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pdfGraduation Rates
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2017-18
The changes from the memo are listed on the next page. They have not
yet been incorporated into the survey package below.
Revision to the Voluntary Burden Time Question
For all institutions
Existing question:
Replace Existing question with the following:
Question 1: How many staff from your institution only were involved in the data collection and
reporting process of this survey component?
_______ Number of Staff (including yourself)
Question 2: How many hours did you and others from your institution only spend on each of the
steps below when responding to this survey component?
Exclude the hours spent collecting data for state and other reporting purposes
Staff member
Your office
Other offices
Collecting Data
Needed
______ hours
______ hours
Revising Data to Match
IPEDS Requirements
______ hours
______ hours
Entering Data
______ hours
______ hours
Revising and
Locking Data
______ hours
______ hours
IPEDS Help Desk
(877) 225-2568 or ipedshelp@rti.org
NCES National Center for Education Statistics
date: 8/4/2017
2017-18 Survey Materials > Form
Graduation Rates for 4-year institutions reporting on a fall cohort (academic reporters)
Overview
Graduation Rates Overview
Welcome to the IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) survey component. The GR component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students and tracks their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of study. This information is collected
to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act.
Data Reporting Reminders
Once a student is in the cohort, they remain in the cohort, even if their status changes to part-time or they drop out or transfer out of the institution. However, adjustments
can be made to the cohort for allowable exclusions, which include the death of a student, permanent disability, military deployment, or service on an official church mission
or with a foreign aid service of the Federal government.
When reporting award levels for sub-baccalaureate certificates, determine program length by the number of credit or contact hours, NOT the academic year length in
parentheses. The academic year length is meant only to provide context.
Changes to This Year's Graduation Rates Component:
IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant.
Resources:
The survey materials package for this component can be downloaded using the following link: Survey Materials
If you have questions about completing this survey, please contact the IPEDS Help Desk at 1-877-225-2568.
Section I - Establishing cohorts
Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component from the IPEDS
Fall 2017 data collection, your institution must report graduation rates data using a:
Fall Cohort (Fall 2011)
A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A full-year cohort is used by institutions offering primarily
occupational/vocational programs and operating on a continuous basis.
Establishing cohorts
NOTE: Reporting using the new race/ethnicity categories is now mandatory. On this screen you will need to revise your preloaded 2011 cohort of full-time, first-time
degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students to the new race/ethnicity categories (if applicable). For information and assistance with this, please visit the IPEDS
Race/Ethnicity Information Center.
Men
Screen 1 of 2
Cohort year 2011
Initial cohort
Revised cohort
(Column 01)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 1 of 2
Cohort year 2011
Initial cohort
Revised cohort
(Column 01)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Section I - Establishing cohorts
Incoming students seeking a bachelor's degree should be reported in Column 02. Column 03 will then be generated for you. Column 03 is meant to include any fulltime, first-time entering students who were seeking a degree or certificate other than a bachelor's degree, such as an associate's degree or undergraduate certificate.
If you have no changes to the preloaded data on this screen, click the "Save and Next" button to generate additional screens for reporting completers and
transfers/exclusions.
Establishing cohorts
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 2 of 2
Cohort year 2011
Cohort
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking subcohort
Other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort
(Cohort minus Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort)
(Column 01)
(Column 02)
(Column 03)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 2 of 2
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Cohort year 2011
Cohort
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking subcohort
Other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort
(Cohort minus Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort)
(Column 01)
(Column 02)
(Column 03)
Section II - Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort - Completers within 150%
In the columns below, report the status of the bachelor's degree-seeking subcohort of students listed in Column 10.
Of the students in Column 10, those who attained a degree or certificate OTHER THAN A BACHELOR'S DEGREE within 150% of the normal time to complete the
program as of August 31, 2017 should be reported in either Column 11 or 12, depending on the length of the program completed.
Of the students in Column 10, those who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time should be reported in Column 18.
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 1 of 4
Cohort year 2011
Subcohort students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to completion
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking
subcohort
(Column 10)
Completers of
Completers of programs of less
Completers of programs of at least 2
bachelor's or equivalent
than 2 academic yrs (or equivalent) but less than 4 academic yrs (or equivalent)
degrees
(Column 11)
(Column 12)
(Column 18)
Total
completers
within 150%
(Column 29)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African
American
Native Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity
unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 1 of 4
Cohort year 2011
Subcohort students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to completion
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking
subcohort
(Column 10)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African
American
Native Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity
unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Completers of
Completers of programs of less
Completers of programs of at least 2
bachelor's or equivalent
than 2 academic yrs (or equivalent) but less than 4 academic yrs (or equivalent)
degrees
(Column 11)
(Column 12)
(Column 18)
Total
completers
within 150%
(Column 29)
Section II - Bachelor's completers by length of time to degree
Those students in the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time to completion, as
reported on the previous screen, are listed in Column 18. In Column 19, report the number of these students who earned a bachelor's degree in 4 years. In Column 20, report
the number of these students who earned a bachelor's degree in 5 years. Column 21 will be calculated for you.
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 2 of 4
Cohort year 2011
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking
subcohort
Completed bachelor's
degree
or equivalent within
150%
(Column 10)
(Column 18)
Subcohort students who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent
Completed the
program in
4 yrs or less
Completed the
program in
5 yrs
Completed the
program in
6 yrs
(Column 19)
(Column 20)
(Column 21)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 2 of 4
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Cohort year 2011
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking
subcohort
Completed bachelor's
degree
or equivalent within
150%
(Column 10)
(Column 18)
Subcohort students who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent
Completed the
program in
4 yrs or less
Completed the
program in
5 yrs
Completed the
program in
6 yrs
(Column 19)
(Column 20)
(Column 21)
Section II - Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort - Transfers/exclusions
In the columns below, report the status of those students in the BACHELOR'S OR EQUIVALENT DEGREE-SEEKING SUBCOHORT listed in Column 10 who did not
complete a program within 150% of normal time to completion.
Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed a program, you must report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students
that the school knows have transferred to another eligible institution. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part of your mission, you may
report transfer-out data if you wish.
Report eligible exclusions from the subcohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:
Students who died or became permanently disabled
Students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)
Students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government
Students who left school to serve on an official church mission
Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This includes students who have dropped out as well as those who completed in greater than 150% of
normal time.
If you do not have any values to report in either Column 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on this screen to continue.
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 3 of 4
Cohort year 2011
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking subcohort
Total completers
within 150%
Total transfer-out students
Total exclusions
Still enrolled
No longer enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column 51)
(Column 52)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 3 of 4
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Cohort year 2011
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking subcohort
Total completers
within 150%
Total transfer-out students
Total exclusions
Still enrolled
No longer enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column 51)
(Column 52)
Section II - Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking cohort - Pell recipients and a recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did
not receive a Pell Grant
For each subcohort, report the number of students in the cohort, total exclusions for the cohort, the number of students that completed a bachelor’s or equivalent degree
within 150% of normal time to completion, and the total completers within 150%.
Recipients of a Pell Grant and Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant are mutually exclusive, that is, if a student is in one cohort, they
cannot be in the other cohort.
- The total of these 2 subcohorts must be less than the Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking cohort
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree
Screen 4 of 4
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking cohort
Recipients of a Pell Grant (upon entry)
Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry) that did not receive a
Pell Grant
Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry)
Cohort year 2011
Number of students in
cohort
Total exclusions
Completed bachelor's
degree
or equivalent within 150%
Total completers within
150%
(Column 10)
(Column 45)
(Column 18)
(Column 29)
Section III - Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort - Completers within 150%
In the columns below, report the status of the subcohort of students seeking other than a bachelor's or equivalent degree listed in Column 10.
Of the students in Column 10, those who attained a degree or certificate other than a bachelor's degree within 150% of the normal time to complete the program as of
August 31, 2017 should be reported in either Column 11 or 12, depending on the length of the program completed.
Of the students in Column 10, those who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time should be reported in Column 18.
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's degree
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 1 of 3
Cohort year 2011
Subcohort students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to completion
Other
degree/certificateseeking subcohort
Completers of programs of less
than 2 academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 10)
(Column 11)
Completers of programs of at least 2 but
less than 4 academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 12)
Completers of
bachelor's or equivalent
degrees
(Column 18)
Total
completers
within 150%
(Column 29)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African
American
Native Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity
unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 1 of 3
Cohort year 2011
Subcohort students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to completion
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African
American
Native Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity
unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Other
degree/certificateseeking subcohort
Completers of programs of less
than 2 academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 10)
(Column 11)
Completers of programs of at least 2 but
less than 4 academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 12)
Completers of
bachelor's or equivalent
degrees
(Column 18)
Total
completers
within 150%
(Column 29)
Section III - Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort - Transfers/exclusions
In the columns below, report the status of those students in the OTHER DEGREE/CERTIFICATE-SEEKING SUBCOHORT listed in Column 10 who did not complete a
program within 150% of normal time to completion.
Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students that the school knows have transferred to
another eligible institution. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part of your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.
Report eligible exclusions from the subcohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:
Students who died or became permanently disabled
Students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)
Students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government
Students who left school to serve on an official church mission
Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This includes students who dropped out as well as those who completed in greater than 150% of normal
time.
If you do not have any values to report in either Column 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on this screen to continue.
