Policy and Advocacy

August 2021

Members of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) Respond To Proposed Annual Data Collection under HEERF

The Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) recognizes the quarterly and annual reporting required of institutions that received HEERF funding will be an essential resource for policymakers and researchers to understand the extent of the crisis and relief efforts related to higher education. This letter outlines 3 recommendations for several minor additions to the reporting form and explains PostsecData’s support for these decisions and provides considerations for how to reduce institutional burden while capturing the critical information these changes elucidate.

July 2021

Members of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) Submit Recommendations for Improving and Publishing the College Scorecard for to the Department of Education

The Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) recognizes the vital role that the College Scorecard plays in keeping students informed about their college options through direct use of the online tool as well as the applications and analyses that researchers and developers produce using the underlying data to help students and policymakers navigate the postsecondary landscape.

July 2021

Members of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) Submit Letter Encouraging Agencies to Require the Use of Data and Evidence in the Development of Program and Investments

The Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) applauds the administration’s commitment to assessing whether agency policies and actions equitably serve all eligible individuals and communities, particularly those who are historically underserved, and taking necessary steps to build more equitable and just federal policies and programs. This letter outlines three principles that federal agencies should follow to ensure inclusive and complete data.

January 2021

PostsecData Provides Comments on Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Proposed Quarterly Data Collection

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 16 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) in response to the proposed quarterly data collection under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF).

December 2020

PostsecData Thanks the Department of Education for Incorporating Internet Connectivity and Technology Access Questions to the Beginning Postsecondary Students Survey Collection

December 2020

IHEP and 128 Organizations Call on Congress to Include the College Transparency Act in a Year-End Agreement

The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) and 128 members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) and the National Skills Coalition have asked Congressional leadership to include the bipartisan, bicameral College Transparency Act (S.800/H.R. 1766) in any year-end agreement, including appropriations legislation.

December 2020

PostsecData Provides Additional Comments on Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Reporting

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 18 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) in response to the submission of the revised annual data collection for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) to the Office of Management and Budget. PostsecData would like to thank the Department of Education (ED) for adopting our recommendations from our previous comment letter in this newest iteration of the HEERF data collection and offer additional considerations.

November 2020

PostsecData Requests Technology Access Data be Added to Beginning Postsecondary Students Survey Collection

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 28 undersigned partners recommending the addition of key questions pertaining to students’ access to technology. By adding these questions to the BPS field test, survey questions can be tested and validated in advance of the BPS:20/22 survey wave and modified as needed to reflect student’s perspectives and interpretation.

October 2020

PostsecData Provides Comments on the Draft Federal Student Aid Strategic Plan FY 2020–24

Fourteen members of the Postecondary Data Collaborative signed on to a letter commending the Office of Federal Student Aid at the Department of Education for the issues of transparency, privacy, and security raised in the draft strategic plan and offered recommendations for improvement.

September 2020

PostsecData Provides Comments on Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Reporting

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 28 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) in response to the proposed annual data collection for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). PostsecData would like to thank the Department of Education (ED) for their thoughtful approach to data collection at institutions receiving funding through HEERF.

June 2020

PostsecData Requests Distance Education Data be Added to National Student Loan Data System Collection

This letter submitted on behalf of these 24 undersigned partners, asks Congress to add new distance education fields to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) using definitions from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to provide timely data in response to the unprecedented challenges facing our nation’s students and our higher education system as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

May 2020

PostsecData Applauds the National Center for Education Statistics on Updates to the National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey for 2020

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 18 undersigned members and partners, applauds the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on including additional questions on how COVID-19 has impacted students in the National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey for 2020 (NPSAS:20), currently in the field. 

May 2020

PostsecData Provides Comments on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

This letter is submitted on behalf of these 19 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), in response to the emergency funding to postsecondary institutions and students provided by Congress through the March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

July 2019

PostsecData Responds to the Draft 2019-2020 Federal Data Strategy Action Plan

This letter is submitted on behalf of these 21 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), in response to the Draft 2019-2020 Federal Data Strategy Action Plan. 

June 2019

PostsecData Responds to College Scorecard Technical Review Panel

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 20 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), in response to the request for comments on recommendations from the College Scorecard Technical Review Panel (TRP) 2: Program-Level Measures and Institutional Comparisons.

June 2019

PostsecData Responds to Request for Feedback on the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 24 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), in response to the Department of Education's (ED) request for input on elements of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS).

May 2019

PostsecData Support Funding for the Federal State Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 36 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), requesting at least $35.3 million in funding for the State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) Grant Program in the final FY 2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill.

May 2019

PostsecData Members Respond to Request for Input on Upcoming Data Collection Activities through IPEDS

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 34 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), in response to the Department of Education's (ED) request for input on upcoming data collection activities through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

April 2019

PostsecData Collaborative and National Skills Coalition Support the Reintroduction of the College Transparency Act

Over 165 organizations have signed the linked statement in support of the recent higher education transparency legislation, the College Transparency Act of 2019.

January 2019

PostsecData Members Respond to Proposed Changes to the Gainful Employment Disclosure Template

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 38 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), in response to the Department of Education's (ED) proposed changes to the Gainful Employment (GE) disclosure templates.

November 2018

PostsecData Members Respond to Recent Changes in the College Scorecard

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 34 undersigned members and partners of the Postecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), in response to recent changes to the included metrics and overall presentation of data made available through the consumer-facing version of the Department of Education's (ED) College Scorecard. 

