Enrollment in 

Postsecondary 

Institutions, Fall 2003; 

Graduation Rates 1997 & 

2000 Cohorts;

and Financial Statistics,

Fiscal Year 2003

E.D. TAB

U.S. Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

NCES 2005–177

Laura G. Knapp

Janice E. Kelly-Reid

Roy W. Whitmore

Seungho Huh

Burton Levine

Marcus Berzofsky

RTI International

Susan G. Broyles

Program Director

Postsecondary Institutional 

Studies Program

National Center for Education Statistics

U.S. Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

NCES 2005–177

Enrollment in 

Postsecondary 

Institutions, Fall 2003; 

Graduation Rates 1997 & 

2000 Cohorts; and 

Financial Statistics, 

Fiscal Year 2003

E.D. TAB

July 2005
U.S. Department of Education

Margaret Spellings

Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences

Grover J. Whitehurst

Director

National Center for Education Statistics

Grover J. Whitehurst

Acting Commissioner

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, 

and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional 

mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in 

the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance 

of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and 

review and report on education activities in foreign countries.

NCES activities are designed to address high priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, 

complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and high 

quality data to the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress, the states, other education policymakers, 

practitioners, data users, and the general public.

We strive to make our products available in a variety of formats and in language that is appropriate to a 

variety of audiences. You, as our customer, are the best judge of our success in communicating

information effectively. If you have any comments or suggestions about this or any other NCES product or 

report, we would like to hear from you. Please direct your comments to:

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Institute of Education Sciences

U.S. Department of Education

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Washington, DC 20006-5651

July 2005

The NCES World Wide Web Home Page address is http://nces.ed.gov

The NCES World Wide Web Electronic Catalog is http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch

Suggested Citation

Knapp, L.G., Kelly-Reid, J.E., Whitmore, R.W., Huh, S., Levine, B., Berzofsky, M., and Broyles, S.G. 

(2005). Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2003; Graduation Rates 1997 & 2000 Cohorts; and 

Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2003 (NCES 2005–177). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: 

National Center for Education Statistics.

Content Contact:

Aurora D’Amico

(202) 502-7334

aurora.d’amico@ed.gov
iii

Foreword 

This E.D. TAB presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 

(IPEDS) Spring 2004 data collection, which included four survey components: Student Financial 

Aid for full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for the 2002–03 

academic year, Enrollment for fall 2003, Graduation Rates for full-time, first-time, 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students beginning college in 1997 at 4-year institutions 

or in 2000 at less-than-4-year institutions, and Finance for fiscal year 2003. These data were 

collected through the IPEDS web-based data collection system.

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

IPEDS Peer Analysis System and College Opportunities On-Line. Both of these sources can be 

found at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds. This report continues a series of E.D. TABs based on the 

collection of data from over 6,500 postsecondary education institutions that participate in Title 

IV federal student financial aid programs.

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

readers. Further, we hope that the results reported here will encourage researchers and others to 

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

about postsecondary education institutions.

Grover J. Whitehurst

Acting Commissioner

National Center for Education Statistics

C. Dennis Carroll

Associate Commissioner

Postsecondary Studies Division
iv
v

Acknowledgments

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

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

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

resulted in more accurate information. Although it is not possible to list the names of all these 

people, 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, Completions, and Fall Staff components of the IPEDS survey. In 

this collaboration, data provided by postsecondary institutions are designated as Compliance 

Reports pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (34 CFR 100.6(b)).

The authors are grateful to Patricia Brown, Andrew Mary, Cathy Statham, Paula Knepper, and 

Dennis Carroll of the Postsecondary Studies Division, National Center for Education Statistics 

for their valuable comments during the review of this publication. We also appreciate the 

thoughtful review provided by Tom Snyder, National Center for Education Statistics, Claudette 

Kaba, Office for Civil Rights, and Sherri Noxel, Director of Information and Research, Kentucky 

Council on Postsecondary Education. At RTI International, in addition to the authors, Zhong 

Xiao (Jean) Cong, Scott Ginder, Jiantong (Jean) Wang, James Isaac, and Joanne Studders 

contributed to the production of this report.
vi
vii

 Contents

Page

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

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

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

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

IPEDS 2003–04 ............................................................................................................................1

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

Selected Findings ...........................................................................................................................3

Characteristics of Enrolled Students.............................................................................................3

Characteristics of Students at Degree-Granting and Non-Degree-Granting Institutions .............3

First-Time Degree/Certificate-Seeking Undergraduates..............................................................3

First-Time Degree/Certificate-Seeking Undergraduate Financial Aid Recipients.......................6

Revenues of Title IV Institutions..................................................................................................8

Graduation Rates........................................................................................................................11

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 Procedures ....................................................................................................................A-7

Survey Components..................................................................................................................A-8

Edit Procedures.......................................................................................................................A-10

Imputation Procedures............................................................................................................A-11

Data Perturbation and Confidentiality....................................................................................A-23

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

List of Tables

Table Page

 1. Enrollment in Title IV institutions, by degree-granting status, level and control of 

institution, student level, attendance status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United 

States, fall 2003 ...................................................................................................................4

 2. Enrollment of first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in Title 

IV institutions, by degree-granting status, level and control of institution, 

attendance status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2003...............................5

 3. Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled and 

those receiving financial aid at Title IV institutions, by control and level of 

institution: United States, academic year 2002–03..............................................................6

 4. Types and average amounts of financial aid received by full-time, first-time 

undergraduate students in Title IV institutions, by control and level of institution: 

United States, academic year 2002–03................................................................................7

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

standards utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2003.............................9

 6. Revenues of Title IV private institutions, by leve l and control of institution and 

source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2003................................................................11

 7. Graduation rates at 4-year Title IV institutions, by race/ethnicity, gender, and 

degree-granting status: United States, cohort year 1997 ...................................................12

 8. Graduation rates at less-than-4-year Title IV institutions, by race/ethnicity, gender, 

and degree-granting status: United States, cohort year 2000 ............................................13

 9. Graduation rates at 4-year Title IV institutions, by control of institution, gender, 

and graduation rate component: United States, cohort year 1997 .....................................14

 10. Graduation rates at less-than-4-year Title IV institutions, by control of institution, 

gender, and graduation rate component: United States, cohort year 2000 ........................14

 A-1. Response rates of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the 

IPEDS spring 2004 data collection, by degree-granting status and level and control 

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

 A-1a. Response rates of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the 

IPEDS spring 2004 data collection, by degree-granting status and level and control 

of institution/office: United States.......................................................................................5

 A-2. Fall 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 2003......................................................................................................14
ix

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

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

of student: United States, fall 2003....................................................................................15

 A-4. Unduplicated 12-month count and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, 

by control of institution, student level, gender, and degree-granting status: United 

States, 2002–03..................................................................................................................15

 A-5. Instructional activity and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by 

control of institution, degree-granting status, and type of instructional activities: 

United States, 2002–03......................................................................................................16

 A-6. Revenues and expenditures/expenses, and the percentages imputed, for Title IV 

institutions, by control of institution and type of funds: United States, fiscal 

year 2003 ...........................................................................................................................18

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

institution and student level: United States, cohort years 1997 and 2000.........................21

 A-8. Financial aid recipients and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by 

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

States, academic year 2002–03..........................................................................................24
x
1

Introduction

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

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

other jurisdictions, such as Puerto Rico.1 For IPEDS, a postsecondary institution is defined as an 

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

education. IPEDS defines postsecondary education as formal instruc tional programs with a 

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

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

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

Prior to the inception of IPEDS, The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collected 

data from approximately 3,600 institutions of higher education through its Higher Education 

General Information Survey (HEGIS) program. HEGIS was conducted from 1966 until 1985, 

when NCES expanded its mission to include all postsecondary institutions.

IPEDS 2003–04

Participation in IPEDS was a requirement for the 6,568 institutions that participated in Title IV2

federal student financial aid programs such as Pell Grants or Stafford Loans during the 2003–04 

academic year. Title IV schools include traditional colleges and universities, 2-year institutions, 

and for-profit degree- and non-degree-granting institutions (such as schools of cosmetology), 

among others. In addition, four of the five U.S. service academies are not Title IV eligible, but 

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

As the fall and winter surveys were being conducted, information was received that 14 of these 

institutions closed or lost their Title IV eligibility after the 2003–04 collection cycle began; thus, 

the Spring 2004 collection universe comprised 6,554 institutions and 83 administrative (central 

and system) offices. The 83 administrative offices were required to participate in the Finance 

component if they had their own separate budget; the other three components—Enrollment (EF), 

Student Financial Aid (SFA), and Graduation Rates (GRS)—were not applicable to them. The 

EF component was required of 6,551 Title IV institutions (three institutions were new and did 

not have enrollment in the fall, and 6,544, or 99.9 percent, responded. The SFA and GRS 

components were required of all Title IV institutions that had first-time, full-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate level students. As a result, for the Spring 2004 

collection, 6,068 institutions were required to complete the SFA component. Of these, 6,032, or 

99.4 percent, responded. For the GRS component, 5,812 institutions were required to respond; of 

these, 5,781, or 99.5 percent, responded. The Finance component was required of all Title IV 

institutions and administrative offices. Thus, for the Spring 2004 collection, 6,607 institutions 

and administrative offices were required to complete the Finance component and of these, 6,554, 

or 99.2 percent, responded.

 

1

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

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

2

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

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

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

Postsecondary Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education.
2

Focus of This Report

Tabulations in this report present selected data items collected from Title IV institutions in the 

United States eligible for at least one spring 2004 IPEDS component. Additional detailed 

information is available through the various IPEDS web tools, such as the Peer Analysis System. 
3

Selected Findings

Characteristics of Enrolled Students

• Title IV institutions in the United States enrolled 17.3 million students in fall 2003 (table 

1). Of these, 86.0 percent were enrolled in undergraduate programs, 12.1 percent were 

enrolled in graduate programs, and 1.9 percent were enrolled in first-professional 

programs. 

• In fall 2003, the majority of students, 61.5 percent, were enrolled full time and 38.5 

percent were enrolled part time (table 1).

• Of the students enrolled at Title IV institutions in fall 2003, females represented 57.4 

percent while 42.6 percent were males.

• White, non-Hispanic students accounted for 62.0 percent of all students enrolled in Title 

IV institutions in fall 2003, while 11.8 percent were Black, non-Hispanic, 9.7 percent 

were Hispanic, 5.8 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1.0 percent were 

American Indian or Alaska Native (table 1). The race/ethnicity of 6.3 percent was 

unknown and 3.4 percent were nonresident aliens.

Characteristics of Students at Degree-Granting and Non-Degree-Granting Institutions

• Of the 17.3 million students attending Title IV institutions within the United States, about 

16.9 million attended degree-granting institutions and 429,000 attended non-degreegranting institutions (table 1).

• The majority of students in degree-granting and non-degree-granting institutions attended 

school full time (61.0 percent and 78.7 percent, respectively) and were women (57.1 

percent and 68.8 percent, respectively) (table 1).

• At degree-granting institutions, 62.4 percent of students were White, non-Hispanic, while 

27.9 percent of students were races other than White, 6.3 percent were students whose 

race/ethnicity was unknown, and 3.5 percent were nonresident aliens (table 1). At nondegree-granting institutions, 47.1 percent of students were White, non-Hispanic, while 

44.8 percent of students were races other than Whit e, 6.8 percent were students whose 

race/ethnicity was unknown, and 1.2 percent were nonresident aliens.

First-Time Degree/Certificate-Seeking Undergraduates

• In fall 2003, there were nearly 3 million first-time degree/certificate-seeking 

undergraduates at Title IV institutions (table 2). Of these, 56.4 percent were women and 

43.6 percent were men. 

• The majority of these students, 81.2 percent, were enrolled full time; 18.8 percent were 

enrolled part time (table 2).
4

• White, non-Hispanic students accounted for 62.0 percent of all first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking students enrolled in Title IV institutions in fall 2003, while 

14.1 percent were Black, non-Hispanic, 10.8 percent were Hispanic, 5.1 percent were 

Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1.0 percent were American Indian or Alaska Native (table 

2). The race/ethnicity of 5.4 percent was unknown and 1.6 percent were nonresident 

aliens.