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's degree
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 2 of 3
Cohort year 2011
Other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort
Total completers within
150%
Total transfer-out
students
Total
exclusions
Still
enrolled
No longer
enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column
51)
(Column 52)
Other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort
Total completers within
150%
Total transfer-out
students
Total
exclusions
Still
enrolled
No longer
enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column
51)
(Column 52)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 2 of 3
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Cohort year 2011
Section III - Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort - Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not
receive a Pell Grant
For each subcohort, report the number of students in the cohort, total exclusions for the cohort, the number of students who completed a bachelor’s or equivalent degree
with 150%, and the total completers within 150%.
Recipients of a Pell Grant and Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant are mutually exclusive, that is, if a student is in one cohort, they
cannot be in the other cohort.
- The total of these 2 subcohorts must be less than the other degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's degree
Screen 3 of 3
Cohort year 2011
Number of students in
cohort
Total exclusions
Completed bachelor's
degree
or equivalent within 150%
Total completers within
150%
(Column 10)
(Column 45)
(Column 18)
(Column 29)
Other degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Recipients of a Pell Grant (upon entry)
Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry) that did not receive a
Pell Grant
Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry)
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
2017-18 Survey Materials > Instructions
date: 8/4/2017
Graduation Rates Full Instructions - 4-Year Institutions
Purpose of the Survey
Changes in Reporting
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
Context Boxes
Coverage
Who to Include
Who to Exclude
Where to Get Help for Reporting
Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
Reporting Directions
Reporting Individuals by Racial/Ethnic Categories
Section I: Establishing and Revising Cohorts
Section II: Bachelor's Degree Subcohort
Section III: Other Degree/Certificate-Seeking Subcohorts
Worksheets
Purpose of the Survey
The purpose of the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey component is to track given cohorts of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students - as well as their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of
study - at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Rightto-Know Act.
Changes in Reporting
- IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who
did not receive a Pell Grant
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
This survey component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled in
your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2011 (or the institution's official fall reporting date) for institutions that offer a predominant
number of programs based on standard academic terms (e.g., semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan); or (2) during the period
between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012 for institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard
academic terms. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2017.
Context Boxes
Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component items. Note that some context
boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these
context boxes for applicability and appropriateness before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check
grammar and spelling of their entries.
Coverage
Who to Include in the Cohort
Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution either during the fall term or
during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the
prior summer term and students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduating from high school).
For institutions that will report using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all students who entered the institution between
September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including one year in
length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Include all students enrolled for credit toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award. Include students enrolled in courses
that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance
learning/home study programs.
Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for the purpose of student
financial aid determination. This includes students who:
Received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time
Received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or
transfer-seeking program
Obtained a student visa to enroll at a U.S. postsecondary institution
A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:
Becomes a part-time student
Transfers to another institution
Drops out of the institution
Stops out of the institution
Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate
Went on a study abroad program the first year upon entering the institution
Who to Exclude from the Cohort
Do NOT include students in the cohort who are:
Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational program (i.e., nondegree/certificate-seeking students)
Exclusively taking CEUs
Exclusively auditing classes
Enrolled part-time
Transfers into the institution
Foreign students who are only taking coursework at a host institution (e.g., an American institution overseas), if these students are
not enrolled at a U.S. institution.
Where to Get Help with Reporting
IPEDS Help Desk
Phone: 1-877-225-2568
Email: ipedshelp@rti.org
Web Tutorials
You can also consult the IPEDS Website Trainings & Outreach page which contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced
overview of IPEDS tools, and other valuable resources.
IPEDS Resource Page
The IPEDS Website Reporting Tools page contains frequently asked questions, a link to data tip sheets, tutorials, taxonomies, information
centers (e.g., academic libraries, average net price, human resources, race/ethnicity, etc.), and other valuable information.
Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.
At the institution-level, data will appear in the:
College Navigator Website
IPEDS Data Center
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
College Affordability and Transparency Center Website
At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:
IPEDS First Looks
IPEDS Table Library
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
The Digest of Education Statistics
The Condition of Education
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
The File Import/Upload option is found under the Tools menu. In order to perform the upload you’ll need to have a file formatted to
specifications. Upload specifications are included with the survey materials found under the Help menu. There are three upload formats
available for the Graduation Rates survey component:
Fixed width file
Key value file
XML format
Reporting Instructions
Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category (1997 OMB)
This information is being collected in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972 and Sec. 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. These instructions correspond with the Final Guidance on
Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education, published in the Federal Register on
October 19, 2007.
Method of collection - Institutions must collect race and ethnicity information using a 2-question format. The first question is whether the
respondent is Hispanic/Latino. The second question is whether the respondent is from one or more races from the following list: American
Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. Institutions should allow
students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity. For further details on the guidance for collecting these data, please see the full
Federal Register notice.
Method of reporting aggregate data - Institutions must report aggregate data to the U.S. Department of Education using the NINE
categories below. Racial/ethnic designations are requested only for United States citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.
Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race
For Non-Hispanic/Latino individuals:
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
In addition, the following categories may be used:
Nonresident alien
Race and ethnicity unknown
Racial/ethnic descriptions - Racial/ethnic designations as used in this survey do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological
origins. The categories are:
Hispanic or Latino- A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless
of race.
American Indian or Alaska Native- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central
America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black or African American- A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other
Pacific Islands.
White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
Other descriptive categories
Nonresident alien - A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary
basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely. NOTE - Nonresident aliens are to be reported separately, in the boxes
provided, rather than included in any of the seven racial/ethnic categories. Resident aliens and other eligible (for financial aid
purposes) non-citizens who are not citizens or nationals of the United States and who have been admitted as legal immigrants for
the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who hold either an alien registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a
Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) with a notation that conveys legal immigrant status
such as Section 207 Refugee, Section 208 Asylee, Conditional Entrant Parolee or Cuban-Haitian) are to be reported in the appropriate
racial/ethnic categories along with United States citizens.
Race and ethnicity unknown - This category is used only if the person did not select EITHER a racial or ethnic designation.
Section I – Establishing Cohorts
Cohort Type
The method used to report graduation rates data on this survey is predetermined by your institution's response to the predominant
calendar system question (B3) on the IC Header survey component of the IPEDS Fall 2017 data collection, according to the following
rules:
Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (semesters, trimesters, quarters, or
4-1-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of students. Institutions may use October 15, 2011 or the institution's official fall
reporting date to determine the cohort. This should be the same reporting date used for the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey.
Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (as defined above) will report
using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count as entering students all those students who entered the institution
between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including
one year in length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Establishing your Cohorts
Report each student only once.
Please complete all of Section I. Screens for Sections II and III will be generated based on the data reported in Section I.
Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information reported on full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate student enrollment at your institution on the 2011 IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey will be preloaded in this column. If you
did not respond to that survey, or if you are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.
Revised cohort (Column 01) - Institutions have the option of revising their preloaded cohort if:
there are eligible students who were omitted in the past
students were reported who did not belong in the cohort (e.g., they were not actually first-time, or full-time)
better information regarding race/ethnicity or gender is available for eligible students
Please review the data in the Initial cohort column (if applicable) and re-enter the cohort data in the Revised cohort column according to
the 1997 racial/ethnic categories, making any necessary corrections for omissions, erroneous reporting, or where better information
regarding race/ethnicity or gender is available. If your data do not appear in the Initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment
data as requested in the Revised cohort column.
Establishing Subcohorts
For 4-year institutions, the cohort is divided into two subcohorts: (1) those students who upon entry are seeking a bachelor's or
equivalent degree, and (2) those students who upon entry are seeking an undergraduate award other than a bachelor's
degree. Institutions that do not determine degree intent upon entry should report all students as if they are bachelor's degreeseeking.
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 02) –Of the revised cohort of students listed in Column 1, indicate the
number of these students who declared intent to seek a bachelor's or equivalent degree upon entry. As indicated above, this should
also include any students whose intent was not known. These data will be carried forward to Section II.
Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Column 03) –This column represents the difference between the Revised cohort
(Column 1) and the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 2). The values in this column are calculated for you, and
represent the number of students who declared intent to seek an undergraduate award other than a bachelor's level degree (e.g., an
associate's degree or other formal award) upon entry. These data will be carried forward to Section III.
Section II – Completers within 150% - Bachelor’s or Equivalent Degree-Seeking Subcohort
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2011 subcohort of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students as of 150% of normal time to completion or
August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers by type of program completed. Report all students by
race/ethnicity and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree upon entry. Do NOT include parttime students, students who transferred into your institution, or students who changed their program of study to a bachelor's level
degree after their first semester.
Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare
students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a
transfer-preparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
Note that completers should be reported in terms of the type of program completed, as defined by award level. For programs that are
defined in terms of contact or credit hours, the program type may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to
complete. For more information on program types, please consult the IPEDS Glossary.
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) - The data in this column are carried forward from Section I for your
reference.
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 11) - Enter the number of students in the bachelor's
or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort who completed programs of less than 2 full-time equivalent academic years within 150% of
normal time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of less than one academic year and of at least one but less than
two academic years; or designed for completion in less than 60 semester or trimester credit hours, less than 90 quarter credit hours, or
less than 1,800 contact or clock hours.
Completers of programs of at least 2 but less than 4 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 12) - Enter the number of students in
the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort who completed programs of at least 2 but less than 4 full-time equivalent academic
years within 150% of normal time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of at least two but less than four academic
years - or designed for completion in at least 60 but less than 120 semester or trimester credit hours, at least 90 but less than 180
quarter credit hours, or at least 1,800 but less than 3,600 contact or clock hours - and associate's degrees.
