Estimating Undergraduate Enrollment in Postsecondary Education Using National Center for Education Statistics Data

A number of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) surveys can be used to estimate enrollment levels in postsecondary education. Generating consistent enrollment estimates, however, is complicated by differences in surveys that lead to different enrollment counts. This report describes the process of generating comparable estimates of undergraduate enrollment in postsecondary institutions across four NCES data sets (CPS October Supplement, IPEDS, NHES, NPSAS). The report highlights differences across these surveys that may affect postsecondary enrollment estimates and describes how largely comparable estimates can be derived, given these differences.

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