Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2019-20 through 2021-22
Appendix A
Detailed Proposed Changes to Forms by IPEDS Survey Component
OMB No. 1850-0582 v.24
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
Institute of Education Sciences
U.S. Department of Education
Fall Collection
Institutional Characteristics (IC, includes Header and Identification). The proposed changes to the IC/ICH survey component are minor and are the results of two meetings of the IPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP): one on Subbaccalaureate Certificates held in March 2017 and another on Capturing and Clarifying Dual Enrollment Data in the IPEDS Data Collection held in March 2018.
Subbaccalaureate certificates. On the ICH form, Part B, there is currently a checkbox question asking institutions what award levels they offer. Subbaccalaureate certificates are reported to IPEDS in three categories based on the program length, and measured in terms of academic year, with a clock and credit hour equivalency. The less-than-1-year certificate has become a catch-all category for emerging alternative credentials such as stackable certificates and industry credentials, and between 1998-99 and 2013-14, there has been an 88.1 percent increase in the reporting of such awards.
At the IPEDS TRP on Subbaccalaureate Certificates, the panel considered possible alternatives to the classification system to more appropriately measure less-than-1-year programs. Based on suggestions from the TRP, such awards should be segmented into two categories, as noted in table A1 below. In addition, references to academic year equivalencies and to contact hours have been removed for these two categories as they also have reported to be confusing. These changes should have no impact on burden.
Dual enrollment. The IC survey component, Part C, collects information on whether the institution accepts credit earned prior to admission through dual credit, credit for life experiences, AP credits, or none of these. Given the multiple definitions of the term “dual credit” and complexity with how credits are applied to degrees, the IPEDS TRP on Capturing and Clarifying Dual Enrollment Data noted that the question is confusing as written and should be changed as the terms dual credit and dual enrollment are inconsistently used in IPEDS. Based on the TRP input, NCES will replace the “dual-credit” checkbox option with a “dual enrollment” checkbox option. There would be no change in burden for this change.
New FAQ. NCES is adding a new FAQ to help institutions that only have room or board, but not both, understand how to appropriately report cost of attendance.
Cross-cutting definition/terminology changes. The IC survey component will use the terminology of “recognized postsecondary credential” instead of “formal award” and “clock hours” instead of “contact hours”. No change in burden.
Addition of instruction to exclude students receiving Experimental Pell. The IC component will include the instruction not to include students receiving Experimental Pell. No change in burden.
Completions (C). The proposed changes to the Completions survey form are based on input from two separate meetings of the IPEDS TRP: one on Subbaccalaureate Certificates held in March 2017 and another on Evaluating Distance Education Elements in the IPEDS Data Collection held in June 2017.
Subbaccalaureate certificates. Like the change on IC Header file, subbaccalaureate certificates that are less that an academic year will be broken into two categories for reporting counts of certificates awarded. In addition, for all subbaccalaureate certificates, references to academic year equivalencies and to contact hours have been removed since the TRP noted that these tend to be confusing and can result in inconsistent data. There will be a moderate increase in reporting burden in the first year as institutions will need to reclassify short-term programs into the new categories; subsequently, the change is minimal.
Distance education. The IPEDS Completions component currently collects whether the institution offers the full program (as defined by the Classification of Instructional Programs [CIP] code system and award level) through distance education. If more than one program is offered under a CIP code by award level, institutions are instructed to check “yes” to the distance education question if any of the programs are offered as a distance education program. TRP panelists noted that a constraint of the current format is the inability to identify the number of programs offered as distance education programs if more than one program is offered under a CIP code. The TRP considered several options for categorizing exclusively distance education programs in ways that are better aligned with how institutions organize their programs. Based on the TRP input, NCES will revise the question about programs under a CIP being offered as distance education to clarify whether all or at least one program for the CIP and award level is offered via distance education, and include details regarding whether programs are entirely distance education or have a mandatory or non-mandatory distance education requirement. The change in reporting burden should be minimal.
Cross-cutting definition/terminology changes. The C survey component will use the terminology of “recognized postsecondary credential” instead of “formal award” and “clock hours” instead of “contact hours”. No change in burden.
Addition of instruction to exclude students receiving Experimental Pell. The C component will include the instruction not to include students receiving Experimental Pell. No change in burden.
Proposed changes to the Completions survey are summarized in table A2 below.