Completers of bachelor's or equivalent degrees (Column 18) - Enter the number of students in the bachelor's or equivalent degreeseeking subcohort who completed a bachelor’s degree or equivalent program within 150% of normal time to completion. Note: Completers
of 3-year bachelor’s degree programs should only be included if they completed the program within 4-1/2 years.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous three columns, and is calculated for you by the data
collection system.
Section II – Bachelor’s Completers by Length of Time to Degree
Report each student only once.
Of those students in the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent program
within 150% of normal time to completion you must provide additional information on the length of time it took them to complete their
program. Include all baccalaureate level degrees, including 5-year bachelor's/cooperative programs and those bachelor's degrees in which
the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years. Of the total number of completers of bachelor's or equivalent degrees within 150% of
normal time listed in Column 18, provide the following breakout:
Completed the program in 4 yrs or less (Column 19) - Enter the number of students who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent in
4 years or less. This should include all students who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent by August 31, 2015.
Completed the program in 5 yrs (Column 20) - Enter the number of students who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent in 5
years. This should include all students who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent in the period from September 1, 2015 through
August 31, 2016. Do NOT include students who completed their program in 4 years or less in this column.
Completed the program in 6 yrs (Column 21) - This column represents the difference between the number of completers of bachelor's
degrees or equivalent within 150% of normal time (Column 18) and the sum of those who completed their program in 4 years or less
(Column 19) and those who completed their program in 5 years (Column 20). This should include all students who completed a bachelor's
degree or equivalent in the period from September 1, 2016 through August 31, 2017. This column is calculated for you by the data
collection system.
Section II – Non-completers - Bachelor’s or Equivalent Degree-Seeking Subcohort
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the non-completers from the 2011 subcohort of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students as of 150% of the
normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier). Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree upon entry. Do NOT include parttime students, students who transferred into your institution, or students who changed their program of study to a bachelor's level
degree after their first semester.
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) – The data in this column are carried forward from Section I for your
reference.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - The data in this column are carried forward from page 1 of Section II for your reference.
Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to
enroll in another eligible institution without having completed a program, you must report the total number of students who transferred
out of your institution (without earning a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion. Include students who transferred out
of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled at another eligible institution. If it is not part of your mission, you may still report transferout data if you wish.
Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150% of normal time to completion
for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another institution) due to one of the following documented reasons:
a. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.
b. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called up to active duty. (Do NOT include students already in the military
who transfer to another duty station.)
c. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the Peace Corps.
d. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.
NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted above, but return prior to the status date of August 31, 2017, may
still be subtracted/excluded from the cohort during the calculation of graduation rates.
Still enrolled (Column 51) - Enter the number of students who were still enrolled at your institution as of 150% of normal time to
completion for their program (or August 31, 2017 if 150% of normal time to completion had not elapsed by that time).
No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column represents the difference between the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking
subcohort (Column 10) and the sum of Columns 29, 30, 45, and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their
program after 150% of normal time to completion elapsed.
Section II – Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking cohort - Graduation Rate for Pell recipients and recipients
of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2011 subcohort of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students as of 150% of normal time to completion or
August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree upon entry. Do NOT include parttime students, students who transferred into your institution, or students who changed their program of study to a bachelor's level
degree after their first semester.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare students
for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a transferpreparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a five-
year bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
For each of two different subcohorts - Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking students and Other degree/certificate-seeking students,
data will be collected on those students who were recipients of a Pell Grant and those students who were recipients of a subsidized Direct
Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant.
Recipients are defined as those students receiving and using their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct loan. These students must receive and
use the award within their first year at the institution. If the student is a recipient of an award at a later point, they would not be included
in one of the subcohorts.
Number of students in the cohort - The number of students in the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort will be preloaded
from Section 1 of the GR form. Of those students, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students
who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories() will be mutually exclusive. The total of
these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Total exclusions - The number of exclusions in the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort will be preloaded from Section II of
the GR form. Of those students reported as exclusions, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of
students who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The
total of these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Completed bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% - The number of students in the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking
subcohort who completed a bachelor’s degree or equivalent program within 150% of normal time to completion will be preloaded from
Section II of the GR form. Of those students reported as completers, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the
number of students who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. This must be less than or equal to the
Completers within 150% of normal time. The total of these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Total completers within 150% of normal time - The total number of students who completed their program within 150% of normal time
to completion will be preloaded from Section II of the GR form. Of those students reported as completers, report the number of students
who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two
categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Section III – Completers within 150% - Other Degree/Certificate-Seeking Subcohort
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2011 subcohort of students seeking other than a bachelor's degree as of 150% of normal time to completion or
August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers by type of program completed. Report all students by
race/ethnicity and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking undergraduate degrees or certificates other than a bachelor’s degree
upon entry. Do NOT include part-time students, students who transferred into your institution, or students who changed their program of
study from a bachelor's level degree after the first semester.
Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare
students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a
transfer-preparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
Note that completers should be reported in terms of the type of program completed, as defined by award level. For programs that are
defined in terms of contact or credit hours, the program type may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to
complete. For more information on program types, please consult the IPEDS Glossary. Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort
(Column 10) - The data in this column are carried forward from Section I for your reference.
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 11) - Enter the number of students in the other
degree/certificate-seeking subcohort who completed programs of less than 2 full-time equivalent academic years within 150% of normal
time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of less than one academic year and of at least one but less than two
academic years; or designed for completion in less than 60 semester or trimester credit hours, less than 90 quarter credit hours, or less
than 1,800 contact or clock hours.
Completers of programs of at least 2 but less than 4 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 12) - Enter the number of students in
the other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort who completed programs of at least 2 but less than 4 full-time equivalent academic years
within 150% of normal time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of at least two but less than four academic years
- or designed for completion in at least 60 but less than 120 semester or trimester credit hours, at least 90 but less than 180 quarter
credit hours, or at least 1,800 but less than 3,600 contact or clock hours - and associate's degrees.
Completers of bachelor's or equivalent degrees (Column 18) - Enter the number of students in the other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort who completed a bachelor’s degree or equivalent program within 150% of normal time to completion. Note: Completers of 3year bachelor’s degree programs should only be included if they completed the program within 4-1/2 years.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous three columns, and is calculated for you by the data
collection system.
Section III – Non-completers - Other Degree/Certificate-Seeking Subcohort
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the non-completers from the 2011 subcohort of students seeking other than a bachelor's or equivalent degree as of
150% of the normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier). Report all students by race/ethnicity
and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking an undergraduate award other than a bachelor's level degree upon
entry. Do NOT include part-time students, students who transferred into your institution, or students who changed their program of study
from a bachelor's level degree after their first semester.
Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Column 10) – The data in this column are carried forward from Section I for your reference.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - The data in this column are carried forward from page 1 of Section III for your reference.
Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to
enroll in another eligible institution without having completed a program, you must report the total number of students who transferred
out of your institution (without earning a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion. Include students who transferred out
of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled at another eligible institution. If it is not part of your mission, you may still report transferout data if you wish.
Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150% of normal time to completion
for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another institution) due to one of the following documented reasons:
a. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.
b. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called up to active duty. (DO NOT include students already in the military
who transfer to another duty station.)
c. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the Peace Corps.
d. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.
NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted above, but return prior to the status date of August 31, 2017, may
still be subtracted/excluded from the cohort during the calculation of graduation rates.
Still enrolled (Column 51) - Enter the number of students who were still enrolled at your institution as of 150% of normal time to
completion for their program (or August 31, 2017 if 150% of normal time to completion had not elapsed by that time).
No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column represents the difference between the other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Column
10) and the sum of Columns 29, 30, 45, and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their program after 150% of
normal time to completion elapsed.
Section III – Other Degree/Certificate-Seeking Subcohort - Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct
Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2011 subcohort of Other degree/certificate-seeking students as of 150% of normal time to completion or August
31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking Other degree/certificate. Do NOT include part-time students, students
who transferred into your institution.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare students
for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a transferpreparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
For each of two different subcohorts - Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking students and Other degree/certificate-seeking students,
data will be collected on those students who were recipients of a Pell Grant and those students who were recipients of a subsidized Direct
Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant.
Recipients are defined as those students receiving and using their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct loan. These students must receive and
use the award within their first year at the institution. If the student is a recipient of an award at a later point, they would not be included
in one of the subcohorts.
Number of students in the cohort - The number of students in the Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort will be preloaded from
Section 1 of the GR form. Of those students, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who
received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two
subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Total exclusions - The number of exclusions in the Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort will be preloaded from Section III of the GR
form. Of those students reported as exclusions, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who
received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two
subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Completed bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% - The number of students in the Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort
who completed a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time to completion will be preloaded from Section III of the GR
form. Of those students reported as completers, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students
who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. This must be less
than or equal to the Total completers within 150%. The total of these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all
students.
Total completers within 150% - The total number of students in the Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort who completed their
degree/certificate program within 150% of normal time to completion will be preloaded from Section III of the GR form. Of those students
reported as completers, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who received a subsidized
Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two subcohorts must be
less than or equal to the total of all students.
Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates
Worksheets
Worksheets calculating the Student Right-To-Know and overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,
first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for the 2011 student cohort are provided as a convenience to the institution.
In addition, the 4-year, 5-year, and 6-year graduation rates for the 2011 bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort are provided
for those institutions that are able to report bachelor's or equivalent completers by length of time to degree. Data previously reported by
the institution are preloaded for use in these calculations.
