The 2012 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:12) Student Records Collection research datafile is a release of exploratory administrative data that are made available only for research on institution response and imputation methodologies. As a result of low institutional response rates, population estimates are NOT advised. Specifically, these data should NOT be used to generate population estimates or analyze the postsecondary records of this BPS cohort. This release includes student-level data for a nationally representative sample of over 35,000 first-time beginning postsecondary students who began postsecondary education during the 2011-12 academic year. Efforts, albeit unsuccessful, were made to collect student level data on enrollment, student budget, and financial aid from postsecondary education institutions attended between the 2011–12 and 2016–17 academic years.
