,016 84.9 401 9,563 9,774 -211

Texas 249,332 257,369 230,519 92.5 3,207 15,606 26,850 -11,244

Utah 37,453 31,036 28,860 77.1 575 8,018 2,176 5,842

Vermont 8,315 5,806 3,059 36.8 42 5,214 2,747 2,467

Virginia 84,563 78,592 64,023 75.7 1,752 18,788 14,569 4,219

Washington 43,083 47,308 36,077 83.7 235 6,771 11,231 -4,460

West Virginia 24,923 17,812 15,315 61.4 613 8,995 2,497 6,498

See notes at end of table.
11

Table 3. Enrollment, residence, and migration of all first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate 

students enrolled at Title IV institutions, by state or jurisdiction: United States, fall 2010—

Continued

State or jurisdiction

Enrollment in

institutions

located in the

state or 

jurisdiction

Residents of the 

state or 

jurisdiction

enrolled in any 

state or 

jurisdiction1

Residents of 

the

state or 

jurisdiction

enrolled in 

 the same state 

or jurisdiction

Percent 

enrolled in the 

state or 

jurisdiction

who are 

residents of 

the same state 

or jurisdiction

Students of 

unknown 

residency 

enrolled in 

institutions 

located in the 

state or 

jurisdiction

Migration of students2

Into the

state or

jurisdiction3

Out of

the state 

or 

jurisdiction

Net

migration4

Wisconsin 62,366 61,424 50,824 81.5 348 11,194 10,600 594

Wyoming 6,085 5,031 3,854 63.3 75 2,156 1,177 979 1

Although the rows of this table are restricted to the United States, in order to calculate the number of students from each state or 

jurisdiction enrolled in a postsecondary institution, institutions in the other U.S. jurisdictions are included in this column. The other U.S. 

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

Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

2

The migration of students columns refer to students whose permanent address at the time of application to the institution is located in a 

different state or jurisdiction than the institution. These columns do not indicate a permanent change of address has occurred. 3

Migration into the state or jurisdiction may include students who are nonresident aliens, who are from the other U.S. jurisdictions, or who 

reside outside the state or jurisdiction and are enrolled exclusively in online or distance education programs. Migration into the state or 

jurisdiction does not include individuals whose state or jurisdiction of residence is unknown. 4

Net migration is the difference between the number of students entering the state or jurisdiction to attend school (into) and the number of 

students (residents) who leave the state or jurisdiction to attend school elsewhere (out of). A positive net migration indicates more 

students coming into the state or jurisdiction than leaving to attend school elsewhere.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. State or jurisdiction of residence is defined as the state or jurisdiction

identified by the student as his or her permanent address at the time of application to the institution.

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

(IPEDS), Spring 2011, Enrollment component.
12

Table 4. First-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate retention rates at Title IV institutions, 

by attendance status, level of institution, institutional category, and control of institution: 

United States, fall 2010

Level of institution, institutional 

category, and control

Full-time Part-time

Adjusted 

cohort, 

fall 2009

Still enrolled 

fall 2010

Retention 

rate (%)

Adjusted 

cohort, 

fall 2009

Still enrolled 

fall 2010

Retention 

rate (%)

All institutions 2,552,266 1,834,040 71.9 587,664 256,618 43.7

4-year 1,465,690 1,153,993 78.7 73,376 32,720 44.6

Public 945,951 751,623 79.5 34,504 17,240 50.0

Private nonprofit 470,769 376,744 80.0 9,609 4,499 46.8

Private for-profit 48,970 25,626 52.3 29,263 10,981 37.5

Degree-granting, graduate with no 

undergraduate degrees 245 219 89.4 5 5 100.0

Public 0 † † 0 † †

Private nonprofit 245 219 89.4 5 5 100.0

Private for-profit 0 † † 0 † †

Degree-granting, primarily 

baccalaureate or above 1,416,032 1,124,476 79.4 62,261 27,911 44.8

Public 921,967 736,748 79.9 29,797 15,342 51.5

Private nonprofit 462,867 371,802 80.3 8,730 4,003 45.9

Private for-profit 31,198 15,926 51.0 23,734 8,566 36.1

Degree-granting, not primarily 

baccalaureate or above 48,941 29,030 59.3 10,850 4,722 43.5

Public 23,533 14,625 62.1 4,447 1,816 40.8

Private nonprofit 7,636 4,705 61.6 874 491 56.2

Private for-profit 17,772 9,700 54.6 5,529 2,415 43.7

Degree-granting, associate's and 

certificates 451 250 55.4 260 82 31.5

Public 451 250 55.4 260 82 31.5

Private nonprofit 0 † † 0 † †

Private for-profit 0 † † 0 † †

Non-degree-granting, above the 

baccalaureate 21 18 85.7 0 † †

Public 0 † † 0 † †

Private nonprofit 21 18 85.7 0 † †

Private for-profit 0 † † 0 † †

2-year 968,946 595,303 61.4 488,291 205,572 42.1

Public 815,679 489,957 60.1 476,501 198,901 41.7

Private nonprofit 10,089 5,843 57.9 939 537 57.2

Private for-profit 143,178 99,503 69.5 10,851 6,134 56.5

Degree-granting, associate's and 

certificates 920,928 560,038 60.8 477,805 198,873 41.6

Public 797,717 477,653 59.9 468,321 193,853 41.4

Private nonprofit 7,960 4,697 59.0 760 400 52.6

Private for-profit 115,251 77,688 67.4 8,724 4,620 53.0

Non-degree-granting, subbaccalaureate 48,018 35,265 73.4 10,486 6,699 63.9

Public 17,962 12,304 68.5 8,180 5,048 61.7

Private nonprofit 2,129 1,146 53.8 179 137 76.5

Private for-profit 27,927 21,815 78.1 2,127 1,514 71.2

See notes at end of table.
13

Table 4. First-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate retention rates at Title IV institutions, 

by attendance status, level of institution, institutional category, and control of institution: 

United States, fall 2010—Continued

Level of institution, institutional 

category, and control

Full-time Part-time

Adjusted 

cohort, 

fall 2009

Still enrolled 

fall 2010

Retention 

rate (%)

Adjusted 

cohort, 

fall 2009

Still enrolled 

fall 2010

Retention 

rate (%)

Less-than-2-year 117,630 84,744 72.0 25,997 18,326 70.5

Public 18,092 13,448 74.3 9,574 6,520 68.1

Private nonprofit 3,598 2,855 79.3 570 399 70.0

Private for-profit 95,940 68,441 71.3 15,853 11,407 72.0

Non-degree-granting, subbaccalaureate1 117,630 84,744 72.0 25,997 18,326 70.5

Public 18,092 13,448 74.3 9,574 6,520 68.1

Private nonprofit 3,598 2,855 79.3 570 399 70.0

Private for-profit 95,940 68,441 71.3 15,853 11,407 72.0

† Not applicable.

1

All less-than-2-year institutions were classified into the non-degree-granting, sub-baccalaureate category.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. For 4-year institutions, retention rate is the 

percentage of first-time bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates from the previous fall who are again enrolled in 

the current fall. For all other institutions, retention rate 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. Attendance status (full- or part-time) 

was determined by the institutions in fall 2009, but the fall 2009 adjusted cohort and the number of students in the cohort still 

enrolled in fall 2010 were both reported during the spring 2011 data collection. Primarily baccalaureate refers to institutions where 

the total number of degrees/certificates awarded at or above the bachelor's level is more than 50 percent of the total number of 

degrees/certificates awarded. Associate’s and certificates refers to institutions with an associate’s degree as the only degree 

offering, but that may also offer postsecondary certificates of any level.

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2011, Enrollment component.
14

Table 5. Revenues of Title IV institutions, by level and control of institution, accounting standards 

utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2010

Source of funds

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

Revenues

(in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Public institutions (GASB standards1)

Total revenues and other sources $238,384,712 100.0 $55,996,203 100.0 $754,660 100.0

Operating revenues 144,634,639 60.7 16,500,430 29.5 356,466 47.2

Tuition and fees (net of allowances and 

discounts) 44,277,510 18.6 9,088,279 16.2 162,145 21.5

Grants and contracts 39,054,419 16.4 4,384,755 7.8 143,097 19.0

Federal (excludes FDSL loans) 24,996,765 10.5 2,152,596 3.8 42,400 5.6

State 5,001,562 2.1 1,643,572 2.9 60,409 8.0

Local 2,565,752 1.1 342,629 0.6 38,554 5.1

Private 6,490,340 2.7 245,959 0.4 1,734 0.2

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises after 

deducting discounts and allowances 19,429,078 8.2 2,072,876 3.7 0 0.0

Sales and services of hospitals 27,125,159 11.4 0 0.0 0 0.0

Sales and services of educational activities 4,598,612 1.9 148,289 0.3 9,828 1.3

Independent operations 1,320,068 0.6 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other operating revenues 8,829,792 3.7 806,231 1.4 41,396 5.5

Nonoperating revenues 81,407,285 34.1 36,707,981 65.6 381,609 50.6

Federal appropriations 1,983,176 0.8 158,375 0.3 2,571 0.3

State appropriations 47,887,957 20.1 13,957,011 24.9 160,290 21.2

Local appropriations 431,615 0.2 9,684,785 17.3 99,617 13.2

Nonoperating grants 12,541,741 5.3 11,672,396 20.8 100,506 13.3

Federal 10,318,977 4.3 10,523,782 18.8 93,193 12.3

State 2,088,155 0.9 1,051,912 1.9 5,830 0.8

Local 134,608 0.1 96,702 0.2 1,482 0.2

Gifts 5,031,866 2.1 230,377 0.4 3,042 0.4

Investment income 8,935,036 3.7 382,030 0.7 3,810 0.5

Other nonoperating revenues 4,595,894 1.9 623,007 1.1 11,773 1.6

Total other revenues and additions2 12,342,789 5.2 2,787,792 5.0 16,586 2.2

Capital appropriations 4,003,617 1.7 2,037,393 3.6 — —

Capital grants and gifts 3,312,753 1.4 467,258 0.8 — —

Additions to permanent endowments 853,705 0.4 16,245 # — —

Other revenues and additions 4,172,713 1.8 254,532 0.5 — —

Private nonprofit institutions (FASB standards)

Total revenues and investment return $168,177,924 100.0 $639,864 100.0 $160,341 100.0

Tuition and fees 56,060,136 33.3 364,256 56.9 92,717 57.8

Government appropriations 1,216,877 0.7 16,985 2.7 259 0.2

Federal 734,408 0.4 10,435 1.6 107 0.1

State 476,381 0.3 6,105 1.0 56 #

Local 6,088 # 445 0.1 96 0.1

Government grants and contracts 18,073,235 10.7 99,574 15.6 53,103 33.1

Federal 16,376,032 9.7 82,958 13.0 43,084 26.9

State 1,232,746 0.7 15,699 2.5 8,244 5.1

Local 464,458 0.3 916 0.1 1,775 1.1

Private gifts 12,431,232 7.4 35,173 5.5 1,560 1.0

Private grants and contracts 4,185,886 2.5 5,014 0.8 3,066 1.9

Contributions from affiliated entities 1,350,877 0.8 24,478 3.8 1,008 0.6

Investment return 28,406,600 16.9 21,538 3.4 1,317 0.8

Sales and services of educational activities 4,814,955 2.9 12,827 2.0 3,948 2.5

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises 14,044,652 8.4 35,677 5.6 0 0.0

Hospital revenue 16,541,461 9.8 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations revenue 5,733,221 3.4 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other revenue3 5,318,792 3.2 24,342 3.8 3,362 2.1

See notes at end of table.
15

Table 5. Revenues of Title IV institutions, by level and control of institution, accounting standards 

utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2010—Continued

Source of funds

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

Revenues

(in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Private for-profit institutions (FASB standards)

Total revenues and investment return $18,984,054 100.0 $6,914,017 100.0 $3,702,291 100.0

Tuition and fees 17,321,882 91.2 6,041,884 87.4 3,082,402 83.3

Government appropriations, grants, and contracts 1,295,283 6.8 835,061 12.1 368,755 10.0

Federal 1,226,115 6.5 787,014 11.4 350,390 9.5

State and local 69,168 0.4 48,047 0.7 18,365 0.5

Private grants and contracts 35,634 0.2 3,006 # 3,798 0.1

Investment income and investment gains (losses) 36,026 0.2 4,248 0.1 9,564 0.3

Sales and services of educational activities 376,481 2.0 122,630 1.8 197,968 5.3

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises 372,285 2.0 112,930 1.6 0 0.0

Other revenue3 -453,538 † -205,743 † 39,805 1.1

— Not available. Non-degree-granting institutions report the total other revenues and additions, but not the details.