Table 1. Enrollment in Title IV institutions, by degree-granting status, level and control of 

institution, student level, attendance status, gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, 

fall 2003

All institutions Degree-granting Non-degree-granting

Level and control of 

institution, student level, 

attendance status, gender, 

and race/ethnicity Total students Percent Total students Percent Total students Percent

Total students 17,329,462 100.0 16,900,471 100.0 428,991 100.0

Level of institution

4-year 10,407,986 60.1 10,407,553 61.6 433 0.1

2-year 6,605,409 38.1 6,492,918 38.4 112,491 26.2

Less-than-2-year 316,067 1.8 † † 316,067 73.7

Control of institution

Public 12,964,554 74.8 12,857,059 76.1 107,495 25.1

Private not-for-profit 3,381,391 19.5 3,340,718 19.8 40,673 9.5

Private for-profit 983,517 5.7 702,694 4.2 280,823 65.5

Student level

Undergraduate 14,902,640 86.0 14,473,884 85.6 428,756 99.9

Graduate 2,097,746 12.1 2,097,511 12.4 235 0.1

First-professional 329,076 1.9 329,076 1.9 † †

Attendance status

Full time 10,649,597 61.5 10,311,814 61.0 337,783 78.7

Part time 6,679,865 38.5 6,588,657 39.0 91,208 21.3

Gender

Men 7,389,548 42.6 7,255,551 42.9 133,997 31.2

Women 9,939,914 57.4 9,644,920 57.1 294,994 68.8

Race/ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic 10,740,886 62.0 10,538,922 62.4 201,964 47.1

Black, non-Hispanic 2,041,941 11.8 1,952,722 11.6 89,219 20.8

Hispanic 1,682,830 9.7 1,602,484 9.5 80,346 18.7

Asian/Pacific Islander 1,005,647 5.8 987,033 5.8 18,614 4.3

American Indian/Alaska 

Native 167,455 1.0 162,997 1.0 4,458 1.0

Race/ethnicity unknown 1,094,354 6.3 1,065,125 6.3 29,229 6.8

Nonresident alien 596,349 3.4 591,188 3.5 5,161 1.2

† Not applicable.

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 2004. 
5

Table 2. Enrollment of first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in Title IV 

institutions, by degree-granting status, level and control of institution, attendance status, 

gender, and race/ethnicity: United States, fall 2003

All institutions Degree-granting Non-degree-granting

Level and control of 

institution, attendance 

status, gender, and 

race/ethnicity Total students Percent Total students Percent Total students Percent

Total students 2,913,832 100.0 2,604,714 100.0 309,118 100.0

Level of institution

4-year 1,460,350 50.1 1,460,239 56.1 111 #

2-year 1,203,867 41.3 1,144,475 43.9 59,392 19.2

Less-than-2-year 249,615 8.6 † † 249,615 80.8

Control of institution

Public 1,995,266 68.5 1,931,763 74.2 63,503 20.5

Private not-for-profit 500,382 17.2 482,155 18.5 18,227 5.9

Private for-profit 418,184 14.4 190,796 7.3 227,388 73.6

Attendance status

Full time 2,365,691 81.2 2,107,321 80.9 258,370 83.6

Part time 548,141 18.8 497,393 19.1 50,748 16.4

Gender

Men 1,270,207 43.6 1,181,233 45.3 88,974 28.8

Women 1,643,625 56.4 1,423,481 54.7 220,144 71.2

Race/ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic 1,807,911 62.0 1,669,367 64.1 138,544 44.8

Black, non-Hispanic 411,413 14.1 344,444 13.2 66,969 21.7

Hispanic 313,504 10.8 250,056 9.6 63,448 20.5

Asian/Pacific Islander 147,369 5.1 134,112 5.1 13,257 4.3

American Indian/Alaska 

Native 30,559 1.0 27,314 1.0 3,245 1.0

Race/ethnicity unknown 156,865 5.4 136,486 5.2 20,379 6.6

Nonresident alien 46,211 1.6 42,935 1.6 3,276 1.1

† Not applicable.

# Rounds to zero.

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 2004. 
6

 First-Time Degree/Certificate-Seeking Undergraduate Financial Aid Recipients

• In academic year 2002–03, there were 2.5 million full-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking undergraduates attending Title IV institutions located in the United States (table 

3). Of these, more than 1.8 million, or 73.0 percent, received financial aid. 

• The proportion of students receiving financial aid varied by control of institution. About 

66.2 percent of undergraduates at public institutions received aid, as did 83.4 percent of 

undergraduates at private not-for-profit institutions and 83.1 percent of those at private 

for-profit institutions (table 3).

Table 3. Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled and those 

receiving financial aid at Title IV institutions, by control and level of institution: United 

States, academic year 2002–03

Academic year 2002–031

Control and level of institution Number enrolled

Number of financial 

aid recipients

Percent receiving financial 

aid

Total students 2,520,166 1,839,004 73.0

Public 1,515,844 1,002,951 66.2

4-year 850,580 621,289 73.0

2-year 624,212 358,229 57.4

Less-than-2-year 41,052 23,433 57.1

Private not-for-profit 484,354 403,969 83.4

4-year 448,945 377,419 84.1

2-year 17,571 14,017 79.8

Less-than-2-year 17,838 12,533 70.3

Private for-profit 519,968 432,084 83.1

4-year 80,759 66,054 81.8

2-year 195,010 166,268 85.3

Less-than-2-year 244,199 199,762 81.8

1 The numbers shown reflect those institutions that reported having financial aid recipients in academic year 2002–03, even if 

reporting no aid from federal grants, state/local grants, institutional grants, or student loans. Excluded are institutions that granted 

no financial aid such as military academies and some seminaries and allied health schools associated with hospitals.

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2004.

• On average, 52.0 percent of financial aid recipients received one or more federal grants 

during the 2002–03 academic year (table 4). Considering enrollment by institutional 

control, 74.7 percent of undergraduate aid recipients attending private for-profit 

institutions received federal grants, compared to 48.5 percent of those attending public 

institutions and 36.5 percent of those attending private not-for-profit institutions.

• Undergraduate financial aid recipients at public institutions were more likely to receive 

state and local grants than those attending private not-for-profit or private for-profit 

institutions (48.1 percent compared to 37.7 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively) (table 

4). 
7

• Undergraduate financial aid recipients at private not-for-profit institutions were more 

likely to receive institutional grants (80.8 percent) than those at public or private forprofit institutions (33.5 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively) (table 4).

• Undergraduate financial aid recipients at private for-profit institutions were more likely 

than those attending public or private not-for-profit institutions to borrow money to 

attend college; 80.6 percent of aid recipients at private for-profit institutions had student 

loans, compared to 45.0 percent at public institutions and 68.7 percent at private not-forprofit institutions (table 4). 

Table 4. Types and average amounts of financial aid received by full-time, first-time 

undergraduate students in Title IV institutions, by control and level of institution: United 

States, academic year 2002–03

Control and level of institution

Number of 

financial aid 

recipients 

Number

receiving

Percent 

receiving

Average

amount1

Number

receiving

Percent 

receiving

Average

 amount1

Federal grants State/local grants

Total students 1,838,961 956,540 52.0 $2,928 685,999 37.3 $2,189

Public 1,002,951 486,383 48.5 2,791 482,625 48.1 1,885

4-year 621,289 237,923 38.3 2,950 307,636 49.5 2,305

2-year 358,229 230,663 64.4 2,654 168,891 47.1 1,139

Less-than-2-year 23,433 17,797 75.9 2,450 6,098 26.0 1,397

Private not-for-profit 403,969 147,476 36.5 3,360 152,347 37.7 3,021

4-year 377,419 128,583 34.1 3,359 143,462 38.0 3,012

2-year 14,017 8,533 60.9 3,223 5,406 38.6 2,900

Less-than-2-year 12,533 10,360 82.7 3,492 3,479 27.8 3,572

Private for-profit 432,041 322,681 74.7 2,937 51,027 11.8 2,584

4-year 66,011 39,344 59.6 3,262 13,437 20.4 3,291

2-year 166,268 117,014 70.4 2,958 27,766 16.7 2,383

Less-than-2-year 199,762 166,323 83.3 2,844 9,824 4.9 2,185

Institutional grants Student loans2

Total students 1,838,961 689,353 37.5 5,159 1,077,740 58.6 4,365

Public 1,002,951 335,618 33.5 2,423 451,715 45.0 3,254

4-year 621,289 267,121 43.0 2,761 353,303 56.9 3,409

2-year 358,229 66,609 18.6 1,118 92,028 25.7 2,589

Less-than-2-year 23,433 1,888 8.1 730 6,384 27.2 4,317

Private not-for-profit 403,969 326,469 80.8 8,273 277,661 68.7 4,483

4-year 377,419 320,226 84.8 8,385 265,203 70.3 4,523

2-year 14,017 5,097 36.4 2,844 8,697 62.0 3,565

Less-than-2year 12,533 1,146 9.1 1,366 3,761 30.0 3,804

Private for-profit 432,041 27,266 6.3 1,548 348,364 80.6 5,712

4-year 66,011 9,459 14.3 2,254 58,542 88.7 7,162

2-year 166,268 7,815 4.7 1,370 138,582 83.3 6,917

Less-than-2-year 199,762 9,992 5.0 1,018 151,240 75.7 4,046

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

2 Student loans include only loans made directly to students; federal loans to parents (PLUS) and other loans made directly to 

parents are not included.

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

average amounts received. Data collected in the SFA component of IPEDS are perturbed to protect the confidentiality of 

individuals.

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2004.
8

Revenues of Title IV Institutions

• During fiscal year 2003, the proportion of revenues originating from tuition and fees at 

public institutions varied by the type of accounting method employed by the institution. 

Four-year public institutions using Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) 

Statement 35 standards received 14.6 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees, 

those using GASB standards prior to Statement 35 received 13.3 percent of their revenues 

from tuition and fees, and those using Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) 

standards received 24.1 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees (table 5).

• Two-year public institutions using GASB Statement 35 standards received 16.8 percent 

of their revenues from tuition and fees, those using GASB standards prior to Statement 

35 received 19.3 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees, and those using FASB 

standards received 8.6 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees (table 5).

• The largest single source of revenue for private 4-year institutions in fiscal year 2003 was 

tuition and fees. Private not-for-profit 4-year institutions received 33.9 percent of their 

revenues from tuition and fees, while private for-profit institutions received 91.6 percent 

of their revenues from tuition and fees (table 6).

• During this same period, private not-for-profit 2-year institutions received 18.5 percent of 

their revenues from tuition and fees, while private for-profit 2-year institutions received 

85.4 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees (table 6).
9

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

utilized, and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2003

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

Source of funds

Revenues

 (in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Institutions using GASB 35 standards

Total revenues and other sources $159,791,326 100.0 $32,299,733 100.0 $858,753 100.0

Operating revenues 94,200,991 59.0 10,696,321 33.1 350,301 40.8

Tuition and fees (net of allowances and 

discounts) 23,291,057 14.6 5,429,515 16.8 66,969 7.8

Grants and contracts 27,638,154 17.3 2,911,495 9.0 162,343 18.9

Federal(excludes FDSL loans) 17,356,681 10.9 715,276 2.2 34,942 4.1

State 4,237,839 2.7 1,659,669 5.1 70,388 8.2

Local 6,043,634 3.8 536,550 1.7 57,013 6.6

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises after 

deducting discounts and allowances 13,660,022 8.5 1,565,753 4.8 11,010 1.3

Sales and services of hospitals 17,209,425 10.8 3,281 # 3,168 0.4

Independent operations 725,628 0.5 51,021 0.2 5,648 0.7

Other operating revenues 11,676,705 7.3 735,256 2.3 101,163 11.8

Nonoperating revenues 53,714,553 33.6 20,136,391 62.3 463,401 54.0

Federal appropriations 189,708 0.1 211,105 0.7 12,829 1.5

State appropriations 41,819,854 26.2 10,867,294 33.6 247,574 28.8

Local appropriations 211,197 0.1 6,831,324 21.1 182,856 21.3

Nonoperating grants 1,366,239 0.9 1,502,293 4.7 13,561 1.6

Federal 1,068,122 0.7 1,046,032 3.2 10,055 1.2

State 263,293 0.2 410,461 1.3 2,196 0.3

Local 34,824 # 45,800 0.1 1,309 0.2

Gifts 3,713,158 2.3 172,183 0.5 552 0.1

Investment income 4,701,751 2.9 264,053 0.8 3,522 0.4

Other nonoperating revenues 1,712,648 1.1 288,138 0.9 2,507 0.3

Total other revenues and additions 11,875,781 7.4 1,467,022 4.5 45,051 5.2

Capital appropriations 3,494,518 2.2 961,721 3.0 2,595 0.3

Capital grants and gifts 2,456,610 1.5 279,867 0.9 97 #

Additions to permanent endowments 903,104 0.6 9,387 # 0 0.0

Other revenues and additions 5,021,549 3.1 216,047 0.7 42,359 4.9

Public institutions using pre-GASB 35 standards

Total revenues and investment return 3,394,370 100.0 2,787,591 100.0 1,420,805 100.0

