Resource Center: Proposed IPEDS ACTS Survey

Calls for Feedback on Proposed IPEDS ACTS Survey 

Your Voice Matters

AIR, in partnership with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), the American Council on Education (ACE), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), are gathering feedback from the community. The goal is to inform our comments during the federal review process and ensure that the perspectives of the professionals most likely to report the data are represented in the advocacy efforts of our associations.

Given the substantial scope and complexity of the proposed undergraduate and graduate student data collection, we are seeking input from our community in two ways:

• Direct survey invitations. IR/IE professionals at four-year institutions with selective admissions will receive an individual invitation to complete a short survey.
  
• Community input form. If you do not receive a survey invitation but would like to share your perspective, you may submit comments through this public form.

Feedback will inform our associations’ formal comments, with particular attention to the data and technical considerations of availability, accuracy, quality, and comparability.

Call from Federal Government

We also encourage members of the higher education data community to work with colleagues at their institutions to submit comments directly to Regulations.gov via the form at the Federal Register.

Resources from the U.S. Department of Education

Links

• Proposal:Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2024–25 through 2026–27 [ED-2025-SCC-0382]
  
  
• 60-day public comment period on the proposal is open until October 14, 2025.
  
  Submit a public comment

Other Resources

ACTS Metrics Summary

A summary* of the proposed ACTS data metrics is provided here to support feedback and input. The notice indicates the following metrics will be reported for the 2025-26 academic year and the past five academic years.

Undergraduate Students

• Race-sex pairs: Number of undergraduate students by race-sex pairs (e.g., Black-Female, White-Male).
• Admission test score quintiles: Within each race-sex pair, number of undergraduate students by score quintile
• GPA quintiles: Within each race-sex pair, number of undergraduate students by GPA quintile
• Family income ranges: Within each race-sex pair, number of undergraduate students by family income bracket
• Pell Grant eligibility: Within each race-sex pair, number of undergraduate students by Pell eligibility or not
• Parental education levels: Within each race-sex pair, number of undergraduate students by parental education categories
• Applied, Admitted & Enrolled: For each of these cohorts (cohort status), report the following:
  • High school GPA (average) by race-sex pairs
  • Admission test score quintile (average) by race-sex pairs
• Admission Type: For the three following metrics, report the count of students by race-sex pairs and cohort status (applied, admitted, enrolled):
  • Early Action
  • Early Decision
  • Regular Admissions
• Newly Enrolled Students: Report the count of students and average grant amount for the following metrics by race-sex pairs. In addition, data must be further disaggregated by test score quintile, GPA quintile, family income range, and admission type (Early Action, Early Decision, Regular Admissions):
  • Any institutional grant aid
  • Merit-based institutional grant aid
  • Need-based institutional grant aid
  • Any local, state, or federal government aid
• Academic & Financial Metrics (Overall): Report the following metrics by race-sex pairs and disaggregated by admission test score quintiles, ranges of high school GPA, ranges of family income, and admission type (Early Action, Early Decision, Regular Admissions):
  • Average cumulative GPA at end of academic year
  • Average cost of attendance
• Graduation Outcomes: Report the following metrics disaggregated by admission test score quintiles and ranges of high school GPA.
  • Graduation rates
  • Final cumulative GPA of graduates
• Additional (Optional): Potential collection on remedial or noncredit coursework for newly enrolled students

Graduate Students

Collect the same data elements as for undergraduates, but additionally disaggregate by broad field of study/CIP Codes:

• Arts & Humanities: 4, 5, 16, 23, 24, 30, 38, 39, 50, 54
• Education: 13
• Public Service: 25, 42, 43, 44
• Agriculture, Consumer Services & Trades: 1, 3, 9, 10, 12, 19, 31, 46, 47, 48, 49
• Business: 52
• Other Social Sciences: 45.01, 45.02, 45.03, 45.04, 45.05, 45.07, 45.09, 45.11, 45.12, 45.13, 45.14, 45.99
• Economics/Political Science: 45.06, 45.10
• STEM: 11, 14, 15, 26, 27, 28, 29, 40, 41
• Health: 51
• Medical Residencies: 60.02, 60.04, 60.05
• Other Residency Programs: 60.01, 60.03, 60.06
• Law: 22

*Note: The summary represents AIR’s interpretation of the metrics cited in the notice and is not intended to reflect the official position or intent of the Department.

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