† Not applicable. Percentages are not calculated for negative revenues (losses).

# Rounds to zero.

1

In addition to the public institutions using Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards, 22 public institutions (1 

percent of public institutions) not displayed in this table reported $9.8 billion in revenue and investment return using Financial 

Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standards.

2

Non-degree-granting institutions report the total other revenues and additions, but not the details. As a result, the details will not sum 

to the total.

3

Other revenue is a calculated value and may be negative if the total revenue and investment return reported is less than the sum of 

the reported data in the detail revenue and investment return categories.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. Due to differences between GASB standards and FASB standards, 

figures from public institutions are not comparable to figures from private institutions, even in categories with identical labels. 

Percentages in the columns of this table use the corresponding dollar amount in the appropriate total row of each section as the 

denominator. 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 2011, Finance component.
16

Table 6. Expenses of Title IV institutions, by level and control of institution, accounting standards 

utilized, and type of expense: United States, fiscal year 2010

Type of expense

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

Expenses

(in thousands) Percent

Expenses

(in thousands) Percent

Expenses

(in thousands) Percent

Public institutions (GASB standards1) 

Total expenses $221,590,159 100.0 $51,805,979 100.0 $637,800 100.0

Instruction 65,379,375 29.5 21,945,558 42.4 333,691 52.3

Research 30,675,424 13.8 24,331 # 0 0.0

Public service 11,814,495 5.3 912,148 1.8 1,605 0.3

Academic support 17,772,913 8.0 4,312,067 8.3 60,086 9.4

Student services 10,065,346 4.5 5,307,964 10.2 52,711 8.3

Institutional support 19,038,678 8.6 8,038,728 15.5 101,964 16.0

Scholarships and fellowships (excluding 

discounts and allowances) 9,079,204 4.1 6,392,147 12.3 25,957 4.1

Auxiliary enterprises 22,643,552 10.2 2,712,107 5.2 0 0.0

Hospital services 26,321,449 11.9 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations 1,288,762 0.6 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other expenses and deductions 7,510,962 3.4 2,160,929 4.2 61,786 9.7

Private nonprofit institutions (FASB standards)

Total expenses $144,658,856 100.0 $648,515 100.0 $153,629 100.0

Instruction 47,325,505 32.7 259,497 40.0 84,477 55.0

Research 16,154,889 11.2 619 0.1 50 #

Public service 2,084,704 1.4 5,088 0.8 2,096 1.4

Academic support 12,897,324 8.9 53,361 8.2 11,123 7.2

Student services 11,347,164 7.8 79,405 12.2 9,552 6.2

Institutional support 19,299,736 13.3 165,431 25.5 33,938 22.1

Net grant aid to students 825,027 0.6 7,490 1.2 138 0.1

Auxiliary enterprises 13,852,640 9.6 34,402 5.3 0 0.0

Hospital services 13,174,405 9.1 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations 5,154,851 3.6 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other expenses 2,542,611 1.8 43,222 6.7 12,254 8.0

Private for-profit institutions (FASB standards)

Total expenses $15,287,115 100.0 $5,719,255 100.0 $2,975,381 100.0

Instruction 3,259,808 21.3 1,862,059 32.6 1,185,168 39.8

Research and public service 10,726 0.1 3,573 0.1 8,922 0.3

Academic support, student services, and 

institutional support 10,588,125 69.3 3,008,740 52.6 1,314,490 44.2

Net grant aid to students 72,265 0.5 51,057 0.9 6,643 0.2

Auxiliary enterprises 337,501 2.2 128,542 2.2 0 0.0

Other expenses 1,018,691 6.7 665,284 11.6 460,157 15.5

# Rounds to zero.

1

In addition to the public institutions using Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards, 22 public institutions (1 

percent of public institutions) not displayed in this table reported $8.7 billion in expenses using Financial Accounting Standards Board 

(FASB) standards.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. Due to difference between GASB standards and FASB standards, 

figures from public institutions are not comparable to figures from private institutions, even in categories with identical labels. 

Percentages in the columns of this table use the corresponding dollar amount in the appropriate total row of each section as the 

denominator. 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 2011, Finance component.
17

Table 7. Graduation rates at Title IV institutions, by race/ethnicity, level and control of institution, gender, 

degree sought, and degree completed at the institution where the students started as full-time, 

first-time students: United States, cohort years 2004 and 2007

Level and control of institution, 

gender, degree sought, and 

degree completed

Overall

(%) 

American 

Indian or 

Alaska 

Native 

(%) 

Asian,

Native 

Hawaiian 

or Other

Pacific 

Islander

(%)

Black or 

African 

American 

(%)

Hispanic 

or Latino 

(%)

White 

(%)

Two or 

more

races1

(%)

Race/

ethnicity

unknown 

(%) 

Nonresident

alien 

(%) 

Total 4-year institutions (cohort 

year 2004)2 55.1 38.3 67.1 37.7 46.7 59.7 56.4 42.1 56.1

Public 53.6 35.0 64.7 35.9 43.6 56.9 54.5 55.3 54.1

Men 50.7 33.2 61.3 30.6 39.2 54.0 52.6 52.3 50.7

Women 56.1 36.5 67.8 39.5 46.9 59.5 56.0 58.1 58.0

Private nonprofit 64.6 48.8 75.5 44.5 58.6 67.3 72.3 63.2 71.3

Men 62.2 46.5 73.5 38.9 55.3 65.1 73.6 61.0 68.3

Women 66.5 50.5 77.0 48.5 60.8 69.0 71.6 65.0 74.5

Private for-profit 32.3 38.4 45.0 31.3 41.2 44.8 41.9 18.1 21.5

Men 34.4 35.5 48.6 29.2 38.8 45.4 43.4 19.3 25.5

Women 30.9 40.2 41.5 32.7 43.2 44.2 40.1 17.6 19.2

Bachelor’s or equivalent degreeseekers attending 4-year 

institutions and completing 

bachelor’s or equivalent 

degree (cohort year 2004) 58.3 39.4 68.7 39.5 50.1 61.5 58.8 56.4 61.5

Public 56.0 37.0 66.2 38.3 47.8 58.9 59.7 57.9 57.2

Men 53.0 34.9 62.9 32.7 43.0 56.0 56.9 54.9 53.0

Women 58.5 38.5 69.2 42.1 51.4 61.4 61.9 60.6 62.2

Private nonprofit 65.4 50.7 76.2 44.9 60.5 67.9 71.9 64.0 71.2

Men 63.0 49.3 74.4 39.2 57.0 65.7 72.9 61.9 68.2

Women 67.3 51.6 77.6 49.1 62.8 69.6 71.3 65.6 74.4

Private for-profit 28.4 19.2 38.9 21.3 28.9 35.3 29.2 20.8 21.7

Men 30.2 18.5 43.5 21.2 29.1 37.0 31.6 21.8 23.6

Women 26.8 19.6 33.3 21.3 28.7 33.4 24.4 19.9 20.3

Total 2-year institutions (cohort 

year 2007) 33.2 28.6 36.7 28.5 36.8 32.8 61.7 35.8 31.6

Public 22.5 19.9 27.3 14.7 19.5 24.7 57.1 20.4 25.5

Men 21.8 22.0 25.2 14.5 17.4 24.0 58.3 19.3 22.0

Women 23.2 18.1 29.6 14.9 21.2 25.4 56.0 21.4 28.9

Private nonprofit 53.1 18.8 46.1 43.3 47.5 60.2 66.7 64.6 63.5

Men 53.0 14.0 50.9 44.4 47.6 60.5 66.7 50.7 60.7

Women 53.3 22.2 43.4 42.2 47.5 60.0 66.7 69.8 66.1

Private for-profit 61.7 59.4 69.8 50.6 65.2 66.5 66.1 59.8 66.8

Men 60.0 57.9 67.6 47.3 60.3 66.1 65.9 57.2 66.1

Women 62.6 60.3 71.2 52.0 67.7 66.7 66.1 61.6 67.3

See notes at end of table.
18

Table 7. Graduation rates at Title IV institutions, by race/ethnicity, level and control of institution, gender, 

degree sought, and degree completed at the institution where the students started as full-time, 

first-time students: United States, cohort years 2004 and 2007—Continued

Level and control of institution, 

gender, degree sought, and 

degree completed

Overall

(%) 

American 

Indian or 

Alaska 

Native 

(%) 

Asian,

Native 

Hawaiian 

or Other

Pacific 

Islander

(%)

Black or 

African 

American 

(%)

Hispanic 

or Latino 

(%)

White 

(%)

Two or 

more

 races1

(%)

Race/

ethnicity

unknown 

(%) 

Nonresident

alien 

(%) 

Less-than-2-year institutions 

(cohort year 2007) 66.9 — — — — — — — —

Public 70.3 — — — — — — — —

Private nonprofit 75.3 — — — — — — — —

Private for-profit 66.0 — — — — — — — —

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

Two or more races was an optional reporting category in IPEDS 2010-11, and a total of 504 institutions reported graduation rates using 

this option. The figures reported here should not be considered representative of all individuals who could be classified into Two or more 

races. 2

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: Title IV institutions are those with 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. 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 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 2011, Graduation Rates component.
19

Table 8. Graduation rates of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

students at the Title IV 4-year 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 2004

Gender and time to degree

Overall

(%)

Public 

(%)

Private 

nonprofit

(%)

Private 

for-profit 

(%)

All students

4 years 37.9 31.3 52.4 20.4

5 years 53.9 50.6 62.9 25.8

6 years 58.3 56.0 65.4 28.4

Men

4 years 32.9 26.1 47.7 23.3

5 years 50.5 46.8 60.0 27.6

6 years 55.5 53.0 63.0 30.2

Women

4 years 42.1 35.7 56.2 17.7

5 years 56.8 53.7 65.2 24.1

6years 60.6 58.5 67.3 26.8

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. 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 number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time degree- or certificateseeking undergraduates in the cohort 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 2011, Graduation Rates component.
Table 9. Number and percentage of students in the full-time, first-time student cohort, bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort, and other than 

bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort at Title IV 4-year degree-granting institutions, by cohort year, control of institution, and 

institutional category: United States, cohort years 1998, 2001, and 2004

Control of institution and 

institutional category

Cohort year 19981 Cohort year 20012 Cohort year 2004

Total cohort

Bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort

Other than 

bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort Total cohort

Bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort

Other than 

bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort Total cohort

Bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort

Other than 

bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Public 758,902 100.0 714,986 94.2 43,916 5.8 838,752 100.0 779,950 93.0 58,802 7.0 913,084 100.0 831,125 91.0 81,959 9.0

Degree-granting, 

graduate with no 

undergraduate 

degrees † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †

Degree-granting, 

primarily 

baccalaureate or 

above 728,664 100.0 711,081 97.6 17,583 2.4 794,549 100.0 774,566 97.5 19,983 2.5 845,592 100.0 822,274 97.2 23,318 2.8

Degree-granting, not 

primarily 

baccalaureate or 

above 30,238 100.0 3,905 12.9 26,333 87.1 41,830 100.0 5,384 12.9 36,446 87.1 65,137 100.0 8,851 13.6 56,286 86.4

Degree-granting, 

associate's and 

certificates † † † † † † 2,373 100.0 † † 2,373 100.0 2,355 100.0 † † 2,355 100.0

Private nonprofit 403,170 100.0 378,912 94.0 24,258 6.0 422,873 100.0 399,806 94.5 23,067 5.5 452,737 100.0 425,797 94.0 26,940 6.0

Degree-granting, 

graduate with no 

undergraduate 

degrees 146 100.0 86 58.9 60 41.1 15 100.0 † † 15 100.0 15 100.0 9 60.0 6 40.0

Degree-granting, 

primarily 

baccalaureate or 

above 384,930 100.0 374,689 97.3 10,241 2.7 407,966 100.0 396,577 97.2 11,389 2.8 434,035 100.0 422,168 97.3 11,867 2.7

Degree-granting, not 

primarily 

baccalaureate or 

above 18,094 100.0 4,137 22.9 13,957 77.1 14,892 100.0 3,229 21.7 11,663 78.3 18,687 100.0 3,620 19.4 15,067 80.6

Degree-granting, 

associate's and 

certificates † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †

See notes at end of table.
Table 9. Number and percentage of students in the full-time, first-time student cohort, bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort, and other than 

bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort at Title IV 4-year degree-granting institutions, by cohort year, control of institution, and 

institutional category: United States, cohort years 1998, 2001, and 2004—Continued

Control of institution and 

institutional category

Cohort year 19981 Cohort year 20012 Cohort year 2004

Total cohort

Bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort

Other than 

bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort Total cohort

Bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort

Other than 

bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort Total cohort

Bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort

Other than 

bachelor’s or 

equivalent 

degree-seeking 

subcohort

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Private for-profit 61,885 100.0 17,265 27.9 44,620 72.1 83,493 100.0 30,952 37.1 52,541 62.9 129,426 100.0 37,124 28.7 92,302 71.3

Degree-granting, 

graduate with no 

undergraduate 

degrees 44 100.0 † † 44 100.0 † † † † † † † † † † † †

Degree-granting, 

primarily 

baccalaureate or 

above 19,968 100.0 14,152 70.9 5,816 29.1 35,546 100.0 25,773 72.5 9,773 27.5 72,782 100.0 31,618 43.4 41,164 56.6

Degree-granting, not 

primarily 

baccalaureate or 

above 41,873 100.0 3,113 7.4 38,760 92.6 47,455 100.0 5,179 10.9 42,276 89.1 56,612 100.0 5,506 9.7 51,106 90.3

Degree-granting, 

associate's and 

certificates † † † † † † 492 100.0 † † 492 100.0 32 100.0 † † 32 100.0

† Not applicable.

