NCES 2010-152 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, 

Fall 2008; Graduation Rates, 2002 and 

2005 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, 

Fiscal Year 2008

First Look

Enrollment in Postsecondary 

Institutions, Fall 2008; Graduation 

Rates, 2002 & 2005 Cohorts; and 

Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 

2008 

First Look 

APRIL 2010 

Laura G. Knapp 

Janice E. Kelly-Reid 

Scott A. Ginder 

RTI International 

 

NCES 2010-152 

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

Stuart Kerachsky 

Deputy Commissioner

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April 2010 

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Suggested Citation 

Knapp, L.G., Kelly-Reid, J.E., and Ginder, S.A. (2010). Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2008; 

Graduation Rates, 2002 & 2005 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2008 (NCES 2010-152). 

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
Foreword 

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

System (IPEDS) spring 2009 data collection. This collection included five components: Student 

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

2008-09 academic year; Enrollment for fall 2008; Graduation Rates within 150 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 2005 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 2000 

at 4-year institutions or in 2004 at less-than-4-year institutions; and Finance for fiscal year 2008. 

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 

6,700 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 

iii
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Acknowledgments 

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

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

In addition, these persons provided much assistance in resolving questions 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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Contents 

Page 

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

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

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

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

IPEDS 2008-09.............................................................................................................................1 

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

Student Enrollment .......................................................................................................................3 

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions...........................................................................3 

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

Graduation Rates 200....................................................................................................................4 

Student Financial Aid ...................................................................................................................5 

Focus of This Report.....................................................................................................................5 

Selected Findings............................................................................................................................6

Characteristics of Enrolled Students.............................................................................................6 

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions...........................................................................6 

Graduation Rates...........................................................................................................................6 

Student Financial Aid ...................................................................................................................7 

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

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

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

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

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

Survey Procedures................................................................................................................. A-15 

Edit Procedures...................................................................................................................... A-16 

Imputation Procedures........................................................................................................... A-18 

Graduation Rates 200............................................................................................................. A-29 

Data Perturbation and Confidentiality ................................................................................... A-31 

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

vii
List of Tables 

Table Page 

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

attendance status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2008...............................8 

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

undergraduate students enrolled at Title IV institutions, by state: fall 2008 .....................10 

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

standards utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2008...........................11 

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

standards utilized, and type of expense: United States, fiscal year 2008 ..........................13 

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

institution, gender, and degree at the institution where the students started as fulltime, first-time students: United States, cohort years 2002 and 2005 ...............................14 

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

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

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

year 2002............................................................................................................................16 

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

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

sought, degree completed, and time to degree: United States, cohort years 2000 and 

2004....................................................................................................................................17 

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

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

States, academic years 2006-07 and 2007-08...................................................................18 

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

undergraduates and financial aid recipients and average amounts of financial aid 

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

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

academic year 2007-08 ......................................................................................................19 

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

2009 data collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and 

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

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

2009 data collection, by survey component, degree-granting status, and level and 

control of institution/office: United States...................................................................... A-6 

viii
ix

A-2. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 Enrollment component, 

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

and other jurisdictions..................................................................................................... A-9 

A-2a. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 Enrollment component, 

by 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 2008................................................................................................. A-19 

A-4. Enrollment and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by control of 

institution, degree-granting status, and region of residency for first-time, first-year 

undergraduate students: United States, fall 2008.......................................................... A-20 

A-5. 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 2008................................................................................................. A-20 

A-6. 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 2008 ................................... A-21 

A-7. Revenues and expenses and the percentages imputed for Title IV institutions, by 

control of institution and type of funds: United States, fiscal year 2008...................... A-23 

A-8. Student graduation rate component counts and counts and percentage imputed for 

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

cohort years 2002 and 2005 .......................................................................................... A-26 

A-9. 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 2008-09...................................................................................... A-28 

A-10. Student graduation rate component counts and counts and percentage imputed for 

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

cohort years 2000 and 2004 .......................................................................................... A-30 
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Introduction 

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

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

other jurisdictions.1

 For IPEDS, a postsecondary institution is defined as an organization open to 

the public that has as its primary mission the provision of postsecondary education. IPEDS 

defines postsecondary education as formal instructional programs with a curriculum designed 

primarily for students who are beyond the compulsory age for high school. This includes 

institutions that offer academic, vocational, and continuing professional education programs and 

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

IPEDS 2008-09 

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 2008-09 academic year.2

 Accordingly, 6,777 institutions and 84 

administrative offices (central or system offices) in the United States and other jurisdictions were 

expected to participate in the spring 2009 collection.3 Four of the U.S. service academies are 

included in the IPEDS universe as if they were Title IV institutions.4 Institutions that do not 

participate in Title IV programs may participate in the IPEDS data collection on a voluntary 

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

institutions were required to complete each component. 

Changes in Reporting Categories

Beginning in fall 2008, several changes began to take effect regarding reporting of data (1) by 

race/ethnicity, (2) by level of study, and (3) within the Finance component.5

 These changes are 

being phased in, beginning with the option during the 2008-09 IPEDS collection year to report 

race/ethnicity, level of study, and the Finance component data using the historical categories or 

using the new categories. Regarding the changes to race/ethnicity reporting, institutions can 

report via the historical categories, with seven race/ethnicity categories; the new categories, with 

nine race/ethnicity categories; 6

 or a combination of the old and new categories. The seven 

 

1

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

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

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

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

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

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

3

 Ten additional institutions were not expected to participate because they closed during the 2008-09 academic year. 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. 

5

 For more information, see http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/submit_data/changes0809.asp. 6

 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. 

1
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/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. For the spring 2009 collection, the Enrollment and 

Graduation Rates components are both affected by these race/ethnicity reporting options. 

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 Enrollment component, 

651 institutions utilized the two or more races category and reported a total of 1,198,045 students 

enrolled, of which 16,519 (1.4 percent) were classified into the two or more races category. The 

total number of students reported at these institutions make up 6.1 percent of the 19,574,395 

students reported to be enrolled at all Title IV institutions, and students classified into the two or 

more races category represent 0.1 percent of the total enrollment at Title IV institutions. For the 

Graduation Rates component, 156 institutions utilized the two or more races category, reporting 

an adjusted cohort of 1,377 students and 735 completers in that category. The students in the 

adjusted cohort who were classified into the two or more races category represent 2.1 percent of 

the 65,542 total students in the adjusted cohort at these institutions, and the completers classified 

into the two or more races category make up 1.9 percent of the 37,300 completers at these 

institutions. The total adjusted cohort at these 156 institutions represents 2.9 percent of the 

2,252,517 students in the adjusted cohort at all Title IV institutions, and the total completers 

make up 3.6 percent of the 1,037,907 completers at all Title IV institutions. Individuals classified 

into the two or more races category form 0.1 percent of the total adjusted cohort at Title IV 

institutions, and 0.1 percent of the total completers. 

The change to level of study eliminates the first-professional category and affects only the 

Enrollment component. As this change is optional for the spring 2009 collection, institutions can 

identify students as first-professional students using the old classification scheme or can classify 

the students who would have previously been identified as first-professional students as graduate 

students using the new categories. Each institution must choose either the old categories or the 

new categories; there is no option to report using a mixture of the categories. 

Reporting using the new categories that eliminate the first-professional designation changes the 

relationship between the aggregate counts of graduate and first-professional students. For the 

Enrollment component, 744 institutions chose to report students formerly classified as firstprofessional students as graduate students, accounting for 34.5 percent of the 2,483,214 graduate 

students reported by all Title IV institutions. In the prior year, graduate and first-professional 

student counts were reported for 729 of the 744 institutions, and 822,464 students were reported. 

Of these students, 100,619 (12.2 percent) were classified as first-professional. 

Revisions to the Finance component are intended to facilitate comparison between public and 

private institutions. No new data are being reported, so aggregate totals will not be affected. 

The lengths of the optional reporting periods for these changes differ by component and by the 

type of change. For the 2009-10 IPEDS collection, the first-professional designation will no 

2
longer be available for the Enrollment component; for the 2010-11 IPEDS collection, the use of 

the new race/ethnicity categories will become mandatory for the Enrollment component and the 

changes to the Finance component will be required; and for the 2011-12 IPEDS collection, the 

use of the new race/ethnicity categories will become mandatory for the Graduation Rates 

component. 

As a result of these optional reporting categories, caution should be exercised when drawing 

conclusions from the data presented in this First Look. 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. Also, data in this First Look regarding first-professional students are based 

solely on those institutions that reported using the old level of student categories and cannot be 

considered representative of all students enrolled in programs that were formerly classified as 

first-professional. Comparisons between data from prior IPEDS collections and the data 

presented in this First Look should also be undertaken with caution for these same reasons. 

Student Enrollment 

The 2009 Enrollment (EF) component collected enrollment data for fall 2008. The EF 

component was required of 6,7677

 Title IV institutions in the United States and other 

jurisdictions, and 6,751, or 99.8 percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States 

(excluding any other jurisdictions), 6,612 were required to complete this component and 6,596, 

or 99.8 percent, responded. 

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions 

The 2009 Finance (F) component collected financial statistics for fiscal year 2008. This 

component was required of 6,7538

 institutions and 84 administrative offices in the United States 

and other jurisdictions, and 6,816, or 99.7 percent of the 6,837 Title IV entities, responded. Of 

the institutions and administrative offices in the United States (excluding any other jurisdictions), 

6,679 were required to complete this component and 6,658, or 99.7 percent, responded. 

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

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

Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Most public institutions follow GASB, so the figures in 

this report for public institutions represent those following GASB standards.9

 Aggregate totals 

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

Finance data. All private institutions use FASB standards. 

 

7

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

Enrollment component; 9 of the 10 institutions were determined to be ineligible because they closed; and for the 

remaining institution, the Enrollment component was considered not applicable due to natural disaster. 8

 Twenty-four institutions eligible for at least one component of the spring data collection were not eligible for the 

Finance component; 22 of the 24 institutions were ineligible because they were child institutions whose parents were 

not a part of the IPEDS universe; and the remaining 2 institutions lost their Title IV eligibility during 2008-09. 9

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

3
Graduation Rates 

The 2009 Graduation Rates (GRS) component collected counts of full-time, first-time10

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

their completion status as of August 31, 2008 (150 percent of normal program completion time) 

at the same institution where the students started. Four-year institutions use cohort year 2002 as 

the reference period, while less-than-4-year institutions use cohort year 2005 as the reference 

period. For 4-year institutions operating on standard academic terms (semester, trimester, 

quarter), students beginning in cohort year 2002 are those that 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 that first attended college between 

September 1, 2002 and August 31, 2003. Similarly, for less-than-4-year institutions operating on 

standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter), students beginning in cohort year 2005 

are those that first attended college in the fall of the 2005-06 academic year. For less-than-4-year 

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

2005 are those that first attended college between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006. 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, 

6,009 institutions in the United States and other jurisdictions were required to respond; of these, 

5,989, or 99.7 percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States (excluding any other 

jurisdictions), 5,865 were required to complete this component and 5,845, or 99.7 percent, 

responded. 

Graduation Rates 200 

The 2009 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, 2008 (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 2000 as the reference period, while lessthan-4-year institutions use cohort year 2004 as the reference period and report on all students in 

the cohort. For 4-year institutions operating on standard academic terms (semester, trimester, 

quarter), students beginning in cohort year 2000 are those that first attended college in the fall of 

the 2000-01 academic year. For 4-year institutions operating on other than standard academic 

terms, students beginning in cohort year 2000 are those that first attended college between 

September 1, 2000 and August 31, 2001. Similarly, for less-than-4-year institutions operating on 

standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter), students beginning in cohort year 2004 

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

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

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

5,567 institutions in the United States and other jurisdictions were required to respond; of these, 

5,543, or 99.6 percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States (excluding any other 

 

10 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. 

4
jurisdictions), 5,435 were required to complete this component and 5,412, or 99.6 percent, 

responded. 

Student Financial Aid 

The 2009 Student Financial Aid (SFA) component collected data on the number of full-time, 

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate financial aid recipients for the 2007-08 

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

undergraduate students. As a result, for this collection, 6,456 institutions in the United States and 

other jurisdictions were required to complete the SFA component. Of these, 6,428, or 99.6 

percent, responded. Of the institutions in the United States (excluding any other jurisdictions), 

6,306 were required to complete this component and 6,278, or 99.6 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 6,622 Title IV 

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

respond to one or more components of the spring 2009 collection. In addition, 81 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 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. 

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

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

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

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

5
Selected Findings

Characteristics of Enrolled Students 

• In fall 2008, Title IV institutions in the United States enrolled a total of 19.6 million 

graduate, undergraduate, and first-professional students; 62 percent were enrolled in 4-year 

institutions, 36 percent were enrolled in 2-year institutions, and 2 percent were enrolled in 

less-than-2-year institutions (table 1). 

• More than 90 percent of first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who 

were enrolled in institutions in Alaska, California, Michigan, New Jersey, and Texas were 

residents of the state11 (table 2). Conversely, less than 50 percent of the first-time degree/ 

certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled in institutions in the District of Columbia, 

Rhode Island, and Vermont were state residents. 

Revenues and Expenses of Title IV Institutions 

• Four-year public institutions received 18 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees, 

compared to 36 percent at private not-for-profit institutions, and 88 percent at private forprofit institutions (table 3). 

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

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

Graduation Rates 

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

2002 attending 4-year institutions completed a bachelor’s or equivalent degree at the 

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

• Institutional graduation rates of full-time, first-time bachelor’s or equivalent-seeking students 

attending 4-year institutions in 2002 were higher at private not-for-profit institutions than at 

public or private for-profit institutions (table 6). For example, the 4-year graduation rate of 

all bachelor’s-seeking students was 51 percent at private not-for-profit institutions, 30 

percent at public institutions, and 14 percent at private, for-profit institutions. 

• Institutional graduation rates of full-time, first-time students in 2004 nearly doubled from 19 

percent to 37 percent at 2-year institutions when the time students were tracked was extended 

from within 100 percent of normal time to program completion to within 200 percent of 

normal time. At less-than-two year institutions, graduation rates increased from 47 percent 

(at 100 percent of normal completion time) to 71 percent (at 200 percent of normal program 

completion time) (table 7). 

 

11 State of residence is defined as the state identified by the student as his/her permanent address at the time of 

application to the institution. 

6
7

Student Financial Aid 

• During 2007-08 academic year, institutions reported that 76 percent of the 2.9 million fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates attending Title IV institutions 

located in the United States received financial aid (table 8). 

• Proportions of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates reported by 

institutions to be receiving aid varied by institution sector: 77 percent of those attending 

public 4-year institutions; 86 percent of those attending private not-for-profit 4-year 

institutions; and 76 percent of those attending private for-profit 4-year institutions received 

some type of financial aid (table 9). 

