Graduation Rates

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

This IPEDS Graduation Rates data collection instrument was used 

during the 2012-13 data collection and will be used again during the 

2013-14, 2014-15, and 2015-16 data collections.
 Image description. These context notes will be posted on the College Navigator. End of image description.

2012-13 Survey Materials > Form date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 4-year institutions reporting on a fall cohort (academic

reporters)

Screening questions 

Does your institution post the Student-Right-to-Know student athlete graduation rates on a website?

   

No.

   

Yes. Please provide the URL.     http://

Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional

Characteristics Header survey from the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection, your institution must report graduation

rates data using a

Fall Cohort (Fall 2006)

A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A fullyear cohort is used by institutions offering primarily occupational/vocational programs and operating on a

continuous basis.

 You may use the space below to provide context for the data you've reported above. These context notes

will be posted on the College Navigator website, and should be written to be understood by students and

parents.
Section I - Graduation Rate - Establishing cohorts 

Establishing cohorts

NOTE: Reporting using the new race categories is now mandatory. On this screen you will need to revise your

preloaded 2006 cohort to the new race/ethnicity categories. For information and assistance with this, please visit AIR's

Race/Ethnicity FAQ page.

Screen 1 of 2 Cohort year 2006

Initial cohort Revised cohort

(Column 01)

Men

NEW categories:

Notes for NEW categories:

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Hispanic/Latino   

American Indian or Alaska Native   

Asian   

Black or African American   

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander   

White   

Two or more races   

OLD categories:

Black, non-Hispanic   

American Indian/Alaska Native   

Asian/Pacific Islander   

Hispanic   

White, non-Hispanic   

Categories used in BOTH New and Old:

Nonresident alien   

Race and ethnicity unknown   

Total men      

Women

NEW categories:

Notes for NEW categories:

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Hispanic/Latino   

American Indian or Alaska Native   

Asian   

Black or African American   

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander   

White   

Two or more races   

OLD categories:

Black, non-Hispanic   

American Indian/Alaska Native   

Asian/Pacific Islander   

Hispanic   

White, non-Hispanic   

Categories used in BOTH New and Old:

Nonresident alien   

Race and ethnicity unknown   

Total women      
Total men + women      
Section I - Graduation Rate - Establishing cohorts 

•Incoming students who are seeking a bachelor's degree should be reported in Column 02. Column 03 will then be

generated for you. It is meant to include any full-time, first-time entering students who are seeking an associate's

degree or undergraduate certificate.

•If you have no changes to the preloaded data on this screen, you must click the "Save and Next" button to generate

screens to report completers and transfers.

Establishing cohorts

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 2 of 2 Cohort year 2006

Cohort Bachelor's or equivalent

degree-seeking

subcohort

Other degree-seeking

subcohort

(Revised cohort minus Bachelor’s or equivalent

degree-seeking subcohort)

(Column 01) (Column 02) (Column 03)

Men

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African American   

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity unknown   

  

Total men         

Women

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African American   

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity unknown   

  

Total women         

Total men + women         
Section II - Graduation Rate - Completers within 150% 

•In the columns below, report the status of the bachelor's degree-seeking subcohort of students reported in Column 10.

•Those undergraduate students who attained OTHER THAN A BACHELOR'S DEGREE within 150% of normal time as

of August 31, 2012 should be reported in either Column 11 or 12, depending on the length of the program.

•Those who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% or normal time should be reported in Column 18.

Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 1 of 3 Cohort year 2006

Bachelor's or

equivalent degreeseeking subcohort

Subcohort students who completed their program within 150%

of normal time to completion

Completers of

programs of less

than 2 years (or

equivalent)

Completers of

programs of at least 2

and less than 4 years

(or equivalent)

Completers of

bachelor's or

equivalent

degrees

Total

completers

within 150%

(Column 10) (Column 11) (Column 12) (Column 18) (Column 29)

Men

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African

American

  

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

  

  

Total men               

Women

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African

American

  

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

  

  

Total women               

Total men + women               
Section II - Graduation Rate - Bachelor's completers by length of time to degree 

The students who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent as reported on the previous page are listed in Column 18.

In Column 19, report the number of bachelor's degree seekers who earned a bachelor's degree in 4 years. In Column

20, the number of bachelor's degree seekers who earned a bachelor's degree in 5 years. Column 21 will be calculated

for you.

Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 2 of 3 Cohort year 2006

Bachelor's or equivalent

degree-seeking subcohort

Completed

bachelor's

degree

or equivalent

within 150%

Subcohort students who attained a bachelor's

degree or equivalent

Completed the

program in

4 yrs or less

Completed the

program in

5 yrs

Completed the

program in

6 yrs

(Column 10) (Column 18) (Column 19) (Column 20) (Column 21)

Men

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African

American

     

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total men               

Women

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African

American

     

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total women               

Total men + women               
Section II - Graduation Rate - Transfers/exclusions 

•In the columns below, report the status of the BACHELOR'S DEGREE-SEEKING STUDENTS reported in the

subcohort in Column 10, who did not complete a program as of 150% of normal time to completion.

•Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing

substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed their programs,

you must report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students that the school

knows have transferred to another school. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part

of your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

•Report exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:

students who died or became permanently disabled

students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)

students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government

students who left school to serve on an official church mission

•Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This includes students who have dropped out or who

completed in greater than 150% of normal time.

•If you do not have any values to enter in either Columns 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on

this screen

Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 3 of 3 Cohort year 2006

Bachelor's or

equivalent

degree-seeking

subcohort

Total

completers

within 150%

Total transfer-out

students

Total

exclusions

Still enrolled No longer

enrolled

(Column 10) (Column 29) (Column 30) (Column 45) (Column 51) (Column 52)

Men

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African American      

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total men                  

Women

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African American      

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total women                  

Total men + women                  
Section III - Graduation Rate - Completers within 150% 

•In the columns below, report the status of the subcohort of other undergraduate degree- or certificate-seeking students

reported in Column 10.

•Those undergraduate students who attained OTHER THAN A BACHELOR'S DEGREE within 150% of normal time as

of August 31, 2012 should be reported in either Column 11 or 12, depending on the type of the program.

•Those who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% or normal time should be reported in Column 18.

Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's degree

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 1 of 2 Cohort year 2006

Other degreeseeking subcohortSubcohort students who completed their program within 150% of

normal time to completion

Completers of

programs of less

than 2 years (or

equivalent)

Completers of programs

of at least 2 years but

less than 4 years (or

equivalent)

Completers of

bachelor's or

equivalent

degrees

Total

completers

within 150%

(Column 10) (Column 11) (Column 12) (Column 18) (Column 29)

Men

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African

American

  

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

  

  

Total men               

Women

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African

American

  

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

  

  

Total women               

Total men + women               
Section III - Graduation Rate - Transfers/exclusions 

•In the columns below, report the status of the OTHER THAN A BACHELOR'S DEGREE-SEEKING STUDENTS

reported in the subcohort in Column 10, who did not complete a program as of August 31, 2012.

•Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing

substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed their programs,

you must report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students that the school

knows have transferred to another school. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part

of your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

•Report exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:

students who died or became permanently disabled

students who left school to serve in the armed forces(or have been called up to active duty)

students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government

students who left school to serve on an official church mission

•Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This will include students who dropped out as well as those

who completed in greater than 150% of normal time.

•If you do not have any values to enter in either Columns 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on

this screen

Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's degree

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 2 of 2 Cohort year 2006

Other degreeseeking subcohortTotal completers

within 150%

Total transfer-out

students

Total

exclusions

Still enrolled No longer

enrolled

(Column 10) (Column 29) (Column 30) (Column 45) (Column 51) (Column

52)

Men

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African

American

     

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total men                  

Women

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African

American

     

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total women                  

Total men + women                  
Prepared by 

This survey component was prepared by:

   

Keyholder

   

SFA Contact

   

HR Contact

   

Finance Contact

   

Other

Name:

Email:

How long did it take to prepare this survey component? hours minutes

The name of the preparer is being collected so that we can follow up with the appropriate person in the event that there

are questions concerning the data. The Keyholder will be copied on all email correspondence to other preparers.

The time it took to prepare this component is being collected so that we can continue to improve our estimate of the

reporting burden associated with IPEDS. Please include in your estimate the time it took for you to review instructions,

query and search data sources, complete and review the component, and submit the data through the Data Collection

System.

Thank you for your assistance.
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2012-13 Survey Materials > Instructions date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates Full Instructions - 4-Year Institutions

Purpose of the Survey

Changes in Reporting

General Instructions

Reporting Period Covered

Context Boxes

Coverage

Who to Include

Who to Exclude

Where to Get Help for Reporting

Where the Reported Data Will Appear

Reporting Directions

Screening Questions

Reporting Individuals by Racial/Ethnic Categories

Section I: Establishing and Revising Cohorts

Section II: Bachelor's Degree Subcohort

Section III: Other Degree/Certificate-Seeking Subcohorts

Worksheets

Purpose of Survey

The purpose of the Graduation Rates component of IPEDS is to track the cohorts of first-time, fulltime degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, as well as their completion status at 100% and

150% of normal time at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions

in complying with the Student Right to Know Act.

Changes in Reporting

Institutions must report using the new race/ethnicity categories. Cohorts must be revised to reflect the new

categories. A page has been added to crosswalk any data in the initial cohort that was reported in the old or

mixed race/ethnicity categories to the new categories.

General Instructions

Reporting Period Covered

This report requests data on a cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates

enrolled in your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2006 or (2) during the period between September 1,

2006 and August 31, 2007. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2012.
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Context Boxes

Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component

items. Note that some context boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search

tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these context boxes for applicability and appropriateness

before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check grammar and spelling of

their entries.

Coverage

Who to Include in the Cohort

Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution

either during the fall term or during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the

fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term. For institutions that will report

using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all those students who entered the institution between

September 1, 2006 and August 31, 2007, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to,

and including, one year in length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Students must be enrolled in courses creditable toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Include students enrolled in courses that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those

enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance learning/home study programs.

Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for

the purpose of student financial aid determination.

A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:

• Becomes a part-time student.

• Transfers to another institution.

• Drops out of the institution.

• Stops out of the institution.

• Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate.

Who to Exclude from the Cohort

DO NOT include students in the cohort who are:

• Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational

program.

• Exclusively taking CEUs.

• Exclusively auditing classes.

• Studying abroad (e.g., at a foreign university) if their enrollment at this institution is only an

administrative record and the fee is only nominal.

• In any branch campus located in a foreign country.

• Part time.

• Transfers into the institution.

Where to Get Help

IPEDS Data Collection Help Desk

Phone: 1-877-225-2568

Email: ipedshelp@rti.org

AIR Website

You can also consult the AIR website that contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced

overview of IPEDS tools and other valuable resources.

IPEDS Resources Page

In addition, the IPEDS Resources Page contains frequently asked questions, a link to the glossary, data tip

sheets, an archive of survey instruments, information on the new race/ethnicity categories and other relevant

information.

Where the Data Will Appear

Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.

At the institution-level, data will appear in the:

• College Navigator Website

• IPEDS Data Center

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:
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• IPEDS First Looks

• IPEDS Table Library

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

• The Digest of Education Statistics

• The Condition of Education

Reporting Instructions

Screening Questions

• Please provide the URL where the Student-Right-to-Know information is posted on your

institution's website.

• The method used to establish the cohort reported on this survey has been predetermined

by your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (D1) on the

Institutional Characteristics survey component of the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection,

according to the following rules:

1. Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic

terms (semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of

students. Institutions may use a census date of October 15, 2006, or the end of the

institution's drop-add period, or another official fall reporting date to determine the cohort.

This should be the same reporting date established for your IPEDS Fall Enrollment report.

2. Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic

terms (as defined above) will report using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count

as entering students all those students who entered the institution between September 1,

2006 and August 31, 2007, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to,

and including, one year in length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category

Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category (1997 OMB)

This information is being collected in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Sec. 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational

Education Act. These instructions correspond with the Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting,

and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education, published in the

Federal Register on October 19, 2007.

Method of collection - Institutions must collect race and ethnicity information using a 2-question

format. The first question is whether the respondent is Hispanic/Latino. The second question is

whether the respondent is from one or more races from the following list: American Indian or

Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and

White. Institutions should allow students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity. For

further details on the guidance for collecting data, please see the full Federal Register notice.

Method of reporting aggregate data - Institutions must report aggregate data to the U.S. Department of

Education using the NINE categories below. Racial/ethnic designations are requested only for United States

citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

• Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race

For Non-Hispanic/Latino individuals:

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

• Two or more races

In addition, the following categories may be used:

• Nonresident alien

• Race and ethnicity unknown

Racial/ethnic descriptions - Racial/ethnic designations as used in this survey do not denote scientific

definitions of anthropological origins. The categories are:

• Hispanic or Latino- A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other

Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
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• American Indian or Alaska Native- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and

South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal

affiliation or community attachment.

• Asian- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the

Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,

Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

• Black or African American- A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of

Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

• White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North

Africa.

Other descriptive categories

• 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. NOTE -

Nonresident aliens are to be reported separately, in the boxes provided, rather than included in any of

the seven racial/ethnic categories. Resident aliens and other eligible (for financial aid purposes) noncitizens who are not citizens or nationals of the United States and who have been admitted as legal

immigrants for the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who hold either an alien

registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an ArrivalDeparture 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) are to be reported in

the appropriate racial/ethnic categories along with United States citizens.

• Race and ethnicity unknown - This category is used only if the person did not select EITHER a

racial or ethnic designation.

Section I – Establishing Cohorts

Report each student only once.

If your institution determines degree intent upon entry, students in your revised initial cohort are to be

separated into two groups or subcohorts: (1) students entering bachelor’s or equivalent degree programs and

(2) students seeking other than a bachelor’s degree (associate’s degree, certificates, etc.).

Institutions that do not determine degree intent upon entry should report all students as if they are bachelor’s

degree-seeking.

Please complete all of Section I; screens for Sections II and III will be generated based on the data you report

in Section I.

Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information you reported on line 01 of your 2006

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report will be preloaded in this column. If you did not respond to that survey, or if you

are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.

Revised cohort (Column 01) - Please review the data in the initial cohort column, and re-enter the

cohort data according to the 1997 racial/ethnic categories and gender in this column. Also make any

necessary corrections for omissions or double counting in the revised cohort column. If your data do not

appear in the initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment data as requested in the revised cohort

column.

Section I – Establishing Subcohorts

Revised Cohort (Column 01) – These are data are loaded from page 1 of Section I.

Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 02) – of the revised cohort,

indicate how many students declared intent to seek the bachelor's or equivalent degree upon

entry. As indicated above, this should also include any students whose intent was not known.

These data are brought forward to Section II. 

Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Column 03) – This is the difference between

the revised cohort and the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort. It is calculated for

you. This indicates how many students declared intent to seek other than a bachelor's level degree

(i.e., an associate's degree or other formal award) upon entry. These data are brought forward to

Section III. 

Section II – Completers - Bachelor’s or Equivalent Degree-Seeking Subcohort
Report each student only once.

Report the status of the 2006 subcohort of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students as of 150% of

normal time to completion or August 31, 2012 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers

by type of program completed. Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree.

DO NOT include students who transferred into your institution.

Count completers only once and indicate the highest degree level attained.

SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers out and the mission of particular

programs to prepare students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those

students who have successfully completed a transfer-preparatory program.

Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section

668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit

toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree

program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree. Similarly, institutions may

count as completers, those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program

and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program. The student receives full credit toward a

5-year bachelor’s degree and qualifies the student for admission into the fourth year of a 5-year bachelor’s

degree program.

Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) - These are the data as

reported in Section I.

In order to calculate a graduation rate to comply with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions can

count as completers only those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transferpreparatory program) within 150% of normal program time (normal time to completion is the amount of time

necessary to complete all requirements for a program according to your institution's catalog). Do not count as

completers students who receive their degree from another institution.

Note that completers should be reported in terms of type of program completed as defined by award levels.

Program types may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to complete for programs

that are defined in terms of contact or credit hours. For more information of program types, please consult

the IPEDS Glossary.

Completers of less-than 2-year program within 150% (Column 11) - Enter the number of students

who completed programs of less than 2 years within 150% of normal time. This includes certificates of less

than one year (or equivalent) and certificates of at least one year, but less than two years (or equivalent). 

Completers of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years within 150% (Column 12) - Enter the number of

students who completed programs of at least 2 years but less than 4 years within 150% of normal time to

completion of their program. This includes certificates of at least two years but less than four years

(or equivalent) and associate's degrees. 

Completed Bachelor's degree within 150% (Column 18) - Enter the number of students who completed

a bachelor’s degree or equivalent program within 150% of normal time. Note: Include completers of 3-year

bachelor’s degree programs only if they completed within 4-1/2 years.

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous three columns, and

is calculated by the data collection system.

Section II – Bachelor’s Degree Completers Length of Time to Degree

Report each student only once.

Report completers of bachelor's degrees or equivalent according to how long it took them to complete their

program. Include all baccalaureate level degrees, including 5-year bachelor's (including cooperative)

programs, and those bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years. Of the

total number of completers of bachelor's or equivalent degrees within 150% of normal time you reported

(Column 18), provide the following breakout:

Completed the program in 4 yrs or less (Column 19) - Report all students who completed a

bachelor's degree or equivalent in 4 years or less in this column. Include all students who completed a

bachelor's degree or equivalent by August 31, 2010.

Completed the program in 5 yrs (Column 20) - Report all students who completed a bachelor's

degree or equivalent in 5 years in this column. Include all students who completed a bachelor's degree or

equivalent in the period from September 1, 2010 through August 31, 2011. Do NOT include students who

completed their program in 4 years or less in this column.
Completed the program in 6 yrs (Column 21) - This column is the difference between the

completers of bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time (Column 18) and the sum of those

who completed the program in 4 years or less (Column 19) and those who completed the program in 5 years

(Column 20). Included are all students who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent in the period from

September 1, 2011 through August 31, 2012. This column will be calculated by the data collection system.

Section II – Noncompleters - Bachelor’s or Equivalent Degree-Seeking Subcohort 

Report each student only once.

Report the status of the noncompleters from the 2006 subcohort of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking

students as of 150% of the normal time to completion for their program or August 31,

2012 (whichever was earlier) . Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students

who transferred into your institution.

Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) – These data are loaded

from page 2 of Section I.

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - These data are loaded from page 2 of Section I.

Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing

substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution, report the total number

of students who transferred out of your institution (without a degree/award) within 150% of

normal time to completion. Include students who transferred out of your institution and

subsequently re-enrolled. If it is not part of your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you

wish.

Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution

within 150% of normal time to completion for their program (and have neither graduated nor

transferred to another institution) because of one of the following documented reasons: 

1. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.

2. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called to active duty. (DO NOT include

students already in the military who transfer to another duty station.)

3. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the

Peace Corps.

4. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.

NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted in b, c, or d above, but

return prior to the status date of August 31, 2012, may be subtracted from the cohort during the

calculation of graduation rates.

Still enrolled (Column 51) - Report the number of students who were still enrolled at your

institution as 150% of normal time to completion of their program (or August 31, 2012 if 150% of

normal time to completion had not elapsed by that time).

No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column is generated by subtracting from Column 10 the

sum of Columns 29, 30, 45 and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their

program after 150% of normal time to completion elapsed.

Section III – Completers - Other Than a Bachelor’s Degree-Seeking Subcohort

Report each student only once.

Report the status of the 2006 subcohort of students seeking other than a bachelor's degree as of 150% of

normal time to completion or August 31, 2012 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers

by type of program completed. Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time students seeking undergraduate degrees or certificates other

than a bachelor’s degree. DO NOT include students who transferred into your institution.

Count completers only once and indicate the highest degree level attained.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers out and the mission of particular

programs to prepare students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those

students who have successfully completed a transfer-preparatory program.

Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section

668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit

toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree

program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree. Similarly, institutions may

count as completers, those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program

and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program. The student receives full credit toward a

5-year bachelor’s degree and qualifies the student for admission into the fourth year of a 5-year bachelor’s

degree program.

Other degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) - These are the data as reported in Section I.

In order to calculate a graduation rate to comply with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions can

count as completers only those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transferpreparatory program) within 150% of normal program time (normal time to completion is the amount of time

necessary to complete all requirements for a program according to your institution's catalog). Do not count as

completers students who receive their degree from another institution.

Note that completers should be reported in terms of type of program completed as defined by award levels.

Program types may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to complete for programs

that are defined in terms of contact or credit hours. For more information of program types, please consult

the IPEDS Glossary.

Completers of less-than 2-year program within 150% (Column 11) - Enter the number of students

who completed programs of less than 2 years within 150% of normal time. This includes certificates of less

than one year (or equivalent) and certificates of at least one year, but less than two years (or equivalent). 

Completers of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years within 150% (Column 12) - Enter the number of

students who completed programs of at least 2 years but less than 4 years within 150% of normal time to

completion of their program. This includes certificates of at least two years but less than four years

(or equivalent) and associate's degrees. 

Completed Bachelor's degree within 150% (Column 18) - Enter the number of students who completed

a bachelor’s degree or equivalent program within 150% of normal time. Note: Include completers of 3-year

bachelor’s degree programs only if they completed within 4-1/2 years.

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous three columns, and

is calculated by the data collection system.

Section III – Noncompleters - Other than a Bachelor’s Degree-Seeking Subcohort 

Report each student only once.

Report the noncompleters of the 2006 subcohort of students seeking other than a bachelor's degree as of

150% of normal time to completion or August 31, 2012 (whichever was earlier). Report all students by

race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students who

transferred into your institution.

Other degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) – These are data are loaded from page 2 of Section II.

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - These are data are loaded from page 2 of Section I.

Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial

preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution, report the total number of students who

transferred out of your institution (without a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion.

Include students who transferred out of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled. If it is not part of your

mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150%

of normal time to completion for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another

institution) because of one of the following documented reasons: 

1. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.

2. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called to active duty. (DO NOT include

students already in the military who transfer to another duty station.)

3. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the

Peace Corps.

4. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.
NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted in b, c, or d above, but

return prior to the status date of August 31, 2012, may be subtracted from the cohort during the

calculation of graduation rates.

Still enrolled (Column 51) - Report the number of students who were still enrolled at your

institution as 150% of normal time to completion of their program (or August 31, 2012 if 150% of

normal time to completion had not elapsed by that time).

No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column is generated by subtracting from Column 10 the

sum of Columns 29, 30, 45 and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their

program after 150% of normal time to completion elapsed.

Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates

Worksheets

Worksheets calculating the Student Right-To-Know completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking students for the 2006 student cohort are provided as a convenience to

the institution. A worksheet calculating 4-year, 5-year, and 6-year graduation rates for the 2005 bachelor's or

equivalent degree-seeking subcohort are provided for those institutions that are able to report bachelor's or

equivalent completers by length of time to degree.

Worksheets calculating the overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students for the student cohort are also provided. Data previously

reported by the institution have been preloaded to use in these calculations.

Note that the information on these worksheets will NOT appear on College Navigator or on any of

the IPEDS data tools.

Privacy Issues With Disclosure

Before using the worksheets for disclosure, please consider the following:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended (1998) (FERPA) requires that institutions

not disclose information where students could be identified.
Glossary date: 1/16/2013

Term Definition

Adjusted cohort The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; for

the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate.

American Indian or

Alaska Native (new

definition)

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central

America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Asian (new definition) A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian

Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the

Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Associate's degree An award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work.

Bachelor's degree An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of

Education) that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent collegelevel work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year cooperative (work-study)

program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business,

industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their

college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed

in 3 years.