Table A2. Proposed changes to the Completions Form |
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Change |
Implementation year |
Source |
Estimated burden |
Split current options for reporting the count of certificates of less than one academic year in length into two award level categories as follows: Postsecondary award, certificate, or diploma of - less than 300 clock hours, or - less than 9 semester or trimester credit hours, or - less than 13 quarter credit hours
Postsecondary award, certificate, or diploma of - 300-899 clock hours, or - 9-29 semester or trimester credit hours, or - 13-44 quarter credit hours
In addition, references to academic year equivalencies have been removed from all levels of subbaccalaureate certificates. |
2020-21 |
TRP on Subbaccalaureate Certificates (March 2017 |
Moderate increase in first year only |
Update the question, “Is this program offered as a distance education program?” to “Is at least one program within this CIP code offered as a distance education program?”, and change answer options from “yes” or “no” to:
|
2020-21 |
TRP on Evaluating Distance Education Elements in the IPEDS Data Collection (June 2017 |
Minimal increase |
Cross-cutting definition and terminology changes: Replace “formal award” terminology with “recognized postsecondary credential”; replace “contact hour” with “clock hour”; add instruction to exclude students receiving Experimental Pell. |
2019-20 |
TRP on Subbaccalaureate Certificates (March 2017); NCES initiated |
|
12-Month Enrollment (E12). The proposed changes to the E12 survey forms are from two sources. The first change was initiated by NCES to better align (and integrate) the various survey components of IPEDS, in this case, specifically the E12 and OM components. The second change involves collecting more accurate counts of students enrolled in distance education and is based on input from the meeting of the IPEDS TRP on Evaluating Distance Education Elements in the IPEDS Data Collection.
E12/OM alignment. Currently on the E12 survey, institutions report the number of undergraduate students and graduate students by race/ethnicity and gender. However, to better align the survey components, NCES proposes to disaggregate the information on undergraduate students into four categories that will help establish the cohorts that are tracked and subsequently reported on in the Outcome Measures survey. The change is initiated by NCES in its effort to better integrate the various components of the IPEDS data collection and to improve data quality. There will be a moderate change in reporting burden in the first year. In subsequent years, the change should be minimal.
Distance education. Currently, distance education enrollments are only collected on the Fall Enrollment component (academic reporters report enrollment as of October 15, or as of the institution’s official fall enrollment date; program reporters report enrollment during the 3-month period of August 1 to October 31). However, TRP panelists noted that completely distance education institutions are more likely to enroll students continuously throughout the year and would benefit from reporting distance education enrollments on the E12 survey component. The resulting data would more accurately reflect the total institutional enrollments, which in some cases are nearly double those of the fall. The addition of this data collection for E12 will result in a moderate increase in reporting burden.
Cross-cutting definition/terminology changes. The E12 survey component will use the terminology of “recognized postsecondary credential” instead of “formal award” and “clock hours” instead of “contact hours”. No change in burden.
Addition of instruction to exclude students receiving Experimental Pell. The E12 component will include the instruction not to include students receiving Experimental Pell. No change in burden.
Proposed changes to the E12 survey from are summarized in table A3 below.
Table A3. Proposed changes to the E12 Form |
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Change |
Implementation year |
Source |
Estimated burden |
Disaggregate reporting of undergraduate student by race/ethnicity and gender into the following categories:
|
2020-21 |
NCES initiated to align with OM; QC |
Moderate increase |
Add a distance education question to E12 to report counts of students in distance education: Report number of undergraduate degree/certificate-seeking, undergraduate non-degree/certificate-seeking, and graduate students that are:
|
2020-21 |
TRP on Evaluating Distance Education Elements in the IPEDS Data Collection (June 2017 |
Moderate increase |
Cross-cutting definition and terminology changes: Replace “formal award” terminology with “recognized postsecondary credential”; replace “contact hour” with “clock hour”; add instruction to exclude students receiving Experimental Pell. |
2019-20 |
TRP on Subbaccalaureate Certificates (March 2017); NCES initiated |
No change |
Winter Collection
Graduation Rates (GR), Graduation Rates 200 (GR200), and Outcome Measures (OM). The changes being proposed are based on comments from the 60-day comment period for this data collection and are to clarify reporting by coordinated institutions to ensure that students are not being double counted. The changes include modifications to glossary terms and to FAQs, as well as the addition of a new FAQ.