• Institutions reported that approximately 48 percent of full-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking undergraduate students borrowed through an education loan program during the 

2007-08 academic year. Borrowing varied by institution sector: 45 percent of those attending 

public 4-year institutions; 60 percent of those attending private not-for-profit 4-year 

institutions; and 69 percent of those attending private for-profit 4-year institutions borrowed 

through an education loan program during the 2007-08 academic year (table 9). 
8

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

status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2008 

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

attendance status, gender, and 

race/ethnicity Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total students 19,574,395 100.0 14,092,109 100.0 3,684,723 100.0 1,797,563 100.0

4-year 12,131,855 62.0 7,331,849 52.0 3,626,547 98.4 1,173,459 65.3

Undergraduate 9,394,747 48.0 5,951,146 42.2 2,501,295 67.9 942,306 52.4

Full time 7,422,934 37.9 4,668,373 33.1 2,070,486 56.2 684,075 38.1

Part time 1,971,813 10.1 1,282,773 9.1 430,809 11.7 258,231 14.4

Men 4,130,848 21.1 2,708,303 19.2 1,065,545 28.9 357,000 19.9

Women 5,263,899 26.9 3,242,843 23.0 1,435,750 39.0 585,306 32.6

American Indian or Alaska Native 83,606 0.4 59,426 0.4 16,034 0.4 8,146 0.5

Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific 

Islander 

560,716 2.9 403,973 2.9 129,953 3.5 26,790 1.5

Black or African American 1,137,342 5.8 667,753 4.7 278,713 7.6 190,876 10.6

Hispanic or Latino 845,600 4.3 592,540 4.2 159,001 4.3 94,059 5.2

White 5,732,447 29.3 3,760,991 26.7 1,594,088 43.3 377,368 21.0

Two or more races1 6,150 # 3,702 # 1,941 0.1 507 #

Race/ethnicity unknown 773,670 4.0 312,736 2.2 233,101 6.3 227,833 12.7

Nonresident alien 255,216 1.3 150,025 1.1 88,464 2.4 16,727 0.9

Graduate 2,482,941 12.7 1,272,612 9.0 982,898 26.7 227,431 12.7

Full time 1,260,786 6.4 606,148 4.3 501,991 13.6 152,647 8.5

Part time 1,222,155 6.2 666,464 4.7 480,907 13.1 74,784 4.2

Men 993,765 5.1 516,411 3.7 402,925 10.9 74,429 4.1

Women 1,489,176 7.6 756,201 5.4 579,973 15.7 153,002 8.5

American Indian or Alaska Native 13,975 0.1 8,419 0.1 3,977 0.1 1,579 0.1

Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific 

Islander 

127,729 0.7 62,202 0.4 55,971 1.5 9,556 0.5

Black or African American 257,422 1.3 112,199 0.8 88,569 2.4 56,654 3.2

Hispanic or Latino 134,819 0.7 73,764 0.5 49,392 1.3 11,663 0.6

White 1,381,468 7.1 756,564 5.4 538,222 14.6 86,682 4.8

Two or more races1 806 # 269 # 508 # 29 #

Race/ethnicity unknown 273,095 1.4 86,524 0.6 134,167 3.6 52,404 2.9

Nonresident alien 293,627 1.5 172,671 1.2 112,092 3.0 8,864 0.5

First-professional 3.9 2 254,167 1.3 108,091 0.8 142,354 3,722 0.2

Full time 232,245 1.2 103,642 0.7 126,721 3.4 1,882 0.1

Part time 21,922 0.1 4,449 # 15,633 0.4 1,840 0.1

Men 128,492 0.7 52,061 0.4 74,480 2.0 1,951 0.1

Women 125,675 0.6 56,030 0.4 67,874 1.8 1,771 0.1

American Indian or Alaska Native 1,760 # 970 # 760 # 30 #

Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific 

Islander 

32,832 0.2 14,286 0.1 18,364 0.5 182 #

Black or African American 17,937 0.1 7,005 # 10,696 0.3 236 #

Hispanic or Latino 13,297 0.1 5,324 # 7,815 0.2 158 #

White 156,301 0.8 70,092 0.5 84,846 2.3 1,363 0.1

Two or more races1 73 # 0 0.0 73 # 0 0.0

Race/ethnicity unknown 25,464 0.1 8,857 0.1 14,860 0.4 1,747 0.1

Nonresident alien 6,503 # 1,557 # 4,940 0.1 6 #

2-year 1.3 3 7,100,631 36.3 6,693,185 47.5 46,355 361,091 20.1

Full time 2,934,713 15.0 2,581,290 18.3 32,325 0.9 321,098 17.9

Part time 4,165,918 21.3 4,111,895 29.2 14,030 0.4 39,993 2.2

Men 2,992,111 15.3 2,851,631 20.2 14,795 0.4 125,685 7.0

Women 4,108,520 21.0 3,841,554 27.3 31,560 0.9 235,406 13.1

See notes at end of table. 
9

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

status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2008—Continued 

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

attendance status, gender, and 

race/ethnicity Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

2-year—Continued 

American Indian or Alaska Native 82,066 0.4 77,129 0.5 1,596 # 3,341 0.2

Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific 

Islander 

441,239 2.3 425,764 3.0 2,050 0.1 13,425 0.7

Black or African American 982,143 5.0 889,021 6.3 7,740 0.2 85,382 4.7

Hispanic or Latino 1,111,383 5.7 1,049,454 7.4 3,384 0.1 58,545 3.3

White 3,901,242 19.9 3,711,797 26.3 27,809 0.8 161,636 9.0

Two or more races1 8,540 # 7,403 0.1 127 # 1,010 0.1

Race/ethnicity unknown 468,879 2.4 429,987 3.1 2,524 0.1 36,368 2.0

Nonresident alien 105,139 0.5 102,630 0.7 1,125 # 1,384 0.1

Less-than-2-year 341,909 1.7 67,075 0.5 11,821 0.3 263,013 14.6

Full time 274,748 1.4 38,938 0.3 10,528 0.3 225,282 12.5

Part time 67,161 0.3 28,137 0.2 1,293 # 37,731 2.1

Men 94,279 0.5 27,977 0.2 4,134 0.1 62,168 3.5

Women 247,630 1.3 39,098 0.3 7,687 0.2 200,845 11.2

American Indian or Alaska Native 3,799 # 2,148 # 75 # 1,576 0.1

Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific 

Islander 

12,735 0.1 2,522 # 712 # 9,501 0.5

Black or African American 81,680 0.4 9,058 0.1 3,236 0.1 69,386 3.9

Hispanic or Latino 84,470 0.4 17,947 0.1 4,663 0.1 61,860 3.4

White 129,553 0.7 33,742 0.2 2,824 0.1 92,987 5.2

Two or more races1 950 # 100 # 33 # 817 #

Race/ethnicity unknown 25,568 0.1 1,416 # 137 # 24,015 1.3

Nonresident alien 3,154 # 142 # 141 # 2,871 0.2

# Rounds to zero. 

1

Two or more races was an optional reporting category in IPEDS 2008-09, and a total of 651 institutions reported an enrollment of 

16,519 students of two or more races (0.1 percent of the 19,574,395 total students) using this option. The figures reported here 

should not be considered representative of the total number of individuals who could be classified into two or more races. 2

A total of 744 institutions reported fall enrollment using the optional revised levels of study that eliminated the first-professional 

category. For these institutions, students formerly classified as first-professional students are now classified as graduate students. In 

the prior year, graduate and first-professional student counts were reported for 729 of the 744 institutions, and 822,464 total

graduate and first-professional students were reported. Of these students, 100,619 (12.2 percent) were classified as firstprofessional. 

3

Includes 273 students enrolled in graduate-level courses at seven 2-year institutions. 

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

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2009, Enrollment component. 
10

Table 2. Enrollment, residence, and migration of all first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate 

students enrolled at Title IV institutions, by state: fall 2008 

Migration of students 

State 

Enrollment in 

institutions 

located in the 

designated 

state 

Residents of 

the designated 

state attending 

an institution 

in any state 

Residents of 

the designated 

state attending 

an institution in 

the same state 

Percent of 

students 

enrolled in the 

designated 

state who are 

residents of 

the same state

Students of 

unknown 

residency 

enrolled in 

institutions 

located in the 

designated state

Into 

designated 

state1

Out of

designated 

state 

Net

migration2

 

Alabama 51,762 43,005 37,840 73.1 1,772 12,150 5,165 6,985

Alaska 3,953 5,889 3,656 92.5 5 292 2,233 -1,941

Arizona 92,839 52,924 48,038 51.7 2,412 42,389 4,886 37,503

Arkansas 27,977 26,541 22,851 81.7 226 4,900 3,690 1,210

California 465,313 454,533 424,028 91.1 23,479 17,806 30,505 -12,699

Colorado 59,007 50,834 41,851 70.9 370 16,786 8,983 7,803

Connecticut 35,747 41,214 25,229 70.6 74 10,444 15,985 -5,541

Delaware 9,605 8,346 5,698 59.3 79 3,828 2,648 1,180

District of Columbia 14,713 4,589 1,282 8.7 427 13,004 3,307 9,697

Florida 174,360 163,724 145,071 83.2 9,477 19,812 18,653 1,159

Georgia 92,382 96,557 79,133 85.7 1,575 11,674 17,424 -5,750

Hawaii 9,827 11,507 8,017 81.6 155 1,655 3,490 -1,835

Idaho 12,556 12,541 8,869 70.6 60 3,627 3,672 -45

Illinois 126,133 128,585 99,042 78.5 416 26,675 29,543 -2,868

Indiana 74,684 66,608 58,061 77.7 590 16,033 8,547 7,486

Iowa 45,439 31,241 26,838 59.1 375 18,226 4,403 13,823

Kansas 31,265 28,983 24,458 78.2 143 6,664 4,525 2,139

Kentucky 41,280 39,261 33,761 81.8 131 7,388 5,500 1,888

Louisiana 41,172 39,901 35,188 85.5 167 5,817 4,713 1,104

Maine 12,613 13,026 9,155 72.6 70 3,388 3,871 -483

Maryland 51,973 61,844 40,936 78.8 275 10,762 20,908 -10,146

Massachusetts 80,509 72,688 51,707 64.2 1,190 27,612 20,981 6,631

Michigan 102,339 106,669 94,090 91.9 323 7,926 12,579 -4,653

Minnesota 56,217 59,718 45,286 80.6 759 10,172 14,432 -4,260

Mississippi 34,182 33,394 29,379 85.9 308 4,495 4,015 480

Missouri 59,786 58,104 48,300 80.8 945 10,541 9,804 737

Montana 8,651 8,535 6,472 74.8 113 2,066 2,063 3

Nebraska 18,421 18,217 14,934 81.1 107 3,380 3,283 97

Nevada 19,987 21,825 17,901 89.6 378 1,708 3,924 -2,216

New Hampshire 13,588 13,858 7,449 54.8 128 6,011 6,409 -398

New Jersey 74,767 105,790 68,769 92.0 441 5,557 37,021 -31,464

New Mexico 19,974 19,435 16,209 81.2 814 2,951 3,226 -275

New York 208,996 203,400 168,250 80.5 2,005 38,741 35,150 3,591

North Carolina 90,335 84,694 73,622 81.5 1,863 14,850 11,072 3,778

North Dakota 8,913 6,788 4,966 55.7 6 3,941 1,822 2,119

Ohio 121,093 125,456 105,494 87.1 559 15,040 19,962 -4,922

Oklahoma 38,483 35,661 31,413 81.6 466 6,604 4,248 2,356

Oregon 35,100 32,507 26,963 76.8 255 7,882 5,544 2,338

Pennsylvania 151,500 134,049 111,486 73.6 4,123 35,891 22,563 13,328

Rhode Island 17,815 11,619 8,110 45.5 111 9,594 3,509 6,085

South Carolina 43,983 39,638 34,221 77.8 254 9,508 5,417 4,091

South Dakota 9,064 8,307 6,272 69.2 272 2,520 2,035 485

Tennessee 59,989 59,819 50,284 83.8 358 9,347 9,535 -188

Texas 217,085 228,065 201,098 92.6 1,912 14,075 26,967 -12,892

Utah 31,553 25,608 23,390 74.1 699 7,464 2,218 5,246 

Vermont 7,808 5,510 2,588 33.1 47 5,173 2,922 2,251

Virginia 82,946 79,443 64,062 77.2 1,591 17,293 15,381 1,912

Washington 43,372 46,343 36,305 83.7 1,051 6,016 10,038 -4,022

West Virginia 21,325 15,663 13,245 62.1 552 7,528 2,418 5,110

Wisconsin 59,601 59,499 48,931 82.1 213 10,457 10,568 -111

Wyoming 6,260 4,659 3,464 55.3 79 2,717 1,195 1,522 1

Migration into the state may include students who are nonresident aliens, who are from the outlying areas (such as Puerto Rico), or who 

reside outside the state and are enrolled exclusively in online or distance education programs. Migration into the state does not include 

individuals whose state of residence is unknown. 

2

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

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

than leaving to attend school elsewhere. 

NOTE: State of residence is defined as the state 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 2009, Enrollment component.
11

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

utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2008 

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

Source of funds 

Revenues

 (in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent 

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Public institutions using GASB standards1

Total revenues and other sources $215,455,175 100.0 $50,397,076 100.0 $796,732 100.0

Operating revenues 128,834,202 59.8 15,888,279 31.5 288,740 36.2

Tuition and fees (net of allowances and 

discounts) 37,839,098 17.6 8,061,907 16.0 131,326 16.5

Grants and contracts 35,952,826 16.7 4,841,509 9.6 127,523 16.0

Federal (excludes FDSL loans) 22,428,583 10.4 2,033,764 4.0 40,771 5.1

State 5,423,485 2.5 2,169,066 4.3 54,750 6.9

Local 8,100,757 3.8 638,680 1.3 32,001 4.0

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises after 

deducting discounts and allowances 17,906,134 8.3 1,992,799 4.0 9,490 1.2

Sales and services of hospitals 23,250,422 10.8 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations 1,149,136 0.5 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other operating revenues2 12,736,587 5.9 992,064 2.0 20,401 2.6

Nonoperating revenues 72,460,783 33.6 31,788,889 63.1 477,945 60.0

Federal appropriations 1,751,071 0.8 116,425 0.2 6,640 0.8

State appropriations 52,430,449 24.3 15,357,423 30.5 201,575 25.3

Local appropriations 453,280 0.2 9,022,484 17.9 186,271 23.4

Nonoperating grants 6,482,787 3.0 5,684,693 11.3 50,068 6.3

Federal 5,177,569 2.4 4,889,236 9.7 42,386 5.3

State 1,201,394 0.6 720,431 1.4 5,493 0.7

Local 103,824 # 75,027 0.1 2,189 0.3

Gifts 5,157,727 2.4 270,519 0.5 5,135 0.6

Investment income 4,415,360 2.0 854,063 1.7 9,214 1.2

Other nonoperating revenues 1,770,108 0.8 483,282 1.0 19,042 2.4

Total other revenues and additions 14,160,191 6.6 2,719,908 5.4 30,047 3.8

Capital appropriations 5,637,968 2.6 2,020,264 4.0 12,948 1.6

Capital grants and gifts 2,762,277 1.3 341,145 0.7 15,894 2.0

Additions to permanent endowments 1,120,806 0.5 12,978 # 0 0.0

Other revenues and additions 4,639,141 2.2 345,522 0.7 1,206 0.2

Private not-for-profit institutions (FASB standards) 