Bachelor's or equivalent

degree-seeking subcohort

In the GR component of IPEDS, a cohort of students who were seeking a bachelor's or equivalent

degree upon entry.

Black or African American

(new definition)

A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

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.

Exclusions Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates and Fall Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they

left the institution for one of the following reasons: death or total and permanent disability; service in

the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid service of the

federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.

First-time student

(undergraduate)

A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any

institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or

occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for

the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

Full-time student Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits , or 12 or more quarter credits,

or 24 or more contact hours a week each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester

credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that

is considered full time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the

institution.

Full-year cohort The group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period September 1 through August

31 that is established for tracking and reporting Graduation Rate (GR) 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.

Graduation rate The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This

rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the

revised adjusted cohort.

Graduation Rates (GR) This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of

the Student Right-to-Know legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the

institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in a particular

year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150

percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part

of the institution's mission. Prior to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid

were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid and whether they completed

within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL

where the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates

worksheets that calculate rates, including average rates over 4 years.

Hispanic or Latino (new

definition)

A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or

origin, regardless of race.

Initial cohort A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component

of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time

degree/certificate-seeking students during either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2)

between September 1st and August 31st of the following year.

Long programs Undergraduate programs that exceed the usual program length for a specific level. This would

include programs of 5 years or longer for 4-year institutions and programs of 3 years or longer for 2-

year institutions.

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander (new

definition)

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific

Islands.
Nonresident alien A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or

temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.

Normal time to

completion

The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate

according to the institution's catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a standard term-based institution; 2

years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree

in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.

Other degree-seeking

subcohort

A subset of students belonging to a GR cohort who were seeking a degree or certificate other than

bachelor's degree upon entry.

Race/ethnicity (new

definition)

Categories developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are used to

describe groups to which individuals belong, identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community.

The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological origins. The designations are

used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as:

• Hispanic or Latino or

• Not Hispanic or Latino

Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

Race/ethnicity unknown The category used to report students or employees whose race and ethnicity are not known.

Revised cohort Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that

incorrect data were reported in an earlier year.

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 calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or degree-seeking, full-time

students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates 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 submit a report to the Secretary

of Education annually. 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. See Graduation Rates for

the current description of data collected.

Subcohort A predefined subset of the initial cohort or the revised cohort established for tracking purposes on

the Graduation Rates (GR) component of IPEDS. (e.g., bachelor's degree-seeking subcohort.)

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 adjusted cohort.

Transfer-out student A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.

Transfer-preparatory

program

A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer

into a higher level program. For example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level

program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of undergraduate study needed

for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for

entrance into health services fields.

White (new definition) A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
2012-13 Survey Materials > F.A.Q. date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 4-year institutions

Click one of the following questions to view the answer.

General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How do I choose

my cohort?

2) Why do 4-year institutions need to separate their entering cohort into two groups?

3) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

4) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

5) Do I need to track students every term?

Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GR? (Updated: 1/14/2013)

3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a confirmation of

transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?

6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I count the

student as "first-time"?

8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?

9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?

10) How do I treat new entrants that get credit for life experience?

11) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

12) Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers out?

13) My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates enrolled as of October 15 - the same as on my

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part time next semester, or students

who switch to another program?

14) If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degrees (AA and BA) within the 6-year period, can I count both

completions?

15) I have a student that intends to get a bachelor’s degree so he is in my Section II cohort. He does not complete his BA within the

6-year period BUT he did get an associate’s degree along the way and it was completed within 3 years. Where do I report him?

Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

2) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

3) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year, but

what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?

4) How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?

Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?

3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I still in

compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GR if I don’t report transfers out? (Updated: 1/14/2013)

Other

1) My institution belongs to the NCAA; do I have to report GR data to IPEDS? Do I also need to report to the Secretary of

Education? (Updated: 1/14/2013)

2) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my school. Do I need

to try to track these "leavers"?

3) How do I deal with "3/2" programs? My institution provides the first 3 years of an engineering program and our students go on to

another university for the last 2 years of study to attain their degree. Can we count them as completers when they get their degree

from the second institution?

4) My institution offers pre-med and pre-vet programs, but formal awards are not given. What happens to these students?

5) My institution offers a PharmD program where a student is accepted into the program after completing a 2 or 3 year program of

undergraduate studies. What happens to these students?

6) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar provision for

excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

8) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

9) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

Answers:
General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How

do I choose my cohort?

If most programs operate on a term basis (semester, quarter or trimester), you must use a fall cohort;

otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort method you must use has been pre-determined by

your answer to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey.

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2) Why do 4-year institutions need to separate their entering cohort into two groups?

NCES is asking 4-year schools that offer undergraduate awards other than the bachelor’s degree to define

two subcohorts: (1) students who enter with the intent to complete a bachelor’s degree, and (2) students

who intend to complete other than a bachelor’s degree program. Students whose intent is unknown are to be

placed in the subcohort with those seeking a bachelor’s degree. By separating the cohort this way, the

graduation and transfer rates of the first group can be compared to those at like institutions as well as those

at institutions offering only a bachelor’s degree. Likewise, the rates of the second group can also be

compared to rates at 2-year institutions.

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3) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

Student Right-to-Know legislation states that reporting is mandatory for institutions that did enroll full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the cohort year. If you did not enroll this

type of student or your institution was not in operation during the cohort year, please report this information

on the Institutional Characteristics survey.

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4) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means to change the

cohort by taking into consideration better information that has become available since you first reported your

cohort on the Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on

the cohort). You can revise a fall cohort by entering new data in the Revised Cohort column on the data

collection screen. Adjusting a cohort means to subtract the Exclusions from the Revised Cohort to establish

a denominator for rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts will be adjusted for you on the worksheet

screens when graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated.

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5) Do I need to track students every term?

No, you can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry and then, at the end of 150% of normal

time for the longest program, look back to see what happened to those in the cohort. You will need to know

when they completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track from term-to-term.

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Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student attending any institution for the first time

at the level enrolled." By this we mean at the undergraduate level, graduate level, or first-professional level.

Since the GRS is only interested in undergraduates, it means that the student is first time in postsecondary

education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary institution). There are two

exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution the summer prior to entering your institution in the fall

term are to be counted as "first-time," as are (2) students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

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2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GR? (Updated: 1/14/2013)

Yes. You need to report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions on disclosure for

further information.

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3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a

confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

You should report the student as a transfer-out.

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4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

The IPEDS GRS does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED

IN ANY COHORT.

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5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?
These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to

a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award and if they are not eligible for Title IV Federal financial

aid.

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6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking on your

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. If they are degree/certificate-seeking for purposes of qualifying for student

financial aid, then they must be included in the cohort.

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7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I

count the student as "first-time"?

No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a

postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they enter with no credit.

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8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?

Neither should be included in your cohort.

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9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?

Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they are not

to be included in your cohort according to the SRK regulations. Be sure to carefully read the definition of

degree-seeking in the Glossary.

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10) How do I treat new entrants that get credit for life experience?

If the student has never enrolled in a postsecondary institution, they are to be counted as "first-time."

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11) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

Since these students must have been enrolled in an institution in order to obtain credit through

correspondence or distance learning, they are not "first-time."

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12) Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers out?

No. Keep the students in your cohort since they return in the fall and continue their programs of study.

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13) My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates enrolled as of October 15 - the

same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part

time next semester, or students who switch to another program?

It looks like your cohort is defined correctly. Remember YOUR COHORT NEVER CHANGES. Students who stop

out or drop out do not change the cohort number. They remain in the count; if they complete within 150%

please report them as such. Students who switch to part time or to another program are not given extra

time to complete, nor are they removed from the cohort. Report their status as requested.

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14) If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degrees (AA and BA) within the 6-year period, can I

count both completions?

No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your

decision as to which one you prefer to report.

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15) I have a student that intends to get a bachelor’s degree so he is in my Section II cohort. He does not complete his

BA within the 6-year period BUT he did get an associate’s degree along the way and it was completed within 3 years.

Where do I report him?

By all means count him as a completer of the associate’s degree (2- but less than 4-year program) since that

degree was completed within 150% of normal time. Remember, intent is not important when reporting your

completers...what is important is whether or not they finished any program within 150% of normal time.

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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time is applied to the start date and is the

same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term or two and still complete within

150% of normal time.

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2) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion." IPEDS has adopted the definition

developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time.

Normal time is defined as "the time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or

certificate according to an institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree, 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6

quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate’s degree, and the scheduled times for certificate

programs." Let’s look at some examples:

Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs - 8 semesters – usually fall and spring.

Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would take 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the

sixth year.

Similarly, an associate’s degree that is advertised as a 2-year program - 6 quarters (fall, winter, spring, with

no scheduled summer quarter), would extend to (1.5 x 6) or 9 quarters through the end of the spring

quarter of the third year.

However, the Technical Amendments that redefine the cohort year allow you to count completers through

August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third year for 2-year

programs).

Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as

taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the

student completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.

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3) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the

6th year, but what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot

count them as completers?

Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree

upon completion (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted in the student’s record) and just

allow the student to "pick it up" at the December ceremony, then you should be able to count the student in

your completions.

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4) How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?

If a student has switched programs, you will use 150% of normal time to completion for his or her most

recent program for reporting outcomes. The student's "clock" does not reset when a student switches

programs. He or she must have graduated, transferred, or qualified as an exclusion within 150% of normal

time to completion starting from the date he or she first entered the cohort.

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Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

The November 1, 2000 regulations state that "An institution that determines that its mission includes

providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers

out so that a transfer out rate can be calculated. The students to be reported as transfers are those who

have NOT completed a degree, certificate, or transfer preparatory program, so they cannot be counted as

completers. If the institution does not have such a mission, reporting of transfers out is optional.

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2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?

None. All verification requirements were dropped from the November 1, 2000 regulations.

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3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I

still in compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GR if I don’t report transfers out?

(Updated: 1/14/2013)

As long as your institution does not include the substantial preparation of students to enroll in another

eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers out. However,

if your institution does have such a mission, you need to be able to track transfers out and report them.

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Other

1) My institution belongs to the NCAA; do I have to report GR data to IPEDS? Do I also need to report to the Secretary

of Education? (Updated: 1/14/2013)
Completing the IPEDS GR form through the web-based data collection system satisfies all your reporting

requirements to the Secretary of Education. However, the NCAA is now collecting their own data on

graduation rates themselves, separately from IPEDS. You will still need to report data to the NCAA. If you

have any questions, you should contact the NCAA directly.

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2) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my

school. Do I need to try to track these "leavers"?

No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of

students who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.

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3) How do I deal with "3/2" programs? My institution provides the first 3 years of an engineering program and our

students go on to another university for the last 2 years of study to attain their degree. Can we count them as

completers when they get their degree from the second institution?

No, you should NEVER count a student as a completer when they get their degree from another institution.

Your job is done when they leave your school. If the student completed the first 3 years of a 3/2 program

(within 150% of normal time) so that they are now ready to "transfer" in order to complete the remaining 2

years at another institution, then you should count the student as a completer of a "2- but less than 4-year

program." This works the same way as the "transfer-preparatory program" described above.

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4) My institution offers pre-med and pre-vet programs, but formal awards are not given. What happens to these

students?

Assuming these are 2- or 3-year programs, count the students as completers of a "2- but less than 4-year

program" if they complete within 150% of normal time.

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5) My institution offers a PharmD program where a student is accepted into the program after completing a 2 or 3

year program of undergraduate studies. What happens to these students?

Students who complete the undergraduate portion within 150% of normal time should be counted in the

other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Section III) as completers of a "2- but less than 4-year

program". However, do not track their progress any further towards the PharmD, since it is a firstprofessional degree, and thus is not part of the Graduation Rates Survey.

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6) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar

provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

No, there is no such provision.

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8) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

NO! NO! and NO! The GRS provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for calculating

graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that there is

some consistency in the way the rates are calculated. SRK requires disclosure of these rates to students and

prospective students. By completing the GRS, you now have the rates you need to disclose. But you need to

make them available. For schools that offer athletically-related student aid, there are additional disclosure

and reporting requirements. The GRS satisfies the reporting requirements only.

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9) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

The regulations state that beginning with the group of students who enter the institution between September

1, 2000 and August 31, 2001, an institution shall disclose its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out

rate information no later than the July 1 immediately following the point in time that 150% of the normal

time for completion or graduation has elapsed for all of the students in the groups on which the institution

bases its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out rate calculations.

Therefore, at a minimum, you must disclose (July 1) your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31

of the prior year). In addition, institutions for which transfer out is an important part of their mission must

also disclose a transfer-out rate. The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information

as warranted to help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider additional

rates as well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students take

longer to complete. The SRK regulations state that if a category of students within an athletic subcohort

contains 5 or fewer students, institutions need not disclose information on the category of students.

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2012-13 Survey Materials > Narrative Edits date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 4-year institutions

Edit specifications for the 2012-13 IPEDS Web-Based Data Collection

Graduation Rates (GR) Component

Applicable to 4-year institutions

Note: The specifications in this document apply to the institutions listed above. Some sections and parts may not

apply to your particular institution. Please read the specifications carefully to determine which sections and/or parts

apply to your institution.

All screens must be completed in order to lock the survey.

Screening Question

Section I: Establishing Cohorts

Sections II and III: Subcohort Data

Worksheets

Screening Question

You must respond to the following screening question:

• Does your institution use a website to disclose Student-Right-to-Know student athlete graduation rates?

◦ If you select Yes, the URL must be provided.

The above screening question is a critical data item. To lock the survey, this question must be answered completely.

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Section I: Establishing Cohorts

Part 1

The screen shown here will depend on whether your institution has a preloaded cohort. Use this screen to enter 2006

Revised cohort or Cohort values, as applicable, for each race/ethnicity and gender category. These values will be used to

represent the Cohort on all subsequent screens.

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• The calculated Total men + women in the Revised cohort (column 01) must be greater than 0.

• If no Initial cohort is preloaded, then the calculated Total men + women in the Revised cohort (column 01)

must be less than or equal to the Unduplicated count of undergraduates reported in the cohort year's 12-month

enrollment survey.

• The Revised cohort must be within a certain range of the Initial cohort, as outlined below:

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 1 and 25 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 50% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 26 and 100 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 30% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 101 and 500 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 20% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is greater than 500 students, then the Total

men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 10% range of that value.

Part 2

On this screen, enter the number of Men and Women who belong to the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking

subcohort (column 02) for each applicable race/ethnicity category.

The system will calculate the Other degree-seeking subcohort (column 03) by subtracting the Bachelor's or equivalent

degree-seeking subcohort (column 02) from the Cohort (column 01) for each row of data.

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort

(column 02) cannot be greater than the Cohort (column 01).

• If your institution reported offering bachelor's degrees in the 2010 Institutional Characteristics survey, then the

Total men + women seeking a Bachelor's or equivalent degree (column 02) is expected to be greater than

0; otherwise, an explanation is required.

• If your institution reported offering award levels other than bachelor's degrees in the Institutional Characteristics

survey, the Total men + women seeking an Other degree (column 03) is expected to be greater than 0;

otherwise, an explanation is required.

• The sum of Total completers within 150% (column 29) from Sections II and III must be greater than 0.

Otherwise, a fatal error will occur to prevent a graduation rate of 0.0% on your institution's College Navigator

page.

• If the sum of Total completers within 150% from Sections II and III is greater than 10, then this value

must be less than the Cohort (column 01) minus the sum of Total Exclusions from Sections II and III (found

on the Transfers/Exclusions screen). Otherwise, a fatal error will occur to prevent a graduation rate of 100%

on your institution's College Navigator page.
• If the prior year Adjusted cohort (from the 4-year-average, part 1 worksheet) is greater than 0; AND the sum of

Total Exclusions from Sections II and III is greater than 0; THEN:

The sum of Total Completers within 150% from Sections II and III * 100

____________________________________________________________________________

The Cohort (column 01) – the sum of Total Exclusions from Sections II and III

Should be within a 20% range of the following:

PY Total Completers within 150% (from the 4-year-average, part 2 worksheet) * 100

______________________________________________________________________________

The PY Adjusted cohort

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Section II and Section III: Subcohort Data

Completers 150%

Use Sections II and III to report data on the specified student subcohorts at the institution based on the descriptions below:

• Section II: Report the status of the Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent

degree for Cohort year 2006.

• Section III: Report the status of the Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's or

equivalent degree for Cohort year 2006.

Note: Section III is only applicable if you reported students seeking a degree other than a bachelor's or

equivalent degree on the Establishing Cohorts, Part 2 screen.

The following screens must be completed for Section II and Section III (if applicable to your institution):

Completers within 150%

On this screen, you must report the subcohort of students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to

completion, including: Completers of programs of less-than-2-years (column 11), Completers of programs of at-leasttwo but less-than-four-years (column 12), and Completers of bachelor's or equivalent degrees (column 18) by

race/ethnicity and gender.

For each individual program length (columns 11, 12, and 18), the system will calculate the Total men + women to determine

the grand total number of completers by length of time to completion.

In addition, for each row of data, the system will calculate the sum of columns 11, 12, and 18 to determine the number of

Total completers within 150% (column 29).

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered in Section II:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, Total completers within 150% (column 29) must be less than or

equal to the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (column 10).

• If the calculated Total men + women in the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (column

10) is greater than 25, then the Total men + women for Total completers within 150% (column 29) is

expected to be greater than 0.

The system will perform the following edit on the data entered in Section III:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, the sum of Total completers within 150% (column 29) must be

less than or equal to the Other degree-seeking subcohort (column 10).

• If the calculated Total men + women in the Other degree-seeking subcohort (column 10) is greater than 25,

then the Total men + women for Total completers within 150% (column 29) is expected to be greater

than 0.

Bachelor's completers by length of time to degree

Applicable to Section II ONLY

On this screen, you must report the number of students in the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort who Completed the program in 4

years or less (column 19) and Completed the program in 5 years (column 20) by race/ethnicity and gender. The system will then subtract these

values from the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (column 10) to determine the number of students who Completed the program

in 6 years (column 21).

For each individual program length (columns 19, 20, and 21), the system will calculate the Total men + women to determine the grand total number of

completers by length of time to completion.

In addition, for each row of data, the system will calculate the sum of columns 19, 20, and 21 to determine the total number of students who Completed

a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time (column 18).

The system will perform the following edit on the data entered:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, the number of students who Completed the program in 6

years should be greater than or equal to 0. To correct this value, you must adjust the number of students who

Completed the program in 4 years or less and/or Completed the program in 5 years, so that the sum of

these values is less than or equal to the number of students in the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking

subcohort.

Transfers/Exclusions

Use Sections II and III to report data on the specified student subcohorts at the institution. For these screens, you must report

the number of Total transfer-out students (column 30), Total exclusions (column 45), and the number of students Still

enrolled (column 51) in the subcohort by race/ethnicity and gender for Cohort year 2006.
The system will calculate the Total men + women for each column to determine the grand total number of transfer-out

students and exclusions.

In addition, for each row of data, the sum of columns 30, 45, 51 and Total completers within 150% (column 29) is subtracted

from the subcohort (column 10) to determine the total number of students No longer enrolled (column 52).

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, the total number of students No longer enrolled (column 52) must

be greater than or equal to 0. To correct this value, the sum of Total completers within 150% (column 29),

Total transfer-out students (column 30), Total exclusions (column 45), and Still enrolled (column 51) must

be less or equal to the subcohort (column 10).

• If the number of Total transfer-out students (men + women) (column 30) is greater than 10, then this value is

expected to be less than or equal to 40% of the total number of men and women in the subcohort (column 10).

Note: Transfer-out students should ONLY include students who transferred out to another eligible institution. Do

NOT include all non-completers here.

• If the number of Total exclusions (men + women) (column 45) is greater than 10, then this value is expected to

be less than or equal to 10% of the total number of men and women in the subcohort (column 10).

Note: Exclusions should ONLY include students who died or were permanently disabled; or who left school to join

the military, to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, or to serve on an official church

mission. Do NOT include all non-completers here.

• An explanation must be provided if your institution reported having 0 students No longer enrolled (column 52);

and your institution reported having more than 100 men and women in the subcohort (column 10); and your

institution reported having more than 10 Total transfer-out students (column 30).

Note: Please verify that non-completers were not reported erroneously as transfer-out students (column 30) or

exclusions (column 45).

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Worksheets

Additional worksheet screens have been included at the end of the survey. These screens provide your institution with a

summary of the data entered, along with prior year data. This includes: Graduation and transfer-out rates, Graduation and

transfer-out rates by length of time to degree, and 4-year average Graduation rates.

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 Image description. These context notes will be posted on the College Navigator. End of image description.

2012-13 Survey Materials > Form date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 4-year institutions reporting on a full-year cohort (program

reporters)

Screening questions 

Does your institution post the Student-Right-to-Know student athlete graduation rates on a website?

   

No.

   

Yes. Please provide the URL.     http://

Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional

Characteristics Header survey from the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection, your institution must report graduation

rates data using a

Full-Year Cohort (September 1, 2006 - August 31, 2007)

A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A fullyear cohort is used by institutions offering primarily occupational/vocational programs and operating on a

continuous basis.

 You may use the space below to provide context for the data you've reported above. These context notes

will be posted on the College Navigator website, and should be written to be understood by students and

parents.
Section I - Graduation Rate - Establishing cohorts 

Establishing cohorts

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

NOTE: Reporting using the new race categories is now mandatory. On this screen you will need to establish your 2006

cohort using the new race/ethnicity categories. For information and assistance with this, please visit AIR's

Race/Ethnicity FAQ page.

Screen 1 of 2 Cohort year 2006

Cohort

(Column 01)

Men

Nonresident alien

Hispanic/Latino

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more races

Race and ethnicity unknown

Total men   

Women

Nonresident alien

Hispanic/Latino

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more races

Race and ethnicity unknown

Total women   

Total men + women   
Section I - Graduation Rate - Establishing cohorts 

•Incoming students who are seeking a bachelor's degree should be reported in Column 02. Column 03 will then be

generated for you. It is meant to include any full-time, first-time entering students who are seeking an associate's

degree or undergraduate certificate.

•If you have no changes to the preloaded data on this screen, you must click the "Save and Next" button to generate

screens to report completers and transfers.

Establishing cohorts

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 2 of 2 Cohort year 2006

Cohort Bachelor's or equivalent

degree-seeking

subcohort

Other degree-seeking

subcohort

(Revised cohort minus Bachelor’s or equivalent

degree-seeking subcohort)

(Column 01) (Column 02) (Column 03)

Men

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African American   

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity unknown   

  

Total men         

Women

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African American   

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity unknown   

  

Total women         

Total men + women         
Section II - Graduation Rate - Completers within 150% 

•In the columns below, report the status of the bachelor's degree-seeking subcohort of students reported in Column 10.

•Those undergraduate students who attained OTHER THAN A BACHELOR'S DEGREE within 150% of normal time as

of August 31, 2012 should be reported in either Column 11 or 12, depending on the length of the program.

•Those who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% or normal time should be reported in Column 18.

Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 1 of 3 Cohort year 2006

Bachelor's or

equivalent degreeseeking subcohort

Subcohort students who completed their program within 150%

of normal time to completion

Completers of

programs of less

than 2 years (or

equivalent)

Completers of

programs of at least 2

and less than 4 years

(or equivalent)

Completers of

bachelor's or

equivalent

degrees

Total

completers

within 150%

(Column 10) (Column 11) (Column 12) (Column 18) (Column 29)

Men

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African

American

  

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

  

  

Total men               

Women

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African

American

  

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

  

  

Total women               

Total men + women               
Section II - Graduation Rate - Bachelor's completers by length of time to degree 

The students who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent as reported on the previous page are listed in Column 18.