1

Prior to 2010-11, Title IV not primarily postsecondary institutions were not required to respond to the IPEDS survey. No such institutions in 2004-05 met the criteria to be included in this table. 2

Prior to 2010-11, Title IV not primarily postsecondary institutions were not required to respond to the IPEDS survey. No such institutions in 2007-08 met the criteria to be included in this table.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. 

Cohort year 1998 data were collected during the spring 2005 data collection. Cohort year 2001 data were collected during the spring 2008 data collection. Cohort year 2004 data were collected during 

the spring 2011 data collection. Primarily baccalaureate refers to institutions where the total number of degrees/certificates awarded at or above the bachelor's level is more than 50 percent of the total 

number of degrees/certificates awarded. Associate’s and certificates refers to institutions with an associate’s degree as the only degree offering that may also offer postsecondary certificates of any

level. Percentages in the rows of this table use the count in the appropriate total column of each section as the denominator. Details may not sum to total because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2005, 2008, and 2011, Graduation Rates 

component.
22

Table 10. Graduation rates of students at the Title IV institution where the students

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

sought, level of institution, degree completed, and time to degree: 

United States, cohort years 2002 and 2006

Degree sought, level of institution, degree 

completed, and time to degree

Overall

(%) 

Public

(%)

Private 

nonprofit

(%)

Private

for-profit

(%)

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seekers 

attending 4-year institutions and 

completing bachelor’s or equivalent 

degree (cohort year 2002)

Within 100% of normal program 

completion time 36.8 30.1 51.8 15.1

Within 150% of normal program 

completion time 57.7 55.3 65.2 24.3

Within 200% of normal program 

completion time 60.3 58.6 66.6 26.1

Degree- or certificate-seekers attending 

2-year institutions and completing a 

degree or certificate (cohort year 2006) 

Within 100% of normal program 

completion time 22.5 13.1 46.0 47.0

Within 150% of normal program 

completion time 32.9 22.1 54.4 61.4

Within 200% of normal program 

completion time 37.4 27.6 57.9 63.0

Certificate-seekers attending less-than2-year institutions and completing a 

certificate (cohort year 2006)

Within 100% of normal program 

completion time 44.7 45.9 65.4 43.5

Within 150% of normal program 

completion time 67.3 67.0 76.2 66.9

Within 200% of normal program 

completion time 69.5 71.9 77.8 68.8

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. 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 specified 

time to degree divided by the revised cohort minus any allowable exclusions. The revised cohort is the 

number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking 

undergraduates in the cohort 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 2011, Graduation Rates 200 component.
23

Table 11. Number of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates enrolled and 

number and percentage of those receiving financial aid at Title IV institutions, by sector of 

institution: United States, academic years 2008-09 and 2009-10

Sector of institution

Academic year 2008-091,2 Academic year 2009-103

Number 

enrolled

Number of 

financial aid 

recipients

Percent 

receiving 

financial aid

Number 

enrolled

Number of 

financial aid 

recipients

Percent 

receiving 

financial aid

Total students 3,098,761 2,435,189 78.6 3,325,264 2,713,765 81.6

Public 4-year 1,007,609 792,028 78.6 1,021,259 832,561 81.5

Public 2-year 725,718 474,991 65.5 819,966 576,339 70.3

Public less-than-2-year 30,398 17,684 58.2 31,567 19,147 60.7

Private nonprofit 4-year 487,079 424,892 87.2 491,157 436,305 88.8

Private nonprofit 2-year 12,249 10,566 86.3 12,676 11,238 88.7

Private nonprofit less-than-2-year 11,307 9,473 83.8 11,731 10,895 92.9

Private for-profit 4-year 258,498 221,487 85.7 243,429 223,526 91.8

Private for-profit 2-year 274,855 234,264 85.2 390,024 343,163 88.0

Private for-profit less-than-2-year 291,048 249,804 85.8 303,455 260,591 85.9 1

The numbers shown reflect the 6,146 institutions that reported having financial aid recipients in academic year 2008-09. 2

Prior to 2010-11, Title IV not primarily postsecondary institutions were not required to respond to the IPEDS survey; however, 23 

out of 43 such institutions meeting the criteria to be included in this table responded voluntarily to the spring 2010 Student Financial 

Aid component. Data for the nonresponding institutions were not imputed, and the 20 nonresponding institutions represent 0.3

percent of the total institutions included in this table. 3

The numbers shown reflect the 6,406 institutions that reported having financial aid recipients in academic year 2009-10.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. Percentages in the rows of this table use the 

corresponding count in the appropriate number enrolled column of each section as the denominator.

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2010 and Spring 2011, Student Financial Aid component.
24

Table 12. Number of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, number and percentage 

of 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 2009-10

Type of aid

Total 

students

Public Private nonprofit Private for-profit

4-year 2-year

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

Full-time, first-time 

undergraduates 3,325,264 1,021,259 819,966 31,567 491,157 12,676 11,731 243,429 390,024 303,455

Number receiving

Any financial aid 2,713,765 832,561 576,339 19,147 436,305 11,238 10,895 223,526 343,163 260,591

Federal grants 1,636,916 351,237 408,767 13,828 158,806 8,377 9,842 183,220 281,644 221,195

Pell grants 1,597,705 341,638 399,431 12,813 151,236 8,258 8,020 179,713 277,632 218,964

Other federal 

grants 648,247 239,552 102,734 2,360 118,107 2,200 3,031 37,996 92,814 49,453

State/local grants 848,690 381,542 272,802 4,895 136,255 3,788 1,929 16,020 21,372 10,087

Institutional grants 972,136 396,389 79,914 1,518 387,821 4,798 597 57,320 32,133 11,646

Loans to students1 1,758,375 510,992 187,630 7,643 309,399 6,935 4,986 209,656 302,924 218,210

Federal loans 1,731,731 501,953 186,162 7,437 304,387 6,849 4,974 208,623 297,617 213,729

Other loans 176,306 46,278 3,846 219 42,192 278 36 17,311 39,479 26,667

Percent receiving

Any financial aid 81.6 81.5 70.3 60.7 88.8 88.7 92.9 91.8 88.0 85.9

Federal grants 49.2 34.4 49.9 43.8 32.3 66.1 83.9 75.3 72.2 72.9

Pell grants 48.0 33.5 48.7 40.6 30.8 65.1 68.4 73.8 71.2 72.2

Other federal 

grants 19.5 23.5 12.5 7.5 24.0 17.4 25.8 15.6 23.8 16.3

State/local grants 25.5 37.4 33.3 15.5 27.7 29.9 16.4 6.6 5.5 3.3

Institutional grants 29.2 38.8 9.7 4.8 79.0 37.9 5.1 23.5 8.2 3.8

Loans to students1 52.9 50.0 22.9 24.2 63.0 54.7 42.5 86.1 77.7 71.9

Federal loans 52.1 49.2 22.7 23.6 62.0 54.0 42.4 85.7 76.3 70.4

Other loans 5.3 4.5 0.5 0.7 8.6 2.2 0.3 7.1 10.1 8.8

Average amount2

Federal grants $4,588 $4,965 $4,387 $3,967 $5,099 $4,299 $3,720 $4,547 $4,524 $4,197

Pell grants 4,254 4,338 4,281 3,749 4,043 4,090 3,667 4,322 4,319 4,139

Other federal grants 1,101 1,093 810 2,890 1,680 1,018 2,377 1,484 810 448

State/local grants 2,752 3,300 1,456 2,949 3,658 3,076 3,498 2,715 3,528 2,942

Institutional grants 7,529 4,339 1,625 894 13,733 4,608 2,394 1,311 1,023 931

Loans to students1 7,062 6,063 4,627 6,245 7,466 6,126 5,825 9,641 8,139 7,037

Federal loans 6,456 5,434 4,571 6,272 6,129 5,917 5,752 9,074 7,666 6,767

Other loans 7,018 8,011 4,474 4,983 10,534 7,063 12,020 7,408 4,659 3,349 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

Average grants (or loans) were calculated by dividing the total amount of grants (or loans) awarded by the total number of recipients of 

grants (or loans).

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. The numbers shown reflect the 6,406 institutions that reported the number of 

recipients by types of financial aid and the average amounts received. Percentages in the columns of this table use the corresponding count 

in the full-time, first-time undergraduates row as the denominator. Detail may not sum to total because students with more than one source 

of financial aid were counted for each type of aid they received but were included only once in the total count.

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

(IPEDS), Spring 2011, Student Financial Aid component.
25

Table 13. Average academic year price of attendance before aid, average grant/scholarship aid, and net price 

of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate students at Title IV institutions, by control of 

institution, level of institution, type of aid received, and family income level: United States, academic 

year 2009-10

Level of institution, type of aid 

received, and family income level1

Public2 Private nonprofit3 Private for-profit3

Average 

price 

before aid

Average 

grant/

scholarship 

aid Net price

Average 

price 

before aid

Average 

grant/

scholarship 

aid Net price

Average 

price 

before aid

Average 

grant/

scholarship 

aid Net price

4-year

Students receiving any grant aid $16,873 $6,698 $10,175 $32,689 $16,027 $16,662 $27,937 $4,167 $23,771

Students receiving Title IV aid

All family income levels 16,897 5,962 10,935 32,705 15,291 17,415 27,812 3,566 24,246

$0-30,000 16,897 9,063 7,834 32,705 17,144 15,561 27,812 3,935 23,877

$30,001-48,000 16,897 8,270 8,627 32,705 18,374 14,331 27,812 3,523 24,289

$48,001-75,000 16,897 4,881 12,016 32,705 16,422 16,283 27,812 1,893 25,919

$75,001-110,000 16,897 2,295 14,601 32,705 14,354 18,351 27,812 1,031 26,781

$110,001 and more 16,897 1,677 15,220 32,705 11,405 21,300 27,812 901 26,911

2-year

Students receiving any grant aid 11,018 4,478 6,540 21,680 7,534 14,146 24,315 4,246 20,069

Students receiving Title IV aid

All family income levels 11,077 4,507 6,570 21,708 6,693 15,015 24,263 3,719 20,545

$0-30,000 11,077 5,389 5,688 21,708 7,254 14,454 24,263 4,005 20,259

$30,001-48,000 11,077 4,480 6,597 21,708 6,880 14,827 24,263 3,907 20,356

$48,001-75,000 11,077 2,246 8,831 21,708 5,371 16,336 24,263 2,102 22,161

$75,001-110,000 11,077 701 10,376 21,708 4,535 17,172 24,263 741 23,523

$110,001 and more 11,077 471 10,607 21,708 5,845 15,862 24,263 356 23,907

Less-than-2-year

Students receiving any grant aid 13,130 4,025 9,105 18,674 4,998 13,676 22,357 3,599 18,758

Students receiving Title IV aid

All family income levels 13,115 4,204 8,911 18,507 4,739 13,768 22,399 3,040 19,359

$0-30,000 13,115 4,381 8,734 18,507 5,753 12,754 22,399 3,491 18,908

$30,001-48,000 13,115 3,830 9,284 18,507 3,512 14,995 22,399 2,718 19,681

$48,001-75,000 13,115 3,777 9,338 18,507 3,644 14,863 22,399 1,593 20,806

$75,001-110,000 13,115 2,541 10,574 18,507 2,484 16,023 22,399 552 21,847

$110,001 and more 13,115 4,321 8,794 18,507 1,571 16,935 22,399 196 22,203 1

Students are classified into a family income category by the institution they attend based on the income used by the institution’s financial aid 

office to calculate the student’s expected family contribution. 2

Average price before aid, average grant/scholarship aid, and net price for public institutions is displayed for students paying in-state tuition. 3

Average price before aid, average grant/scholarship aid, and net price for private nonprofit and private for-profit institutions is displayed for all 

students.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. The net price of attendance is the price actually charged to first-time, full-time 

undergraduate students receiving financial aid at an institution after deducting federal, state/local government, and institutional grant and 

scholarship aid. Because not all institutions have students at each income level, for the purposes of this table the net price is calculated as the 

average price before aid minus the average grant/scholarship aid. Average price before aid is calculated using the tuition and required fees, 

books and supplies, room and board, and other expenses data from the Institutional Characteristics component. A weighted average of oncampus; off-campus, not with family; and off-campus, with family room and board and other expenses values was used to calculate a single 

average price before aid instead of individual prices by living arrangement. The factors used to generate this weighted average were reported 

in the Student Financial Aid component separately for the group of students receiving any grant aid and the group of students receiving Title IV 

aid. Hence the resulting average price before aid values may differ between the groups. Some 254 institutions reported grant/scholarship aid 

for a 12-month period, but reported data on the price before aid based on an academic year (9 months). The reported grant/scholarship aid 

amounts for these institutions were multiplied by 0.75 to align with the 9-month academic year period used to report the price before aid.

