What is IPEDS?
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is a system of survey components that collects data from about 7,500 institutions that provide postsecondary education across the United States. IPEDS collects institution-level data on student enrollment, graduation rates, student charges, program completions, faculty, staff, and finances.
These data are used at the federal and state level for policy analysis and development; at the institutional level for benchmarking and peer analysis; and by students and parents, through the College Navigator, an online tool to aid in the college search process. For more information about IPEDS, see https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds.
What Is the Purpose of This Report?
The Data Feedback Report is intended to provide institutions a context for examining the data they submitted to IPEDS. The purpose of this report is to provide institutional executives a useful resource and to help improve the quality and comparability of IPEDS data.
What Is in This Report?
As suggested by the IPEDS Technical Review Panel, the figures in this report provide selected indicators for your institution and a comparison group of institutions. The figures are based on data collected during the 2015-16 IPEDS collection cycle and are the most recent data available. This report provides a list of pre-selected comparison group institutions and the criteria used for their selection. Additional information about these indicators and the preselected comparison group are provided in the Methodological Notes at the end of the report.
Where Can I Do More with IPEDS Data?
Each institution can access previously released Data Feedback Reports from 2005 and customize this latest report by using a different comparison group and IPEDS variables of its choosing. To download archived reports or customize the current Data Feedback Report (DFR), please visit our website at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/Home/UseTheData.
METHODOLOGICAL NOTES
Overview
This report is based on data supplied by institutions to IPEDS during 2015-16 data collection year. Response rates exceeded 99% for most surveys. IPEDS First Look reports at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/getpubcats.asp?sid=010 provide some information on aggregate institutional responses.
Use of Median Values for Comparison Group
The value for the comparison institution is compared to the median value for the comparison group for each statistic included in the figure. If more than one statistic is present in a figure, the median values are determined separately for each indicator or statistic. Medians are not displayed for comparison groups with fewer than three values. Where percentage distributions are presented, median values may not add to 100%. To access all the data used to create the figures included in this report, go to 'Use the Data' portal on the IPEDS website at this provided link (https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
Missing Statistics
If a statistic is not reported for your institution, the omission indicates that the statistic is not relevant to your institution and the data were not collected. Not all notes may be applicable to your report.
Use of Imputed Data
All IPEDS data are subject to imputation for total (institutional) and partial (item) nonresponse. If necessary, imputed values were used to prepare your report.
Data Confidentiality
IPEDS data are not collected under a pledge of confidentiality.
Disaggregation of Data by Race/Ethnicity
When applicable, some indicators are disaggregated by race/ethnicity. Data disaggregated by race/ethnicity have been reported using the 1997 Office of Management and Budget categories. Detailed information about the race/ethnicity categories can be found at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/Section/Resources.
Cohort Determination for Reporting Student Financial Aid and Graduation Rates
Student cohorts for reporting Student Financial Aid and Graduation Rates data are based on the reporting type of the institution. For institutions that report based on an academic year (those operating on standard academic terms), student counts and cohorts are based on fall term data. Student counts and cohorts for program reporters (those that do not operate on standard academic terms) are based on unduplicated counts of students enrolled during a full 12-month period.
DESCRIPTION OF INDICATORS USED IN THE FIGURES
Admissions (only for non-open-admissions schools)
Admissions and Test Score Data
Admissions and test score data are presented only for institutions that do not have an open admission policy, and apply to first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students only. Applicants include only those students who fulfilled all requirements for consideration for admission and who were notified of one of the following actions: admission, non-admission, placement on a wait list, or application withdrawn (by applicant or institution). Admitted applicants (admissions) include wait-listed students who were subsequently offered admission. Early decision, early action, and students who began studies during the summer prior to the fall reporting period are included. For customized Data Feedback Reports, test scores are presented only if scores are required for admission.
Student Enrollment
FTE Enrollment
The full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment used in this report is the sum of the institution’s FTE undergraduate enrollment and FTE graduate enrollment (as calculated from or reported on the 12-month Enrollment component). Undergraduate and graduate FTE are estimated using 12-month instructional activity (credit and/or contact hours). See “Calculation of FTE Students (using instructional activity)” in the IPEDS Glossary at https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/VisGlossaryAll.aspx.
Total Entering Undergraduate Students
Total entering students are students at the undergraduate level, both full- and part-time, new to the institution in the fall term (or the prior summer term who returned in the fall). This includes all first-time undergraduate students, students transferring into the institution at the undergraduate level, and non-degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates entering in the fall. Only degree-granting, academic year reporting institutions provide total entering student data.
Charges and Net Price
Average Institutional Net Price
Average net price is calculated for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates who were awarded grant or scholarship aid from the federal government, state/local government, or the institution anytime during the full aid year. For public institutions, this includes only students who paid the in-state or in-district tuition rate. Other sources of grant aid are excluded. Average net price is generated by subtracting the average amount of federal, state/local government, and institutional grant and scholarship aid from the total cost of attendance. Total cost of attendance is the sum of published tuition and required fees, books and supplies, and the average room and board and other expenses.
For the purpose of the IPEDS reporting, aid awarded refers to financial aid that was awarded to, and accepted by, a student. This amount may differ from the aid amount that is disbursed to a student.
Retention, Graduation Rates, and Outcome Measures
Graduation Rates and Transfer-out Rate
Graduation rates are those developed to satisfy the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act and Higher Education Act, as amended, and are defined as the total number of individuals from a given cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates who completed a degree or certificate within a given percent of normal time to complete all requirements of the degree or certificate program; divided by the total number of students in the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates minus any allowable exclusions. Institutions are permitted to exclude from the cohort students who died or were totally and permanently disabled; those who left school to serve in the armed forces or were called up to active duty; those who left to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; and those who left to serve on an official church mission.
