Att_IPEDS 0811 Summary and Section A Russ esm ekm revised 06-12-2008

Contract No. ED-03-CO-0020

RTI Project No. 08856

Deliverable No. 7

Integrated Postsecondary Education

Data System (IPEDS) 2003 - 2007

Supporting Statement for

IPEDS 2008-2011

OMB Paperwork Reduction Act Submission

Submitted electronically to:

U.S. Department of Education

ATTN: Elise Miller, Program Director

Submitted by:

RTI International

3040 Cornwallis Road

P.O. Box 12194

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194

Project Director:

Ms. Janice Ennis Kelly-Reid

RTI International

P.O. Box 12194

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194

Telephone: (919) 541-6020

Fax: (919) 316-3866

E-mail: [email protected]

Revised April 11, 2008

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1

A. Justification 10

A.1. Purpose of this Submission 10

a. The Design of IPEDS 10

b. Proposed Modifications 11

c. Need for System Clearance at this Time 12

d. Statutory Requirements for IPEDS Data 13

A.2. Purpose and Use of IPEDS Information 15

a. Institutional Characteristics 16

b. Completions and Compliance Report 17

c. Enrollment 18

d. Human Resources. 20

e. Student Financial Aid 22

f. Finance 22

g. Graduation Rates 23

A.3. Use of Technology and Other Technological Collection Techniques 23

A.4. Efforts to Identify and Avoid Duplication 24

A.5. Methods Used to Minimize Burden on Small Businesses/Entities 25

A.6. Frequency of Data Collection 25

A.7. Special Circumstances 25

A.8. Consultations Outside the Agency 25

A.9. Paying Respondents 26

A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality 26

A.11. Justification for Sensitive Questions 27

A.12. Estimate of Burden 29

A.13. Estimate of Cost Burden 33

A.14. Cost to the Federal Government 33

A.15. Reasons for Change in Burden 34

A.16. Publication Plans/Project Schedule 35

a. Schedule of Activities 35

b. Distribution Methods 36

A.17. Request to Not Display Expiration Date 38

A.18. Exceptions to the Certification 38

B. Description of Statistical Methodology 39

B.1. Respondent Universe 39

B.2. Statistical Methodology 39

B.3. Methods to Maximize Response Rate 40

B.4. Tests of Procedures and Methods 40

B.5. Reviewing Individuals 42

Attachment A A-1

Executive Summary

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is requesting a three-year clearance for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to run for the 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-2011 web-based data collections. Current authorization expires July 31, 2008 (OMB No. 1850-0582).

IPEDS is a web-based data collection system designed to collect basic data from all postsecondary institutions in the United States and the other jurisdictions. IPEDS allows NCES to describe the size of one of the nation’s largest enterprises, postsecondary education, in terms of students enrolled, degrees and other awards earned, dollars expended, and staff employed. IPEDS incorporates technological improvements into the collection that enhance data submission and data availability. The IPEDS web-based data collection system was implemented in 2000-01, and it collects basic data from approximately 6,750 postsecondary institutions in the United States and the other jurisdictions that are eligible to participate in Title IV Federal financial aid programs. All Title IV institutions are required to respond to IPEDS (Section 490 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1992 (P.L. 102-325)). IPEDS allows other (non-title IV) institutions to participate on a voluntary basis, but only about 200 elect to respond.

NCES would like to make a limited number of changes to the IPEDS web-based data collection to (1) collect more detailed financial aid data, (2) improve the categorization of post-baccalaureate certificates and degrees, (3) increase comparability across IPEDS finance forms, and (4) make the reporting of race/ethnicity consistent with OMB standards.

We are requesting approval to collect data items similar to those in previous IPEDS collections with four areas of proposed changes to IPEDS forms to be made beginning in the next data collection year (2008-09) as detailed below. Except as otherwise indicated with respect to changes #2 and #4 below, following historical practice in IPEDS, the changes or additions would be optional in the first year (2008-09) and mandatory in subsequent years.

Note: Congress is actively engaged in the process of reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA), with the prospect of legislation being passed this year. NCES has chosen not to propose changes in IPEDS at this time in areas in which Congress may impose new reporting requirements, such as calculations of net price of attendance and graduation rates for particular categories of students. The IPEDS data collection proposed in this notice may need to be modified at a later point in light of Congressional action on HEA. Any subsequent modifications to the IPEDS data collection would be made only with the approval of OMB after a period of public comment.

1. Collect more detailed student financial aid data

(IPEDS component affected: Student Financial Aid)

Institutions now report all federal student grants to IPEDS rather than distinguishing between Pell grants and other grants. It is important to be able to differentiate how students at different institutions are using particular federal grant programs. Likewise, all loans are now reported together in IPEDS, regardless of source. Given the substantial expansion of private loans, it is desirable to distinguish those awarded by the federal government from those awarded from outside sources. These changes would improve financial transparency by institutions and provide more information on college costs to consumers. The data will be displayed on College Navigator (the successor to College Opportunities on Line—COOL) to help accomplish this goal. The proposed changes in categories are detailed below:

Current SFA Categories	Proposed SFA Categories
Any aid	Any aid Any grant Any loan
Federal grants	Pell grants Other federal grants
State/local grants	State/local grants
Institutional grants	Institutional grants
Loans	Federal loans Other loans

2. Eliminate first-professional degree category

(IPEDS components affected: Institutional Characteristics, Completions, 12 Month Enrollment, and Fall Enrollment)

NCES has received with increasing frequency questions from the higher education community about the first-professional degree classification. Specifically, concerns were raised that due to changes in graduate education, the category of a first-professional degree has become outmoded. In addition, it has become increasingly important to be able to distinguish research-focused doctoral degrees from professionally focused doctoral degrees, such as a Doctor of Physical Education or a Doctor of Fine Arts.

Based on the suggestions from the IPEDS Technical Review Panel and comments from additional members of the higher education community, the revised categories for degrees are outlined in the table below:

Current Award Categories (Baccalaureate and above)	New Award Categories (Baccalaureate and above)
Bachelor’s degree	Bachelor’s degree
Postbaccalaureate certificate	Postbaccalaureate certificate
Master’s degree	Master’s degree
Post-master’s certificate First-professional certificate (Post-degree)	Post-master’s certificate (Combines current post-master’s and first-professional certificates into one category.)
Doctor’s degree	Doctor’s degree – research/scholarship Doctor’s degree – professional practice Doctor’s degree - other
First-professional degree	Eliminated

The new degree categories will be defined as follows:

Doctor’s degree - research/scholarship - A Ph.D. or other doctor's degree that requires advanced work beyond the master’s level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement. Some examples of this type of degree may include Ed.D., D.M.A., D.B.A., D.Sc., D.A., or D.M, and others, as designated by the awarding institution.

Doctor’s degree - professional practice - A doctor’s degree that is conferred upon completion of a program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credential, or license required for professional practice. The degree is awarded after a period of study such that the total time to the degree, including both pre-professional and professional preparation, equals at least six full-time equivalent academic years. Some of these degrees were formerly classified as “first-professional” and may include: Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.); Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.); Law (L.L.B. or J.D.); Medicine (M.D.); Optometry (O.D.); Osteopathic Medicine (D.O); Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); Podiatry (D.P.M., Pod.D., D.P.); or, Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), and others, as designated by the awarding institution.

Doctor’s degree - other - A doctor’s degree that does not meet the definition of a doctor’s degree - research/scholarship or a doctor’s degree - professional practice.

Four components of the IPEDS collection will be affected by these changes: Institutional Characteristics, Completions, 12 Month Enrollment and the Fall Enrollment components. NCES will implement the new definitions and categories for reporting Institutional Characteristics and Fall Enrollment information with the 2008-09 data collection year. As with all changes to IPEDS, the first collection year would be optional, and the second year use of the new definition would be mandatory. For Completions data, implementation of the new categories would begin in the 2009-10 data collection year (reporting on awards granted between July 1, 2008, and June 30, 2009) as optional, becoming mandatory the following year. For any data collections prior to the implementation date, institutions should continue to report data on first-professional degree programs under the existing definition.