In Column 19, report the number of bachelor's degree seekers who earned a bachelor's degree in 4 years. In Column

20, the number of bachelor's degree seekers who earned a bachelor's degree in 5 years. Column 21 will be calculated

for you.

Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 2 of 3 Cohort year 2006

Bachelor's or equivalent

degree-seeking subcohort

Completed

bachelor's

degree

or equivalent

within 150%

Subcohort students who attained a bachelor's

degree or equivalent

Completed the

program in

4 yrs or less

Completed the

program in

5 yrs

Completed the

program in

6 yrs

(Column 10) (Column 18) (Column 19) (Column 20) (Column 21)

Men

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African

American

     

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total men               

Women

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African

American

     

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total women               

Total men + women               
Section II - Graduation Rate - Transfers/exclusions 

•In the columns below, report the status of the BACHELOR'S DEGREE-SEEKING STUDENTS reported in the

subcohort in Column 10, who did not complete a program as of 150% of normal time to completion.

•Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing

substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed their programs,

you must report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students that the school

knows have transferred to another school. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part

of your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

•Report exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:

students who died or became permanently disabled

students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)

students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government

students who left school to serve on an official church mission

•Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This includes students who have dropped out or who

completed in greater than 150% of normal time.

•If you do not have any values to enter in either Columns 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on

this screen

Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 3 of 3 Cohort year 2006

Bachelor's or

equivalent

degree-seeking

subcohort

Total

completers

within 150%

Total transfer-out

students

Total

exclusions

Still enrolled No longer

enrolled

(Column 10) (Column 29) (Column 30) (Column 45) (Column 51) (Column 52)

Men

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African American      

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total men                  

Women

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African American      

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total women                  

Total men + women                  
Section III - Graduation Rate - Completers within 150% 

•In the columns below, report the status of the subcohort of other undergraduate degree- or certificate-seeking students

reported in Column 10.

•Those undergraduate students who attained OTHER THAN A BACHELOR'S DEGREE within 150% of normal time as

of August 31, 2012 should be reported in either Column 11 or 12, depending on the type of the program.

•Those who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% or normal time should be reported in Column 18.

Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's degree

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 1 of 2 Cohort year 2006

Other degreeseeking subcohortSubcohort students who completed their program within 150% of

normal time to completion

Completers of

programs of less

than 2 years (or

equivalent)

Completers of programs

of at least 2 years but

less than 4 years (or

equivalent)

Completers of

bachelor's or

equivalent

degrees

Total

completers

within 150%

(Column 10) (Column 11) (Column 12) (Column 18) (Column 29)

Men

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African

American

  

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

  

  

Total men               

Women

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

  

  

Asian   

  

Black or African

American

  

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

  

  

Total women               

Total men + women               
Section III - Graduation Rate - Transfers/exclusions 

•In the columns below, report the status of the OTHER THAN A BACHELOR'S DEGREE-SEEKING STUDENTS

reported in the subcohort in Column 10, who did not complete a program as of August 31, 2012.

•Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing

substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed their programs,

you must report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students that the school

knows have transferred to another school. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part

of your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

•Report exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:

students who died or became permanently disabled

students who left school to serve in the armed forces(or have been called up to active duty)

students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government

students who left school to serve on an official church mission

•Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This will include students who dropped out as well as those

who completed in greater than 150% of normal time.

•If you do not have any values to enter in either Columns 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on

this screen

Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's degree

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 2 of 2 Cohort year 2006

Other degreeseeking subcohortTotal completers

within 150%

Total transfer-out

students

Total

exclusions

Still enrolled No longer

enrolled

(Column 10) (Column 29) (Column 30) (Column 45) (Column 51) (Column

52)

Men

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African

American

     

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total men                  

Women

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or

Alaska Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African

American

     

  

Native Hawaiian or

Other Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity

unknown

     

  

Total women                  

Total men + women                  
Prepared by 

This survey component was prepared by:

   

Keyholder

   

SFA Contact

   

HR Contact

   

Finance Contact

   

Other

Name:

Email:

How long did it take to prepare this survey component? hours minutes

The name of the preparer is being collected so that we can follow up with the appropriate person in the event that there

are questions concerning the data. The Keyholder will be copied on all email correspondence to other preparers.

The time it took to prepare this component is being collected so that we can continue to improve our estimate of the

reporting burden associated with IPEDS. Please include in your estimate the time it took for you to review instructions,

query and search data sources, complete and review the component, and submit the data through the Data Collection

System.

Thank you for your assistance.
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2012-13 Survey Materials > Instructions date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates Full Instructions - 4-Year Institutions

Purpose of the Survey

Changes in Reporting

General Instructions

Reporting Period Covered

Context Boxes

Coverage

Who to Include

Who to Exclude

Where to Get Help for Reporting

Where the Reported Data Will Appear

Reporting Directions

Screening Questions

Reporting Individuals by Racial/Ethnic Categories

Section I: Establishing and Revising Cohorts

Section II: Bachelor's Degree Subcohort

Section III: Other Degree/Certificate-Seeking Subcohorts

Worksheets

Purpose of Survey

The purpose of the Graduation Rates component of IPEDS is to track the cohorts of first-time, fulltime degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, as well as their completion status at 100% and

150% of normal time at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions

in complying with the Student Right to Know Act.

Changes in Reporting

Institutions must report using the new race/ethnicity categories. Cohorts must be revised to reflect the new

categories. A page has been added to crosswalk any data in the initial cohort that was reported in the old or

mixed race/ethnicity categories to the new categories.

General Instructions

Reporting Period Covered

This report requests data on a cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates

enrolled in your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2006 or (2) during the period between September 1,

2006 and August 31, 2007. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2012.
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Context Boxes

Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component

items. Note that some context boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search

tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these context boxes for applicability and appropriateness

before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check grammar and spelling of

their entries.

Coverage

Who to Include in the Cohort

Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution

either during the fall term or during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the

fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term. For institutions that will report

using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all those students who entered the institution between

September 1, 2006 and August 31, 2007, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to,

and including, one year in length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Students must be enrolled in courses creditable toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Include students enrolled in courses that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those

enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance learning/home study programs.

Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for

the purpose of student financial aid determination.

A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:

• Becomes a part-time student.

• Transfers to another institution.

• Drops out of the institution.

• Stops out of the institution.

• Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate.

Who to Exclude from the Cohort

DO NOT include students in the cohort who are:

• Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational

program.

• Exclusively taking CEUs.

• Exclusively auditing classes.

• Studying abroad (e.g., at a foreign university) if their enrollment at this institution is only an

administrative record and the fee is only nominal.

• In any branch campus located in a foreign country.

• Part time.

• Transfers into the institution.

Where to Get Help

IPEDS Data Collection Help Desk

Phone: 1-877-225-2568

Email: ipedshelp@rti.org

AIR Website

You can also consult the AIR website that contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced

overview of IPEDS tools and other valuable resources.

IPEDS Resources Page

In addition, the IPEDS Resources Page contains frequently asked questions, a link to the glossary, data tip

sheets, an archive of survey instruments, information on the new race/ethnicity categories and other relevant

information.

Where the Data Will Appear

Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.

At the institution-level, data will appear in the:

• College Navigator Website

• IPEDS Data Center

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:
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• IPEDS First Looks

• IPEDS Table Library

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

• The Digest of Education Statistics

• The Condition of Education

Reporting Instructions

Screening Questions

• Please provide the URL where the Student-Right-to-Know information is posted on your

institution's website.

• The method used to establish the cohort reported on this survey has been predetermined

by your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (D1) on the

Institutional Characteristics survey component of the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection,

according to the following rules:

1. Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic

terms (semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of

students. Institutions may use a census date of October 15, 2006, or the end of the

institution's drop-add period, or another official fall reporting date to determine the cohort.

This should be the same reporting date established for your IPEDS Fall Enrollment report.

2. Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic

terms (as defined above) will report using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count

as entering students all those students who entered the institution between September 1,

2006 and August 31, 2007, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to,

and including, one year in length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category

Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category (1997 OMB)

This information is being collected in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Sec. 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational

Education Act. These instructions correspond with the Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting,

and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education, published in the

Federal Register on October 19, 2007.

Method of collection - Institutions must collect race and ethnicity information using a 2-question

format. The first question is whether the respondent is Hispanic/Latino. The second question is

whether the respondent is from one or more races from the following list: American Indian or

Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and

White. Institutions should allow students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity. For

further details on the guidance for collecting data, please see the full Federal Register notice.

Method of reporting aggregate data - Institutions must report aggregate data to the U.S. Department of

Education using the NINE categories below. Racial/ethnic designations are requested only for United States

citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

• Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race

For Non-Hispanic/Latino individuals:

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

• Two or more races

In addition, the following categories may be used:

• Nonresident alien

• Race and ethnicity unknown

Racial/ethnic descriptions - Racial/ethnic designations as used in this survey do not denote scientific

definitions of anthropological origins. The categories are:

• Hispanic or Latino- A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other

Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
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• American Indian or Alaska Native- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and

South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal

affiliation or community attachment.

• Asian- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the

Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,

Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

• Black or African American- A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of

Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

• White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North

Africa.

Other descriptive categories

• 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. NOTE -

Nonresident aliens are to be reported separately, in the boxes provided, rather than included in any of

the seven racial/ethnic categories. Resident aliens and other eligible (for financial aid purposes) noncitizens who are not citizens or nationals of the United States and who have been admitted as legal

immigrants for the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who hold either an alien

registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an ArrivalDeparture 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) are to be reported in

the appropriate racial/ethnic categories along with United States citizens.

• Race and ethnicity unknown - This category is used only if the person did not select EITHER a

racial or ethnic designation.

Section I – Establishing Cohorts

Report each student only once.

If your institution determines degree intent upon entry, students in your revised initial cohort are to be

separated into two groups or subcohorts: (1) students entering bachelor’s or equivalent degree programs and

(2) students seeking other than a bachelor’s degree (associate’s degree, certificates, etc.).

Institutions that do not determine degree intent upon entry should report all students as if they are bachelor’s

degree-seeking.

Please complete all of Section I; screens for Sections II and III will be generated based on the data you report

in Section I.

Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information you reported on line 01 of your 2006

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report will be preloaded in this column. If you did not respond to that survey, or if you

are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.

Revised cohort (Column 01) - Please review the data in the initial cohort column, and re-enter the

cohort data according to the 1997 racial/ethnic categories and gender in this column. Also make any

necessary corrections for omissions or double counting in the revised cohort column. If your data do not

appear in the initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment data as requested in the revised cohort

column.

Section I – Establishing Subcohorts

Revised Cohort (Column 01) – These are data are loaded from page 1 of Section I.

Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 02) – of the revised cohort,

indicate how many students declared intent to seek the bachelor's or equivalent degree upon

entry. As indicated above, this should also include any students whose intent was not known.

These data are brought forward to Section II. 

Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Column 03) – This is the difference between

the revised cohort and the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort. It is calculated for

you. This indicates how many students declared intent to seek other than a bachelor's level degree

(i.e., an associate's degree or other formal award) upon entry. These data are brought forward to

Section III. 

Section II – Completers - Bachelor’s or Equivalent Degree-Seeking Subcohort
Report each student only once.

Report the status of the 2006 subcohort of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students as of 150% of

normal time to completion or August 31, 2012 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers

by type of program completed. Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree.

DO NOT include students who transferred into your institution.

Count completers only once and indicate the highest degree level attained.

SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers out and the mission of particular

programs to prepare students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those

students who have successfully completed a transfer-preparatory program.

Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section

668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit

toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree

program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree. Similarly, institutions may

count as completers, those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program

and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program. The student receives full credit toward a

5-year bachelor’s degree and qualifies the student for admission into the fourth year of a 5-year bachelor’s

degree program.

Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) - These are the data as

reported in Section I.

In order to calculate a graduation rate to comply with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions can

count as completers only those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transferpreparatory program) within 150% of normal program time (normal time to completion is the amount of time

necessary to complete all requirements for a program according to your institution's catalog). Do not count as

completers students who receive their degree from another institution.

Note that completers should be reported in terms of type of program completed as defined by award levels.

Program types may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to complete for programs

that are defined in terms of contact or credit hours. For more information of program types, please consult

the IPEDS Glossary.

Completers of less-than 2-year program within 150% (Column 11) - Enter the number of students

who completed programs of less than 2 years within 150% of normal time. This includes certificates of less

than one year (or equivalent) and certificates of at least one year, but less than two years (or equivalent). 

Completers of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years within 150% (Column 12) - Enter the number of

students who completed programs of at least 2 years but less than 4 years within 150% of normal time to

completion of their program. This includes certificates of at least two years but less than four years

(or equivalent) and associate's degrees. 

Completed Bachelor's degree within 150% (Column 18) - Enter the number of students who completed

a bachelor’s degree or equivalent program within 150% of normal time. Note: Include completers of 3-year

bachelor’s degree programs only if they completed within 4-1/2 years.

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous three columns, and

is calculated by the data collection system.

Section II – Bachelor’s Degree Completers Length of Time to Degree

Report each student only once.

Report completers of bachelor's degrees or equivalent according to how long it took them to complete their

program. Include all baccalaureate level degrees, including 5-year bachelor's (including cooperative)

programs, and those bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years. Of the

total number of completers of bachelor's or equivalent degrees within 150% of normal time you reported

(Column 18), provide the following breakout:

Completed the program in 4 yrs or less (Column 19) - Report all students who completed a

bachelor's degree or equivalent in 4 years or less in this column. Include all students who completed a

bachelor's degree or equivalent by August 31, 2010.

Completed the program in 5 yrs (Column 20) - Report all students who completed a bachelor's

degree or equivalent in 5 years in this column. Include all students who completed a bachelor's degree or

equivalent in the period from September 1, 2010 through August 31, 2011. Do NOT include students who

completed their program in 4 years or less in this column.
Completed the program in 6 yrs (Column 21) - This column is the difference between the

completers of bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time (Column 18) and the sum of those

who completed the program in 4 years or less (Column 19) and those who completed the program in 5 years

(Column 20). Included are all students who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent in the period from

September 1, 2011 through August 31, 2012. This column will be calculated by the data collection system.

Section II – Noncompleters - Bachelor’s or Equivalent Degree-Seeking Subcohort 

Report each student only once.

Report the status of the noncompleters from the 2006 subcohort of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking

students as of 150% of the normal time to completion for their program or August 31,

2012 (whichever was earlier) . Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students

who transferred into your institution.

Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) – These data are loaded

from page 2 of Section I.

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - These data are loaded from page 2 of Section I.

Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing

substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution, report the total number

of students who transferred out of your institution (without a degree/award) within 150% of

normal time to completion. Include students who transferred out of your institution and

subsequently re-enrolled. If it is not part of your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you

wish.

Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution

within 150% of normal time to completion for their program (and have neither graduated nor

transferred to another institution) because of one of the following documented reasons: 

1. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.

2. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called to active duty. (DO NOT include

students already in the military who transfer to another duty station.)

3. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the

Peace Corps.

4. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.

NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted in b, c, or d above, but

return prior to the status date of August 31, 2012, may be subtracted from the cohort during the

calculation of graduation rates.

Still enrolled (Column 51) - Report the number of students who were still enrolled at your

institution as 150% of normal time to completion of their program (or August 31, 2012 if 150% of

normal time to completion had not elapsed by that time).

No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column is generated by subtracting from Column 10 the

sum of Columns 29, 30, 45 and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their

program after 150% of normal time to completion elapsed.

Section III – Completers - Other Than a Bachelor’s Degree-Seeking Subcohort

Report each student only once.

Report the status of the 2006 subcohort of students seeking other than a bachelor's degree as of 150% of

normal time to completion or August 31, 2012 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers

by type of program completed. Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time students seeking undergraduate degrees or certificates other

than a bachelor’s degree. DO NOT include students who transferred into your institution.

Count completers only once and indicate the highest degree level attained.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers out and the mission of particular

programs to prepare students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those

students who have successfully completed a transfer-preparatory program.

Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section

668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit

toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree

program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree. Similarly, institutions may

count as completers, those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program

and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program. The student receives full credit toward a

5-year bachelor’s degree and qualifies the student for admission into the fourth year of a 5-year bachelor’s

degree program.

Other degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) - These are the data as reported in Section I.

In order to calculate a graduation rate to comply with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions can

count as completers only those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transferpreparatory program) within 150% of normal program time (normal time to completion is the amount of time

necessary to complete all requirements for a program according to your institution's catalog). Do not count as

completers students who receive their degree from another institution.

Note that completers should be reported in terms of type of program completed as defined by award levels.

Program types may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to complete for programs

that are defined in terms of contact or credit hours. For more information of program types, please consult

the IPEDS Glossary.

Completers of less-than 2-year program within 150% (Column 11) - Enter the number of students

who completed programs of less than 2 years within 150% of normal time. This includes certificates of less

than one year (or equivalent) and certificates of at least one year, but less than two years (or equivalent). 

Completers of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years within 150% (Column 12) - Enter the number of

students who completed programs of at least 2 years but less than 4 years within 150% of normal time to

completion of their program. This includes certificates of at least two years but less than four years

(or equivalent) and associate's degrees. 

Completed Bachelor's degree within 150% (Column 18) - Enter the number of students who completed

a bachelor’s degree or equivalent program within 150% of normal time. Note: Include completers of 3-year

bachelor’s degree programs only if they completed within 4-1/2 years.

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous three columns, and

is calculated by the data collection system.

Section III – Noncompleters - Other than a Bachelor’s Degree-Seeking Subcohort 

Report each student only once.

Report the noncompleters of the 2006 subcohort of students seeking other than a bachelor's degree as of

150% of normal time to completion or August 31, 2012 (whichever was earlier). Report all students by

race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students who

transferred into your institution.

Other degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) – These are data are loaded from page 2 of Section II.

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - These are data are loaded from page 2 of Section I.

Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial

preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution, report the total number of students who

transferred out of your institution (without a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion.

Include students who transferred out of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled. If it is not part of your

mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150%

of normal time to completion for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another

institution) because of one of the following documented reasons: 

1. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.

2. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called to active duty. (DO NOT include

students already in the military who transfer to another duty station.)

3. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the

Peace Corps.

4. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.
NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted in b, c, or d above, but

return prior to the status date of August 31, 2012, may be subtracted from the cohort during the

calculation of graduation rates.

Still enrolled (Column 51) - Report the number of students who were still enrolled at your

institution as 150% of normal time to completion of their program (or August 31, 2012 if 150% of

normal time to completion had not elapsed by that time).

No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column is generated by subtracting from Column 10 the

sum of Columns 29, 30, 45 and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their

program after 150% of normal time to completion elapsed.

Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates

Worksheets

Worksheets calculating the Student Right-To-Know completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking students for the 2006 student cohort are provided as a convenience to

the institution. A worksheet calculating 4-year, 5-year, and 6-year graduation rates for the 2005 bachelor's or

equivalent degree-seeking subcohort are provided for those institutions that are able to report bachelor's or

equivalent completers by length of time to degree.

Worksheets calculating the overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students for the student cohort are also provided. Data previously

reported by the institution have been preloaded to use in these calculations.

Note that the information on these worksheets will NOT appear on College Navigator or on any of

the IPEDS data tools.

Privacy Issues With Disclosure

Before using the worksheets for disclosure, please consider the following:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended (1998) (FERPA) requires that institutions

not disclose information where students could be identified.
Glossary date: 1/16/2013

Term Definition

Adjusted cohort The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; for

the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate.

American Indian or

Alaska Native (new

definition)

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central

America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Asian (new definition) A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian

Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the

Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Associate's degree An award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work.

Bachelor's degree An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of

Education) that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent collegelevel work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year cooperative (work-study)

program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business,

industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their

college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed

in 3 years.

Bachelor's or equivalent

degree-seeking subcohort

In the GR component of IPEDS, a cohort of students who were seeking a bachelor's or equivalent

degree upon entry.

Black or African American

(new definition)

A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

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.

Exclusions Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates and Fall Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they

left the institution for one of the following reasons: death or total and permanent disability; service in

the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid service of the

federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.

First-time student

(undergraduate)

A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any

institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or

occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for

the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

Full-time student Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits , or 12 or more quarter credits,

or 24 or more contact hours a week each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester

credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that

is considered full time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the

institution.

Full-year cohort The group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period September 1 through August

31 that is established for tracking and reporting Graduation Rate (GR) 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.

Graduation rate The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This

rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the

revised adjusted cohort.

Graduation Rates (GR) This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of

the Student Right-to-Know legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the

institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in a particular

year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150

percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part

of the institution's mission. Prior to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid

were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid and whether they completed

within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL

where the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates

worksheets that calculate rates, including average rates over 4 years.

Hispanic or Latino (new

definition)

A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or

origin, regardless of race.

Initial cohort A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component

of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time

degree/certificate-seeking students during either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2)

between September 1st and August 31st of the following year.

Long programs Undergraduate programs that exceed the usual program length for a specific level. This would

include programs of 5 years or longer for 4-year institutions and programs of 3 years or longer for 2-

year institutions.

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander (new

definition)

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific

Islands.
Nonresident alien A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or

temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.

Normal time to

completion

The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate

according to the institution's catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a standard term-based institution; 2

years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree

in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.

Other degree-seeking

subcohort

A subset of students belonging to a GR cohort who were seeking a degree or certificate other than

bachelor's degree upon entry.

Race/ethnicity (new

definition)

Categories developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are used to

describe groups to which individuals belong, identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community.

The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological origins. The designations are

used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as:

• Hispanic or Latino or

• Not Hispanic or Latino

Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

Race/ethnicity unknown The category used to report students or employees whose race and ethnicity are not known.

Revised cohort Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that

incorrect data were reported in an earlier year.

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 calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or degree-seeking, full-time

students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates 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 submit a report to the Secretary

of Education annually. 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. See Graduation Rates for

the current description of data collected.

Subcohort A predefined subset of the initial cohort or the revised cohort established for tracking purposes on

the Graduation Rates (GR) component of IPEDS. (e.g., bachelor's degree-seeking subcohort.)

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 adjusted cohort.

Transfer-out student A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.

Transfer-preparatory

program

A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer

into a higher level program. For example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level

program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of undergraduate study needed

for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for

entrance into health services fields.

White (new definition) A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
2012-13 Survey Materials > F.A.Q. date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 4-year institutions

Click one of the following questions to view the answer.

General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How do I choose

my cohort?

2) Why do 4-year institutions need to separate their entering cohort into two groups?

3) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

4) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

5) Do I need to track students every term?

Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GR? (Updated: 1/14/2013)

3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a confirmation of

transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?

6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I count the

student as "first-time"?

8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?

9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?

10) How do I treat new entrants that get credit for life experience?

11) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

12) Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers out?

13) My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates enrolled as of October 15 - the same as on my

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part time next semester, or students

who switch to another program?

14) If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degrees (AA and BA) within the 6-year period, can I count both

completions?

15) I have a student that intends to get a bachelor’s degree so he is in my Section II cohort. He does not complete his BA within the

6-year period BUT he did get an associate’s degree along the way and it was completed within 3 years. Where do I report him?

Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

2) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

3) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year, but

what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?

4) How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?

Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?

3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I still in

compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GR if I don’t report transfers out? (Updated: 1/14/2013)

Other

1) My institution belongs to the NCAA; do I have to report GR data to IPEDS? Do I also need to report to the Secretary of

Education? (Updated: 1/14/2013)

2) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my school. Do I need

to try to track these "leavers"?