Table A4. Proposed changes to the GR, GR200, and OM Forms |
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Change |
Implementation year |
Source |
Estimated burden |
Clarify the term “transfer-in student” by adding “For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-in students upon entering an institution from another institution within the same coordinated system.” The complete new definition for transfer-in student is: A student entering the reporting institution for the first time but known to have previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level (e.g., undergraduate, graduate). This includes new students enrolled in the fall term who transferred into the reporting institution the prior summer term. The student may transfer with or without credit. For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-in students upon entering an institution from another institution within the same coordinated system. |
2019-20 |
NCES initiated based on 60-day comment period |
No change |
Clarify the term “transfer-out student” by adding “For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-out students when leaving an institution to enroll into another institution within the same coordinated system.” The complete new definition for transfer-out student is: A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution. For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-out students when leaving an institution to enroll into another institution within the same coordinated system. |
2019-20 |
NCES initiated based on 60-day comment period |
No change |
Modify existing OM FAQ#30 “Counting Transfer-in and Transfer-out Students” by adding “For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus systems), each reporting entity with an IPEDS UnitID is recognized as an individual reporting institution for Outcome Measures purposes. Only the institution that confers the degree or award can report the students as a completer. Thus, if a student transfers out of the initial institution (institution A) and transfers-in to another institution (institution B) within a coordinated system, that student is reported as a transfer-out by the initial institution (institution A), regardless of whether or not that student received a degree or award at another institution (institution B) within the coordinated system.” to the answer. The complete new OM FAQ #30 is: Q: Are first-time or non-first-time students who transfer-out to another institution included in the non-first-time entering cohort of the transfer-in institution? A: Yes. If first-time or non-first-time students transfer into your institution and have never been previously enrolled in your institution, you should report them in the appropriate non-first-time entering subcohort. For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus systems), each reporting entity with an IPEDS UnitID is recognized as an individual reporting institution for Outcome Measures purposes. Only the institution that confers the degree or award can report the students as a completer. Thus, if a student transfers out of the initial institution (institution A) and transfers-in to another institution (institution B) within a coordinated system, that student is reported as a transfer-out by the initial institution (institution A), regardless of whether or not that student received a degree or award at another institution (institution B) within the coordinated system. |
2019-20 |
NCES initiated based on 60-day comment period |
No change |
New GR/GR200 FAQ (For GR, this FAQ will be the new FAQ #4 under “Transfer Out” category. For GR 200, this would new FAQ would also initiate a new FAQ section for GR200). Q: My institution is part of a coordinated system of institutions. If a student transfers out of my institution and goes to another institution within the coordinated system, can I count that student at my institution as a completer? A: No. Your institution may not count that student as completer because that student is considered a transfer-out student. Each reporting entity that has an IPEDS UnitID is recognized as an individual reporting institution for Graduation Rates purposes and can only report completers if that campus confers the award or degree. |
2019-20 |
NCES initiated based on 60-day comment period |
No change |
Spring Collection
Academic Libraries (AL). The proposed change to the AL form was initiated by NCES with input from the IPEDS Academic Libraries Task Force. Currently, data on library staff are collected as an occupational category on the HR survey. These occupational categories will be removed from HR, so to retain information on library staff, a question will be added to capture this detailed information on the AL form. This change should have no impact on reporting burden. The proposed change is detailed in table A4. In addition, based on the recommendation of the Task Force, digital/electronic serials will be included in the total counts for library circulations
Table A5. Proposed changes to the AL Form |
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Change |
Implementation year |
Source |
Estimated burden |
Add question regarding library staff (detail moved from HR survey, higher level numbers still collected on HR): Do you have Library Staff?
Report Number of FTEs for:
See associated instructions in AL package attachment |
2020-21 |
NCES initiated; QC; IPEDS Academic Libraries Joint Task Force |
Increase to AL (moved from HR) |
Add instruction related to inclusion of digital/electronic serials in library circulations: An e-serial is a periodical publication issued in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations, is intended to be continued indefinitely, and is published in digital form to be displayed on a computer screen in any medium. This definition includes digital and digitized periodicals, newspapers, and annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.); the journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc. of societies; and numbered monographic series. If possible, + report the count of only those de-duplicated or otherwise unique e-serial titles searchable through the library’s catalog or discovery system. + include ceased electronic serial titles. + do not count earlier title changes; however, do not worry about removing them if it is not possible/feasible. A source for counting e-serials may be a library- or vendor-developed A-Z title list of e-journals. Include open access (OA) titles if the individual titles are searchable through the library’s catalog or discovery system, except do not count e-serial titles from HathiTrust Center for Research Libraries, Internet Archive, and similar collections unless the library owns the digitized item and it is accessible under current copyright law.” |