Institutions with academic calendars that differ by program or allow continuous enrollment are not included. 

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

Fall 2010, Institutional Characteristics component and Spring 2011, Student Financial Aid component.
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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 2011 

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

Participation Agreement (PPA) 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 7,259 Title IV institutions and administrative offices1 located in the 

United States and the other jurisdictions of the United States2

The spring 2011 collection was entirely web-based. Institutions in the universe were asked to 

enter their survey responses using the IPEDS data collection website. The spring 2011 IPEDS 

data were collected between December 8, 2010, and April 27, 2011. The collection had five 

components: Enrollment, Finance, Graduation Rates (GRS), Graduation Rates 200 (GR200), and 

Student Financial Aid (SFA). 

 in the 2010-11 academic year.

Universe, Institutions Surveyed, and Response Rates

The IPEDS universe is established during the fall collection period. For the 2010-11 cycle, 60 

postsecondary institutions and two administrative offices included in prior IPEDS data 

collections were declared to be outside the scope of IPEDS because they were closed, were 

merged with another institution, or no longer offered postsecondary programs. Another 258 

postsecondary institutions were reported exclusively by a parent institution.3

 In addition, 345 

postsecondary institutions were added to the universe. Four of the U.S. service academies are 

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

 

1 Includes 7,178 institutions and 81 administrative (central or system) offices. The central and system offices are 

required to complete the Institutional Characteristics component in the fall, the Employees by Assigned Position

(EAP) and Fall Staff sections of the Human Resources (HR) component in the winter, and the Finance component in 

the spring (if they have their own separate budget).

These institutions were 

identified from several sources, including a universe review by state or jurisdiction coordinators, 

a review of the data file maintained by OPE, and information provided by the institutions 

themselves. After identification of all of the appropriate institutions, the 2010-11 IPEDS universe 

consisted of 7,259 postsecondary entities. Although they are part of the 2010-11 IPEDS universe, 

five institutions and one administrative office that closed during the 2010-11 academic year were 

2 The other U.S. jurisdictions include American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall 

Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 3 A parent institution reports data for another institution, known as the child institution. 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.
A-2 

not eligible to complete any of the components collected during the spring 2011 collection, 

leaving 7,253 postsecondary entities eligible for the spring 2011 components of IPEDS. 

The initial set of 7,259 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 

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)). 

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 7,253 Title IV postsecondary entities eligible for the spring data collection were required 

to participate in all components. The SFA component is applicable only to those institutions that 

have full-time undergraduate students. The GRS component is applicable to institutions that had 

full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in the reference years 

(2004 for 4-year institutions and 2007 for less-than-4-year institutions.) The Finance component 

applies to all institutions and administrative (central or system) offices. See the Survey 

Components section of this appendix 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 U.S. jurisdictions for each of the five 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 2011 IPEDS collection were high. The response rate for each 

component was 99.9 percent. 

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 U.S. jurisdictions). 

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

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

bias for all institutions (including those in other U.S. jurisdictions) be analyzed for sectors for 

which the response rate is less than 85 percent. As shown in table A-1, no sectors required this 

analysis.

 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 U.S. jurisdictions). Part B, enrollment by 

age of student, is not included because Part B was optional this year.

 

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. Number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices in the universe and number and 

percentage of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 

2011 data collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and control of 

institution/office: United States and other U.S. jurisdictions

Degree-granting status and 

level and control of 

institution/office

Enrollment Student Financial Aid

Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 7,171 7,165 99.9 6,807 6,797 99.9

Public 2,043 2,042 100.0 2,023 2,021 99.9

Private nonprofit 1,867 1,865 99.9 1,612 1,610 99.9

Private for-profit 3,261 3,258 99.9 3,172 3,166 99.8

4-year 2,948 2,948 100.0 2,614 2,614 100.0

Public 696 696 100.0 676 676 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,597 1,597 100.0 1,343 1,343 100.0

Private for-profit 655 655 100.0 595 595 100.0

2-year 2,299 2,297 99.9 2,285 2,282 99.9

Public 1,093 1,093 100.0 1,093 1,093 100.0

Private nonprofit 177 176 99.4 176 175 99.4

Private for-profit 1,029 1,028 99.9 1,016 1,014 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,924 1,920 99.8 1,908 1,901 99.6

Public 254 253 99.6 254 252 99.2

Private nonprofit 93 92 98.9 93 92 98.9

Private for-profit 1,577 1,575 99.9 1,561 1,557 99.7

Degree-granting 4,685 4,685 100.0 4,352 4,352 100.0

4-year 2,933 2,933 100.0 2,611 2,611 100.0

Public 695 695 100.0 676 676 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,584 1,584 100.0 1,340 1,340 100.0

Private for-profit 654 654 100.0 595 595 100.0

2-year 1,752 1,752 100.0 1,741 1,741 100.0

Public 987 987 100.0 987 987 100.0

Private nonprofit 91 91 100.0 91 91 100.0

Private for-profit 674 674 100.0 663 663 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,486 2,480 99.8 2,455 2,445 99.6

4-year 15 15 100.0 3 3 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private nonprofit 13 13 100.0 3 3 100.0

Private for-profit 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

2-year 547 545 99.6 544 541 99.4

Public 106 106 100.0 106 106 100.0

Private nonprofit 86 85 98.8 85 84 98.8

Private for-profit 355 354 99.7 353 351 99.4

Less-than-2-year 1,924 1,920 99.8 1,908 1,901 99.6

Public 254 253 99.6 254 252 99.2

Private nonprofit 93 92 98.9 93 92 98.9

Private for-profit 1,577 1,575 99.9 1,561 1,557 99.7

See notes at end of table.
A-4 

Table A-1. Number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices in the universe and number and 

percentage of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 

2011 data collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and control of 

institution/office: United States and other U.S. jurisdictions—Continued

Degree-granting status and 

level and control of 

institution/office

Finance Graduation Rates

Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 7,239 7,228 99.8 6,182 6,172 99.8

Public 2,112 2,110 99.9 1,964 1,963 99.9

Private nonprofit 1,871 1,869 99.9 1,468 1,467 99.9

Private for-profit 3,256 3,249 99.8 2,750 2,742 99.7

4-year 2,993 2,993 100.0 2,325 2,325 100.0

Public 735 735 100.0 642 642 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,601 1,601 100.0 1,242 1,242 100.0

Private for-profit 657 657 100.0 441 441 100.0

2-year 2,328 2,325 99.9 2,173 2,169 99.8

Public 1,123 1,123 100.0 1,090 1,090 100.0

Private nonprofit 177 176 99.4 147 146 99.3

Private for-profit 1,028 1,026 99.8 936 933 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,918 1,910 99.6 1,684 1,678 99.6

Public 254 252 99.2 232 231 99.6

Private nonprofit 93 92 98.9 79 79 100.0

Private for-profit 1,571 1,566 99.7 1,373 1,368 99.6

Degree-granting 4,759 4,758 100.0 3,999 3,999 100.0

4-year 2,978 2,978 100.0 2,323 2,323 100.0

Public 734 734 100.0 642 642 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,588 1,588 100.0 1,240 1,240 100.0

Private for-profit 656 656 100.0 441 441 100.0

2-year 1,781 1,780 99.9 1,676 1,676 100.0

Public 1,017 1,017 100.0 985 985 100.0

Private nonprofit 91 91 100.0 86 86 100.0

Private for-profit 673 672 99.9 605 605 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,480 2,470 99.6 2,183 2,173 99.5

4-year 15 15 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private nonprofit 13 13 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

2-year 547 545 99.6 497 493 99.2

Public 106 106 100.0 105 105 100.0

Private nonprofit 86 85 98.8 61 60 98.4

Private for-profit 355 354 99.7 331 328 99.1

Less-than-2-year 1,918 1,910 99.6 1,684 1,678 99.6

Public 254 252 99.2 232 231 99.6

Private nonprofit 93 92 98.9 79 79 100.0

Private for-profit 1,571 1,566 99.7 1,373 1,368 99.6

See notes at end of table.
A-5 

Table A-1. Number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices in the universe and number and 

percentage of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 

2011 data collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and control of 

institution/office: United States and other U.S. jurisdictions—Continued

Degree-granting status and 

level and control of 

institution/office

Graduation Rates 200

Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 5,700 5,696 99.9

Public 1,876 1,875 99.9

Private nonprofit 1,415 1,414 99.9

Private for-profit 2,409 2,407 99.9

4-year 1,990 1,990 100.0

Public 577 577 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,190 1,190 100.0

Private for-profit 223 223 100.0

2-year 2,133 2,130 99.9

Public 1,085 1,085 100.0

Private nonprofit 147 146 99.3

Private for-profit 901 899 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,577 1,576 99.9

Public 214 213 99.5

Private nonprofit 78 78 100.0

Private for-profit 1,285 1,285 100.0

Degree-granting 3,645 3,645 100.0

4-year 1,990 1,990 100.0

Public 577 577 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,190 1,190 100.0

Private for-profit 223 223 100.0

2-year 1,655 1,655 100.0

Public 984 984 100.0

Private nonprofit 85 85 100.0

Private for-profit 586 586 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,055 2,051 99.8

4-year 0 0 †

Public 0 0 †

Private nonprofit 0 0 †

Private for-profit 0 0 † 

2-year 478 475 99.4

Public 101 101 100.0

Private nonprofit 62 61 98.4

Private for-profit 315 313 99.4

Less-than-2-year 1,577 1,576 99.9

Public 214 213 99.5

Private nonprofit 78 78 100.0

Private for-profit 1,285 1,285 100.0

† Not applicable.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. 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, Graduation Rates 200, or Student Financial 

Aid components. Data were imputed for all unit nonrespondents. In addition, data were imputed for institutions that did not respond 

to all parts of the Enrollment component (partial nonrespondents). The other U.S. jurisdictions include American Samoa, the 

Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 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 2011, Enrollment, Student Financial Aid, Finance, Graduation Rates, and Graduation Rates 200 

components.
A-6 

Table A-1a. Number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices in the universe and number and 

percentage of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 

2011 data collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and control of 

institution/office: United States 

Degree-granting status and 

level and control of 

institution/office

Enrollment Student Financial Aid

Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 7,014 7,009 99.9 6,657 6,648 99.9

Public 2,015 2,015 100.0 1,995 1,994 99.9

Private nonprofit 1,810 1,808 99.9 1,561 1,559 99.9

Private for-profit 3,189 3,186 99.9 3,101 3,095 99.8

4-year 2,882 2,882 100.0 2,554 2,554 100.0

Public 679 679 100.0 659 659 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,555 1,555 100.0 1,307 1,307 100.0

Private for-profit 648 648 100.0 588 588 100.0

2-year 2,273 2,271 99.9 2,259 2,256 99.9

Public 1,083 1,083 100.0 1,083 1,083 100.0

Private nonprofit 173 172 99.4 172 171 99.4

Private for-profit 1,017 1,016 99.9 1,004 1,002 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,859 1,856 99.8 1,844 1,838 99.7

Public 253 253 100.0 253 252 99.6

Private nonprofit 82 81 98.8 82 81 98.8

Private for-profit 1,524 1,522 99.9 1,509 1,505 99.7

Degree-granting 4,596 4,596 100.0 4,269 4,269 100.0

4-year 2,867 2,867 100.0 2,551 2,551 100.0

Public 678 678 100.0 659 659 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,542 1,542 100.0 1,304 1,304 100.0

Private for-profit 647 647 100.0 588 588 100.0

2-year 1,729 1,729 100.0 1,718 1,718 100.0

Public 978 978 100.0 978 978 100.0

Private nonprofit 87 87 100.0 87 87 100.0

Private for-profit 664 664 100.0 653 653 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,418 2,413 99.8 2,388 2,379 99.6