Tuition and fees 452,523 13.3 536,936 19.3 112,459 7.9

Government appropriations 1,911,674 56.3 1,374,485 49.3 1,188,004 83.6

Federal 1,165,345 34.3 31,144 1.1 25,136 1.8

State 737,186 21.7 1,006,485 36.1 575,351 40.5

Local 9,142 0.3 336,856 12.1 587,517 41.4

Government grants and contracts 324,894 9.6 558,420 20.0 58,605 4.1

Federal 223,960 6.6 131,928 4.7 32,489 2.3

State 83,472 2.5 234,911 8.4 21,435 1.5

Local 17,462 0.5 191,580 6.9 4,681 0.3

Private gifts, grants and contracts 178,068 5.2 60,049 2.2 617 #

Endowment income 45,737 1.3 1,143 # 3,039 0.2

Sales and services of education activities 51,810 1.5 30,881 1.1 3,935 0.3

Auxiliary enterprises 262,741 7.7 164,881 5.9 13,583 1.0

Hospitals 149,745 4.4 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations 17 # 8,804 0.3 2,333 0.2

Other sources 17,160 0.5 51,992 1.9 38,229 2.7

See notes at end of table.
10

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

utilized and source of funds: United States, fiscal year 2003—Continued

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

Source of funds

Revenues

 (in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Institutions using FASB standards

Total revenues and investment return 6,339,224 100.0 59,433 100.0 9,977 100.0

Tuition and fees 1,528,141 24.1 5,101 8.6 1,892 19.0

Government appropriations 784,448 12.4 27,400 46.1 158 1.6

Federal 24,274 0.4 1,124 1.9 0 0.0

State 760,174 12.0 17,465 29.4 158 1.6

Local 0 0.0 8,810 14.8 0 0.0

Government grants and contracts 1,058,136 16.7 22,038 37.1 1,748 17.5

Federal 867,507 13.7 14,636 24.6 1,637 16.4

State 182,571 2.9 7,246 12.2 110 1.1

Local 8,057 0.1 155 0.3 0 0.0

Private gifts, grants and contracts 474,948 7.5 599 1.0 # #

Contributions from affiliated entities 0 0.0 39 0.1 0 0.0

Investment return 302,648 4.8 60 0.1 2 #

Sales and services of educational activities 113,873 1.8 62 0.1 91 0.9

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises 442,923 7.0 1,624 2.7 4 #

Hospital revenue 1,428,088 22.5 0 0.0 0 0.0

Independent operations revenue 15,609 0.2 0 0.0 2,731 27.4

Other revenue 190,411 3.0 2,510 4.2 3,351 33.6

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: The source of funds categories differ based on the accounting standards used. 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 2004.
11

Table 6. Revenues of Title IV private institutions, by level and control of institution and source of 

funds: United States, fiscal year 2003

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

Source of funds

Revenues

 (in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Revenues 

(in thousands) Percent

Private not-for-profit institutions

Total revenues and investment return $105,193,361 100.0 $2,258,652 100.0 $605,595 100.0

Tuition and fees 35,685,774 33.9 418,279 18.5 77,545 12.8

Government appropriations 935,527 0.9 19,280 0.9 269 #

Federal 414,159 0.4 8,510 0.4 127 #

State 507,371 0.5 6,879 0.3 142 #

Local 13,997 # 3,891 0.2 0 0.0

Government grants and contracts 13,332,256 12.7 118,084 5.2 75,782 12.5

Federal 11,890,195 11.3 91,072 4.0 48,162 8.0

State 984,675 0.9 25,773 1.1 22,346 3.7

Local 457,386 0.4 1,239 0.1 5,273 0.9

Private gifts, grants, and contracts 13,382,763 12.7 59,952 2.7 22,263 3.7

Contributions from affiliated entities 935,656 0.9 13,051 0.6 3,423 0.6

Investment return 9,328,557 8.9 355 # 4,125 0.7

Sales and services of educational activities 3,041,451 2.9 17,337 0.8 37,034 6.1

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises 9,779,275 9.3 63,586 2.8 2,903 0.5

Hospital revenue 8,942,047 8.5 0 0.0 59 #

Independent operations revenue 4,228,913 4.0 26,288 1.2 487 0.1

Other revenue 5,601,143 5.3 1,522,441 67.4 381,705 63.0

Private for-profit institutions

Total revenues and investment return 4,756,640 100.0 3,183,758 100.0 2,018,524 100.0

Tuition and fees 4,356,876 91.6 2,718,081 85.4 1,552,087 76.9

Government appropriations, grants, and contracts 118,563 2.5 235,036 7.4 196,199 9.7

Federal 108,806 2.3 192,676 6.1 170,546 8.4

State and local 9,757 0.2 42,359 1.3 25,654 1.3

Private grants and contracts 3,064 0.1 3,025 0.1 6,446 0.3

Investment income and investment gains (losses) 5,875 0.1 10,942 0.3 17,330 0.9

Sales and services of educational activities 58,281 1.2 71,022 2.2 109,700 5.4

Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises 173,280 3.6 83,417 2.6 23,458 1.2

Other revenue 40,703 0.9 62,235 2.0 113,303 5.6

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Private not-for-profit and private for-profit institutions use different accounting standards, thus the categories differ. When 

reporting standards for private not-for-profit institutions changed under rules 116 and 117 of the Financial Accounting Standards Board 

(FASB), accounting for scholarships changed, requiring that most scholarships be netted against tuition revenue. 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 2004.

Graduation Rates

• Graduation rates data were collected on a cohort of first-time, full-time degree/certificateseeking undergraduates who were enrolled at 4-year institutions as of October 15, 1997 

(for institutions on a standard academic terms) or who were enrolled during the period of 

September 1, 1997 and August 31, 1998 (for institutions operating on a continuous basis). 

For less-than-4-year institutions, graduation rates data were collected on students who 

were enrolled as of October 15, 2000 or who were enrolled during the period of 

September 1, 2000 and August 31, 2001. Overall graduation rates at 4-year institutions 

were somewhat higher than at less-than-4-year institutions (54.3 percent and 42.0 percent 

respectively) (tables 7 and 8).
12

• Considering racial/ethnic groups attending 4-year institutions, Asians/Pacific Islanders 

had the highest graduation rate, at 63.0 percent, and American Indians/Alaska Natives 

had the lowest graduation rate, at 35.6 percent (table 7).

Table 7. Graduation rates at 4-year Title IV institutions, by race/ethnicity, gender, and degreegranting status: United States, cohort year 1997

Degree-granting status and 

graduation rate component Total 

White, 

nonHispanic

Black, 

nonHispanic Hispanic 

Asian/ 

Pacific 

Islander

American 

Indian/ 

Alaska 

Native 

Race/

ethnicity

unknown 

Nonresident

alien 

All students

All institutions

Adjusted cohort 1,181,366 837,411 130,246 74,880 66,940 9,631 38,005 24,253

Total completers 641,291 479,875 50,102 32,548 42,156 3,429 20,002 13,179

Graduation rate (%) 54.3 57.3 38.5 43.5 63.0 35.6 52.6 54.3

Degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 1,181,296 837,355 130,245 74,875 66,934 9,629 38,005 24,253

Total completers 641,236 479,829 50,101 32,545 42,152 3,428 20,002 13,179

Graduation rate (%) 54.3 57.3 38.5 43.5 63.0 35.6 52.6 54.3

Non-degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 70 56 1 5 6 2 0 0

Total completers 55 46 1 3 4 1 0 0

Graduation rate (%) 78.6 82.1 100.0 60.0 66.7 50.0 † †

Men

All institutions

Adjusted cohort 538,407 384,742 52,998 32,908 32,007 4,289 18,089 13,374

Total completers 276,065 209,279 17,381 13,150 19,078 1,399 8,787 6,991

Graduation rate (%) 51.3 54.4 32.8 40.0 59.6 32.6 48.6 52.3

Degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 538,399 384,736 52,998 32,907 32,006 4,289 18,089 13,374

Total completers 276,057 209,273 17,381 13,149 19,077 1,399 8,787 6,991

Graduation rate (%) 51.3 54.4 32.8 40.0 59.6 32.6 48.6 52.3

Non-degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 8 6 0 1 1 0 0 0

Total completers 8 6 0 1 1 0 0 0

Graduation rate (%) 100.0 100.0 † 100.0 100.0 † † †

Women

All institutions

Adjusted cohort 642,959 452,669 77,248 41,972 34,933 5,342 19,916 10,879

Total completers 365,226 270,596 32,721 19,398 23,078 2,030 11,215 6,188

Graduation rate (%) 56.8 59.8 42.4 46.2 66.1 38.0 56.3 56.9

Degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 642,897 452,619 77,247 41,968 34,928 5,340 19,916 10,879

Total completers 365,179 270,556 32,720 19,396 23,075 2,029 11,215 6,188

Graduation rate (%) 56.8 59.8 42.4 46.2 66.1 38.0 56.3 56.9

Non-degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 62 50 1 4 5 2 0 0

Total completers 47 40 1 2 3 1 0 0

Graduation rate (%) 75.8 80.0 100.0 50.0 60.0 50.0 † †

† Not applicable.

NOTE: Data collected in the GRS component of IPEDS are perturbed to protect the confidentiality of individuals.

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2004.
13

Table 8. Graduation rates at less-than-4-year Title IV institutions, by race/ethnicity, gender, and 

degree-granting status: United States, cohort year 2000

Degree-granting status and 

graduation rate component Total 

White, 

nonHispanic

Black, 

nonHispanic Hispanic 

Asian/ 

Pacific 

Islander

American 

Indian/ 

Alaska 

Native 

Race/

ethnicity

unknown 

Nonresident

alien 

All students

All institutions

Adjusted cohort 934,564 539,655 153,566 121,011 39,293 11,311 56,057 13,671

Total completers 392,329 220,743 60,055 56,847 18,381 4,429 27,444 4,430

Graduation rate (%) 42.0 40.9 39.1 47.0 46.8 39.2 49.0 32.4

Degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 633,427 408,526 90,008 64,397 24,619 8,195 26,616 11,066

Total completers 193,775 129,482 23,503 19,367 8,179 2,379 8,073 2,792

Graduation rate (%) 30.6 31.7 26.1 30.1 33.2 29.0 30.3 25.2

Non-degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 301,137 131,129 63,558 56,614 14,674 3,116 29,441 2,605

Total completers 198,554 91,261 36,552 37,480 10,202 2,050 19,371 1,638

Graduation rate (%) 65.9 69.6 57.5 66.2 69.5 65.8 65.8 62.9

Men

All institutions

Adjusted cohort 395,090 241,959 54,296 45,108 17,313 4,678 24,790 6,946

Total completers 148,677 89,628 18,330 18,102 7,054 1,694 11,830 2,039

Graduation rate (%) 37.6 37.0 33.8 40.1 40.7 36.2 47.7 29.4

Degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 296,980 198,378 36,215 27,634 12,085 3,680 13,362 5,626

Total completers 85,754 59,887 8,391 7,687 3,635 1,033 3,849 1,272

Graduation rate (%) 28.9 30.2 23.2 27.8 30.1 28.1 28.8 22.6

Non-degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 98,110 43,581 18,081 17,474 5,228 998 11,428 1,320

Total completers 62,923 29,741 9,939 10,415 3,419 661 7,981 767

Graduation rate (%) 64.1 68.2 55.0 59.6 65.4 66.2 69.8 58.1

Women

All institutions

Adjusted cohort 539,474 297,696 99,270 75,903 21,980 6,633 31,267 6,725

Total completers 243,652 131,115 41,725 38,745 11,327 2,735 15,614 2,391

Graduation rate (%) 45.2 44.0 42.0 51.0 51.5 41.2 49.9 35.6

Degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 336,447 210,148 53,793 36,763 12,534 4,515 13,254 5,440

Total completers 108,021 69,595 15,112 11,680 4,544 1,346 4,224 1,520

Graduation rate (%) 32.1 33.1 28.1 31.8 36.3 29.8 31.9 27.9

Non-degree-granting 

Adjusted cohort 203,027 87,548 45,477 39,140 9,446 2,118 18,013 1,285

Total completers 135,631 61,520 26,613 27,065 6,783 1,389 11,390 871

Graduation rate (%) 66.8 70.3 58.5 69.1 71.8 65.6 63.2 67.8

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

(IPEDS), Spring 2004.
14

• Considering institution control, private not-for-profit 4-year institutions had higher 

graduation rates (60.4 percent) than either public or private for-profit 4-year institutions 

(51.4 percent and 45.3 percent, respectively) (table 9). However, with a graduation rate of 

63.7 percent, private for-profit less-than-4-year institutions surpassed both public and 

private not-for-profit less-than-4-year institutions (28.5 percent and 54.4 percent, 

respectively) (table 10). 