2020-21 |
IPEDS Academic Libraries Joint Task Force |
No change |
Change instructions for Total Digital/Electronic Circulation or Usage to: Report usage of digital/electronic titles whether viewed, downloaded, or streamed. Do not include institutional repository documents. Include usage for e-books and e-media titles only, even if the title was purchased as part of a database. Do not include usage of titles in Demand-Driven Acquisition (DDA) or Patron-Driven Acquisition (PDA) collections until they have been purchased or leased by the library. Do not include transactions of VHS, CDs, or DVDs, as the transactions of these materials are reported under "physical circulation". Many vendors will provide usage statistics in COUNTER reports. Project COUNTER Code of Practice is available here. Relevant COUNTER reports for e-books are: BR1-Number of Successful Title Requests by Month and Title; and BR2- Number of Successful Section Requests by Month and Title. For media, the report MR1-Number of Successful Multimedia Full Content Unit Requests by Month and Collection, is most relevant. If COUNTER reports are available, IPEDS suggest that libraries report counts from BR1 and MR1. If BR1 and MR1 statistics are not available, BR2 and MR2 statistics can be used. In cases where vendors do not provide COUNTER reports, libraries may report using other means for monitoring digital/electronic circulation/usage (downloads, session views, transaction logs, etc.). Report usage of e-serial titles whether viewed, downloaded, or streamed. Include usage for e-serial titles only, even if the title was purchased as part of a database. Viewing a document is defined as having the full text of a digital document or electronic resource downloaded. [NISO Z39.7-2013, section 7.7] If available, include the count for open access e-journal usage if the title is accessible through the library’s catalog or discovery system. Libraries may need to ask vendors for e-serial usage reports; reports may not be delivered automatically or in easily-understood formats by the vendor to the library. Many vendors will provide usage statistics in COUNTER reports. When possible, record usage at the article level. The most relevant COUNTER report is JR1 (defined as the "Number of Successful Full-Text Article Requests by Month and Journal") which includes any use in JR1GOA (defined as the "Number of Successful Gold Open Access Full-Text Article Requests by Month and Journal") and JR1a reports (defined as the "Number of Successful Full-Text Article Requests from an Archive by Month and Journal"). Applicable COUNTER definitions: + eJournal: "Serial content that is published online". + Full-Text Article: "The complete text, including all references, figures and tables, of an article, plus links to any supplementary material published with it.” + Gold Open Access: "Access, immediately upon publication and at no charge to the user (but usually supported financially by the author or the author’s funding agency), of peer-reviewed, full-text articles that have been accepted for publication in a journal." + Archive: "Non-current collections of journals, books, articles, or other publications that are preserved because of their continuing value and which are frequently made available by publishers as separate acquisitions." In cases where vendors do not provide COUNTER reports, libraries may report using other means for monitoring digital/electronic circulation/usage (downloads, session views, transaction logs, etc.), or report zero. An electronic resource management system (ERMS) and/or a usage consolidation service may be helpful for collecting e-serial usage statistics. Do not include usage of titles in Demand-Driven Acquisition (DDA) or Patron-Driven Acquisition (PDA) collections until they have been purchased or leased by the library.” |
2020-21 |
IPEDS Academic Libraries Joint Task Force |
No change |
Update Reporting Digital/Electronic Collections FAQ 9 to: 9) What is a digital/electronic serial and how do I report digital/electronic serials in collection and circulation? An e-serial is a periodical publication issued in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations, is intended to be continued indefinitely, and is published in digital form to be displayed on a computer screen in any medium. This definition includes digital and digitized periodicals, newspapers, and annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.); the journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc. of societies; and numbered monographic series. If possible, + report the count of only those de-duplicated or otherwise unique e-serial titles searchable through the library’s catalog or discovery system. + include ceased electronic serial titles. + do not count earlier title changes; however, do not worry about removing them if it is not possible/feasible. A source for counting e-serials may be a library- or vendor-developed A-Z title list of e-journals. Include open access (OA) titles if the individual titles are searchable through the library’s catalog or discovery system, except do not count e-serial titles from HathiTrust Center for Research Libraries, Internet Archive, and similar collections unless the library owns the digitized item and it is accessible under current copyright law.” Report usage of e-serial titles whether viewed, downloaded, or streamed. Include usage for e-serial titles only, even if the title was purchased as part of a database. Viewing a document is defined as having the full text of a digital document or electronic resource downloaded. [NISO Z39.7-2013, section 7.7] If available, include the count for open access e-journal usage if the title is accessible through the library’s catalog or discovery system. Libraries may need to ask vendors for e-serial usage reports; reports may not be delivered automatically or in easily-understood formats by the vendor to the library. Many vendors will provide usage statistics in COUNTER reports. When possible, record usage at the article level. The most relevant COUNTER report is JR1 (defined as the "Number of Successful Full-Text Article Requests by Month and Journal") which includes any use in JR1GOA (defined as the "Number of Successful Gold Open Access Full-Text Article Requests by Month and Journal") and JR1a reports (defined as the "Number of Successful Full-Text Article Requests from an Archive by Month and Journal"). Applicable COUNTER definitions: + eJournal: "Serial