Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2019-20 through 2021-22

1

Admissions
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2019-20 to 2021-22

The only changes for 2019-20 through 2021-22 are the general changes to cross-cutting definitions
and instructions on reporting students in Experimental Pell programs. These are highlighted in the
instructions.

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IPEDS Help Desk
(877) 225-2568 or [email protected]

NCES National Center for Education Statistics

2018-19 Survey Materials > Form

date: 8/7/2018

Admissions

Overview 
Admissions Overview
Welcome to the IPEDS Admissions (ADM) survey component. The primary purpose of ADM is to collect basic information about the
undergraduate selection process for entering first-time, degree/certificate-seeking students. This includes information about admissions
considerations, admissions yields, and SAT and ACT test scores (if test scores are required for admission). ADM will be collected only from
institutions that do not have an open admissions policy for entering first-time students.
Recent changes
•
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and math scores should be reported based on the new (2016) SAT score range 200800.
•
Due to changes in the SAT, institutions will need to convert scores from the old SAT to the new (2016) SAT using College Board
Concordance tables.
Data Reporting Reminders
•
Institutions operating on a traditional academic year calendar (semester, trimester, quarter, or 4-1-4) report admissions as of the
institution's official fall reporting date or October 15. Institutions operating on an "other academic calendar”, a calendar that differs
by program, or that enrolls students on a continuous basis (referred to as program reporters) report admissions as students who
enroll any time during the period of August 1 through October 31.
•
ADM is only applicable to first-time entering students; do not include other students in the number of applicants, number of admits,
and number (of admitted) that enrolled. Only include levels (full-time, part-time) that you indicated were offered in the IC Header. If
you made an error in the IC Header, please call the IPEDS Help Desk.

Resources:
To download the survey materials for this component: Survey Materials
If you have questions about completing this survey, please contact the IPEDS Help Desk at 1-877-225-2568.

Admissions Considerations 
1. Please select the option that best describes how your institution uses any of the following data in its undergraduate selection
process.
Admission Considerations

Required Considered Recommended Neither Required nor
but not
Recommended
required

Secondary school GPA
Secondary school rank
Secondary school record
Completion of college-preparatory program
Recommendations
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g., portfolios, certificates of mastery,
assessment instruments)
Admission test scores
SAT / ACT
Other Test (ABT, Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)
Note: If this is the only requirement other than a diploma or equivalent, and few
students are not admitted due to this test, your institution is open enrollment.
Please contact the Help Desk to correct your response to this question.
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
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You may use the space below to provide context for the data you've reported above. These context notes will be posted on the

College Navigator website, and should be written so they can be understood by students and parents.

Selection Process - A/A/E 
2. Provide the number of first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who applied, who were admitted, and who
enrolled (either full- or part-time) at your institution for Fall 2018. Include early decision, early action, and students who began
studies during the summer prior to Fall 2018.
Remember that this question is only applicable to first-time students, do not include other students in these totals.
Only include levels that you indicated were offered in the IC Header. If you made an error in the IC Header, please remember to fix the error
next year.
Men
Number of applicants
Number of admissions
Number (of admitted) that enrolled full-time
Number (of admitted) that enrolled part-time
Total enrolled full-time and part-time
Percent of admissions enrolled full-time and part-time

Women

Total

Selection Process - Test Scores 
3. Provide data for Fall 2018. Include new students admitted the summer prior to Fall 2018.
SAT scores for 2018-19 must be reported using the new (2016) SAT score scale. Please see instructions for more information.
Number of enrolled students that submitted SAT scores
Percent of enrolled students that submitted SAT scores
Number of enrolled students that submitted ACT scores
Percent of enrolled students that submitted ACT scores

25th Percentile

75th Percentile

SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
SAT Math

ACT Composite
ACT English
ACT Math

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

College Navigator website, and should be written to be understood by students and parents.

Prepared by 
The name of the preparer is being collected so that we can follow up with the appropriate person in the event that there are questions
concerning the data. The Keyholder will be copied on all email correspondence to other preparers.
The time it took to prepare this component is being collected so that we can continue to improve our estimate of the reporting burden
associated with IPEDS. Please include in your estimate the time it took for you to review instructions, query and search data sources, complete
and review the component, and submit the data through the Data Collection System.
Thank you for your assistance.
This survey component was prepared by:
Keyholder
Finance Contact

SFA Contact

HR Contact

Academic Library Contact

Other

Name:
Email:

How many staff from your institution only were involved in the data collection and reporting process of this survey component?
Number of Staff (including yourself)

How many hours did you and others from your institution only spend on each of the steps below when responding to this survey
component?
Exclude the hours spent collecting data for state and other reporting purposes.
Staff member
Collecting Data Needed
Revising Data to Match
IPEDS Requirements
Your office
hours
hours
Other offices

U.S. Department of Education
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IPEDS Help Desk
(877) 225-2568 or [email protected]

NCES National Center for Education Statistics

Admissions full instructions

Purpose of Admissions Survey
Changes in Reporting
General Instructions
Reporting Period for Admissions
Context Boxes

Coverage
Where to Get Help
Where the Data Will Appear
Reporting Directions
Purpose of Survey
The primary purpose of the IPEDS Admissions (ADM) component is to collect basic information about the
undergraduate selection process for entering first-time, degree/certificate-seeking students. This includes information
about admissions considerations, admissions yields, and SAT and ACT test scores (if test scores are required for
admission). The ADM component will be collected only from institutions that do not have an open admissions policy for
all or most entering first-time students.