3. Revise IPEDS Finance

On January 17-18, 2007, RTI International, the contractor for the IPEDS web-based data collection system, convened a meeting of the IPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP) in Washington, DC, to discuss future enhancements to IPEDS finance forms to increase commonality and comparability of the data collected. The panel members included 46 individuals representing institutions, national associations, state governments, the federal government, and others.

The TRP members reviewed the IPEDS Finance component forms and reviewed all of the data elements currently being collected. The participants agreed that in order to increase the comparability across the IPEDS finance forms, it would be necessary to modify one or both of the forms and redefine some of the data elements being collected. The resulting data would have greater usefulness and would improve financial transparency of the institutional finance data being reported.

Based on the panel members’ suggestions, NCES proposes the changes to IPEDS Finance forms outlined on the following pages. In response to comments received during the 60-day comment period, reporting under these new formats will be optional for two years (2008-09 and 2009-10) instead of the customary one-year optional transition period. Because of the timing of the fiscal year in relation to reporting year, institutions will require additional time to make adjustments to their accounting practices and data systems. Reporting under the new formats will become mandatory for the 2010-11 collection year.

IPEDS Finance form for institutions that use FASB:

1. Add the following categories to Part A – Statement of Financial Position:

1. Assets:

   • Property, Plant, and Equipment

   • Accumulated Depreciation

   • Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization

2. Debt related to Property, Plant, and Equipment

2. Change the categories of net assets on Part A to the following:

   1. Unrestricted net assets

   2. Temporarily restricted net assets

   3. Permanently restricted net assets

3. Add the following categories to the Property, Plant and Equipment section (page 2) of Part A:

   1. Construction in progress

   2. Other

   3. Accumulated depreciation

4. Delete “Property obtained under capital leases (if not included in equipment)” and clarify in the instructions to include property obtained under capital leases in the categories that best describe the property, such as equipment, buildings, etc.

5. Add a caveats box on Part B.

6. Pre-populate net assets at the beginning of the year (line 5 of Part B) with previous year’s collection of net assets at end of year. However, the keyholder would have the ability to overwrite it.

7. Change the title of Part C from “Student Grants” to “Scholarships and Fellowships” in order to be consistent with the form for GASB institutions.

8. Change the format of Part D (Revenues) so that they are reported in 3 columns:

   1. Unrestricted

   2. Temporarily restricted

   3. Permanently restricted

However, sales and services of auxiliary enterprises and hospitals will be reported only in unrestricted revenues.

2. Add a revenue line for “net assets released from restriction” that can allow both positive and negative amounts.

3. Separate “Private gifts, grants, and contracts” to allow gifts to be reported separately from private grants and contracts.

4. Add an instruction to the screen clarifying that the endowment assets of foundations and affiliated entities should be included in reporting of Part H – Details of Endowment Assets.

IPEDS Finance form for institutions that use GASB:

1. Change line 2 of Part A – Statement of Net Assets to read “Capital Assets, net of depreciation” and delete the line for accumulated depreciation.

2. Change the second page of Part A as follows:

   1. Change title to “Part A – Capital Assets”

   2. Report only ending balance (discontinue beginning balance, additions, and retirements)

   3. Combine “Equipment” and “art and library collections”

   4. Delete “Property obtained under capital leases (if not included in equipment)” and clarify instructions to include property obtained under capital leases in the categories that best describe the property, such as equipment, buildings, etc.

   5. Add a line for Other capital assets

   6. Add a line for “intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization” after the line for accumulated depreciation

3. On Part B, report local operating grants and contracts separately from private operating grants and contracts

4. Add a line for sales and services of educational activities

5. Change Part C (Expenses and Other Deductions) to resemble the form for FASB institutions, adding columns for operation and maintenance of plant and interest, and removing the functional classification of depreciation. Operation and maintenance (O&M) of plant as a function will be used to allocate O&M to natural classes as it is in the form for FASB institutions. In addition, removing the functional classification of depreciation will require public institutions to allocate depreciation to appropriate functional categories – as independent institutions do.

6. Parts F and G, used for reporting component units using FASB and GASB standards, will be discontinued.

7. Add an instruction to the screen clarifying that the endowment assets of foundations and affiliated entities should be included in reporting of Part H – Details of Endowment Assets.

IPEDS Finance form for for-profit institutions: No change

4. Change race/ethnicity

(Surveys affected: Completions, 12 Month Enrollment, Fall Enrollment, Human Resources, and Graduation Rates)

On October 19, 2007, the U.S. Department of Education posted to the Federal Register the “Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education.” (See the Federal Register, Volume 72, Number 202, pp. 59266-59279: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-20613.pdf). The proposed changes are necessary for the Department to implement the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) 1997 Standards for Maintaining, Collecting and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. IPEDS will adopt new aggregate categories for reporting R/E data in accordance with the final guidance.

The guidance issued by the Department covers two separate issues: (1) the collection of R/E data by institutions and (2) the reporting of aggregate data to the Department. For collecting R/E data, institutions must use a two-question format, and the Department encourages institutions to re-survey students and staff (the two-question format is as follows:  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, White).  For further details on the guidance for collecting data, please see the full Federal Register notice.

For reporting aggregate data to the Department, the guidance identifies nine categories that will be used for IPEDS. ED’s final guidance requires separating the category “Asian or Pacific Islander” into two separate categories, one for “Asian” and one for “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.” Additionally, a category will be provided for reporting two or more races. This results in seven categories for reporting aggregate racial/ethnic data: Hispanics of any race, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black not-Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, White not-Hispanic, and two or more races. ED’s final guidance also allows IPEDS to continue to use the two categories for reporting non-resident aliens and for reporting counts when race/ethnicity is unknown, for the reasons given below.

Non-resident aliens – IPEDS has traditionally collected data on non-resident aliens separately from U.S. citizens and resident aliens (no race data will be available for non-resident aliens); and

Race/ethnicity unknown – this category has been used in IPEDS since 1990 to provide a mechanism for reporting U.S. citizens and resident aliens who do not designate a racial/ethnic category. The current and new race/ethnicity categories for reporting data to IPEDS are outlined on the following page:

Current IPEDS Reporting Categories	New IPEDS Reporting Categories
Non-resident alien Race and ethnicity unknown Black, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native Asian/Pacific Islander Hispanic, White, non-Hispanic	Nonresident aliens Race and ethnicity unknown Hispanics of any race For non-Hispanics only: American Indian or Alaska Native Asian Black or African American Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander White Two or more races

Educational institutions will be required to implement this guidance in order to report data for the 2010–2011 school year. Under the guidance, although not required to do so, educational institutions already collecting individual-level data in the manner specified by the notice are encouraged to immediately begin reporting aggregate data to the Department. However, because the 2007-08 IPEDS data collection year is already underway, the new R/E reporting categories will not be available for reporting in IPEDS until the 2008-09 collection year, which begins in Fall 2008.

The IPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP) discussed the implementation of changes to race/ethnicity reporting in IPEDS in November 2006 after the Department issued preliminary guidance on August 6, 2006. Based on suggestions from that meeting of the TRP, changes to reporting race/ethnicity in IPEDS will be fully implemented as outlined below.

• 2008-09 and 2009-10 Collection Years

Optional years for all components: Reporting using new race/ethnic categories will be voluntary: All five relevant IPEDS components (Fall Enrollment, Human Resources, Completions, 12-Month Enrollment, and Graduation Rates) will allow a combination of current and new race/ethnic submissions, and therefore IPEDS components would have five current race/ethnic categories plus seven new race/ethnic categories plus two remaining categories (“Race and Ethnicity Unknown” and “Non-resident alien”) — a combined “5+7+2 format”. Although the desire is that institutions will be able to collect and report the new race/ethnic data at this time, institutions would have the option to submit data using any of the following approaches:

1. Exclusively use seven new race/ethnic categories for everyone at the institution

2. Exclusively current five race/ethnic categories for everyone at the institution

3. Use “mixed reporting” - current categories for some individuals and new categories for others. The anticipation is that few institutions would select this option since it will be the most complex.

• 2010-11 Collection Year

• Mandatory year for Fall Enrollment and Human Resources: Reporting using new race/ethnicity categories will be required.

• Optional year for Completions, 12-Month Enrollment, and Graduation Rates Reporting using the new categories will remain optional; data in these components will be collected using the 5+7+2 format.