Note that certain information from these worksheets will be displayed on College Navigator, as noted. Additional information relevant to
the calculated rates may be entered in the context box provided, and will also be displayed on College Navigator.
Privacy Issues With Disclosure
Before using the worksheets for disclosure, please consider the following:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended (1998) (FERPA) requires that institutions not disclose information where
students could be identified.
Glossary
date: 8/4/2017
Term
Definition
Adjusted cohort
The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for
calculating retention rate; for the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are
calculated; and for the Outcome Measures component, these are the four cohorts (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-firsttime, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time) for which outcomes rates are calculated at 4, 6, and 8 years.
American Indian or Alaska
Native
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural
identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Associate's degree
An award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work.
Bachelor's degree
An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at
least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year
cooperative (work-study) program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or
government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in
which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years.
Bachelor's or equivalent degreeseeking subcohort
In the G R component of IPEDS, a cohort of students who were seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree upon entry.
Black or African American
A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Cohort
A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.
Completers within 150% of
normal time
Students who completed their program within 150% of the normal (or expected) time for completion.
Degree/certificate-seeking
students
Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other formal award. This includes students who:
- received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
- received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate,
or transfer-seeking program; or
- obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution
High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.
Exclusions
Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation Rates, Outcome Measures, and Fall
Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution for one of the following reasons:
death or total and permanent disability; service in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid
service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.
Fall cohort
The group of students entering in the fall term established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component, this includes
all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the fall term of
a given year. For the Outcome Measures component, all degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who enter an institution
during the fall term of a given year must be placed in one of four cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, nonfirst-time; and part-time, non-first-time.
First-time student
(undergraduate)
A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any institution for the first time at the
undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the
fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college
credits or postsecondary formal award earned before graduation from high school).
Full-time student
Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week
each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or
dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the
institution.
Full-year cohort
This is a group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period for tracking and reporting. For Graduation Rate (GR), a
full-year cohort is from September 1 through August 31 and is used primarily offer occupational programs of varying lengths. Students
must be full-time and first-time to be considered in the cohort. For Outcome Measures (OM) component, all degree-granting
institutions report on a full-year cohort from July 1 through June 30. Students are reported once in one of the four OM cohorts: firsttime, full-time; first-time, part-time: non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time.
Graduation rate
The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This rate is calculated as the total number
of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the revised adjusted cohort.
Graduation Rates (GR)
This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150
percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part of the institution's mission. Prior
to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid
and whether they completed within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL where
the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates worksheets that calculate rates, including
average rates over 4 years.
Hispanic/Latino
A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
Initial cohort
A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates (GR) and Outcome Measures (OM)
components of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as the enrollment count before removing revisions and exclusions of all
degree/certificate-seeking students who enter in either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2) between September 1st and
August 31st of the following year. For the GR component of IPEDS, the initial cohort is only for full-time, first-time students. For OM, all
undergraduates are placed in one of four initial cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and parttime, non-first time.
Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS)
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), conducted by the NCES, began in 1986 and involves annual institutionlevel data collections. All postsecondary institutions that have a Program Participation Agreement with the Office of Postsecondary
Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education (throughout IPEDS referred to as "Title IV") are required to report data using a webbased data collection system. IPEDS currently consists of the following components: Institutional Characteristics (IC); 12-month
Enrollment (E12);Completions (C); Admissions (ADM); Student Financial Aid (SFA); Human Resources (HR) composed of Employees by
Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries; Fall Enrollment (EF); Graduation Rates (GR); Outcome Measures (OM); Finance (F); and
Academic Libraries (AL).
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
Nonresident alien
A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have
the right to remain indefinitely.
Normal time to completion
The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution's
catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a
standard term-based institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree
in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.
Other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort
A subset of students belonging to a GR cohort who were seeking a degree or certificate other than bachelor's degree upon entry.
Race and ethnicity unknown
The category used to report students or employees whose race and ethnicity are not known.
Race/ethnicity
Categories developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are used to describe groups to which individuals
belong, identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community. The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological
origins. The designations are used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.
Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as:
- Hispanic or Latino or
- Not Hispanic or Latino
Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- White
Revised cohort
Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that incorrect data were reported in an earlier
year.
Student Right-to-Know Act
Also known as the "Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act" (P.L. 101-542), which was passed by Congress November 9, 1990.
Title I, Section 103, requires institutions eligible for Title IV funding to calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or
degree-seeking, full-time students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates to all students and prospective students.
Further, Section 104 requires each institution that participates in any Title IV program and is attended by students receiving athleticallyrelated student aid to submit a report to the Secretary of Education annually. This report is to contain, among other things,
graduation/completion rates of all students as well as students receiving athletically-related student aid by race/ethnicity and gender
and by sport, and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years. These data are also required to be
disclosed to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes when the institution offers athletically-related student aid. The Graduation
Rates component of IPEDS was developed specifically to help institutions respond to these requirements. See Graduation Rates for the
current description of data collected.
Subcohort
A predefined subset of the initial cohort or the revised cohort established for tracking purposes. Degree/certificate-seeking students in
the bachelor's degree-seeking group in the Graduation Rates (GR) component and Pell-Grant, non-first-time, part-time students in the
Outcome Measures (OM) component are examples of subcohorts.
Title IV institution
An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV
federal student financial assistance programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the National Early Intervention
Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs).
Transfer-out rate
Total number of students who are known to have transferred out of the reporting institution within 150% of normal time to completion
divided by the adjusted cohort.
Transfer-out student
A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.
Transfer-preparatory program
A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer into a higher level program. For
example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of
undergraduate study needed for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for
entrance into health services fields.
Undergraduate
A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program, an associate's degree program, or a vocational or technical program
below the baccalaureate.
White
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
U.S. Department of Education
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
2017-18 Survey Materials > FAQ
Graduation Rates for 4-year institutions
Click one of the following questions to view the answer.
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How
do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
2)
Why is it necessary for 4-year institutions to separate their entering cohort into two groups?
3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?
4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
5)
Do I need to track students every term?
Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete the GR survey?
3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a
confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?
6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
7)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificate-seeking student this
fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?
12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
13)
Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers-out?
14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled as of
October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs,
students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or students who change programs?
15)
If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degrees (e.g., AA and BA) within the 6-year period, can I
count both completions?
16)
I have a student who intended upon entry to complete a bachelor’s degree, so he is included in my Section II Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort. However, he does not complete his BA within the 6-year
period, and instead completes an associate’s degree along the way, and it was completed within 3 years.
Where should I report him?
Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?
4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of normal time students
who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if the student does not receive the degree
until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?
Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do so. Am I
still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act, and am I still responsive to the GR
survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student Right-to-Know
Act?
3)
My institution belongs to the NCAA; do I have to report graduation rates data to IPEDS? Do I also need to report to
the Secretary of Education?
4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable exclusions) at my
institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
5)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program?"
6)
My institution offers pre-med and pre-vet programs, but formal awards are not given. What happens to these
students?
7)
My institution offers a PharmD program where students are accepted into the program after completing a 2 or 3
year program of undergraduate studies. What happens to these students?
8)
How do I deal with "3/2" programs? My institution provides the first 3 years of an engineering program and our
students matriculate to another university for the last 2 years of study and to attain their degree. Can we count
these students as completers when they receive their degree from the second institution?
9)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar
provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?
Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the institution, would
they be counted as part of these subgroups?
3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the institution, do they
have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to be counted as part of these
subgroups?
date: 8/4/2017
Answers:
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing
enrollment) basis. How do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
Student Right-to-Know legislation states that institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on
a term basis (semester, quarter, or trimester) must calculate graduation and transfer-out rates using a fall
cohort; otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort used to report your institution's GR data
is predetermined based on your response to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional
Characteristics Header survey component.
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2)
Why is it necessary for 4-year institutions to separate their entering cohort into two groups?
NCES requests that 4-year institutions that offer undergraduate awards other than a bachelor’s degree define
two distinct subcohorts: (1) students who upon entry intend to complete a bachelor’s or equivalent degree, and
(2) students who upon entry intend to complete an undergraduate award other than a bachelor’s or equivalent
degree. Students whose intent is unknown should be reported in the subcohort with those seeking a bachelor’s
or equivalent degree. By separating the cohort in this way, the graduation and transfer rates of the first group
can be compared with those at like institutions, as well as with those at institutions offering only a bachelor’s
degree. Similarly, the rates of the second group can more easily be compared with those at 2-year institutions.
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3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do
anything this year?
Student Right-to-Know legislation states that graduation rates reporting is mandatory for institutions
that enrolled full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the relevant cohort
year. If you did not enroll this type of student, or your institution was not in operation during the relevant cohort
year, please report this information on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component.
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4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means modifying the cohort
data to reflect better information that has become available since the cohort was first reported in the
relevant Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on the
cohort). Fall cohorts may be revised by entering new data in the Revised cohort column on the data collection
screen. Adjusting a cohort means subtracting any allowable exclusions from the revised cohort to establish a
denominator for graduation rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts are adjusted for you on the
worksheet screens when calculating graduation and transfer-out rates.
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5)
Do I need to track students every term?
No. You can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry, and then, at the end of 150% of normal time
to complete all requirements of the longest program, look back to see the status of those in the cohort. You will
need to know when students in the cohort completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track these students
from term-to-term.
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Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student who has no prior postsecondary experience
attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level." This means that the student is first-time
in terms of postsecondary education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary
institution). There are two exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution for the first time the summer
prior to entering your institution in the fall term are to be counted as "first-time", as are (2) students who
entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from high school).