content that is published online". + Full-Text Article: "The complete text, including all references, figures and tables, of an article, plus links to any supplementary material published with it.” + Gold Open Access: "Access, immediately upon publication and at no charge to the user (but usually supported financially by the author or the author’s funding agency), of peer-reviewed, full-text articles that have been accepted for publication in a journal." + Archive: "Non-current collections of journals, books, articles, or other publications that are preserved because of their continuing value and which are frequently made available by publishers as separate acquisitions." In cases where vendors do not provide COUNTER reports, libraries may report using other means for monitoring digital/electronic circulation/usage (downloads, session views, transaction logs, etc.), or report zero. An electronic resource management system (ERMS) and/or a usage consolidation service may be helpful for collecting e-serial usage statistics. Do not include usage of titles in Demand-Driven Acquisition (DDA) or Patron-Driven Acquisition (PDA) collections until they have been purchased or leased by the library.” |
2020-21 |
IPEDS Academic Libraries Joint Task Force |
No change |
Add to Reporting Digital/Electronic Circulation FAQ 4: Libraries may need to ask vendors for e-serial usage reports; reports may not be delivered automatically or in easily-understood formats by the vendor to the library. Many vendors will provide usage statistics in COUNTER reports. When possible, record usage at the article level. The most relevant COUNTER report is JR1 (defined as the "Number of Successful Full-Text Article Requests by Month and Journal") which includes any use in JR1GOA (defined as the "Number of Successful Gold Open Access Full-Text Article Requests by Month and Journal") and JR1a reports (defined as the "Number of Successful Full-Text Article Requests from an Archive by Month and Journal"). Applicable COUNTER definitions: + eJournal: "Serial content that is published online". + Full-Text Article: "The complete text, including all references, figures and tables, of an article, plus links to any supplementary material published with it.” + Gold Open Access: "Access, immediately upon publication and at no charge to the user (but usually supported financially by the author or the author’s funding agency), of peer-reviewed, full-text articles that have been accepted for publication in a journal." + Archive: "Non-current collections of journals, books, articles, or other publications that are preserved because of their continuing value and which are frequently made available by publishers as separate acquisitions." In cases where vendors do not provide COUNTER reports, libraries may report using other means for monitoring digital/electronic circulation/usage (downloads, session views, transaction logs, etc.), or report zero. An electronic resource management system (ERMS) and/or a usage consolidation service may be helpful for collecting e-serial usage statistics. |
2020-21 |
IPEDS Academic Libraries Joint Task Force |
|
Finance (F). IPEDS finance data are heavily grounded in the accounting-based conventions that govern how and what data are collected. Therefore, the first two changes to the F component are based on changes to GASB Statements 74/75.These modifications that are based on changes to the GASB forms will only impact the public institutions that use that form and will ensure that the IPEDS Finance components continue to align with what is reported for GASB. These changes will have a minimal impact on burden for those institutions.
The TRP on IPEDS Financial Metrics also resulted in four changes to be made to the Finance component. The specific purpose of the TRP, which was held in October 2018, was to discuss opportunities to improve the utility of IPEDS data by collecting new finance data that the postsecondary community and IPEDS stakeholders consider important, while also maintaining the quality (reliability and validity) of the data and balancing burden for data reporters.
Athletics. The Finance survey component includes a checkbox asking institutions to indicate whether intercollegiate athletics expenses are reported as an auxiliary enterprise, a student service, in another functional category, or if the institution does not participate in intercollegiate athletics. The panel suggested adding a similar question to capture information about where athletics revenues are included. To make the information more useful for data users, responses to both the expense and revenue checkboxes would be included as separate variables (rather than response status flags) within the published data. This new checkbox question would only be reported by degree-granting institutions, and would have a minimal increase on reporting burden.
The panelists also discussed whether IPEDS should collect actual total athletics revenue and expenses (or athletics revenue and expenses as a percent of the total) and whether the collected data would be useful. While they generally agreed they could be, they also noted possible duplication with an existing federal source of data that collects financial data on intercollegiate athletics at a more granular level than what is included on institutions’ audited statements -- the Office of Postsecondary Education’s (OPE) Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) Survey collects financial data on operating (game day) expenses, recruiting expenses, and total revenues and expenses by sport and by gender of team (men/ women). NCES has decided not to pursue the collection of these data at this time for these reasons.
Financial Health Indicators. Panelists at the TRP also noted that the financial health of higher education institutions is noted as important issue for policymakers and consumers, yet there is a lack of metrics regarding financial health currently available in IPEDS. Therefore, the panelists suggested that NCES should make available to the industry financial health indicators that expand on the revenue, expenditure, and balance sheet portions of the current Finance survey component. They suggested adding a new screen to the Finance survey component for institutions to report the underlying data for NCES to calculate the following ratios (based on the Composite Financial Index calculations that the National Association of College and University Business Officers publishes for its members, a subset of the IPEDS universe). These data would be collected only from degree-granting institutions and would have a minimal impact on burden.
