This workshop provides essential training for individuals responsible for completing the IPEDS Student Financial Aid (SFA) Survey and the new IPEDS Cost Survey (CST). Participants learn how to manage, store, and extract financial aid data, understand key financial aid concepts, and create frozen data files for reporting.

The course covers best practices for accurately completing the SFA survey, introduces the new CST requirements, and explains the shift of cost-related data from SFA to CST. The session also explores strategies for using IPEDS financial aid and cost data for internal reporting, benchmarking, and external reporting needs. Ideal for institutional researchers, financial aid administrators, compliance officers, and IPEDS Keyholders.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand key concepts related to student financial aid reporting in IPEDS
• Create and manage frozen data files for SFA and CST submissions
• Accurately complete the IPEDS SFA and CST surveys
• Apply best practices to ensure data accuracy, consistency, and timeliness
• Leverage financial aid and cost data for institutional benchmarking and external reporting
• Understand the implications of the CST and how it changes previous SFA data practices