Statistical Tables

This data tool allows you to generate a report containing summary statistics for a group of institutions for one or more IPEDS variables of the choice.

Step 1: Getting started

For all first time tasks within the Data Center, except Customize DFR, you will be asked to indicate the type of data you wish to access: Preliminary/Provisional Release Data or Final Release Data.

1.1 Use Preliminary/Provisional Release Data

This option allows you to access either Provisional Release Data or Preliminary Release Data (only available for most current collection year).

1.1.1 Preliminary Release Data

Preliminary Release Data are data that have completed an initial review and validation process. However, imputed data for non-responding institutions are not included. If Preliminary Release Data are available, it will be marked with a tilde (~) and automatically selected. Preliminary Release Data are only available for the most recent data year, and remain available until the Provisional Data are released. Due to the nature of the data release cycle, Preliminary Release Data are not always available. For reference, a list of the IPEDS data components with Preliminary Release Data available is displayed along with the relevant data year, as shown below:

1.1.2 Provisional Release Data

Provisional Release Data have undergone full NCES quality control procedures. These data have been imputed for nonresponding institutions but are still subject to additional revisions that may be submitted by institutions during the subsequent data collection year through the IPEDS Prior Year Revision (PYR) System. For reference, a list of the IPEDS survey components with Provisional Release Data available is displayed along with the relevant data year, as shown below:

1.2 Use final release data

This option allows you to access Final Release Data.

1.2.1 Final Release Data

Final (Revised) Release Data are data released the year following the initial collection, after institutions have been given an opportunity to revise their data if they believe it was inaccurately reported in the prior year through the IPEDS PYR System. Final release data can be used when the most up to date data are required; however, these data may not match the tables from the NCES First Look publication.

Once you have finished making selections, click Continue at the bottom of the screen, as shown below:

Step 2: Select Institution

After clicking Continue, you will be shown a screen to select an institution. The methods you use to choose will depend on your data needs and which report you are creating. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with each available method:

By Names or UnitIDs
Selecting a Comparison Institution
By Groups
By Variables
By Uploading a File

To view complete instructions on Create, Save, or Upload institutions, please click here.

Step 3: Select Variables

Next, select the IPEDS variables to include in the report. Click on the Statistical Tables image icon to expand a section of the tree and the icon to collapse it and select the variable by clicking in the box in front of the variable.

If variables have already been selected or uploaded for a previous task during the current Use the Data session, the existing My Variables list will be displayed. This includes any derived variables you may have created.
If variables have not yet been selected or uploaded from a previous session, refer to the Shortcuts section on how to Create, Save, or Upload Variables for detailed instructions on the options for selecting variables.
You may select up to 50 variables to include in this report. Choose from the existing variables in the My Variables ) list, or select a new variable for this report.
Any new variables that are selected for this report will be added to the My Variables list, as shown below. A count will appear at the top of the screen.
When finished, click Continue. You may return to the My Variables list and select an alternate variable for the report at any time by clicking on the button in the status bar at the top of the screen.
Remember that you may click on Save Session at any time to save the information from the current Data Center session.

Step 4: Customize the Report Settings

The final step is to customize the report settings using the formatting choices under Statistics Table Options on the Output screen.

Click on the corresponding option button to indicate whether or not to use classification variables in the report; such as, institutional sector, geographic region, degree of urbanization, and so on to obtain separate analysis for subgroups within the Comparison Group. For example, you may subdivide the results by geographic region to compare the mean total price of attendance for out-of-state students at institutions in the Southwest with institutions in other regions of the United States.
If the Yes option button has been selected, a drop down menu will appear. Using the drop down menu, select the IPEDS survey year from which to choose the classification variables, as shown below.
Available variables depend on the year selected. Changing the year will clear all chosen classification variables.
In addition, when the Yes option button is selected, N Obs is added to the list of statistics available. Like Mean, it is automatically included in all reports and cannot be deselected. While N represents the number of institutions from the Comparison Group that submitted data for the selected variables, N Obs represents the number of institutions from each subgroup expected to submit data for that variable (whether or not they actually did).
Next, choose the statistics to include in the report. Click on the corresponding checkboxes to select any or all of the following. Note that Mean is automatically included in all reports and cannot be deselected.
Indicate how to receive the data. You may view the results on-screen in HTML format, download a zip file containing the basic statistics table in comma separated values (CSV) format (viewable in Microsoft Excel and most other spreadsheet applications) and in Microsoft Excel (.xls) format, or view the results on-screen in the form of a comparison graph. Click on the corresponding option button to select the desired format for the Statistics Report:
To specify a unique title for the report, enter it in the Statistics Table Title field, as shown below. This is not a required field. You may skip this item, or simply leave it blank, to continue generating the report using the default title “Statistics Report”.
Select which report items to include and change the name, as needed.
Once you are satisfied with the formatting choices, click Submit to generate the Statistics Report.

Step 5: View, Print, and Graph the Results

If View on screen ) has been selected, several additional options will be available:

5.1 View on Screen Settings

Modify the report settings

Click on the Modify Options link at any time to return to the Statistics Table Options screen and modify the report settings.

Print the results

To print a copy of the report, click on the Print Report link.

Download the results

Click on the Download link at any time to download a zip folder containing the formatted statistics table.

5.2 Graph Settings

You may view a graph of the report results at any time by clicking on the Show Graph link, as shown below. This option allows you to generate a graph of the group mean of some or all of the variables in the report. If you have selected to use classification variables, you will not see this option.

If a Comparison Institution is selected, the Comparison Value for each variable will be displayed alongside the group mean, as shown below. The options under Graph ) are similar to the options available for View on Screen ) .

When finished with this task, use the Main Menu ) to navigate to a different task in the Use the Data portal; or, click on Start Over ) from the navigation menu at the top of the screen to end the current session.