4-year 15 15 100.0 3 3 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private nonprofit 13 13 100.0 3 3 100.0

Private for-profit 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

2-year 544 542 99.6 541 538 99.4

Public 105 105 100.0 105 105 100.0

Private nonprofit 86 85 98.8 85 84 98.8

Private for-profit 353 352 99.7 351 349 99.4

Less-than-2-year 1,859 1,856 99.8 1,844 1,838 99.7

Public 253 253 100.0 253 252 99.6

Private nonprofit 82 81 98.8 82 81 98.8

Private for-profit 1,524 1,522 99.9 1,509 1,505 99.7

See notes at end of table.
A-7 

Table A-1a. Number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices in the universe and number and 

percentage of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 

2011 data collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and control of 

institution/office: United States—Continued

Degree-granting status and 

level and control of 

institution/office

Finance Graduation Rates

Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 7,080 7,070 99.9 6,038 6,029 99.9

Public 2,083 2,082 100.0 1,937 1,937 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,812 1,810 99.9 1,419 1,418 99.9

Private for-profit 3,185 3,178 99.8 2,682 2,674 99.7

4-year 2,924 2,924 100.0 2,268 2,268 100.0

Public 717 717 100.0 626 626 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,557 1,557 100.0 1,207 1,207 100.0

Private for-profit 650 650 100.0 435 435 100.0

2-year 2,302 2,299 99.9 2,147 2,143 99.8

Public 1,113 1,113 100.0 1,080 1,080 100.0

Private nonprofit 173 172 99.4 143 142 99.3

Private for-profit 1,016 1,014 99.8 924 921 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,854 1,847 99.6 1,623 1,618 99.7

Public 253 252 99.6 231 231 100.0

Private nonprofit 82 81 98.8 69 69 100.0

Private for-profit 1,519 1,514 99.7 1,323 1,318 99.6

Degree-granting 4,667 4,666 100.0 3,919 3,919 100.0

4-year 2,909 2,909 100.0 2,266 2,266 100.0

Public 716 716 100.0 626 626 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,544 1,544 100.0 1,205 1,205 100.0

Private for-profit 649 649 100.0 435 435 100.0

2-year 1,758 1,757 99.9 1,653 1,653 100.0

Public 1,008 1,008 100.0 976 976 100.0

Private nonprofit 87 87 100.0 82 82 100.0

Private for-profit 663 662 99.8 595 595 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,413 2,404 99.6 2,119 2,110 99.6

4-year 15 15 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private nonprofit 13 13 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

2-year 544 542 99.6 494 490 99.2

Public 105 105 100.0 104 104 100.0

Private nonprofit 86 85 98.8 61 60 98.4

Private for-profit 353 352 99.7 329 326 99.1

Less-than-2-year 1,854 1,847 99.6 1,623 1,618 99.7

Public 253 252 99.6 231 231 100.0

Private nonprofit 82 81 98.8 69 69 100.0

Private for-profit 1,519 1,514 99.7 1,323 1,318 99.6

See notes at end of table.
A-8 

Table A-1a. Number of Title IV institutions and administrative offices in the universe and number and 

percentage of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 

2011 data collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and control of 

institution/office: United States—Continued

Degree-granting status and 

level and control of 

institution/office

Graduation Rates 200

Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 5,563 5,560 99.9

Public 1,850 1,850 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,369 1,368 99.9

Private for-profit 2,344 2,342 99.9

4-year 1,940 1,940 100.0

Public 562 562 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,158 1,158 100.0

Private for-profit 220 220 100.0

2-year 2,107 2,104 99.9

Public 1,075 1,075 100.0

Private nonprofit 143 142 99.3

Private for-profit 889 887 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,516 1,516 100.0

Public 213 213 100.0

Private nonprofit 68 68 100.0

Private for-profit 1,235 1,235 100.0

Degree-granting 3,572 3,572 100.0

4-year 1,940 1,940 100.0

Public 562 562 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,158 1,158 100.0

Private for-profit 220 220 100.0

2-year 1,632 1,632 100.0

Public 975 975 100.0

Private nonprofit 81 81 100.0

Private for-profit 576 576 100.0

Non-degree-granting 1,991 1,988 99.8

4-year 0 0 †

Public 0 0 †

Private nonprofit 0 0 †

Private for-profit 0 0 †

2-year 475 472 99.4

Public 100 100 100.0

Private nonprofit 62 61 98.4

Private for-profit 313 311 99.4

Less-than-2-year 1,516 1,516 100.0

Public 213 213 100.0

Private nonprofit 68 68 100.0

Private for-profit 1,235 1,235 100.0

† Not applicable.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. 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, Graduation Rates 200, or Student Financial 

Aid components. Data were imputed for all unit 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 2011, Enrollment, Student Financial Aid, Finance, Graduation Rates, and Graduation Rates 200 

components.
A-9 

Table A-2. Number of Title IV institutions in the universe and number and percentage of Title IV 

institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2011 Enrollment component, by selected part, 

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

jurisdictions

Degree-granting status and 

level and control of institution

Part A, summary enrollment Part C, residence and migration

Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe

Number

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 7,171 7,165 99.9 6,678 6,673 99.9

Public 2,043 2,042 100.0 1,987 1,986 99.9

Private nonprofit 1,867 1,865 99.9 1,492 1,491 99.9

Private for-profit 3,261 3,258 99.9 3,199 3,196 99.9

4-year 2,948 2,948 100.0 2,542 2,542 100.0

Public 696 696 100.0 652 652 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,597 1,597 100.0 1,271 1,271 100.0

Private for-profit 655 655 100.0 619 619 100.0

2-year 2,299 2,297 99.9 2,239 2,238 100.0

Public 1,093 1,093 100.0 1,090 1,090 100.0

Private nonprofit 177 176 99.4 137 137 100.0

Private for-profit 1,029 1,028 99.9 1,012 1,011 99.9

Less-than-2-year 1,924 1,920 99.8 1,897 1,893 99.8

Public 254 253 99.6 245 244 99.6

Private nonprofit 93 92 98.9 84 83 98.8

Private for-profit 1,577 1,575 99.9 1,568 1,566 99.9

Degree-granting 4,685 4,685 100.0 4,279 4,279 100.0

4-year 2,933 2,933 100.0 2,540 2,540 100.0

Public 695 695 100.0 652 652 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,584 1,584 100.0 1,269 1,269 100.0

Private for-profit 654 654 100.0 619 619 100.0

2-year 1,752 1,752 100.0 1,739 1,739 100.0

Public 987 987 100.0 986 986 100.0

Private nonprofit 91 91 100.0 86 86 100.0

Private for-profit 674 674 100.0 667 667 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,486 2,480 99.8 2,399 2,394 99.8

4-year 15 15 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private nonprofit 13 13 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

2-year 547 545 99.6 500 499 99.8

Public 106 106 100.0 104 104 100.0

Private nonprofit 86 85 98.8 51 51 100.0

Private for-profit 355 354 99.7 345 344 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,924 1,920 99.8 1,897 1,893 99.8

Public 254 253 99.6 245 244 99.6

Private nonprofit 93 92 98.9 84 83 98.8

Private for-profit 1,577 1,575 99.9 1,568 1,566 99.9

See notes at end of table.
A-10

Table A-2. Number of Title IV institutions in the universe and number and percentage of Title IV 

institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2011 Enrollment component, by selected part, 

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

jurisdictions—Continued

Degree-granting status and 

level and control of institution

Part D, total entering class1 Part E, retention rates2

Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 3,713 3,713 100.0 6,501 6,498 100.0

Public 1,631 1,631 100.0 1,988 1,987 99.9

Private nonprofit 1,327 1,327 100.0 1,495 1,495 100.0

Private for-profit 755 755 100.0 3,018 3,016 99.9

4-year 2,370 2,370 100.0 2,557 2,557 100.0

Public 651 651 100.0 653 653 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,253 1,253 100.0 1,285 1,285 100.0

Private for-profit 466 466 100.0 619 619 100.0

2-year 1,343 1,343 100.0 2,251 2,250 100.0

Public 980 980 100.0 1,091 1,091 100.0

Private nonprofit 74 74 100.0 140 140 100.0

Private for-profit 289 289 100.0 1,020 1,019 99.9

Less-than-2-year 0 0 † 1,693 1,691 99.9

Public 0 0 † 244 243 99.6

Private nonprofit 0 0 † 70 70 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 1,379 1,378 99.9

Degree-granting 3,713 3,713 100.0 4,299 4,299 100.0

4-year 2,370 2,370 100.0 2,555 2,555 100.0

Public 651 651 100.0 653 653 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,253 1,253 100.0 1,283 1,283 100.0

Private for-profit 466 466 100.0 619 619 100.0

2-year 1,343 1,343 100.0 1,744 1,744 100.0

Public 980 980 100.0 986 986 100.0

Private nonprofit 74 74 100.0 87 87 100.0

Private for-profit 289 289 100.0 671 671 100.0

Non-degree-granting 0 0 † 2,202 2,199 99.9

4-year 0 0 † 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private nonprofit 0 0 † 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 0 0 † 507 506 99.8

Public 0 0 † 105 105 100.0

Private nonprofit 0 0 † 53 53 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 349 348 99.7

Less-than-2-year 0 0 † 1,693 1,691 99.9

Public 0 0 † 244 243 99.6

Private nonprofit 0 0 † 70 70 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 1,379 1,378 99.9

† 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: Part B of the Enrollment component was optional during the spring 2011 collection and is not included in this table. The other 

U.S. jurisdictions include American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Commonwealth of 

the Northern Mariana Islands, 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 2011, Enrollment component.
A-11

Table A-2a. Number of Title IV institutions in the universe and number and percentage of Title IV 

institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2011 Enrollment component, by selected part, 

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

Degree-granting status and 

level and control of institution

Part A, summary enrollment Part C, residence and migration

Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 7,014 7,009 99.9 6,529 6,525 99.9

Public 2,015 2,015 100.0 1,960 1,960 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,810 1,808 99.9 1,442 1,441 99.9

Private for-profit 3,189 3,186 99.9 3,127 3,124 99.9

4-year 2,882 2,882 100.0 2,484 2,484 100.0

Public 679 679 100.0 636 636 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,555 1,555 100.0 1,236 1,236 100.0

Private for-profit 648 648 100.0 612 612 100.0

2-year 2,273 2,271 99.9 2,213 2,212 100.0

Public 1,083 1,083 100.0 1,080 1,080 100.0

Private nonprofit 173 172 99.4 133 133 100.0

Private for-profit 1,017 1,016 99.9 1,000 999 99.9

Less-than-2-year 1,859 1,856 99.8 1,832 1,829 99.8

Public 253 253 100.0 244 244 100.0

Private nonprofit 82 81 98.8 73 72 98.6

Private for-profit 1,524 1,522 99.9 1,515 1,513 99.9

Degree-granting 4,596 4,596 100.0 4,198 4,198 100.0

4-year 2,867 2,867 100.0 2,482 2,482 100.0

Public 678 678 100.0 636 636 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,542 1,542 100.0 1,234 1,234 100.0

Private for-profit 647 647 100.0 612 612 100.0

2-year 1,729 1,729 100.0 1,716 1,716 100.0

Public 978 978 100.0 977 977 100.0

Private nonprofit 87 87 100.0 82 82 100.0

Private for-profit 664 664 100.0 657 657 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,418 2,413 99.8 2,331 2,327 99.8

4-year 15 15 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private nonprofit 13 13 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

2-year 544 542 99.6 497 496 99.8

Public 105 105 100.0 103 103 100.0

Private nonprofit 86 85 98.8 51 51 100.0

Private for-profit 353 352 99.7 343 342 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,859 1,856 99.8 1,832 1,829 99.8

Public 253 253 100.0 244 244 100.0

Private nonprofit 82 81 98.8 73 72 98.6

Private for-profit 1,524 1,522 99.9 1,515 1,513 99.9

See notes at end of table.
A-12

Table A-2a. Number of Title IV institutions in the universe and number and percentage of Title IV 

institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2011 Enrollment component, by selected part, 

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

Degree-granting status and 

level and control of institution

Part D, total entering class1 Part E, retention rates2

Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 3,636 3,636 100.0 6,354 6,352 100.0

Public 1,606 1,606 100.0 1,961 1,961 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,289 1,289 100.0 1,447 1,447 100.0

Private for-profit 741 741 100.0 2,946 2,944 99.9

4-year 2,313 2,313 100.0 2,499 2,499 100.0

Public 635 635 100.0 637 637 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,218 1,218 100.0 1,250 1,250 100.0