Total revenues and investment return $138,754,054 100.0 $633,120 100.0 $149,583 100.0

Tuition and fees 50,432,882 36.3 363,034 57.3 65,594 43.9

Government appropriations 1,047,235 0.8 17,704 2.8 850 0.6

Federal 463,175 0.3 11,456 1.8 0 0.0

State 575,100 0.4 5,813 0.9 850 0.6

Local 8,960 # 435 0.1 0 0.0

Government grants and contracts 16,232,847 11.7 91,653 14.5 58,024 38.8

Federal 14,455,336 10.4 66,456 10.5 36,916 24.7

State 1,259,466 0.9 23,447 3.7 10,821 7.2

Local 518,045 0.4 1,750 0.3 10,286 6.9

Private gifts, grants, and contracts 19,649,722 14.2 50,537 8.0 12,658 8.5

Contributions from affiliated entities 1,290,369 0.9 26,070 4.1 1,169 0.8

Investment return 6,460,486 4.7 -383 -0.1 1,904 1.3

Sales and services of educational activities 4,838,936 3.5 13,094 2.1 2,104 1.4

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises 12,890,431 9.3 43,361 6.8 3,185 2.1

Hospital revenue 13,299,928 9.6 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations revenue 5,225,365 3.8 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other revenue 7,385,853 5.3 28,049 4.4 4,096 2.7

See notes at end of table. 
12

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

utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2008—Continued 

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

Source of funds 

Revenues

 (in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent 

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Private for-profit institutions (FASB standards) 

Total revenues and investment return $12,174,363 100.0 $4,757,710 100.0 $3,075,117 100.0

Tuition and fees 10,751,121 88.3 3,985,272 83.8 2,299,514 74.8

Government appropriations, grants, and contracts 674,750 5.5 391,226 8.2 326,434 10.6

Federal 644,062 5.3 350,585 7.4 306,995 10.0

State and local 30,688 0.3 40,641 0.9 19,439 0.6

Private grants and contracts 2,638 # 2,291 # 3,581 0.1

Investment income and investment gains (losses) 50,771 0.4 15,202 0.3 10,659 0.3

Sales and services of educational activities 246,419 2.0 96,284 2.0 180,956 5.9

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises 269,771 2.2 88,160 1.9 92,675 3.0

Other revenue 178,894 1.5 179,274 3.8 161,298 5.2

# Rounds to zero. 

1

In addition to the public institutions using Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards, 25 public Title IV institutions 

not displayed in this table reported $8.2 billion in revenue and investment return using Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) 

standards. 

2

A total of 385 institutions reported finance data for fiscal year 2008 using the optional aligned GASB form. The aligned form added 

the Sales and services of educational activities operating revenue category, allowing public institutions to separate this revenue from 

other operating revenues. Of the 385 institutions utilizing the aligned form, 180 institutions reported a total of $951.3 million in the 

Sales and services of educational activities category. This $951.3 million is reported here for consistency with public institutions not 

using the aligned form. 

NOTE: 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. 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 2009, Finance component. 
13

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

utilized, and type of expense: United States, fiscal year 2008 

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

Type of expense 

Expenses

 (in thousands) Percent

Expenses

(in thousands) Percent 

Expenses

(in thousands) Percent

Public institutions using GASB standards1

Total expenses $207,676,786 100.0 $46,288,003 100.0 $726,734 100.0

Operating expenses 195,617,808 94.2 45,133,154 97.5 715,789 98.5

Instruction 54,223,453 26.1 18,283,734 39.5 396,997 54.6

Research 24,734,032 11.9 19,163 # 0 0.0

Public service 10,081,229 4.9 768,045 1.7 357 #

Academic support 14,603,785 7.0 3,545,650 7.7 40,125 5.5

Student services 8,063,066 3.9 4,310,254 9.3 54,868 7.5

Institutional support 16,025,895 7.7 6,682,270 14.4 108,216 14.9

Operation and maintenance of plant 9,949,985 4.8 3,367,225 7.3 57,298 7.9

Depreciation2 7,518,719 3.6 1,422,625 3.1 13,930 1.9

Scholarships and fellowships (excluding 

discounts and allowances) 6,451,619 3.1 3,220,929 7.0 7,400 1.0

Auxiliary enterprises 17,671,976 8.5 2,306,648 5.0 7,267 1.0

Hospital services 22,388,426 10.8 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations 939,430 0.5 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other operating expenses and deductions 2,966,194 1.4 1,206,609 2.6 29,332 4.0

Nonoperating expenses 12,058,978 5.8 1,154,849 2.5 10,945 1.5

Interest 3,523,683 1.7 781,654 1.7 640 0.1

Other nonoperating expenses and deductions 8,535,296 4.1 373,195 0.8 10,305 1.4

Private not-for-profit institutions (FASB standards) 

Total expenses $132,972,661 100.0 $901,898 100.0 $148,099 100.0

Instruction 44,044,764 33.1 492,493 54.6 69,293 46.8

Research 14,473,394 10.9 1,042 0.1 39 #

Public service 2,176,695 1.6 7,048 0.8 28,457 19.2

Academic support 11,848,263 8.9 44,607 4.9 7,509 5.1

Student services 10,286,934 7.7 84,518 9.4 7,352 5.0

Institutional support 18,217,171 13.7 174,859 19.4 29,411 19.9

Auxiliary enterprises 13,281,697 10.0 42,959 4.8 131 0.1

Net grant aid to students 711,930 0.5 10,057 1.1 18 #

Hospital services 10,754,966 8.1 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations 4,887,609 3.7 0 0.0 0 0.0

Other expenses 2,289,238 1.7 44,315 4.9 5,888 4.0

Private for-profit institutions (FASB standards) 

Total expenses $10,424,536 100.0 $4,320,148 100.0 $2,795,922 100.0

Instruction 2,149,651 20.6 1,359,769 31.5 1,005,768 36.0

Research and public service 7,534 0.1 2,779 0.1 5,890 0.2

Academic support, student services, and 

institutional support 7,335,592 70.4 2,412,692 55.8 1,214,046 43.4

Auxiliary enterprises 312,834 3.0 119,062 2.8 57,495 2.1

Net grant aid to students 71,324 0.7 12,841 0.3 3,265 0.1

Other expenses 547,602 5.3 413,005 9.6 509,457 18.2

# Rounds to zero. 

1

In addition to the public institutions using Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards, 25 public Title IV institutions 

not displayed in this table reported $7.8 billion in expenses using Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standards. 2

A total of 385 institutions reported finance data for fiscal year 2008 using the optional aligned GASB form. The aligned form forced 

the allocation of depreciation as a natural classification of the expense functions and eliminated the depreciation function. Data in this 

row do not represent the 385 institutions that reported via the aligned form. 

NOTE: 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. 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 2009, Finance component. 
14

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

and degree at the institution where the students started as full-time, first-time students: United 

States, cohort years 2002 and 2005

Level and control of institution, 

gender, degree sought, and degree 

completed Total 

American 

Indian or 

Alaska 

Native 

Asian, 

Native 

Hawaiian, 

or

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 2002)2 55.9 37.9 66.1 38.9 46.5 59.3 43.6 52.1 54.7

Public 53.3 34.6 63.6 37.3 43.1 56.2 50.0 53.4 53.4

Men 50.1 31.4 60.1 31.0 38.5 53.2 100.0 50.2 50.5

Women 56.0 36.9 66.8 41.6 46.6 58.9 0.0 56.3 56.7

Private not-for-profit 64.4 48.9 74.7 44.2 57.5 67.3 45.9 60.6 68.7

Men 61.6 45.7 73.0 38.1 53.6 64.8 38.9 58.4 65.7

Women 66.5 51.2 76.0 48.5 60.2 69.3 50.0 62.5 72.0

Private for-profit 38.1 36.9 47.7 32.8 42.4 42.9 40.3 30.8 16.9

Men 39.4 40.1 48.9 31.6 41.8 44.9 42.9 30.8 19.0

Women 36.9 34.4 46.3 33.7 43.0 40.8 38.6 30.7 15.5

Bachelor’s or equivalent degreeseekers attending 4-year 

institutions and completing 

bachelor’s or equivalent degree 

(cohort year 2002) 57.2 38.3 67.1 40.1 48.9 60.2 43.7 53.4 55.3

Public 54.9 35.7 64.7 39.4 46.3 57.4 50.0 54.8 55.5

Men 51.7 32.2 61.3 32.9 41.4 54.4 100.0 51.7 52.5

Women 57.5 38.3 67.7 43.7 50.0 59.9 0.0 57.6 59.0

Private not-for-profit 64.6 49.8 75.3 44.9 59.5 67.2 47.0 60.4 68.3

Men 61.9 46.6 73.8 38.6 55.4 64.8 39.4 57.8 65.4

Women 66.7 52.1 76.3 49.4 62.2 69.1 52.0 62.4 71.5

Private for-profit 22.0 17.1 35.5 16.3 27.5 25.5 27.8 18.1 12.5

Men 23.6 23.5 38.4 16.6 26.7 27.8 25.0 18.4 11.7

Women 20.5 12.0 31.3 16.1 28.3 23.1 28.6 17.8 13.0

Total 2-year institutions 

(cohort year 2005) 30.5 27.0 33.4 25.5 28.7 31.7 54.8 33.3 32.8

Public 22.0 20.2 26.5 14.4 16.8 24.5 40.0 20.1 29.9

Men 21.3 21.0 24.4 14.0 15.8 23.6 60.0 19.1 27.4

Women 22.7 19.6 28.8 14.7 17.6 25.4 20.0 21.2 32.2

Private not-for-profit 51.4 16.0 37.2 40.6 45.0 58.1 75.0 62.0 52.6

Men 47.8 12.3 41.4 38.3 45.6 53.9 66.7 54.1 47.8

Women 54.0 18.7 34.9 42.9 44.6 61.1 100.0 66.1 56.3

Private for-profit 59.7 56.1 66.7 49.1 62.6 64.8 55.0 54.3 60.4

Men 60.8 57.3 67.1 46.0 61.0 66.8 59.1 55.7 59.4

Women 59.1 55.5 66.3 50.4 63.5 63.5 52.6 53.2 61.0

See notes at end of table. 
15

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

and degree at the institution where the students started as full-time, first-time students: United 

States, cohort years 2002 and 2005—Continued

Level and control of institution, 

gender, degree sought, and degree 

completed Total 

American 

Indian or 

Alaska 

Native 

Asian, 

Native 

Hawaiian, 

or

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 2005) 66.9 — — — — — — — —

— — — — — — — —

Public 74.3 — — — — — — — —

Private not-for-profit 73.7 — — — — — — — —

Private for-profit 65.7 — — — — — — — —

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

Two or more races was an optional reporting category in IPEDS 2008-09, and a total of 156 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: The rates in this table reflect graduation rates at institutions regardless of the length of programs, unless otherwise indicated. 

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

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

exclusions. The revised cohort is the current (spring 2009) estimate of the number of students entering the institution as full-time, firsttime 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 2009, Graduation Rates component. 
16

Table 6. Graduation rates of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

students at the 4-year Title IV institution where the students 

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

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

year 2002 

Gender and time to degree Total Public

Private 

not-for-profit

Private 

for-profit 

All students 

4-year graduation rate 36.4 29.9 51.0 14.2 

5-year graduation rate 52.3 49.2 61.3 17.2 

6-year graduation rate 57.2 54.9 64.6 22.0 

Men 

4-year graduation rate 31.3 24.5 46.3 17.0 

5-year graduation rate 48.7 45.3 58.5 19.9 

6-year graduation rate 54.1 51.7 61.9 23.6 

Women 

4-year graduation rate 40.5 34.3 54.7 11.6 

5-year graduation rate 55.2 52.5 63.5 14.7 

6-year graduation rate 59.7 57.5 66.7 20.5 

NOTE: The rates in this table reflect only students seeking bachelor’s or equivalent degrees, 

rather than all students at 4-year institutions. The graduation rate was calculated as required 

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

calculated as the total number of completers within the specified time to degree divided by the 

revised cohort minus any allowable exclusions. The revised cohort is the current (spring 2009) 

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

certificate-seeking undergraduates in the reference year. Allowable exclusions include those 

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

the armed forces; those who left to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, 

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

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

Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2009, Graduation Rates component. 
17

Table 7. Graduation rates of students at the Title IV institution where the students 

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

institution, degree sought, degree completed, and time to degree: United 

States, cohort years 2000 and 2004 

Level of institution, degree sought, degree 

completed, and time to degree Total Public

Private 

not-for-profit 

Private

 for-profit

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seekers 

attending 4-year institutions and 

completing bachelor’s or equivalent 

degree (cohort year 2000) 

Graduation rate within 100% of normal 

program completion time 36.1 28.9 50.3 26.8

Graduation rate within 150% of normal 

program completion time 57.5 54.8 64.4 33.9

Graduation rate within 200% of normal 

program completion time 60.6 58.3 66.4 37.8

Degree- or certificate-seekers attending 

2-year institutions and completing a 

degree or certificate (cohort year 

2004) 

Graduation rate within 100% of 

normal program completion time 18.9 11.5 41.9 42.1

Graduation rate within 150% of 

normal program completion time 31.4 22.0 53.5 61.3

Graduation rate within 200% of 

normal program completion time 37.3 28.4 58.1 65.4

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

certificate (cohort year 2004) 

Graduation rate within 100% of 

normal program completion time 47.3 57.4 54.2 45.8

Graduation rate within 150% of 

normal program completion time 67.0 71.4 73.8 66.2

Graduation rate within 200% of 

normal program completion time 71.5 80.1 80.0 70.1

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

unless otherwise indicated. The graduation rate was calculated as required for disclosure and reporting 

purposes under the Student Right-to-Know Act. This rate was calculated as the total number of completers 

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

cohort is the current (spring 2009) estimate of the number of students entering the institution as full-time, 

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

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

armed forces; those who left to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the 

Peace Corps; and those who left to serve on official church missions. 