Discounts and Allowances. Panelists at the IPEDS TRP on Financial Metrics also discussed how scholarships and fellowships may be used to pay tuition and fees and other institutional charges such as room and board or bookstore charges. Under GASB and FASB accounting standards, the amounts used to pay tuition and other institutional charges are considered discounts or allowances, reducing the amount the student actually pays to attend the institution. NCES currently collects the portion of revenues coming from financial aid sources and is interested in expanding the Scholarships and Fellowships screen to understand how financial aid sources contribute to the institutional revenues and scholarship discounts. Panelists suggested adding new fields to collect additional detail on discounts and allowances by grant type (discounts from Pell, other federal grants, state government, local government, endowments and gifts, other institution sources). This approach focuses on institutional resources and aligns with the current Finance survey component in terms of reporting period (fiscal year) and coverage (all students, credit and noncredit). Although the resulting data would provide more information on discount rates and student aid expense, panelists recognized that the proposed changes do not fully capture aid sources for student subgroups (e.g., graduate, noncredit students). The proposed change would apply to all reporting institutions and result in a minimal increase in burden.
Endowments. IPEDS currently collects the value of institutions’ endowment assets at the beginning and end of the fiscal year from applicable private not-for-profit FASB institutions and GASB institutions. The panel agreed to use “endowment net assets” instead of “endowment assets”, where applicable, to clarify this section could include endowment liabilities and to add a field to calculate amount of the change in value of endowment net assets. The panel also suggested collcting more detail on the change in the value of endowment assets. The change will have minimal effect on reporting burden for institutions.
All the Finance component changes are detailed in table A6 below.
Table A6. Proposed changes to the Finance Forms |
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Change |
Implementation year |
Source |
Estimated burden |
GASB institutions only: Revise screening question to add defined benefit pension or postemployment benefits other than pension (OPEB) liabilities: Does your institution include defined benefit pension or postemployment benefits other than pension (OPEB) liabilities, expenses, and/or deferrals in its General Purpose Financial Statements? |
2019-20 |
GASB Statements 74/75 |
Minimal increase |
GASB institutions only: In Part M, include new data elements to collect data on pension and postemployment benefits other than pension (OPEB) for: 05 OPEB expense 06 Net OPEB liability 07 Deferred inflows related to OPEB 08 Deferred outflows related to OPEPB |
2019-20 |
GASB Statements 74/75 |
Minimal increase |
Degree-granting institutions only: New screening question to determine where/whether institutions will report intercollegiate athletics revenues: If your institution participates in intercollegiate athletics, indicate the category where these revenues are included (check all that apply): Sales and services of educational activities Sales and services of auxiliary enterprises Other (explain in context box) Does not have intercollegiate athletics revenue |
2020-21 |
TRP on Financial Metrics (October 2018) |
Minimal increase |
Degree-granting institutions only: Add new screen to collect numerator and denominator for calculating financial health ratios (note: ratios will not be calculated; terminology changed to more accurately reflect existing standards for FASB and for-profit institutions) GASB /FASB/ For profit 01 Operating income (loss) + net nonoperating revenues (expenses)/ Changes in unrestricted net assets/ Pretax income 02 Operating revenues + nonoperating revenues/ Total unrestricted operating revenues/ Total revenues (preloaded) 03 Change in net position/ Change in net assets (preloaded)/ Total equity (preloaded) 04 Net position/Total net assets (preloaded)/ Total assets (preloaded) 05 Expendable net assets/ Expendable net assets/ Adjusted equity 06 Plant-related debt/ Plant-related debt (preloaded)/ Plant-related debt (preloaded) 07 Total expenses/ Total expenses (preloaded)/ Total expenses (preloaded) |
2020-21 |
TRP on Financial Metrics (October 2018) |
Minimal increase |
All institutions: Add new screen to collect sources of discounts and allowances Collect tuition and fees discounts and allowances and auxiliary enterprises discounts and allowances (then calculate a total) for: 01 Pell grants (federal) 02 Other federal grants (Do NOT include FDSL amounts) 03 Grants by state government 04 Grants by local government 05 Endowments and gifts 06 Other institutional sources (calculated value = 07 – (sum of 01 through 05)) 07 Total (preloaded into new screen) |
2020-21 |
TRP on Financial Metrics (October 2018) |
Moderate increase, especially in year 1 |
GASB and FASB not-for-profit institutions only: Add fields to collect detail on changes to endowment net assets. This included new data elements added to Part H and rewording: Rewording of “endowment assets” to “endowment net assets” Added lines 03-03d to Part H to collect more detail on the change in endowments (see below) 03 Change in value of endowment net assets (calculated value = 02 - 01) 03a New gifts and additions 03b Endowment and investment return 03c Spending distribution use 03d Other (calculated value 03 – (03a+03b+03c) |
2020-21 |
TRP on Financial Metrics (October 2018) |
Moderate increase, especially in year 1 |
Definition and Instructions (Cross-cutting). In addition to the changes proposed for specific survey forms, there are some changes to definitions and instructions that would cut across surveys. First, a change to the definition of “dual enrollment” that was suggested by the TRP on Capturing and Clarifying Dual Enrollment Data. Second is the replacement of the term “formal award” with “recognized educational credential” that came out of a discussion by NPEC. Finally, how to handle experimental Pell Grants for reporting purposes will be clarified in the instructions.