Changes in Reporting
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and math scores should be reported based on the new (2016) SAT score
range 200-800. Institutions that have scores based on the old (2015) SAT score range should convert scores using the
College Board concordance (more information about converting scores using concordance tables is available
at https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/educators/higher-ed/scoring-changes/concordance).
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General Instructions
Reporting period covered

Institutions operating on a traditional academic year calendar (semester, trimester, quarter, or 4-1-4) report admissions
data:
•
•

For applicants and admitted students: Include all students who applied for enrollment or were admitted if they
would have been considered first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students as of the institution's
official fall reporting date, or October 15.
For admitted students who enrolled: Include all students who were considered first-time, full-time
degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students as of the institution's official fall reporting date, or October
15.

Institutions operating on a calendar that differs by program or that enrolls students on a continuous basis (referred to as
program reporters) report admissions data:
•
•

For applicants and admitted students: Include all students who applied for enrollment or were admitted if they
would have been considered first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students any time during the
period of August 1 through October 31.
For admitted students who enrolled: Include all students who were considered first-time, full-time
degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students any time during the period of August 1 through October 31.

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Context Boxes

Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component items. Note
that some context boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search tool offered by
NCES. NCES will review entries in these context boxes for applicability and appropriateness before posting them on the
College Navigator Website; institutions should check grammar and spelling of their entries.
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Coverage
ADM is only applicable to first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students; do not include other students in
the number of applicants, number of admits, and number (of admitted) that enrolled.
For the number (of admitted) that enrolled, include all students enrolled for credit after the official drop date. Exclude
students who are not enrolled for credit.
For example, exclude:
•

Students enrolled exclusively in courses that cannot be applied towards a recognized postsecondary
credential

•
•
•

Students enrolled only in ESL programs (programs comprised exclusively of ESL courses)
Students enrolled exclusively in Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
Students exclusively auditing classes

•
•

Any student studying abroad (e.g., at a foreign university) if their enrollment at the 'home' institution serves
as an administrative record
Students enrolled in any branch campus located in a foreign country.

•

Students in Experimental Pell Programs. 

Only include levels (full-time, part-time) that you indicated were offered in the IC Header. If you made an error in the IC
Header, please call the IPEDS Help Desk and correct your error.

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Where to Get Help with Reporting
IPEDS Help Desk
Phone: (877) 225-2568
E-mail: [email protected]

Web Tutorials
You can consult the IPEDS Website's Trainings & Outreach page which contains several tutorials on IPEDS data
collection, a self-paced overview of IPEDS tools, and other valuable resources.

IPEDS Resource Page
The IPEDS Website's Reporting Tools page contains frequently asked questions, a link to data tip sheets, tutorials,
taxonomies, information centers (e.g., academic libraries, average net price, human resources, race/ethnicity, etc.),
and other valuable information.
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Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution and aggregate levels.
At the institution-level, data will appear in the:
•
•
•
•

College Navigator Website
IPEDS Data Center
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
College Affordability and Transparency Center Website

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

IPEDS First Looks
IPEDS Table Library
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
The Digest of Education Statistics

•

The Condition of Education

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Reporting Directions
Admission considerations
Select the option that best describes how your institution uses the following considerations as part of the selection
process for entering first-time, degree/certificate-seeking students. For each consideration, indicate whether it is
required, considered but not required, recommended, or neither required nor recommended:

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Secondary school GPA
Secondary school rank
Secondary school record
Completion of college-preparatory program
Recommendations
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g., portfolios, certificates of mastery, assessment instruments)
Admission test scores
◦
SAT/ACT
◦
Other test (ABT, Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)
◦
TOEFL

Note: if ABT, Wonderlic, WISC-III (or similar) test is the only requirement other than a diploma or equivalent, and few
students are not admitted due to this test, please call the IPEDS Help Desk so that your response to the screening
question for this component can be corrected.
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Selection Process
Applicants/admitted/enrolled students
Provide the number of men, women, and total first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who
applied, who were admitted, and who enrolled (either full- or part-time) at your institution for Fall 2018. Include
information for all first-time students for whom admissions criteria (other than a school diploma) were required.
Since the total may include students who did not provide gender data, the detail need not sum to the total.
You should not report admissions data for any level that you did not report as an offering on the Enrollment levels
question in IC-Header. For example, if you indicated that you do not enroll part-time, first-time students leave those
boxes blank.