3) How do I deal with "3/2" programs? My institution provides the first 3 years of an engineering program and our students go on to

another university for the last 2 years of study to attain their degree. Can we count them as completers when they get their degree

from the second institution?

4) My institution offers pre-med and pre-vet programs, but formal awards are not given. What happens to these students?

5) My institution offers a PharmD program where a student is accepted into the program after completing a 2 or 3 year program of

undergraduate studies. What happens to these students?

6) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar provision for

excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

8) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

9) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

Answers:
General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How

do I choose my cohort?

If most programs operate on a term basis (semester, quarter or trimester), you must use a fall cohort;

otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort method you must use has been pre-determined by

your answer to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey.

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2) Why do 4-year institutions need to separate their entering cohort into two groups?

NCES is asking 4-year schools that offer undergraduate awards other than the bachelor’s degree to define

two subcohorts: (1) students who enter with the intent to complete a bachelor’s degree, and (2) students

who intend to complete other than a bachelor’s degree program. Students whose intent is unknown are to be

placed in the subcohort with those seeking a bachelor’s degree. By separating the cohort this way, the

graduation and transfer rates of the first group can be compared to those at like institutions as well as those

at institutions offering only a bachelor’s degree. Likewise, the rates of the second group can also be

compared to rates at 2-year institutions.

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3) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

Student Right-to-Know legislation states that reporting is mandatory for institutions that did enroll full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the cohort year. If you did not enroll this

type of student or your institution was not in operation during the cohort year, please report this information

on the Institutional Characteristics survey.

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4) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means to change the

cohort by taking into consideration better information that has become available since you first reported your

cohort on the Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on

the cohort). You can revise a fall cohort by entering new data in the Revised Cohort column on the data

collection screen. Adjusting a cohort means to subtract the Exclusions from the Revised Cohort to establish

a denominator for rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts will be adjusted for you on the worksheet

screens when graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated.

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5) Do I need to track students every term?

No, you can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry and then, at the end of 150% of normal

time for the longest program, look back to see what happened to those in the cohort. You will need to know

when they completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track from term-to-term.

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Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student attending any institution for the first time

at the level enrolled." By this we mean at the undergraduate level, graduate level, or first-professional level.

Since the GRS is only interested in undergraduates, it means that the student is first time in postsecondary

education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary institution). There are two

exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution the summer prior to entering your institution in the fall

term are to be counted as "first-time," as are (2) students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

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2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GR? (Updated: 1/14/2013)

Yes. You need to report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions on disclosure for

further information.

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3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a

confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

You should report the student as a transfer-out.

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4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

The IPEDS GRS does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED

IN ANY COHORT.

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5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?
These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to

a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award and if they are not eligible for Title IV Federal financial

aid.

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6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking on your

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. If they are degree/certificate-seeking for purposes of qualifying for student

financial aid, then they must be included in the cohort.

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7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I

count the student as "first-time"?

No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a

postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they enter with no credit.

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8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?

Neither should be included in your cohort.

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9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?

Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they are not

to be included in your cohort according to the SRK regulations. Be sure to carefully read the definition of

degree-seeking in the Glossary.

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10) How do I treat new entrants that get credit for life experience?

If the student has never enrolled in a postsecondary institution, they are to be counted as "first-time."

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11) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

Since these students must have been enrolled in an institution in order to obtain credit through

correspondence or distance learning, they are not "first-time."

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12) Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers out?

No. Keep the students in your cohort since they return in the fall and continue their programs of study.

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13) My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates enrolled as of October 15 - the

same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part

time next semester, or students who switch to another program?

It looks like your cohort is defined correctly. Remember YOUR COHORT NEVER CHANGES. Students who stop

out or drop out do not change the cohort number. They remain in the count; if they complete within 150%

please report them as such. Students who switch to part time or to another program are not given extra

time to complete, nor are they removed from the cohort. Report their status as requested.

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14) If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degrees (AA and BA) within the 6-year period, can I

count both completions?

No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your

decision as to which one you prefer to report.

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15) I have a student that intends to get a bachelor’s degree so he is in my Section II cohort. He does not complete his

BA within the 6-year period BUT he did get an associate’s degree along the way and it was completed within 3 years.

Where do I report him?

By all means count him as a completer of the associate’s degree (2- but less than 4-year program) since that

degree was completed within 150% of normal time. Remember, intent is not important when reporting your

completers...what is important is whether or not they finished any program within 150% of normal time.

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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time is applied to the start date and is the

same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term or two and still complete within

150% of normal time.

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2) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion." IPEDS has adopted the definition

developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time.

Normal time is defined as "the time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or

certificate according to an institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree, 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6

quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate’s degree, and the scheduled times for certificate

programs." Let’s look at some examples:

Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs - 8 semesters – usually fall and spring.

Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would take 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the

sixth year.

Similarly, an associate’s degree that is advertised as a 2-year program - 6 quarters (fall, winter, spring, with

no scheduled summer quarter), would extend to (1.5 x 6) or 9 quarters through the end of the spring

quarter of the third year.

However, the Technical Amendments that redefine the cohort year allow you to count completers through

August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third year for 2-year

programs).

Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as

taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the

student completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.

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3) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the

6th year, but what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot

count them as completers?

Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree

upon completion (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted in the student’s record) and just

allow the student to "pick it up" at the December ceremony, then you should be able to count the student in

your completions.

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4) How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?

If a student has switched programs, you will use 150% of normal time to completion for his or her most

recent program for reporting outcomes. The student's "clock" does not reset when a student switches

programs. He or she must have graduated, transferred, or qualified as an exclusion within 150% of normal

time to completion starting from the date he or she first entered the cohort.

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Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

The November 1, 2000 regulations state that "An institution that determines that its mission includes

providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers

out so that a transfer out rate can be calculated. The students to be reported as transfers are those who

have NOT completed a degree, certificate, or transfer preparatory program, so they cannot be counted as

completers. If the institution does not have such a mission, reporting of transfers out is optional.

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2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?

None. All verification requirements were dropped from the November 1, 2000 regulations.

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3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I

still in compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GR if I don’t report transfers out?

(Updated: 1/14/2013)

As long as your institution does not include the substantial preparation of students to enroll in another

eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers out. However,

if your institution does have such a mission, you need to be able to track transfers out and report them.

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Other

1) My institution belongs to the NCAA; do I have to report GR data to IPEDS? Do I also need to report to the Secretary

of Education? (Updated: 1/14/2013)
Completing the IPEDS GR form through the web-based data collection system satisfies all your reporting

requirements to the Secretary of Education. However, the NCAA is now collecting their own data on

graduation rates themselves, separately from IPEDS. You will still need to report data to the NCAA. If you

have any questions, you should contact the NCAA directly.

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2) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my

school. Do I need to try to track these "leavers"?

No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of

students who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.

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3) How do I deal with "3/2" programs? My institution provides the first 3 years of an engineering program and our

students go on to another university for the last 2 years of study to attain their degree. Can we count them as

completers when they get their degree from the second institution?

No, you should NEVER count a student as a completer when they get their degree from another institution.

Your job is done when they leave your school. If the student completed the first 3 years of a 3/2 program

(within 150% of normal time) so that they are now ready to "transfer" in order to complete the remaining 2

years at another institution, then you should count the student as a completer of a "2- but less than 4-year

program." This works the same way as the "transfer-preparatory program" described above.

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4) My institution offers pre-med and pre-vet programs, but formal awards are not given. What happens to these

students?

Assuming these are 2- or 3-year programs, count the students as completers of a "2- but less than 4-year

program" if they complete within 150% of normal time.

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5) My institution offers a PharmD program where a student is accepted into the program after completing a 2 or 3

year program of undergraduate studies. What happens to these students?

Students who complete the undergraduate portion within 150% of normal time should be counted in the

other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Section III) as completers of a "2- but less than 4-year

program". However, do not track their progress any further towards the PharmD, since it is a firstprofessional degree, and thus is not part of the Graduation Rates Survey.

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6) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar

provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

No, there is no such provision.

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8) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

NO! NO! and NO! The GRS provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for calculating

graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that there is

some consistency in the way the rates are calculated. SRK requires disclosure of these rates to students and

prospective students. By completing the GRS, you now have the rates you need to disclose. But you need to

make them available. For schools that offer athletically-related student aid, there are additional disclosure

and reporting requirements. The GRS satisfies the reporting requirements only.

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9) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

The regulations state that beginning with the group of students who enter the institution between September

1, 2000 and August 31, 2001, an institution shall disclose its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out

rate information no later than the July 1 immediately following the point in time that 150% of the normal

time for completion or graduation has elapsed for all of the students in the groups on which the institution

bases its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out rate calculations.

Therefore, at a minimum, you must disclose (July 1) your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31

of the prior year). In addition, institutions for which transfer out is an important part of their mission must

also disclose a transfer-out rate. The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information

as warranted to help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider additional

rates as well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students take

longer to complete. The SRK regulations state that if a category of students within an athletic subcohort

contains 5 or fewer students, institutions need not disclose information on the category of students.

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2012-13 Survey Materials > Narrative Edits date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 4-year institutions

Edit specifications for the 2012-13 IPEDS Web-Based Data Collection

Graduation Rates (GR) Component

Applicable to 4-year institutions

Note: The specifications in this document apply to the institutions listed above. Some sections and parts may not

apply to your particular institution. Please read the specifications carefully to determine which sections and/or parts

apply to your institution.

All screens must be completed in order to lock the survey.

Screening Question

Section I: Establishing Cohorts

Sections II and III: Subcohort Data

Worksheets

Screening Question

You must respond to the following screening question:

• Does your institution use a website to disclose Student-Right-to-Know student athlete graduation rates?

◦ If you select Yes, the URL must be provided.

The above screening question is a critical data item. To lock the survey, this question must be answered completely.

Top

Section I: Establishing Cohorts

Part 1

The screen shown here will depend on whether your institution has a preloaded cohort. Use this screen to enter 2006

Revised cohort or Cohort values, as applicable, for each race/ethnicity and gender category. These values will be used to

represent the Cohort on all subsequent screens.

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• The calculated Total men + women in the Revised cohort (column 01) must be greater than 0.

• If no Initial cohort is preloaded, then the calculated Total men + women in the Revised cohort (column 01)

must be less than or equal to the Unduplicated count of undergraduates reported in the cohort year's 12-month

enrollment survey.

• The Revised cohort must be within a certain range of the Initial cohort, as outlined below:

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 1 and 25 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 50% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 26 and 100 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 30% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 101 and 500 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 20% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is greater than 500 students, then the Total

men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 10% range of that value.

Part 2

On this screen, enter the number of Men and Women who belong to the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking

subcohort (column 02) for each applicable race/ethnicity category.

The system will calculate the Other degree-seeking subcohort (column 03) by subtracting the Bachelor's or equivalent

degree-seeking subcohort (column 02) from the Cohort (column 01) for each row of data.

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort

(column 02) cannot be greater than the Cohort (column 01).

• If your institution reported offering bachelor's degrees in the 2010 Institutional Characteristics survey, then the

Total men + women seeking a Bachelor's or equivalent degree (column 02) is expected to be greater than

0; otherwise, an explanation is required.

• If your institution reported offering award levels other than bachelor's degrees in the Institutional Characteristics

survey, the Total men + women seeking an Other degree (column 03) is expected to be greater than 0;

otherwise, an explanation is required.

• The sum of Total completers within 150% (column 29) from Sections II and III must be greater than 0.

Otherwise, a fatal error will occur to prevent a graduation rate of 0.0% on your institution's College Navigator

page.

• If the sum of Total completers within 150% from Sections II and III is greater than 10, then this value

must be less than the Cohort (column 01) minus the sum of Total Exclusions from Sections II and III (found

on the Transfers/Exclusions screen). Otherwise, a fatal error will occur to prevent a graduation rate of 100%

on your institution's College Navigator page.
• If the prior year Adjusted cohort (from the 4-year-average, part 1 worksheet) is greater than 0; AND the sum of

Total Exclusions from Sections II and III is greater than 0; THEN:

The sum of Total Completers within 150% from Sections II and III * 100

____________________________________________________________________________

The Cohort (column 01) – the sum of Total Exclusions from Sections II and III

Should be within a 20% range of the following:

PY Total Completers within 150% (from the 4-year-average, part 2 worksheet) * 100

______________________________________________________________________________

The PY Adjusted cohort

Top

Section II and Section III: Subcohort Data

Completers 150%

Use Sections II and III to report data on the specified student subcohorts at the institution based on the descriptions below:

• Section II: Report the status of the Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent

degree for Cohort year 2006.

• Section III: Report the status of the Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's or

equivalent degree for Cohort year 2006.

Note: Section III is only applicable if you reported students seeking a degree other than a bachelor's or

equivalent degree on the Establishing Cohorts, Part 2 screen.

The following screens must be completed for Section II and Section III (if applicable to your institution):

Completers within 150%

On this screen, you must report the subcohort of students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to

completion, including: Completers of programs of less-than-2-years (column 11), Completers of programs of at-leasttwo but less-than-four-years (column 12), and Completers of bachelor's or equivalent degrees (column 18) by

race/ethnicity and gender.

For each individual program length (columns 11, 12, and 18), the system will calculate the Total men + women to determine

the grand total number of completers by length of time to completion.

In addition, for each row of data, the system will calculate the sum of columns 11, 12, and 18 to determine the number of

Total completers within 150% (column 29).

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered in Section II:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, Total completers within 150% (column 29) must be less than or

equal to the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (column 10).

• If the calculated Total men + women in the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (column

10) is greater than 25, then the Total men + women for Total completers within 150% (column 29) is

expected to be greater than 0.

The system will perform the following edit on the data entered in Section III:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, the sum of Total completers within 150% (column 29) must be

less than or equal to the Other degree-seeking subcohort (column 10).

• If the calculated Total men + women in the Other degree-seeking subcohort (column 10) is greater than 25,

then the Total men + women for Total completers within 150% (column 29) is expected to be greater

than 0.

Bachelor's completers by length of time to degree

Applicable to Section II ONLY

On this screen, you must report the number of students in the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort who Completed the program in 4

years or less (column 19) and Completed the program in 5 years (column 20) by race/ethnicity and gender. The system will then subtract these

values from the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (column 10) to determine the number of students who Completed the program

in 6 years (column 21).

For each individual program length (columns 19, 20, and 21), the system will calculate the Total men + women to determine the grand total number of

completers by length of time to completion.

In addition, for each row of data, the system will calculate the sum of columns 19, 20, and 21 to determine the total number of students who Completed

a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time (column 18).

The system will perform the following edit on the data entered:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, the number of students who Completed the program in 6

years should be greater than or equal to 0. To correct this value, you must adjust the number of students who

Completed the program in 4 years or less and/or Completed the program in 5 years, so that the sum of

these values is less than or equal to the number of students in the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking

subcohort.

Transfers/Exclusions

Use Sections II and III to report data on the specified student subcohorts at the institution. For these screens, you must report

the number of Total transfer-out students (column 30), Total exclusions (column 45), and the number of students Still

enrolled (column 51) in the subcohort by race/ethnicity and gender for Cohort year 2006.
The system will calculate the Total men + women for each column to determine the grand total number of transfer-out

students and exclusions.

In addition, for each row of data, the sum of columns 30, 45, 51 and Total completers within 150% (column 29) is subtracted

from the subcohort (column 10) to determine the total number of students No longer enrolled (column 52).

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, the total number of students No longer enrolled (column 52) must

be greater than or equal to 0. To correct this value, the sum of Total completers within 150% (column 29),

Total transfer-out students (column 30), Total exclusions (column 45), and Still enrolled (column 51) must

be less or equal to the subcohort (column 10).

• If the number of Total transfer-out students (men + women) (column 30) is greater than 10, then this value is

expected to be less than or equal to 40% of the total number of men and women in the subcohort (column 10).

Note: Transfer-out students should ONLY include students who transferred out to another eligible institution. Do

NOT include all non-completers here.

• If the number of Total exclusions (men + women) (column 45) is greater than 10, then this value is expected to

be less than or equal to 10% of the total number of men and women in the subcohort (column 10).

Note: Exclusions should ONLY include students who died or were permanently disabled; or who left school to join

the military, to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, or to serve on an official church

mission. Do NOT include all non-completers here.

• An explanation must be provided if your institution reported having 0 students No longer enrolled (column 52);

and your institution reported having more than 100 men and women in the subcohort (column 10); and your

institution reported having more than 10 Total transfer-out students (column 30).

Note: Please verify that non-completers were not reported erroneously as transfer-out students (column 30) or

exclusions (column 45).

Top

Worksheets

Additional worksheet screens have been included at the end of the survey. These screens provide your institution with a

summary of the data entered, along with prior year data. This includes: Graduation and transfer-out rates, Graduation and

transfer-out rates by length of time to degree, and 4-year average Graduation rates.

Top
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2012-13 Survey Materials > Form date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 2-year institutions reporting on a fall cohort (academic

reporters)

Screening questions 

Does your institution post the Student-Right-to-Know student athlete graduation rates on a website?

   

No.

   

Yes. Please provide the URL.     http://

Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional

Characteristics Header survey from the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection, your institution must report graduation

rates data using a

Fall Cohort (Fall 2009)

A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A fullyear cohort is used by institutions offering primarily occupational/vocational programs and operating on a

continuous basis.

 You may use the space below to provide context for the data you've reported above. These context notes

will be posted on the College Navigator website, and should be written to be understood by students and

parents.
Graduation Rate - Establishing cohort 

Cohort of Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students

NOTE: Reporting using the new race categories is now mandatory. On this screen you will need to reclassify your 2009

cohort to the new race/ethnicity categories. For information and assistance with this, please visit AIR's Race/Ethnicity

FAQ page.

Screen 1 of 4 Cohort year 2009

Initial cohort Revised cohort

Men

NEW categories:

Notes for NEW categories:

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Hispanic/Latino   

American Indian or Alaska Native   

Asian   

Black or African American   

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander   

White   

Two or more races   

OLD categories:

Black, non-Hispanic   

American Indian/Alaska Native   

Asian/Pacific Islander   

Hispanic   

White, non-Hispanic   

Categories used in BOTH New and Old:

Nonresident alien   

Race and ethnicity unknown   

Total men      

Women

NEW categories:

Notes for NEW categories:

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Hispanic/Latino   

American Indian or Alaska Native   

Asian   

Black or African American   

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander   

White   

Two or more races   

OLD categories:

Black, non-Hispanic   

American Indian/Alaska Native   

Asian/Pacific Islander   

Hispanic   

White, non-Hispanic   

Categories used in BOTH New and Old:

Nonresident alien   
Race and ethnicity unknown   

Total women      

Total men + women      
Graduation Rate - 2-year institutions completers within 150% 

Cohort of Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 2 of 4 Cohort year 2009

Cohort Cohort students who completed their program

within

150% of normal time to completion

Completers of programs

of

<2-yrs

Completers of programs

of

2<4-yrs

Total

completers

within 150%

(Column

10)

(Column 11) (Column 12) (Column 29)

Men

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or Alaska Native   

  

Asian   

  

Black or African American   

  

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity unknown   

  

Total men            

Women

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or Alaska Native   

  

Asian   

  

Black or African American   

  

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity unknown   

  

Total women            

Total men + women            
Graduation Rate - 2-year institutions transfers/exclusions 

•In the columns below, report the status of the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students in cohort in

Column 10, who did not complete a program as of August 31, 2012.

•Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing

substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed their programs,

you should report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students that the school

knows have transferred to another school. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part

of your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

•Report exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:

students who died or became permanently disabled

students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)

students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government

students who left school to serve on an official church mission

•Column 52 - No longer enrolled - will be calculated for you. This includes students who have dropped out as well as

students who completed in greater than 150% of normal time.

•If you do not have any values to enter in either Columns 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on

this screen

Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 3 of 4 Cohort year 2009

Cohort Total

completers

within 150%

Total transfer-out

students

Total

exclusions

Still enrolled No longer

enrolled

(Column

10)

(Column 29) (Column 30) (Column 45) (Column 51) (Column 52)

Men

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African American      

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity unknown      

  

Total men                  

Women

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African American      

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity unknown      

  

Total women                  

Total men + women                  

Total in prior year (men and

women)

 
Graduation Rate - 2-year completers within 100% 

•In the columns below, report the status of the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students reported in the

cohort in Column 10.

•Those who completed their program within 100% of normal time should be reported in either Column 55 or 56,

depending on the length of the program.

Cohort of Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students

Screen 4 of 4 Cohort year 2009

Revised

cohort

Exclusions Cohort students who completed their

program within

100% of normal time to completion

Completers of

programs of

<2-yrs

Completers of

programs of

2<4-yrs

Total completers within 100%

(Column 55 + 56)

(Column 55) (Column 56) (Column 57)

Total men +

women

     

  
Prepared by 

This survey component was prepared by:

   

Keyholder

   

SFA Contact

   

HR Contact

   

Finance Contact

   

Other

Name:

Email:

How long did it take to prepare this survey component? hours minutes

The name of the preparer is being collected so that we can follow up with the appropriate person in the event that there

are questions concerning the data. The Keyholder will be copied on all email correspondence to other preparers.

The time it took to prepare this component is being collected so that we can continue to improve our estimate of the

reporting burden associated with IPEDS. Please include in your estimate the time it took for you to review instructions,

query and search data sources, complete and review the component, and submit the data through the Data Collection

System.

Thank you for your assistance.
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2012-13 Survey Materials > Instructions date: 1/16/2013

GR- 2yr - Full Instructions

Purpose of the Survey

Changes in Reporting

General Instructions

Coverage

Where to Get Help for Reporting

Where the Reported Data Will Appear

Reporting Directions

Worksheets

Purpose of Survey

The purpose of the Graduation Rates component of IPEDS is to track the cohorts of first-time, fulltime degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, as well as their completion status at 100% and

150% of normal time at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions

in complying with the Student Right to Know Act.

General Instructions

Reporting Period Covered

This report requests data on a cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates

enrolled in your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2009 or (2) during the period between September 1,

2009 and August 31, 2010. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2012.

Context Boxes

Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component

items. Note that some context boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search

tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these context boxes for applicability and appropriateness

before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check grammar and spelling of

their entries.

Coverage

Who to Include in the Cohort
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Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution

either during the fall term or during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the

fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term. For institutions that will report

using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all those students who entered the institution between

September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to,

and including, one year in length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Students must be enrolled in courses creditable toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Include students enrolled in courses that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those

enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance learning/home study programs.

Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for

the purpose of student financial aid determination.

A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:

• Becomes a part-time student.

• Transfers to another institution.

• Drops out of the institution.

• Stops out of the institution.

• Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate.

Who to Exclude from the Cohort

DO NOT include students in the cohort who are:

• Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational

program (i.e., nondegree seeking).

• Taking CEUs unless they are also enrolled full time in courses creditable toward a degree or other

formal award.

• Exclusively auditing classes.

• Studying abroad (e.g., at a foreign university) if their enrollment at this institution is only an

administrative record and the fee is only nominal.

• In any branch campus located in a foreign country.

• Part time.

• Transfers into the institution.

Where to Get Help

IPEDS Data Collection Help Desk

Phone: 1-877-225-2568

Email: ipedshelp@rti.org

AIR Website

You can also consult the AIR website that contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced

overview of IPEDS tools and other valuable resources.

IPEDS Resources Page

In addition, the IPEDS Resources Page contains frequently asked questions, a link to the glossary, data tip

sheets, an archive of survey instruments, information on the new race/ethnicity categories and other relevant

information.

Where the Data Will Appear

Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.