Table 9. Graduation rates at 4-year Title IV institutions, by control of institution, gender, and 

graduation rate component: United States, cohort year 1997

Gender and graduation rate 

component Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit

All students

Adjusted cohort 1,181,366 730,165 408,287 42,914

Total completers 641,291 375,303 246,534 19,454

Graduation rate (%) 54.3 51.4 60.4 45.3

Men

Adjusted cohort 538,407 333,956 178,453 25,998

Total completers 276,065 160,004 104,456 11,605

Graduation rate (%) 51.3 47.9 58.5 44.6

Women

Adjusted cohort 642,959 396,209 229,834 16,916

Total completers 365,226 215,299 142,078 7,849

Graduation rate (%) 56.8 54.3 61.8 46.4

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2004.

Table 10. Graduation rates at less-than-4-year Title IV institutions, by control of institution, 

gender, and graduation rate component: United States, cohort year 2000

Gender and graduation rate 

component Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit

All students

Adjusted cohort 934,564 568,438 33,249 332,877

Total completers 392,329 162,277 18,103 211,949

Graduation rate (%) 42.0 28.5 54.4 63.7

Men

Adjusted cohort 395,090 270,205 13,483 111,402

Total completers 148,677 72,815 7,206 68,656

Graduation rate (%) 37.6 26.9 53.4 61.6

Women

Adjusted cohort 539,474 298,233 19,766 221,475

Total completers 243,652 89,462 10,897 143,293

Graduation rate (%) 45.2 30.0 55.1 64.7

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2004.
A-1

Appendix A:

Survey Methodology

Overview

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 2004 data 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 6,651 Title IV institutions 1 and 

offices located in the United States and the other jurisdictions of the United States, such as 

Puerto Rico2, in the 2003–04 academic year. 

IPEDS began collecting data from all postsecondary institutions in 1986, when it superseded the 

Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), which was directed at institutions of 

higher education only. HEGIS data were collected from 1966 through 1985. In 1992, the focus of 

IPEDS became the Title IV institutions, when the Higher Education Amendments made 

reporting to IPEDS mandatory for these institutions. In 2000, IPEDS implemented a web-based 

data collection system with the capability of tailoring data collection screens to each institution. 

Edits were also built into the system to give immediate feedback to the institutions when 

problems were detected. This system has allowed for earlier release of data to institutions and the 

public, primarily through the IPEDS Peer Analysis System and College Opportunities On-Line.

The Spring 2004 data collection was entirely web-based. Institutions in the universe were asked 

to enter their survey responses using the IPEDS data collection website. The spring 2004 IPEDS 

data were collected between March 10 and May 5, 2004. The collection had four components: 

Enrollment, Student Financial Aid, Finance, and Graduation Rates. Copies of the data collection 

instruments are available at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/web2000/springdataitems.asp.

Terminology Used in the IPEDS Web Collection

Please refer to excerpts from the IPEDS Glossary provided in Appendix B for definitions of 

various terms.

Universe, Institutions Surveyed, and Response Rates

The IPEDS universe is established during the fall collection period. For the 2003–04 cycle, 64 

institutions included in prior IPEDS data collections were declared to be outside the scope of 

 

1

 Includes 6,568 institutions and 83 administrative offices (central or system offices). The administrative offices are 

required to complete the Institutional Characteristics component in the fall, the Fall Staff component in the winter (if 

they have more than 15 full-time staff), and the Finance component in the spring (if they have their own separate 

budget).

2

 The other jurisdictions surveyed in IPEDS are American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the 

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

IPEDS. This happened because (1) they were duplicates of other institutions on the file, (2) they 

closed or were merged with other institutions and thus were no longer legitimate institutions or 

branches, or (3) they no longer offered a full program of study at the postsecondary level. In 

addition, 177 institutions were added to the universe. These schools were identified from several 

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

by the OPE, and information provided by the institutions themselves.

The list of 6,568 institutions was validated by matching the IPEDS universe file with OPE’s 

Postsecondary Education Participation System (PEPS) file. Because most of the studies that use 

IPEDS data concentrate on the Title IV institutions, this group is the main focus of IPEDS. Also, 

according to Section 490 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1992 (P.L. 102-325), IPEDS 

is mandatory for any institutions that participate in or are applicants for participation in any 

federal financial assistance program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 

as amended (20 USC 1094(a)(17)). 

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

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

voluntarily respond to the surveys, the institutions are included in College Opportunities On-Line 

(IPEDS COOL). IPEDS COOL is a website developed to help parents and students make 

informed decisions about postsecondary education. 

Not all Title IV postsecondary institutions were required to participate in all components of the 

spring data collection. For example, the Finance component applies to all institutions and 

administrative offices; however, some of the institutions and administrative offices were not 

required to respond because they did not have separate budgets to report, and some institutions 

were not required to report because they were newly formed and did not have financial data for 

the fiscal year reported. Also, the Student Financial Aid (SFA) component is applicable only to 

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

students. See the Survey Components section for further details on which institutions were 

required to complete each component. 

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

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

States and other jurisdictions for each of the four spring components. Because Title IV 

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

Title IV institutions in the spring 2004 IPEDS collection were quite high. The response rate for 

all spring survey components were over 99.0 percent. For all four components, less-than-2-year 

institutions had lower response rates than other institutions. Public institutions had the highest 

response rates for all components except Finance. Private for-profit institutions had slightly 

lower response rates than public or private not-for-profit institutions. 

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

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

institutions located in the United States only. 
A-3

Table A-1. Response rates of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the 

IPEDS spring 2004 data collection, by 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/offices 6,551 6,544 99.9 6,068 6,032 99.4

Public 2,075 2,075 100.0 2,008 2,004 99.8

Private not-for-profit 1,960 1,959 99.9 1,629 1,622 99.6

Private for-profit 2,516 2,510 99.8 2,431 2,406 99.0

4-year 2,608 2,608 100.0 2,193 2,190 99.9

Public 653 653 100.0 596 596 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,601 1,601 100.0 1,290 1,287 99.8

Private for-profit 354 354 100.0 307 307 100.0

2-year 2,201 2,198 99.9 2,169 2,160 99.6

Public 1,173 1,173 100.0 1,171 1,168 99.7

Private not-for-profit 235 234 99.6 220 217 98.6

Private for-profit 793 791 99.7 778 775 99.6

Less-than-2-year 1,742 1,738 99.8 1,706 1,682 98.6

Public 249 249 100.0 241 240 99.6

Private not-for-profit 124 124 100.0 119 118 99.2

Private for-profit 1,369 1,365 99.7 1,346 1,324 98.4

Degree-granting 4,318 4,317 100.0 3,909 3,902 99.8

4-year 2,588 2,588 100.0 2,191 2,188 99.9

Public 652 652 100.0 596 596 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,583 1,583 100.0 1,288 1,285 99.8

Private for-profit 353 353 100.0 307 307 100.0

2-year 1,730 1,729 99.9 1,718 1,714 99.8

Public 1,097 1,097 100.0 1,096 1,094 99.8

Private not-for-profit 121 120 99.2 119 118 99.2

Private for-profit 512 512 100.0 503 502 99.8

Non-degree-granting 2,233 2,227 99.7 2,159 2,130 98.7

4-year 20 20 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 18 18 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

2-year 471 469 99.6 451 446 98.9

Public 76 76 100.0 75 74 98.7

Private not-for-profit 114 114 100.0 101 99 98.0

Private for-profit 281 279 99.3 275 273 99.3

Less-than-2-year 1,742 1,738 99.8 1,706 1,682 98.6

Public 249 249 100.0 241 240 99.6

Private not-for-profit 124 124 100.0 119 118 99.2

Private for-profit 1,369 1,365 99.7 1,346 1,324 98.4

See notes at end of table.
A-4

Table A-1. Response rates of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the 

IPEDS spring 2004 data collection, by 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/offices 6,607 6,554 99.2 5,812 5,781 99.5

Public 2,139 2,128 99.5 1,993 1,990 99.8

Private not-for-profit 1,952 1,948 99.8 1,597 1,592 99.7

Private for-profit 2,516 2,478 98.5 2,222 2,199 99.0

4-year 2,649 2,648 100.0 2,090 2,088 99.9

Public 691 691 100.0 589 589 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,601 1,600 99.9 1,265 1,263 99.8

Private for-profit 357 357 100.0 236 236 100.0

2-year 2,222 2,212 99.5 2,124 2,118 99.7

Public 1,204 1,201 99.8 1,166 1,164 99.8

Private not-for-profit 227 225 99.1 219 217 99.1

Private for-profit 791 786 99.4 739 737 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,736 1,694 97.6 1,598 1,575 98.6

Public 244 236 96.7 238 237 99.6

Private not-for-profit 124 123 99.2 113 112 99.1

Private for-profit 1,368 1,335 97.6 1,247 1,226 98.3

Degree-granting 4,392 4,386 99.9 3,766 3,761 99.9

4-year 2,634 2,633 100.0 2,088 2,086 99.9

Public 691 691 100.0 589 589 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,587 1,586 99.9 1,264 1,262 99.8

Private for-profit 356 356 100.0 235 235 100.0

2-year 1,758 1,753 99.7 1,678 1,675 99.8

Public 1,128 1,126 99.8 1,090 1,089 99.9

Private not-for-profit 120 119 99.2 118 116 98.3

Private for-profit 510 508 99.6 470 470 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,215 2,168 97.9 2,046 2,020 98.7

4-year 15 15 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 1 1 100.0

Private for-profit 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

2-year 464 459 98.9 446 443 99.3

Public 76 75 98.7 76 75 98.7

Private not-for-profit 107 106 99.1 101 101 100.0

Private for-profit 281 278 98.9 269 267 99.3

Less-than-2-year 1,736 1,694 97.6 1,598 1,575 98.6

Public 244 236 96.7 238 237 99.6

Private not-for-profit 124 123 99.2 113 112 99.1

Private for-profit 1,368 1,335 97.6 1,247 1,226 98.3

† 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 s erve because they complete the Finance component. 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 2004.
A-5

Table A-1a. Response rates of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the 

IPEDS spring 2004 data collection, by 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/offices 6,395 6,388 99.9 5,921 5,886 99.4

Public 2,046 2,046 100.0 1,980 1,977 99.8

Private not-for-profit 1,911 1,910 99.9 1,586 1,579 99.6

Private for-profit 2,438 2,432 99.8 2,355 2,330 98.9

4-year 2,546 2,546 100.0 2,138 2,135 99.9

Public 635 635 100.0 579 579 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,564 1,564 100.0 1,259 1,256 99.8

Private for-profit 347 347 100.0 300 300 100.0

2-year 2,175 2,172 99.9 2,144 2,136 99.6

Public 1,162 1,162 100.0 1,160 1,158 99.8

Private not-for-profit 231 230 99.6 216 213 98.6

Private for-profit 782 780 99.7 768 765 99.6

Less-than-2-year 1,674 1,670 99.8 1,639 1,615 98.5

Public 249 249 100.0 241 240 99.6

Private not-for-profit 116 116 100.0 111 110 99.1

Private for-profit 1,309 1,305 99.7 1,287 1,265 98.3

Degree-granting 4,231 4,230 100.0 3,830 3,824 99.8

4-year 2,526 2,526 100.0 2,136 2,133 99.9

Public 634 634 100.0 579 579 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,546 1,546 100.0 1,257 1,254 99.8

