IPEDS Data Release Memorandum (Memo)

Memorandum for the NCES Review Tracking System (RTS) - IPEDS Data Collection Cycle

2021–22 IPEDS Data Collection: Provisional Spring Data Release Memo

The provisional data release of the components collected during the spring collection period of the 2021–22 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) does not contain substantive changes in file structure or file documentation compared to the previous year. The data are released to the public through the “Use the Data” portal (https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data) on the IPEDS website. The IPEDS Methodology has been reviewed and approved by the NCES Review Staff and is currently posted on the IPEDS website as a resource for data users.

IPEDS is an annual, large-scale, web-based survey that collects institution-level data from postsecondary institutions in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia) and other U.S. jurisdictions.¹ For more information about the IPEDS Survey, its 12 components, and data release procedures visit https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data/survey-components. This memorandum documents the IPEDS universe of reporting institutions and response to the spring collection period of the 2021–22 IPEDS, which was open from December 8, 2021 to April 6, 2022.

2021–22 IPEDS Universe of Institutions

The IPEDS universe is established during the fall collection period. During the 2021–22 collection year, there were 6,045 Title IV institutions and administrative offices² in the United States and other jurisdictions of the United States, such as Puerto Rico. For 2021–22, a total of 533 postsecondary institutions were reported exclusively by a parent institution and are not included in the universe counts. The four U.S. service academies that are not Title IV eligible are included in the IPEDS universe because they are federally funded and open to the public³.

NCES statistical standards require that the potential for nonresponse bias for all institutions be analyzed for sectors for which the response rate is less than 85 percent. Because response rates were nearly 100 percent for each survey component, no such analysis was necessary.

Table 1 provides an overview of the number of institutions responding to the components that comprise the fall, winter, and spring collection periods. This table is updated after each collection period’s data release. Appendix A provides a summary of responses for the previous collection year for comparison purposes. Appendix B shows a table of institutions with a Title IV status change⁴. Of the 136 institutions that changed Title IV status in 2021–22, ninety-nine were for-profit institutions.

Table 1. Summary of Response by IPEDS Survey Component, 2021–22 Data Collection

IPEDS Survey Component	Number of Institutions
IPEDS Survey Component	Not required to report ¹	Expected to respond	Did not respond ²	Provided data
Fall Collection Period: September 1, 2021 to October 13, 2021
Institutional Characteristics	0	6,045	1	6,044
Completions ³	0	5,975	3	5,972
12-Month Enrollment ³	7	5,968	4	5,964
Winter Collection Period: December 8, 2021 to February 9, 2022
Admissions ³	4,010	1,965	1	1,964
Graduation Rates ³	616	5,359	6	5,353
200 Percent Graduation Rates ³	957	5,018	6	5,012
Outcome Measures ³	2,346	3,629	2	3,627
Student Financial Aid ³	78	5,897	8	5,889
Spring Collection Period: December 8, 2021 to April 6, 2022
Academic Libraries ³	2,017	3,958	1	3,957
Fall Enrollment ³	8	5,967	10	5,957
Finance	8	6,037	14	6,023
Human Resources	4	6,041	9	6,032

Notes:

– Data currently not available.

¹ Not required to respond to the survey component because the institutions were new, were closed, did not enroll students, or did not meet the criteria for the component (e.g., some components only apply to degree-granting institutions).

² Due to unit nonresponse, data were imputed for nonresponding institutions.

³ Does not include the 70 administrative offices. An administrative office is a system or central office in a multi-campus environment.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with a written agreement with the U.S. Department of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance programs. The four U.S. service academies that are not Title IV eligible are included in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) universe because they are federally funded and open to the public and are included in this table. Definitions for terms used in this table may be found in the IPEDS online glossary located at https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/public/glossary.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS 2021–22 collection (provisional data).

For any questions related to this data product release, please contact Tara Lawley, IPEDS Program Director, (tara.lawley@ed.gov).