At the institution-level, data will appear in the:

• College Navigator Website

• IPEDS Data Center

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:

• IPEDS First Looks

• IPEDS Table Library

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

• The Digest of Education Statistics

• The Condition of Education

Reporting Instructions
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Screening Questions

• Please provide the URL where the Student-Right-to-Know information is disclosed on your

institution's website.

• The method used to establish the cohort reported on this survey has been predetermined

by your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (D1) on the

Institutional Characteristics survey component of the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection,

according to the following rules:

1. Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic

terms (semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of

students. Institutions may use a census date of October 15, 2009, or the end of the

institution's drop-add period, or another official fall reporting date to determine the cohort.

This should be the same reporting date established for your IPEDS Fall Enrollment report.

2. Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic

terms (as defined above) will report using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count

as entering students all those students who entered the institution between September 1,

2009 and August 31, 2010, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to,

and including, one year in length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category

Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category (1997 OMB)

This information is being collected in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Sec. 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational

Education Act. These instructions correspond with the Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting,

and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education, published in the

Federal Register on October 19, 2007.

Method of collection - Institutions must collect race and ethnicity information using a 2-question

format. The first question is whether the respondent is Hispanic/Latino. The second question is

whether the respondent is from one or more races from the following list: American Indian or

Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and

White. Institutions should allow students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity. For

further details on the guidance for collecting data, please see the full Federal Register notice.

Method of reporting aggregate data - Institutions must report aggregate data to the U.S. Department of

Education using the NINE categories below. Racial/ethnic designations are requested only for United States

citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

• Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race

For Non-Hispanic/Latino individuals:

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

• Two or more races

In addition, the following categories may be used:

• Nonresident alien

• Race and ethnicity unknown

Racial/ethnic descriptions - Racial/ethnic designations as used in this survey do not denote scientific

definitions of anthropological origins. The categories are:

• Hispanic or Latino- A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other

Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

• American Indian or Alaska Native- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and

South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal

affiliation or community attachment.

• Asian- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the

Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,

Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

• Black or African American- A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of

Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

• White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North

Africa.

Other descriptive categories
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• 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. NOTE -

Nonresident aliens are to be reported separately, in the boxes provided, rather than included in any of

the seven racial/ethnic categories. Resident aliens and other eligible (for financial aid purposes) noncitizens who are not citizens or nationals of the United States and who have been admitted as legal

immigrants for the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who hold either an alien

registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an ArrivalDeparture 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) are to be reported in

the appropriate racial/ethnic categories along with United States citizens.

• Race and ethnicity unknown - This category is used only if the person did not select EITHER a

racial or ethnic designation.

Establishing Cohorts

Report each student only once.

Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information you reported on line 01 of your 2009

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report will be preloaded in this column. If you did not respond to that survey, or if you

are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.

Revised cohort - Please review the data in the initial cohort column, and re-enter the cohort data

according to the 1997 racial/ethnic categories and gender in this column. Also make any necessary

corrections for omissions or double counting in the revised cohort column. If your data do not appear in the

initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment data as requested in the revised cohort column.

Completers within 150% of Normal Time to Completion

Report each student only once.

Report the status of the students from the 2009 cohort of degree/certificate-seeking students who completed

their program as of 150% of normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2012

(whichever was earlier) by type of program completed. Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students who

transferred into your institution.

Count completers only once and indicate the highest degree level attained.

SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers out and the mission of particular

programs to prepare students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those

students who have successfully completed a transfer-preparatory program.

Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section

668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit

toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree

program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree. Similarly, institutions may

count as completers, those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program

and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program. The student receives full credit toward a

5-year bachelor’s degree and qualifies the student for admission into the fourth year of a 5-year bachelor’s

degree program.

Revised Cohort (Column 10) – These are data are loaded from the "Establishing a Cohort"

section.

Completers within 150% of Normal Time (Column 11, Column 12)

In order to calculate a graduation rate to comply with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions can

count as completers only those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transferpreparatory program) within 150% of normal program time (normal time to completion is the amount of time

necessary to complete all requirements for a program according to your institution's catalog). Do not count as

completers students who receive their degree from another institution.

Note that completers should be reported in terms of type of program completed as defined by award levels.

Program types may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to complete for programs

that are defined in terms of contact or credit hours. For more information of program types, please consult

the IPEDS Glossary.
Completers of less-than 2-year program within 150% (Column 11) - Enter the number of students

who completed programs of less than 2 years within 150% of normal time. This includes certificates of less

than one year (or equivalent) and certificates of at least one year, but less than two years (or equivalent). 

Completers of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years within 150% (Column 12) - Enter the number of

students who completed programs of at least 2 years but less than 4 years within 150% of normal time to

completion of their program. This includes certificates of at least two years but less than four years

(or equivalent) and associate's degrees. 

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous two columns, and is

calculated by the data collection system.

Noncompleters

Report each student only once.

Report the status of the noncompleters from 2009 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking

students as of 150% of the normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2012

(whichever was earlier) . Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students who

transferred into your institution.

Revised Cohort (Column 10) – These are data are loaded from the "Establishing a Cohort" section.

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - These are data are loaded from the "Completers" section.

Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial

preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution, report the total number of students who

transferred out of your institution (without a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion.

Include students who transferred out of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled. If it is not part of your

mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150%

of normal time to completion for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another

institution) because of one of the following documented reasons:

1. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.

2. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called to active duty. (DO NOT include

students already in the military who transfer to another duty station.)

3. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the

Peace Corps.

4. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.

NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted in b, c, or d above, but return prior to

the status date of August 31, 2012, may be subtracted from the cohort during the calculation of graduation

rates.

Still enrolled (Column 51) - Report the number of students who were still enrolled at your institution as

150% of normal time to completion of their program (or August 31, 2012 if 150% of normal time to

completion had not elapsed by that time).

No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column is generated by subtracting from Column 10 the sum

of Columns 29, 30, 45 and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their program after

150% of normal time to completion elapsed.

Completers within 100% of Normal Time to Completion

Report each student only once.

Report the status of the students from the 2009 cohort of degree/certificate-seeking students who completed

their program as of 100% of normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2012

(whichever was earlier) by type of program completed. Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender. Note

that this should be a subset of the students reported as completers within 150% of normal time to

completion.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students who

transferred into your institution.

Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
Revised Cohort (Column 10) – These are data are loaded from the "Establishing a Cohort"

section.

Exclusions - These data are loaded from the "Noncompleters" section.

Completers within 100% of Normal Time (Column 55, Column 56)

Completed a less-than 2-year program within 100% (Column 55) - Enter the number of students who

completed programs of less than 2 years within 100% of normal time. This includes certificates of less than

one year (or equivalent) and certificates of at least one year, but less than two years (or equivalent).

Completed a program of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years within 100% (Column 56) - Indicate

the number of students who completed programs of at least 2 years but less than 4 years within 100% of

normal time to completion of their program. This includes certificates of at least two years but less than four

years (or equivalent) and associate's degrees. 

Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates, and 4-Year Average Rates

Worksheets

Worksheets calculating the Student Right-To-Know completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates for the 2009 student cohort are provided as a

convenience to the institution.

Worksheets calculating the overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates for the student cohort are also provided. Data

previously reported by the institution have been preloaded to use in these calculations.

Note that the information on these worksheets will NOT appear on College Navigator or on any of the IPEDS

data tools.
Glossary date: 1/16/2013

Term Definition

Adjusted cohort The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; for

the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate.

American Indian or

Alaska Native (new

definition)

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central

America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Asian (new definition) A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian

Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the

Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Associate's degree An award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work.

Black or African American

(new definition)

A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

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.

Exclusions Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates and Fall Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they

left the institution for one of the following reasons: death or total and permanent disability; service in

the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid service of the

federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.

First-time student

(undergraduate)

A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any

institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or

occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for

the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

Full-time student Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits , or 12 or more quarter credits,

or 24 or more contact hours a week each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester

credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that

is considered full time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the

institution.

Full-year cohort The group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period September 1 through August

31 that is established for tracking and reporting Graduation Rate (GR) 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.

Graduation rate The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This

rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the

revised adjusted cohort.

Graduation Rates (GR) This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of

the Student Right-to-Know legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the

institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in a particular

year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150

percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part

of the institution's mission. Prior to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid

were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid and whether they completed

within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL

where the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates

worksheets that calculate rates, including average rates over 4 years.

Hispanic or Latino (new

definition)

A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or

origin, regardless of race.

Initial cohort A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component

of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time

degree/certificate-seeking students during either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2)

between September 1st and August 31st of the following year.

Long programs Undergraduate programs that exceed the usual program length for a specific level. This would

include programs of 5 years or longer for 4-year institutions and programs of 3 years or longer for 2-

year institutions.

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander (new

definition)

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific

Islands.

Nonresident alien A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or

temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.

Normal time to

completion

The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate

according to the institution's catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a standard term-based institution; 2

years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree

in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.

Race/ethnicity (new

definition)
Categories developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are used to

describe groups to which individuals belong, identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community.

The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological origins. The designations are

used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as:

• Hispanic or Latino or

• Not Hispanic or Latino

Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

Race/ethnicity unknown The category used to report students or employees whose race and ethnicity are not known.

Revised cohort Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that

incorrect data were reported in an earlier year.

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 calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or degree-seeking, full-time

students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates 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 submit a report to the Secretary

of Education annually. 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. See Graduation Rates for

the current description of data collected.

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 adjusted cohort.

Transfer-out student A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.

Transfer-preparatory

program

A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer

into a higher level program. For example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level

program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of undergraduate study needed

for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for

entrance into health services fields.

White (new definition) A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
2012-13 Survey Materials > F.A.Q. date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 2-year institutions

Click one of the following questions to view the answer.

General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How do I choose

my cohort?

2) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

3) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

4) Do I need to track students every term?

Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GRS?

3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a confirmation of

transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?

6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I count the

student as "first-time"?

8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?

9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?

10) How do I treat new entrants that get credit for life experience?

11) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

12) Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers out?

13) My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates enrolled as of October 15 - the same as on my

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part time next semester, or students

who switch to another program?

14) If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degree/awards (certificate in cosmetology and an AA) within the 3-

year period, can I count both completions?

Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I report a student who has switched programs?

2) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

3) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the 3rd year, but

what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?

4) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?

3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I still in

compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GRS if I don’t report transfers out?

Other

1) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my school. Do I need

to try to track these "leavers"?

2) What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?

3) My school enrolls students on a monthly basis so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9 months, how do I

calculate 150% of normal time and which cohort do I use?

4) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar provision for

excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

5) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

6) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

Answers:

General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How

do I choose my cohort?

If most programs operate on a term basis (semester, quarter or trimester), you must use a fall cohort;

otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort method you must use has been pre-determined by

your answer to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey.

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2) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

Student Right-to-Know legislation states that reporting is mandatory for institutions that did enroll full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the cohort year. If you did not enroll this

type of student or your institution was not in operation during the cohort year, please report this information

on the Institutional Characteristics survey.

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3) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means to change the

cohort by taking into consideration better information that has become available since you first reported your

cohort on the Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on

the cohort). You can revise a fall cohort by entering new data in the Revised Cohort column on the data

collection screen. Adjusting a cohort means to subtract the Exclusions from the Revised Cohort to establish

a denominator for rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts will be adjusted for you on the worksheet

screens when graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated.

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4) Do I need to track students every term?

No, you can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry and then, at the end of 150% of normal

time for the longest program, look back to see what happened to those in the cohort. You will need to know

when they completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track from term-to-term.

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Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student attending any institution for the first time

at the level enrolled." By this we mean at the undergraduate level, graduate level, or first-professional level.

Since the GRS is only interested in undergraduates, it means that the student is first time in postsecondary

education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary institution). There are two

exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution the summer prior to entering your institution in the fall

term are to be counted as "first-time," as are (2) students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

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2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GRS?

Yes. You need to report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions on disclosure for

further information.

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3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a

confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

You should report the student as a transfer-out.

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4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

The IPEDS GRS does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED

IN ANY COHORT.

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5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?

These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to

a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award and if they are not eligible for Title IV Federal financial

aid.

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6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking on your

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. If they are degree/certificate-seeking for purposes of qualifying for student

financial aid, then they must be included in the cohort.

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7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I

count the student as "first-time"?

No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a

postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they enter with no credit.

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8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
Neither should be included in your cohort.

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9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?

Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they are not

to be included in your cohort according to the SRK regulations. Be sure to carefully read the definition of

degree-seeking in the Glossary.

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10) How do I treat new entrants that get credit for life experience?

If the student has never enrolled in a postsecondary institution, they are to be counted as "first-time."

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11) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

Since these students must have been enrolled in an institution in order to obtain credit through

correspondence or distance learning, they are not "first-time."

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12) Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers out?

No. Keep the students in your cohort since they return in the fall and continue their programs of study.

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13) My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates enrolled as of October 15 - the

same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part

time next semester, or students who switch to another program?

It looks like your cohort is defined correctly. Remember YOUR COHORT NEVER CHANGES. Students who stop

out or drop out do not change the cohort number. They remain in the count; if they complete within 150%

please report them as such. Students who switch to part time or to another program are not given extra

time to complete, nor are they removed from the cohort. Report their status as requested.

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14) If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degree/awards (certificate in cosmetology and an AA)

within the 3-year period, can I count both completions?

No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your

decision as to which one you prefer to report.

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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I report a student who has switched programs?

If a student has switched programs, you will use 150% of normal time to completion for his or her most

recent program for reporting outcomes. The student's "clock" does not reset when a student switches

programs. He or she must have graduated, transferred, or qualified as an exclusion within 150% of normal

time to completion starting from the date he or she first entered the cohort.

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2) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion." IPEDS has adopted the definition

developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time.

Normal time is defined as "the time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or

certificate according to an institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree, 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6

quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate’s degree, and the scheduled times for certificate

programs." Let’s look at some examples:

Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs - 8 semesters – usually fall and spring.

Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would take 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the

sixth year.

Similarly, an associate’s degree that is advertised as a 2-year program - 6 quarters (fall, winter, spring, with

no scheduled summer quarter), would extend to (1.5 x 6) or 9 quarters through the end of the spring

quarter of the third year.

However, the Technical Amendments that redefine the cohort year allow you to count completers through

August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third year for 2-year

programs).
Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as

taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the

student completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.

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3) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the

3rd year, but what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot

count them as completers?

Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree

upon completion (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted on the student’s record), and just

allow the student to "pick it up" at the December ceremony, then you should be able to count the student in

your completions.

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4) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time is applied to the start date and is the

same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term or two and still complete within

150% of normal time.

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Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

The November 1, 2000 regulations state that "An institution that determines that its mission includes

providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers

out so that a transfer out rate can be calculated. The students to be reported as transfers are those who

have NOT completed a degree, certificate, or transfer preparatory program, so they cannot be counted as

completers. If the institution does not have such a mission, reporting of transfers out is optional.

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2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?

None. All verification requirements were dropped from the November 1, 2000 regulations.

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3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I

still in compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GRS if I don’t report transfers out?

As long as your institution does not include the substantial preparation of students to enroll in another

eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers out. However,

if your institution does have such a mission, you need to be able to track transfers out and report them.

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Other

1) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my

school. Do I need to try to track these "leavers"?

No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of

students who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.

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2) What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?

This term is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the

successful completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s

degree and qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The

Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree, thus completers of transfer-preparatory

programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") are to be counted as completers.

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3) My school enrolls students on a monthly basis so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9

months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time and which cohort do I use?

Let’s look at this one step at a time. First, schools with programs of less than 4 years are to report on a 2008

cohort; therefore, you should look at those students who entered your institution between September 1,

2008 and August 31, 2009. Next, assuming the latest possible enrollment date would be August 31, 2009,

150% of 9 months following this date would extend to October 15, 2010 (13 1 /2 months later). In order to

complete the IPEDS GR, the first status date following this is August 31, 2011 and the report is due in the

Spring 2012 data collection, so you are on track for reporting on this cohort.

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4) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar

provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

No, there is no such provision.

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5) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

NO! NO! and NO! The GRS provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for calculating

graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that there is

some consistency in the way the rates are calculated. SRK requires disclosure of these rates to students and

prospective students. By completing the GRS, you now have the rates you need to disclose. But you need to

make them available. For schools that offer athletically-related student aid, there are additional disclosure

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6) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

The regulations state that beginning with the group of students who enter the institution between September

1, 1999 and August 31, 2000, an institution shall disclose its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out

rate information no later than the July 1 immediately following the point in time that 150% of the normal

time for completion or graduation has elapsed for all of the students in the groups on which the institution

bases its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out rate calculations.

Therefore, at a minimum, you must disclose (July 1) your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31

of the prior year). In addition, institutions for which transfer out is an important part of their mission must

also disclose a transfer-out rate. The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information

as warranted to help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider additional

rates as well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students take

longer to complete. The SRK regulations state that if a category of students within an athletic subcohort

contains 5 or fewer students, institutions need not disclose information on the category of students.

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2012-13 Survey Materials > Narrative Edits date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 2-year institutions

Edit specifications for the 2012-13 IPEDS Web-Based Data Collection

Graduation Rates (GR) Component

Applicable to 2-year institutions

Note: The specifications in this document apply to the institutions listed above. Some sections and parts may not

apply to your particular institution. Please read the specifications carefully to determine which sections and/or parts

apply to your institution.

All screens must be completed in order to lock the survey.

Screening Question

Section III: Cohort Data

Worksheets

Screening Question

You must respond to the following screening questions:

• Does your institution use a website to disclose Student-Right-to-Know student athlete graduation rates?

◦ If you select Yes, the URL must be provided.

The above screening question is a critical data item. To lock the survey, this question must be answered completely.

Top

Section III: Establishing Cohorts

The screen shown here will depend on whether your institution has a preloaded cohort. Use this screen to enter 2009

Revised cohort or Cohort values, as applicable, for each race/ethnicity and gender category. These values will be used to

represent the Cohort on all subsequent screens.

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• The calculated Total men + women in the Revised cohort (column 01) must be greater than 0.

• If no Initial cohort is preloaded, then the calculated Total men + women in the Revised cohort (column 01)

must be less than or equal to the Unduplicated count of undergraduates reported in the cohort year's 12-month

enrollment survey.

• The Revised cohort must be within a certain range of the Initial cohort, as outlined below:

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 1 and 25 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 50% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 26 and 100 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 30% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 101 and 500 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 20% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is greater than 500 students, then the Total

men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 10% range of that value.

• If the prior year Adjusted cohort (from the 4-year-average, part 1 worksheet) is greater than 0; AND the

number of Total Exclusions is greater than 0; THEN:

Total Completers within 150% * 100

____________________________________________________________________________

The cohort (column 10) – the number of Total Exclusions

Should be within a 20% range of the following:

PY Total Completers within 150% (from the 4-year-average, part 2 worksheet) * 100

______________________________________________________________________________

The PY Adjusted cohort

Section III: Cohort Data

Use Section III to report the status of the Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate seeking students for Cohort year

2009. The following screens must be completed:

Completers within 150%

On this screen, you must report the cohort of students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to

completion, including: Completers of programs of less-than-2-years (column 11) and Completers of programs of at-least

-two but less-than-four years (column 12) by race/ethnicity and gender.

For each individual program length (columns 11 and 12), the system will calculate the Total men + women to determine the

grand total number of completers by length of time to completion.
In addition, for each row of data, the system will calculate the sum of columns 11 and 12 to determine the number of Total

completers within 150% (column 29).

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• The number of Total completers within 150% (column 29) must be greater than 0. Otherwise, a fatal error will

occur to prevent a graduation rate of 0.0% on your institution's College Navigator page.

• If the number of Total Completers within 150% is greater than 10; THEN, this value must be less than:

The cohort (column 10) – the number of Total Exclusions (from the Transfers/Exclusions screen)

Otherwise, a fatal error will occur to prevent a graduation rate of 100% on your institution's College Navigator

page.

Transfers/Exclusions

On this screen, you must report the number of Total transfer-out students (column 30) and Total exclusions (column 45)

from the cohort by race/ethnicity and gender for Cohort year 2009.

The system will calculate the Total men + women for each column to determine the grand total number of transfer-out

students and exclusions.

In addition, for each row of data, the sum of columns 30, 45, 51 (Still enrolled) and 29 (Total completers within 150%) is

subtracted from the cohort (column 10) to determine the total number of students No longer enrolled (column 52).

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, the calculated total number of students No longer enrolled (column

52) must be greater than or equal to 0. To correct this value, the sum of Total completers within 150%

(column 29), Total transfer-out students (column 30), Total exclusions (column 45), and Still enrolled

(column 51) must be less than or equal to the cohort (column 10).

• If the number of Total exclusions (men + women) (column 45) is greater than 10, then this value is expected to

be less than or equal to 10% of the total number of men and women in the cohort (column 10).

Note: Exclusions should ONLY include students who died or were permanently disabled; or who left school to join

the military, to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, or to serve on an official church

mission. Do NOT include all non-completers in this column.

• If the number of Total Transfer-out students (column 30) is greater than 50; AND, the Total in prior year

(men and women) value is greater than 0 for both Total transfer-out students and the cohort (column 10);

THEN, the number of Total Transfer-out students in the current year must be within a 25% range of the

following:

The cohort (column 10) * the PY number of Total transfer-out students

____________________________________________________________________________

The PY cohort

• An explanation must be provided if your institution reported having 0 students No longer enrolled (column 52);

and your institution reported having more than 100 men and women in the cohort (column 10); and your

institution reported having more than 10 Total transfer-out students (column 30).

Note: Please verify that non-completers were not reported erroneously as transfer-out students (column 30) or

exclusions (column 45).

Completers within 100%

On this screen, you must report the cohort of students who completed their program within 100% of normal time to

completion, including: Completers of programs of less-than-2-years (column 55) and Completers of programs of at-least

-two but less-than-four years (column 56). The system will calculate the sum of columns 55 and 56 to determine the number

of Total completers within 100% (column 57).

The system will perform the following edit on the data entered:

• The number of Total completers within 100% (column 57) should be less than or equal to the previously

reported Total completers within 150% (from the Completers within 150% screen).

Top

Worksheets

Additional worksheet screens have been included at the end of the survey. These screens provide your institution with a

summary of the data entered, along with prior year data. This includes: Graduation and transfer-out rates, Graduation and

transfer-out rates by length of time to degree, and 4-year average Graduation rates..

Top
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2012-13 Survey Materials > Form date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 2-year institutions reporting on a full-year cohort (program

reporters)

Screening questions 

Does your institution post the Student-Right-to-Know student athlete graduation rates on a website?

   

No.

   

Yes. Please provide the URL.     http://

Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional

Characteristics Header survey from the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection, your institution must report graduation

rates data using a

Full-Year Cohort (September 1, 2009 - August 31, 2010)

A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A fullyear cohort is used by institutions offering primarily occupational/vocational programs and operating on a

continuous basis.

 You may use the space below to provide context for the data you've reported above. These context notes

will be posted on the College Navigator website, and should be written to be understood by students and

parents.
Graduation Rate - Establishing cohort 

Cohort of Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

NOTE: Reporting using the new race categories is now mandatory. On this screen you will need to establish your 2009

cohort using the new race/ethnicity categories. For information and assistance with this, please visit AIR's

Race/Ethnicity FAQ page.

