NCES collects transcript data from postsecondary institutions for various longitudinal studies, including the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) and Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) longitudinal studies.

Postsecondary Education Transcript Studies (PETS) Features

  • Nine NCES longitudinal studies have collected postsecondary transcripts, beginning with the National Longitudinal Study of 1972 (NLS-72), the transcripts for which were collected in 1984
  • The most recent completed study collecting postsecondary transcripts is the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS: 12/17)
  • Transcript data offer the opportunity to study course-taking patterns, credit transfer, student momentum and attrition, and connection among course and major courses, occupations, and wages
  • PETS studies inform many research questions related to topics like, relationships between course content and majors, coursetaking related to workforce outcomes, and factors impacting completion timing

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Highlights

  • PETS data for the 2012/2017 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study are now available
    The newly released BPS:12/17 transcript data are now available for restricted-use license holders. BPS:12 PETS is the third data release for a study of a nationally representative sample of first-time beginning postsecondary students who were surveyed 3 times over 6 academic years, in 2011-12, 2014, and 2017. Postsecondary academic transcripts were requested from all institutions attended by sample members. These transcript data include detailed information, by institution attended and by time periods, on enrollment, degree programs, fields of study, course taking, credit accumulation, and academic performance. For more information, go to: https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=20211771.
  • PETS data for the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) are now available
    The data file provides data obtained during the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) Postsecondary Education Transcript Study and Student Financial Aid Records Collection (PETS-SR). HSLS:09 follows a nationally representative sample of students who were ninth-graders in fall 2009 from high school into postsecondary education and the workforce. The PETS-SR data collection was conducted between spring 2017 and fall 2018, approximately 4 years after high school graduation for most of the cohort. These data allow researchers to examine postsecondary coursetaking experiences and financial aid awards for the subset of fall 2009 ninth-graders who enrolled in postsecondary education after high school. Public-use and restricted-use versions of the files are available. For more information, go to: http://nces.ed.gov//pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020021.
  • Learning at a Distance: Undergraduate Enrollment in Distance Education Courses and Degree
    This Statistics in Brief investigates undergraduates' participation in distance education using nationally representative student-reported data collected through the three most recent administrations of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:2000, NPSAS:04, and NPSAS:08). For more information go to https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2012154.

Additional announcements

Historical Background

The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) is a study of financial aid that NCES has conducted since 1987. The study collects comprehensive data about how students and their families pay for postsecondary education and also serves as the foundation and base year cohort for the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) and Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B).

The Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) tracks first-time students' pathways through postsecondary education over the course of six years, focusing on persistence and degree attainment, transition to employment, and school and work experiences. National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) administrations in 1990, 1996, 2004, 2012, and 2020 (forthcoming) identified the BPS cohorts.

The Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B) follows bachelor's degree recipients over the course of 10 years, collecting data on workforce participation, income and debt repayment, and graduate school patterns. National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) administrations in 1993, 2000, 2008, and 2016 identified the B&B cohorts.

NCES collects transcript data from postsecondary institutions for various longitudinal studies, including the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) and Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) longitudinal studies. Postsecondary Education Transcript Study (PETS) collections allow further examination of course-taking patterns, credit transfer, student momentum and attrition, and the connections among students' education choices, occupations, and wages. Transcripts were most recently collected for the BPS:12 cohort. Postsecondary education transcript collections include:

  • 1984 – NLS-72
  • 1993 – HS&B
  • 1994 – B&B:93
  • 2000 – NELS:88
  • 2010 – BPS:04
  • 2010 – B&B:08
  • 2014 – ELS:2002
  • 2017 – HSLS:09
  • 2018 – BPS:12