Number of applicants
Applicants should include only those students who fulfilled all requirements for consideration for admission and who
have been 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) should include wait-listed students who were
subsequently offered admission.

Number of admissions
Include all students who were offered admission to your institution. This would include:
•
•
•

early decision students who were notified of an admissions decision prior to the regular notification date and
who agreed to accept;
early action students who were notified of an admission decision prior to the regular notification date with no
commitment to accept; and
admitted students who began studies during the summer prior to Fall 2018.

Number (of admitted) that enrolled
Remember that this question is only applicable to first-time students; do not include other students in these totals.
Include students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term. Also include
students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from high school).
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Selection process
Test scores

If test scores are required for admission for first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students, provide the
number and percentage of enrolled students submitting SAT and/or ACT scores, as well as the 25th and 75th
percentile scores for each test.

Number and percent of enrolled students that submitted test scores
Provide data for Fall 2018. Include information for ALL enrolled, degree/certificate-seeking, first-time (freshman)
students for whom test scores were required. Include new students admitted the summer prior to Fall 2018.

Test Scores
Provide data for Fall 2018. Report the scores used in the admission decision.
•
•
•

If students submitted both SAT and ACT scores, but only SAT scores were considered for admission, only
report the SAT scores (and vice versa).
If students submitted both SAT and ACT scores, and both SAT and ACT scores were considered for admission,
report both scores.
If a student submitted two sets of scores for a single test, report this information according to how you use the
data. For example:
◦
If you consider the highest scores from either submission, use the highest combination of scores (e.g.,
verbal from one submission, math from the other).
◦
If you average the scores, use the average to report the scores.

SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and math scores should be reported based on the new (2016) SAT score
range 200-800. Institutions that have scores based on the old (2015) SAT score range should convert scores using the
College Board concordance tables (more information about converting scores using concordance tables is available at
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/educators/higher-ed/scoring-changes/concordance).
Do not convert test scores (e.g., do NOT convert an ACT score into a SAT score); scores must be reported separately.
Do not include partial test scores (e.g., mathematics scores but not verbal scores for a category of students) or
combine other standardized test results (such as TOEFL) in this item.
Do not report scores if you cannot convert from old score to new score using the concordance tables.
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IPEDS Help Desk
(877) 225-2568 or [email protected]

NCES National Center for Education Statistics

Admissions
Click one of the following questions to view the answer.
General
When reporting admitted students, do I include early admits?
1)
Why can’t I report Admissions data for transfer students?
2)
3)
What do I do about students that were considered for admission, even though they did not submit all application
materials?
Some students send us both ACT and SAT scores. How should we report the data for these students?
4)
5)
My institution does not use ACT scores for admission, so if a student submits an ACT score we convert it to an SAT
score. Can I report that converted score to IPEDS so that it doesn’t look like we accept ACT scores?
How do I report to IPEDS when my institution uses the highest of multiple test scores to evaluate students for
6)
admission?
How do I report to IPEDS when my institution averages multiple test scores to evaluate students for admission?
7)
8)
How do I report TOEFL or other standardized test scores (other than ACT and SAT)?

Answers:
General
1)
When reporting admitted students, do I include early admits?
Yes, include all students who were offered admission to your institution. This would include early decision students
who were notified of an admission decision prior to the regular notification date and who agreed to accept; early
action students who were notified of an admission decision prior to the regular notification date with no commitment
to accept; and the admitted students who began studies during the summer prior to the fall reporting period.
Back to top
2)
Why can’t I report Admissions data for transfer students?
Admissions requirements for transfer students are often different from the requirements for first-time students. In
order to make the data useful to students, it is important that you not report data for transfer students.
Back to top
3)
What do I do about students that were considered for admission, even though they did not submit all
application materials?
If a student provided enough information that a decision could be made (admitted, not admitted, waitlisted), they
should be included in the counts. However, institutions should only report this way if it is part of their institution’s
formal application review process.
Back to top
4)
Some students send us both ACT and SAT scores. How should we report the data for these students?
Report both scores to IPEDS. This may mean that the total number of students reported in test scores is greater than
the total number of admitted students.
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5)
My institution does not use ACT scores for admission, so if a student submits an ACT score we convert it to
an SAT score. Can I report that converted score to IPEDS so that it doesn’t look like we accept ACT
scores?
No. There is no approved methodology for converting test scores, so any conversion would render the data unusable.
Back to top
6)
How do I report to IPEDS when my institution uses the highest of multiple test scores to evaluate
students for admission?
Report to IPEDS the test score that is used to make the admissions decision. This may include a mix of scores from
tests taken at different times.
Back to top
7)
How do I report to IPEDS when my institution averages multiple test scores to evaluate students for
admission?
Report to IPEDS the averaged test score used that is used to make the admissions decision.
Back to top
8)
How do I report TOEFL or other standardized test scores (other than ACT and SAT)?
For IPEDS purposes, TOEFL scores and other standardized test scores (other than ACT and SAT) are not reported.
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