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Technical Notes: Sample Selection and Response Rates

The sample for the survey on dual enrollment programs and courses for high school students consisted of the approximately 1,650 institutions in the PEQIS panel in the fall of 2011. Questionnaires (see appendix C) were mailed to the PEQIS institutions in September 2011. Institutions were told that the survey was designed to be completed by the person(s) most knowledgeable about dual enrollment at the institution. Respondents had the option of completing the survey online. Telephone follow-up of nonrespondents was initiated in October 2011; data collection and clarification were completed in February 2012. During data collection, approximately 10 institutions were determined to be permanently ineligible for the PEQIS panel because they had recently closed, had reorganized, or were no longer degree-granting institutions. For the eligible institutions, an unweighted response rate of 93 percent was obtained for this survey (about 1,520 responding institutions divided by the approximately 1,640 eligible institutions in the sample for this survey). The corresponding weighted response rate using the initial base weights was 94 percent. Of the institutions that completed the survey, 77 percent completed it online, 16 percent completed it on paper (sent by mail, fax, or e-mail), and 8 percent completed it by telephone. The final weighted count of responding institutions in the survey after nonresponse adjustment represents the estimated universe of eligible postsecondary institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia—approximately 4,410 institutions (table B-1).

Table B-1. Number and percentage distribution of responding degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the study, and estimated number and percentage distribution in the nation, by institutional characteristics: Academic year 2010–11
Institutional characteristic Responding institutions
(unweighted)
National estimate
(weighted)1
Number Percent Number Percent
All institutions 1,520 100 4,410 100
Institutional control and level
Public 2-year 490 32 980 22
Private nonprofit 2-year 10 1 90 2
Private for-profit 2-year 80 5 620 14
Public 4-year 410 27 670 15
Private nonprofit 4-year 400 27 1,500 34
Private for-profit 4-year 120 8 560 13
Size of institution
Less than 3,000 510 33 2,830 64
3,000 to 9,999 480 32 1,000 23
10,000 or more 530 35 580 13
1Weighted count of responding institutions using the final nonresponse-adjusted weights. The weighted count is an estimate of the number of eligible institutions in the study universe (see text for definition of the types of institutions included in the study).
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS), "Dual Enrollment Programs and Courses for High School Students, 2010–11," 2011.