• 2011-12 and Beyond Collection Years

Mandatory years for all IPEDS components: Institutions will be required to report using only the new race/ethnicity categories.

In the years with components that have optional reporting, institutions can report one way for one IPEDS component and another for other IPEDS components. The expectation is that most will report using new race/ethnic categories for Completions, 12-Month Enrollment, and Graduation Rates the year after they report using new race/ethnic categories for Fall Enrollment and Human Resources. The following table summarizes the proposed reporting timeline.

Proposed Timeline for Reporting Race/Ethnicity Data to IPEDS

IPEDS Collection Year	Fall Enrollment and Human Resources	Completions, 12-Month Enrollment, and Graduation Rates
2008-09 and 2009-10	mixed format (5+7+2)	mixed format (5+7+2)
2010-11	new format (7+2) only	mixed format (5+7+2)
2011-12 and beyond	new format (7+2) only	new format (7+2) only
“5” includes: Black, non-Hispanic; American Indian/Alaska Native; Asian/Pacific Islander; Hispanic; White, non-Hispanic “7” includes: Hispanics of any race; For non-Hispanics only: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, White, Two or more races “2” includes: Race and Ethnicity Unknown and Nonresident Alien

SECTION A. Justification

A.1. Purpose of this Submission

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is seeking a three-year clearance for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for the 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-2011 collections. Current clearance covers the 2007-08 survey year and is due to expire on July 31, 2008. We are therefore requesting a new three-year clearance in order to collect and process these data.

There are minimal changes to the data collection instruments proposed for 2008-09 through 2010-11. These minor changes reflect requests for clarification and the desire to reduce respondent burden.

a. The Design of IPEDS

Related Background Information

IPEDS was developed to address technical problems with previous postsecondary education statistical programs, including the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) and the Vocational Education Data System (VEDS). IPEDS was designed to collect accurate, reliable and timely data from the entire postsecondary universe. Although it was based on the HEGIS model, which provides institution-level data submitted either directly to NCES by the institution or through a central or state coordinating office, the IPEDS design allows for varying institution types. The institution-level data collection allows for aggregation of results at various levels and permits significant controls on data quality to be exercised by NCES.

IPEDS Components

The IPEDS system consists of several components that obtain and disseminate information on who provides postsecondary education (institutions), who participates in it and completes it (students), what programs are offered and what programs are completed, and the resources involved in the provision of institutionally based postsecondary education, both human and financial. These components include:

• Institutional Characteristics, including tuition and price information (IC);

• Completions (and Compliance Report) (C);

• Fall Enrollment (and Compliance Report), including fall counts by race/ethnicity and gender, level of enrollment, age, and residence; and fall-to-fall retention.(EF)

• 12-Month Enrollment (E12) – formerly part of EF – unduplicated headcount and instructional activity data for the prior year;

• Human Resources (HR), including Employees by Assigned Position, Salaries (of full-time instructional faculty), and Fall Staff;

• Student Financial Aid (SFA);

• Finance (F); and

• Graduation Rates (GRS).

b. Proposed Modifications

1. Data Collection Method

We are proposing to continue using the IPEDS web-based system of collection for all components. This collection is organized into three phases based on data availability at the institutions: Fall, Winter, and Spring.

The Fall collection includes:

• Institutional Characteristics, including Institutional Price data

• Completions (and Compliance Report)

• 12 Month Enrollment (E12)

The Winter collection includes:

• Human Resources (HR)

• Fall Enrollment (and Compliance Report) (EF)*

• Finance*

*Indicates that the component is available to respondents who wish to

submit data early.

The Spring collection includes:

• Student Financial Aid

• Graduation Rates

• Fall Enrollment (if not completed during the Winter collection)

• Finance (if not completed during the Winter collection)

Institutions are able to enter data manually on a web-based form or, alternatively, to upload a file containing the data. In many instances, prior year data are provided for comparison purposes. The data are edited as they are being entered into the system, and respondents must either correct any “errors” identified or enter an explanation in order to submit their response to NCES. This process shortens data processing time and increases data quality. This approach also reduces burden on institutions by precluding the need for repeated callbacks from NCES contractors. The IPEDS system is accessible to persons with disabilities.

2. Data Content

We are proposing minimal modifications in data content over the next three years. The formats (see attachments) for reporting IPEDS data are very similar to those used for the 2001-02 through 2007-08 data collection cycles. NCES anticipates that the IPEDS Technical Review Panel may recommend consideration of additional data items; however, no major changes (additional items) will be made to the IPEDS forms without prior notification to OMB and subsequent approval. Minor clarifications (wording changes) or changes to instructions that impact consistency may be made without notifying OMB. The IPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP) was formed to assist NCES and its contractors in a variety of ways including: making suggestions for updating the surveys with items that are more relevant to current postsecondary issues; to discuss universe definitions; suggesting ways IPEDS can better serve the institutions and respondents; discussing outcomes and products; and discussing current issues. The TRP generally meets three times a year (but not on a regular schedule) to discuss various topics of interest to the community of IPEDS data providers and data users. Beginning in 2008, the IPEDS TRPs will become IPEDS Research and Development Panels and will include a core group of 15 panel members, supplemented by institution and association staff with expertise in the specific panel topic.

How the panels work:

• Issue / topic is identified (by IPEDS staff, NCES, or an outside source);

• Panelists with interest in the topic are invited to attend the meeting;

• Beginning in 2008, a background paper is prepared by a consultant and distributed to panel members for review prior to the meeting;

• Meetings are held (normally 1½ days) and the topics are discussed at length;

• Discussion and any suggestions are summarized and posted to the IPEDS website;

• NCES accepts comments from the public on the topic;

• Once comments are received, they are summarized;

• Finally, a document is posted to the website that includes a summary of comments and NCES/IPEDS’ intent to respond and/or implement actions as a result of the comments.

Please note that the 2000-02 OMB clearance package included a request to add items to the Fall Enrollment component to collect data on non-credit activity, including the number of non-credit courses and the corresponding contact hours for (a) courses for workforce development, and (b) other non-credit courses. This was in response to requests from two-year institutions to track growing non-credit activity. These data items have not been added to IPEDS but are still under consideration and will be discussed during the March 2008 panel meeting. Any proposed additions will be sent to OMB requesting modification to this clearance request.

c. Need for System Clearance at this Time

Clearance helps assure that IPEDS maintains a consistent set of data items in order to collect data from the various institutions at the needed time and with the needed detail. This is important since the utility and quality of data collected in one component in some cases are dependent upon, and in all cases are enhanced by, data collected in other components. Internal consistency and the inherent relationships among IPEDS components also permit reliability indicators to be established for many of the IPEDS data elements. Having the capability for assessing reliability on an on-going basis and, in turn, being able to address individual and systemic problems as they occur will result in significantly better postsecondary education data. Moreover, the concept of a data system rather than stand-alone, independent survey components also allows for the elimination of duplication of effort and thus reduces response burden. The web-based data collection system will continue to allow NCES to comply with the Higher Education Act, which required the redesign of the data collection system, so as to improve the timeliness and quality of IPEDS data, by increasing the efficiency of data collection.

d. Statutory Requirements for IPEDS Data

General Mandate

IPEDS, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, plays a major role in responding to the Center's Congressional mandate under Section 151 of P.L. 107-279, the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002.

The mission of the Center shall be--

(1) to collect and analyze education information and statistics in a manner that meets the highest methodological standards;

(2) to report education information and statistics in a timely manner; and

(3) to collect, analyze, and report education information and statistics in a manner that--

(A) is objective, secular, neutral, and non-ideological and is free of partisan political influence and racial, cultural, gender, or regional bias; and

(B) is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public.

The legislation goes on to indicate that the duties of the Center include:

• collecting, acquiring, compiling (where appropriate, on a State-by-State basis), and disseminating full and complete statistics (disaggregated by the population characteristics described in paragraph (3)) on the condition and progress of education, at the preschool, elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and adult levels in the United States;

• conducting and publishing reports on the meaning and significance of the statistics described above;

• collecting, analyzing, cross-tabulating, and reporting, to the extent feasible, information by gender, race, ethnicity, … and other population characteristics, when such disaggregated information will facilitate educational and policy decision-making; and other such activities including

• assisting public and private educational agencies, organizations, and institutions in improving and automating statistical and data collection activities.