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2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete
the GR survey?
Yes. You must report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions related to disclosure
requirements under Other below for additional information.
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3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for
which I have a confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
You should report the student as a transfer-out. For the purposes of the full-time, first-time cohort used
for IPEDS graduation rates reporting, this action closes out their status in the cohort. Upon re-enrolling at your
institution, the student would then be included in a subsequent, non-first-time cohort not collected through the
IPEDS GR survey.
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4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
The IPEDS GR survey does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE
INCLUDED IN ANY GR COHORT.
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5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental
courses?
These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to a
degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award, and if they are not eligible for Title IV federal financial aid.
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6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking in
the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. If a student is degree/certificate-seeking for the purposes of qualifying for
student financial aid, then they must be included in the GR cohort.
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7)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificateseeking student this fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a
postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they are entering with no credit.
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8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
Neither should be included in the cohort for graduation rates reporting.
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9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they should not
be included in the cohort according to Student Right-to-Know regulations. Be sure to carefully review the
definition of degree/certificate-seeking in the IPEDS Glossary.
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10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
If the student has never enrolled in a postsecondary institution, they should be counted as "first-time."
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11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as
"first-time"?
Since these students must have been previously enrolled in a postsecondary institution in order to obtain credit
through correspondence or distance learning, they are not considered "first-time."
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12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report in the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. For
additional information on this topic, please refer to the IPEDS Data Tip Sheet related to Reporting Students for
Institutions in Consortia.
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13)
Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be
considered transfers-out?
No. Keep the students in the cohort since they return in the fall and continue their programs of study.
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14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate
students enrolled as of October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what
happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or
students who change programs?
It looks like your cohort is defined correctly. Remember YOUR COHORT NEVER CHANGES. Students who stop
out or drop out do not leave the cohort. They remain in the count; and if they complete their most recent
program within 150% of normal time they should be reported accordingly. Students who switch to part-time
status or to another program are not given extra time to complete, nor are they removed from the cohort.
Report their status as requested.
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15)
If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degrees (e.g., AA and BA) within the 6year period, can I count both completions?
No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your
decision as to which one you prefer to report.
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16)
I have a student who intended upon entry to complete a bachelor’s degree, so he is included
in my Section II - Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort. However, he does not
complete his BA within the 6-year period, and instead completes an associate’s degree along the
way, and it was completed within 3 years. Where should I report him?
By all means, count this student as a completer of an associate’s degree (at least 2 but less than 4 year
program) since that degree was completed within 150% of normal time. Remember, intent is not important
when reporting your completers; what is important is whether or not they finished any program within 150% of
normal time.
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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion". IPEDS has adopted the definition
developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time. As such,
"normal time to completion" is defined as "the amount of time necessary for a student to complete all
requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8
semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree in a standard termbased institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an
associate’s degree in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate
programs." Let’s look at some examples:
Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs (8 semesters – typically fall and spring).
Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would be 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the
sixth year.
Similarly, an associate’s degree program that is advertised as a 2-year program (6 quarters - fall, winter, and
spring, with no scheduled summer quarter) would extend to 9 quarters (1.5 x 6) or through the end of the
spring quarter of the third year.
However, the Technical Amendment to the Student Right-to-Know Act redefined the cohort year to allow you to
count completers through August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third
year of a 2-year program).
Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as
taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the student
completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.
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2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
If a student has switched programs, you will calculate 150% of normal time to completion based on his or her
most recent program for reporting outcomes. However, the student's "clock" does not reset once they switch
programs. He or she must still graduate, transfer, or qualify as an exclusion within 150% of normal time to
completion starting from the date he or she first entered the cohort.
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3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the
program?
There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time calculation should be applied as of the
student's initial start date, and is the same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term
or two and still complete within 150% of normal time.
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4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of
normal time students who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if
the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot
count them as completers?
Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree
upon completion of the program (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted in the student’s record)
and simply allow the student to "pick up" their degree at the December ceremony, then you should be able to
count the student as having completed within 150% of normal time.
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Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
The Student Right-to-Know legislation states that "An institution that determines that its mission includes
providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers-out
so that a transfer-out rate may be calculated for its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students. Students to be reported as transfers are those who have NOT completed a program
or graduated, so they cannot be counted as completers, but have subsequently enrolled in any program of an
eligible institution for which the insititution provided substantial preparation. If the institution does not have such
a mission, reporting of transfers-out is optional.
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2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
None. All verification requirements were dropped from the regulations.
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3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a
system to do so. Am I still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
Act, and am I still responsive to the GR survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
As long as your institution does not include providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another
eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers-out. However, if
your institution does have such a mission, you must be able to track and report on transfers-out. (Applicable
to Graduation Rates and Graduation Rates 200 only; requirements for Outcome Measures are different.
Please review the Outcome Measures requirements separately.)
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Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
Student Right-to-Know Act regulations state that an institution must annually prepare the completion or
graduation rates of its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students; and for
institutions that determine that their mission includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution, the transfer-out rate of these students. In calculating these rates, an institution must
count any students who have completed or graduated by the end of the 12-month period ending August 31
during which 150% of the normal time for completion or graduation from their program has lapsed.
Therefore, at a minimum, you must report and disclose your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31
of the prior year). The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information as warranted to
help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider disclosing additional rates as
well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students typically take
longer to complete.
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2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student
Right-to-Know Act?
NO! NO! and NO! The IPEDS GR survey provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for
calculating graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that
there is some level of consistency in the way the rates are calculated. However, the SRK requires disclosure of
these rates to students and prospective students. In addition, for schools that offer athletically-related student
aid there are additional disclosure and reporting requirements. By completing the GR survey, you will have the
rates you need to disclose, but you still need to make them available. The GR survey statisfies the reporting
requirements ONLY.
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3)
My institution belongs to the NCAA; do I have to report graduation rates data to IPEDS? Do I also
need to report to the Secretary of Education?
Completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey through the web-based data collection system satisfies all of
your reporting requirements to the Secretary of Education. However, the NCAA is now collecting their own data
on graduation rates, separately from IPEDS. You will still need to report data to the NCAA. If you have any
questions about these reporting requirements, you should contact the NCAA directly.
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4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable
exclusions) at my institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of students
who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.
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5)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program?"
This term is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and
qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers
this the equivalent of an associate’s degree, thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they
do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers.
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6)
My institution offers pre-med and pre-vet programs, but formal awards are not given. What
happens to these students?
Assuming that these are 2- or 3-year programs, count the students as completers of an "at least 2 but less than
4 year program" provided they complete within 150% of normal time.
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7)
My institution offers a PharmD program where students are accepted into the program after
completing a 2 or 3 year program of undergraduate studies. What happens to these students?
Students who complete the undergraduate portion of the program within 150% of normal time should be
counted in the other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Section III) as completers of an "at least 2 but less
than 4 year program". However, do not track their progress any further towards the PharmD since this is a firstprofessional degree, and thus not part of IPEDS GR reporting.
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8)
How do I deal with "3/2" programs? My institution provides the first 3 years of an engineering
program and our students matriculate to another university for the last 2 years of study and to
attain their degree. Can we count these students as completers when they receive their degree
from the second institution?
No, you should NEVER count a student as a completer when they receive their degree from another institution.
Your job is done when they leave your school. If the student completed the first 3 years of a 3/2 program
(within 150% of normal time) so that they are now ready to "transfer" in order to complete the remaining 2
years at another institution, then you should count the student as a completer of an "at least 2 but less than 4
year program." This works the same way as the "transfer-preparatory program" described above.
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9)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is
there a similar provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are
transferred to another duty station?
No, there is no such provision.
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Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
For the purposes of the GR component, a recipient of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan is a student who
receives and uses that award (i.e., award is partially or fully disbursed) within their first year at the institution.
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2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the
institution, would they be counted as part of these subgroups?
They would only be counted if they received and used their award within their first year at the institution. If
they received and used it at any later time, they would not be part of these subgroups. They would be part of
the calculated row - "Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan".
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3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the
institution, do they have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to
be counted as part of these subgroups?
As long as the student receives and uses their aid within their first year at the institution, they do not have to
continue to be awarded that aid during their time at the institution to be counted as part of these subgroups.
Back to top
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date: 8/4/2017
2017-18 Survey Materials > Form
Graduation Rates for 4-year institutions reporting on a full-year cohort (program reporters)
Overview
Graduation Rates Overview
Welcome to the IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) survey component. The GR component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students and tracks their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of study. This information is collected
to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act.
Data Reporting Reminders
Once a student is in the cohort, they remain in the cohort, even if their status changes to part-time or they drop out or transfer out of the institution. However, adjustments
can be made to the cohort for allowable exclusions, which include the death of a student, permanent disability, military deployment, or service on an official church mission
or with a foreign aid service of the Federal government.
When reporting award levels for sub-baccalaureate certificates, determine program length by the number of credit or contact hours, NOT the academic year length in
parentheses. The academic year length is meant only to provide context.
Changes to This Year's Graduation Rates Component:
IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant.
Resources:
The survey materials package for this component can be downloaded using the following link: Survey Materials
If you have questions about completing this survey, please contact the IPEDS Help Desk at 1-877-225-2568.