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

Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2009, Graduation Rates 200 component. 
18

Table 8. Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates enrolled and those receiving 

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

2006-07 and 2007-08 

Academic year 2006-071 Academic year 2007-082

Sector of institution 

Number 

enrolled

Number of 

financial aid 

recipients

Percent 

receiving 

financial aid

Number 

enrolled

Number of 

financial aid 

recipients 

Percent 

receiving 

financial aid

Total students 2,769,840 2,033,550 73.4 2,910,614 2,225,061 76.4

Public 4-year 945,216 716,323 75.8 972,855 753,643 77.5

Public 2-year 649,887 397,724 61.2 702,478 439,437 62.6

Public less-than-2-year 30,795 16,870 54.8 28,677 15,890 55.4

Private not-for-profit 4-year 468,845 400,056 85.3 483,959 416,413 86.0

Private not-for-profit 2-year 11,591 9,581 82.7 12,413 10,494 84.5

Private not-for-profit less-than-2-year 9,850 7,620 77.4 9,068 7,117 78.5

Private for-profit 4-year 229,703 127,215 55.4 209,978 159,991 76.2

Private for-profit 2-year 194,762 170,408 87.5 230,238 200,165 86.9

Private for-profit less-than-2-year 229,191 187,753 81.9 260,948 221,911 85.0 1

The numbers shown reflect the 5,952 institutions that reported having financial aid recipients in academic year 2006-07. 2

The numbers shown reflect the 6,034 institutions that reported having financial aid recipients in academic year 2007-08. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2008 and Spring 2009, Student Financial Aid component. 
19

Table 9. Number and percentage of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates and 

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

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

aid: United States, academic year 2007-08 

Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Type of aid 

Total 

students 4-year 2-year

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

Full-time, first-time 

undergraduates 2,910,614 972,855 702,478 28,677 483,959 12,413 9,068 209,978 230,238 260,948

Number receiving 

Any financial aid 2,225,061 753,643 439,437 15,890 416,413 10,494 7,117 159,991 200,165 221,911

Federal grants 1,137,996 273,956 276,050 10,684 129,408 6,512 5,860 108,443 147,704 179,379

Pell grants 1,091,817 262,615 263,694 10,173 121,158 6,320 5,546 105,523 140,416 176,372

Other federal 

grants 491,709 177,151 75,911 1,001 93,008 2,225 1,967 22,969 56,227 61,250

State/local grants 803,025 365,250 234,364 4,999 145,101 3,705 1,671 15,098 23,969 8,868

Institutional grants 878,666 353,572 74,517 1,405 363,737 4,370 779 43,022 18,202 19,062

Loans to students1 1,390,524 441,961 131,562 6,102 291,901 6,655 3,345 144,519 179,442 185,037

Federal loans 1,345,062 430,024 128,068 5,912 282,355 6,527 3,298 142,305 168,764 177,809

Other loans 217,241 62,582 7,393 254 60,522 439 109 20,648 29,715 35,579

 

Percent receiving 

Any financial aid 76.4 77.5 62.6 55.4 86.0 84.5 78.5 76.2 86.9 85.0

Federal grants 39.1 28.2 39.3 37.3 26.7 52.5 64.6 51.6 64.2 68.7

Pell grants 37.5 27.0 37.5 35.5 25.0 50.9 61.2 50.3 61.0 67.6

Other federal 

grants 16.9 18.2 10.8 3.5 19.2 17.9 21.7 10.9 24.4 23.5

State/local grants 27.6 37.5 33.4 17.4 30.0 29.8 18.4 7.2 10.4 3.4

Institutional grants 30.2 36.3 10.6 4.9 75.2 35.2 8.6 20.5 7.9 7.3

Loans to students1 47.8 45.4 18.7 21.3 60.3 53.6 36.9 68.8 77.9 70.9

Federal loans 46.2 44.2 18.2 20.6 58.3 52.6 36.4 67.8 73.3 68.1

Other loans 7.5 6.4 1.1 0.9 12.5 3.5 1.2 9.8 12.9 13.6

Average amount2

Federal grants $3,299 $3,675 $3,017 $2,891 $3,960 $3,145 $3,224 $3,030 $3,137 $3,008

Pell grants 2,990 3,085 2,947 2,778 2,947 2,898 2,931 2,939 3,045 2,943

Other federal grants 996 1,110 732 2,625 1,671 974 1,339 805 634 335

State/local grants 2,566 2,963 1,348 2,276 3,391 3,203 3,243 2,922 2,988 2,877

Institutional grants 6,604 3,956 1,442 980 11,539 4,122 2,404 1,235 894 457

Loans to students1 6,051 5,190 3,502 5,183 6,435 5,367 5,275 8,799 7,216 6,104

Federal loans 5,006 4,130 3,355 5,149 4,567 5,059 5,091 7,529 6,482 5,579

Other loans 7,739 8,273 4,197 4,680 9,732 6,144 7,839 9,701 6,762 3,863 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: The numbers shown reflect the 6,034 institutions that reported the number of recipients by types of financial aid and the average 

amounts received. 

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

(IPEDS), Spring 2009, Student Financial Aid component. 
This page intentionally left blank. 
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 2009 

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

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

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

programs. There were 6,871 Title IV institutions1

 and administrative offices located in the 

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

 in the 2008-

09 academic year. 

The spring 2009 collection was entirely web-based. Institutions in the universe were asked to 

enter their survey responses using the IPEDS data collection website. The spring 2009 IPEDS 

data were collected between March 4, 2009 and April 29, 2009. The collection had five 

components: Enrollment, Finance, Graduation Rates, Graduation Rates 200, and Student 

Financial Aid. 

Terminology Used in the IPEDS Web Collection 

Please refer to the glossary in appendix B for definitions of various terms. Definitions of terms 

not included in the glossary in this document appear in the IPEDS online glossary 

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

Universe, Institutions Surveyed, and Response Rates 

The IPEDS universe is established during the fall collection period. For the 2008-09 cycle, some 

31 postsecondary institutions and one administrative office included in prior IPEDS data 

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

merged with another institution. Another 218 postsecondary institutions were reported 

exclusively by a parent institution.3

 In addition, 247 postsecondary institutions and one 

administrative office were added to the universe. These institutions were identified from several 

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

by OPE, and information provided by the institutions themselves. After identification of all of 

the appropriate institutions, the 2008-09 IPEDS universe consisted of 6,871 postsecondary 

entities. Although they are part of the 2008-09 IPEDS universe, 10 institutions that closed during 

the 2008-09 academic year were not eligible to complete any of the components collected during 

the spring 2009 collection, leaving 6,861 postsecondary entities eligible for the spring 2009 

components of IPEDS. 

 

1

 Includes 6,787 institutions and 84 administrative (central or system) offices. The central and system offices are 

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

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

2

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

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

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

A-1
The initial set of 6,871 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)). Four of the U.S. service academies 

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

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

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

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

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

parents and students make informed decisions about postsecondary education. 

Not all 6,861 Title IV postsecondary entities eligible for the spring data collection were required 

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

to those institutions that have full-time undergraduate students. The Graduation Rates (GRS) 

component is applicable to institutions that had full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking 

undergraduate students in the reference years (2002 for 4-year institutions and 2005 for lessthan-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 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 2009 IPEDS collection were high. The response rate for each component was more 

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

99.6 percent for Student Financial Aid and Graduation Rates 200. 

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

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

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

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

 and 

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

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

located in the United States only (excluding any other jurisdictions). Part B, enrollment by 

student age, is not included because Part B was optional this year. 

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

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

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

 

4

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

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

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

institutions and students. 

5

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

component. 

A-2
Table A-1. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 data 

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

institution/office: United States and other jurisdictions 

Degree-granting status and Enrollment Student Financial Aid 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 6,767 6,751 99.8 6,456 6,428 99.6

Public 2,022 2,021 100.0 2,003 2,002 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,861 1,857 99.8 1,617 1,613 99.8

Private for-profit 2,884 2,873 99.6 2,836 2,813 99.2

4-year 2,793 2,790 99.9 2,493 2,491 99.9

 Public 671 671 100.0 653 653 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,586 1,583 99.8 1,346 1,344 99.9

 Private for-profit 536 536 100.0 494 494 100.0

2-year 2,222 2,220 99.9 2,218 2,215 99.9

 Public 1,135 1,135 100.0 1,134 1,134 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 189 189 100.0 186 186 100.0

 Private for-profit 898 896 99.8 898 895 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,752 1,741 99.4 1,745 1,722 98.7

 Public 216 215 99.5 216 215 99.5

 Private not-for-profit 86 85 98.8 85 83 97.6

 Private for-profit 1,450 1,441 99.4 1,444 1,424 98.6

Degree-granting 4,488 4,485 99.9 4,198 4,195 99.9

4-year 2,778 2,775 99.9 2,490 2,488 99.9

Public 670 670 100.0 653 653 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,572 1,569 99.8 1,343 1,341 99.9

Private for-profit 536 536 100.0 494 494 100.0

2-year 1,710 1,710 100.0 1,708 1,707 99.9

Public 1,031 1,031 100.0 1,030 1,030 100.0

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

Private for-profit 581 581 100.0 580 579 99.8

Non-degree-granting 2,279 2,266 99.4 2,258 2,233 98.9

4-year 15 15 100.0 3 3 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 3 3 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 512 510 99.6 510 508 99.6

Public 104 104 100.0 104 104 100.0

Private not-for-profit 91 91 100.0 88 88 100.0

Private for-profit 317 315 99.4 318 316 99.4

Less-than-2-year 1,752 1,741 99.4 1,745 1,722 98.7

Public 216 215 99.5 216 215 99.5

Private not-for-profit 86 85 98.8 85 83 97.6

Private for-profit 1,450 1,441 99.4 1,444 1,424 98.6

See notes at end of table. 

A-3
Table A-1. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 data 

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

institution/office: United States and other jurisdictions—Continued 

Degree-granting status and Finance Graduation Rates 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response rate 

(%) Final universe 

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 6,837 6,816 99.7 6,008 5,988 99.7

Public 2,079 2,078 100.0 1,951 1,950 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,862 1,859 99.8 1,499 1,494 99.7

Private for-profit 2,896 2,879 99.4 2,558 2,544 99.5

4-year 2,840 2,837 99.9 2,231 2,228 99.9

 Public 710 710 100.0 618 618 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,589 1,586 99.8 1,251 1,248 99.8

 Private for-profit 541 541 100.0 362 362 100.0

2-year 2,254 2,252 99.9 2,146 2,144 99.9

 Public 1,165 1,165 100.0 1,124 1,124 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 187 187 100.0 167 167 100.0

 Private for-profit 902 900 99.8 855 853 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,743 1,727 99.1 1,631 1,616 99.1

 Public 204 203 99.5 209 208 99.5

 Private not-for-profit 86 86 100.0 81 79 97.5

 Private for-profit 1,453 1,438 99.0 1,341 1,329 99.1

Degree-granting 4,572 4,569 99.9 3,899 3,895 99.9

4-year 2,828 2,825 99.9 2,229 2,226 99.9

Public 710 710 100.0 618 618 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,577 1,574 99.8 1,249 1,246 99.8

Private for-profit 541 541 100.0 362 362 100.0

2-year 1,744 1,744 100.0 1,670 1,669 99.9

Public 1,063 1,063 100.0 1,021 1,021 100.0

Private not-for-profit 97 97 100.0 96 96 100.0

Private for-profit 584 584 100.0 553 552 99.8

Non-degree-granting 2,265 2,247 99.2 2,109 2,093 99.2

4-year 12 12 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 12 12 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 510 508 99.6 476 475 99.8

Public 102 102 100.0 103 103 100.0

Private not-for-profit 90 90 100.0 71 71 100.0

Private for-profit 318 316 99.4 302 301 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,743 1,727 99.1 1,631 1,616 99.1

Public 204 203 99.5 209 208 99.5

Private not-for-profit 86 86 100.0 81 79 97.5

Private for-profit 1,453 1,438 99.0 1,341 1,329 99.1

See notes at end of table. 

A-4
A-5

Table A-1. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 data 

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

institution/office: United States and other jurisdictions—Continued 

Degree-granting status and Graduation Rates 200 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 5,567 5,543 99.6

Public 1,898 1,897 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,444 1,439 99.7

Private for-profit 2,225 2,207 99.2

4-year 1,941 1,939 99.9

 Public 567 567 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,199 1,197 99.8

 Private for-profit 175 175 100.0

2-year 2,103 2,100 99.9

 Public 1,125 1,125 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 168 167 99.4

 Private for-profit 810 808 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,523 1,504 98.8

 Public 206 205 99.5

 Private not-for-profit 77 75 97.4

 Private for-profit 1,240 1,224 98.7

Degree-granting 3,578 3,574 99.9

4-year 1,941 1,939 99.9

Public 567 567 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,199 1,197 99.8

Private for-profit 175 175 100.0

2-year 1,637 1,635 99.9

Public 1,023 1,023 100.0

Private not-for-profit 94 93 98.9

Private for-profit 520 519 99.8

Non-degree-granting 1,989 1,969 99.0

4-year 0 0 †

Public 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 0 0 †

Private for-profit 0 0 †

2-year 466 465 99.8

Public 102 102 100.0

Private not-for-profit 74 74 100.0

Private for-profit 290 289 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,523 1,504 98.8

Public 206 205 99.5

Private not-for-profit 77 75 97.4

Private for-profit 1,240 1,224 98.7

† Not applicable. 

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

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

Graduation Rates, Graduation Rates 200, or Student Financial Aid components. Data were imputed for all total nonrespondents. In

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

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

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

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2009. 
Table A-1a. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 data 

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

institution/office: United States 

Degree-granting status and Enrollment Student Financial Aid 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 6,612 6,596 99.8 6,306 6,278 99.6

Public 1,996 1,995 99.9 1,977 1,976 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,806 1,802 99.8 1,567 1,563 99.7

Private for-profit 2,810 2,799 99.6 2,762 2,739 99.2

4-year 2,729 2,726 99.9 2,434 2,432 99.9

 Public 653 653 100.0 635 635 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,548 1,545 99.8 1,313 1,311 99.8

 Private for-profit 528 528 100.0 486 486 100.0

2-year 2,198 2,196 99.9 2,194 2,191 99.9

 Public 1,127 1,127 100.0 1,126 1,126 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 183 183 100.0 180 180 100.0

 Private for-profit 888 886 99.8 888 885 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,685 1,674 99.3 1,678 1,655 98.6

 Public 216 215 99.5 216 215 99.5

 Private not-for-profit 75 74 98.7 74 72 97.3

 Private for-profit 1,394 1,385 99.4 1,388 1,368 98.6

Degree-granting 4,402 4,399 99.9 4,117 4,114 99.9

4-year 2,714 2,711 99.9 2,431 2,429 99.9

Public 652 652 100.0 635 635 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,534 1,531 99.8 1,310 1,308 99.8

Private for-profit 528 528 100.0 486 486 100.0

2-year 1,688 1,688 100.0 1,686 1,685 99.9

Public 1,024 1,024 100.0 1,023 1,023 100.0

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

Private for-profit 572 572 100.0 571 570 99.8

Non-degree-granting 2,210 2,197 99.4 2,189 2,164 98.9

4-year 15 15 100.0 3 3 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 3 3 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 510 508 99.6 508 506 99.6

Public 103 103 100.0 103 103 100.0

Private not-for-profit 91 91 100.0 88 88 100.0

Private for-profit 316 314 99.4 317 315 99.4

Less-than-2-year 1,685 1,674 99.3 1,678 1,655 98.6

Public 216 215 99.5 216 215 99.5

Private not-for-profit 75 74 98.7 74 72 97.3

Private for-profit 1,394 1,385 99.4 1,388 1,368 98.6

See notes at end of table. 