Data on Race/Ethnicity and Gender of Students

The collection and reporting of racial/ethnic data on students and completers are mandatory for all institutions that receive, are applicants for, or expect to be applicants for Federal financial assistance as defined in the Department of Education (ED) regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (34 CFR 100.13), or defined in any ED regulation implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. NCES will implement the new racial/ethnic categories as a reporting option based on ED final guidelines and the implementation plan discussed in the Executive Summary item 5 above.

Vocational Education Data

IPEDS responds to certain of the requirements pursuant to Section 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. The data related to vocational program completions are collected from those postsecondary institutions known to provide occupationally specific vocational education.

Student Right-to-Know

Sections 668.41, 668.45, and 668.48 of the Student Assistance General Provision were amended to implement the Student Right-to-Know Act, as amended by the Higher Education Amendments of 1991 and further by the Higher Education Technical Amendments of 1993 and 1999. These final regulations require an institution that participates in any student financial assistance program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, to disclose information about graduation or completion rates to current and prospective students. Data must also be reported to the Secretary of Education; this is accomplished through the IPEDS Graduation Rates (GRS) component.

Fall Staff Data

The collection and reporting of racial/ethnic data on the Fall Staff portion of the Human Resources (HR) component are mandatory for all institutions which receive, are applicants for, or expect to be applicants for Federal financial assistance as defined in the Department of Education (ED) regulations implementing Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (34 CFR 100.12). The collection of data are also mandated by Public Law 88-352, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 (29 CFR 1602, subparts O, P, and Q).

Mandatory Reporting for Institutions with Program Participation Agreements

The completion of all IPEDS surveys, in a timely and accurate manner, is mandatory for all institutions that participate in or are applicants for participation in any Federal financial assistance program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. The completion of the surveys is mandated by 20 USC 1094, Section 487(a)(17) and 34 CFR 668.14(b)(19).

Cost of Higher Education

Section 101 of the Higher Education amendments of 1965 (PL 105-244) requires that NCES collect the following information from institutions of higher education: "(i) tuition and fees for a full-time undergraduate student; (ii) cost of attendance for a full-time undergraduate student, consistent with the provisions of section 472; (iii) average amount of financial assistance received by an undergraduate student who attends an institution of higher education, including - (I) each type of assistance or benefit described in section 428(a)(2)(C)(i); (II) fellowships; and (III) institutional and other assistance, and (IV) number of students receiving financial assistance described in each" of the above categories.

IPEDS is to "collect information regarding the data elements described (in the paragraph above) with respect to at least all institutions of higher education participating in programs under Title IV, beginning with the information from academic year 2000 - 2001 and annually thereafter."

The requirement to collect data on price is satisfied through various items collected in the IC component during the Fall cycle (tuition and fees, room, board, and other expenses) and the SFA component in the Spring cycle.

A.2. Purpose and Use of IPEDS Information

IPEDS provides NCES with the basic data needed to describe the size of the post- secondary enterprise in terms of students enrolled, staff employed, dollars expended and degrees earned. The IPEDS universe also provides the institutional sampling frame used in most other postsecondary surveys such as the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) and the National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF). Each of these surveys uses the IPEDS institutional universe for its first stage sample and relies on IPEDS data on enrollment, completions, or staff to weight its second stage sample.

In addition to usage within NCES and other areas of the Department of Education, IPEDS data are heavily relied on by Congress, other federal agencies, state governments, education providers, professional associations, private businesses, media, military and interested individuals. Finally, IPEDS data have recently been utilized to develop IPEDS Data Feedback Reports. Initially disseminated in the fall of 2004, these annual reports are sent to almost all postsecondary institutions¹. They contain data and figures comparing each individual institution to a group of “comparison” institutions, using a variety of IPEDS data variables and derived variables, and are mailed to the Chief Executive Officers of each institution. The reports serve as a means of highlighting the utility of IPEDS data, as well as providing comparative data for use by institutions in meeting their institutional goals relative to their postsecondary “peers.”

As noted in the Executive Summary, NCES is requesting a change in the race/ethnicity reporting based on the final Department of Education Guidelines, a change in the first professional degree classification based on suggestions from the Technical Review Panel and comments received from the postsecondary community, and minor changes to the collection system components to enhance its utility to consumers.

Additional uses of IPEDS data, specific to individual survey components, include:

a. Institutional Characteristics

Institutional Characteristics data are the foundation of the entire IPEDS system. These data elements constitute the primary information that is necessary to interrelate and understand other descriptive kinds of statistical data about education, such as enrollments, staff, graduates, and finance. The information is essential to: 1) establishing the universe control file for IPEDS; and 2) developing data collection sampling frames. The IPEDS universe is used as the sampling frame for many other NCES studies, including the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) and the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF).

In addition to the need for these data within NCES and the Department of Education (Title III and Higher Education Act programs and the Office for Civil Rights use data from IPEDS institutions), other federal agencies rely on the database and the resulting list of postsecondary institutions. NCES has utilized IPEDS data in fulfilling past information requests from the Air Force, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Department of Defense (including recruiting offices of all Armed Services), the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and Labor, the National Science Foundation, the Veterans Administration, the Social Security Administration, and members of Congress. NCES continues to fulfill information requests as they are received, and has also significantly increased the volume of IPEDS data available on its public websites, allowing end users increased access to current and historic IPEDS data.

Much of the data collected through the IC component, especially admissions information and tuition (price) data, are of special interest to consumers. Consequently, NCES initially created IPEDS College Opportunities On-Line (IPEDS COOL), a web-based search tool where consumers could obtain information about postsecondary schools. In September 2007 ED unveiled the enhanced and redesigned search tool, now called College Navigator (see http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator).

Additionally, NCES continued linking IPEDS institutions on College Navigator to data provided by the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) and the office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), for the purpose of disseminating relevant information to consumers. These enhancements include: 1) links to OPE’s website providing information on Programs Accredited by Accrediting Agencies and State Approval Agencies Recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education, 2) links to OPE’s website providing Campus Security data, and 3) links to FSA’s website providing information on student financial aid.

b. Completions and Compliance Report

Information on the number of students who complete a postsecondary education program by type of program and level of award constitute the only national source of information on the availability and location of highly trained manpower. Types of programs are categorized according to the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). The CIP is a taxonomic coding scheme that contains titles and descriptions of instructional programs, primarily at the postsecondary level. Business and industry, the military, and other groups that need to recruit individuals with particular skills use these data extensively. The data also help satisfy the mandate in the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act for information on completions in postsecondary vocational education programs.

Information on completions in postsecondary education programs has been used extensively. For example:

• Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), use these data to respond to public inquiries regarding degrees awarded by different types of institutions, and for reference guides in preparation for budget justifications.

• Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), uses these data in preparing the Occupational Outlook Handbook and in matching projections of labor supply and demand.

• State Occupational Information Coordinating Committees (SOICC) also require these data on an annual basis for assisting citizens in career planning and in making state and local area estimates of trained manpower.

• The Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, uses these data to supply information to Members of Congress in order to assist them in assessing changing and developing needs of the Nation with respect to manpower and postsecondary education.

• The Department of Agriculture, Office of Higher Education Programs, uses these data to include program data on agriculture and home economics in various reports.

• The National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resource Studies, relies heavily on these data to study the education pipelines for scientists and engineers.

• The U.S. Office of Personnel Management uses these data to provide guidance to other Federal agencies in their recruiting efforts.

• The Office for Civil Rights (Department of Education) uses these data in reviewing institutional compliance with anti-discrimination statutes.

• The Department of Justice uses these data when court suits are brought in civil rights cases.

• The Department of Defense uses these data to identify institutions training significant numbers of individuals in occupational programs, and with particular military related skills.

• Private firms use these data for recruiting trained manpower and large corporations use the racial/ethnic completions data to identify the potential pool of new employees for EEO requirements.

• States also use data by program to compare changes in degree patterns among states and for manpower planning and projections.

• The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has utilized these data for use in developing their institutional classification schemes.

c. Enrollment

Enrollment is probably the most basic parameter in postsecondary education since it indicates access to an educational experience that is both economically and socially advantageous. Because enrollment patterns differ greatly among the various types of postsecondary institutions, there is a need for both different measures of enrollment and several indicators of access. In IPEDS, enrollment is measured using seven different perspectives.