July 2018

PostsecData Members Offer Recommendations for Leveraging Data as a Strategic Asset

This letter is submitted on behalf of these 38 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), in response to all four questions in the open call for comments and suggestions by the Federal Data Strategy as it sets priorities for leveraging data as a strategic asset, as part of the President’s Management Agenda. 

May 2018

PostsecData Members Offer Recommendations for Improving the College Scorecard

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 38 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData). Based on our collective experience and expertise working with postsecondary data systems, PostsecData has provided recommendations to the technological community regarding the College Scorecard in the past, and would like to take the opportunity to provide the Department of Education (ED) with an updated list of suggested improvements.

February 2018

PostsecData Responds to Senate HELP Committee Call for Comments on Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act

This letter is submitted on behalf of these 50 undersigned members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), in response to the open call for comments and suggestions on topics to include in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) made by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

February 2018

PostsecData Response to the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act as amended by the Committee on December 11, 2017

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 22 undersigned members of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData), in response to the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity Through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act (H.R. 4508) to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended by the Committee on December 11, 2017.

January 2018

PostsecData comments on the February 2018 meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity

As the NACIQI continues its discussion next month on the availability and accessibility of data to inform its policy recommendations and review of accreditation agencies, and as federal lawmakers consider reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, 22 members of the PostsecData Collaborative urge the committee to express support for the creation of a much-needed secure, privacy-protected, federally held student-level data network.

December 2017

PostsecData Reponse to the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 22 undersigned members of the Postsecondary Data (PostsecData) Collaborative, in response to the introduction of the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity Through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act (H.R. 4508) to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965.

May 2017

Postsecondary Data Collaborative and Workforce Data Quality Campaign Applaud Bipartisan, Bicameral College Transparency Act

Over 80 organizations have signed the linked statement in support of the recent higher education transparency legislation, the College Transparency Act of 2017.

March 2017

Over 40 Organizations Support Transparency in Higher Education

Submitted by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), National Skills Coalition, New America, Young Invincibles, and more than 40 other national, state, and local organizations, this letter states support for greater transparency in higher education.

January 2017

PostsecData Response to Pell Disaggregates in OM

This letter is submitted on behalf of these 14 undersigned members of the Postsecondary Data (PostsecData) Collaborative, in response to the November 9, 2016 announcement regarding the addition of Pell disaggregates to the Outcome Measures (OM) survey component of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

December 2016

PostsecData Policy Recommendations for Trump Administration

PostsecData offers a series of administrative actions for President-elect Trump’s first 100 days in office, as well as strategies for the longer term, including: improving data quality, consistency, stewardship, and use, while leveraging existing data systems and ultimately reducing burden on institutions.

November 2016

PostsecData Letter to the Commission on Evidence-based Policymaking

Eleven members of the PostsecData Collaborative signed a letter to the Commission on Evidence-based Policymaking to provide recommendations as they assess the state of administrative data in the U.S.

October 2016

Letter from PostsecData, faculty and others on Federal Student Aid transparency

Representatives of a broad constituency of public policy organizations, academic researchers, institutional representatives, advocacy organizations, and others raised the importance of better and more actionable data on federal financial aid in a letter to the Department of Education. 

June 2016

Statement on the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking

Eight organizations encourage the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking to consider five key issues for action related to education, workforce, and employment program data.

April 2016

Letter on SLDS Funding for Privacy Personnel

The letter asks Congress to make hiring a data privacy professional an allowable use for states with their federal State Longitudinal Data Systems program funds, using an existing set aside within the program, which Congress established several years ago through the appropriations process and has continued on an annual basis. 

April 2016

PostsecData Letter on Pell Graduation Rates

Sixteen members of the Postsecondary Data (PostsecData) Collaborative signed a letter supporting the inclusion of Pell graduation rates in IPEDS, with additional recommendations for improvements.

September 2015

PostsecData Partners Commend Department of Education for Data Transparency

This letter from members of the PostsecData Collaborative offers praise, calls for continuous improvement, and a student unit record system in response to the release of the revamped College Scorecard and data download.

September 2015

IHEP Releases Statement on College Scorecard

IHEP released a statement on the wealth of new data released through the College Scorecard.

July 2015

Coalition Letter to Strengthen College Accountability

This letter, written by the Protect Students and Taxpayers Coalition and co-signed by IHEP and other organizations, advocates for strengthening college accountability to better protect students and taxpayers, specifically around noting schools flagged by the Department of Education in their new customizable, consumer-focused website. 

April 2015

PostsecData Collaborative Responds to HELP Request on Consumer Information

This letter, signed by 27 organizations, advocates for policies that improve postsecondary data, including building a federal student unit record system.

March 2015

Principles to Inform Postsecondary Education Data Policies

This letter to Congress describes sound principles for creating postsecondary education data policies.

January 2015

Group Letter Calling for the Department of Commerce to Maintain College Major Data in the American Community Survey

This letter, written by Young Invincibles and co-signed by IHEP and other organizations, advocates for keeping a question about college major on the American Community Survey.

December 2014

Group Letter to President Obama Calling for Use of Prior-Prior Year Tax Data on FAFSA

This letter encourages President Obama to use prior-prior year tax information on the FAFSA to simplify the federal aid application process.

December 2014

Response to RTI’s Report and Suggestions from IPEDS Technical Review Panel 45: Outcome Measures

This letter recommends adjustments to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System's Outcome Measures survey to better capture student diversity and completion metrics.

November 2014

Comments on the Pay As You Earn Negotiated Rulemaking Agenda

This letter, written by IHEP and co-signed by members of the PostsecData Working Group, provides recommendations for including a detailed discussion on data in the upcoming Pay As You Earn negotiated rulemaking session.