Transfer-out rate is the total number of students from the cohort who are known to have transferred out of the reporting institution (without earning a degree/award) and subsequently re-enrolled at another institution within the same time period; divided by the same adjusted cohort (initial cohort minus allowable exclusions) as described above. Only institutions with a mission that includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution are required to report transfers out.
Retention Rates
Retention rates are measures of the rate at which students persist in their educational program at an institution, expressed as a percentage. For four-year institutions, this is the percentage of first-time bachelors (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates from the previous fall who are again enrolled in the current fall. For all other institutions this is the percentage of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students from the previous fall who either re-enrolled or successfully completed their program by the current fall. The full-time retention rate is calculated using the percentage of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, while the part-time rate is calculated using the percentage of part-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates.
Finance
Core Revenues
Core revenues for public institutions reporting under GASB standards include tuition and fees; state and local appropriations; government grants and contracts; private gifts, grants, and contracts; sales and services of educational activities; investment income; other operating and non-operating sources; and other revenues and additions (federal and capital appropriations and grants and additions to permanent endowments). Core revenues for private, not-for-profit institutions (and a small number of public institutions) reporting under FASB standards include tuition and fees; government appropriations (federal, state, and local); government grants and contracts; private gifts, grants, and contracts (including contributions from affiliated entities); investment return; sales and services of educational activities; and other sources. Core revenues for private, for-profit institutions reporting under FASB standards include tuition and fees; government appropriations, grants, and contracts (federal, state, and local); private grants and contracts; investment income; sales and services of educational activities; and other sources. At degree-granting institutions, core revenues exclude revenues from auxiliary enterprises (e.g., bookstores, dormitories), hospitals, and independent operations. Nondegree-granting institutions do no report revenue from auxiliary enterprises in a separate category. These amounts may be included in the core revenues from other sources.
Core Expenses
Core expenses include expenses for instruction, research, public service, academic support, institutional support, student services, scholarships and fellowships (net of discounts and allowances), and other expenses. Expenses for operation and maintenance of plant, depreciation, and interest are allocated to each of the other functions. Core expenses at degree-granting institutions exclude expenses for auxiliary enterprises (e.g., bookstores, dormitories), hospitals, and independent operations. Nondegree-granting institutions do not report expenses for auxiliary enterprises in a separate category. These amounts may be included in the core expenses as other expenses.
Equated Instructional Non-Medical Staff Salaries
Institutions reported total salary outlays by academic rank and gender, and the number of staff by academic rank, contract length (9-, 10-, 11-, and 12-month contracts), and gender. The total number of months covered by salary outlays was calculated by multiplying the number of staff reported for each contract length period by the number of months of the contract, and summing across all contract length periods. The weighted average monthly salary for each academic rank and gender was calculated by dividing the total salary outlays by the total number of months covered. The weighted average monthly salary was then multiplied by 9 to determine an equated 9-month salary for each rank.
Salaries and Wages
Salaries and wages for public institutions under GASB standards and private (not-for-profit and for-profit) institutions under FASB standards, include amounts paid as compensation for services to all employees regardless of the duration of service, and amounts made to or on behalf of an individual over and above that received in the form of a salary or wage. Frequently, benefits are associated with an insurance payment. Private, for-profit institutions under FASB standards do not report salaries.
Staff
Student-to-Faculty Ratio
Institutions can provide their institution’s student-to-faculty ratio (i.e., student-to-instructional staff) for undergraduate programs or follow the NCES guidance in calculating their student-to-faculty ratio, which is as follows: the number of FTE students (using Fall Enrollment survey data) divided by total FTE instructional staff (using the total Primarily instruction + Instruction/research/public service staff reported in Human Resources component and adding any not primarily instructional staff that are teaching a credit course). For this calculation, FTE for students is equal to the number of the full-time students plus one-third the number of part-time students; FTE for instructional staff is similarly calculated. Students in "stand-alone" graduate or professional programs (such as, medicine, law, veterinary, dentistry, social work, or public health) and instructional staff teaching in these programs are excluded from the FTE calculations.
Libraries
Library Collection
Collections comprise of documents held locally and remote resources for which permanent or temporary access rights have been acquired. Degree-granting institutions with total library expenditures greater than zero reported their physical books and media collections and their digital/electronic books, media, and database collections. Institutions that indicate that their library is entirely electronic reported only their digital/electronic books, media, and database collection.
Digital/electronic books and media are reported by the number of units, which is defined as “units of acquisition or purchase”. The “unit” is determined by considering whether the item is restricted to a finite number of simultaneous users or an unlimited number of simultaneous users. Digital/electronic books and media that are considered part of databases were not included.
Counts in each category (i.e., physical books and media; digital/electronic books, media, and databases) are the number held at the end of the most recent fiscal year. The percent distribution of each resource is derived by dividing the counts in each category by the total of all categories.
Library Expenditures
Library expenditures are funds expended by the library (regardless of when received) from its regular budget and from all other sources, reported for the most recent fiscal year. Salaries and wages and benefits are reported only if paid from the library budget. Degree-granting institutions with total library expenditures less than $100,000 were not required to report their expenditures to IPEDS. The percent distribution of each category of expense is derived by dividing each expense category by the sum of total library expenditures.
Additional Methodological Information
Additional methodological information on the IPEDS components can be found in the publications available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/getpubcats.asp?sid=010.
Additional definitions of variables used in this report can be found in the IPEDS online glossary available at this provided link https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/VisGlossaryAll.aspx.