Enrollment and Compliance Report

Fall enrollment is the traditional measure of student access to higher education and IPEDS continues this important statistical series. The Education Department uses fall enrollment data in program planning and for setting funding allocation standards for such legislatively controlled programs as the College Work-Study Program and others. NCES collects fall enrollment data through this component of IPEDS to update its annual college projections, its mandated annual Condition of Education report, and the Digest of Education Statistics. The Bureau of the Census, the National Science Foundation, and most state education agencies depend heavily on annual fall enrollment data for such uses as economic and financial planning, manpower forecasting, and policy formulation. Educational and professional associations also use IPEDS enrollment data for a wide variety of purposes.

The data are necessary for the Office for Civil Rights (Department of Education) to perform functions mandated by Title VI and Title IX.

Residence of First-Time Students (required in even-numbered years)

IPEDS also collects data on the counts of first-time freshmen by state of residence, including data on the number who graduated from high school the previous year. These data are used to monitor the flow of students across state lines and calculate college-going rates by state. The primary purpose of this component is to provide states with more complete information about the attendance of their residents in college than the States can collect in their own surveys. States can then use resulting data to make estimates about the college-going rates of their high school graduates, examine problems caused by excessive student out-migration or in-migration, and determine the types of institutions that attract their citizens into other states. Such data are critical for postsecondary education planning at the state level.

States as well as various associations have made it clear that only a national agency can collect the data needed to examine residence and migration patterns. There are a number of national and state level issues that can be addressed by collecting and disseminating residence data. These needs include the following:

• planning/budgeting for institutional support - public and private;

• planning for shifting institutional demand by region, state, and institution;

• monitoring or establishing out-of-state quotas; and

• reassessing state support to private institutions serving large numbers of in-state students.

Age Data (required in odd-numbered years)

In 1987, NCES began collecting fall enrollment by age of student on a biennial basis. These data offer insight into the relationship between the changing demographics of college-going cohorts and enrollment in different types of postsecondary institutions; they permit detailed projections of enrollment by institutional type and by age. Because a student's dependency status is strongly related to age, the data can also be used to provide estimates of the number of independent/dependent students attending a postsecondary institution, which should be useful in financial aid modeling and projections. In addition, the Department of Defense U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command has indicated a strong need for these data to identify institutions with a sufficient number of recruitment-age students to make recruiting efforts cost effective.

Unduplicated 12-Month Head Count (now a separate component)

The collection of unduplicated head count of students enrolled over a 12-month period provides a way of looking at enrollment that is especially valuable for institutions that utilize non-traditional calendar systems and institutions that offer short programs. An enrollment figure that encompasses an entire year provides a more complete picture of the services being provided by these schools.

Instructional Activity

The collection of instructional activity, as measured in total credit and/or contact hours delivered by institutions during a 12-month period, provides an overall indicator of the scope of educational activity provided by the institutions. NCES uses the total instructional activity measure as a basis for computing a total student full-time equivalency (FTE). FTE is commonly used by postsecondary institutions as a measure of size and performance, and is one of the best available indicators for the measurement of educational endeavors.

Total Entering Class

NCES began collecting total entering class data in the Winter of 2002, based on a recommendation from the TRP. These data are collected in order to address concerns that the cohort used by the Graduation Rates component is not representative of an institution’s entering class because the GRS cohort is comprised only of full-time students. The collection of a total entering class allows for a more accurate picture of incoming students and also permits the calculation of the fall GRS cohort as a proportion of the total entering student body.

Retention Rates

NCES began collecting retention rates data in the Winter of 2003, based on a need identified by the TRP. Retention rates data provide an indicator of postsecondary

performance that is broader in scope than completions data or graduation rates data, and is a critical measure of success as viewed by many 2-year and 4-year institutions.

d. Human Resources

Human resource data provide another basic measure of postsecondary education because they indicate the extent of the human infrastructure and knowledge base represented at institutions of higher learning. Because the size and type of staffing patterns vary greatly across postsecondary education, there is a need to measure different aspects of the human capital in postsecondary institutions. The Human Resources component measures this human capital in three primary ways.

Employees by Assigned Position

This section was developed to allow institutions to properly classify all of their employees by full- or part-time status, faculty status and occupational activity; in addition, medical school staff are reported separately. By first completing the EAP, institutions are then able to differentiate which faculty are reported on the Salaries component and which are reported on Fall Staff.

Salaries

IPEDS data on the salaries of full-time instructional faculty are used by:

• the Department of Education's Grants and Contracts Service, which makes frequent use of the salary data collected by NCES to set standards for expected salary outlays during grants and contracts negotiations processes;

• the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Department of Labor, which includes salary data when developing its Occupational Outlook Handbook.

The House Labor and Human Resources Committee, the Office for Civil Rights, and the Bureau of the Census have requested trend data. State agencies rely on salary and fringe benefits data to determine budgets for their state-supported institutions and to make comparative studies with other states.

Institutions use salary and fringe benefits data to establish their own compensation packages, and institution officials study the compensation packages offered by their peers and/or competitors prior to developing their salary and fringe benefits schedules.

.

Fall Staff (required in odd-numbered years)

The fall staff section replaces the former EEO-6 survey, and is used by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in place of their data collection efforts. Under Public Law 88-352, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, all institutions of higher education that have 15 or more (full-time) employees are required to keep records and to make such reports biennially to EEOC. NCES now collects the data and provides it to EEOC as required in their regulations. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) of the Department of Labor also use these data. The filing of Fall Staff data is mandated under Section 709(c) of Title VII.

The data provide information on staffing levels at the institutions for various occupational categories and are used extensively in peer institution analysis, manpower utilization studies, and in examining the health of the institutions. Good quality data on racial/ethnic composition of postsecondary employees are useful to EEOC and OCR for monitoring compliance with Title VII.

e. Student Financial Aid

The Student Financial Aid component was added to IPEDS to help respond to the request for information on the cost and price of higher education in the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. Data collected through this component allow prospective students to compare average amounts of financial aid received by full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduates by type of aid received across institutions. These data are posted on IPEDS College Opportunities On-Line. Additional categories are desired to separate aid provided through Federal programs from non-Federal aid and to provide better information to students and parents.

f. Finance

Finance data are needed for reporting and projecting the revenues and expenditures of a national activity representing a significant component of the GNP. To enhance the comparability and utility of the finance data, IPEDS redesigned the data collection instruments to conform to the accounting standards governing both public and private institutions. The IPEDS Technical review panel reviewed the IPEDS Finance component forms and data elements and agreed that additional redesign was necessary to increase commonality and comparability of the data collected. The resulting data would have greater usefulness and would improve financial transparency of the institutional finance data being reported. Most data items requested are found directly on the face of the institution’s audited financial statement, thus significantly reducing respondent burden.

The Department of Education's Title III (Institutional Aid) grant program relies on the finance data to help determine whether or not an applicant college or university is eligible to receive a grant. These data are needed annually.

The Bureau of the Census relies on this form to collect data required in its census of governments. NCES and Census worked closely to ensure that one instrument satisfied the needs of both agencies. The Bureau of Economic Analysis also contributed significantly to this endeavor. The Office of Management and Budget asked NCES to collect these data because the Bureau's survey universe was a subset of the IPEDS universe. The Bureau of the Census also uses the data from other parts of the survey to:

• develop estimates of state and local governments' finances to provide to the Bureau of Economic Analysis for calculation of the Gross National Product; and

• collect supplemental data that their census of governments does not collect.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service are secondary users of NCES/Census finance data.

The Office for Civil Rights has used finance data to determine states' or institutions' compliance with anti-discrimination laws. From these data OCR was able to determine whether or not predominantly black, publicly controlled institutions were being discriminated against through funding decisions made by state boards of higher education.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce uses financial statistics to prepare totals and forecasts on total non-farm expenditures for structures and equipment, and to develop Gross National Product accounts.

Increasing numbers of state agencies use the NCES Finance report to assemble data to plan and evaluate their higher education policies.