A-6
Table A-1a. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 data 

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

institution/office: United States—Continued 

Degree-granting status and Finance Graduation Rates 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 6,679 6,658 99.7 5,864 5,844 99.7

Public 2,052 2,051 100.0 1,926 1,925 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,805 1,802 99.8 1,451 1,446 99.7

Private for-profit 2,822 2,805 99.4 2,487 2,473 99.4

4-year 2,773 2,770 99.9 2,175 2,172 99.9

 Public 691 691 100.0 601 601 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,549 1,546 99.8 1,219 1,216 99.8

 Private for-profit 533 533 100.0 355 355 100.0

2-year 2,230 2,228 99.9 2,122 2,120 99.9

 Public 1,157 1,157 100.0 1,116 1,116 100.0

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

 Private for-profit 892 890 99.8 845 843 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,676 1,660 99.0 1,567 1,552 99.0

 Public 204 203 99.5 209 208 99.5

 Private not-for-profit 75 75 100.0 71 69 97.2

 Private for-profit 1,397 1,382 98.9 1,287 1,275 99.1

Degree-granting 4,483 4,480 99.9 3,821 3,817 99.9

4-year 2,761 2,758 99.9 2,173 2,170 99.9

Public 691 691 100.0 601 601 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,537 1,534 99.8 1,217 1,214 99.8

Private for-profit 533 533 100.0 355 355 100.0

2-year 1,722 1,722 100.0 1,648 1,647 99.9

Public 1,056 1,056 100.0 1,014 1,014 100.0

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

Private for-profit 575 575 100.0 544 543 99.8

Non-degree-granting 2,196 2,178 99.2 2,043 2,027 99.2

4-year 12 12 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 12 12 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 508 506 99.6 474 473 99.8

Public 101 101 100.0 102 102 100.0

Private not-for-profit 90 90 100.0 71 71 100.0

Private for-profit 317 315 99.4 301 300 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,676 1,660 99.0 1,567 1,552 99.0

Public 204 203 99.5 209 208 99.5

Private not-for-profit 75 75 100.0 71 69 97.2

Private for-profit 1,397 1,382 98.9 1,287 1,275 99.1

See notes at end of table. 

A-7
Table A-1a. Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 data 

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

institution/office: United States—Continued 

Degree-granting status and Graduation Rates 200 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 5,435 5,412 99.6

Public 1,877 1,876 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,398 1,393 99.6

Private for-profit 2,160 2,143 99.2

4-year 1,894 1,892 99.9

 Public 553 553 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,168 1,166 99.8

 Private for-profit 173 173 100.0

2-year 2,081 2,078 99.9

 Public 1,118 1,118 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 163 162 99.4

 Private for-profit 800 798 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,460 1,442 98.8

 Public 206 205 99.5

 Private not-for-profit 67 65 97.0

 Private for-profit 1,187 1,172 98.7

Degree-granting 3,510 3,506 99.9

4-year 1,894 1,892 99.9

Public 553 553 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,168 1,166 99.8

Private for-profit 173 173 100.0

2-year 1,616 1,614 99.9

Public 1,016 1,016 100.0

Private not-for-profit 89 88 98.9

Private for-profit 511 510 99.8

Non-degree-granting 1,925 1,906 99.0

4-year 0 0 †

Public 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 0 0 †

Private for-profit 0 0 †

2-year 465 464 99.8

Public 102 102 100.0

Private not-for-profit 74 74 100.0

Private for-profit 289 288 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,460 1,442 98.8

Public 206 205 99.5

Private not-for-profit 67 65 97.0

Private for-profit 1,187 1,172 98.7

† Not applicable. 

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

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

Graduation Rates, Graduation Rates 200, or Student Financial Aid components. Data were imputed for all total nonrespondents. In

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

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2009. 

A-8
Table A-2. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 Enrollment component, by part, 

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

jurisdictions 

Degree-granting status and Part A, by race/ethnicity and gender Part C, by state of residence 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 6,767 6,751 99.8 6,271 6,257 99.8

Public 2,022 2,021 100.0 1,968 1,967 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,861 1,857 99.8 1,502 1,500 99.9

Private for-profit 2,884 2,873 99.6 2,801 2,790 99.6

4-year 2,793 2,790 99.9 2,377 2,376 100.0

 Public 671 671 100.0 626 626 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,586 1,583 99.8 1,265 1,264 99.9

 Private for-profit 536 536 100.0 486 486 100.0

2-year 2,222 2,220 99.9 2,161 2,159 99.9

 Public 1,135 1,135 100.0 1,130 1,130 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 189 189 100.0 156 156 100.0

 Private for-profit 898 896 99.8 875 873 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,752 1,741 99.4 1,733 1,722 99.4

 Public 216 215 99.5 212 211 99.5

 Private not-for-profit 86 85 98.8 81 80 98.8

 Private for-profit 1,450 1,441 99.4 1,440 1,431 99.4

Degree-granting 4,488 4,485 99.9 4,066 4,065 100.0

4-year 2,778 2,775 99.9 2,375 2,374 100.0

Public 670 670 100.0 626 626 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,572 1,569 99.8 1,263 1,262 99.9

Private for-profit 536 536 100.0 486 486 100.0

2-year 1,710 1,710 100.0 1,691 1,691 100.0

Public 1,031 1,031 100.0 1,030 1,030 100.0

Private not-for-profit 98 98 100.0 94 94 100.0

Private for-profit 581 581 100.0 567 567 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,279 2,266 99.4 2,205 2,192 99.4

4-year 15 15 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

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

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 512 510 99.6 470 468 99.6

Public 104 104 100.0 100 100 100.0

Private not-for-profit 91 91 100.0 62 62 100.0

Private for-profit 317 315 99.4 308 306 99.4

Less-than-2-year 1,752 1,741 99.4 1,733 1,722 99.4

Public 216 215 99.5 212 211 99.5

Private not-for-profit 86 85 98.8 81 80 98.8

Private for-profit 1,450 1,441 99.4 1,440 1,431 99.4

See notes at end of table. 

A-9
Table A-2. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 Enrollment component, by part, 

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

jurisdictions—Continued 

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

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 3,935 3,933 99.9 6,090 6,078 99.8

Public 1,712 1,711 99.9 1,968 1,967 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,408 1,407 99.9 1,508 1,507 99.9

Private for-profit 815 815 100.0 2,614 2,604 99.6

4-year 2,270 2,268 99.9 2,413 2,413 100.0

 Public 626 625 99.8 627 627 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,262 1,261 99.9 1,277 1,277 100.0

 Private for-profit 382 382 100.0 509 509 100.0

2-year 1,533 1,533 100.0 2,189 2,187 99.9

 Public 1,044 1,044 100.0 1,133 1,133 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 130 130 100.0 165 165 100.0

 Private for-profit 359 359 100.0 891 889 99.8

Less-than-2-year 132 132 100.0 1,488 1,478 99.3

 Public 42 42 100.0 208 207 99.5

 Private not-for-profit 16 16 100.0 66 65 98.5

 Private for-profit 74 74 100.0 1,214 1,206 99.3

Degree-granting 3,704 3,702 99.9 4,116 4,116 100.0

4-year 2,270 2,268 99.9 2,411 2,411 100.0

Public 626 625 99.8 627 627 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,262 1,261 99.9 1,275 1,275 100.0

Private for-profit 382 382 100.0 509 509 100.0

2-year 1,434 1,434 100.0 1,705 1,705 100.0

Public 1,020 1,020 100.0 1,030 1,030 100.0

Private not-for-profit 82 82 100.0 96 96 100.0

Private for-profit 332 332 100.0 579 579 100.0

Non-degree-granting 231 231 100.0 1,974 1,962 99.4

4-year 0 0 † 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

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

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 99 99 100.0 484 482 99.6

Public 24 24 100.0 103 103 100.0

Private not-for-profit 48 48 100.0 69 69 100.0

Private for-profit 27 27 100.0 312 310 99.4

Less-than-2-year 132 132 100.0 1,488 1,478 99.3

Public 42 42 100.0 208 207 99.5

Private not-for-profit 16 16 100.0 66 65 98.5

Private for-profit 74 74 100.0 1,214 1,206 99.3

† Not applicable. 

1

These data are not required for program-reporting institutions. 

2

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

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

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

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2009, Enrollment component. 

A-10
Table A-2a. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 Enrollment component, by part, 

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

Degree-granting status and Part A, by race/ethnicity and gender Part C, by state of residence 

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 6,612 6,596 99.8 6,124 6,110 99.8

Public 1,996 1,995 99.9 1,943 1,942 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,806 1,802 99.8 1,454 1,452 99.9

Private for-profit 2,810 2,799 99.6 2,727 2,716 99.6

4-year 2,729 2,726 99.9 2,320 2,319 100.0

 Public 653 653 100.0 609 609 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,548 1,545 99.8 1,233 1,232 99.9

 Private for-profit 528 528 100.0 478 478 100.0

2-year 2,198 2,196 99.9 2,137 2,135 99.9

 Public 1,127 1,127 100.0 1,122 1,122 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 183 183 100.0 150 150 100.0

 Private for-profit 888 886 99.8 865 863 99.8

Less-than-2-year 1,685 1,674 99.3 1,667 1,656 99.3

 Public 216 215 99.5 212 211 99.5

 Private not-for-profit 75 74 98.7 71 70 98.6

 Private for-profit 1,394 1,385 99.4 1,384 1,375 99.3

Degree-granting 4,402 4,399 99.9 3,987 3,986 100.0

4-year 2,714 2,711 99.9 2,318 2,317 100.0

Public 652 652 100.0 609 609 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,534 1,531 99.8 1,231 1,230 99.9

Private for-profit 528 528 100.0 478 478 100.0

2-year 1,688 1,688 100.0 1,669 1,669 100.0

Public 1,024 1,024 100.0 1,023 1,023 100.0

Private not-for-profit 92 92 100.0 88 88 100.0

Private for-profit 572 572 100.0 558 558 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,210 2,197 99.4 2,137 2,124 99.4

4-year 15 15 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

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

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 510 508 99.6 468 466 99.6

Public 103 103 100.0 99 99 100.0

Private not-for-profit 91 91 100.0 62 62 100.0

Private for-profit 316 314 99.4 307 305 99.3

Less-than-2-year 1,685 1,674 99.3 1,667 1,656 99.3

Public 216 215 99.5 212 211 99.5

Private not-for-profit 75 74 98.7 71 70 98.6

Private for-profit 1,394 1,385 99.4 1,384 1,375 99.3

See notes at end of table. 

A-11
Table A-2a. Title IV institutions responding to the IPEDS spring 2009 Enrollment component, by part, 

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

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

level and control of 

institution/office Final universe

Number 

responded

Response 

rate (%) Final universe 

Number 

responded 

Response 

rate (%)

All institutions 3,837 3,835 99.9 5,944 5,932 99.8

Public 1,687 1,686 99.9 1,943 1,942 99.9

Private not-for-profit 1,365 1,364 99.9 1,461 1,460 99.9

Private for-profit 785 785 100.0 2,540 2,530 99.6

4-year 2,214 2,212 99.9 2,356 2,356 100.0

 Public 609 608 99.8 610 610 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 1,230 1,229 99.9 1,245 1,245 100.0

 Private for-profit 375 375 100.0 501 501 100.0

2-year 1,512 1,512 100.0 2,165 2,163 99.9

 Public 1,036 1,036 100.0 1,125 1,125 100.0

 Private not-for-profit 125 125 100.0 159 159 100.0

 Private for-profit 351 351 100.0 881 879 99.8

Less-than-2-year 111 111 100.0 1,423 1,413 99.3

 Public 42 42 100.0 208 207 99.5

 Private not-for-profit 10 10 100.0 57 56 98.2

 Private for-profit 59 59 100.0 1,158 1,150 99.3

Degree-granting 3,628 3,626 99.9 4,037 4,037 100.0

4-year 2,214 2,212 99.9 2,354 2,354 100.0

Public 609 608 99.8 610 610 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,230 1,229 99.9 1,243 1,243 100.0

Private for-profit 375 375 100.0 501 501 100.0

2-year 1,414 1,414 100.0 1,683 1,683 100.0

Public 1,013 1,013 100.0 1,023 1,023 100.0

Private not-for-profit 77 77 100.0 90 90 100.0

Private for-profit 324 324 100.0 570 570 100.0

Non-degree-granting 209 209 100.0 1,907 1,895 99.4

4-year 0 0 † 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

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

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 98 98 100.0 482 480 99.6

Public 23 23 100.0 102 102 100.0

Private not-for-profit 48 48 100.0 69 69 100.0

Private for-profit 27 27 100.0 311 309 99.4

Less-than-2-year 111 111 100.0 1,423 1,413 99.3

Public 42 42 100.0 208 207 99.5

Private not-for-profit 10 10 100.0 57 56 98.2

Private for-profit 59 59 100.0 1,158 1,150 99.3

† Not applicable. 

1

These data are not required for program-reporting institutions. 

2

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

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

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

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2009, Enrollment component. 

A-12
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, 2008) for this data 

collection. Part A collects summary data on the number of students enrolled in the fall, including 

the number of first-time1

 degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate (freshmen) students; the total 

number of degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates; total undergraduates; total graduate 

students; and total first-professional students—all by race/ethnicity, gender, and enrollment 

status (full or part time). Part B (which is optional this year, but is 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, graduate, and first-professional) 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 firsttime degree/certificate-seeking (undergraduate) students and the number of those students 

enrolled in the fall who completed high school in the last 12 months, by state of residence. Part D 

collects data on the total number of undergraduate students who entered the institution for the 

first time in the fall term. This includes both full-time and part-time undergraduate students, 

whether degree/certificate-seeking or not, and any students who transferred into the institution. 

Part E collects data on retention rates. Four-year institutions report one rate for full-time, firsttime bachelor’s-seeking undergraduate students and another for part-time, first-time bachelor’sseeking undergraduate students. Less-than-4-year institutions report one rate for full-time, firsttime degree/certificate-seeking students and another for part-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking students. 

Part F requests data to use in calculating an estimated undergraduate program student-to-faculty 

ratio. Total full-time students, total part-time students, number of full-time instructional staff, 

and number of part-time instructional staff are collected from the Enrollment part A and the EAP 

section of the HR component and carried forward into part F. Institutions report the number of 

full-time and part-time students enrolled in graduate or first-professional programs in which 

faculty teach virtually only graduate-level students; institutions also report the number of fulltime and part-time instructional staff teaching in graduate or professional programs that teach 

virtually only graduate-level students. These reported graduate and first-professional student and 

staff counts are subtracted from the relevant enrollment or staff totals, and the estimated 

undergraduate program student-to-faculty ratio is then calculated by the data collection system. 

Finance 

This component of the web-based survey collects summary data on each institution’s financial 

status in fiscal year 2008. The Finance component has different versions of the form based 

mainly on control of the institution: public, private not-for-profit, and private for-profit. This 

year public institutions were allowed to choose between two versions of the component 

depending on which standards 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. 

 

1

 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. 

A-13
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 units2 that report using FASB 

standards (Part F), component units that report using GASB standards (Part G), and endowment 

assets (Part H). Additionally, certain data are collected for the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 

including revenue data (Part J), expenditure data (Part K), and debts and assets (Part L).3

Private not-for-profit institutions and public institutions that use FASB reporting standards to 

prepare their financial statements report data on their statement of financial position (Part A), 

summary of changes in net assets (Part B), student grants (Part C), revenues and investment 

return (Part D), expenses by functional and natural classification (Part E), and endowment assets 

(Part H). A shortened version of the not-for-profit form has been developed for private for-profit 

institutions, and data are collected on balance sheet information (Part A), summary of changes in 

equity (Part B), student grants (Part C), revenues and investment return (Part D), and expenses 

by function (Part E). 