Screen 1 of 4 Cohort year 2009

Cohort

(Column 01)

Men

Nonresident alien

Hispanic/Latino

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more races

Race and ethnicity unknown

Total men   

Women

Nonresident alien

Hispanic/Latino

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more races

Race and ethnicity unknown

Total women   

Total men + women   
Graduation Rate - 2-year institutions completers within 150% 

Cohort of Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 2 of 4 Cohort year 2009

Cohort Cohort students who completed their program within

150% of normal time to completion

Completers of programs

of

<2-yrs

Completers of programs

of

2<4-yrs

Total

completers

within 150%

(Column

10)

(Column 11) (Column 12) (Column 29)

Men

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or Alaska Native   

  

Asian   

  

Black or African American   

  

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity unknown   

  

Total men            

Women

Nonresident alien   

  

Hispanic/Latino   

  

American Indian or Alaska Native   

  

Asian   

  

Black or African American   

  

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific

Islander

  

  

White   

  

Two or more races   

  

Race and ethnicity unknown   

  

Total women            

Total men + women            
Graduation Rate - 2-year institutions transfers/exclusions 

•In the columns below, report the status of the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students in cohort in

Column 10, who did not complete a program as of August 31, 2012.

•Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing

substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed their programs,

you should report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students that the school

knows have transferred to another school. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part

of your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

•Report exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:

students who died or became permanently disabled

students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)

students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government

students who left school to serve on an official church mission

•Column 52 - No longer enrolled - will be calculated for you. This includes students who have dropped out as well as

students who completed in greater than 150% of normal time.

•If you do not have any values to enter in either Columns 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on

this screen

Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students

•Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino

•Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only

Screen 3 of 4 Cohort year 2009

Cohort Total

completers

within 150%

Total transfer-out

students

Total

exclusions

Still enrolled No longer

enrolled

(Column

10)

(Column 29) (Column 30) (Column 45) (Column 51) (Column 52)

Men

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African American      

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity unknown      

  

Total men                  

Women

Nonresident alien      

  

Hispanic/Latino      

  

American Indian or Alaska

Native

     

  

Asian      

  

Black or African American      

  

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander

     

  

White      

  

Two or more races      

  

Race and ethnicity unknown      

  

Total women                  

Total men + women                  

Total in prior year (men and

women)

 
Graduation Rate - 2-year completers within 100% 

•In the columns below, report the status of the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students reported in the

cohort in Column 10.

•Those who completed their program within 100% of normal time should be reported in either Column 55 or 56,

depending on the length of the program.

Cohort of Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students

Screen 4 of 4 Cohort year 2009

Revised

cohort

Exclusions Cohort students who completed their

program within

100% of normal time to completion

Completers of

programs of

<2-yrs

Completers of

programs of

2<4-yrs

Total completers within 100%

(Column 55 + 56)

(Column 55) (Column 56) (Column 57)

Total men +

women

     

  
Prepared by 

This survey component was prepared by:

   

Keyholder

   

SFA Contact

   

HR Contact

   

Finance Contact

   

Other

Name:

Email:

How long did it take to prepare this survey component? hours minutes

The name of the preparer is being collected so that we can follow up with the appropriate person in the event that there

are questions concerning the data. The Keyholder will be copied on all email correspondence to other preparers.

The time it took to prepare this component is being collected so that we can continue to improve our estimate of the

reporting burden associated with IPEDS. Please include in your estimate the time it took for you to review instructions,

query and search data sources, complete and review the component, and submit the data through the Data Collection

System.

Thank you for your assistance.
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2012-13 Survey Materials > Instructions date: 1/16/2013

GR- 2yr - Full Instructions

Purpose of the Survey

Changes in Reporting

General Instructions

Coverage

Where to Get Help for Reporting

Where the Reported Data Will Appear

Reporting Directions

Worksheets

Purpose of Survey

The purpose of the Graduation Rates component of IPEDS is to track the cohorts of first-time, fulltime degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, as well as their completion status at 100% and

150% of normal time at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions

in complying with the Student Right to Know Act.

General Instructions

Reporting Period Covered

This report requests data on a cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates

enrolled in your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2009 or (2) during the period between September 1,

2009 and August 31, 2010. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2012.

Context Boxes

Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component

items. Note that some context boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search

tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these context boxes for applicability and appropriateness

before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check grammar and spelling of

their entries.

Coverage

Who to Include in the Cohort
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Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution

either during the fall term or during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the

fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term. For institutions that will report

using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all those students who entered the institution between

September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to,

and including, one year in length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Students must be enrolled in courses creditable toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Include students enrolled in courses that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those

enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance learning/home study programs.

Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for

the purpose of student financial aid determination.

A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:

• Becomes a part-time student.

• Transfers to another institution.

• Drops out of the institution.

• Stops out of the institution.

• Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate.

Who to Exclude from the Cohort

DO NOT include students in the cohort who are:

• Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational

program (i.e., nondegree seeking).

• Taking CEUs unless they are also enrolled full time in courses creditable toward a degree or other

formal award.

• Exclusively auditing classes.

• Studying abroad (e.g., at a foreign university) if their enrollment at this institution is only an

administrative record and the fee is only nominal.

• In any branch campus located in a foreign country.

• Part time.

• Transfers into the institution.

Where to Get Help

IPEDS Data Collection Help Desk

Phone: 1-877-225-2568

Email: ipedshelp@rti.org

AIR Website

You can also consult the AIR website that contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced

overview of IPEDS tools and other valuable resources.

IPEDS Resources Page

In addition, the IPEDS Resources Page contains frequently asked questions, a link to the glossary, data tip

sheets, an archive of survey instruments, information on the new race/ethnicity categories and other relevant

information.

Where the Data Will Appear

Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.

At the institution-level, data will appear in the:

• College Navigator Website

• IPEDS Data Center

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:

• IPEDS First Looks

• IPEDS Table Library

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

• The Digest of Education Statistics

• The Condition of Education

Reporting Instructions
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Screening Questions

• Please provide the URL where the Student-Right-to-Know information is disclosed on your

institution's website.

• The method used to establish the cohort reported on this survey has been predetermined

by your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (D1) on the

Institutional Characteristics survey component of the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection,

according to the following rules:

1. Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic

terms (semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of

students. Institutions may use a census date of October 15, 2009, or the end of the

institution's drop-add period, or another official fall reporting date to determine the cohort.

This should be the same reporting date established for your IPEDS Fall Enrollment report.

2. Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic

terms (as defined above) will report using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count

as entering students all those students who entered the institution between September 1,

2009 and August 31, 2010, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to,

and including, one year in length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category

Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category (1997 OMB)

This information is being collected in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Sec. 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational

Education Act. These instructions correspond with the Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting,

and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education, published in the

Federal Register on October 19, 2007.

Method of collection - Institutions must collect race and ethnicity information using a 2-question

format. The first question is whether the respondent is Hispanic/Latino. The second question is

whether the respondent is from one or more races from the following list: American Indian or

Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and

White. Institutions should allow students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity. For

further details on the guidance for collecting data, please see the full Federal Register notice.

Method of reporting aggregate data - Institutions must report aggregate data to the U.S. Department of

Education using the NINE categories below. Racial/ethnic designations are requested only for United States

citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

• Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race

For Non-Hispanic/Latino individuals:

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

• Two or more races

In addition, the following categories may be used:

• Nonresident alien

• Race and ethnicity unknown

Racial/ethnic descriptions - Racial/ethnic designations as used in this survey do not denote scientific

definitions of anthropological origins. The categories are:

• Hispanic or Latino- A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other

Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

• American Indian or Alaska Native- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and

South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal

affiliation or community attachment.

• Asian- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the

Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,

Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

• Black or African American- A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of

Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

• White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North

Africa.

Other descriptive categories
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• 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. NOTE -

Nonresident aliens are to be reported separately, in the boxes provided, rather than included in any of

the seven racial/ethnic categories. Resident aliens and other eligible (for financial aid purposes) noncitizens who are not citizens or nationals of the United States and who have been admitted as legal

immigrants for the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who hold either an alien

registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an ArrivalDeparture 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) are to be reported in

the appropriate racial/ethnic categories along with United States citizens.

• Race and ethnicity unknown - This category is used only if the person did not select EITHER a

racial or ethnic designation.

Establishing Cohorts

Report each student only once.

Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information you reported on line 01 of your 2009

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report will be preloaded in this column. If you did not respond to that survey, or if you

are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.

Revised cohort - Please review the data in the initial cohort column, and re-enter the cohort data

according to the 1997 racial/ethnic categories and gender in this column. Also make any necessary

corrections for omissions or double counting in the revised cohort column. If your data do not appear in the

initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment data as requested in the revised cohort column.

Completers within 150% of Normal Time to Completion

Report each student only once.

Report the status of the students from the 2009 cohort of degree/certificate-seeking students who completed

their program as of 150% of normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2012

(whichever was earlier) by type of program completed. Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students who

transferred into your institution.

Count completers only once and indicate the highest degree level attained.

SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers out and the mission of particular

programs to prepare students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those

students who have successfully completed a transfer-preparatory program.

Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section

668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit

toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree

program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree. Similarly, institutions may

count as completers, those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program

and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program. The student receives full credit toward a

5-year bachelor’s degree and qualifies the student for admission into the fourth year of a 5-year bachelor’s

degree program.

Revised Cohort (Column 10) – These are data are loaded from the "Establishing a Cohort"

section.

Completers within 150% of Normal Time (Column 11, Column 12)

In order to calculate a graduation rate to comply with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions can

count as completers only those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transferpreparatory program) within 150% of normal program time (normal time to completion is the amount of time

necessary to complete all requirements for a program according to your institution's catalog). Do not count as

completers students who receive their degree from another institution.

Note that completers should be reported in terms of type of program completed as defined by award levels.

Program types may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to complete for programs

that are defined in terms of contact or credit hours. For more information of program types, please consult

the IPEDS Glossary.
Completers of less-than 2-year program within 150% (Column 11) - Enter the number of students

who completed programs of less than 2 years within 150% of normal time. This includes certificates of less

than one year (or equivalent) and certificates of at least one year, but less than two years (or equivalent). 

Completers of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years within 150% (Column 12) - Enter the number of

students who completed programs of at least 2 years but less than 4 years within 150% of normal time to

completion of their program. This includes certificates of at least two years but less than four years

(or equivalent) and associate's degrees. 

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous two columns, and is

calculated by the data collection system.

Noncompleters

Report each student only once.

Report the status of the noncompleters from 2009 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking

students as of 150% of the normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2012

(whichever was earlier) . Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students who

transferred into your institution.

Revised Cohort (Column 10) – These are data are loaded from the "Establishing a Cohort" section.

Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - These are data are loaded from the "Completers" section.

Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial

preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution, report the total number of students who

transferred out of your institution (without a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion.

Include students who transferred out of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled. If it is not part of your

mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150%

of normal time to completion for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another

institution) because of one of the following documented reasons:

1. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.

2. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called to active duty. (DO NOT include

students already in the military who transfer to another duty station.)

3. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the

Peace Corps.

4. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.

NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted in b, c, or d above, but return prior to

the status date of August 31, 2012, may be subtracted from the cohort during the calculation of graduation

rates.

Still enrolled (Column 51) - Report the number of students who were still enrolled at your institution as

150% of normal time to completion of their program (or August 31, 2012 if 150% of normal time to

completion had not elapsed by that time).

No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column is generated by subtracting from Column 10 the sum

of Columns 29, 30, 45 and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their program after

150% of normal time to completion elapsed.

Completers within 100% of Normal Time to Completion

Report each student only once.

Report the status of the students from the 2009 cohort of degree/certificate-seeking students who completed

their program as of 100% of normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2012

(whichever was earlier) by type of program completed. Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender. Note

that this should be a subset of the students reported as completers within 150% of normal time to

completion.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students who

transferred into your institution.

Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
Revised Cohort (Column 10) – These are data are loaded from the "Establishing a Cohort"

section.

Exclusions - These data are loaded from the "Noncompleters" section.

Completers within 100% of Normal Time (Column 55, Column 56)

Completed a less-than 2-year program within 100% (Column 55) - Enter the number of students who

completed programs of less than 2 years within 100% of normal time. This includes certificates of less than

one year (or equivalent) and certificates of at least one year, but less than two years (or equivalent).

Completed a program of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years within 100% (Column 56) - Indicate

the number of students who completed programs of at least 2 years but less than 4 years within 100% of

normal time to completion of their program. This includes certificates of at least two years but less than four

years (or equivalent) and associate's degrees. 

Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates, and 4-Year Average Rates

Worksheets

Worksheets calculating the Student Right-To-Know completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates for the 2009 student cohort are provided as a

convenience to the institution.

Worksheets calculating the overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates for the student cohort are also provided. Data

previously reported by the institution have been preloaded to use in these calculations.

Note that the information on these worksheets will NOT appear on College Navigator or on any of the IPEDS

data tools.
Glossary date: 1/16/2013

Term Definition

Adjusted cohort The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; for

the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate.

American Indian or

Alaska Native (new

definition)

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central

America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Asian (new definition) A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian

Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the

Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Associate's degree An award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work.

Black or African American

(new definition)

A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

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.

Exclusions Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates and Fall Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they

left the institution for one of the following reasons: death or total and permanent disability; service in

the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid service of the

federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.

First-time student

(undergraduate)

A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any

institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or

occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for

the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

Full-time student Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits , or 12 or more quarter credits,

or 24 or more contact hours a week each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester

credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that

is considered full time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the

institution.

Full-year cohort The group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period September 1 through August

31 that is established for tracking and reporting Graduation Rate (GR) 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.

Graduation rate The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This

rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the

revised adjusted cohort.

Graduation Rates (GR) This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of

the Student Right-to-Know legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the

institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in a particular

year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150

percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part

of the institution's mission. Prior to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid

were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid and whether they completed

within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL

where the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates

worksheets that calculate rates, including average rates over 4 years.

Hispanic or Latino (new

definition)

A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or

origin, regardless of race.

Initial cohort A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component

of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time

degree/certificate-seeking students during either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2)

between September 1st and August 31st of the following year.

Long programs Undergraduate programs that exceed the usual program length for a specific level. This would

include programs of 5 years or longer for 4-year institutions and programs of 3 years or longer for 2-

year institutions.

Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander (new

definition)

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific

Islands.

Nonresident alien A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or

temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.

Normal time to

completion

The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate

according to the institution's catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a standard term-based institution; 2

years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree

in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.

Race/ethnicity (new

definition)
Categories developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are used to

describe groups to which individuals belong, identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community.

The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological origins. The designations are

used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as:

• Hispanic or Latino or

• Not Hispanic or Latino

Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

Race/ethnicity unknown The category used to report students or employees whose race and ethnicity are not known.

Revised cohort Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that

incorrect data were reported in an earlier year.

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 calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or degree-seeking, full-time

students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates 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 submit a report to the Secretary

of Education annually. 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. See Graduation Rates for

the current description of data collected.

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 adjusted cohort.

Transfer-out student A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.

Transfer-preparatory

program

A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer

into a higher level program. For example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level

program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of undergraduate study needed

for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for

entrance into health services fields.

White (new definition) A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
2012-13 Survey Materials > F.A.Q. date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 2-year institutions

Click one of the following questions to view the answer.

General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How do I choose

my cohort?

2) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

3) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

4) Do I need to track students every term?

Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GRS?

3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a confirmation of

transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?

6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I count the

student as "first-time"?

8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?

9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?

10) How do I treat new entrants that get credit for life experience?

11) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

12) Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers out?

13) My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates enrolled as of October 15 - the same as on my

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part time next semester, or students

who switch to another program?

14) If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degree/awards (certificate in cosmetology and an AA) within the 3-

year period, can I count both completions?

Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I report a student who has switched programs?

2) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

3) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the 3rd year, but

what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?

4) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?

3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I still in

compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GRS if I don’t report transfers out?

Other

1) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my school. Do I need

to try to track these "leavers"?

2) What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?

3) My school enrolls students on a monthly basis so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9 months, how do I

calculate 150% of normal time and which cohort do I use?

4) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar provision for

excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

5) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

6) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

Answers:

General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How

do I choose my cohort?

If most programs operate on a term basis (semester, quarter or trimester), you must use a fall cohort;

otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort method you must use has been pre-determined by

your answer to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey.

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2) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

Student Right-to-Know legislation states that reporting is mandatory for institutions that did enroll full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the cohort year. If you did not enroll this

type of student or your institution was not in operation during the cohort year, please report this information

on the Institutional Characteristics survey.

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3) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means to change the

cohort by taking into consideration better information that has become available since you first reported your

cohort on the Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on

the cohort). You can revise a fall cohort by entering new data in the Revised Cohort column on the data

collection screen. Adjusting a cohort means to subtract the Exclusions from the Revised Cohort to establish

a denominator for rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts will be adjusted for you on the worksheet

screens when graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated.

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4) Do I need to track students every term?

No, you can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry and then, at the end of 150% of normal

time for the longest program, look back to see what happened to those in the cohort. You will need to know

when they completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track from term-to-term.

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Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student attending any institution for the first time

at the level enrolled." By this we mean at the undergraduate level, graduate level, or first-professional level.

Since the GRS is only interested in undergraduates, it means that the student is first time in postsecondary

education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary institution). There are two

exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution the summer prior to entering your institution in the fall

term are to be counted as "first-time," as are (2) students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

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2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GRS?

Yes. You need to report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions on disclosure for

further information.

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3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a

confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

You should report the student as a transfer-out.

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4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

The IPEDS GRS does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED

IN ANY COHORT.

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5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?

These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to

a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award and if they are not eligible for Title IV Federal financial

aid.

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6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking on your

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. If they are degree/certificate-seeking for purposes of qualifying for student

financial aid, then they must be included in the cohort.

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7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I

count the student as "first-time"?

No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a

postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they enter with no credit.

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8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
Neither should be included in your cohort.

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9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?

Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they are not

to be included in your cohort according to the SRK regulations. Be sure to carefully read the definition of

degree-seeking in the Glossary.

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10) How do I treat new entrants that get credit for life experience?

If the student has never enrolled in a postsecondary institution, they are to be counted as "first-time."

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11) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

Since these students must have been enrolled in an institution in order to obtain credit through

correspondence or distance learning, they are not "first-time."

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12) Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers out?

No. Keep the students in your cohort since they return in the fall and continue their programs of study.

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13) My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree-seeking undergraduates enrolled as of October 15 - the

same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part

time next semester, or students who switch to another program?

It looks like your cohort is defined correctly. Remember YOUR COHORT NEVER CHANGES. Students who stop

out or drop out do not change the cohort number. They remain in the count; if they complete within 150%

please report them as such. Students who switch to part time or to another program are not given extra

time to complete, nor are they removed from the cohort. Report their status as requested.

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14) If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degree/awards (certificate in cosmetology and an AA)

within the 3-year period, can I count both completions?

No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your

decision as to which one you prefer to report.

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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I report a student who has switched programs?

If a student has switched programs, you will use 150% of normal time to completion for his or her most

recent program for reporting outcomes. The student's "clock" does not reset when a student switches

programs. He or she must have graduated, transferred, or qualified as an exclusion within 150% of normal

time to completion starting from the date he or she first entered the cohort.

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2) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion." IPEDS has adopted the definition

developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time.

Normal time is defined as "the time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or

certificate according to an institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree, 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6

quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate’s degree, and the scheduled times for certificate

programs." Let’s look at some examples:

Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs - 8 semesters – usually fall and spring.

Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would take 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the

sixth year.

Similarly, an associate’s degree that is advertised as a 2-year program - 6 quarters (fall, winter, spring, with

no scheduled summer quarter), would extend to (1.5 x 6) or 9 quarters through the end of the spring

quarter of the third year.

However, the Technical Amendments that redefine the cohort year allow you to count completers through

August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third year for 2-year

programs).
Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as

taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the

student completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.

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3) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the

3rd year, but what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot

count them as completers?

Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree

upon completion (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted on the student’s record), and just

allow the student to "pick it up" at the December ceremony, then you should be able to count the student in

your completions.

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4) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time is applied to the start date and is the

same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term or two and still complete within

150% of normal time.

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Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

The November 1, 2000 regulations state that "An institution that determines that its mission includes

providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers

out so that a transfer out rate can be calculated. The students to be reported as transfers are those who

have NOT completed a degree, certificate, or transfer preparatory program, so they cannot be counted as

completers. If the institution does not have such a mission, reporting of transfers out is optional.

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2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?

None. All verification requirements were dropped from the November 1, 2000 regulations.

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3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I

still in compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GRS if I don’t report transfers out?

As long as your institution does not include the substantial preparation of students to enroll in another

eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers out. However,

if your institution does have such a mission, you need to be able to track transfers out and report them.

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Other

1) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my

school. Do I need to try to track these "leavers"?

No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of

students who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.

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2) What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?

This term is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the

successful completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s

degree and qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The

Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree, thus completers of transfer-preparatory

programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") are to be counted as completers.

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3) My school enrolls students on a monthly basis so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9

months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time and which cohort do I use?

Let’s look at this one step at a time. First, schools with programs of less than 4 years are to report on a 2008

cohort; therefore, you should look at those students who entered your institution between September 1,

2008 and August 31, 2009. Next, assuming the latest possible enrollment date would be August 31, 2009,

150% of 9 months following this date would extend to October 15, 2010 (13 1 /2 months later). In order to

complete the IPEDS GR, the first status date following this is August 31, 2011 and the report is due in the

Spring 2012 data collection, so you are on track for reporting on this cohort.

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4) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar

provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

No, there is no such provision.

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5) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

NO! NO! and NO! The GRS provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for calculating

graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that there is

some consistency in the way the rates are calculated. SRK requires disclosure of these rates to students and

prospective students. By completing the GRS, you now have the rates you need to disclose. But you need to

make them available. For schools that offer athletically-related student aid, there are additional disclosure

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6) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

The regulations state that beginning with the group of students who enter the institution between September

1, 1999 and August 31, 2000, an institution shall disclose its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out

rate information no later than the July 1 immediately following the point in time that 150% of the normal

time for completion or graduation has elapsed for all of the students in the groups on which the institution

bases its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out rate calculations.

Therefore, at a minimum, you must disclose (July 1) your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31

of the prior year). In addition, institutions for which transfer out is an important part of their mission must

also disclose a transfer-out rate. The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information

as warranted to help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider additional

rates as well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students take

longer to complete. The SRK regulations state that if a category of students within an athletic subcohort

contains 5 or fewer students, institutions need not disclose information on the category of students.

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2012-13 Survey Materials > Narrative Edits date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for 2-year institutions

Edit specifications for the 2012-13 IPEDS Web-Based Data Collection

Graduation Rates (GR) Component

Applicable to 2-year institutions

Note: The specifications in this document apply to the institutions listed above. Some sections and parts may not

apply to your particular institution. Please read the specifications carefully to determine which sections and/or parts

apply to your institution.

All screens must be completed in order to lock the survey.

Screening Question

Section III: Cohort Data

Worksheets

Screening Question

You must respond to the following screening questions:

• Does your institution use a website to disclose Student-Right-to-Know student athlete graduation rates?

◦ If you select Yes, the URL must be provided.

The above screening question is a critical data item. To lock the survey, this question must be answered completely.

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Section III: Establishing Cohorts

The screen shown here will depend on whether your institution has a preloaded cohort. Use this screen to enter 2009

Revised cohort or Cohort values, as applicable, for each race/ethnicity and gender category. These values will be used to

represent the Cohort on all subsequent screens.

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• The calculated Total men + women in the Revised cohort (column 01) must be greater than 0.

• If no Initial cohort is preloaded, then the calculated Total men + women in the Revised cohort (column 01)

must be less than or equal to the Unduplicated count of undergraduates reported in the cohort year's 12-month

enrollment survey.