Among associations, the American Council on Education (ACE), the Association for Institutional Research, the Brookings Institution, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching are frequent users of Finance data. Researchers from these and other organizations use the data to assess the economic future of the Nation's colleges and universities.

g. Graduation Rates

Through this component of IPEDS, the NCES provides a structure for calculating comparable graduation rate statistics across institutions. The data also provide much needed information to researchers as an outcome measure of institutional productivity, and offer insight into the relationship between the changing demographics of college-going cohorts within different types of institutions. The information collected in this component can be used to help satisfy regulations regarding the Student Right-to-Know Act.

A.3. Use of Technology and Other Technological Collection Techniques

IPEDS implemented a web-based system in 2000 that makes use of advanced technology to reduce respondent burden and to improve the timeliness and quality of the reported data. NCES has taken several actions to facilitate the cooperation of postsecondary institutions responding to IPEDS. These actions include:

1. The development of a fully automated web-based data collection for all components of IPEDS data. The data collection is organized into three modules, taking full advantage of data availability schedules.

2. Survey components are customized based on screening information so that institutions are prompted to respond only to those items relevant to their institution. For example, if a private institution does not have a differential tuition charge to out-of-state students, they will be prompted for one tuition charge. Additionally, many data items (answered previously) will be available to the respondent on the collection instrument, so that only those items that have actually changed since the previous report need to be completed or updated.

The system allows for direct data entry as well as file upload and batch import. Edit checks and data verification procedures are built into the system, thus improving the efficiency of data collection by resolving errors at the time of data submission. Processing time and cost are thus reduced. All administrative functions are provided through the web, including nonresponse follow up, distribution of passwords, and other activities and correspondence. IPEDS also provides a Help Desk, which is available to respondents during and after data collection, to respond to questions, assist with data entry and error resolution, and provide general assistance with many other types of requests.

Data release is more timely. The system is designed to migrate reported/edited data to a SQL server as soon as the administrative functions have been performed and NCES has cleared the data. Institutions whose data have been migrated to the SQL server have immediate access to data for other institutions that have also completed the process through the NCES/IPEDS Peer Analysis Tool. This means that data may be available before survey closeout (for peer analysis). National data will become available within a matter of months after closeout.

3. NCES works closely with State coordinators, many of whom submit IPEDS reports for a subset of the institutions in their state. Increasingly, states obtain data from institutions electronically on a student unit record basis (data per student). Other states collect institutional data using either IPEDS forms or their own state forms, which are compatible with IPEDS. Data are then extracted from the state database in the IPEDS format and file uploaded to the collection system. Thus institutions can provide data to their state and to NCES simultaneously.

4. NCES will continue to encourage respondents to prepare IPEDS data in a format for uploading to the web-based collection instrument by providing detailed file specifications and instructions as well as "do's" and "don'ts" for data submission. In the Winter 2005-06 collection, IPEDS began offering data upload capabilities using Excel spreadsheet formats. This was encouraged by the IPEDS TRP members and was very well received by respondents.

A.4. Efforts to Identify and Avoid Duplication

NCES devoted considerable effort to assure that IPEDS does not duplicate other data collection activities involving postsecondary education providers. In developing IPEDS, NCES continues to assess the data collection efforts of other Federal agencies (e.g., National Science Foundation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Census Bureau, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Bureau of Labor Statistics) through an examination of their forms. In addition, NCES has in-depth discussions with the Department of Labor, as well as other Education Department offices (e.g., OCR, OPE, OVAE) to ascertain their needs for data and the role IPEDS can play in meeting those needs. Through meetings, workshops and TRPs, NCES works closely with other stakeholders including the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the Career College Association (CCA), the American Council on Education (ACE), the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), and others. Duplication is avoided as various federal agencies, groups within the Department of Education, and other agency representatives share access to IPEDS data.

A.5. Methods Used to Minimize Burden on Small Businesses/Entities

Certain providers of postsecondary education included in the IPEDS universe of Title IV eligible institutions - operators of proprietary (private for-profit) schools - are small businesses. NCES has taken several actions to reduce reporting burden for these entities. These actions include:

1. requesting a reduced set of data items from schools offering certificates below the baccalaureate level and

2. maintaining a close liaison with the Career College Association, which represents proprietary postsecondary institutions, to assure the appropriateness of data being requested and the feasibility of collecting it.

A.6. Frequency of Data Collection

The survey components proposed for this modification are those that will be collected beginning with the Fall 2008 collection and extending through the Spring 2011 collection, which will cover three full survey cycles (see Table 2). The survey data items are similar to those used for 2003-08, with a few additional items and minor modifications to improve clarity and enhance the use of the data.

A.7. Special Circumstances

None of the special circumstances described apply to these collections.

A.8. Consultations Outside the Agency

IPEDS was developed in conjunction with providers and users of postsecondary education data. Continuing a pattern that began with the initial development of the project in 1983, opportunities are taken throughout the year to discuss the project with data respondents, Federal agencies, data users, and any other interested parties.

Over the past 7 years, NCES has accelerated dialogue with these groups. Recommendations have been solicited and incorporated into our current plans. Identified below are organizations that have played a major consultative role:

1. An IPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP) was formed to assist in survey revisions and to discuss universe definitions. Representatives include state coordinators, federal representatives, educational association members, and institutional researchers and registrars from all postsecondary education sectors.

2. The American Council on Education established an advisory group consisting of representatives from the various organizations involved in higher education issues. This group meets periodically with NCES to discuss the IPEDS project.

3. Annual meetings are held with IPEDS state coordinators to obtain state input on IPEDS operations, survey revisions, analysis plans, and data needs.

d. Meetings are held with the State Higher Education Executive Officers SHEEO/NCES Network.

e. Visits are made to state education agencies, and to education agencies of U.S. territories, e.g. Puerto Rico.

f. IPEDS workshops and presentations are made at various conventions and annual or regional meetings of educational and professional associations. IPEDS staff discuss proposed modifications or problem areas and receive input from the data providers.

7. The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) continues to support a Higher Education Data Policy Committee to assist NCES with IPEDS.

A.9. Paying Respondents

There are no payments or gifts offered respondents.

A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality

IPEDS data are not collected under any pledge of confidentiality.  However, NCES takes steps to protect potentially individually identifiable data in the IPEDS Human Resources, Graduation Rates, and Student Financial Aid data files. Thus these data files are subject to perturbation. Perturbation of the data is performed in such a manner that the totals and averages at the institutional level are not affected. The data files for the surveys noted above that are included in the Peer Analysis System are perturbed.

A.11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

These collections contain no questions of a sensitive nature.

Key to Abbreviations Used in Tables:

IC Institutional Characteristics (includes price information)

C Completions

EF Fall Enrollment

E12 12-Month Enrollment

HR Human Resources

SFA Student Financial Aid

F Finance

F1A for public institutions following GASB (Statements 34/35)

F2 for not-for-profit institutions and public institutions following FASB

F3 for for-profit institutions

GRS Graduation Rates

GRS-1 for all 4-year institutions

GRS-1S to collect supplemental data on long programs

GRS-2 for public 2-year institutions

GRS-2S to collect supplemental data on long programs

GRS-2A for private 2-year institutions

GRS-3 for less than 2-year schools

A.12. Estimate of Burden

Table 1 shows the current approved response burden for the 2007-08 survey cycles.

