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To be eligible for inclusion in the institutional sample, an institution must have satisfied the following conditions: 1) offered an education program designed for persons who have completed secondary education; 2) offered an academic, occupational, or vocational program of study lasting 3 months or longer, 3) offered access to the general public, 4) offered more than just correspondence courses; and 5) was located in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico. Also, beginning with NPSAS:2000, eligible institutions must have a signed Title IV participation agreement with the U.S. Department of Education.
Part-time and full-time students enrolled in academic or vocational courses or programs at these institutions, and not concurrently enrolled in a high school completion program, are eligible for inclusion in NPSAS. The 1987 NPSAS sampled students enrolled in the fall of 1986. Beginning with the 1990 NPSAS, students enrolled at any time during the year were eligible for the study. This design change provided the data necessary to estimate full-year financial aid awards.
Because NPSAS is a large, nationally representative sample of institutions and students, it provides a highly efficient and cost-effective way of identifying a nationally representative sample of other student subpopulations of particular interest to policymakers, and to provide baseline data for a longitudinal study of these subpopulations. Specifically, beginning with the NPSAS:90 survey, alternate NPSAS data collections provide the base year sample for either the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) longitudinal study or the Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) longitudinal study. For NPSAS:90, NPSAS:96, and NPSAS:04, the longitudinal cohort comprised students who began their postsecondary education during the NPSAS year; the BPS surveys followed these students over time to examine such issues as persistence and the effects of financial aid on subsequent enrollment. NPSAS:93 and NPSAS:2000 have provided the base year cohort for a sample of students who completed a baccalaureate degree during the NPSAS year; the B&B surveys followed these students over time to examine issues such as the transition from college to work and access to graduate school.
NPSAS data are obtained from multiple sources, including institutional records, government databases, and student interviews. Detailed data concerning participation in student financial aid programs are extracted from institutional records. Data pertaining to family circumstances, background demographic data, educational and work experiences and expectations were collected from students using a web-based multi-mode interview (self-administered and computer-assisted telephone (CATI)).