Graduation Rates 

This component collects the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the 

number of students in this cohort completing within 150 percent of normal time to program 

completion; 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 2008-

09, 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 2005-06 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 2008-09, for 4-year institutions, the cohort consists of those 

students who first started in the 2000-01 academic year, and for 2-year and less-than-2-year 

institutions, the cohort is those students starting in the 2004-05 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 two parts: a section on student counts and a section 

on financial aid. Data were collected based on the 2007-08 academic year for those institutions 

 

2

 Component units are separate entities for which the institution is financially accountable. These units may not use 

the same accounting standards as the institution, i.e., an institution using GASB accounting standards may have a 

component unit that uses GASB or FASB standards. 

3

 Part I has been discontinued and is no longer applicable. 

A-14
that were part of the IPEDS universe and indicated that they enrolled full-time undergraduate 

students in 2007-08. Student counts were collected based on fall 2007 enrollment or 

unduplicated counts for 2007-08, and institutions that charge tuition based on residency were 

asked to provide student counts by in-district, in-state, and out-of-state residency status. The 

number of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who received 

financial aid is collected by type of aid. For each type of aid, the average amount of aid received 

by those students for the entire academic year is also collected. Types of aid include federal 

grants (grants/educational assistance funds), state/local grants (grants/scholarships/waivers), 

institutional grants (scholarships/ fellowships), and loans to students. 

The 2008-09 survey forms are available at 

http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/web2000/SpringDataItems.asp. 

Survey Procedures 

The IPEDS spring 2009 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. Also, coordinators may elect to provide 

different levels of review. For example, some may only view data provided by their institutions, 

while others may upload data from state databases, review, and/or lock data for their institutions. 

For the 2008-09 IPEDS data collections, keyholders were asked to register prior to the fall 2008 

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 2008-09 collection year. The package included a letter for the keyholder and a 

registration certificate with the institution’s UserID and password for the entire 2008-09 

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 2008-09 data to ensure a point of contact between NCES/IPEDS and the institution. 

Online data entry forms were tailored to each institution based on characteristics such as degreegranting status, control of institution (public, private not-for-profit, private for-profit), and level 

of institution (4-year, 2-year, and less-than-2-year). 

A-15
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 2008-09 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. Because of confidentiality issues, Student Financial Aid and Graduation 

Rates data were not immediately available in the Data Center, but were made available after the 

application of perturbation procedures. 

Edit Procedures 

Edit checks are built into the web-based data collection instrument to detect major reporting 

errors. The system automatically generates percentages for many data elements, and totals for 

each survey page. Based on these calculations, edit checks compared current responses to 

previously reported data. The percent variance necessary to trigger an edit check varied 

depending on the data element being compared, but typically were considered out of the 

expected range if the variance was greater than 25 percent. Edit checks can be run by the 

keyholder at any time during the collection, and all edit failures were required to be resolved 

before the keyholder could lock the data. As edit checks are executed, survey respondents are 

allowed to correct any errors detected by the system. If data were entered correctly but failed the 

edit checks, the survey respondents were asked either to confirm that the data were correct as 

entered or to key in a text message explaining why the data appeared to be out of the expected 

data range. Additionally, some edit failures were “fatal”; in these cases, the data had to be 

corrected by the keyholder rather than confirmed or explained. For the Graduation Rates 

component, respondents were permitted to change the initial cohort (previously reported 

numbers brought forward from responses to the Enrollment component) if the data were 

originally reported incorrectly. Survey respondents are also provided with a caveats box for each 

survey component and are encouraged to use this area to explain any special circumstances that 

might not be evident in their reported data. 

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 firstA-16
time degree/certificate-seeking students in Part C (reported by state 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 these balances were entered into “unknown” fields. 

Additionally, current year data for all sections were compared to data from previous years, and 

large discrepancies (typically 25 percent or greater) had to be justified by the keyholder in the 

edit explanations. 

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 private not-for-profit institutions, total net assets had to equal total 

unrestricted net assets plus total restricted net assets. Total net assets also had to equal total 

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 

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 

Edits were also applied to the Student Financial Aid component of the survey. For example, the 

number of full-time, first-time students had to be less than or equal to the total number of 

undergraduate students enrolled. The number of full-time, first-time students who received any 

financial aid during the full academic year had to be less than or equal to the number of full-time, 

first-time undergraduate students. For public institutions that charged by residency, the sum of 

in-district, in-state, and out-of-state full-time, first-time undergraduate students could not exceed 

the number of full-time, first-time undergraduate students. The number of full-time, first-time 

undergraduate students receiving federal grants could not exceed the number of full-time, firstA-17
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. 

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 imputation base was restricted to institutions 

satisfying all of the following conditions: 

• The institution must participate in Title IV student financial aid programs. 

• The institution must be currently active4 in IPEDS. 

• The institution must not be an administrative office. 

• The institution must not be a child institution (a child institution’s data are reported by 

another institution, referred to as the parent). 

• For the Graduation Rates 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, 98 imputation groups were formed primarily based on 

institutional sector and undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional offerings. 

The following imputation methods were used (in order of preference) to impute missing 

enrollment data: 

• Carry Forward—Reported 2007 (or 2006) enrollment data were carried forward to the 

current year. The number of students reported in 2007 (or 2006) 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 2007-08 were used in defining 

the distance measure for this method. In particular, the distance between two institutions was 

defined as the maximum relative difference in award count among the levels of study 

(undergraduate, graduate, first-professional). The nearest neighbor of the imputee was 

selected from the responding institutions in the same imputation group as the donor. The 

donor’s fall enrollment counts were multiplied by the ratio of the imputee’s award count to 

the donor’s award count to adjust for the difference between the two institutions. These 

adjusted values were used as the imputed values. 

• Group Median—For each imputation group, the median enrollment count of all responding 

institutions was calculated. The responding institution that had the closest enrollment count 

to this median was designated as the median institution. Enrollment counts were imputed 

using the values from the median institution. For public institutions, if there were at least 

three donors from the imputee’s state, the median institution was chosen from the institutions 

 

4

 Institutions that did not respond were verified as currently active (open for business) prior to imputation through 

telephone calls and e-mail. 

A-18
within the same state as the imputee. Otherwise, the median institution was chosen from the 

entire imputation group. 

For total nonrespondents, if there were past enrollment data, then the Carry Forward method was 

used. Alternately, if there were past completions data, the Nearest Neighbor method was used. 

Otherwise the Group Median method was used. Partial imputations were also conducted using 

the above methods when an entire part of the Enrollment component was missing. 

Table A-3 provides the fall enrollment counts (reported and imputed) and percentages that were 

imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United States, by control of institution, student level, 

attendance status, gender, and degree-granting status. 

Table A-4 provides the fall enrollment counts of first-time, first-year undergraduate students 

(reported and imputed) and percentages that were imputed for all Title IV institutions in the 

United States, by control of institution, degree-granting status, and region of residency of 

student. 

Table A-5 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-6 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. 

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 2008 

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Imputed Imputed Imputed Imputed 

Student level, attendance 

status, gender, and 

degree-granting status 

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent 

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent 

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent

All students 19,574,395 8,153 # 14,092,109 2,358 # 3,684,723 3,936 0.1 1,797,563 1,859 0.1

Undergraduate 16,837,014 6,472 # 12,711,133 1,528 # 2,559,471 3,085 0.1 1,566,410 1,859 0.1

First-time, first-year 3,218,242 2,536 0.1 2,286,973 907 # 518,414 680 0.1 412,855 949 0.2

Other undergraduate 13,618,772 3,299 # 10,424,160 621 # 2,041,057 2,405 0.1 1,153,555 273 #

Graduate 2,483,214 754 # 1,272,885 327 # 982,898 427 # 227,431 0 0.0

First-professional1 254,167 424 0.2 108,091 0 0.0 142,354 424 0.3 3,722 0 0.0

Full time 12,125,426 5,407 # 7,998,391 1,573 # 2,742,051 3,173 0.1 1,384,984 661 #

Part time 7,448,969 1,813 # 6,093,718 785 # 942,672 763 0.1 412,579 265 0.1

Men 8,339,495 2,941 # 6,156,383 1,096 # 1,561,879 1,473 0.1 621,233 372 0.1

Women 11,234,900 5,212 # 7,935,726 1,262 # 2,122,844 2,463 0.1 1,176,330 1,487 0.1

Degree-granting 19,102,814 5,851 # 13,972,153 830 # 3,661,519 3,897 0.1 1,469,142 1,124 0.1

Non-degree-granting 471,581 2,302 0.5 119,956 1,528 1.3 23,204 39 0.2 328,421 735 0.2

# Rounds to zero. 

1

A total of 744 institutions reported fall enrollment using the optional revised levels of study that eliminated the first-professional category. For these 

institutions, students formerly classified as first-professional students are now classified as graduate students. In the prior year, graduate and firstprofessional student counts were reported for 729 of the 744 institutions, and 822,464 total graduate and first-professional students were reported. Of 

these students, 100,619 (12.2 percent) were classified as first-professional. 

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No institutions in other jurisdictions required imputation. This table is based on the enrollment by 

race/ethnicity and gender section (Part A) of the Enrollment component. 

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

2009, Enrollment component. 

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Table A-4. Enrollment and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by control of institution, degree-granting 

status, and region of residency for first-time, first-year undergraduate students: United States, fall 2008 

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Degree-granting status Imputed Imputed Imputed Imputed 

and region of residency 

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent 

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent 

Fall 

enrollment Number Percent

All students 3,218,242 2,536 0.1 2,286,973 907 # 518,414 680 0.1 412,855 949 0.2

Degree-granting 3,024,723 1,128 # 2,240,414 0 0.0 511,309 641 0.1 273,000 487 0.2

Non-degree-granting 193,519 1,408 0.7 46,559 907 1.9 7,105 39 0.5 139,855 462 0.3

Region of residency of 

student 

New England 157,915 0 0.0 85,616 0 0.0 54,963 0 0.0 17,336 0 0.0

Mid East 518,018 41 # 314,501 0 0.0 136,140 0 0.0 67,377 41 0.1

Great Lakes 486,817 506 0.1 335,074 0 0.0 91,293 0 0.0 60,450 506 0.8

Plains 211,358 96 # 153,958 0 0.0 36,488 0 0.0 20,912 96 0.5

Southeast 721,640 755 0.1 534,832 0 0.0 83,690 528 0.6 103,118 227 0.2

Southwest 336,085 3 # 257,108 0 0.0 30,201 0 0.0 48,776 3 #

Rocky Mountains 102,177 2 # 77,010 0 0.0 12,130 0 0.0 13,037 2 #

Far West 572,604 929 0.2 453,427 830 0.2 48,231 35 0.1 70,946 64 0.1

Other jurisdictions 1,765 0 0.0 428 0 0.0 924 0 0.0 413 0 0.0

Foreign countries 45,663 0 0.0 25,690 0 0.0 18,441 0 0.0 1,532 0 0.0

Residence unknown 64,200 204 0.3 49,329 77 0.2 5,913 117 2.0 8,958 10 0.1

# Rounds to zero. 

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No institutions in other jurisdictions required imputation. This table is based on the enrollment by state 

of residency section (Part C) of the Fall Enrollment component. 

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

2009, Enrollment component. 

Table A-5. 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 2008 

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Imputed Imputed Imputed Imputed 

Degree-granting status 

Entering 

class Number Percent 

Entering 

class Number Percent

Entering 

class Number Percent 

Entering 

class Number Percent

All institutions 4,851,269 1,551 # 3,882,511 233 # 710,932 868 0.1 257,826 450 0.2

Degree-granting 4,828,656 1,551 # 3,873,032 233 # 707,307 868 0.1 248,317 450 0.2

Non-degree-granting 22,613 0 0.0 9,479 0 0.0 3,625 0 0.0 9,509 0 0.0

# Rounds to zero. 

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No institutions in other 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 

2009, Enrollment component. 

A-20
Table A-6. 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 2008 

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Degree-granting status Imputed Imputed Imputed Imputed 

and attendance status 

All 

institutions Number Percent 

All 

institutions Number Percent

All 

institutions Number Percent 

All 

institutions Number Percent

All institutions 5,821 30 0.5 1,929 12 0.6 1,437 1 0.1 2,455 17 0.7

Full-time students 5,789 17 0.3 1,925 2 0.1 1,430 1 0.1 2,434 14 0.6

Part-time students 3,853 18 0.5 1,784 11 0.6 785 0 0.0 1,284 7 0.5

Degree-granting 3,945 10 0.3 1,623 10 0.6 1,312 0 0.0 1,010 0 0.0

Full-time students 3,930 0 0.0 1,622 0 0.0 1,305 0 0.0 1,003 0 0.0

Part-time students 2,890 10 0.3 1,573 10 0.6 750 0 0.0 567 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting 1,876 20 1.1 306 2 0.7 125 1 0.8 1,445 17 1.2

Full-time students 1,859 17 0.9 303 2 0.7 125 1 0.8 1,431 14 1.0

Part-time students 963 8 0.8 211 1 0.5 35 0 0.0 717 7 1.0

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No institutions in other 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 

2009, Enrollment component. 

Finance 

For the Finance component, Parts A through E of the public GASB reporting form, the private 

not-for-profit FASB reporting form, and the private for-profit F-3 reporting form were subject to 

imputation. The imputation groups were created separately for public, private not-for-profit, and 

private for-profit institutions. Fifty-eight imputation groups were formed based primarily on 

institutional sector, graduate or first-professional offering, medical degree offering, state (for 

public only), and religious affiliation (for private not-for-profit only). 

The following imputation methods were used (in order of preference) to impute missing data in 

the Finance component of the survey: 

• Carry Forward—Reported prior finance data were carried forward to the current year. The 

values were then multiplied by a median inflation adjustment from within the imputation 

group to account for year-to-year change. For variables deemed proportional to enrollment, 

such as total tuition and fees or total student grants, further adjustment by FTE enrollment 

ratios was made. 

• Nearest Neighbor FTE (Full-Time Equivalent)—Data from a nearest neighbor of the imputee 

based on previous years’ FTE enrollment values within the imputation group were used as 

the imputed values. An imputee/donor FTE adjustment for variables closely related to FTE 

was made to the imputed values. For public imputees, only institutions within the same state 

as the imputee were considered as potential donors. If there were no potential donors within 

the same state, then this restriction did not apply. 

• Nearest Neighbor EAP (Employees by Assigned Position)—Data from a nearest neighbor of 

the imputee based on the current or previous year EAP data within the imputation group were 

used as the imputed values. The number of total employees reported in the EAP dataset was 

used in defining the distance measure. An imputee/donor adjustment, based on the EAP data, 

A-21
was made to the imputed values. For public imputees, only institutions within the same state 

as the imputee were considered as potential donors. If there were no potential donors within 

the same state, then this restriction did not apply. 