Table 1. Response Burden by Component

Approved for 2007-08 (OMB 1850-0582)

		2007-08
Component	# of Institutions Responding (Estimated)1	Estimated Burden2	Total Burden Hours
Fall Collection
Institutional Characteristics (IC)
4-yr academic form
With price	2400	0.9	2160
Without price	200	0.6	120
4-yr program form (without price)	100	0.6	60
2-yr academic form (with price)	1600	0.9	1440
2-yr program form (with price)	600	0.9	540
< 2-yr academic form (with price)	200	0.9	180
<2-yr program form
With price	1500	0.9	1350
Without price	150	0.6	90
Completions form
For 4-yr and 2-yr	4900	3.0	14700
For < 2-yr	1750	1.0	1750
12-Month Enrollment (E12) New component - formerly parts E and F of Fall Enrollment below
4-yr form	2600	1.1	2860
<4-yr form
For 2-yr	2300	1.1	2530
For < 2-yr	1750	0.4	700
Winter Collection
Human Resources (HR)
Degree-granting >15 ft form	4150	11.7	48555
Degree-granting <15 ft form	50	6.4	320
Non-degree granting form
For >15 ft	800	4.0	3200
For <15	1750	2.7	4725

Table continues on following page

Table continues on following page

Table 1. Response Burden by Component Approved for 2007-08 (OMB 1850-0582)

- continued

Spring Collection
Fall Enrollment
4-yr form	2600	3.0	7800
< 4-yr form
For 2-yr	2300	3.0	6900
For < 2-yr	1750	0.6	1050
Finance F1A form	2000	8.5	17,000
F2 form	1800	7.0	12,600
F3 form	2600	5.0	13,000
Grad Rates3 GRS1 form	2200	5.0	11,000
GRS2 form	2150	3.5	7,525
GRS3 form	1700	1.0	1,700
GRS1-S form	30	0.5	15
GRS2-S form	10	0.5	5
Stud Financial Aid3 (SFA)
Public academic yr form	1800	1.0	1800
Private academic yr form	2350	1.0	2350
Program yr form	1950	1.0	1950
TOTAL			169,975
1 Estimates based on 2006-07 universe counts for Title IV eligible institutions. Although a small number of non-Title IV institutions also participate (usually less than 200), burden for these institutions is not included since their participation is voluntary. 2 Estimated burden reflects requested changes/modifications specified in the summary. 3 Number of responding institutions is less because some institutions are exempt from submitting these data. 4 Required in odd-numbered years only.

One-Time Implementation Burden

NCES estimates the one-time implementation burden for the reclassification of first-professional and doctor’s degrees would collectively take 19,720 hours. Institutions and state systems will need sufficient time to discuss and coordinate the changes among the various reporting offices, to meet among graduate deans and IR offices to discuss programs and proper reclassifications, and to reprogram systems, redesign databases, and restructure existing reports. There are currently 986 postsecondary institutions that offer doctor’s degrees and/or first-professional degrees. We estimate an average of 20 hours per institution. The total cost to respondents $591,600 is based on the estimated response burden (hours) multiplied by $30, which includes average clerical salary and associated computer costs (for running programs to extract data). Given the three-year implementation period planned, we expect this one-time burden to be spread across the development, optional and mandatory years as institutions implement the change at different rates.

There will be a one-time implementation burden estimate associated with the change in race/ethnicity reporting categories. However, that estimate will be included in a separate ED department-wide request and therefore it is not included in this clearance package.

Annual Burden Calculation

Table 2 displays the estimated burden for 2008-09 through 2010-11 for institutions responding to IPEDS using the web-based data collection system. Burden estimates change over the 3-year period to reflect cyclical nature of the surveys. The numbers of institutions responding reflect those that are required to respond (Title IV eligible) and will vary depending on whether the component is applicable to a particular type of institution.

Table 2. Estimated Response Burden for IPEDS 2008-09 Through 2010-11

		2008-09		2009-10		2010-11
Component	# of Institutions Responding (Estimated)1
		Estimated Burden2		Estimated Burden		Estimated Burden
Fall Collection
Institutional Characteristics (IC)
4-yr academic form
With price	2,450	0.9	2,205	0.9	2,205	0.9	2,205
Without price	200	0.6	120	0.6	120	0.6	120
4-yr program form (without price)	100	0.6	60	0.6	60	0.6	60
2-yr academic form (with price)	1,600	0.9	1,440	0.9	1,440	0.9	1,440
2-yr program form (with price)	600	0.9	540	0.9	540	0.9	540
< 2-yr academic form (with price)	200	0.9	180	0.9	180	0.9	180
<2-yr program form			0		0		0
With price	1,550	0.9	1,395	0.9	1,395	0.9	1,395
Without price	150	0.6	90	0.6	90	0.6	90
Completions form			0		0		0
For 4-yr and 2-yr	4,950	3	14,850	3	14,850	3	14,850
For < 2-yr	1,800	1	1,800	1	1,800	1	1,800
12-Month Enrollment (E12) New component - formerly parts E and F of Fall Enrollment below			0		0		0
4-yr form	2,650	1.1	2,915	1.1	2,915	1.1	2,915
<4-yr form			0		0		0
For 2-yr	2300	1.1	2,530	1.1	2,530	1.1	2,530
For < 2-yr	1800	0.4	720	0.4	720	0.4	720
Winter Collection			0		0		0
Human Resources (HR)
Degree-granting >15 ft form	4,150	6.2	25,730	11.7	48,555	6.2	25,730
Degree-granting <15 ft form	100	6.2	620	6.4	640	6.2	620
Non-degree granting form			0		0		0
For >15 ft	800	2.5	2,000	4	3,200	2.5	2,000
For <15	1,800	2.5	4,500	2.7	4,860	2.5	4,500
Spring Collection			0		0		0
Fall Enrollment			0		0		0
4-yr form (AY)	2,550	3.2	8,160	3	7,650	3.2	8,160
4-yr form (PY)	100	3.2	320	3	300	3.2	320
< 4-yr form (AY)	2,300	3.2	7,360	3	6,900	3.2	7,360
< 4-yr form (PY)	1,800	0.6	1,080	0.6	1,080	0.6	1,080
Finance F1A form	2,000	12	24,000	10	20,000	10	20,000
F2 form	1,850	8	14,800	8	14,800	8	14,800

Table continues on following page

Table 2. Estimated Response Burden for IPEDS 2008-09 through 2010-11 - continued

Grad Rates3 GRS1 form	2250	5	11,250	5	11,250	5	11,250
GRS2 form	2150	3.5	7,525	3.5	7,525	3.5	7,525
GRS3 form	1750	1	1,750	1	1,750	1	1,750
GRS1-S form	30	0.5	15	0.5	15	0.5	15
GRS2-S form	10	0.5	5	0.5	5	0.5	5
Stud Financial Aid3 (SFA)			0		0
Public academic yr form	1800	1.4	2,520	1.4	2,520	1.4	2,520
Private academic yr form	2400	1.4	3,360	1.4	3,360	1.4	3,360
Program yr form	2000	1.4	2,800	1.4	2,800	1.4	2,800
TOTAL			159,890		179,305		155,890
1 Estimates based on 2007-08 universe counts for Title IV eligible institutions as well as 100 non-Title IV institutions, which participate voluntarily. 2 Estimated burden reflects requested changes/modifications specified in the summary. 3 Number of responding institutions is less because some institutions are exempt from submitting these data. 4 Required in odd-numbered years only.

In all cases, if the data are readily accessible in machine-readable files, the time required is less than the estimated burden hours. Estimates include the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The number of institutions responding is estimated based on the 2007-08 universe; changes to these numbers for successive years are expected to be small.

The total cost to respondents is based on the estimated response burden (hours) multiplied by $30, which includes average clerical salary and associated computer costs (for running programs to extract data). Total estimated costs to respondents for 2008-09 through 2010-11 are as follows:

	Total Burden Hours	Estimated Cost to Institutions
2008-09	159,890	$ 4,796,700
2009-10	179,305	$ 5,379,150
2010-11	155,890	$ 4,676,700

A.13. Estimate of Cost Burden

There are no capital or startup costs associated with this data collection.

A.14. Cost to the Federal Government

We estimate a total cost to the government for the IPEDS 2008-09 through 2010-11 survey years of approximately $24,284,000.

On an annual basis, over the three survey years, the contract costs will average about $6.9 million per year. Federal S&E will be approximately $927,000 the first year and about $983,000 the third year. More than 95% of this amount will be spent in direct support of the institutional training and the collection, analysis, and reporting of the IPEDS data described herein. The contract amount includes all activities related to program support; data collection system maintenance; help desk support activities; programming and software modifications and documentation; training of contractor staff as well as institutional respondents; data collection, data review, and analysis; survey administration; imputations and data perturbation; file preparation, reporting, and data dissemination; Technical Review Panel meetings; AIR activities including training, dissertation and research grants, support of NCES Postdoctoral Policy Fellowships, and other related activities. The costs include personnel, fringe benefits, travel, supplies, computer related activities, consultants, other direct and indirect costs, plus overhead and G&A.