Private for-profit 346 346 100.0 300 300 100.0

2-year 1,705 1,704 99.9 1,694 1,691 99.8

Public 1,086 1,086 100.0 1,085 1,084 99.9

Private not-for-profit 117 116 99.1 115 114 99.1

Private for-profit 502 502 100.0 494 493 99.8

Non-degree-granting 2,164 2,158 99.7 2,091 2,062 98.6

4-year 20 20 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 18 18 100.0 2 2 100.0

Private for-profit 1 1 100.0 0 0 †

2-year 470 468 99.6 450 445 98.9

Public 76 76 100.0 75 74 98.7

Private not-for-profit 114 114 100.0 101 99 98.0

Private for-profit 280 278 99.3 274 272 99.3

Less-than-2-year 1,674 1,670 99.8 1,639 1,615 98.5

Public 249 249 100.0 241 240 99.6

Private not-for-profit 116 116 100.0 111 110 99.1

Private for-profit 1,309 1,305 99.7 1,287 1,265 98.3

See notes at end of table.
A-6

Table A-1a. Response rates of Title IV institutions and administrative offices responding to the 

IPEDS spring 2004 data collection, by 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/offices 6,448 6,395 99.2 5,669 5,638 99.5

Public 2,109 2,098 99.5 1,965 1,962 99.8

Private not-for-profit 1,901 1,897 99.8 1,555 1,550 99.7

Private for-profit 2,438 2,400 98.4 2,149 2,126 98.9

4-year 2,584 2,583 100.0 2,036 2,034 99.9

Public 672 672 100.0 572 572 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,562 1,561 99.9 1,235 1,233 99.8

Private for-profit 350 350 100.0 229 229 100.0

2-year 2,196 2,186 99.5 2,099 2,093 99.7

Public 1,193 1,190 99.7 1,155 1,153 99.8

Private not-for-profit 223 221 99.1 215 213 99.1

Private for-profit 780 775 99.4 729 727 99.7

Less-than-2-year 1,668 1,626 97.5 1,534 1,511 98.5

Public 244 236 96.7 238 237 99.6

Private not-for-profit 116 115 99.1 105 104 99.0

Private for-profit 1,308 1,275 97.5 1,191 1,170 98.2

Degree-granting 4,302 4,296 99.9 3,688 3,683 99.9

4-year 2,569 2,568 100.0 2,034 2,032 99.9

Public 672 672 100.0 572 572 100.0

Private not-for-profit 1,548 1,547 99.9 1,234 1,232 99.8

Private for-profit 349 349 100.0 228 228 100.0

2-year 1,733 1,728 99.7 1,654 1,651 99.8

Public 1,117 1,115 99.8 1,079 1,078 99.9

Private not-for-profit 116 115 99.1 114 112 98.2

Private for-profit 500 498 99.6 461 461 100.0

Non-degree-granting 2,146 2,099 97.8 1,981 1,955 98.7

4-year 15 15 100.0 2 2 100.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 14 14 100.0 1 1 100.0

Private for-profit 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

2-year 463 458 98.9 445 442 99.3

Public 76 75 98.7 76 75 98.7

Private not-for-profit 107 106 99.1 101 101 100.0

Private for-profit 280 277 98.9 268 266 99.3

Less-than-2-year 1,668 1,626 97.5 1,534 1,511 98.5

Public 244 236 96.7 238 237 99.6

Private not-for-profit 116 115 99.1 105 104 99.0

Private for-profit 1,308 1,275 97.5 1,191 1,170 98.2

† 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.

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2004.
A-7

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 was less than 90 percent. As 

shown in Table A-1, no sectors require this analysis.

Survey Procedures

The Spring 2004 IPEDS data collection was conducted using the IPEDS web-based data 

collection system. Each institution designated a keyholder, who was the person responsible for 

ensuring that survey 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 many institutions, keyholders were also required to edit and “lock” the data; 

locking is equivalent to submitting completed data to NCES. Coordinators are individuals who 

take 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, review, and lock data for their 

institutions.

For the 2003–04 IPEDS data collections, keyholders were asked to register prior to the Fall 2003 

data collection. Registration information, including UserIDs and passwords, was e-mailed to 

existing keyholders in mid-July. Also in mid-July, letters were sent to chief executive officers 

(CEOs) at institutions without pre-registered keyholders, requesting that they appoint a 

keyholder for the 2003–04 collection year. The package included a letter for the keyholder and a 

registration certificate with the institution’s UserID and password for the entire 2003–04 

collection period. Subsequent registration mailings were sent to CEOs at institutions at which a 

keyholder had still not been registered, in mid-August, mid-September, mid-December, and midMarch. At the beginning of the winter and spring collections (in late November 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 2003–04 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, public vs. private control, and length of longest program offered. 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 2003–04 data were entered, either 

manually or through file upload, the keyholders were required to run edit checks and resolve all 

errors before they were able to lock their data. Once data were locked, they were considered 

“submitted,” regardless of whether or not the coordinator had reviewed the submission.
A-8

Once the data were complete and all locks were applied, IPEDS help desk staff conducted a final 

review. If any additional problems were detected, the help desk staff contacted the institutions to 

resolve any remaining questions. Once all problems were resolved, the final data were migrated 

to the Peer Analysis System (PAS), where they were made available to other responding 

institutions for comparison purposes. Because of confidentiality issues, Student Financial Aid 

data and Graduation Rates data were perturbed in the migration process to protect any 

individually identifiable data.

Survey Components

Enrollment—This component of the web-based survey has seven separate parts. Parts A, B, C, 

and D data were reported as of the institution’s official fall reporting date (or October 15, 2003) 

for the Spring 2004 data collection. Part A collects summary data on the number of students 

enrolled in the fall, including the number of first-time 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 collects summary data on 

the number of students enrolled in the fall at each student level (undergraduate, graduate, and 

first-professional) by age category, gender, and enrollment status. Part C (which was optional for 

the Spring 2004 collection) collects summary data on the residence of first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking (undergraduate-level) 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 that 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. 

Parts E and F collect data for a 12-month reporting period in the previous year; institutions must 

indicate the 12-month period for which they are reporting—either July 1, 2002, through June 30, 

2003, or September 1, 2002, through August 31, 2003. Part E collects total unduplicated student 

counts by race/ethnicity, gender, and student level for those students enrolled during the 

reporting period. Part F collects data on the total amount of instructional activity for those 

students. 

Part G 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 G was optional in the Spring 2004 collection.

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 are collected based on the 2002–03 academic 

year for those institutions that are part of the IPEDS universe and indicate that they enroll fulltime, first-time students in 2003–04. Student counts are collected based on either a fall 2002 

cohort of full-time, first-time undergraduates (for institutions operating on standard academic 

terms) or on full-year unduplicated counts for 2002–03 (for all other institutions). Institutions 

that charge tuition based on residency (primarily public institutions) are asked to provide counts 

by in-district, in-state, and out-of-state students. The number of full-time, first-time 

degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who received financial aid is collected by type 
A-9

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. 

Finance—This component of the web-based survey collects summary data on each institution’s 

financial status in fiscal year 2003. 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 among several versions of the survey 

depending on which standards were used for their internal accounting: (1) Government 

Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 35 reporting standards, (2) GASB reporting 

standards prior to Statement 35, or (3) Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) reporting 

standards. Note that survey sections or “Parts” are not identified by consecutive indicators (A, B, 

C, etc.); some Parts are no longer applicable (e.g., Part I) in some versions.

For public institutions that used GASB Statement 35 reporting standards to prepare their 

financial statements, data were 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 

unit using FASB standards (Part F); and component unit using GASB standards (Part G). This 

year, endowment assets (Part H) were added. Part H was optional for fiscal year 2003 but will be 

required for fiscal year 2004. Additionally, certain data were collected for the U.S. Bureau of the 

Census, including revenue data (Part J), expenditure data (Part K), and debts and assets (Part L). 

For public institutions that used GASB standards prior to Statement 35 to prepare their financial 

statements, data were collected on current funds revenues by source (Part A); current funds 

expenditures by function (Part B), scholarship and fellowship expenditures (Part E); 

indebtedness on physical plant (Part G); details of endowment assets (Part H); hospital revenues 

(Part J); and physical plant assets (Part K). Additionally, certain data were collected for the U.S. 

Bureau of the Census, including fiscal year interest earnings and cash and security (Part L); fiscal 

year tax receipts and capital outlay expenditures (Part M, for local public institutions only); and 

fiscal year revenue, expenditure, and indebtedness (Part N, for state public institutions only). 

Private not-for-profit institutions and public institutions that used 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), and expenses by functional and natural classification (Part E). This year, 

endowment assets (Part H) were added. Part H was optional for fiscal year 2003; but will be 

required for fiscal year 2004. A shortened version of the not-for-profit form has been developed 

for private for-profit institutions, and data were 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% of 

normal time to program completion; the number that transferred to other institutions within 

150% or normal time; the number receiving athletically related student aid; and the number of 
A-10

athletes completing within 150% of normal time. This survey was developed to help institutions 

comply with requirements of the Student Right-to-Know legislation. For 4-year institutions, the 

cohort consists of first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates who were 

enrolled as of October 15, 1997 (for institutions on standard academic terms) or who were 

enrolled during the period of September 1, 1997, and August 31, 1998 (for institutions operating 

on a continuous basis). For less-than-4-year institutions, graduation rates data were collected on 

students who were enrolled as of October 15, 2000, or who were enrolled during the period of 

September 1, 2000, and August 31, 2001.

The 2003–04 survey forms are available at http://www.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/survey2003.asp.

Edit Procedures

Edit checks were built into the web-based instrument to detect major reporting errors. The 

system automatically generated percentages and totals on each component, and edit checks 

compared current responses to previously reported data. The edit checks could 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 were executed, survey respondents were 

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 explain why the data appeared to be out of the expected data range. Additionally, 

some edit failures were “fatal”; and in these cases, the data had to be corrected 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 incorrectly reported. Survey respondents were also 

provided with caveats boxes on each survey component and were encouraged to use these areas 

to explain any special circumstances that might not be evident in their reported data. Finally, the 

data were manually reviewed for additional inconsistencies by coordinators (when applicable) 

and the IPEDS help desk staff. When necessary, keyholders were contacted to verify the 

accuracy of the data.

The Enrollment component had several automated edit checks. Among them, the number of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students had to be less than or equal to 

the total number of students. Current year data were compared to data from previous years and 

large discrepancies had to be justified in the edit explanations. Student counts, by level, were 

compared to activity hours to ensure hours were reported if students were reported at the 

undergraduate and graduate levels. Total students in Part A (reported by race/ethnicity) had to 

equal the number in Part B (reported by age) for each level reported. For this collection cycle, 

Residence Part C data were optional; however, if provided, total first-time degree/certificateseeking undergraduate students in Part A had to equal total first-time degree/certificate-seeking 

undergraduate 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. This 

resulted in some negative numbers in the “unknown” fields, which were subsequently corrected 

prior to data cleaning and imputation. 

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 
A-11

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 institutions that charged tuition by residency, the sum of 

in-district, in-state, and out-of-state full-time, first-time undergraduate students could not exceed 

the number of full-time, first-time undergraduate students. The number of full-time, first-time 

undergraduate students receiving federal grants could not exceed the number of full-time, firsttime undergraduate students who received any financial aid during the full academic year. The 

same criteria applied to state/local grants, institutional grants, and loans to students. 

For the Finance component, current year data were compared to the previous year’s data and 

large discrepancies 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 

compare the generated totals to the information in their financial statement and resolve any data 

entry errors. 

For the Graduation Rates component, individual cells were added to ensure that they did not 

exceed the revised cohort for any race/ethnicity or gender classification. Additionally, counts for 

athletic subcohorts were summed to ensure that they did not exceed the total cohort for any 

race/ethnicity or gender classification. Finally, if cohort members were reported for either section 

of the Graduation Rates component (bachelor’s-seeking or other-than-bachelor’s-seeking), at 

least one cell had to be completed in each applicable section. 