If an institution was a nonrespondent and had finance data from at least 1 of the previous 2 years, 

then the Carry Forward method was used. If finance data from the previous 2 years were not 

available but enrollment data were, then the Nearest Neighbor-FTE method was used. If neither 

finance nor enrollment data were available, the Nearest Neighbor-EAP method was used if the 

EAP data for the previous years were available. Partial nonresponse was determined by 

comparison with the existing past data. Partial nonrespondents were imputed by applying the 

above methods to the missing parts. 

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. Private not-for-profit imputees were imputed using data from private not-for-profit 

donors, not from public FASB donors. 

Table A-7 provides the revenues and expenditures/expenses (reported and imputed) as well as 

the percentages of these amounts that were imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United 

States, by control of institution and type of funds. 

Graduation Rates 

For the Graduation Rates component, all sections were subject to imputation. Missing data on 

cohort size, completers, transfers, and exclusions were imputed, as was the associated detailed 

information (e.g., completers within a specified number of years from entry). The variables used 

to define imputation groups for the GRS component were 

• sector; 

• medical offering; 

• first-professional offering; 

• graduate offering; 

• bachelor’s degree offering; and 

• less-than-1-year or at-least-1-but-less-than-2-years or associate’s degree or at-least-2-butless-than-4-years offerings. 

Each combination of the above criteria formed a unique imputation group. Imputation groups for 

institutions in sector 9 (private for-profit less-than-2-year institutions) were also defined by the 

combination of less-than-1-year and at-least-1-but-less-than-2-year offerings. A donor was 

selected from the same imputation group as the imputee. 

The following imputation methods were used (in order of preference) to impute missing data in 

the GRS component of the survey: 

• Carry Forward—The imputed school’s previous year’s data were used as the donor values. 

No year-to-year adjustment was necessary because the graduation rate for last year’s cohort 

is the best estimate of the graduation rate for this year’s cohort. 

A-22
 

Table A-7. Revenues and expenses and the percentages imputed for Title IV institutions, by control of 

institution and type of funds: United States, fiscal year 2008 

[Amounts are in thousands of dollars] 

Total Public (GASB)1 Public (FASB)2

Imputed Imputed Imputed 

Type of funds Total funds Amount Percent Total funds Amount Percent Total funds Amount Percent

Total revenues and 

investment 

returns $434,350,139 $72,207 # $266,648,983 $19,676 # $8,157,208 $0 0.0

Tuition and fees 116,182,543 38,938 # 46,032,331 2,078 # 2,252,796 0 0.0

Government 

appropriations, 

grants, and contracts 

153,789,661 17,258 # 132,665,024 16,412 # 2,283,914 0 0.0

 Federal 53,945,603 9,356 # 36,486,446 8,510 # 1,124,177 0 0.0

 State and local 99,844,057 7,901 # 96,178,579 7,901 # 1,159,738 0 0.0

Private gifts, grants, and 

contracts 

25,797,837 1,970 # 5,433,381 55 # 643,029 0 0.0

Sales and services of 

educational activities 

5,532,010 2,862 0.1 † † † 154,217 0 0.0

Auxiliary enterprises 33,899,670 337 # 19,908,423 0 0.0 603,664 0 0.0

Hospitals 38,483,307 0 0.0 23,250,422 0 0.0 1,932,957 0 0.0

Contributions from 

affiliated entities 

1,317,615 831 0.1 † † † 7 0 0.0

Investment return 11,832,784 446 # 5,278,637 0 0.0 15,507 0 0.0

Independent operations 

revenue 

6,400,200 0 0.0 1,149,136 0 0.0 25,700 0 0.0

Other revenue 41,114,512 10,220 # 32,931,629 1,132 # 245,418 0 0.0

Total expenses 414,094,271 98,386 # 254,691,523 49,518 # 7,839,484 0 0.0

Instruction 124,045,853 58,333 # 72,904,184 42,500 0.1 2,019,931 0 0.0

Research and public 

service 

53,921,176 327 # 35,602,825 0 0.0 1,615,474 0 0.0

Academic support, 

student services, and 

institutional support 

106,690,489 34,736 # 53,434,129 5,440 # 1,593,405 0 0.0

Operation and 

maintenance of plant 

13,374,508 1,214 # 13,374,508 1,214 # † † †

Scholarships and 

fellowships/aid 

10,505,165 377 # 9,679,948 364 # 15,781 0 0.0

Auxiliary enterprises 34,360,839 484 # 19,985,890 0 0.0 560,771 0 0.0

Hospitals 35,139,409 0 0.0 22,388,426 0 0.0 1,996,017 0 0.0

Independent operations 5,848,799 0 0.0 939,430 0 0.0 21,760 0 0.0

Other expenses 30,208,033 8,756 # 26,382,182 0 0.0 16,345 0 0.0

See notes at end of table. 

A-23
Table A-7. Revenues and expenses and the percentages imputed for Title IV institutions, by control of 

institution and type of funds: United States, fiscal year 2008—Continued 

[Amounts are in thousands of dollars] 

Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Imputed Imputed 

Type of funds Total funds Amount Percent Total funds Amount Percent

Total revenues and 

investment 

returns 

$139,536,758 $14,465 # $20,007,191 $38,066 0.2

Tuition and fees 50,861,510 10,661 # 17,035,907 26,199 0.2

Government 

appropriations, 

grants, and contracts 

17,448,312 26 # 1,392,410 820 0.1

 Federal 15,033,339 26 # 1,301,642 820 0.1

 State and local 2,414,973 0 0.0 90,768 0 0.0

Private gifts, grants, and 

contracts 

19,712,917 1,915 # 8,510 0 0.0

Sales and services of 

educational activities 

4,854,134 388 # 523,659 2,475 0.5

Auxiliary enterprises 12,936,977 337 # 450,606 0 0.0

Hospitals 13,299,928 0 0.0 † † †

Contributions from 

affiliated entities 

1,317,608 831 0.1 † † †

Investment return 6,462,008 274 # 76,633 172 0.2

Independent operations 

revenue 

5,225,365 0 0.0 † † †

Other revenue 7,417,999 33 # 519,466 9,056 1.7

Total expenses 134,022,657 20,732 # 17,540,606 28,136 0.2

Instruction 44,606,551 8,840 # 4,515,188 6,994 0.2

Research and public 

service 

16,686,674 278 # 16,203 49 0.3

Academic support, 

student services, and 

institutional support 

40,700,624 11,204 # 10,962,331 18,092 0.2

Operation and 

maintenance of plant 

† † † † † †

Scholarships and 

fellowships/aid 

722,005 11 # 87,430 2 #

Auxiliary enterprises 13,324,787 460 # 489,391 24 #

Hospitals 10,754,966 0 0.0 † † †

Independent operations 4,887,609 0 0.0 † † †

Other expenses 2,339,442 5,337 0.2 1,470,064 3,418 0.2

† Not applicable. 

# Rounds to zero. 

1

Public institutions that use Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards to prepare their financial statements. 2

Public institutions that use Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standards to prepare their financial statements.

NOTE: All public FASB data are reported, not imputed, because public imputees are imputed using data from public GASB donors. 

This table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No institutions in other jurisdictions required imputation. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2009, Finance component. 

• Group Median—A median institution in each imputation group was determined and used as 

a donor for imputees in that 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 a predicted graduation rate and either the Completions data or the Enrollment data. The 

A-24
predicted rate was developed using a logistic model with covariates from the Completions 

and Enrollment components. 

If a nonrespondent institution had GRS data in either of the previous two years, then the Carry 

Forward procedure was used. When previous years’ data were not available, the Nearest 

Neighbor imputation method was used if sufficient data were available. Otherwise, the Group 

Median imputation procedure was used. Group Median and Nearest Neighbor imputations were 

performed within the 38 imputation groups formed for the GRS component. 

Table A-8 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. 

Student Financial Aid 

For the Student Financial Aid (SFA) component, all student counts and aid amounts were subject 

to imputation. To conduct imputations, 68 imputation groups were formed primarily based on 

institution sector; calendar system; medical degree offering; and first professional, graduate, 

bachelor, associate, and less-than-2-year award offerings. 

The following imputation procedures were used to impute missing data in the SFA component of 

the survey. 

If available, we first obtained 

• for academic year reporters, the total number of undergraduates and number of full-time, 

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates from the enrollment data for fall 2007; 

and 

• for program reporters, the unduplicated count of all students enrolled from the unduplicated 

count data for academic year 2007-08. 

Then the following imputation methods, in order, were used to impute the remaining missing 

data: 

• Carry Forward—This method was for institutions that responded to the previous years’ SFA 

component. Reported prior student financial aid data were carried forward to the current 

year. The values were then adjusted for year-to-year changes. 

• Nearest Neighbor—The responding institution with the nearest distance to the imputee 

within the imputee’s imputation group was used as the donor. The distance was calculated 

from the Finance data or the Enrollment data. An imputee/donor adjustment was made to the 

imputed values, 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-9 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-25
A-26

Table A-8. Student graduation rate component counts and counts and percentage imputed for all Title 

IV institutions, by control of institution and student level: United States, cohort years 2002 

and 2005 

Total Public 

Imputed Imputed 

Student level Students Number Percent Students Number Percent

Section II—Bachelor’s degree-seeking 

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 1,250,081 261 # 804,649 0 0.0

Total exclusions 4,757 0 0.0 2,599 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

subcohort 1,245,324 261 # 802,050 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 723,377 169 # 445,592 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 5,060 0 0.0 3,187 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 6,303 15 0.2 2,079 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 712,014 154 # 440,326 0 0.0

Completed the program in 4 years or less 452,954 97 # 239,500 0 0.0

Completed the program in 5 years 198,516 40 # 155,341 0 0.0

Completed the program in 6 years 60,544 17 # 45,485 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 114,810 23 # 95,288 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 407,137 110 # 261,170 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 925 0 0.0 312 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 406,212 110 # 260,858 0 0.0

Section III—Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking at 4-year 

institutions 

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 138,833 218 0.2 65,459 0 0.0

Total exclusions 1,019 0 0.0 502 0 0.0

Adjusted other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 137,814 218 0.2 64,957 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 49,492 109 0.2 16,884 5 #

Completers of programs of <2 years 13,910 8 0.1 1,388 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 28,957 101 0.3 11,527 5 #

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 6,625 0 0.0 3,969 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 11,275 0 0.0 9,881 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 77,047 145 0.2 38,192 7 #

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 112 51 45.5 30 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 76,935 94 0.1 38,162 7 #

Section IV—Degree/certificate-seeking at less-than-4-year 

institutions 

Degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 871,165 457 0.1 673,212 0 0.0

Total exclusions 1,786 0 0.0 1,252 0 0.0

Adjusted degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 869,379 457 0.1 671,960 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 265,038 245 0.1 148,102 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 142,224 245 0.2 42,260 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 122,814 0 0.0 105,842 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 122,848 0 0.0 119,894 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 481,493 228 # 403,964 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 3 years or longer 297 0 0.0 181 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 481,196 228 # 403,783 0 0.0

See notes at end of table.
Table A-8. Student graduation rate component counts and counts and percentage imputed for all Title 

IV institutions, by control of institution and student level: United States, cohort years 2002 

and 2005—Continued 

Private not-for-profit Private for-profit 

Imputed Imputed 

Student level Students Number Percent Students Number Percent

Section II—Bachelor’s degree-seeking 

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 410,883 261 0.1 34,549 0 0.0

Total exclusions 2,094 0 0.0 64 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

subcohort 408,789 261 0.1 34,485 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 268,562 165 0.1 9,223 4 #

Completers of programs of <2 years 1,375 0 0.0 498 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 3,085 15 0.5 1,139 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 264,102 150 0.1 7,586 4 0.1

Completed the program in 4 years or less 208,553 97 # 4,901 0 0.0

Completed the program in 5 years 42,134 36 0.1 1,041 4 0.4

Completed the program in 6 years 13,415 17 0.1 1,644 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 19,198 23 0.1 324 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 121,029 102 0.1 24,938 8 #

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 613 0 0.0 0 0 †

Other noncompleters1 120,416 102 0.1 24,938 8 #

Section III—Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking at 4-year 

institutions 

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 24,631 218 0.9 48,743 0 0.0

Total exclusions 258 0 0.0 259 0 0.0

Adjusted other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 24,373 218 0.9 48,484 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 10,183 104 1.0 22,425 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 1,525 8 0.5 10,997 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 6,617 96 1.5 10,813 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 2,041 0 0.0 615 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 968 0 0.0 426 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 13,222 138 1.0 25,633 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 82 51 62.2 0 0 †

Other noncompleters1 13,140 87 0.7 25,633 0 0.0

Section IV—Degree/certificate-seeking at less-than-4-year 

institutions 

Degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 11,917 0 0.0 186,036 457 0.2

Total exclusions 37 0 0.0 497 0 0.0

Adjusted degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 11,880 0 0.0 185,539 457 0.2

Total completers within 150% 6,106 4 0.1 110,830 241 0.2

Completers of programs of <2 years 3,757 4 0.1 96,207 241 0.3

Completers of programs of 2-4 years 2,349 0 0.0 14,623 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 1,248 0 0.0 1,706 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not 

enrolled1 4,526 12 0.3 73,003 216 0.3

Still enrolled in programs of 3 years or longer 23 0 0.0 93 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1 4,503 12 0.3 72,910 216 0.3

† Not applicable. 

# Rounds to zero. 

1

This line is calculated from the numbers in the table. It is not represented in the dataset. 

NOTE: This table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. Cohort year 2002 is applicable to 4-year institutions, while cohort year 2005 

is applicable to 2-year and less-than-2-year institutions. No institutions in other jurisdictions required imputation. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2009, Graduation Rates component. 

A-27
Table A-9. 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 

2008-09 

Federal grants State/local grants 

Imputed Imputed 

Level and control of institution 

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Total recipients 1,137,996 464 # 803,025 674 0.1

4-year 511,807 190 # 525,449 484 0.1

Public 273,956 182 0.1 365,250 163 #

Private not-for-profit 129,408 8 # 145,101 197 0.1

Private for-profit 108,443 0 0.0 15,098 124 0.8

2-year 430,266 86 # 262,038 176 0.1

Public 276,050 0 0.0 234,364 147 0.1

Private not-for-profit 6,512 0 0.0 3,705 0 0.0

Private for-profit 147,704 86 0.1 23,969 29 0.1

Less-than-2-year 195,923 188 0.1 15,538 14 0.1

Public 10,684 1 # 4,999 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 5,860 2 # 1,671 0 0.0

Private for-profit 179,379 185 0.1 8,868 14 0.2

Institutional grants Loans to students 

Imputed Imputed 

Level and control of institution 

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Total recipients 878,666 470 0.1 1,390,524 1,072 0.1

4-year 760,331 463 0.1 878,381 844 0.1

Public 353,572 437 0.1 441,961 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 363,737 26 # 291,901 16 #

Private for-profit 43,022 0 0.0 144,519 828 0.6

2-year 97,089 1 # 317,659 82 #

Public 74,517 0 0.0 131,562 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 4,370 0 0.0 6,655 0 0.0

Private for-profit 18,202 1 # 179,442 82 #

Less-than-2-year 21,246 6 # 194,484 146 0.1

Public 1,405 1 0.1 6,102 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 779 0 0.0 3,345 2 0.1

Private for-profit 19,062 5 # 185,037 144 0.1

# Rounds to zero. 

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No institutions in other jurisdictions required imputation. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2009, Student Financial Aid component. 