Private for-profit 460 460 100.0 612 612 100.0

2-year 1,323 1,323 100.0 2,225 2,224 100.0

Public 971 971 100.0 1,081 1,081 100.0

Private nonprofit 71 71 100.0 136 136 100.0

Private for-profit 281 281 100.0 1,008 1,007 99.9

Less-than-2-year 0 0 † 1,630 1,629 99.9

Public 0 0 † 243 243 100.0

Private nonprofit 0 0 † 61 61 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 1,326 1,325 99.9

Degree-granting 3,636 3,636 100.0 4,218 4,218 100.0

4-year 2,313 2,313 100.0 2,497 2,497 100.0

Public 635 635 100.0 637 637 100.0

Private nonprofit 1,218 1,218 100.0 1,248 1,248 100.0

Private for-profit 460 460 100.0 612 612 100.0

2-year 1,323 1,323 100.0 1,721 1,721 100.0

Public 971 971 100.0 977 977 100.0

Private nonprofit 71 71 100.0 83 83 100.0

Private for-profit 281 281 100.0 661 661 100.0

Non-degree-granting 0 0 † 2,136 2,134 99.9

4-year 0 0 † 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private nonprofit 0 0 † 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 0 0 † 504 503 99.8

Public 0 0 † 104 104 100.0

Private nonprofit 0 0 † 53 53 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 347 346 99.7

Less-than-2-year 0 0 † 1,630 1,629 99.9

Public 0 0 † 243 243 100.0

Private nonprofit 0 0 † 61 61 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 1,326 1,325 99.9

† 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: Part B of the Enrollment component was optional during the spring 2011 collection and is not included in this table. Title IV 

institutions are those with 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. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2011, Enrollment component.
A-13

Survey Components

Enrollment

This component of the web-based survey has six separate parts. Parts A, B, C, and D data are 

reported as of the institution’s official fall reporting date (or October 15, 2010) for this data 

collection. Part A collects summary data on the number of students enrolled in the fall, including 

the number of first-time6

Part E collects data on retention rates. Four-year institutions report retention data for full-time, 

first-time bachelor’s-seeking undergraduate students and for part-time, first-time bachelor’sseeking undergraduate students separately. Less-than-4-year institutions report retention data for 

full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students and for part-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking students separately. 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students; the total number of 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates; total undergraduates; and total graduate students—all 

by race/ethnicity, gender, and enrollment status (full or part time). Part B (which is optional this 

year, but required when data correspond to the fall of an odd-numbered year) collects summary 

data on the number of students enrolled in the fall in each student level (undergraduate and 

graduate) by age category, gender, and enrollment status. Part C (which is required this year, but 

is optional when data correspond to the fall of an odd-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 that completed high school in the last 12 months, by state or 

jurisdiction 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 new to the institution, whether degree/certificate-seeking or not, and any 

students who transferred into the institution. 

Part F requests an estimated undergraduate program student-to-faculty ratio. A worksheet is 

provided to assist the institution in calculating the ratio requested. 

Finance

This component of the web-based survey collects summary data on each institution’s financial 

status in fiscal year 2010. The Finance component has different versions of the form based 

mainly on control of the institution: public, private nonprofit, and private for-profit. This year 

public institutions were allowed to choose between two versions of the component depending on 

which standards they 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.7

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

 

8

 

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.

 that report using FASB 

standards (Part F), component units that report using GASB standards (Part G), and endowment 

7 Due to differences between GASB standards and FASB standards, figures from public institutions are not 

comparable to figures from private institutions, even in categories with identical labels. 8 Component units are separate entities for which the institution is financially accountable.
A-14

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).9

Nonprofit 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 nonprofit form has been developed for 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; and the number who transferred to other institutions. This component was developed 

to help institutions comply with requirements of the Student Right-to-Know legislation. In 

2010-11, for 4-year institutions, the cohort consists of those students who first started in the 

2004-05 academic year, and for 2-year and less-than-2-year institutions, the cohort is those 

students starting in the 2007-08 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). 

Graduation Rates 200

This component collects the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking students in a particular year (cohort); the number of students in this 

cohort completing within 100, 150, and 200 percent of normal program completion time; and the 

number of cohort exclusions. In 2010-11, for 4-year institutions, the cohort consists of those 

students who first started in the 2002-03 academic year, and for 2-year and less-than-2-year 

institutions, the cohort is those students starting in the 2006-07 academic year. For 4-year 

institutions the information collected is limited to bachelor’s degree-seeking students only, while 

less-than-4-year institutions report on the entire cohort. 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 seven parts: a section to establish student count 

totals for subsequent parts (Part A); sections on financial aid for all undergraduates (Part B); fulltime, first-time undergraduates (Part C); full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving any type 

of grant aid (Part D); full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving Title IV federal aid (Part E); 

and sections on net price of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving any type 

of grant aid (Part F) and full-time undergraduates receiving Title IV federal aid (Part G). 

 

9 Part I has been discontinued and is no longer applicable.
A-15

Data were collected based on the 2009-10 academic year for those institutions that were part of 

the IPEDS universe and indicated that they enrolled undergraduate students in 2009-10. Student 

counts were collected based on fall 2009 enrollment or unduplicated counts for 2009-10, and 

institutions that charge tuition based on residency were asked to provide student counts by indistrict, in-state, and out-of-state residency status. In Part B, student counts and aid totals were 

collected for overall grant aid, Pell grant aid, and federal student loans. Part C collected student 

counts and aid totals for Pell grant, other federal grants, total federal grants, state/local grants, 

institutional grants, federal loans to students, other loans to students, and total loans to students. 

For Part D, student counts by residency (on campus, off campus, and off campus with family) 

are collected, as well as total grant and scholarship aid. Part E, like Part D, collects student 

counts by residency and total grant and scholarship aid. In addition, Part E collects student 

counts and total grant and scholarship aid by income level. For parts D and E, public institutions 

report only on students paying in-state tuition and fees. Private institutions report on all full-time, 

first-time students meeting the criteria for inclusion in the relevant part. Parts F and G don’t 

actually collect any additional data. Instead, they display the calculated net price of attendance 

for students reported in parts D and E, respectively, and allow institutions to provide comments 

for contextualizing the net prices. 

The 2010-11 survey forms are available at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/surveys/2010.asp. 

Changes in Reporting Categories

Title IV participating institutions that are not primarily postsecondary were required to respond 

to the IPEDS survey starting in fall 2010. These institutions report data pertinent to the 

postsecondary portion of the institution. Most of these institutions mainly serve students that are 

the traditional age for high school. These institutions are typically affiliated with a local 

education agency or affiliated with a community college system and have a substantial dual 

enrollment program. The 7,178 Title IV institutions in the IPEDS universe include 49 (0.7 

percent) not primarily postsecondary institutions. Of the 49 institutions, 46 are public institutions 

(six 2-year and 40 less-than-2-year), 2 are nonprofit institutions (one 2-year and one less-than-2-

year), and 1 is a for-profit less-than-2-year institution. 

Beginning in fall 2008, changes began to take effect regarding reporting of data by 

race/ethnicity.

10

For the GRS component, institutions can report via the historical categories, with seven 

race/ethnicity categories; the new categories, with nine race/ethnicity categories;

 These changes are being phased in and began with the option during the 2008-

09 IPEDS collection year to report race/ethnicity using the historical categories or using the new 

categories. For the 2010-11 IPEDS collection, use of the new race/ethnicity categories is still 

optional for the GRS component, but it is now required for the Enrollment component. 

11

 

10 For more information, see 

or a 

combination of the old and new categories. The seven historic categories are American Indian or 

Alaska Native; Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander; Black or African American; 

Hispanic or Latino; White; race/ethnicity unknown; and nonresident alien. The nine new 

categories are American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African American; Hispanic

http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/reic/resource.asp. 11 The Department of Education’s final guidance on implementing the Office of Management and Budget’s 1997 

Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity officially adopted the new 

categories and prescribed the implementation schedule. This guidance took effect on December 3, 2007.
A-16

or Latino; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; White; Two or more races; race/ethnicity 

unknown; and nonresident alien. During the phase-in period, the new Asian and new Native 

Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander categories will not be displayed separately for reporting 

purposes, but will be combined to correspond to the historic category of Asian, Native Hawaiian, 

or Pacific Islander. 

The use of the Two or more races category will likely decrease aggregate counts in the other 

race/ethnicity categories because students classified into the Two or more races category might 

previously have been classified into one of the other categories. For the GRS component, 504 

institutions utilized the Two or more races category, reporting an adjusted cohort of 6,364 

students and 3,841 completers in that category. The students in the adjusted cohort who were 

classified into the Two or more races category represent 1.9 percent of the 342,022 total students 

in the adjusted cohort at these institutions, and the completers classified into the Two or more 

races category make up 2.2 percent of the 173,419 completers at these institutions. The total 

adjusted cohort at these 504 institutions represents 13.9 percent of the 2,468,065 students in the 

adjusted cohort at all Title IV institutions, and the total completers make up 15.1 percent of the 

1,150,628 completers at all Title IV institutions. Individuals classified into the Two or more 

races category form 0.3 percent of the total adjusted cohort at Title IV institutions, and 0.3 

percent of the total completers. 

The use of the new race/ethnicity categories will become mandatory for the GRS component 

during the 2011-12 IPEDS collection. 

As a result of these optional reporting categories, caution should be exercised when drawing 

conclusions from the data presented in this First Look. Graduation rates data presented in this 

report on students of Two or more races are based on only those institutions that reported using 

the optional new race/ethnicity categories and are not representative of all students who could be 

classified into Two or more races. In light of the required reporting changes and remaining 

optional periods, comparisons between data from prior IPEDS collections and the data presented 

in this First Look should be undertaken with caution. 

Survey Procedures

The IPEDS spring 2011 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 

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 or jurisdiction. 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 or jurisdiction databases, review, 

and/or lock data for their institutions. 
A-17

For the 2010-11 IPEDS data collections, keyholders were asked to register prior to the fall 2010 

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 2010-11 collection year. The package included a letter for the keyholder and a 

registration certificate with the institution’s UserID and password for the entire 2010-11 

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 2010-11 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, nonprofit, 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 2010-11 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 

IPEDS Data Center, where they were made available to other responding institutions for 

comparison purposes. 

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 

each survey page. Based on these calculations, edit checks compared current responses to 

previously reported data. The percentage difference necessary to trigger an edit check varied 

depending on the data element being compared, but typically a response was considered out of 

the expected range if the difference 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. 
A-18

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.

Enrollment

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. For this collection cycle, Part B (reported by age) data were 

optional. However, if reported, total students from Part B had to equal the number reported in 

Part A (reported by race/ethnicity), by full-time/part-time status. In addition, total first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking students in Part A (reported by race/ethnicity) had to equal total firsttime degree/certificate-seeking students in Part C (reported by state or jurisdiction of residence, 

U.S. territory, or foreign country). If the system detected discrepancies in the numbers reported 

in parts A, B, and C, balance amounts were generated and 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. 

Finance

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 nonprofit institutions, total net assets had to equal total unrestricted 

net assets plus total restricted net assets. Total net assets also had to equal total 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. 

Graduation Rates

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 
A-19

anomaly. Finally, if cohort members were reported for either section of the Graduation Rates 

component (bachelor’s-seeking or other-than-bachelor’s-seeking), data had to be reported in 

each applicable section. 

Graduation Rates 200

For the Graduation Rates 200 component, data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree- or 

certificate-seeking students, exclusions from the cohort, and completers within 150 percent of 

normal program completion time were preloaded from the Graduation Rates component covering 

the appropriate cohort year. Individual cells were summed to ensure that they did not exceed the 

revised cohort. Institutions reporting very high or very low numbers of completers within 150 to 

200 percent of normal program completion time, or reporting high numbers of additional cohort 

exclusions (as a percentage of the cohort), were required to explain this anomaly and make 

necessary corrections. 

Student Financial Aid

For the Student Financial Aid component of the survey, 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, 

and the total aid received by the first-time, full-time students had to be less than the total aid 

received by the total undergraduates. 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 as reported in Part B. The 

number of full-time, first-time undergraduate students receiving federal grants could not exceed 

the number of full-time, first-time 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. In Part D, the average amount of aid received by first-time, full-time students 

was compared to the previous year, and large discrepancies (typically 15 percent or greater) had 

to be justified by the keyholder in the edit explanations. In Part E, average aid received in each 

income category was compared to the next lower income category, and instances where higher 

average aid was received by students with higher incomes had to be justified by the keyholder in 

the edit explanations 

Imputation Procedures

The Enrollment data, Finance data, Graduation Rates data, Graduation Rates 200 data, and 

Student Financial Aid data were all subject to imputation for nonresponse—both institutional 

nonresponse and item nonresponse. In addition, the set of institutions eligible for imputation or 

to serve as a donor 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 active12

The institution must not be an administrative office.

in IPEDS. 