Dual enrollment. The expansion of dual enrollment—in terms of location (e.g., high school, college campus, and online delivery), instructor qualification (e.g., high school teacher, college instructor), student eligibility, and funding arrangement—blurs the line between the secondary and postsecondary education sectors. Although growth in dual enrollment has been observed in all sectors of postsecondary institutions, the degree to which IPEDS measures dual enrollment is unclear. The IPEDS collection does not differentiate high school students taking college courses for credit from other students enrolled for credit at the undergraduate level or students who enter with advanced standing (earned college credit or postsecondary award before graduation from high school) from other entering first-time students. Thus, it is likely that dual enrollment affects the data and metrics comparability of IPEDS survey components, which answer questions about student enrollment and progression, institutional revenues and spending, and investment in instructional and staff support.
NPEC commissioned a research paper to examine how the IPEDS collection can capture and clarify dual enrollment data. One finding of this exploratory research indicates that IPEDS definitions and terms related to dual enrollment are unclear and inconsistent with varied institutional practices for measuring the number of high school students taking college courses and first-time-in-college students who took college courses in high school. The IPEDS TRP was convened in March 2018 to discuss Capturing and Clarifying Dual Enrollment Data.
IPEDS currently defines “dual enrollment” as “a program through which high school students may enroll in college courses while still enrolled in high school.” The panel discussed limitations of that language, noting the current definition refers to high school students who may enroll in college courses while still enrolled in high school, but it is unclear whether that includes AP and other types of college credits earned through an exam, such as International Baccalaureate. Panelists noted these credits operate like dual enrollment in that students can earn postsecondary credit in high school. A key difference, however, is that high school students do not enroll in postsecondary courses when they participate in exam-based credit but earn credit by passing an exam with a qualifying score. Panelists suggested clarifying that the dual enrollment definition should include enrollment in courses for which postsecondary credit is awarded for successfully completing the course, rather than examples of models where students may earn postsecondary credit through an examination or other means that do not require postsecondary enrollment. Panelists noted that postsecondary coursework at the remedial or developmental level would be considered dual enrollment if the postsecondary institution awards the student credit (as defined by the institution) for successfully completing the course and the postsecondary credit is recorded on the student’s college transcript. Given the multiple and varied delivery models available across and within institutions (e.g., traditional seated instruction, distance education, hybrid models), the panel suggested IPEDS clarify that dual enrollment should include courses identified as postsecondary courses, independent of course delivery mode, funding, location, or type of instructor.
The current dual enrollment definition also specifies “while still enrolled in high school.” The panel noted this language would exclude students who participate in dual enrollment but do not attend a high school, such as home-schooled students or middle school students. Panelists suggested maintaining the element of duality in the current definition of dual enrollment—high school students enrolled in college courses while still in high school—and expanding it to be more inclusive of students who do not have a high school diploma but are enrolled in secondary education while taking college-credit coursework. The specific change in definition for dual enrollment proposed by the TRP is provide in table A7. The change should not impact reporting burden.
Formal award. IPEDS currently uses the phrase “formal award” across surveys to refer to the certificates or degrees being awarded by an institution. However, there is currently no definition of “formal award” in the IPEDS dictionary and the term does not align with language used by other parts of the U.S. Department of Education or in legislation. Indeed, Federal Student Aid (FSA) uses the term to describe financial aid awarded, not a degree or certificate. NCES raised this inconsistently with NPEC, which discussed how the term could be changed to align with other postsecondary offices and terms defined in legislation. NPEC members noted that FSA uses the phrase “recognized credential” to refer to degrees and certificates in programs eligible to award HEA Title IV federal student aid programs. In addition, the Higher Education Act also makes references to credentials rather than awards. Therefore, NCES proposes globally replacing the phrase “formal award” with “recognized postsecondary credential” across the IPEDS survey components and adding a definition of “recognized postsecondary credential” to the glossary. This change will have no impact on reporting burden. While the definition of recognized postsecondary credential will be similar to the definition in Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), credentials for programs that are eligible for Title IV are all reported to IPEDS and should continue to be reported to IPEDS.