A-28
Graduation Rates 200 

For the Graduation Rates 200 (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; 

• degree granting status; 

• graduate offering; 

• bachelor’s degree offering; and 

• less-than-1-year or at-least-1-but-less-than-2-years or associate’s degree or at-least-2-butless-than-4-years offerings. 

Each combination of the above criteria formed a unique imputation group. Imputation groups for 

institutions in sector 9 (private for-profit less-than-2-year institutions) were also defined by the 

combination of less-than-1-year and at-least-1-but-less-than-2-year offerings. A donor was 

selected from the same imputation group as the imputee. 

The following imputation methods were used (in order of preference) to impute missing data in 

the 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 64 imputation groups 

formed for the GR200 component. 

Table A-10 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-29
Table A-10. Student graduation rate component counts and counts and percentage imputed for all Title 

IV institutions, by control of institution and student level: United States, cohort years 2000 

and 2004 

Total Public 

Imputed Imputed 

Student level Students Number Percent Students Number Percent

Bachelor’s degree seeking students at 4-year institutions 

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 1,183,629 237 # 760,158 0 0.0

Total exclusions 4,052 0 0.0 2,748 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

subcohort 1,179,577 237 # 757,410 0 0.0

Total completers within 200% 714,216 132 # 441,716 0 0.0

Completed the program in 100% of normal program 

completion time or less 425,063 95 # 219,232 0 0.0

Completed the program in 150% of normal program 

completion time 253,162 34 # 195,495 0 0.0

Completed the program in 200% of normal program 

completion time 35,991 3 # 26,989 0 0.0

Degree/certificate-seeking at less-than-4-year institutions 

Degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 1,083,277 2,439 0.2 666,379 200 #

Total exclusions 3,738 3 0.1 1,794 0 0.0

Adjusted degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 1,079,539 2,436 0.2 664,585 200 #

Total completers within 200% 482,483 1,360 0.3 201,828 35 #

Completed the program in 100% of normal program 

completion time or less 270,831 921 0.3 88,268 35 #

Completed the program in 150% of normal program 

completion time 151,755 307 0.2 70,646 0 0.0

Completed the program in 200% of normal program 

completion time 59,897 132 0.2 42,914 0 0.0

Bachelor’s degree seeking students at 4-year institutions 

Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 396,861 237 0.1 26,610 0 0.0

Total exclusions 1,227 0 0.0 77 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking 

subcohort 395,634 237 0.1 26,533 0 0.0

Total completers within 200% 262,854 132 0.1 9,646 0 0.0

Completed the program in 100% of normal program 

completion time or less 198,989 95 # 6,842 0 0.0

Completed the program in 150% of normal program 

completion time 55,843 34 0.1 1,824 0 0.0

Completed the program in 200% of normal program 

completion time 8,022 3 # 980 0 0.0

Degree/certificate-seeking at less-than-4-year institutions 

Degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 21,312 668 3.1 395,586 1,571 0.4

Total exclusions 124 0 0.0 1,820 3 0.2

Adjusted degree/certificate-seeking subcohort 21,188 668 3.2 393,766 1,568 0.4

Total completers within 200% 14,024 337 2.4 266,631 988 0.4

Completed the program in 100% of normal program 

completion time or less 9,962 300 3.0 172,601 586 0.3

Completed the program in 150% of normal program 

completion time 2,995 30 1.0 78,114 277 0.4

Completed the program in 200% of normal program 

completion time 1,067 7 0.7 15,916 125 0.8

# Rounds to zero. 

NOTE: This table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. Cohort year 2000 is applicable to 4-year institutions, while cohort year 2004 

is applicable to 2-year and less-than-2-year institutions. For institutions in other jurisdictions, 244 students in the cohort were 

imputed and 141 completers were imputed. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2009, Graduation Rates 200 component. 

A-30
A-31

Data Perturbation and Confidentiality 

IPEDS data are not collected under any pledge of confidentiality. However, NCES takes steps to 

protect potentially individually identifiable data; the IPEDS Human Resources, Graduation 

Rates, and Student Financial Aid data files are subject to perturbation. Perturbation of the data is 

performed in such a manner that the totals and averages at the institutional level are not affected. 

The data files for the surveys noted above that are included in the IPEDS Data Center are 

perturbed. 
This page intentionally left blank. 
Appendix B: 

Glossary of IPEDS Terms 

academic year: The period of time generally extending from September to June; usually equated to 2 

semesters or trimesters, 3 quarters, or the period covered by a 4-1-4 calendar system.

adjusted cohort: In the Graduation Rates component of IPEDS, an institution’s revised cohort minus 

any allowable exclusions. 

administrative office: The system or central office in a 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 established for tracking purposes. 

completers within 150 percent of normal time: Students who completed their program within 150 

percent of the normal (or expected) time for completion at the same institution where the student 

started. 

component unit: This term applies to GASB institutions only. A component unit is a legally separate 

organization for which the governing board and/or management of the primary institution is 

financially accountable. It can be another organization for which the nature and significance of its 

relationship with a primary institution is such that exclusion would cause the primary institution’s 

financial statements to be misleading or incomplete. 

control (of institution): A classification of whether an institution is operated by publicly elected or 

appointed officials (public control) or by privately elected or appointed officials and derives its major 

source of funds from private sources (private control). 

coordinator: The person responsible for Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 

survey related coordination activities for a specified group of schools within a state. This person may 

have certain viewing, verifying, and locking privileges on the data collection system. 

degree/certificate-seeking students: Students enrolled in courses for credit who are recognized by 

the institution as seeking a degree or other formal award. At the undergraduate level, this is intended 

to include students enrolled in vocational or occupational programs. 

degree-granting institution: An institution offering an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctor’s, or 

first-professional degree. 

B-1 
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. 

FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board): FASB is recognized by the American Institute of 

Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) as the body authorized to establish accounting standards. In 

practice it defers to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) for the setting of 

accounting standards for local and state government entities. 

federal grants: Grants provided by federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education, 

including Title IV Pell Grants and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG). Also 

includes need-based and merit-based educational assistance funds and training vouchers provided 

from other federal agencies and/or federally sponsored educational benefits programs, including the 

Veteran’s Administration, Department of Labor, and other federal agencies. (Used for reporting on 

the Student Financial Aid component.) 

financial aid: Grants, loans, assistantships, scholarships, fellowships, tuition waivers, tuition 

discounts, veteran’s benefits, employer aid (tuition reimbursement) and other monies (other than 

from relatives/friends) provided to students to meet expenses. This includes Title IV subsidized and 

unsubsidized loans made directly to students. 

first-professional student: A student enrolled in any of the following degree programs: 

Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.) Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) 

Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.) Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) 

Law (L.L.B., J.D.) Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.) 

Medicine (M.D.) Theology (M.Div., M.H.L., B.D., or Ordination) 

Optometry (O.D.) Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) 

first-time student (undergraduate): A student attending any institution for the first time at the 

undergraduate level. Includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. Also includes 

students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term, as 

well as students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from 

high school). 

full-time student: Undergraduate—A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or 

more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week each term. Graduate—A student enrolled 

for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or 

dissertation preparation that is considered full time by the institution. First-professional—As defined 

by the institution. 

full-year cohort: The group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period September 

1 through August 31 that is established for tracking and reporting Graduation Rate (GRS) data for 

B-2 
institutions that primarily offer occupational programs of varying lengths. Students must be full time 

and first time to be considered in the cohort. 

GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board): The Governmental Accounting Standards 

Board (GASB) establishes accounting standards for local and state entities including governmental 

colleges and universities. 

government appropriations (revenues): Revenues received by an institution through acts of a 

legislative body, except grants and contracts. These funds are for meeting current operating expenses 

and not for specific projects or programs. The most common example is a state’s general 

appropriation. Appropriations primarily to fund capital assets are classified as capital appropriations. 

government grants: Transfers of money or property from a government agency to the education 

institution without a requirement to receive anything in return. These grants may take the form of 

grants to the institutions to undertake research or they may be in the form of student financial aid. 

(Used for reporting on the Finance component.) 

graduate student: A student who holds a bachelor’s or first-professional degree, or equivalent, and 

is taking courses at the post-baccalaureate level. These students may or may not be enrolled in 

graduate programs. 

graduation rate: The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-toKnow. This rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150 percent of normal time 

divided by the revised cohort minus any allowable exclusions. 

imputation: A method of estimating data for an entity that did not respond to a data item or survey. 

imputee: A nonresponding institution that has its values imputed. 

in-district student: A student who is a legal resident of the locality in which he/she attends school 

and thus is entitled to reduced tuition charges if offered by the institution. 

in-state student: A student who is a legal resident of the state in which he/she attends school and 

thus is entitled to reduced tuition charges if offered by the institution. 

institutional affiliation: A classification that indicates whether a private not-for-profit institution is 

associated with a religious group or denomination. Private not-for-profit institutions may be either 

independent or religiously affiliated. 

institutional grants: Scholarships and fellowships granted and funded by the institution and/or 

individual departments within the institution (i.e., instruction, research, public service) that may 

contribute indirectly to the enhancement of these programs. Includes scholarships targeted to certain 

individuals (e.g., based on state of residence, major field of study, athletic team participation) for 

which the institution designates the recipient. 

keyholder: The person designated by an official institutional representative to have in their 

possession the necessary UserID and password to gain access to the Integrated Postsecondary 

Education Data System (IPEDS) data collection system to complete the survey. The keyholder is 

responsible for entering data and locking the site by each survey completion date. 

level (of institution): A classification of whether an institution’s programs are 4 years or more (4-

year), at least 2 but less than 4 years (2-year), or less than 2 years (less-than-2-year). 

B-3 
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.

nonresident alien: A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this 

country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely. 

normal time to completion: The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all 

requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years 

(8 semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree in a 

standard term-based institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer 

terms) for an associate’s degree in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times 

for certificate programs. 

non-degree-granting institution: An institution offering only postbaccalaureate, post-master’s, or 

first-professional certificates, or certificates or diplomas of 4 years or less. 

OPE: Office of Postsecondary Education 

other degree-seeking subcohort: A cohort of students who were seeking a degree or certificate 

other than a bachelor’s degree upon entry. 

out-of-state student: A student who is not a legal resident of the state in which he/she attends 

school. 

parent institution: An institution that reports data for another institution, known as the child 

institution. 

part-time student: Undergraduate—A student enrolled for either 11 semester credits or less, or 11 

quarter credits or less, or less than 24 contact hours a week each term. Graduate—A student enrolled 

for either 8 semester credits or less, or 8 quarter credits or less, excluding those involved in thesis or 

dissertation preparation that is considered full time by the institution. First-professional—As defined 

by the institution. 

PEPS (Postsecondary Education Participation System): Database used by OPE to track all 

institutions eligible for Title IV federal student financial aid programs. 

postsecondary institution: An institution that has as its sole purpose, or one of its primary missions, 

the provision of postsecondary education. Postsecondary education is the provision of a formal 

instructional program whose curriculum is designed primarily for students beyond the compulsory 

age for high school. This includes programs whose purpose is academic, vocational, and continuing 

professional education, and excludes avocational and adult basic education programs. For IPEDS, 

these institutions must be open to the public. 

Program Participation Agreement (PPA): A written agreement between a postsecondary 

institution and the Secretary of Education. This agreement allows institutions to participate in any of 

the Title IV student assistance programs other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the 

National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs. The PPA conditions the 

initial and continued participation of an eligible institution in any Title IV program upon compliance 

with the General Provisions regulations, the individual program regulations, and any additional 

conditions specified in the program participation agreement that the Department of Education 

B-4 
requires the institution to meet. Institutions with such an agreement are referred to as Title IV 

institutions. 

private for-profit institution: A private institution in which the individual(s) or agency in control 

receives compensation other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of risk. 

private not-for-profit institution: A private institution in which the individual(s) or agency in 

control receives no compensation, other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of 

risk. These include both independent not-for-profit schools and those affiliated with a religious 

organization. 

programs of less than 2 years: Programs requiring less than 2 years of full-time-equivalent collegelevel work (4 semesters or 6 quarters) or less than 1,800 contact hours to obtain a degree, diploma, 

certificate, or quarter in the summer. 

public institution: An educational institution whose programs and activities are operated by publicly 

elected or appointed school officials and which is supported largely by public funds. 

race/ethnicity: Categories 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.

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. 

B-5 
revised cohort: Initial cohort after revisions are made. This is the number from which graduation 

and transfer-out rates are calculated. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that incorrect 

data were reported in an earlier year. 

sector: One of nine institutional categories resulting from dividing the universe according to control 

and level. Control categories are public, private not-for-profit, and private for-profit. Level categories 

are 4 years and higher (4-year), at least 2 but less than 4 years (2-year), and less than 2 years (lessthan-2-year). For example: public 4-year institutions. 

state and local government grants: State and local monies awarded to the institution under state 

and local student aid programs, including the state portion of State Student Incentives Grants (SSIG) 

(used for reporting Student Financial Aid data). 

student charges: Average amount for tuition and fees, room or board charged to all students by the 

institution. Tuition and fees may vary by the level of student (undergraduate, graduate, or firstprofessional). 

Student Right-to-Know Act: Also known as the “Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security 

Act” (P.L. 101-542), which was passed by Congress November 9, 1990. Title I, Section 103, requires 

institutions eligible for Title IV funding to disclose completion or graduation rates of certificate- or 

degree-seeking, full-time students entering an institution to all students and prospective students. 

Further, Section 104 requires each institution that participates in any Title IV program and is 

attended by students receiving athletically related student aid to annually submit a report to the 

Secretary. This report is to contain, among other things, graduation/completion rates of all students as 

well as students receiving athletically related student aid by race/ethnicity and gender and by sport, 

and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years. These data are also 

required to be disclosed to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes when the institution offers 

athletically related student aid. The Graduation Rates component of IPEDS was developed 

specifically to help institutions respond to these requirements. 

subcohort: A predefined subset of the initial cohort or the revised cohort established for tracking 

purposes on the Graduation Rates (GRS) component of IPEDS (e.g., athletic subcohort). 

Title IV institution: An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that 

allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance 

programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant [SSIG] and the National Early Intervention 

Scholarship and Partnership [NEISP] programs). 

transfer-in student: A student entering the reporting institution for the first time but known to have 

previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level (e.g., undergraduate, graduate). The 

student may transfer with or without credit. 

transfer-out rate: Total number of students who are known to have transferred out of the reporting 

institution within 150 percent of normal time to completion divided by the revised cohort minus 

allowable exclusions. 

transfer-out student: A student who leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another 

institution. 

undergraduate student: A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor’s degree program, an 

associate’s degree program, or a vocational or technical program below the baccalaureate level. 

B-6 
B-7 

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.