Imputation Procedures

The Enrollment data, Finance data, Graduation Rates data, and Student Financial Aid data were 

all subject to imputation for nonresponse—both total (institutional) nonresponse and partial 

(item) nonresponse. 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 active3 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 Finance and Graduation Rates components and Parts E and F of the Enrollment 

component, the institution must not be new to the IPEDS universe; and

• for the Graduation Rates component, the institution must have enrolled full-time, firsttime students for the cohort year.

 

3

 Institutions that did not respond were verified as currently active (open for business) prior to imputation through 

telephone calls and e-mail.
A-12

Enrollment 

For Part A of the Enrollment component, 111 imputation groups and 48 collapsed imputation 

groups were formed primarily based on institutional sector and undergraduate, graduate, and 

first-professional offerings.

The following imputation methods were used to impute missing data in enrollment Parts A, B, E, 

and F:

• Carry Forward—Reported 2002 (or 2001) enrollment data were carried forward to the 

current year. The number of students reported in 2002 (or 2001) 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 Enrollment Part A—Reported 2003 enrollment Part A data 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 enrollment 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 unduplicated enrollment counts (or instructional activity hours) 

were multiplied by the ratio of the imputee’s fall enrollment (part A data) count to the 

donor’s fall enrollment count to adjust for the difference between the two institutions. 

These adjusted values were used as the imputed values.

• Nearest Neighbor Completions—The completions data for academic year 2002–03 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 (or unduplicated enrollment counts or 

instructional activity hours) 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. The identified donor’s award counts 

were used to impute for Part A and Part E data simultaneously, where applicable. Donors 

for Part B were identified after Part A was imputed in order to ensure that the total 

enrollment in a given institution was the same across all parts of the Enrollment 

component.

• Ratio Adjustment Based on Part A Data—The fall enrollment (Part A) data for academic 

year 2003–04 was used to determine the median contact or credit hours per full-time 

equivalent (FTE) student. This ratio was calculated for each collapsed imputation group 

for undergraduate credit hours, undergraduate contact hours, and graduate credit hours. 

An institution’s FTE, based on the institution’s Part A data, is equal to an institution’s 

full-time students plus one-third its part-time students. The median ratio for each 

collapsed imputation group was applied to the Part F nonrespondent’s Part A enrollment. 
A-13

For institutions that had undergraduate offerings, the institution’s calendar year indicator 

determined whether the imputed activity hours were assigned to contact or credit hours.

• Group Median—For each imputation group, the median enrollment count of all 

responding institutions was calculated. The responding institution that had the closest 

enrollment count to this median was designated as the “median” institution. Enrollment 

counts were imputed using the values from the median institution. For public institutions, 

if there were at least three donors from the imputee’s state, the median institution was 

chosen from the institutions within the same state as the imputee. Otherwise, the median 

institution was chosen from the entire imputation group. The median institution used to 

impute for enrollment counts was used to impute for the unduplicated enrollment counts 

and the instructional activity hours, where applicable.

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 nonresponse was determined by 

comparison with the existing past fall enrollment data. The following three types of partial 

nonrespondents were imputed using the Carry Forward method:

• Missing a whole level—institutions missing all the lines for undergraduate, graduate, or 

first-professional offering.

• Missing a half level—full-time data were present but part-time data were missing, or 

part-time data were present and full-time data were missing. 

• Missing data within undergraduate level—first-time data were present, but total 

undergraduates data were missing, or total undergraduates data were present, but firsttime data were missing.

Table A-2 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-3 provides the fall enrollment counts (reported and imputed) and percentages that were 

imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United States, by control of institution, student level, 

attendance status, gender, degree-granting status, and age of student. 

Table A-4 provides the unduplicated 12-month headcount data (reported and imputed) and 

percentages that were imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United States, by control of 

institution, student level, gender, and degree-granting status. 

Table A-5 provides the 12-month instructional activity (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 type of instructional activity.
A-14

Table A-2. Fall enrollme nt and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by control of institution, student 

level, attendance status, gender, and degree-granting status: United States, fall 2003

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 17,329,462 370 # 12,964,554 0 0.0 3,381,391 34 # 983,517 336 #

Undergraduate 14,902,640 370 # 11,628,921 0 0.0 2,387,045 34 # 886,674 336 #

First-time 2,913,832 274 # 1,995,266 0 0.0 500,382 14 # 418,184 260 0.1

Other undergraduate 11,988,808 96 # 9,633,655 0 0.0 1,886,663 20 # 468,490 76 #

Graduate 2,097,746 0 0.0 1,201,272 0 0.0 800,813 0 0.0 95,661 0 0.0

First-professional 329,076 0 0.0 134,361 0 0.0 193,533 0 0.0 1,182 0 0.0

Full time 10,649,597 364 # 7,331,207 0 0.0 2,500,542 34 # 817,848 330 #

Part time 6,679,865 6 # 5,633,347 0 0.0 880,849 0 0.0 165,669 6 #

Men 7,389,548 87 # 5,562,246 0 0.0 1,439,180 5 # 388,122 82 #

Women 9,939,914 283 # 7,402,308 0 0.0 1,942,211 29 # 595,395 254 #

Degree-granting 16,900,471 34 # 12,857,059 0 0.0 3,340,718 34 # 702,694 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting 428,991 336 0.1 107,495 0 0.0 40,673 0 0.0 280,823 336 0.1

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No students were imputed for institutions in other jurisdictions. This table is based on the enrollment by 

race/ethnicity and gender component (Part A) of the Enrollment component.

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

2004.
A-15

Table A-3. Fall enrollment and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by control of institution, student 

level, attendance status, gender, degree-granting status, and age of student: United States, fall 2003

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 17,329,462 432 # 12,964,554 0 0.0 3,381,391 96 # 983,517 336 #

Undergraduate 14,902,640 376 # 11,628,921 0 0.0 2,387,045 40 # 886,674 336 #

Graduate 2,097,746 0 0.0 1,201,272 0 0.0 800,813 0 0.0 95,661 0 0.0

First-professional 329,076 56 # 134,361 0 0.0 193,533 56 # 1,182 0 0.0

Full time 10,649,597 426 # 7,331,207 0 0.0 2,500,542 96 # 817,848 330 #

Part time 6,679,865 6 # 5,633,347 0 0.0 880,849 0 0.0 165,669 6 #

Men 7,389,548 149 # 5,562,246 0 0.0 1,439,180 67 # 388,122 82 #

Women 9,939,914 283 # 7,402,308 0 0.0 1,942,211 29 # 595,395 254 #

Degree-granting 16,900,471 96 # 12,857,059 0 0.0 3,340,718 96 # 702,694 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting 428,991 336 0.1 107,495 0 0.0 40,673 0 0.0 280,823 336 0.1

Age of student

Under 18 501,006 8 # 437,028 0 0.0 53,538 1 # 10,440 7 0.1

18-19 3,622,584 195 # 2,777,563 0 0.0 723,264 7 # 121,757 188 0.2

20-21 3,442,693 62 # 2,592,362 0 0.0 721,890 13 # 128,441 49 #

22-24 2,873,947 34 # 2,209,213 0 0.0 518,496 9 # 146,238 25 #

25-29 2,344,027 20 # 1,690,130 0 0.0 479,816 4 # 174,081 16 #

30-34 1,406,963 7 # 1,007,966 0 0.0 274,058 3 # 124,939 4 #

35-39 946,993 6 # 682,632 0 0.0 182,404 3 # 81,957 3 #

40-49 1,346,921 4 # 990,318 0 0.0 254,874 0 0.0 101,729 4 #

50-64 574,872 0 0.0 439,505 0 0.0 103,896 0 0.0 31,471 0 0.0

65 and over 75,957 0 0.0 69,429 0 0.0 5,413 0 0.0 1,115 0 0.0

Age unknown 193,499 96 # 68,408 0 0.0 63,742 56 0.1 61,349 40 0.1

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No students were imputed for institutions in other jurisdictions. This table is based on the enrollment by 

age and gender component (Part B) of the Enrollment component. Institutions reporting enrollment by race/ethnicity and gender (Part A), and not 

reporting age and gender (Part B) are included in this table and thus the number imputed above is greater than in Table A-2.

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

2004.

Table A-4. Unduplicated 12-month count and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by control of 

institution, student level, gender, and degree-granting status: United States, 2002–03

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit

Imputed Imputed Imputed Imputed

Student level, gender, 

and degree-granting 

status

Unduplicated 

count Number %

Unduplicated 

count Number %

Unduplicated 

count Number %

Unduplicated 

count Number %

All students 24,101,384 2,651 # 18,244,366 0 0.0 4,151,083 1,994 # 1,705,935 657 #

Undergraduate 20,727,635 2,338 # 16,427,997 0 0.0 2,814,213 1,681 0.1 1,485,425 657 #

Graduate 3,028,965 313 # 1,674,694 0 0.0 1,134,989 313 # 219,282 0 0.0

First-professional 344,784 0 0.0 141,675 0 0.0 201,881 0 0.0 1,228 0 0.0

Men 10,348,117 1,279 # 7,890,896 0 0.0 1,750,517 1,172 0.1 706,704 107 #

Women 13,753,267 1,372 # 10,353,470 0 0.0 2,400,566 822 # 999,231 550 0.1

Degree-granting 23,453,504 1,915 # 18,039,146 0 0.0 4,103,660 1,915 # 1,310,698 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting 647,880 736 0.1 205,220 0 0.0 47,423 79 0.2 395,237 657 0.2

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No students were imputed for institutions in other jurisdictions.

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

2004.
A-16

Table A-5. Instructional activity and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by control of institution, 

degree-granting status, and type of instructional activities: United States, 2002–03

Total Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit

Imputed Imputed Imputed Imputed

Type of instructional 

activity and degreegranting status Total hours Hours % Total hours Hours % Total hours Hours % Total hours Hours %

All institutions 1,188,497,309 152,148 # 596,058,951 0 0.0 123,548,260 0 0.0 468,890,098 152,148 #

Credit hour activity 385,881,344 4,103 # 275,689,737 0 0.0 81,584,940 0 0.0 28,606,667 4,103 #

Undergraduate 345,567,856 4,103 # 254,077,867 0 0.0 64,655,340 0 0.0 26,834,649 4,103 #

Graduate 40,313,488 0 0.0 21,611,870 0 0.0 16,929,600 0 0.0 1,772,018 0 0.0

Contact hour activity 802,615,965 148,045 # 320,369,214 0 0.0 41,963,320 0 0.0 440,283,431 148,045 #

Degree-granting 772,317,261 0 0.0 517,008,081 0 0.0 96,876,369 0 0.0 158,432,811 0 0.0

Credit hour activity 380,516,934 0 0.0 275,382,409 0 0.0 81,021,179 0 0.0 24,113,346 0 0.0

Undergraduate 340,271,961 0 0.0 253,770,539 0 0.0 64,160,094 0 0.0 22,341,328 0 0.0

Graduate 40,244,973 0 0.0 21,611,870 0 0.0 16,861,085 0 0.0 1,772,018 0 0.0

Contact hour activity 391,800,327 0 0.0 241,625,672 0 0.0 15,855,190 0 0.0 134,319,465 0 0.0

Non-degree-granting 416,180,048 152,148 # 79,050,870 0 0.0 26,671,891 0 0.0 310,457,287 152,148 #

Credit hour activity 5,364,410 4,103 0.1 307,328 0 0.0 563,761 0 0.0 4,493,321 4,103 0.1

Undergraduate 5,295,895 4,103 0.1 307,328 0 0.0 495,246 0 0.0 4,493,321 4,103 0.1

Graduate 68,515 0 0.0 0 0 † 68,515 0 0.0 0 0 †

Contact hour activity 410,815,638 148,045 # 78,743,542 0 0.0 26,108,130 0 0.0 305,963,966 148,045 #

† Not applicable.

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. For institutions in other jurisdictions 0 hours of activity were imputed.

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

2004.

Finance 

For the Finance component, Parts A through E of the public GASB Statement 35 reporting form, 

Parts A, B, E, G, H, J, and K of the public GASB pre–Statement 35 reporting form, and Parts A 

through E for both private not-for-profit (or public FASB) and private for-profit forms were 

subject to imputation. The imputation groups were created separately for public, private not-forprofit, and private for-profit institutions. Twenty-nine 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 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 and, for some variables deemed proportional to enrollment, such as 

total tuition and fees or total student grants, by FTE enrollment ratios to adjust for yearto-year change.