Section I - Establishing cohorts
Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component from the IPEDS
Fall 2017 data collection, your institution must report graduation rates data using a:
Full-Year Cohort (September 1, 2011 - August 31, 2012)
A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A full-year cohort is used by institutions offering primarily
occupational/vocational programs and operating on a continuous basis.
Establishing cohorts
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
NOTE: Reporting using the new race/ethnicity categories is now mandatory. On this screen you will need to establish your 2011 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking undergraduate students using the new race/ethnicity categories. For information and assistance with this, please visit the IPEDS Race/Ethnicity Information Center.
Men
Screen 1 of 2
Cohort year 2011
Cohort
(Column 01)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 1 of 2
Cohort year 2011
Cohort
(Column 01)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Total in prior year (men and women)
Section I - Establishing cohorts
Incoming students seeking a bachelor's degree should be reported in Column 02. Column 03 will then be generated for you. Column 03 is meant to include any fulltime, first-time entering students who were seeking a degree or certificate other than a bachelor's degree, such as an associate's degree or undergraduate certificate.
If you have no changes to the preloaded data on this screen, click the "Save and Next" button to generate additional screens for reporting completers and
transfers/exclusions.
Establishing cohorts
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 2 of 2
Cohort year 2011
Cohort
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking subcohort
Other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort
(Cohort minus Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort)
(Column 01)
(Column 02)
(Column 03)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 2 of 2
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Cohort year 2011
Cohort
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking subcohort
Other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort
(Cohort minus Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort)
(Column 01)
(Column 02)
(Column 03)
Section II - Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort - Completers within 150%
In the columns below, report the status of the bachelor's degree-seeking subcohort of students listed in Column 10.
Of the students in Column 10, those who attained a degree or certificate OTHER THAN A BACHELOR'S DEGREE within 150% of the normal time to complete the
program as of August 31, 2017 should be reported in either Column 11 or 12, depending on the length of the program completed.
Of the students in Column 10, those who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time should be reported in Column 18.
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 1 of 4
Cohort year 2011
Subcohort students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to completion
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking
subcohort
(Column 10)
Completers of
Completers of programs of less
Completers of programs of at least 2
bachelor's or equivalent
than 2 academic yrs (or equivalent) but less than 4 academic yrs (or equivalent)
degrees
(Column 11)
(Column 12)
(Column 18)
Total
completers
within 150%
(Column 29)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African
American
Native Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity
unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 1 of 4
Cohort year 2011
Subcohort students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to completion
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking
subcohort
(Column 10)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African
American
Native Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity
unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Completers of
Completers of programs of less
Completers of programs of at least 2
bachelor's or equivalent
than 2 academic yrs (or equivalent) but less than 4 academic yrs (or equivalent)
degrees
(Column 11)
(Column 12)
(Column 18)
Total
completers
within 150%
(Column 29)
Section II - Bachelor's completers by length of time to degree
Those students in the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time to completion, as
reported on the previous screen, are listed in Column 18. In Column 19, report the number of these students who earned a bachelor's degree in 4 years. In Column 20, report
the number of these students who earned a bachelor's degree in 5 years. Column 21 will be calculated for you.
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 2 of 4
Cohort year 2011
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking
subcohort
Completed bachelor's
degree
or equivalent within
150%
(Column 10)
(Column 18)
Subcohort students who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent
Completed the
program in
4 yrs or less
Completed the
program in
5 yrs
Completed the
program in
6 yrs
(Column 19)
(Column 20)
(Column 21)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 2 of 4
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Cohort year 2011
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking
subcohort
Completed bachelor's
degree
or equivalent within
150%
(Column 10)
(Column 18)
Subcohort students who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent
Completed the
program in
4 yrs or less
Completed the
program in
5 yrs
Completed the
program in
6 yrs
(Column 19)
(Column 20)
(Column 21)
Section II - Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort - Transfers/exclusions
In the columns below, report the status of those students in the BACHELOR'S OR EQUIVALENT DEGREE-SEEKING SUBCOHORT listed in Column 10 who did not
complete a program within 150% of normal time to completion.
Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed a program, you must report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students
that the school knows have transferred to another eligible institution. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part of your mission, you may
report transfer-out data if you wish.
Report eligible exclusions from the subcohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:
Students who died or became permanently disabled
Students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)
Students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government
Students who left school to serve on an official church mission
Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This includes students who have dropped out as well as those who completed in greater than 150% of
normal time.
If you do not have any values to report in either Column 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on this screen to continue.
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 3 of 4
Cohort year 2011
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking subcohort
Total completers
within 150%
Total transfer-out students
Total exclusions
Still enrolled
No longer enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column 51)
(Column 52)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 3 of 4
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Cohort year 2011
Bachelor's or equivalent
degree-seeking subcohort
Total completers
within 150%
Total transfer-out students
Total exclusions
Still enrolled
No longer enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column 51)
(Column 52)
Section II - Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking cohort - Pell recipients and a recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did
not receive a Pell Grant
For each subcohort, report the number of students in the cohort, total exclusions for the cohort, the number of students that completed a bachelor’s or equivalent degree
within 150% of normal time to completion, and the total completers within 150%.
Recipients of a Pell Grant and Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant are mutually exclusive, that is, if a student is in one cohort, they
cannot be in the other cohort.
- The total of these 2 subcohorts must be less than the Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking cohort
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree
Screen 4 of 4
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking cohort
Recipients of a Pell Grant (upon entry)
Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry) that did not receive a
Pell Grant
Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry)
Cohort year 2011
Number of students in
cohort
Total exclusions
Completed bachelor's
degree
or equivalent within 150%
Total completers within
150%
(Column 10)
(Column 45)
(Column 18)
(Column 29)
Section III - Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort - Completers within 150%
In the columns below, report the status of the subcohort of students seeking other than a bachelor's or equivalent degree listed in Column 10.
Of the students in Column 10, those who attained a degree or certificate other than a bachelor's degree within 150% of the normal time to complete the program as of
August 31, 2017 should be reported in either Column 11 or 12, depending on the length of the program completed.
Of the students in Column 10, those who attained a bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time should be reported in Column 18.
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's degree
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 1 of 3
Cohort year 2011
Subcohort students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to completion
Other
degree/certificateseeking subcohort
Completers of programs of less
than 2 academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 10)
(Column 11)
Completers of programs of at least 2 but
less than 4 academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 12)
Completers of
bachelor's or equivalent
degrees
(Column 18)
Total
completers
within 150%
(Column 29)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African
American
Native Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity
unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 1 of 3
Cohort year 2011
Subcohort students who completed their program within 150% of normal time to completion
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African
American
Native Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity
unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Other
degree/certificateseeking subcohort
Completers of programs of less
than 2 academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 10)
(Column 11)
Completers of programs of at least 2 but
less than 4 academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 12)
Completers of
bachelor's or equivalent
degrees
(Column 18)
Total
completers
within 150%
(Column 29)
Section III - Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort - Transfers/exclusions
In the columns below, report the status of those students in the OTHER DEGREE/CERTIFICATE-SEEKING SUBCOHORT listed in Column 10 who did not complete a
program within 150% of normal time to completion.
Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students that the school knows have transferred to
another eligible institution. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part of your mission, you may report transfer-out data if you wish.
Report eligible exclusions from the subcohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:
Students who died or became permanently disabled
Students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)
Students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government
Students who left school to serve on an official church mission
Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This includes students who dropped out as well as those who completed in greater than 150% of normal
time.
If you do not have any values to report in either Column 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on this screen to continue.
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's degree
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 2 of 3
Cohort year 2011
Other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort
Total completers within
150%
Total transfer-out
students
Total
exclusions
Still
enrolled
No longer
enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column
51)
(Column 52)
Other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort
Total completers within
150%
Total transfer-out
students
Total
exclusions
Still
enrolled
No longer
enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column
51)
(Column 52)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 2 of 3
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Cohort year 2011
Section III - Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort - Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not
receive a Pell Grant
For each subcohort, report the number of students in the cohort, total exclusions for the cohort, the number of students who completed a bachelor’s or equivalent degree
with 150%, and the total completers within 150%.
Recipients of a Pell Grant and Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant are mutually exclusive, that is, if a student is in one cohort, they
cannot be in the other cohort.
- The total of these 2 subcohorts must be less than the other degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Subcohort of full-time, first-time students seeking other than a bachelor's degree
Screen 3 of 3
Cohort year 2011
Number of students in
cohort
Total exclusions
Completed bachelor's
degree
or equivalent within 150%
Total completers within
150%
(Column 10)
(Column 45)
(Column 18)
(Column 29)
Other degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Recipients of a Pell Grant (upon entry)
Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry) that did not receive a
Pell Grant
Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry)
U.S. Department of Education
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NCES Privacy Policy
IPEDS Help Desk
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
2017-18 Survey Materials > Instructions
date: 8/4/2017
Graduation Rates Full Instructions - 4-Year Institutions
Purpose of the Survey
Changes in Reporting
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
Context Boxes
Coverage
Who to Include
Who to Exclude
Where to Get Help for Reporting
Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
Reporting Directions
Reporting Individuals by Racial/Ethnic Categories
Section I: Establishing and Revising Cohorts
Section II: Bachelor's Degree Subcohort
Section III: Other Degree/Certificate-Seeking Subcohorts
Worksheets
Purpose of the Survey
The purpose of the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey component is to track given cohorts of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students - as well as their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of
study - at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Rightto-Know Act.
