The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (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 enables The National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) to report on key dimensions of postsecondary education such as enrollments, degrees and other awards earned, tuition and fees, average net price, student financial aid, graduation rates, revenues and expenditures, faculty salaries, and staff employed. The IPEDS web-based data collection system was implemented in 2000-01, and it collects basic data from approximately 7,500 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. About 200 institutions elect to respond. IPEDS data are available to the public through the College Navigator and IPEDS websites.
ED is requesting emergency processing due to an unanticipated event. The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) changed the reporting standards for pensions such that unfunded pension liabilities are now included in the financial statements (GASB Standard 68). In the initial reporting year (2015), institutions will report the total amount of accrued pension liabilities. This will result in a dramatic increase in reported expenses for the 2015 year. In subsequent years, reporting will show only the incremental increase in unfunded pension liabilities. The approximately 2,000 public institutions using GASB accounting standards that have ever participated in pension systems will be particularly affected by this change in reporting standards when the IPEDS collection opens on December 9, 2015. To accommodate this change, NCES proposes to add to the IPEDS Finance survey a new screening question and three new fields related to the unfunded pension liabilities to allow the affected institutions to provide information that will allow NCES to correctly calculate cost per Full-Time Enrolled Student for these institutions. This addition is expected to increase IPEDS reporting burden for approximately 2,000 Public GASB institutions by an average of 30 minutes. ED requests approval of this emergency request by November 20, 2015.
The significant increase in estimated annual burden to respondents presented in this package is due to the fact that the last burden was an annual average over 3 years, during which the largest burden was planned for the 2015-2016 year covered in this submission. Only 1,000 hours of the increase is for the estimated amount of time it will take GASB Finance Filers to complete the additional questions.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
IPEDS 2015-16 Response to Emergency Clearance Public Comments.docx
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2013-2016