• Nearest Neighbor FTE—Previous years’ FTE enrollment values were used to determine 

an imputee’s nearest neighbor within the imputation group. Data from the selected 

nearest neighbor 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, 
A-17

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)—For those institutions for 

which previous years’ FTE enrollment were not available, current or previous year EAP 

data were used to determine a nearest neighbor of the imputee within the imputation 

group. The number of total employees reported in the EAP dataset was used in defining 

the distance measure. An imputee/donor adjustment 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. 

For total nonrespondents, if there were past finance data, then the Carry Forward method was 

used. Alternately, if there were past FTE data, the Nearest Neighbor FTE method was used. If 

there were current or past EAP data, the Nearest Neighbor EAP method was used. Partial 

nonresponse was determined by comparison with the existing past data. Partial nonrespondents 

were imputed by applying the above methods to the missing parts.

Since no information was available on whether an institution used GASB (Statement 35 or pre–

Statement 35) or FASB to prepare their financial statements, public imputees without prior year 

reported data were imputed using data from GASB (Statement 35 or pre–Statement 35) donors. 

Private not-for-profit imputees were imputed using data from private not-for-profit donors. 

Private for-profit imputees were imputed using data from private for-profit donors.

Table A-6 provides the revenues and expenditures/expenses (reported and imputed) as well as 

the percentages of these amounts that were imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United 

States, by control of institution and type of funds.

Graduation Rates

The variables used to define imputation groups for the Graduation Rates component were

• sector;

• medical offering;

• first-professional offering; 

• graduate offering;

• bachelor’s degree (LEVEL5=1); and 

• less than 1 year or at least 1 but less than 2 years or associate’s degree or at least 2 but 

less than 4 years (LEVEL1=1 or LEVEL2=1 or LEVEL3=1 or LEVEL4=1).

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) were also defined by the combination 

of LEVEL1 and LEVEL2. A donor was selected from the same imputation group as the imputee.
A-18

Table A-6. Revenues and expenditures/expenses, and the percentages imputed, for Title IV 

institutions, by control of institution and type of funds: United States, fiscal year 2003

[Amounts are in thousands of dollars]

Total Public (GASB 35) Public (pre–GASB 35)

Imputed Imputed Imputed

Type of funds Total funds Amount % Total funds Amount % Total funds Amount %

Total revenues and 

investment 

returns $277,690,013 $119,872 # $156,399,992 $1,253 # $7,230,592 $31,426 0.4

Tuition and fees 72,122,020 70,995 0.1 27,570,519 859 # 1,089,999 3,464 0.3

Government 

appropriations, grants, 

and contracts 101,829,723 38,880 # 81,277,487 380 # 5,029,084 26,958 0.5

Federal 32,020,523 12,330 # 17,687,854 28 # 1,582,628 2,126 0.1

State and local 69,809,200 26,551 # 63,589,633 352 # 3,446,457 24,832 0.7

Private gifts, grants, and 

contracts 16,513,556 746 # 3,429,583 0 0.0 238,282 115 #

Endowment income 49,910 0 0.0 † † † 49,910 0 0.0

Sales and services of 

educational activities 3,124,448 2,585 0.1 † † † 85,069 5 #

Auxiliary enterprises 25,194,314 2,435 # 14,451,241 0 0.0 440,273 611 0.1

Hospitals 19,647,752 0 0.0 10,511,462 0 0.0 149,745 0 0.0

Contributions from 

affiliated entities 789,575 0 0.0 † † † † † †

Investment return 12,167,565 509 # 2,692,305 0 0.0 † † †

Independent operations 

revenue 4,211,447 0 0.0 343,272 0 0.0 11,005 0 0.0

Other revenue 22,039,703 3,721 # 16,124,124 14 # 137,224 275 0.2

Total expenditures 265,922,962 139,421 0.1 153,090,098 1,520 # 7,062,304 32,435 0.5

Instruction 84,519,813 46,520 0.1 47,398,427 1,197 # 2,889,710 15,530 0.5

Research and public 

service 35,625,489 758 # 22,632,827 0 0.0 460,433 530 0.1

Academic support, 

student services, and 

institutional support 65,007,746 76,045 0.1 31,336,721 294 # 1,951,846 10,684 0.5

Operation and 

maintenance of plant 10,945,751 2,803 # 10,169,899 0 0.0 775,852 2,803 0.4

Scholarships and 

fellowships/aid 8,484,280 1,310 # 7,052,608 0 0.0 248,588 1,216 0.5

Mandatory transfers 61,963 0 0.0 † † † 61,963 0 0.0

Auxiliary enterprises 24,384,764 3,416 # 13,540,855 0 0.0 467,577 786 0.2

Hospitals 17,514,102 0 0.0 9,474,790 0 0.0 154,468 0 0.0

Independent operations 3,939,077 0 0.0 137,203 0 0.0 9,749 0 0.0

Other expenditures 15,439,975 8,570 0.1 11,346,769 30 # 42,116 886 2.1

See notes at end of table.
A-19

Table A-6. Revenues and expenditures/expenses, and the percentages imputed, for Title IV 

institutions, by control of institution and type of funds: United States, fiscal year 

2003—Continued

[Amounts are in thousands of dollars]

Public (FASB) Private not-for-profit Private for-profit

Imputed Imputed Imputed

Type of funds Total funds Amount % Total funds Amount % Total funds Amount %

Total revenues and 

investment 

returns 6,408,320 0 0.0 98,713,621 3,283 # 8,937,489 83,909 0.9

Tuition and fees 1,534,885 0 0.0 34,224,015 794 # 7,702,601 65,879 0.9

Government 

appropriations, grants, 

and contracts 1,893,927 0 0.0 13,096,365 936 # 532,860 10,606 2.0

Federal 909,180 0 0.0 11,384,424 903 # 456,438 9,273 2.0

State and local 984,748 0 0.0 1,711,941 34 # 76,422 1,333 1.7

Private gifts, grants, and 

contracts 475,547 0 0.0 12,357,904 571 # 12,241 61 0.5

Endowment income † † † † † † † † †

Sales and services of 

educational activities 113,963 0 0.0 2,722,034 9 # 203,382 2,571 1.3

Auxiliary enterprises 444,551 0 0.0 9,597,960 27 # 260,289 1,797 0.7

Hospitals 1,428,088 0 0.0 7,558,458 0 0.0 † † †

Contributions from 

affiliated entities 39 0 0.0 789,537 0 0.0 † † †

Investment return 302,710 0 0.0 9,142,458 10 # 30,092 499 1.7

Independent operations 

revenue 18,338 0 0.0 3,838,832 0 0.0 † † †

Other revenue 196,272 0 0.0 5,386,058 937 # 196,024 2,496 1.3

Total expenditures 5,851,129 0 0.0 92,691,115 2,504 # 7,228,316 102,962 1.4

Instruction 1,610,386 0 0.0 30,353,709 1,605 # 2,267,580 28,188 1.2

Research and public 

service 1,214,350 0 0.0 11,272,944 0 0.0 44,935 228 0.5

Academic support, 

student services, and 

institutional support 1,153,730 0 0.0 26,701,651 796 # 3,863,799 64,270 1.7

Operation and 

maintenance of plant † † † † † † † † †

Scholarships and 

fellowships/aid 21,570 0 0.0 1,116,974 0 0.0 44,540 93 0.2

Mandatory transfers † † † † † † † † †

Auxiliary enterprises 419,798 0 0.0 9,704,263 103 # 252,271 2,527 1.0

Hospitals 1,375,601 0 0.0 6,509,244 0 0.0 † † †

Independent operations 17,492 0 0.0 3,774,633 0 0.0 † † †

Other expenditures 38,202 0 0.0 3,257,698 0 0.0 755,191 7,655 1.0

† Not applicable.

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: All public FASB data are reported and not imputed since public imputees are imputed using data from public GASB 35 or 

pre–GASB 35 donors. This table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. No revenues or expenditures were imputed for institutions in 

other jurisdictions. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2004.
A-20

The following imputation methods were used to impute missing data in the Graduation Rates 

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.

• 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 gradua tion rate and either the Completions data or the 

Enrollment data. 

• Group Median—A median institution in each imputation group was determined and used 

as a donor for imputees in that imputation group. 

When previous year’s 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 imputation 

groups. 

Table A-7 provides the Graduation Rates (GRS) cohort student counts (reported and imputed) 

and percentages that were imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United States, by control of 

institution and student level. 

Student Financial Aid

For the Student Financial Aid component, twenty-eight imputation groups were formed primarily 

based on institutional sector and calendar system, state FIPS code, and religious affiliation.

Medical degree offering was not considered since the existence of a medical school does not 

impact SFA. Also, graduate or first-professional offering was not considered since SFA only 

applies to full-time, first-time undergraduate-level students.

The following imputation procedures were used to impute missing data in the Student Financial 

Aid component of the survey, including number of recipients and average amounts of aid by 

type.

We first obtained the following information if the corresponding data were available:

• for academic year reporters, total number of undergraduates and number of full-time, 

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates from the enrollment data reported in 

fall 2002; and

• for program reporters, 12-month unduplicated count of all students enrolled academic 

year 2002–03 from the prior year’s Enrollment component.
A-21

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

institution and student level: United States, cohort years 1997 and 2000

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 1,069,376 611 0.1 688,308 0 0.0

Total exclusions 3,528 0 0.0 1,541 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 1,065,848 611 0.1 686,767 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 601,451 283 # 363,920 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 495 0 0.0 233 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2<4 years 4,476 0 0.0 1,366 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 596,480 283 # 362,321 0 0.0

Completed the program in 4 years or less 362,909 200 0.1 181,364 0 0.0

Completed the program in 5 years 181,607 66 # 140,781 0 0.0

Completed the program in 6 years 51,964 17 # 40,176 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 84,388 0 0.0 71,422 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not enrolled 380,009 328 0.1 251,425 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 1,345 0 0.0 743 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1378,664 328 0.1 250,682 0 0.0

Section III—Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 116,687 33 # 43,796 0 0.0

Total exclusions 1,136 0 0.0 398 0 0.0

Adjusted other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 115,551 33 # 43,398 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 39,873 33 0.1 11,383 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 11,683 33 0.3 952 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2<4 years 23,192 0 0.0 7,798 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 4,998 0 0.0 2,633 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 6,653 0 0.0 5,284 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not enrolled 69,025 0 0.0 26,731 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 171 0 0.0 83 0 0.0

Other noncompleters168,854 0 0.0 26,648 0 0.0

Section IV—Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 938,151 2,468 0.3 571,592 60 #

Total exclusions 3,620 23 0.6 3,154 0 0.0

Adjusted other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 934,531 2,445 0.3 568,438 60 #

Total completers within 150% 392,296 1,303 0.3 162,277 53 #

Completers of programs of <2 years 280,820 1,259 0.4 71,852 49 0.1

Completers of programs of 2<4 years 111,476 44 # 90,425 4 #

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 91,927 55 0.1 83,694 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not enrolled 450,308 1,087 0.2 322,467 7 #

Still enrolled in programs of 3 years or longer 707 0 0.0 410 0 0.0

Other noncompleters1449,601 1,087 0.2 322,057 7 #

Section V—Total number of students receiving 

athletically related student aid

Total students receiving athletically related student aid 180,975 194 0.1 108,902 12 #

Football 32,323 51 0.2 22,275 0 0.0

Basketball 27,743 20 0.1 16,114 0 0.0

Baseball 20,348 20 0.1 12,542 0 0.0

Cross-country/track 20,901 4 # 13,113 4 #

All other sports 79,660 99 0.1 44,858 8 #

Section VI—Subcohort of students receiving 

athletically related student aid (all sports are 

grouped together)

Athletic subcohort 50,276 31 0.1 30,762 4 #

Total exclusions 149 0 0.0 97 0 0.0

Adjusted athletic subcohort 50,127 31 0.1 30,665 4 #

Total completers within 150% 25,104 20 0.1 14,036 4 #

Completers of programs of <2 years 623 4 0.6 541 4 0.7

Completers of programs of 2<4 years 4,459 0 0.0 3,743 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 20,022 16 0.1 9,752 0 0.0

Total transfer-out student (noncompleters) 5,088 0 0.0 3,983 0 0.0

Noncompleters and completers >150% 19,935 11 0.1 12,646 0 0.0

See notes at end of table.
A-22

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

institution and student level: United States, cohort years 1997 and 2000—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 370,047 611 0.2 11,021 0 0.0

