IPEDS Presented by Mark Lafer Senior Policy Analyst Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency

IPEDS – An Introduction The Integrated Postsecondary Data Collection System – IPEDS – is the current mechanism for reporting by schools to the U.S. Department of Education Higher Education General Information Survey – HEGIS – served the same purpose from 1966 through 1985 for the U.S. Department of Education (and – through 1977 – its predecessor, the U.S. Office of Education) From its founding, in 1867, within the Interior Department, the U.S. Office of Education has gathered information on postsecondary information and has issued reports since 1875 Reporting has moved from all hardcopy, to electronic output under HEGIS, to full computerization under IPEDS

IPEDS – How It Works All postsecondary institutions need to complete IPEDS data reporting to maintain Title IV eligibility. Subsets of elements are reported at different times of the year, some more than once per year. Student- focused information includes: –Academic preparation – HS GPA, SAT/ACT –Enrollment –Retention and graduation –Charges, financial aid, and net price

IPEDS - Limitations IPEDS collects aggregate data –IPEDS does not allow tracking of individual students as they make academic progress over time –IPEDS does not allow tracking of individual students as they move – increasingly – among institutions –IPEDS does not adjust for simultaneous enrollment Key limitations associated with aggregate data collection –IPEDS limits the number of variables you can use to create individual cross tabulations –IPEDS can report residency only for first-time, degree-seeking undergraduates –IPEDS can report retention only year-to-year –IPEDS can report graduation rates Only for students who enrolled at an institution as first-time, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates Only for those students completing a bachelor’s degree in six years or less Only for those students completing an associate’s degree in three years or less

IPEDS Does Report Financial Aid – Within Limits Grant aid Loans But… –Only from state, federal, or institutional sources –Only as clustered: that is, no option to select small subsets, such as those who received only a Pell Grant in combination with a Federal Student Loan

Accessing IPEDS Data – Documents Annual and periodic statistical reports from the National Center for Education Statistics –Digest of Education Statistics –Condition of Education –Specific topics, at

Accessing IPEDS Data – Pre-Formatted Data Reports (Exhibit 1) Start at and select Data and Tools

Select State Education Data Profiles (Exhibit 2) Select Pennsylvania (Exhibit 3) Click Search (Exhibit 3) Click Postsecondary Education (Exhibit 4) See the report (Exhibit 5)

Exhibit 2 9

Exhibit 3 10

Exhibit 4 11

See the Report (Exhibit 5)

Accessing IPEDS Data – Custom Reports Start at Select IPEDS Data Center (Exhibit 1) Your options include….

Exhibit 6 14

15 Select “Look up an Institution” and then Select “Continue” at Data Access (Exhibit 7)

Select the Institution (Exhibit 8) Enter a name and Select 16

Select Data or the “PDF Download Button” (Exhibit 9)

The Pre-Formatted Report (Exhibit 10) 18

Compare Individual Institutions –Click on Compare Individual Institutions (Exhibit 6) –Select Continue on the Data Access screen (Exhibit 7) –Enter Institution #1 on the Select Institutions screen (Exhibit 8) –When the screen reappears, select By Names or UnitIDs [Repeat as needed] –Select Continue and go to –Select Variables (Exhibit 11)

Select Variables (Exhibit 11) 20

Sample Select (Exhibit 12) SAT and ACT test scores – – Select All | Unselect All –Fall reporting period for SAT/ACT test scores ACT Composite 25th percentile score ACT Composite 75th percentile score ACT English 25th percentile score ACT English 75th percentile score ACT Math 25th percentile score ACT Math 75th percentile score ACT Writing 25th percentile score (applicable from ) ACT Writing 75th percentile score (applicable from ) Click Continue and, if nothing needs editing, click Continue (Exhibit 13) 21

Exhibit 13 22

Controlling Output (Exhibit 14) 23

Output (Exhibit 15) 24

Create Group Statistics At the Select Institution Screen (Exhibit 8) –Click on By Groups/EZ Groups –Define your population from the drop-down menu options (Exhibit 16) 25

Exhibit 16 26

Selected Institutions, this Report Criteria Summary –State or other jurisdiction Pennsylvania –Title IV participating –Sector Public, 4-year or above Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above Private for-profit, 4-year or above Public, 2-year Private not-for-profit, 2-year Private for-profit, 2-year Public, less-than 2-year Private not-for-profit, less-than 2-year Private for-profit, less-than 2-year 27

Verifying Selections and Choosing Variables Click Search in Exhibit 16 View the institution count and list (Exhibit 17) Proceed to Variable Selection or go back and edit selections 28

Exhibit 17 29

Creating the Report Repeat the steps in Exhibits –Access the Select Variables screen –Make selections –Verify selections 30

Specify Output (Exhibit 18) 31

Advanced Output Specifications Exhibit 19 32

Produce Output (Exhibit 20) 33