Changes in Reporting
- IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who
did not receive a Pell Grant
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
This survey component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled in
your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2011 (or the institution's official fall reporting date) for institutions that offer a predominant
number of programs based on standard academic terms (e.g., semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan); or (2) during the period
between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012 for institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard
academic terms. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2017.
Context Boxes
Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component items. Note that some context
boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these
context boxes for applicability and appropriateness before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check
grammar and spelling of their entries.
Coverage
Who to Include in the Cohort
Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution either during the fall term or
during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the
prior summer term and students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduating from high school).
For institutions that will report using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all students who entered the institution between
September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including one year in
length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Include all students enrolled for credit toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award. Include students enrolled in courses
that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance
learning/home study programs.
Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for the purpose of student
financial aid determination. This includes students who:
Received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time
Received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or
transfer-seeking program
Obtained a student visa to enroll at a U.S. postsecondary institution
A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:
Becomes a part-time student
Transfers to another institution
Drops out of the institution
Stops out of the institution
Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate
Went on a study abroad program the first year upon entering the institution
Who to Exclude from the Cohort
Do NOT include students in the cohort who are:
Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational program (i.e., nondegree/certificate-seeking students)
Exclusively taking CEUs
Exclusively auditing classes
Enrolled part-time
Transfers into the institution
Foreign students who are only taking coursework at a host institution (e.g., an American institution overseas), if these students are
not enrolled at a U.S. institution.
Where to Get Help with Reporting
IPEDS Help Desk
Phone: 1-877-225-2568
Email: ipedshelp@rti.org
Web Tutorials
You can also consult the IPEDS Website Trainings & Outreach page which contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced
overview of IPEDS tools, and other valuable resources.
IPEDS Resource Page
The IPEDS Website Reporting Tools page contains frequently asked questions, a link to data tip sheets, tutorials, taxonomies, information
centers (e.g., academic libraries, average net price, human resources, race/ethnicity, etc.), and other valuable information.
Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.
At the institution-level, data will appear in the:
College Navigator Website
IPEDS Data Center
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
College Affordability and Transparency Center Website
At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:
IPEDS First Looks
IPEDS Table Library
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
The Digest of Education Statistics
The Condition of Education
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
The File Import/Upload option is found under the Tools menu. In order to perform the upload you’ll need to have a file formatted to
specifications. Upload specifications are included with the survey materials found under the Help menu. There are three upload formats
available for the Graduation Rates survey component:
Fixed width file
Key value file
XML format
Reporting Instructions
Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category (1997 OMB)
This information is being collected in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972 and Sec. 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. These instructions correspond with the Final Guidance on
Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education, published in the Federal Register on
October 19, 2007.
Method of collection - Institutions must collect race and ethnicity information using a 2-question format. The first question is whether the
respondent is Hispanic/Latino. The second question is whether the respondent is from one or more races from the following list: American
Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. Institutions should allow
students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity. For further details on the guidance for collecting these data, please see the full
Federal Register notice.
Method of reporting aggregate data - Institutions must report aggregate data to the U.S. Department of Education using the NINE
categories below. Racial/ethnic designations are requested only for United States citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.
Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race
For Non-Hispanic/Latino individuals:
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
In addition, the following categories may be used:
Nonresident alien
Race and ethnicity unknown
Racial/ethnic descriptions - Racial/ethnic designations as used in this survey do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological
origins. The categories are:
Hispanic or Latino- A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless
of race.
American Indian or Alaska Native- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central
America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black or African American- A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other
Pacific Islands.
White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
Other descriptive categories
Nonresident alien - A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary
basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely. NOTE - Nonresident aliens are to be reported separately, in the boxes
provided, rather than included in any of the seven racial/ethnic categories. Resident aliens and other eligible (for financial aid
purposes) non-citizens who are not citizens or nationals of the United States and who have been admitted as legal immigrants for
the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who hold either an alien registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a
Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) with a notation that conveys legal immigrant status
such as Section 207 Refugee, Section 208 Asylee, Conditional Entrant Parolee or Cuban-Haitian) are to be reported in the appropriate
racial/ethnic categories along with United States citizens.
Race and ethnicity unknown - This category is used only if the person did not select EITHER a racial or ethnic designation.
Section I – Establishing Cohorts
Cohort Type
The method used to report graduation rates data on this survey is predetermined by your institution's response to the predominant
calendar system question (B3) on the IC Header survey component of the IPEDS Fall 2017 data collection, according to the following
rules:
Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (semesters, trimesters, quarters, or
4-1-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of students. Institutions may use October 15, 2011 or the institution's official fall
reporting date to determine the cohort. This should be the same reporting date used for the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey.
Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (as defined above) will report
using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count as entering students all those students who entered the institution
between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including
one year in length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Establishing your Cohorts
Report each student only once.
Please complete all of Section I. Screens for Sections II and III will be generated based on the data reported in Section I.
Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information reported on full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate student enrollment at your institution on the 2011 IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey will be preloaded in this column. If you
did not respond to that survey, or if you are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.
Revised cohort (Column 01) - Institutions have the option of revising their preloaded cohort if:
there are eligible students who were omitted in the past
students were reported who did not belong in the cohort (e.g., they were not actually first-time, or full-time)
better information regarding race/ethnicity or gender is available for eligible students
Please review the data in the Initial cohort column (if applicable) and re-enter the cohort data in the Revised cohort column according to
the 1997 racial/ethnic categories, making any necessary corrections for omissions, erroneous reporting, or where better information
regarding race/ethnicity or gender is available. If your data do not appear in the Initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment
data as requested in the Revised cohort column.
Establishing Subcohorts
For 4-year institutions, the cohort is divided into two subcohorts: (1) those students who upon entry are seeking a bachelor's or
equivalent degree, and (2) those students who upon entry are seeking an undergraduate award other than a bachelor's
degree. Institutions that do not determine degree intent upon entry should report all students as if they are bachelor's degreeseeking.
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 02) –Of the revised cohort of students listed in Column 1, indicate the
number of these students who declared intent to seek a bachelor's or equivalent degree upon entry. As indicated above, this should
also include any students whose intent was not known. These data will be carried forward to Section II.
Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Column 03) –This column represents the difference between the Revised cohort
(Column 1) and the Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 2). The values in this column are calculated for you, and
represent the number of students who declared intent to seek an undergraduate award other than a bachelor's level degree (e.g., an
associate's degree or other formal award) upon entry. These data will be carried forward to Section III.
Section II – Completers within 150% - Bachelor’s or Equivalent Degree-Seeking Subcohort
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2011 subcohort of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students as of 150% of normal time to completion or
August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers by type of program completed. Report all students by
race/ethnicity and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree upon entry. Do NOT include parttime students, students who transferred into your institution, or students who changed their program of study to a bachelor's level
degree after their first semester.
Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare
students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a
transfer-preparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
Note that completers should be reported in terms of the type of program completed, as defined by award level. For programs that are
defined in terms of contact or credit hours, the program type may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to
complete. For more information on program types, please consult the IPEDS Glossary.
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) - The data in this column are carried forward from Section I for your
reference.
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 11) - Enter the number of students in the bachelor's
or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort who completed programs of less than 2 full-time equivalent academic years within 150% of
normal time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of less than one academic year and of at least one but less than
two academic years; or designed for completion in less than 60 semester or trimester credit hours, less than 90 quarter credit hours, or
less than 1,800 contact or clock hours.
Completers of programs of at least 2 but less than 4 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 12) - Enter the number of students in
the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort who completed programs of at least 2 but less than 4 full-time equivalent academic
years within 150% of normal time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of at least two but less than four academic
years - or designed for completion in at least 60 but less than 120 semester or trimester credit hours, at least 90 but less than 180
quarter credit hours, or at least 1,800 but less than 3,600 contact or clock hours - and associate's degrees.
Completers of bachelor's or equivalent degrees (Column 18) - Enter the number of students in the bachelor's or equivalent degreeseeking subcohort who completed a bachelor’s degree or equivalent program within 150% of normal time to completion. Note: Completers
of 3-year bachelor’s degree programs should only be included if they completed the program within 4-1/2 years.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous three columns, and is calculated for you by the data
collection system.
Section II – Bachelor’s Completers by Length of Time to Degree
Report each student only once.
Of those students in the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent program
within 150% of normal time to completion you must provide additional information on the length of time it took them to complete their
program. Include all baccalaureate level degrees, including 5-year bachelor's/cooperative programs and those bachelor's degrees in which
the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years. Of the total number of completers of bachelor's or equivalent degrees within 150% of
normal time listed in Column 18, provide the following breakout:
Completed the program in 4 yrs or less (Column 19) - Enter the number of students who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent in
4 years or less. This should include all students who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent by August 31, 2015.
Completed the program in 5 yrs (Column 20) - Enter the number of students who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent in 5
years. This should include all students who completed a bachelor's degree or equivalent in the period from September 1, 2015 through
August 31, 2016. Do NOT include students who completed their program in 4 years or less in this column.
Completed the program in 6 yrs (Column 21) - This column represents the difference between the number of completers of bachelor's
degrees or equivalent within 150% of normal time (Column 18) and the sum of those who completed their program in 4 years or less
(Column 19) and those who completed their program in 5 years (Column 20). This should include all students who completed a bachelor's
degree or equivalent in the period from September 1, 2016 through August 31, 2017. This column is calculated for you by the data
collection system.
Section II – Non-completers - Bachelor’s or Equivalent Degree-Seeking Subcohort
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the non-completers from the 2011 subcohort of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students as of 150% of the
normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier). Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree upon entry. Do NOT include parttime students, students who transferred into your institution, or students who changed their program of study to a bachelor's level
degree after their first semester.