The time estimates and costs associated with the activities described above and in the IPEDS Statement of Work for the RFP are based on recent experience with the contractors that currently support the IPEDS operations (Westat, RTI International, IT Innovative Solutions, Decision Information Resources, Inc., ORC-Macro, HigherEd.org, Inc., and others). IPEDS in-house staff costs are based on FY2007 pay schedules and an estimated 3.0% pay increase for each of the subsequent fiscal years.

A.15. Reasons for Change in Burden

The overall average change in response burden can best be explained by looking at the burden hour estimates on a component-by-component basis.

For the Institutional Characteristics (IC) component, outside the one-time implementation burden for modified categories and definitions for classification of first-professional degrees (see page A-30), there will no change burden through 2010-11.

For the Completions (C) component, outside the one-time implementation burden for modified categories and definitions for classification of first-professional degrees (see page A-30), there will no change burden through 2010-11.

For the 12-Month Enrollment (E-12) component, outside the one-time implementation burden for modified categories and definitions for classification of first-professional degrees (see page A-30), there will be no change in burden through 2010-11.

For the Fall Enrollment (EF) component, outside the one-time implementation burden for modified categories and definitions for classification of first-professional degrees (see page A-30), there will be no change in burden through 2010-11.

For the Human Resources (HR) component, we expect the burden to remain the same.

For the Graduations Rates (GRS) component, we expect the burden to remain the same.

For the Student Financial Aid (SFA) component, we expect the burden to increase from 1.0 hours to 1.4 hours per form based on the following change.

• Collecting more detailed student financial aid data on grants and loans will increase the response burden by .4 hours per form.

For the Finance (F) components, we expect burden to increase for the institutions reporting under the GASB standards (F1A) from 8.5 to 12.0 hours per form in the first year and 10.0 hours in subsequent years. For the not-for-profit institutions reporting under the FASB standards (F2) burden will increase from 7.0 to 8.0 hours in the first year and in subsequent years. No changes will be made to the F3 forms at this time so burden will remain the same at 5.0 per form based on the list provided in item 3.

A.16. Publication Plans/Project Schedule

a. Schedule of Activities

TABLE 3. IPEDS 2008-09 SAMPLE PROJECT SCHEDULE²

	Collection Period
Activity	Fall	Winter	Spring
First letter to CEOs	7/2008	--	--
E-mail to appoint/confirm keyholder	7/2008	11/2008	1/2009
Registration opens	7/2008	--	--
Data collection opens	9/2008	12/2008	2/2009
Data collection closes - keyholders	Open + 6 weeks	Open + 7 weeks	Open + 6 weeks
Data collection closes - coordinators	Open + 8 weeks	Open + 9 weeks	Open + 8 weeks
Draft data files delivered	Open + 20 weeks	Open + 20 weeks	Open + 20 weeks
Imputations complete	Open + 24 weeks	Open + 24 weeks	Open + 24 weeks
Draft First Look delivered	Open + 27 weeks	Open + 27 weeks	Open + 27 weeks

Survey activity will include registration period followed by a 6-7 week collection cycle. Registration must take place (only once) before data can be entered into the system. Data can be entered directly or through file or batch upload. However, respondents must resolve all errors/flags before data can be locked. This lock must take place before the collection period closes if data are to be considered as submitted in a timely fashion. Once the collection closes for institutions, coordinators have a two-week period for review. Once complete, the survey administrators (Help Desk) review the data, additional error resolution is performed, and a preliminary file is created for review by NCES. Once approved, imputations are run. Following NCES approval of the imputed file, data can be migrated to the Peer Analysis System and publications are prepared.

b. Distribution Methods

NCES distributes IPEDS data to users in a timely fashion and in a format that is easy to use. Specifically, IPEDS will be distributed in the following ways:

1. Data Dissemination Tools

IPEDS Peer Analysis System (PAS)

The IPEDS Peer Analysis System has become the primary method of disseminating IPEDS data. All IPEDS data are now released through the PAS, eliminating the need to produce fixed-format data files. Once users have logged into the PAS, they have two basic options: the standard peer tool software or the newer Dataset Cutting Tool described below. The peer tool feature enables a user to easily compare one institution of the user's choosing to a group of peer institutions by generating reports using selected IPEDS variables of interest. The user may create a group of peers or have the system create it. Users can select variables of interest or build calculated variables from IPEDS data, which can then be downloaded into spreadsheets or databases; they can get a ranked listing of peer institutions based on a selected variable; or they can get a statistical summary report for the selected variables. Several report templates are available that generate packaged reports. A new feature, Forms Facsimile, generates a matrix version of an institution's reported data, similar to the old printed forms. Another feature to be introduced in the future through the PAS is graphing. Visit http://nces.ed.gov/ipedspas for more information on this tool.

Dataset Cutting Tool (DCT)

This resource is part of the PAS and was designed to replace the feature known as "dump a data set." The DCT provides a valuable alternative for users with a working knowledge of IPEDS data. It allows users to quickly create customized IPEDS datasets with a minimum number of steps. The user may choose a set of peers based on criteria such as Carnegie classification, type of institution, or location, or upload a list of peers. The tool leads the user through a series of steps to customize a report that may be downloaded in a variety of formats. A customized data dictionary also provides detailed information about selected variables and value labels.

Executive Peer Tool (ExPT)

NCES designed this system for data users at higher levels of administration within an institution who are unfamiliar with the procedures and data file organization of the PAS. It provides an easy 5-step process to analyze a predetermined set of variables and includes specific direction and instruction about the process of retrieving data, allowing the user to learn what tools are available in the full scale PAS. As institutions receive their IPEDS Data Feedback Reports, the ExPT can be used to produce the indicators in the report for different groups of institutions. Visit http://nces.ed.gov/ipedspas/ExPT for more information on this tool.

College Navigator (formerly College Opportunities Online Locator - IPEDS COOL)

In response to the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, NCES developed a searchable website to provide up-to-date statistics on a broad range of postsecondary institutions for easy access by consumers. The site presents general information about each institution and its mission, as well as data on institution prices, financial aid, enrollment, degrees and awards conferred, graduation rates, accreditation, and program offerings. College Navigator is designed to help college students, future students, and their parents understand the differences among colleges and how much it costs to attend college. The site also provides direct links to each institution's home page; campus crime statistics; Federal Student Aid's website, which includes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); the Campus Tours website; and various other postsecondary education websites. Visit http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ for more information.

Data Analysis System (DAS)

This tool allows users to dynamically generate summary tables that provide sums, counts, and percentage estimates for 1 year of IPEDS data. Users can select and regroup categorical variables for producing estimates and identify ranges of values to form subgroups and estimates. Also included as part of the DAS is a table library that includes all FIRST LOOK tables, compendium tables, and state tables produced for IPEDS. The DAS was first released in winter 2004-05. Visit http://nces.ed.gov/dasol/ for more information.

Online Glossary

The IPEDS online glossary provides data users, data providers, researchers, and the general public with definitions of terms associated with the various IPEDS components. This searchable database features an alphabetical listing of terms and includes a search engine to locate terms or search definitions using keywords. The Glossary also includes embedded links to related terms within definitions.

2. Survey Reports

NCES releases data in a wide variety of formats, including basic tables, descriptive reports, and more detailed analyses. A few of these types of reports are detailed below:

1. First Look Reports (formerly ED TABS): Concurrent with the release of the data file for each IPEDS collection cycle, a predetermined set of tables called is produced and disseminated to the public. These tabulations include 1-year data tables and selected findings.

2. Descriptive Survey Reports: Shortly after First Look reports are produced, reports highlighting additional findings from the survey may be produced for various components. These reports are widely distributed to policymakers as well as the general public.

3. Analytic Reports: Comprehensive reports are produced periodically to analyze major policy issues, such as trends in minority enrollment and degrees, trends in faculty salaries, and trends in degrees by field of study.

4. Other NCES Reports: The Digest of Education Statistics, Projections of Education Statistics, and the Condition of Education contain major sections based on IPEDS data. These publications have large distributions to a broad spectrum of users of postsecondary education statistics.

A.17. Request to Not Display Expiration Date

The Department is not seeking approval to forego displaying the OMB approval expiration date.

A.18. Exceptions to the Certification

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

1 Institutions excluded from the mailing are those that do not provide any instruction at the undergraduate level.

2 The 2009-10 and 2010-11 collection schedules will follow a similar pattern.

2