• The Revised cohort must be within a certain range of the Initial cohort, as outlined below:

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 1 and 25 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 50% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 26 and 100 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 30% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 101 and 500 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 20% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is greater than 500 students, then the Total

men + women in the Revised cohort must be within a 10% range of that value.

• If the prior year Adjusted cohort (from the 4-year-average, part 1 worksheet) is greater than 0; AND the

number of Total Exclusions is greater than 0; THEN:

Total Completers within 150% * 100

____________________________________________________________________________

The cohort (column 10) – the number of Total Exclusions

Should be within a 20% range of the following:

PY Total Completers within 150% (from the 4-year-average, part 2 worksheet) * 100

______________________________________________________________________________

The PY Adjusted cohort

Section III: Cohort Data

Use Section III to report the status of the Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate seeking students for Cohort year

2009. The following screens must be completed:

Completers within 150%

On this screen, you must report the cohort of students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to

completion, including: Completers of programs of less-than-2-years (column 11) and Completers of programs of at-least

-two but less-than-four years (column 12) by race/ethnicity and gender.

For each individual program length (columns 11 and 12), the system will calculate the Total men + women to determine the

grand total number of completers by length of time to completion.
In addition, for each row of data, the system will calculate the sum of columns 11 and 12 to determine the number of Total

completers within 150% (column 29).

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• The number of Total completers within 150% (column 29) must be greater than 0. Otherwise, a fatal error will

occur to prevent a graduation rate of 0.0% on your institution's College Navigator page.

• If the number of Total Completers within 150% is greater than 10; THEN, this value must be less than:

The cohort (column 10) – the number of Total Exclusions (from the Transfers/Exclusions screen)

Otherwise, a fatal error will occur to prevent a graduation rate of 100% on your institution's College Navigator

page.

Transfers/Exclusions

On this screen, you must report the number of Total transfer-out students (column 30) and Total exclusions (column 45)

from the cohort by race/ethnicity and gender for Cohort year 2009.

The system will calculate the Total men + women for each column to determine the grand total number of transfer-out

students and exclusions.

In addition, for each row of data, the sum of columns 30, 45, 51 (Still enrolled) and 29 (Total completers within 150%) is

subtracted from the cohort (column 10) to determine the total number of students No longer enrolled (column 52).

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• For each race/ethnicity and gender category, the calculated total number of students No longer enrolled (column

52) must be greater than or equal to 0. To correct this value, the sum of Total completers within 150%

(column 29), Total transfer-out students (column 30), Total exclusions (column 45), and Still enrolled

(column 51) must be less than or equal to the cohort (column 10).

• If the number of Total exclusions (men + women) (column 45) is greater than 10, then this value is expected to

be less than or equal to 10% of the total number of men and women in the cohort (column 10).

Note: Exclusions should ONLY include students who died or were permanently disabled; or who left school to join

the military, to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, or to serve on an official church

mission. Do NOT include all non-completers in this column.

• If the number of Total Transfer-out students (column 30) is greater than 50; AND, the Total in prior year

(men and women) value is greater than 0 for both Total transfer-out students and the cohort (column 10);

THEN, the number of Total Transfer-out students in the current year must be within a 25% range of the

following:

The cohort (column 10) * the PY number of Total transfer-out students

____________________________________________________________________________

The PY cohort

• An explanation must be provided if your institution reported having 0 students No longer enrolled (column 52);

and your institution reported having more than 100 men and women in the cohort (column 10); and your

institution reported having more than 10 Total transfer-out students (column 30).

Note: Please verify that non-completers were not reported erroneously as transfer-out students (column 30) or

exclusions (column 45).

Completers within 100%

On this screen, you must report the cohort of students who completed their program within 100% of normal time to

completion, including: Completers of programs of less-than-2-years (column 55) and Completers of programs of at-least

-two but less-than-four years (column 56). The system will calculate the sum of columns 55 and 56 to determine the number

of Total completers within 100% (column 57).

The system will perform the following edit on the data entered:

• The number of Total completers within 100% (column 57) should be less than or equal to the previously

reported Total completers within 150% (from the Completers within 150% screen).

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Worksheets

Additional worksheet screens have been included at the end of the survey. These screens provide your institution with a

summary of the data entered, along with prior year data. This includes: Graduation and transfer-out rates, Graduation and

transfer-out rates by length of time to degree, and 4-year average Graduation rates..

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2012-13 Survey Materials > Form date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for less than 2-year institutions reporting on a fall cohort

(academic reporters)

Graduation rates 

Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional

Characteristics Header survey from the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection, your institution must report graduation

rates data using a

Fall Cohort (Fall 2009)

A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A full-year

cohort is used by institutions offering primarily occupational/vocational programs and operating on a continuous

basis.

•In the columns below, report the status of the full-time, first-time students reported in the cohort in Column 10.

•The cumulative number of those students who completed their program within 150% of normal time as of August 31,

2012 should be reported in Column 11.

•Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing

substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed their programs,

you should report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students that the school

knows have transferred to another school. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part of

your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

•Report exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:

students who died or became permanently disabled

students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)

students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government

students who left school to serve on an official church mission

•Col 52 - No longer enrolled - will be calculated for you. This includes students who either dropped out or completed in

greater than 150% of normal time.

•Column 55 - Completers within 100% - this is a subset of Column 11 (completers within 150%). These data are being

requested so they can be preloaded into next year's Graduation Rate 200% survey form

Cohort of full-time, first-time students

Screen 1 of 1 Cohort year 2009

Initial

cohort

Revised

cohort

Total

exclusions

Adjusted

cohort

(10 - 45)

Completed

program

within 100%

of normal

time to

completion

Completed

program

within 150%

of normal

time to

completion

Total

transfer-out

students

Still enrolled No

longer

enrolled

(Column 10)(Column 45) (Column

50)

(Column 55)(Column 11)(Column 30) (Column 51)(Column

52)

Total men + women   

     

Total men + women

prior year

 

 You may use the space below to provide context for the data you've reported above. These context notes will

be posted on the College Navigator website, and should be written to be understood by students and parents.
Prepared by 

This survey component was prepared by:

   

Keyholder

   

SFA Contact

   

HR Contact

   

Finance Contact

   

Other

Name:

Email:

How long did it take to prepare this survey component? hours minutes

The name of the preparer is being collected so that we can follow up with the appropriate person in the event that there

are questions concerning the data. The Keyholder will be copied on all email correspondence to other preparers.

The time it took to prepare this component is being collected so that we can continue to improve our estimate of the

reporting burden associated with IPEDS. Please include in your estimate the time it took for you to review instructions,

query and search data sources, complete and review the component, and submit the data through the Data Collection

System.

Thank you for your assistance.
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2012-13 Survey Materials > Instructions date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates Full Instructions - Less Than 2-Year Institutions

Purpose

General Instructions

Coverage

Where to Get Help for Reporting

Where Reported Data Will Appear

Reporting Directions

Purpose of Survey

The purpose of the Graduation Rates component of IPEDS is to track the cohorts of first-time, fulltime degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, as well as their completion status at 100% and

150% of normal time at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions

in complying with the Student Right to Know Act.

General Instructions

Reporting Period Covered

This report requests data on a cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates

enrolled in your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2009 or (2) during the period between September 1,

2009 and August 31, 2010. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2012.

Context Boxes

Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component

items. Note that some context boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search

tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these context boxes for applicability and appropriateness

before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check grammar and spelling of

their entries.

Coverage

Who to Include in the Cohort

Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution

either during the fall term or during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the

fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term. For institutions that will report

using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all those students who entered the institution between

September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to,

and including, one year in length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Students must be enrolled in courses creditable toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Include students enrolled in courses that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those

enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance learning/home study programs.
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Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for

the purpose of student financial aid determination.

A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:

• Becomes a part-time student.

• Transfers to another institution.

• Drops out of the institution.

• Stops out of the institution.

• Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate.

Who to Exclude from the Cohort

DO NOT include students in the cohort who are:

• Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational

program (i.e., nondegree seeking).

• Taking CEUs unless they are also enrolled full time in courses creditable toward a degree or other

formal award.

• Exclusively auditing classes.

• Studying abroad (e.g., at a foreign university) if their enrollment at this institution is only an

administrative record and the fee is only nominal.

• In any branch campus located in a foreign country.

• Part time.

• Transfers into the institution.

Where to Get Help

IPEDS Data Collection Help Desk

Phone: 1-877-225-2568

Email: ipedshelp@rti.org

AIR Website

You can also consult the AIR website that contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced

overview of IPEDS tools and other valuable resources.

IPEDS Resources Page

In addition, the IPEDS Resources Page contains frequently asked questions, a link to the glossary, data tip

sheets, an archive of survey instruments, information on the new race/ethnicity categories and other relevant

information.

Where the Data Will Appear

Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.

At the institution-level, data will appear in the:

• College Navigator Website

• IPEDS Data Center

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:

• IPEDS First Looks

• IPEDS Table Library

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

• The Digest of Education Statistics

• The Condition of Education

Reporting Instructions

The method used to establish the cohort reported on this survey has been predetermined by your

institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (D1) on the IC Header

component of the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection, according to the following rules:

• Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms

(semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of students.

Institutions may use a census date of October 15, 2009, or the end of the institution's drop-add

period, or another official fall reporting date to determine the cohort. This should be the same

reporting date established for your IPEDS Fall Enrollment report.
• Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms

(as defined above) will report using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count as entering

students all those students who entered the institution between September 1, 2009 and August 31,

2010, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to, and including, one year in

length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Full-Time, First-Time Degree/Certificate-Seeking Students

Report the status of the 2009 cohort of degree/certificate-seeking students as of August 31, 2012 in terms

of the number of completers within 150% of normal time to award, number of transfer-out students, and

exclusions to the cohort. Report the combined total of men and women.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students

who transferred into your institution.

Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information you reported on line 01 of your 2009

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report will be preloaded in this column. If you did not respond to that survey, or if you

are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.

Institutions are permitted to make revisions to the initial cohort for the following reasons:

• Cohort-eligible students were previously omitted from the initial cohort

• Students were reported who did not belong in the initial cohort

• Students were misclassified in the wrong gender or racial/ethnic category

Revised cohort (Column 10) -If revisions are needed, please make any necessary corrections for omissions

or double counting. If your data do not appear in the initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment data

as requested in the revised cohort column.

Completed within 100% (Column 55) - Institutions are asked to count as completers only those students

who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 100% of normal

program time. See Glossary for definition of normal time to completion. Do not count as completers students

who get their degree/certificate from another institution.

Enter the number of students who completed programs of less than 2 years within 100% of normal time. For

example, a student who completed a 6-month (or equivalent) program in 6 months or less would be reported

in column 55; those taking longer would not be reported in this column.

The number of students reported in Column 55 should be a subset of those reported in Column 11.

Completed within 150% (Column 11) - In order to calculate a graduation rate to comply with Student

Right-to-Know regulations, institutions can count as completers, only those students who received their

degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of normal program time. See

Glossary for definition of normal time to completion. Do not count as completers students who get their

degree/certificate from another institution.

Enter the number of students who completed programs of less than 2 years within 150% of normal time. For

example, a student who completed a 6-month (or equivalent) program in 9 months or less would be reported

in Column 11; those taking longer would not be reported.

The students reported in Column 11 should INCLUDE those reported in Column 55.

Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial

preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution, and your institution has information on

students who transfer out, report the total number of students who transferred out of your institution

(without a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion. Include students who transferred out of

your institution and subsequently re-enrolled. If it is not part of your mission, you may still report transfer-out

data if you wish.

Total exclusions (Column 45) -- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution (and have

neither graduated nor transferred to another institution) because of one of the following documented reasons:

1. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.

2. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called up to active duty. (DO NOT include

students already in the military who transfer to another duty station.)

3. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the

Peace Corps.

4. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.

NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted in b, c, or d above, but return prior to

the status date of August 31, 2011, may be subtracted from the cohort during the calculation of graduation

rates.

Still enrolled (Column 52) - Report the number of students who are still enrolled at your institution as of

the fall census date for the fall term following 150% of normal time to completion of their program.

Report each student in only one outcome category (i.e., as completing a program, as a transfer, as

an exclusion, or as still enrolled) with the exception of those students reported in Column 55,

which are a subset of the students reported in Column 11. 

Non-completers (Column 52) - This column is calculated by subtracting from Column 10 the sum of

Columns 11, 30, 45, and 51.

Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates
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Worksheets

A worksheet calculating the Student Right-To-Know completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking students for the 2008 student cohort is provided as a convenience to the

institution.

Worksheets calculating the overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students for the student cohort are also provided. Data previously

reported by the institution have been preloaded to use in these calculations.

Privacy Issue With Disclosure

Before using the worksheets for disclosure, please consider the following:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended (1998) (FERPA) requires that institutions

not disclose information where students could be identified.

Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates, and 4-Year Average Rates

Worksheets

Worksheets calculating the Student Right-To-Know completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates for the 2009 student cohort are provided as a

convenience to the institution.

Worksheets calculating the overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates for the student cohort are also provided. Data

previously reported by the institution have been preloaded to use in these calculations.

Note that the information on these worksheets will NOT appear on College Navigator or on any of the IPEDS

data tools.
Glossary date: 1/16/2013

Term Definition

Adjusted cohort The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; for

the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate.

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.

Exclusions Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates and Fall Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they

left the institution for one of the following reasons: death or total and permanent disability; service in

the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid service of the

federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.

First-time student

(undergraduate)

A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any

institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or

occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for

the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

Full-time student Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits , or 12 or more quarter credits,

or 24 or more contact hours a week each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester

credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that

is considered full time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the

institution.

Full-year cohort The group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period September 1 through August

31 that is established for tracking and reporting Graduation Rate (GR) 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.

Graduation rate The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This

rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the

revised adjusted cohort.

Graduation Rates (GR) This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of

the Student Right-to-Know legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the

institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in a particular

year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150

percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part

of the institution's mission. Prior to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid

were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid and whether they completed

within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL

where the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates

worksheets that calculate rates, including average rates over 4 years.

Initial cohort A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component

of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time

degree/certificate-seeking students during either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2)

between September 1st and August 31st of the following year.

Less than 2-year

institution

A postsecondary institution that offers programs of less than 2-years duration below the

baccalaureate level. Includes occupational and vocational schools with programs that do not exceed

1800 contact hours .

Nonresident alien A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or

temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.

Normal time to

completion

The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate

according to the institution's catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a standard term-based institution; 2

years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree

in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.

Revised cohort Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that

incorrect data were reported in an earlier year.

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 calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or degree-seeking, full-time

students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates 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 submit a report to the Secretary

of Education annually. 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. See Graduation Rates for

the current description of data collected.

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 adjusted cohort.

Transfer-out student A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.
Transfer-preparatory

program

A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer

into a higher level program. For example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level

program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of undergraduate study needed

for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for

entrance into health services fields.
2012-13 Survey Materials > F.A.Q. date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for Less than 2-year institutions

Click one of the following questions to view the answer.

General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How do I choose

my cohort?

2) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

3) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

4) Do I need to track students every term?

Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GRS?

3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a confirmation of

transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?

6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I count the

student as "first-time"?

8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?

9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?

10) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

11) If a student in my cohort obtains two awards (certificate in cosmetology and certificate in word processing) within the 150% of

normal time for the longest program (cosmetology), can I count both completions?

Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

2) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the 3rd year, but

what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?

3) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?

3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I still in

compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GRS if I don’t report transfers out?

Other

1) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my school. Do I need

to try to track these "leavers"?

2) What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?

3) Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study, but did not finish their program?

4) My school enrolls students on a monthly basis so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9 months, how do I

calculate 150% of normal time and which cohort do I use?

5) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar provision for

excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

6) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

7) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

Answers:

General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How

do I choose my cohort?

If most programs operate on a term basis (semester, quarter or trimester), you must use a fall cohort;

otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort method you must use has been pre-determined by

your answer to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey.

Back to top

2) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

Student Right-to-Know legislation states that reporting is mandatory for institutions that did enroll full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the cohort year. If you did not enroll this

type of student or your institution was not in operation during the cohort year, please report this information

on the Institutional Characteristics survey.
Back to top

3) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means to change the

cohort by taking into consideration better information that has become available since you first reported your

cohort on the Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on

the cohort). You can revise a fall cohort by entering new data in the Revised Cohort column on the data

collection screen. Adjusting a cohort means to subtract the Exclusions from the Revised Cohort to establish

a denominator for rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts will be adjusted for you on the worksheet

screens when graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated.

Back to top

4) Do I need to track students every term?

No, you can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry and then, at the end of 150% of normal

time for the longest program, look back to see what happened to those in the cohort. You will need to know

when they completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track from term-to-term.

Back to top

Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student attending any institution for the first time

at the level enrolled." By this we mean at the undergraduate level, graduate level, or first-professional level.

Since the GRS is only interested in undergraduates, it means that the student is first time in postsecondary

education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary institution). There are two

exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution the summer prior to entering your institution in the fall

term are to be counted as "first-time," as are (2) students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

Back to top

2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GRS?

Yes. You need to report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions on disclosure for

further information.

Back to top

3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a

confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

You should report the student as a transfer-out.

Back to top

4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

The IPEDS GRS does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED

IN ANY COHORT.

Back to top

5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?

These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to

a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award and if they are not eligible for Title IV Federal financial

aid.

Back to top

6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking on your

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. If they are degree/certificate-seeking for purposes of qualifying for student

financial aid, then they must be included in the cohort.

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7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I

count the student as "first-time"?

No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a

postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they enter with no credit.

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8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?

Neither should be included in your cohort.

Back to top

9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they are not

to be included in your cohort according to the SRK regulations. Be sure to carefully read the definition of

degree-seeking in the Glossary.

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10) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

Since these students must have been enrolled in an institution in order to obtain credit through

correspondence or distance learning, they are not "first-time."

Back to top

11) If a student in my cohort obtains two awards (certificate in cosmetology and certificate in word processing) within

the 150% of normal time for the longest program (cosmetology), can I count both completions?

No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your

decision as to which one you prefer to report.

Back to top

Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion." IPEDS has adopted the definition

developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time.

Normal time is defined as "the time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or

certificate according to an institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree, 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6

quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate’s degree, and the scheduled times for certificate

programs." Let’s look at some examples:

Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs - 8 semesters – usually fall and spring.

Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would take 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the

sixth year.

Similarly, an associate’s degree that is advertised as a 2-year program - 6 quarters (fall, winter, spring, with

no scheduled summer quarter), would extend to (1.5 x 6) or 9 quarters through the end of the spring

quarter of the third year.

However, the Technical Amendments that redefine the cohort year allow you to count completers through

August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third year for 2-year

programs).

Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as

taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the

student completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.

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2) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the

3rd year, but what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot

count them as completers?

Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree

upon completion (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted on the student’s record), and just

allow the student to "pick it up" at the December ceremony, then you should be able to count the student in

your completions.

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3) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time is applied to the start date and is the

same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term or two and still complete within

150% of normal time.

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Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

The November 1, 2000 regulations state that "An institution that determines that its mission includes

providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers

out so that a transfer out rate can be calculated. The students to be reported as transfers are those who

have NOT completed a degree, certificate, or transfer preparatory program, so they cannot be counted as

completers. If the institution does not have such a mission, reporting of transfers out is optional.

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2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?
None. All verification requirements were dropped from the November 1, 2000 regulations.

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3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I

still in compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GRS if I don’t report transfers out?

As long as your institution does not include the substantial preparation of students to enroll in another

eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers out. However,

if your institution does have such a mission, you need to be able to track transfers out and report them.

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Other

1) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my

school. Do I need to try to track these "leavers"?

No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of

students who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.

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2) What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?

This term is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the

successful completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s

degree and qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The

Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree, thus completers of transfer-preparatory

programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") are to be counted as completers.

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3) Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study, but did not finish

their program?

No, you may not report these students as completers, since they left the institution prior to completion of

their program.

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4) My school enrolls students on a monthly basis so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9

months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time and which cohort do I use?

Let’s look at this one step at a time. First, schools with programs of less than 4 years are to report on a

2008cohort; therefore, you should look at those students who entered your institution between September 1,

2008 and August 31, 2009. Next, assuming the latest possible enrollment date would be August 31, 2009,

150% of 9 months following this date would extend to October 15, 2010 (13 1 /2 months later). In order to

complete the IPEDS GR, the first status date following this is August 31, 2011 and the report is due in the

Spring 2012 data collection, so you are on track for reporting on this cohort.

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5) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar

provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

No, there is no such provision.

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6) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

NO! NO! and NO! The GRS provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for calculating

graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that there is

some consistency in the way the rates are calculated. SRK requires disclosure of these rates to students and

prospective students. By completing the GRS, you now have the rates you need to disclose. But you need to

make them available. For schools that offer athletically-related student aid, there are additional disclosure

and reporting requirements. The GRS satisfies the reporting requirements only.

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7) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

The regulations state that beginning with the group of students who enter the institution between September

1, 1999 and August 31, 2000, an institution shall disclose its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out

rate information no later than the July 1 immediately following the point in time that 150% of the normal

time for completion or graduation has elapsed for all of the students in the groups on which the institution

bases its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out rate calculations.

Therefore, at a minimum, you must disclose (July 1) your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31

of the prior year). In addition, institutions for which transfer out is an important part of their mission must

also disclose a transfer-out rate. The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information

as warranted to help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider additional

rates as well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students take

longer to complete. The SRK regulations state that if a category of students within an athletic subcohort

contains 5 or fewer students, institutions need not disclose information on the category of students.

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2012-13 Survey Materials > Narrative Edits date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for less-than-2-year institutions

Edit specifications for the 2012-13 IPEDS Web-Based Data Collection

Graduation Rates (GR) Component

Applicable to less-than-2-year institutions

Note: The specifications in this document apply to the institutions listed above. Some sections and parts may not

apply to your particular institution. Please read the specifications carefully to determine which sections and/or parts

apply to your institution.

All screens must be completed in order to lock the survey.

Section III: Cohort Data

Worksheet

Top

Section III: Cohort Data

On this screen, report the status of the Cohort of full-time, first-time students for Cohort year 2009. This includes the

Revised cohort (column 10) number of Total exclusions (column 45), the number of students who Completed program

within 100% of normal time to completion (column 55), the number of students who Completed program within 150% of

normal time to completion (column 11), the Total transfer-out students (column 30), and the number of students Still

enrolled (column 51).

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• The calculated Total men + women in the Revised Cohort (column 10) must be greater than 0.

• The calculated Total men + women in the Revised cohort (column 01) must be less than or equal to the

Unduplicated count of undergraduates reported in the cohort year's 12-month enrollment survey.

• The Revised Cohort must be within a certain range of the Initial cohort, as outlined below:

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 1 and 25 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised Cohort must be within a 50% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 26 and 100 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised Cohort must be within a 30% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 101 and 500 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised Cohort must be within a 20% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is greater than 500 students, then the Total

men + women in the Revised Cohort must be within a 10% range of that value.

• If the number of Total exclusions (men + women) (column 45) is greater than 10, then this value is expected to

be less than or equal to 10% of the total number of men and women in the cohort (column 10).

Note: Exclusions should ONLY include students who died or were permanently disabled; or who left school to join

the military, to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, or to serve on an official church

mission. Do NOT include all non-completers in this column.

• If the cohort (column 10) is greater than 20, then the number of Total completers within 150% (column 11)

must be greater than 0. Otherwise, a fatal error will occur to prevent a graduation rate of 0.0% on your

institution's College Navigator page.