¹ The other U.S. jurisdictions surveyed in IPEDS are American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

² Title IV institutions and administrative offices include 5,975 institutions and 70 administrative (central or system) offices. The central and system offices are required to complete the Institutional Characteristics component in the fall, the Human Resources component in the spring, and the Finance component in the spring (if they have their own separate budget).

³ The four U.S. service academies that are not Title IV eligible are the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is Title IV eligible. Data for all five institutions are included in the tables and counts of institutions unless otherwise indicated.

⁴ An institution may be classified as changing Title IV status for the following reasons: it closed, it no longer provides federal funded financial assistance, it lost Title IV eligibility, it combined or merged with another institution, it is new, it began to provide federal funded financial assistance, or it regained Title IV eligibility.

Table B-1. Number of Title IV Institutions and number changing Title IV status: United States and other U.S. jurisdictions, academic years 2020–21 and 2021–22

Sector of Institution	Title IV institutions in 2020-21		Title IV institutions in 2021-22		Net change in Title IV institutions from 2020-21 to 2021-22¹
Sector of Institution	Number	Number that are no longer Title IV in 2021-22	Number	Number that became Title IV since 2020-21
All Institutions	6,063	136	5,975	48	-88

Public 4-year	773	4	777	0	-4
Private nonprofit 4-year	1,608	20	1,593	5	-10
Private for-profit 4-year	343	16	333	6	-10

Public 2-year	920	4	907	2	-2
Private nonprofit 2-year	139	5	135	1	-4
Private for-profit 2-year	564	18	541	5	-13

Public less-than-2-year	226	3	227	1	-2
Private nonprofit less-than-2-year	59	1	61	2	1
Private for-profit less-than-2-year	1,431	65	1,401	26	-39

¹ The net change indicated in this table is the result of changes to Title IV status (number that became Title IV since 2020–21 minus the number that were no longer Title IV as of 2021–22). Institutions that changed sector between 2020–21 and 2021–22 are not reflected in this column.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with a written agreement with the U.S. Department of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance programs. The United States includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The four U.S. service academies that are not Title IV eligible are included in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) universe because they are federally funded and open to the public and are included in this table. An institution may be classified as changing Title IV status because it closed, it no longer provides federally funded financial assistance, it lost Title IV eligibility, it combined or merged with another institution, it is new, it began to provide federally funded financial assistance, or it regained Title IV eligibility. The other U.S. jurisdictions include American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Definitions for terms used in this table may be found in the IPEDS online glossary located at https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/public/glossary.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS, Fall 2020 Institutional Characteristics component (provisional data) and Fall 2021 Institutional Characteristics component (provisional data).

Table A-1. Summary of Response by IPEDS Survey Component, 2020–21 Data Collection

IPEDS Survey Component	Number of Institutions
IPEDS Survey Component	Not required to report ¹	Expected to respond	Did not respond ²	Provided data
Fall Collection Period: September 2, 2020 to October 14, 2020
Institutional Characteristics	0	6,133	1	6,132
Completions ³	0	6,063	5	6,058
12-Month Enrollment ³	8	6,055	6	6,049
Winter Collection Period: December 9, 2020 to February 10, 2021
Admissions ³	4,087	1,976	1	1,975
Graduation Rates ³	634	5,429	4	5,425
200 Percent Graduation Rates ³	1,021	5,042	3	5,039
Outcome Measures ³	2,397	3,666	2	3,664
Student Financial Aid ³	76	5,987	5	5,982
Spring Collection Period: December 9, 2020 to April 7, 2021
Academic Libraries ³	2,082	3,981	2	3,979
Fall Enrollment ³	4	6,059	6	6,053
Finance	3	6,130	7	6,123
Human Resources	4	6,129	6	6,123

Notes:

² Due to unit nonresponse, data were imputed for nonresponding institutions.

³ Does not include the 70 administrative offices. An administrative office is a system or central office in a multi-campus environment.

NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with a written agreement with the U.S. Department of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance programs. The four U.S. service academies that are not Title IV eligible are included in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) universe because they are federally funded and open to the public and are included in this table. Definitions for terms used in this table may be found in the IPEDS online glossary located at https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/public/glossary.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS 2020–21 collection (provisional data).