 

12 Institutions that did not respond were verified as currently active (open for business) prior to imputation through 

telephone calls and e-mail. 
A-20

•

•

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 and Graduation Rates 200 components, the institution must have 

enrolled full-time, first-time students for the appropriate cohort year. 

Enrollment 

For the Enrollment component, 81 imputation groups were formed primarily based on 

institutional sector and undergraduate, and graduate offerings.

The following imputation methods were used (in order of preference) to impute missing 

enrollment data:

•

•

Carry Forward—Reported 2009 (or 2008) enrollment data were carried forward to the 

current year. The number of students reported in 2009 (or 2008) 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. 

Nearest Neighbor—The completions data for academic year 2009-10 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 and graduate). 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. 

For unit 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. 

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, and degree-granting status. 

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-21

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

attendance status, gender, and degree-granting status: United States, fall 2010

Student level, 

attendance status, 

gender, and degreegranting status

Total Public Private nonprofit Private for-profit

Fall 

enrollment

Imputed

Fall 

enrollment

Imputed

Fall 

enrollment

Imputed

Fall 

enrollment

Imputed

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All students 21,588,124 373 # 15,280,273 0 0.0 3,881,906 63 # 2,425,945 310 #

Undergraduate 18,650,251 373 # 13,841,712 0 0.0 2,680,074 63 # 2,128,465 310 #

First-time, first-year 3,385,045 279 # 2,401,401 0 0.0 533,039 10 # 450,605 269 0.1

Other 15,265,206 88 # 11,440,311 0 0.0 2,147,035 53 # 1,677,860 35 #

Graduate 2,937,873 0 0.0 1,438,561 0 0.0 1,201,832 0 0.0 297,480 0 0.0

Full time 13,537,645 279 # 8,843,309 0 0.0 2,909,668 20 # 1,784,668 259 #

Part time 8,050,479 94 # 6,436,964 0 0.0 972,238 43 # 641,277 51 #

Men 9,240,120 29 # 6,744,888 0 0.0 1,647,887 16 # 847,345 13 #

Women 12,348,004 344 # 8,535,385 0 0.0 2,234,019 47 # 1,578,600 297 #

Degree-granting 21,016,126 0 0.0 15,142,809 0 0.0 3,854,920 0 0.0 2,018,397 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting 571,998 373 0.1 137,464 0 0.0 26,986 63 0.2 407,548 310 0.1

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. One institution in other U.S. jurisdictions required 

imputation. This table is based on Part A of the Enrollment component. 

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

Spring 2011, 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 2010

Degree-granting 

status

Total Public Private nonprofit Private for-profit

Entering 

class

Imputed Entering 

class

Imputed Entering 

class

Imputed Entering 

class

Imputed

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All institutions 5,110,216 0 0.0 4,050,862 0 0.0 769,493 0 0.0 289,861 0 0.0

Degree-granting 5,110,216 0 0.0 4,050,862 0 0.0 769,493 0 0.0 289,861 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting † † † † † † † † † † † †

† Not applicable.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No institutions in other U.S. jurisdictions 

required imputation. 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 had 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 2011, Enrollment component.
A-22

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 2010

Degree-granting 

status and 

attendance status

Total Public Private nonprofit Private for-profit

All 

institutions

Imputed All 

institutions

Imputed All 

institutions

Imputed All 

institutions

Imputed

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All institutions 6,058 6 0.1 1,920 0 0.0 1,403 2 0.1 2,735 4 0.1

Full-time 6,015 6 0.1 1,912 0 0.0 1,395 2 0.1 2,708 4 0.1

Part-time 3,768 4 0.1 1,757 0 0.0 690 2 0.3 1,321 2 0.2

Degree-granting 3,976 2 0.1 1,579 0 0.0 1,293 2 0.2 1,104 0 0.0

Full-time 3,958 2 0.1 1,578 0 0.0 1,287 2 0.2 1,093 0 0.0

Part-time 2,714 2 0.1 1,532 0 0.0 659 2 0.3 523 0 0.0 

Non-degreegranting 2,082 4 0.2 341 0 0.0 110 0 0.0 1,631 4 0.2

Full-time 2,057 4 0.2 334 0 0.0 108 0 0.0 1,615 4 0.2

Part-time 1,054 2 0.2 225 0 0.0 31 0 0.0 798 2 0.3

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. One institution in other U.S. jurisdictions 

required imputation. 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 2011, Enrollment component.

Finance 

For the Finance component, parts A through E of the public GASB reporting form, the nonprofit 

FASB reporting form, and the for-profit FASB reporting form were subject to imputation. The 

imputation groups were created separately for public, nonprofit, and for-profit institutions. Fortyfive imputation groups were formed based primarily on institutional sector, graduate offering, 

medical degree offering, state or jurisdiction (for public only), and religious affiliation (for 

nonprofit 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 full-time 

equivalent (FTE) enrollment ratios was made. 

Nearest Neighbor FTE—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 or jurisdiction as 

the imputee were considered as potential donors. If there were no potential donors within the 

same state or jurisdiction, then this restriction did not apply. 
A-23

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 Employees by Assigned 

Position (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. 

Because no information was available on whether nonrespondents adopted GASB or FASB to 

prepare their financial statements, public imputees were imputed using data from public GASB 

donors. Nonprofit imputees were imputed using data from nonprofit 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. 

 
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 2010

Type of funds

Total Public (GASB)1 Public (FASB)2

Total funds

(in thousands)

Imputed

Total funds

(in thousands)

Imputed

Total funds

(in thousands)

Imputed

Amount (in 

thousands) Percent

Amount (in 

thousands) Percent

Amount (in 

thousands) Percent

Total revenues and investment 

returns $503,469,486 $7,426 # $295,135,575 $702 # $9,755,419 $0 0.0

Tuition and fees 139,166,962 5,125 # 53,527,933 620 # 2,675,751 0 0.0

Government appropriations, grants, 

and contracts 166,681,707 373 # 142,262,311 73 # 2,460,264 0 0.0

Federal 71,186,553 120 # 50,271,835 73 # 1,304,175 0 0.0

State and local 95,495,154 253 # 91,990,476 0 0.0 1,156,088 0 0.0

Private gifts, grants, and contracts 22,584,470 858 # 5,265,284 0 0.0 614,816 0 0.0

Sales and services of educational 

activities 10,477,957 368 # 4,756,729 0 0.0 192,419 0 0.0

Auxiliary enterprises 36,739,245 0 0.0 21,501,955 0 0.0 671,745 0 0.0

Hospitals 45,778,392 0 0.0 27,125,159 0 0.0 2,111,772 0 0.0

Contributions from affiliated entities 1,376,382 0 0.0 † † † 19 0 0.0

Investment return 38,531,566 17 # 9,320,876 0 0.0 731,396 0 0.0

Independent operations revenue 7,076,451 0 0.0 1,320,068 0 0.0 23,162 0 0.0

Other revenue3 35,056,354 462 # 30,055,259 10 # 274,075 0 0.0

Total expenses $452,135,865 $6,994 # $274,033,938 $537 # $8,659,177 $0 0.0

Instruction 143,905,530 2,922 # 87,658,624 537 # 2,270,392 0 0.0

Research and public service 63,523,834 42 # 43,428,002 0 0.0 1,825,165 0 0.0

Academic support, student services, 

and institutional support 125,295,169 3,199 # 64,750,457 0 0.0 1,736,322 0 0.0

Scholarships and fellowships/aid 16,473,684 22 # 15,497,309 0 0.0 13,755 0 0.0

Auxiliary enterprises 40,322,339 0 0.0 25,355,659 0 0.0 613,596 0 0.0

Hospitals 41,659,728 0 0.0 26,321,449 0 0.0 2,163,875 0 0.0

Independent operations 6,465,776 0 0.0 1,288,762 0 0.0 22,163 0 0.0

Other expenses 14,489,805 809 # 9,733,676 0 0.0 13,910 0 0.0

See notes at end of table.
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 2010—Continued

Type of funds

Private nonprofit (FASB) Private for-profit (FASB)

Total funds 

(in thousands)

Imputed

Total funds 

(in thousands)

Imputed

Amount (in 

thousands) Percent

Amount (in 

thousands) Percent

Total revenues and investment 

returns $168,978,129 $1,555 # $29,600,362 $5,168 #

Tuition and fees 56,517,109 381 # 26,446,168 4,123 #

Government appropriations, grants, and 

contracts 19,460,033 147 # 2,499,099 154 #

Federal 17,247,024 15 # 2,363,519 32 #

State and local 2,213,010 131 # 135,580 121 #

Private gifts, grants, and contracts 16,661,932 858 # 42,438 0 0.0

Sales and services of educational 

activities 4,831,730 0 0.0 697,079 368 #

Auxiliary enterprises 14,080,329 0 0.0 485,216 0 0.0

Hospitals 16,541,461 0 0.0 † † †

Contributions from affiliated entities 1,376,363 0 0.0 † † †

Investment return 28,429,455 # # 49,839 17 #

Independent operations revenue 5,733,221 0 0.0 † † †

Other revenue3 5,346,496 169 # -619,476 283 †

Total expenses $145,461,000 $1,354 # $23,981,751 $5,102 #

Instruction 47,669,479 748 # 6,307,035 1,637 #

Research and public service 18,247,446 0 0.0 23,221 42 #

Academic support, student services, and 

institutional support 43,897,035 185 # 14,911,355 3,014 #

Scholarships and fellowships/aid 832,656 0 0.0 129,965 22 #

Auxiliary enterprises 13,887,042 0 0.0 466,042 0 0.0

Hospitals 13,174,405 0 0.0 † † †

Independent operations 5,154,851 0 0.0 † † †

Other expenses 2,598,087 421 # 2,144,132 388 #

† 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. 3

Other revenue is a calculated value and is negative if the total revenue and investment return reported is less than the sum of the reported data in 

the detail revenue and investment return categories.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. 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. One institution in other U.S. jurisdictions required imputation. 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 2011, Finance component. 
A-26

Graduation Rates

For the GRS 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 years from entry). The variables used to define 

imputation groups for the GRS component were 

•

•

•

•

sector;

post baccalaureate offerings;

bachelor’s degree offering; and 

sub-baccalaureate offerings (less than 1 year or at least 1 but less than 2 years or associate’s 

degree or at least 2 but less than 4 years). 

Each combination of the above criteria formed a unique imputation group. Imputation groups for 

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. 

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 2 years, then the Carry 

Forward procedure was used. Otherwise, the Group Median imputation procedure was used. 

Carry Forward and Group Median imputations were performed within the 23 imputation groups 

formed for the GRS component. 

Table A-7 provides the GRS graduation rate component 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. 
A-27

Table A-7. Student graduation rate component counts and number and percentage imputed for all 

Title IV institutions, by control of institution and student level: United States, cohort years 

2004 and 2007

Student level

Total Public

Students

Imputed

Students

Imputed

Number Percent Number Percent

 

Bachelor’s degree-seeking

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 1,299,233 0 0.0 833,685 0 0.0

Total exclusions 5,187 0 0.0 2,560 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

subcohort 1,294,046 0 0.0 831,125 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 760,407 0 0.0 467,806 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 704 0 0.0 225 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 5,356 0 0.0 2,215 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 754,347 0 0.0 465,366 0 0.0

Completed the program in 4 years or less 490,986 0 0.0 260,117 0 0.0

Completed the program in 5 years 206,715 0 0.0 160,105 0 0.0

Completed the program in 6 years 56,646 0 0.0 45,144 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 115,583 0 0.0 94,380 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 418,056 0 0.0 268,939 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 915 0 0.0 507 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 417,141 0 0.0 268,432 0 0.0

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking at 4-year institutions

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 202,646 0 0.0 82,802 0 0.0

Total exclusions 1,411 0 0.0 843 0 0.0

Adjusted other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 201,235 0 0.0 81,959 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 63,520 0 0.0 21,775 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 16,181 0 0.0 1,686 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 39,273 0 0.0 15,435 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 8,066 0 0.0 4,654 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 16,607 0 0.0 14,272 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 121,108 0 0.0 45,912 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 27 0 0.0 7 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 121,081 0 0.0 45,905 0 0.0

Degree/certificate-seeking at less-than-4-year institutions

Degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 921,213 53 # 668,179 0 0.0

Total exclusions 2,174 0 0.0 1,617 0 0.0

Adjusted degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 919,039 53 # 666,562 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 304,725 33 # 149,909 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 181,844 32 # 46,771 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 122,881 1 # 103,138 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 122,981 0 0.0 120,653 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 491,333 20 # 396,000 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 3 years or longer 1,345 0 0.0 1,152 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 489,988 20 # 394,848 0 0.0