• If the cohort (column 10) is greater than 10, then the number of Total completers within 150% (column 11)

must be less than the Adjusted Cohort (column 50). Otherwise, a fatal error will occur to prevent a graduation

rate of 100% on your institution's College Navigator page.

• If the prior year Adjusted Cohort (found on the Worksheet screen) is greater than 0; AND the current year

Adjusted Cohort (column 50) is greater than 0; THEN:

The number who Completed program within 150% of normal time to completion * 100

____________________________________________________________________________

The Adjusted cohort

Should be within a 20% range of the following:

The PY Total Completers within 150% (found on the Worksheet screen) * 100

______________________________________________________________________________

The PY Adjusted cohort

• The number of Total completers within 100% (column 55) should be less than or equal to the number of Total

completers within 150% (column 11).

• If the number of Total transfer-out students is greater than 12, then the Revised cohort must be less than or

equal to 25% of that value.

• The calculated total number of students No longer enrolled (column 52) must be greater than or equal to 0. To

correct this value, the sum of Total exclusions (column 45), Total completers within 150% (column 29),

Total transfer-out students (column 30), and Still enrolled (column 51) must be less than or equal to the

cohort (column 10).
• An explanation must be provided if your institution reported having 0 students No longer enrolled (column 49);

and your institution reported having more than 100 students in the Cohort (column 10); and your institution

reported having more than 10 Total transfer-out students (column 30).

Note: Please verify that non-completers were not reported erroneously as transfer-out students (column 30) or

exclusions (column 45).

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Worksheet

Additional worksheet screens have been included at the end of the survey. These screens provide your institution with a

summary of the data entered, along with prior year data. This includes: Calculation of graduation and transfer-out rates

and Calculation of 4-year average rates tables.

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2012-13 Survey Materials > Form date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for less than 2-year institutions reporting on a full-year cohort

(program reporters)

Graduation rates 

Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional

Characteristics Header survey from the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection, your institution must report graduation

rates data using a

Full-Year Cohort (September 1, 2009 - August 31, 2010)

A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A full-year

cohort is used by institutions offering primarily occupational/vocational programs and operating on a continuous

basis.

•In the columns below, report the status of the full-time, first-time students reported in the cohort in Column 10.

•The cumulative number of those students who completed their program within 150% of normal time as of August 31,

2012 should be reported in Column 11.

•Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing

substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed their programs,

you should report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students that the school

knows have transferred to another school. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part of

your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.

•Report exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:

students who died or became permanently disabled

students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)

students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government

students who left school to serve on an official church mission

•Col 52 - No longer enrolled - will be calculated for you. This includes students who either dropped out or completed in

greater than 150% of normal time.

•Column 55 - Completers within 100% - this is a subset of Column 11 (completers within 150%). These data are being

requested so they can be preloaded into next year's Graduation Rate 200% survey form

Cohort of full-time, first-time students

Screen 1 of 1 Cohort year 2009

Initial

cohort

Revised

cohort

Total

exclusions

Adjusted

cohort

(10 - 45)

Completed

program

within 100%

of normal

time to

completion

Completed

program

within 150%

of normal

time to

completion

Total

transfer-out

students

Still enrolled No

longer

enrolled

(Column 10)(Column 45) (Column

50)

(Column 55)(Column 11)(Column 30) (Column 51)(Column

52)

Total men + women   

     

Total men + women

prior year

 

 You may use the space below to provide context for the data you've reported above. These context notes will

be posted on the College Navigator website, and should be written to be understood by students and parents.
Prepared by 

This survey component was prepared by:

   

Keyholder

   

SFA Contact

   

HR Contact

   

Finance Contact

   

Other

Name:

Email:

How long did it take to prepare this survey component? hours minutes

The name of the preparer is being collected so that we can follow up with the appropriate person in the event that there

are questions concerning the data. The Keyholder will be copied on all email correspondence to other preparers.

The time it took to prepare this component is being collected so that we can continue to improve our estimate of the

reporting burden associated with IPEDS. Please include in your estimate the time it took for you to review instructions,

query and search data sources, complete and review the component, and submit the data through the Data Collection

System.

Thank you for your assistance.
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2012-13 Survey Materials > Instructions date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates Full Instructions - Less Than 2-Year Institutions

Purpose

General Instructions

Coverage

Where to Get Help for Reporting

Where Reported Data Will Appear

Reporting Directions

Purpose of Survey

The purpose of the Graduation Rates component of IPEDS is to track the cohorts of first-time, fulltime degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, as well as their completion status at 100% and

150% of normal time at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions

in complying with the Student Right to Know Act.

General Instructions

Reporting Period Covered

This report requests data on a cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates

enrolled in your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2009 or (2) during the period between September 1,

2009 and August 31, 2010. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2012.

Context Boxes

Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component

items. Note that some context boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search

tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these context boxes for applicability and appropriateness

before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check grammar and spelling of

their entries.

Coverage

Who to Include in the Cohort

Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution

either during the fall term or during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the

fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term. For institutions that will report

using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all those students who entered the institution between

September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to,

and including, one year in length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Students must be enrolled in courses creditable toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Include students enrolled in courses that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those

enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance learning/home study programs.
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Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for

the purpose of student financial aid determination.

A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:

• Becomes a part-time student.

• Transfers to another institution.

• Drops out of the institution.

• Stops out of the institution.

• Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate.

Who to Exclude from the Cohort

DO NOT include students in the cohort who are:

• Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational

program (i.e., nondegree seeking).

• Taking CEUs unless they are also enrolled full time in courses creditable toward a degree or other

formal award.

• Exclusively auditing classes.

• Studying abroad (e.g., at a foreign university) if their enrollment at this institution is only an

administrative record and the fee is only nominal.

• In any branch campus located in a foreign country.

• Part time.

• Transfers into the institution.

Where to Get Help

IPEDS Data Collection Help Desk

Phone: 1-877-225-2568

Email: ipedshelp@rti.org

AIR Website

You can also consult the AIR website that contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced

overview of IPEDS tools and other valuable resources.

IPEDS Resources Page

In addition, the IPEDS Resources Page contains frequently asked questions, a link to the glossary, data tip

sheets, an archive of survey instruments, information on the new race/ethnicity categories and other relevant

information.

Where the Data Will Appear

Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.

At the institution-level, data will appear in the:

• College Navigator Website

• IPEDS Data Center

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:

• IPEDS First Looks

• IPEDS Table Library

• IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

• The Digest of Education Statistics

• The Condition of Education

Reporting Instructions

The method used to establish the cohort reported on this survey has been predetermined by your

institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (D1) on the IC Header

component of the IPEDS Fall 2012 Data Collection, according to the following rules:

• Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms

(semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of students.

Institutions may use a census date of October 15, 2009, or the end of the institution's drop-add

period, or another official fall reporting date to determine the cohort. This should be the same

reporting date established for your IPEDS Fall Enrollment report.
• Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms

(as defined above) will report using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count as entering

students all those students who entered the institution between September 1, 2009 and August 31,

2010, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to, and including, one year in

length, or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.

Full-Time, First-Time Degree/Certificate-Seeking Students

Report the status of the 2009 cohort of degree/certificate-seeking students as of August 31, 2012 in terms

of the number of completers within 150% of normal time to award, number of transfer-out students, and

exclusions to the cohort. Report the combined total of men and women.

Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. DO NOT include students

who transferred into your institution.

Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information you reported on line 01 of your 2009

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report will be preloaded in this column. If you did not respond to that survey, or if you

are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.

Institutions are permitted to make revisions to the initial cohort for the following reasons:

• Cohort-eligible students were previously omitted from the initial cohort

• Students were reported who did not belong in the initial cohort

• Students were misclassified in the wrong gender or racial/ethnic category

Revised cohort (Column 10) -If revisions are needed, please make any necessary corrections for omissions

or double counting. If your data do not appear in the initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment data

as requested in the revised cohort column.

Completed within 100% (Column 55) - Institutions are asked to count as completers only those students

who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 100% of normal

program time. See Glossary for definition of normal time to completion. Do not count as completers students

who get their degree/certificate from another institution.

Enter the number of students who completed programs of less than 2 years within 100% of normal time. For

example, a student who completed a 6-month (or equivalent) program in 6 months or less would be reported

in column 55; those taking longer would not be reported in this column.

The number of students reported in Column 55 should be a subset of those reported in Column 11.

Completed within 150% (Column 11) - In order to calculate a graduation rate to comply with Student

Right-to-Know regulations, institutions can count as completers, only those students who received their

degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of normal program time. See

Glossary for definition of normal time to completion. Do not count as completers students who get their

degree/certificate from another institution.

Enter the number of students who completed programs of less than 2 years within 150% of normal time. For

example, a student who completed a 6-month (or equivalent) program in 9 months or less would be reported

in Column 11; those taking longer would not be reported.

The students reported in Column 11 should INCLUDE those reported in Column 55.

Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial

preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution, and your institution has information on

students who transfer out, report the total number of students who transferred out of your institution

(without a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion. Include students who transferred out of

your institution and subsequently re-enrolled. If it is not part of your mission, you may still report transfer-out

data if you wish.

Total exclusions (Column 45) -- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution (and have

neither graduated nor transferred to another institution) because of one of the following documented reasons:

1. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.

2. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called up to active duty. (DO NOT include

students already in the military who transfer to another duty station.)

3. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the

Peace Corps.

4. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.

NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted in b, c, or d above, but return prior to

the status date of August 31, 2011, may be subtracted from the cohort during the calculation of graduation

rates.

Still enrolled (Column 52) - Report the number of students who are still enrolled at your institution as of

the fall census date for the fall term following 150% of normal time to completion of their program.

Report each student in only one outcome category (i.e., as completing a program, as a transfer, as

an exclusion, or as still enrolled) with the exception of those students reported in Column 55,

which are a subset of the students reported in Column 11. 

Non-completers (Column 52) - This column is calculated by subtracting from Column 10 the sum of

Columns 11, 30, 45, and 51.

Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates
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Worksheets

A worksheet calculating the Student Right-To-Know completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking students for the 2008 student cohort is provided as a convenience to the

institution.

Worksheets calculating the overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students for the student cohort are also provided. Data previously

reported by the institution have been preloaded to use in these calculations.

Privacy Issue With Disclosure

Before using the worksheets for disclosure, please consider the following:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended (1998) (FERPA) requires that institutions

not disclose information where students could be identified.

Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates, and 4-Year Average Rates

Worksheets

Worksheets calculating the Student Right-To-Know completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates for the 2009 student cohort are provided as a

convenience to the institution.

Worksheets calculating the overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates for the student cohort are also provided. Data

previously reported by the institution have been preloaded to use in these calculations.

Note that the information on these worksheets will NOT appear on College Navigator or on any of the IPEDS

data tools.
Glossary date: 1/16/2013

Term Definition

Adjusted cohort The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; for

the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate.

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.

Exclusions Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation

Rates and Fall Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they

left the institution for one of the following reasons: death or total and permanent disability; service in

the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid service of the

federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.

First-time student

(undergraduate)

A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any

institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or

occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for

the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

Full-time student Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits , or 12 or more quarter credits,

or 24 or more contact hours a week each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester

credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that

is considered full time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the

institution.

Full-year cohort The group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period September 1 through August

31 that is established for tracking and reporting Graduation Rate (GR) 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.

Graduation rate The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This

rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the

revised adjusted cohort.

Graduation Rates (GR) This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of

the Student Right-to-Know legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the

institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in a particular

year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150

percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part

of the institution's mission. Prior to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid

were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid and whether they completed

within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL

where the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates

worksheets that calculate rates, including average rates over 4 years.

Initial cohort A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component

of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time

degree/certificate-seeking students during either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2)

between September 1st and August 31st of the following year.

Less than 2-year

institution

A postsecondary institution that offers programs of less than 2-years duration below the

baccalaureate level. Includes occupational and vocational schools with programs that do not exceed

1800 contact hours .

Nonresident alien A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or

temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.

Normal time to

completion

The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate

according to the institution's catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a standard term-based institution; 2

years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree

in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.

Revised cohort Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that

incorrect data were reported in an earlier year.

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 calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or degree-seeking, full-time

students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates 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 submit a report to the Secretary

of Education annually. 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. See Graduation Rates for

the current description of data collected.

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 adjusted cohort.

Transfer-out student A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.
Transfer-preparatory

program

A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer

into a higher level program. For example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level

program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of undergraduate study needed

for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for

entrance into health services fields.
2012-13 Survey Materials > F.A.Q. date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for Less than 2-year institutions

Click one of the following questions to view the answer.

General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How do I choose

my cohort?

2) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

3) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

4) Do I need to track students every term?

Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GRS?

3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a confirmation of

transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?

6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I count the

student as "first-time"?

8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?

9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?

10) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

11) If a student in my cohort obtains two awards (certificate in cosmetology and certificate in word processing) within the 150% of

normal time for the longest program (cosmetology), can I count both completions?

Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

2) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the 3rd year, but

what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?

3) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?

3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I still in

compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GRS if I don’t report transfers out?

Other

1) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my school. Do I need

to try to track these "leavers"?

2) What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?

3) Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study, but did not finish their program?

4) My school enrolls students on a monthly basis so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9 months, how do I

calculate 150% of normal time and which cohort do I use?

5) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar provision for

excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

6) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

7) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

Answers:

General

1) My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How

do I choose my cohort?

If most programs operate on a term basis (semester, quarter or trimester), you must use a fall cohort;

otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort method you must use has been pre-determined by

your answer to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey.

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2) My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?

Student Right-to-Know legislation states that reporting is mandatory for institutions that did enroll full-time,

first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the cohort year. If you did not enroll this

type of student or your institution was not in operation during the cohort year, please report this information

on the Institutional Characteristics survey.
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3) When can I revise or adjust my cohort?

There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means to change the

cohort by taking into consideration better information that has become available since you first reported your

cohort on the Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on

the cohort). You can revise a fall cohort by entering new data in the Revised Cohort column on the data

collection screen. Adjusting a cohort means to subtract the Exclusions from the Revised Cohort to establish

a denominator for rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts will be adjusted for you on the worksheet

screens when graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated.

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4) Do I need to track students every term?

No, you can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry and then, at the end of 150% of normal

time for the longest program, look back to see what happened to those in the cohort. You will need to know

when they completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track from term-to-term.

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Cohort

1) What is a "first-time" student?

According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student attending any institution for the first time

at the level enrolled." By this we mean at the undergraduate level, graduate level, or first-professional level.

Since the GRS is only interested in undergraduates, it means that the student is first time in postsecondary

education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary institution). There are two

exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution the summer prior to entering your institution in the fall

term are to be counted as "first-time," as are (2) students who entered with advanced standing (college

credits earned before graduation from high school).

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2) I have a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to report on the GRS?

Yes. You need to report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions on disclosure for

further information.

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3) How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a

confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?

You should report the student as a transfer-out.

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4) Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?

The IPEDS GRS does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED

IN ANY COHORT.

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5) How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?

These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to

a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award and if they are not eligible for Title IV Federal financial

aid.

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6) Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?

Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking on your

IPEDS Fall Enrollment report. If they are degree/certificate-seeking for purposes of qualifying for student

financial aid, then they must be included in the cohort.

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7) If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree-seeking student this fall, can I

count the student as "first-time"?

No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a

postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they enter with no credit.

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8) What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?

Neither should be included in your cohort.

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9) Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they are not

to be included in your cohort according to the SRK regulations. Be sure to carefully read the definition of

degree-seeking in the Glossary.

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10) Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?

Since these students must have been enrolled in an institution in order to obtain credit through

correspondence or distance learning, they are not "first-time."

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11) If a student in my cohort obtains two awards (certificate in cosmetology and certificate in word processing) within

the 150% of normal time for the longest program (cosmetology), can I count both completions?

No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your

decision as to which one you prefer to report.

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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time

1) How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?

In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion." IPEDS has adopted the definition

developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time.

Normal time is defined as "the time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or

certificate according to an institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12

quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree, 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6

quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate’s degree, and the scheduled times for certificate

programs." Let’s look at some examples:

Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs - 8 semesters – usually fall and spring.

Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would take 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the

sixth year.

Similarly, an associate’s degree that is advertised as a 2-year program - 6 quarters (fall, winter, spring, with

no scheduled summer quarter), would extend to (1.5 x 6) or 9 quarters through the end of the spring

quarter of the third year.

However, the Technical Amendments that redefine the cohort year allow you to count completers through

August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third year for 2-year

programs).

Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as

taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the

student completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.

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2) According to the Technical Amendment, I can count students who complete their program through August 31 of the

3rd year, but what if the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot

count them as completers?

Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree

upon completion (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted on the student’s record), and just

allow the student to "pick it up" at the December ceremony, then you should be able to count the student in

your completions.

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3) How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?

There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time is applied to the start date and is the

same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term or two and still complete within

150% of normal time.

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Transfer-Out

1) Does my institution need to report transfers out?

The November 1, 2000 regulations state that "An institution that determines that its mission includes

providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers

out so that a transfer out rate can be calculated. The students to be reported as transfers are those who

have NOT completed a degree, certificate, or transfer preparatory program, so they cannot be counted as

completers. If the institution does not have such a mission, reporting of transfers out is optional.

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2) What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer out?
None. All verification requirements were dropped from the November 1, 2000 regulations.

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3) My school does not track transfers out and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do this. Am I

still in compliance with the requirements of SRK and am I still responsive to the GRS if I don’t report transfers out?

As long as your institution does not include the substantial preparation of students to enroll in another

eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers out. However,

if your institution does have such a mission, you need to be able to track transfers out and report them.

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Other

1) The number of students who could be considered for the adjustment to cohort (exclusions) is very small in my

school. Do I need to try to track these "leavers"?

No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of

students who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.

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2) What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?

This term is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the

successful completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s

degree and qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The

Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree, thus completers of transfer-preparatory

programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") are to be counted as completers.

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3) Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study, but did not finish

their program?

No, you may not report these students as completers, since they left the institution prior to completion of

their program.

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4) My school enrolls students on a monthly basis so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9

months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time and which cohort do I use?

Let’s look at this one step at a time. First, schools with programs of less than 4 years are to report on a

2008cohort; therefore, you should look at those students who entered your institution between September 1,

2008 and August 31, 2009. Next, assuming the latest possible enrollment date would be August 31, 2009,

150% of 9 months following this date would extend to October 15, 2010 (13 1 /2 months later). In order to

complete the IPEDS GR, the first status date following this is August 31, 2011 and the report is due in the

Spring 2012 data collection, so you are on track for reporting on this cohort.

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5) There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar

provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?

No, there is no such provision.

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6) Will the GRS satisfy all my requirements for SRK?

NO! NO! and NO! The GRS provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for calculating

graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that there is

some consistency in the way the rates are calculated. SRK requires disclosure of these rates to students and

prospective students. By completing the GRS, you now have the rates you need to disclose. But you need to

make them available. For schools that offer athletically-related student aid, there are additional disclosure

and reporting requirements. The GRS satisfies the reporting requirements only.

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7) Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with SRK?

The regulations state that beginning with the group of students who enter the institution between September

1, 1999 and August 31, 2000, an institution shall disclose its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out

rate information no later than the July 1 immediately following the point in time that 150% of the normal

time for completion or graduation has elapsed for all of the students in the groups on which the institution

bases its completion or graduation rate and transfer-out rate calculations.

Therefore, at a minimum, you must disclose (July 1) your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31

of the prior year). In addition, institutions for which transfer out is an important part of their mission must

also disclose a transfer-out rate. The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information

as warranted to help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider additional

rates as well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students take

longer to complete. The SRK regulations state that if a category of students within an athletic subcohort

contains 5 or fewer students, institutions need not disclose information on the category of students.

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2012-13 Survey Materials > Narrative Edits date: 1/16/2013

Graduation Rates for less-than-2-year institutions

Edit specifications for the 2012-13 IPEDS Web-Based Data Collection

Graduation Rates (GR) Component

Applicable to less-than-2-year institutions

Note: The specifications in this document apply to the institutions listed above. Some sections and parts may not

apply to your particular institution. Please read the specifications carefully to determine which sections and/or parts

apply to your institution.

All screens must be completed in order to lock the survey.

Section III: Cohort Data

Worksheet

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Section III: Cohort Data

On this screen, report the status of the Cohort of full-time, first-time students for Cohort year 2009. This includes the

Revised cohort (column 10) number of Total exclusions (column 45), the number of students who Completed program

within 100% of normal time to completion (column 55), the number of students who Completed program within 150% of

normal time to completion (column 11), the Total transfer-out students (column 30), and the number of students Still

enrolled (column 51).

The system will perform the following edits on the data entered:

• The calculated Total men + women in the Revised Cohort (column 10) must be greater than 0.

• The calculated Total men + women in the Revised cohort (column 01) must be less than or equal to the

Unduplicated count of undergraduates reported in the cohort year's 12-month enrollment survey.

• The Revised Cohort must be within a certain range of the Initial cohort, as outlined below:

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 1 and 25 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised Cohort must be within a 50% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 26 and 100 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised Cohort must be within a 30% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is between 101 and 500 students, then the

Total men + women in the Revised Cohort must be within a 20% range of that value.

◦ If the number of Total men + women in the Initial cohort is greater than 500 students, then the Total

men + women in the Revised Cohort must be within a 10% range of that value.

• If the number of Total exclusions (men + women) (column 45) is greater than 10, then this value is expected to

be less than or equal to 10% of the total number of men and women in the cohort (column 10).

Note: Exclusions should ONLY include students who died or were permanently disabled; or who left school to join

the military, to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, or to serve on an official church

mission. Do NOT include all non-completers in this column.

• If the cohort (column 10) is greater than 20, then the number of Total completers within 150% (column 11)

must be greater than 0. Otherwise, a fatal error will occur to prevent a graduation rate of 0.0% on your

institution's College Navigator page.

• If the cohort (column 10) is greater than 10, then the number of Total completers within 150% (column 11)

must be less than the Adjusted Cohort (column 50). Otherwise, a fatal error will occur to prevent a graduation

rate of 100% on your institution's College Navigator page.

• If the prior year Adjusted Cohort (found on the Worksheet screen) is greater than 0; AND the current year

Adjusted Cohort (column 50) is greater than 0; THEN:

The number who Completed program within 150% of normal time to completion * 100

____________________________________________________________________________

The Adjusted cohort

Should be within a 20% range of the following:

The PY Total Completers within 150% (found on the Worksheet screen) * 100

______________________________________________________________________________

The PY Adjusted cohort

• The number of Total completers within 100% (column 55) should be less than or equal to the number of Total

completers within 150% (column 11).

• If the number of Total transfer-out students is greater than 12, then the Revised cohort must be less than or

equal to 25% of that value.

• The calculated total number of students No longer enrolled (column 52) must be greater than or equal to 0. To

correct this value, the sum of Total exclusions (column 45), Total completers within 150% (column 29),

Total transfer-out students (column 30), and Still enrolled (column 51) must be less than or equal to the

cohort (column 10).
• An explanation must be provided if your institution reported having 0 students No longer enrolled (column 49);

and your institution reported having more than 100 students in the Cohort (column 10); and your institution

reported having more than 10 Total transfer-out students (column 30).

Note: Please verify that non-completers were not reported erroneously as transfer-out students (column 30) or

exclusions (column 45).

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Worksheet

Additional worksheet screens have been included at the end of the survey. These screens provide your institution with a

summary of the data entered, along with prior year data. This includes: Calculation of graduation and transfer-out rates

and Calculation of 4-year average rates tables.

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