Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2025-26 through 2026-27

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) seeks authorization from OMB to make a change to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data collection. 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. The IPEDS data collection enables the National Center for 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, student outcomes, revenues and expenditures, faculty salaries, and staff employed. The IPEDS web-based data collection system was implemented in 2000-01. In 2022-23, IPEDS collected data from 5,983 Title IV postsecondary institutions in the United States and the other jurisdictions. 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; approximately 200 non-Title IV institutions elect to respond each year. Institution closures and mergers have led to a decrease in the number of institutions in the IPEDS universe over the past few years. Due to these fluctuations, combined with the addition of new institutions, NCES uses rounded estimates for the number of institutions in the respondent burden calculations for the upcoming years (estimated 6,000 Title IV institutions plus 200 non-title IV institutions for a total of 6,200 institutions estimated to submit IPEDS data during the 2024-25 through 2026-27 IPEDS data collections). IPEDS data are available to the public through the College Navigator and IPEDS Use the Data websites. The current clearance covers the 2022-23 through 2024-25 collections and is due to expire on August 31, 2025. We are requesting to make changes to multiple survey components and other updates to the identification, cross-cutting terminology, and the glossary. The largest changes in this package are (1) the addition of a new Cost (CST) survey component, which combines components taken from the Student Financial Aid (SFA) and Institutional Characteristics (IC) components and combines them with added questions to determine how and make publicly available more information about how postsecondary institutions ask for information above and beyond the FAFSA; and (2) the planned elimination of the Academic Libraries (AL) survey beginning in the 2025-26 administration. As part of the 30D public comment period review, NCES has added an Appendix E, containing NCES responses to 60D public comments. Further, NCES requests that IPEDS data submitters and other stakeholders respond to the directed questions found in Appendix D of this submission.

The latest form for Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2025-26 through 2026-27 expires 2027-08-31 and is listed under ICR 202602-1850-001.