Experimental sites. Congress authorized the Experimental Sites Initiative under section 487A(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. This Initiative—or "experiments," as they are frequently called—tests the effectiveness of statutory and regulatory flexibility for participating institutions disbursing Title IV student aid. The Department of Education has waived specific statutory or regulatory requirements at the postsecondary institutions, or consortia of institutions, approved to participate in the experiments. By contrasting the results achieved when granted the flexibilities with results under current regulations, without the flexibilities, the Department has data to support changes to regulations and statute. The outcomes of experiments have the potential to benefit all postsecondary institutions and the students they serve. More information about experimental sites can be found at: https://experimentalsites.ed.gov/exp/index.html.
There are two main experiments that can have an impact on IPEDS reporting: (1) the Dual Enrollment Experiment, wherein participating institutions will be provided a waiver of the specific statutory and regulatory provisions that prevent students who are enrolled in secondary school from receiving Federal Pell Grants for enrollment in title IV-eligible postsecondary programs (for more details about the experiment, refer to the October 15, 2015 Federal Register Notice at http://ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/FR101515InvitationtoParticipateintheExperSitesInitiative.html) and (2) the Second Chance Pell Experiment, wherein participating institutions will provide Federal Pell Grant funding to otherwise eligible students who are incarcerated in Federal or State penal institutions (for more details about the experiment, refer to the August 3, 2015 Federal Register Notice at http://ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/FR080315NoticeInvitePostEDInstitutionsToParticipateinUndertheExperimentalSiteInit.html).
NCES has received numerous questions from institutions and has told institutions on a case by case basis to exclude these students from reporting. NCES is including a new general FAQ, impacting all surveys except for Academic Libraries, Finance, and Human Resources, to clarify this for all institutions.
Clock and contact hours. The IPEDS TRP on Subbaccalaureate Certificates suggested that the term “contact hour” was confusing and not generally used in the postsecondary community. The Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) refers only to clock hours in the Federal Student Aid Handbook. NCES will therefore remove the term “contact hour” from the data collection and use only “clock hour”. In addition, NCES will update the definition of clock hour to add detail outlined in 34 CFR 600.2.
Other glossary terms. After a review of the IPEDS glossary, NCES determined that some terms needed to be added to the glossary. The terms being added include cost of attendance, cohort year, child institution, and parent institution.
Table A7. Proposed changes to Definitions and Instructions (Cross-cutting) |
|||
Change |
Implementation year |
Source |
Estimated burden |
Change definition of “dual enrollment” from “a program through which high school students may enroll in college courses while still enrolled in high school” to the following: Dual enrollment: Refers to students who enroll in college courses offered by an institution of higher education while enrolled in high school or seeking a recognized equivalent. Student performance is recorded on a college transcript and postsecondary credit is awarded for a passing grade in the course.
|
2020-21 |
TRP on Capturing and Clarifying Dual Enrollment Data (March 2018) |
No change |
Replace “formal award” with “recognized postsecondary credential” throughout IPEDS forms and add the FAQ and definition below: FAQ: Q: What types of credentials should be included in IPEDS? A: Institutions are required to report all credentials from both Title IV eligible and non-Title IV eligible programs, including all degrees, certificates, and other recognized postsecondary credentials to the IPEDS.
Glossary term:
A recognized postsecondary credential includes any credential that is received after completion of a program that is eligible for Title IV federal student aid or that is awarded in recognition of an individual’s attainment of measurable technical or industry/occupational skills necessary to obtain employment or advance within an industry/occupation. These technical or industry/occupational skills generally are based on standards developed or endorsed by employers or industry associations.
|
2019-20 |
NCES-initiated with input from NPEC |
No change |
New FAQ re: Experimental Sites Should my institution, which is participating as an experimental site, report high school students or incarcerated students who have received a Pell Grant while taking college coursework? If your institution is participating in the Dual Enrollment experimental site or the Second Chance Pell experimental site program, exclude these students from reporting. |
2019-20 |
NCES initiated – based on calls from institutions |
No change |
Remove the term “contact hour” and only use the term “clock hour” throughout IPEDS. Update the definition of “clock hour” to the following definition per CFR 34 600.2: A period of time consisting of (1) A 50- to 60-minute class, lecture, or recitation in a 60-minute period; (2) A 50- to 60-minute faculty-supervised laboratory, shop training, or internship in a 60-minute period; or (3) Sixty minutes of preparation in a correspondence course. |
2019-20 |
TRP on Subbaccalaureate Certificates (March 2017) |
No change |
Add definitions for cohort year, cost of attendance, child institution, and parent institution to the glossary. Cohort year: The year that a cohort of students begins attending college. Cost of attendance: The amount of tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses that a full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking student can expect to pay to go to college for an academic year. Costs reported by the institutions are those amounts used by the financial aid office to determine a student’s financial need. Child institution: An institution that has some or all of its data reported by another institution, known as the parent institution. Parent institution: An institution that reports some or all data for another institution, known as the child institution. |
2019-20 |
NCES initiated – based on glossary review |
|
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| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Miller, Elise |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-07-16 |