Total exclusions 1,965 0 0.0 22 0 0.0

Adjusted bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort 368,082 611 0.2 10,999 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 234,429 283 0.1 3,102 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 231 0 0.0 31 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2<4 years 2,760 0 0.0 350 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 231,438 283 0.1 2,721 0 0.0

Completed the program in 4 years or less 179,378 200 0.1 2,167 0 0.0

Completed the program in 5 years 40,449 66 0.2 377 0 0.0

Completed the program in 6 years 11,611 17 0.1 177 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 12,869 0 0.0 97 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not enrolled 120,784 328 0.3 7,800 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 602 0 0.0 0 0 †

Other noncompleters1120,182 328 0.3 7,800 0 0.0

Section III—Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 40,907 0 0.0 31,984 33 0.1

Total exclusions 702 0 0.0 36 0 0.0

Adjusted other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 40,205 0 0.0 31,948 33 0.1

Total completers within 150% 12,105 0 0.0 16,385 33 0.2

Completers of programs of <2 years 2,157 0 0.0 8,574 33 0.4

Completers of programs of 2<4 years 7,860 0 0.0 7,534 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 2,088 0 0.0 277 0 0.0

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 1,240 0 0.0 129 0 0.0

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not enrolled 26,860 0 0.0 15,434 0 0.0

Still enrolled in programs of 5 years or longer 88 0 0.0 0 0 †

Other noncompleters126,772 0 0.0 15,434 0 0.0

Section IV—Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking

Other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 33,324 394 1.2 333,235 2,014 0.6

Total exclusions 75 23 30.7 391 0 0.0

Adjusted other than bachelor’s degree-seeking subcohort 33,249 371 1.1 332,844 2,014 0.6

Total completers within 150% 18,103 229 1.3 211,916 1,021 0.5

Completers of programs of <2 years 13,857 205 1.5 195,111 1,005 0.5

Completers of programs of 2<4 years 4,246 24 0.6 16,805 16 0.1

Total transfer-out students (noncompleters) 1,930 17 0.9 6,303 38 0.6

Noncompleters enrolled and noncompleters not enrolled 13,216 125 0.9 114,625 955 0.8

Still enrolled in programs of 3 years or longer 19 0 0.0 278 0 0.0

Other noncompleters113,197 125 0.9 114,347 955 0.8

Section V—Total number of students receiving 

athletically related student aid

Total students receiving athletically related student aid 71,674 182 0.3 399 0 0.0

Football 10,048 51 0.5 0 0 †

Basketball 11,529 20 0.2 100 0 0.0

Baseball 7,721 20 0.3 85 0 0.0

Cross-country/track 7,788 0 0.0 0 0 †

All other sports 34,588 91 0.3 214 0 0.0

Section VI—Subcohort of students receiving 

athletically related student aid (all sports are 

grouped together)

Athletic subcohort 19,375 27 0.1 139 0 0.0

Total exclusions 52 0 0.0 0 0 †

Adjusted athletic subcohort 19,323 27 0.1 139 0 0.0

Total completers within 150% 10,999 16 0.1 69 0 0.0

Completers of programs of <2 years 62 0 0.0 20 0 0.0

Completers of programs of 2<4 years 681 0 0.0 35 0 0.0

Completers of bachelor’s or equivalent degrees 10,256 16 0.2 14 0 0.0

Total transfer-out student (noncompleters) 1,105 0 0.0 0 0 †

Noncompleters and completers >150% 7,219 11 0.2 70 0 0.0

† 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. For institutions in other jurisdictions no imputations were performed. 

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2004.
A-23

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’ 

Student Financial Aid component. Reported prior student financial aid data were carried 

forward to the current year. The values were then adjusted for year-to-year changes.

• Nearest Neighbor—The responding institution with the nearest “distance” to the imputee 

within the imputee’s imputation group was used as the donor. The distance was 

calculated from the Finance data or the Enrollment data. An imputee/donor adjustment 

was made to the imputed values. 

• Group Median—A median institution in each imputation group based on ranks of 

“student count” and “average aid amount” variables was determined and used as a donor 

for imputees in that imputation group. The donor’s values were assigned to the imputee 

with no adjustments.

Table A-8 provides the financial aid recipients (reported and imputed) and percentages that were 

imputed for all Title IV institutions in the United States, by type of aid, control and level of 

institution, and degree-granting status. 

Data Perturbation and Confidentiality 

Four laws cover protection of the confidentiality of individually identifiable information collected by 

NCES—the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended; the E-Government Act of 2002; the Education Sciences 

Reform Act of 2002; and the USA Patriot Act of 2001. Therefore,

Under law, public use data collected and distributed by the National Center for Education 

Statistics (NCES) may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or 

used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law. Any effort to 

determine the identity of any reported case by public -use data users is prohibited by law. 

Violations are subject to Class E felony charges of a fine up to $250,000 and/or a prison 

term up to 5 years.

In order to preserve individuals’ confidentiality, data in the Student Financial Aid (SFA) and Graduation 

Rates data files were subject to perturbation. All SFA and GRS data in this report are based on the 

perturbed data and the data included in the Peer Analysis System (PAS) are perturbed.
A-24

Table A-8. Financial aid recipients and percentage imputed for all Title IV institutions, by type of 

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

academic year 2002–03

Federal grants State/local grants

Imputed Imputed

Control and level of institution and degree-granting status

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Total recipients 956,540 2,604 0.3 685,999 675 0.1

Degree-granting 727,461 834 0.1 659,555 532 0.1

4-year 405,830 604 0.1 464,525 497 0.1

Public 237,923 0 0.0 307,636 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 128,563 604 0.5 143,452 497 0.3

Private for-profit 39,344 0 0.0 13,437 0 0.0

2-year 321,631 230 0.1 195,030 35 #

Public 221,747 145 0.1 166,594 4 #

Private not-for-profit 6,098 45 0.7 4,034 0 0.0

Private for-profit 93,786 40 # 24,402 31 0.1

Non-degree-granting 229,079 1,770 0.8 26,444 143 0.5

4-year 20 0 0.0 10 0 0.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 20 0 0.0 10 0 0.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 34,579 74 0.2 7,033 31 0.4

Public 8,916 28 0.3 2,297 21 0.9

Private not-for-profit 2,435 7 0.3 1,372 4 0.3

Private for-profit 23,228 39 0.2 3,364 6 0.2

Less-than-2-year 194,480 1,696 0.9 19,401 112 0.6

Public 17,797 171 1.0 6,098 18 0.3

Private not-for-profit 10,360 85 0.8 3,479 56 1.6

Private for-profit 166,323 1,440 0.9 9,824 38 0.4

Institutional grants Student loans

Imputed Imputed

Control and level of institution and degree-granting status

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Number 

receiving Number Percent

Total recipients 689,353 794 0.1 1,077,740 2,048 0.2

Degree-granting 672,080 617 0.1 885,503 753 0.1

4-year 596,804 606 0.1 677,017 649 0.1

Public 267,121 0 0.0 353,303 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 320,224 606 0.2 265,172 649 0.2

Private for-profit 9,459 0 0.0 58,542 0 0.0

2-year 75,276 11 # 208,486 104 #

Public 65,030 7 # 91,125 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 4,378 0 0.0 6,729 62 0.9

Private for-profit 5,868 4 0.1 110,632 42 #

Non-degree-granting 17,273 177 1.0 192,237 1,295 0.7

4-year 2 0 0.0 31 0 0.0

Public 0 0 † 0 0 †

Private not-for-profit 2 0 0.0 31 0 0.0

Private for-profit 0 0 † 0 0 †

2-year 4,245 0 0.0 30,821 29 0.1

Public 1,579 0 0.0 903 0 0.0

Private not-for-profit 719 0 0.0 1,968 7 0.4

Private for-profit 1,947 0 0.0 27,950 22 0.1

Less-than-2-year 13,026 177 1.4 161,385 1,266 0.8

Public 1,888 0 0.0 6,384 113 1.8

Private not-for-profit 1,146 0 0.0 3,761 0 0.0

Private for-profit 9,992 177 1.8 151,240 1,153 0.8

† Not applicable.

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Table is restricted to U.S. institutions only. For institutions in other jurisdictions, 866 recipients were imputed.

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

System (IPEDS), Spring 2004.
B-1

Appendix B:

Glossary of IPEDS Terms

academic year: The period of time generally extending from September to June; usually equated 

to 2 semesters or trimesters, 3 quarters, or the period covered by a 4-1-4 calendar system.

adjusted cohort: In the Graduation Rates component of IPEDS, an institution’s revised cohort 

minus any allowable exclusions.

administrative office: The system or central office in a multi-campus environment.

allowable exclusions: Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or 

subcohort). For the Graduation Rates data collection, students maybe 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.

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.

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% of normal time: Students who completed their program within 150% of 

the normal (or expected) time for completion.

component unit: This term applies to GASB institutions only. A component unit is a legally 

separate organizations 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 occupationa l programs.

degree-granting institution: An institution offering an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctor’s, 

or first-professional degree.
B-2

donor: A responding institution whose values are assigned to the imputee.

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, 

first-time 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: Transfers of money or property from the Federal government 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).

federal grants (grants/educational assistance funds): 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).

FTE (full-time equivalent): A measurement equal to one student enrolled full time for one 

academic year. Total FTE enrollment includes full time plus the calculated equivalent of the 

part-time enrollment. The full-time equivalent of the part-time students can be estimated using 

different factors depending on the type and control of institution and level of student.

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. Firstprofessional—As defined by the institution.
B-3

full-year cohort: The group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period 

September 1 through August 31 that is established for tracking and reporting Graduation Rate 

(GRS) data for institutions that primarily offer occupational programs of varying lengths. 

Students must be full time and first time to be considered in the cohort.

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 Rightto-Know. This rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150% of normal time 

divided by the revised cohort minus any allowable exclusion.

GASB (Government 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.

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.

instructional activity: The provision of coursework to students.

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-year or higher 

(4-year), at least 2- but less-than-4-year (2-year), or less-than-2-year.

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 
B-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 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.

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, 

or continuing professional education, and excludes avocational and adult basic education 

programs. For IPEDS, these institutions must be open to the public. 

private for-profit institution: A private institution in which the individual(s) or agency in control

receives compensation other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of risk.

private 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 nonprofit schools and those affiliated with a religious 

organization.

programs of less than 2 years’: Programs requiring less than 2 years of full-time equivalent 

college level work (4 semesters or 6 quarters) or less than 1,800 contact hours to obtain a degree, 

diploma, certificate, or quarter in the summer.

PPA (Program Participation Agreement): A written agreement between a postsecondary 

institution and the Secretary of Education. This agreement allows institutions to participate in 

any of the Title IV student assistance programs other than the State Student Incentive Grant 

(SSIG) and the National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs. The 

PPA conditions the initial and continued participation of an eligible institution in any Title IV 

program upon compliance with the General Provisions regulations, the individual program 

regulations, and any additional conditions specified in the program participation agreement that 

the Department of Education requires the institution to meet. Institutions with such an agreement 

are referred to as Title IV institutions. 
B-5

race/ethnicity: Categories used to describe groups to which individuals belong, identify with, or 

belong in the eyes of the community. The categories do not denote scientific definitions of 

anthropological origins. A person may be counted in only one group. The groups used to 

categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible noncitizens are as follows:

ß White, non-Hispanic 

ß Black, non-Hispanic

ß Hispanic

ß Asian/Pacific Islander

ß American Indian/Alaska Native 

resident alien (and other eligible noncitizens): A person who is not a citizen or national of the United 

States but who has been admitted as a legal immigrant for the purpose of obtaining permanent 

resident alien status (and who holds either an alien registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), 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).

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-year and higher (4-year), at least 2 but less than 4-year (2-year), and 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 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.

student charges: Average amount for tuition and fees, room or board (if applicable) charged to all 

students by the institution. Tuition and fees may vary by the level of student (undergraduate, 

graduate, or first-professional).

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).

student loans: See loans to students.
B-6

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 leve l (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% 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.

unduplicated count: The sum of students enrolled for credit with each student counted only once 

during the reporting period, regardless of when the student enrolled.

UserID: A series of numbers possibly with an alpha prefix that is created for a specific user to be 

able to access a system. 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 for security 

purposes.
B-7