#23, Update #2

Title: NCES Seeks Comments on IPEDS Data Feedback Report

Action Needed: Comments Requested by February 15, 2006

Summary

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) sent the 2005 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Data Feedback Report in fall 2005 to institutions that submitted data during the 2004-05 IPEDS data collections. These reports provided the reporting institutions with IPEDS data for their own institution with comparisons to other institutions with similar characteristics, in order to facilitate discussions between institutional executives and survey respondents, and to contribute to the improvement of data quality.

The 2005 report is available online at http://nces.ed.gov/ipedspas/. (Follow the link to Executive Peer Tool, agree to the data usage terms, enter your institution's name, and click on the link at the top of the Step 2 page that reads: "Click here to view and print the IPEDS Data Feedback Report.")

Current Status

The NCES is interested in making the 2006 IPEDS Data Feedback Report more useful to institutions. Please address your comments and suggestions to Jan Plotczyk, IPEDS Team Leader, at janice.plotczyk@ed.gov by February 15, 2006. Please include the following in the email subject line: IPEDS Data Feedback Report - Suggestions.

Implications for Institutions

The IPEDS Data Feedback Report and the Executive Peer Tool are intended to encourage institutions to use IPEDS data for their internal decision-making; however, the selected calculations and comparison groups may not be appropriate for all institutions. Institutions may want to review the information in the reports to see if the measures are relevant to them, and suggest others if these are not.

For the 2005 Data Feedback Report, institutions were given the opportunity to submit their own peer comparison group prior to the creation of the reports. For some institutions this option greatly increased the usefulness of the reports for comparison purposes over the automatically generated peer group. This option will again be available for the 2006 report. Like last year, keyholders will be able to upload a custom comparison group for their institution in the IPEDS Data Collection System during the Spring 2006 data collection. AIR will offer training through a Web seminar.

Timeline

Fall, 2004 - First print version of the NPEC IPEDS Data Feedback Report mailed to institutional CEOs

October 25, 2004 - First AIR Web Seminar on the NPEC IPEDS Data Feedback Report and the Executive Peer Tool

December 15, 2004 - Repeat of AIR Web Seminar

March 23-24, 2005 - Technical Review Panel discussed plans for upcoming Data Feedback Reports

May 23, 2005 - AIR Web Seminar on submitting custom peer groups for IPEDS Data Feedback Reports

Fall, 2005 - 2005 Second Data Feedback Reports mailed to institutional CEOs

Additional Resources

The NCES notice requesting comments for the 2006 Data Feedback Reports is available at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr06.asp

Complete information about IPEDS is available at: http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds.

Additional Historical Resources

NOTE: The following resources have historical value but do not necessarily reflect the current versions of the IPEDS Data Feedback Report, the Executive Peer Tool, or the procedures to use for submitting custom comparison groups in the future:

The 2005 AIR Web Seminar on submitting custom comparison groups for the IPEDS Data Feedback Report is available at http://www.airweb.org/page.asp?page=411. Please note that these instructions may change for the 2006 report, and that the deadline for uploading will be different from that stated in the slides.

The NCES Tutorial on Creating and Uploading a Custom Comparison Group for the 2005 IPEDS Data Feedback Report is available at: http://www.airweb.org/Creating%20a%20Comparison%20Group%20File_files/frame.htm. Please note that these instructions may change for the 2006 report, and that the deadline for uploading will be different from that stated in the slides. Note: Use Microsoft Internet Explorer for best results.

The 2004 AIR Web Seminar on the Data Feedback Report and the Executive Peer Tool is available at: http://www.airweb.org/page.asp?page=685. This Web seminar provides historical background on the development of the IPEDS Data Feedback Report and ExPT. Please note that many changes and improvements to both the report and the ExPT have been made since the first version described in this Web seminar.

Author: Carol Fuller

Coordinated by the Higher Education Data Policy Committee. All opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Association for Institutional Research.