See notes at end of table.
A-28

Table A-7. Student graduation rate component counts and number and percentage imputed for all 

Title IV institutions, by control of institution and student level: United States, cohort years 

2004 and 2007—Continued

Student level

Private nonprofit Private for-profit

Students

Imputed

Students

Imputed

Number Percent Number Percent

Bachelor’s degree-seeking

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 428,307 0 0.0 37,241 0 0.0

Total exclusions 2,510 0 0.0 117 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

subcohort 425,797 0 0.0 37,124 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 281,428 0 0.0 11,173 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 291 0 0.0 188 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 2,707 0 0.0 434 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 278,430 0 0.0 10,551 0 0.0

Completed the program in 4 years or less 223,288 0 0.0 7,581 0 0.0

Completed the program in 5 years 44,617 0 0.0 1,993 0 0.0

Completed the program in 6 years 10,525 0 0.0 977 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 20,570 0 0.0 633 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 123,799 0 0.0 25,318 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 408 0 0.0 0 0 †

Other noncompleters1 123,391 0 0.0 25,318 0 0.0

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking at 4-year institutions

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 27,197 0 0.0 92,647 0 0.0

Total exclusions 223 0 0.0 345 0 0.0

Adjusted other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 26,974 0 0.0 92,302 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 11,076 0 0.0 30,669 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 1,774 0 0.0 12,721 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 6,721 0 0.0 17,117 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 2,581 0 0.0 831 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 1,680 0 0.0 655 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 14,218 0 0.0 60,978 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 20 0 0.0 0 0 †

Other noncompleters1 14,198 0 0.0 60,978 0 0.0

Degree/certificate-seeking at less-than-4-year institutions

Degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 11,028 13 0.1 242,006 40 #

Total exclusions 59 0 0.0 498 0 0.0

Adjusted degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 10,969 13 0.1 241,508 40 #

Total completers within 150% 5,830 1 # 148,986 32 #

Completers of programs of <2 years 3,798 0 0.0 131,275 32 #

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 2,032 1 # 17,711 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 981 0 0.0 1,347 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 4,158 12 0.3 91,175 8 #

Still enrolled in programs of 3 years or longer 28 0 0.0 165 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 4,130 12 0.3 91,010 8 #

† Not applicable.

# Rounds to zero.

1

This line is calculated from the numbers in the table. It is not represented in the dataset.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. This table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. 

Cohort year 2004 is applicable to 4-year institutions, while cohort year 2007 is applicable to 2-year and less-than-2-year institutions. 

One institution in other U.S. jurisdictions required imputation. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2011, Graduation Rates component.
A-29

Student Financial Aid

For the SFA component, all student counts and aid amounts were subject to imputation. To 

conduct imputations, 66 imputation groups were formed primarily based on institution sector; 

calendar system; medical degree offering; and 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 2009; 

and

for program reporters, the unduplicated count of all students enrolled from the 12-Month 

Enrollment component unduplicated count data for academic year 2009-10. 

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 potential year-to-year changes (such as fluctuation in 

average award amounts resulting from changes to government grant programs) by observing 

the year-to-year changes for institutions within the nonrespondent’s imputation group and 

applying the median rate of change to the data carried forward.

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, which consists of the ratio of the imputee’s distance measure to the donor’s 

distance measure. 

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.

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. 
A-30

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 

2009-10 

Level and control of institution

Federal grants State/local grants

Number 

receiving

Imputed Number 

receiving

Imputed

Number Percent Number Percent

Total recipients 1,636,916 608 # 848,690 1 #

4-year 693,263 0 0.0 533,817 0 0.0

Public 351,237 0 0.0 381,542 0 0.0

Private nonprofit 158,806 0 0.0 136,255 0 0.0

Private for-profit 183,220 0 0.0 16,020 0 0.0

2-year 698,788 109 # 297,962 0 0.0

Public 408,767 0 0.0 272,802 0 0.0

Private nonprofit 8,377 0 0.0 3,788 0 0.0

Private for-profit 281,644 109 # 21,372 0 0.0

Less-than-2-year 244,865 499 0.2 16,911 1 #

Public 13,828 17 0.1 4,895 0 0.0

Private nonprofit 9,842 16 0.2 1,929 0 0.0

Private for-profit 221,195 466 0.2 10,087 1 #

Level and control of institution

Institutional grants Loans to students

Number 

receiving

Imputed Number 

receiving

Imputed

Number Percent Number Percent

Total recipients 972,136 39 # 1,758,375 523 #

4-year 841,530 0 0.0 1,030,047 0 0.0

Public 396,389 0 0.0 510,992 0 0.0

Private nonprofit 387,821 0 0.0 309,399 0 0.0

Private for-profit 57,320 0 0.0 209,656 0 0.0

2-year 116,845 4 # 497,489 32 #

Public 79,914 0 0.0 187,630 0 0.0

Private nonprofit 4,798 4 0.1 6,935 0 0.0

Private for-profit 32,133 0 0.0 302,924 32 #

Less-than-2-year 13,761 35 0.3 230,839 491 0.2

Public 1,518 0 0.0 7,643 30 0.4

Private nonprofit 597 16 2.7 4,986 0 0.0

Private for-profit 11,646 19 0.2 218,210 461 0.2

# Rounds to zero. 

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. One institution in 

other U.S. jurisdictions required imputation. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2011, Student Financial Aid component. 
A-31

Graduation Rates 200

For the GR200 component, all fields were subject to imputation. Missing data on cohort size, 

completers, and exclusions were imputed, as was the associated detailed information (e.g., 

completers within a specified number of years from entry). The variables used to define 

imputation groups for the GR200 component were 

•

•

•

•

sector;

post-baccalaureate offerings; 

bachelor’s degree offering; and 

sub-baccalaureate offerings (less than 1 year or at least 1 but less than 2 years or associate’s 

degree or at least 2 but less than 4 years). 

Each combination of the above criteria formed a unique imputation group. Imputation groups for 

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 GR200 component of the survey: 

•

•

Carry Forward—The imputed school’s previous year’s GRS data were used as the donor 

values to impute data items pertaining to cohort, exclusions within 150 percent of normal 

program completion time, and completers within 150 percent of normal program completion 

time. No year-to-year adjustment was necessary because the graduation rate for the prior 

cohort is the best estimate of the graduation rate for the current cohort. Variables pertaining 

to exclusions and completers at 200 percent of normal program completion time were 

imputed by multiplying the imputed data covering 150 percent of normal program 

completion time by an adjustment ratio derived from the reported data in the imputee’s 

imputation group. 

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 Completions component data. 

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. Imputations were performed within 21 imputation groups 

formed for the GR200 component. 

Table A-9 provides the GR200 graduation rate component 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. 
A-32

Table A-9. Student graduation rate component counts and number and percentage imputed for all 

Title IV institutions, by control of institution and student level: United States, cohort years 

2002 and 2006

Student level

Total Public

Students

Imputed

Students

Imputed

Number Percent Number Percent

Bachelor’s degree seeking students at 4-year institutions 

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 1,246,533 0 0.0 803,648 0 0.0

Total exclusions 4,298 0 0.0 2,888 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

subcohort 1,242,235 0 0.0 800,760 0 0.0

Total completers within 200% 749,606 0 0.0 469,563 0 0.0

Completed the program in 100% of normal program 

completion time or less 456,800 0 0.0 241,231 0 0.0

Completed the program in 150% of normal program 

completion time 259,574 0 0.0 201,957 0 0.0

Completed the program in 200% of normal program 

completion time 33,232 0 0.0 26,375 0 0.0

Degree/certificate-seeking at less-than-4-year institutions

Degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 1,096,560 88 # 659,450 0 0.0

Total exclusions 3,477 0 0.0 1,912 0 0.0

Adjusted degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 1,093,083 88 # 657,538 0 0.0

Total completers within 200% 479,946 77 # 194,103 0 0.0

Completed the program in 100% of normal program 

completion time or less 295,364 12 # 95,477 0 0.0

Completed the program in 150% of normal program 

completion time 141,200 65 # 62,457 0 0.0

Completed the program in 200% of normal program 

completion time 43,382 0 0.0 36,169 0 0.0

Student level

Private nonprofit Private for-profit

Students

Imputed

Students

Imputed

Number Percent Number Percent

Bachelor’s degree seeking students at 4-year institutions 

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 408,294 0 0.0 34,591 0 0.0

Total exclusions 1,354 0 0.0 56 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

subcohort 406,940 0 0.0 34,535 0 0.0

Total completers within 200% 271,040 0 0.0 9,003 0 0.0

Completed the program in 100% of normal program 

completion time or less 210,362 0 0.0 5,207 0 0.0

Completed the program in 150% of normal program 

completion time 54,429 0 0.0 3,188 0 0.0

Completed the program in 200% of normal program 

completion time 6,249 0 0.0 608 0 0.0

Degree/certificate-seeking at less-than-4-year institutions

Degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 20,034 8 # 417,076 80 #

Total exclusions 94 0 0.0 1,471 0 0.0

Adjusted degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 19,940 8 # 415,605 80 #

Total completers within 200% 13,288 1 # 272,555 76 #

Completed the program in 100% of normal program 

completion time or less 10,882 0 0.0 189,005 12 #

Completed the program in 150% of normal program 

completion time 1,886 1 0.1 76,857 64 0.1

Completed the program in 200% of normal program 

completion time 520 0 0.0 6,693 0 0.0

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with 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. This table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. 

Cohort year 2002 is applicable to 4-year institutions, while cohort year 2006 is applicable to 2-year and less-than-2-year institutions. 

For institutions in other U.S. jurisdictions, 56 students in the cohort were imputed and 56 completers were imputed. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2011, Graduation Rates 200 component.
B-1 

Appendix B:

Glossary of IPEDS Terms 

2-year institution: A postsecondary institution that offers programs of at least 2 but less than 4 

years’ duration. Includes occupational and vocational schools with programs of at least 1,800 hours 

and academic institutions with programs of less than 4 years. Does not include bachelor’s degreegranting institutions where the baccalaureate program can be completed in 3 years. 

4-year institution: A postsecondary institution that offers programs of at least 4 years’ duration or 

one that offers programs at or above the baccalaureate level. Includes institutions that do not offer 

undergraduate programs, but do offer programs at the postbaccalaureate certificate level or above. 

Also includes freestanding medical, law, or other professional schools. 

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 the Integrated Postsecondary Education 

Data System (IPEDS), an institution’s revised cohort minus any allowable exclusions. 

administrative office: The system or central office in a multicampus 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 identified and tracked over time.

cohort year: The year that a cohort of full-time, first-time students began attending college. 

completers within 150 percent of normal time: Students who completed their program within 150 

percent of the normal (or expected) time for completion at the same institution where the student 

started. 

component unit: This term applies to Governmental Accounting Standards Board (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. 
B-2 

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 IPEDS survey-related coordination activities for a specified 

group of schools within a state or jurisdiction. 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, or doctor’s 

degree. 

donor: A responding institution whose values are assigned to the imputee. 

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. 

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 Accounting Standards Board (FASB): 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 GASB for the setting of accounting standards for local and state government 

entities.

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-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 
B-3 

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. 

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. 

Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB): The 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 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 nonprofit institution is 

associated with a religious group or denomination. Nonprofit institutions may be either independent 

or religiously affiliated. 

institutional category: An indicator derived using the level of offerings reported on the Institutional 

Characteristics component and the number and level of awards reported on the Completions 

component. 

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 or jurisdiction of residence, major field of study, athletic team 

participation) for which the institution designates the recipient. 
B-4 

keyholder: The person designated by an official institutional representative to have in their 

possession the necessary UserID and password to gain access to 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 

institutionally and privately sponsored loans. Does not include PLUS and other loans made directly 

to parents.

non-degree-granting institution: An institution offering only postbaccalaureate or post-master’s 

certificates, or certificates or diplomas of 4 years or less. 

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. 

Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): OPE formulates federal postsecondary education policy 

and administers programs that address critical national needs in support of its mission to increase 

access to quality 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 or jurisdiction 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. 

Postsecondary Education Participation System (PEPS): 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 
B-5 

professional education, and excludes avocational and adult basic education programs. For IPEDS, 

these institutions must be open to the public. 

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 nonprofit 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 nonprofit schools and those affiliated with a religious organization. 

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. 

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, or 

certificate.

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 developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that 

are 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. The 

designations are used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as 

•

•

Hispanic or Latino or 

Not Hispanic or Latino 

Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:

•

•

•

•

•

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American 

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 

White

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.
B-6 

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 nonprofit, 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 (less-than2-year). For example: public 4-year institutions. 

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 or graduate). 

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.
B-7 

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 level. 

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.