Explore all of the resources published by the PostsecData Collaborative, from brief analyses to longer publications.
This report describes a creative solution - a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the UT System and the U.S. Census Bureau - to provide better data on student outcomes.
This online resource is designed to help other institutions mirror these successes by using data to uncover trends and identify areas for improvement.
Over the last decade, the field has identified key metrics that measure postsecondary performance, efficiency, and equity. This report reflects the results of this progress and recommends definitions for 31 metrics.
IHEP convened an expert working group to develop targeted recommendations for improving the national postsecondary data infrastructure, resulting in 11 policy papers.
Large, national data systems collect a wealth of information on postsecondary students and institutions. Explore how these systems evolved and what data they collect.
Many nonprofit organizations collect data tools to help institutions improve, inform policy, and identify best practices. Discover what data they collect and how they use it.
January 2021
Implementing a Student-Level Data Network (Part II): Insights from Institutional Representatives is the second brief in a series to support the modernization of our postsecondary data infrastructure.
August 2020
This brief outlines the data elements and definitional options needed to meet pending legislative requirements for a student-level data network, maximize the quality and utility of the data, and minimize the burden on institutions.
May 2020
This report sets forth clear policy recommendations for Congress, federal, state, and local agencies, and institutions of higher education to collect disaggregated data for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
February 2020
Postsecondary Data GPS: A Guidebook for Navigating Data to Promote Student Success is an online resource designed to help other institutions mirror these successes by using data to uncover trends and identify areas for improvement.
December 2019
In A Roadmap to Better Data: Developing a Census Bureau Partnership to Measure National Postsecondary Earnings Outcomes, Stephanie Bond Huie and David Troutman of the University of Texas (UT) System describe a creative solution - a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the UT System and the U.S. Census Bureau to provide better data on student outcomes.
November 2019
Better Data, Better Outcomes: Promoting Evidence, Equity, and Student Success through the Framework for State Postsecondary Data Solutions introduces a new framework that highlights the barriers to effective data use by states and identifies approaches to eliminating those barriers, with solutions at the federal, state, and regional levels. The Framework identifies opportunities to build innovative partnerships and develop messaging and advocacy strategies to champion a culture of data use.
June 2019
The report puts forth three key recommendations as opportunities for accreditors to build upon and strengthen their data-use practices to promote student success and make equity a real and meaningful priority
March 2019
This one-pager provides information on recent legislation titled the College Transparency Act.
January 2019
This brief describes the growing interest in strengthening postsecondary data quality and provides an overview and detailed analysis of proposed legislation that would create a federal student-level data network. This brief was updated in January 2019 to reflect recent legislation and new co-sponsors for proposed legislation.
October 2017
A Blueprint for Better Information: Recommendations for a Federal Postsecondary Student-Level Data Network underscores the need for a coordinated and comprehensive network that leverages data from existing federal systems to paint a more complete picture of student outcomes. A Blueprint for Better Information outlines the details necessary to create a secure and effective student-level data network
October 2016
IHEP Research Analyst, Amanda Janice Roberson, provided public comment on the value of federal higher education data and the need to link and leverage existing data for policymaking.
July 2016
State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) match data from different sources about individuals over time, and serve as an important resource for state policymakers, researchers, and the public. This infographic shows which data are missing from most SLDS.
May 2016
Drawing on lessons learned from a decade of efforts to collect and use better data, Toward Convergence provides important, foundational details that support and build on the findings outlined in Answering the Call and enumerates the technical details of the metrics framework.
April 2016
Institution and system leaders play a critical role—perhaps the most critical—in promoting student success in higher education. This reports shows how some institutional leaders have improved student success through a focus on data.
February 2016
This report shares what the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has learned from leading institutions and states about how to improve and use postsecondary data to improve student outcomes.
February 2016
Michelle Cooper, president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), explains we need to “know our numbers” in higher ed so we can see how we’re doing and how to improve. Learn more at http://HigherEdFacts.org.
January 2016
The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) convened institutions and policy experts to investigate if and how repayment rates should be incorporated into our postsecondary systems to help advance student success. The report highlights 11 major findings from the convening.
January 2016
This is the Executive Summary for the Making Sense of Student Loan Outcomes: How Using Repayment Rates Can Improve Student Success report.
October 2015
This resource was created for a convening of policy and institution experts on repayment rates. It reviews the history of repayment rates and the technical specifications of various calculations.
September 2015
This report reviews seven options to improve for a national postsecondary data infrastructure.
September 2015
Mamie Voight, Director of Policy Research at IHEP, testified at a hearing for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance on consumer information and data transparency.
June 2015
This memo provides an overview of and side-by-side comparisons of the four pieces of bipartisan legislation introduced since 2012 that call for student-level data collection in varying forms.
April 2015
This primer fact sheet explains how different sectors - education, business, policy, and nonprofit and community-based organizations - can collaborate to use data along different points of the attainment pipeline to increase college access and completion.
March 2015
This brief reviews feedback IHEP received on its listening tour for Mapping and outlines what we got right, what needs refinement, and next steps.
March 2015
This primer on the National Center for Education Statistics' sample studies describes how the surveys are administered and how they overlap.
March 2015
This brief, an excerpt from the Mapping Technical Report, describes the data systems and elements that can be used to better understand employment and earnings outcomes.
January 2015
This presentation describes how data from the Office of Federal Student Aid in the U.S. Department of Education could potentially be used in the Postsecondary Institution Ratings System (PIRS).
September 2014
In this testimony, IHEP President Dr. Michelle Asha Cooper provided recommendations for the Postsecondary Institution Ratings System (PIRS).
September 2014
This brief provides a snapshot comparison of the measures used in several major publications that publish annual college rankings.
September 2014
This document presents the major data provisions in the Higher Education Affordability Act and prompts the reader to consider how data will be incorporated in future versions of the Higher Education Act.
August 2014
This brief provides an overview of the main components of H.R. 4984 and H.R. 4983 and compares them to current policies.
August 2014
This series of graphs analyzes data released by the Office of Federal Student Aid in August 2014 and describes trends in student loan borrowing and repayment behavior.
March 2014
This technical report builds on the accompanying white paper to detail how existing national data sets can be amended, added to, or linked together to gain better data on postsecondary students.
March 2014
This summary covers IHEP's March 2014 report, Mapping the Postsecondary Data Domain, and highlights data measures that are vital to understanding and promoting student success.
March 2014
This report outlines how existing national data sets can be amended, added to, or linked together to gain better data on postsecondary students.