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort (Column 10) – The data in this column are carried forward from Section I for your
reference.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - The data in this column are carried forward from page 1 of Section II for your reference.
Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to
enroll in another eligible institution without having completed a program, you must report the total number of students who transferred
out of your institution (without earning a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion. Include students who transferred out
of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled at another eligible institution. If it is not part of your mission, you may still report transferout data if you wish.
Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150% of normal time to completion
for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another institution) due to one of the following documented reasons:
a. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.
b. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called up to active duty. (Do NOT include students already in the military
who transfer to another duty station.)
c. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the Peace Corps.
d. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.
NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted above, but return prior to the status date of August 31, 2017, may
still be subtracted/excluded from the cohort during the calculation of graduation rates.
Still enrolled (Column 51) - Enter the number of students who were still enrolled at your institution as of 150% of normal time to
completion for their program (or August 31, 2017 if 150% of normal time to completion had not elapsed by that time).
No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column represents the difference between the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking
subcohort (Column 10) and the sum of Columns 29, 30, 45, and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their
program after 150% of normal time to completion elapsed.
Section II – Bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking cohort - Graduation Rate for Pell recipients and recipients
of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2011 subcohort of bachelor’s or equivalent degree-seeking students as of 150% of normal time to completion or
August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree upon entry. Do NOT include parttime students, students who transferred into your institution, or students who changed their program of study to a bachelor's level
degree after their first semester.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare students
for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a transferpreparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a five-
year bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
For each of two different subcohorts - Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking students and Other degree/certificate-seeking students,
data will be collected on those students who were recipients of a Pell Grant and those students who were recipients of a subsidized Direct
Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant.
Recipients are defined as those students receiving and using their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct loan. These students must receive and
use the award within their first year at the institution. If the student is a recipient of an award at a later point, they would not be included
in one of the subcohorts.
Number of students in the cohort - The number of students in the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort will be preloaded
from Section 1 of the GR form. Of those students, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students
who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories() will be mutually exclusive. The total of
these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Total exclusions - The number of exclusions in the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort will be preloaded from Section II of
the GR form. Of those students reported as exclusions, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of
students who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The
total of these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Completed bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% - The number of students in the bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking
subcohort who completed a bachelor’s degree or equivalent program within 150% of normal time to completion will be preloaded from
Section II of the GR form. Of those students reported as completers, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the
number of students who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. This must be less than or equal to the
Completers within 150% of normal time. The total of these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Total completers within 150% of normal time - The total number of students who completed their program within 150% of normal time
to completion will be preloaded from Section II of the GR form. Of those students reported as completers, report the number of students
who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two
categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Section III – Completers within 150% - Other Degree/Certificate-Seeking Subcohort
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2011 subcohort of students seeking other than a bachelor's degree as of 150% of normal time to completion or
August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers by type of program completed. Report all students by
race/ethnicity and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking undergraduate degrees or certificates other than a bachelor’s degree
upon entry. Do NOT include part-time students, students who transferred into your institution, or students who changed their program of
study from a bachelor's level degree after the first semester.
Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare
students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a
transfer-preparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
Note that completers should be reported in terms of the type of program completed, as defined by award level. For programs that are
defined in terms of contact or credit hours, the program type may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to
complete. For more information on program types, please consult the IPEDS Glossary. Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort
(Column 10) - The data in this column are carried forward from Section I for your reference.
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 11) - Enter the number of students in the other
degree/certificate-seeking subcohort who completed programs of less than 2 full-time equivalent academic years within 150% of normal
time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of less than one academic year and of at least one but less than two
academic years; or designed for completion in less than 60 semester or trimester credit hours, less than 90 quarter credit hours, or less
than 1,800 contact or clock hours.
Completers of programs of at least 2 but less than 4 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 12) - Enter the number of students in
the other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort who completed programs of at least 2 but less than 4 full-time equivalent academic years
within 150% of normal time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of at least two but less than four academic years
- or designed for completion in at least 60 but less than 120 semester or trimester credit hours, at least 90 but less than 180 quarter
credit hours, or at least 1,800 but less than 3,600 contact or clock hours - and associate's degrees.
Completers of bachelor's or equivalent degrees (Column 18) - Enter the number of students in the other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort who completed a bachelor’s degree or equivalent program within 150% of normal time to completion. Note: Completers of 3year bachelor’s degree programs should only be included if they completed the program within 4-1/2 years.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous three columns, and is calculated for you by the data
collection system.
Section III – Non-completers - Other Degree/Certificate-Seeking Subcohort
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the non-completers from the 2011 subcohort of students seeking other than a bachelor's or equivalent degree as of
150% of the normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier). Report all students by race/ethnicity
and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking an undergraduate award other than a bachelor's level degree upon
entry. Do NOT include part-time students, students who transferred into your institution, or students who changed their program of study
from a bachelor's level degree after their first semester.
Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Column 10) – The data in this column are carried forward from Section I for your reference.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - The data in this column are carried forward from page 1 of Section III for your reference.
Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to
enroll in another eligible institution without having completed a program, you must report the total number of students who transferred
out of your institution (without earning a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion. Include students who transferred out
of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled at another eligible institution. If it is not part of your mission, you may still report transferout data if you wish.
Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150% of normal time to completion
for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another institution) due to one of the following documented reasons:
a. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.
b. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called up to active duty. (DO NOT include students already in the military
who transfer to another duty station.)
c. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the Peace Corps.
d. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.
NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted above, but return prior to the status date of August 31, 2017, may
still be subtracted/excluded from the cohort during the calculation of graduation rates.
Still enrolled (Column 51) - Enter the number of students who were still enrolled at your institution as of 150% of normal time to
completion for their program (or August 31, 2017 if 150% of normal time to completion had not elapsed by that time).
No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column represents the difference between the other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Column
10) and the sum of Columns 29, 30, 45, and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their program after 150% of
normal time to completion elapsed.
Section III – Other Degree/Certificate-Seeking Subcohort - Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct
Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2011 subcohort of Other degree/certificate-seeking students as of 150% of normal time to completion or August
31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers.
Report only for full-time, first-time students who were seeking Other degree/certificate. Do NOT include part-time students, students
who transferred into your institution.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare students
for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a transferpreparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
For each of two different subcohorts - Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking students and Other degree/certificate-seeking students,
data will be collected on those students who were recipients of a Pell Grant and those students who were recipients of a subsidized Direct
Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant.
Recipients are defined as those students receiving and using their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct loan. These students must receive and
use the award within their first year at the institution. If the student is a recipient of an award at a later point, they would not be included
in one of the subcohorts.
Number of students in the cohort - The number of students in the Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort will be preloaded from
Section 1 of the GR form. Of those students, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who
received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two
subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Total exclusions - The number of exclusions in the Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort will be preloaded from Section III of the GR
form. Of those students reported as exclusions, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who
received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two
subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Completed bachelor's degree or equivalent within 150% - The number of students in the Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort
who completed a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent within 150% of normal time to completion will be preloaded from Section III of the GR
form. Of those students reported as completers, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students
who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. This must be less
than or equal to the Total completers within 150%. The total of these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all
students.
Total completers within 150% - The total number of students in the Other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort who completed their
degree/certificate program within 150% of normal time to completion will be preloaded from Section III of the GR form. Of those students
reported as completers, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who received a subsidized
Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two subcohorts must be
less than or equal to the total of all students.
Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates
Worksheets
Worksheets calculating the Student Right-To-Know and overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,
first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for the 2011 student cohort are provided as a convenience to the institution.
In addition, the 4-year, 5-year, and 6-year graduation rates for the 2011 bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort are provided
for those institutions that are able to report bachelor's or equivalent completers by length of time to degree. Data previously reported by
the institution are preloaded for use in these calculations.
Note that certain information from these worksheets will be displayed on College Navigator, as noted. Additional information relevant to
the calculated rates may be entered in the context box provided, and will also be displayed on College Navigator.
Privacy Issues With Disclosure
Before using the worksheets for disclosure, please consider the following:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended (1998) (FERPA) requires that institutions not disclose information where
students could be identified.
Glossary
date: 8/4/2017
Term
Definition
Adjusted cohort
The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for
calculating retention rate; for the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are
calculated; and for the Outcome Measures component, these are the four cohorts (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-firsttime, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time) for which outcomes rates are calculated at 4, 6, and 8 years.
American Indian or Alaska
Native
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural
identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Associate's degree
An award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work.
Bachelor's degree
An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at
least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year
cooperative (work-study) program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or
government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in
which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years.
Bachelor's or equivalent degreeseeking subcohort
In the G R component of IPEDS, a cohort of students who were seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree upon entry.
Black or African American
A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Cohort
A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.
Completers within 150% of
normal time
Students who completed their program within 150% of the normal (or expected) time for completion.
Degree/certificate-seeking
students
Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other formal award. This includes students who:
- received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
- received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate,
or transfer-seeking program; or
- obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution
High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.
Exclusions
Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation Rates, Outcome Measures, and Fall
Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution for one of the following reasons:
death or total and permanent disability; service in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid
service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.
Fall cohort
The group of students entering in the fall term established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component, this includes
all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the fall term of
a given year. For the Outcome Measures component, all degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who enter an institution
during the fall term of a given year must be placed in one of four cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, nonfirst-time; and part-time, non-first-time.
First-time student
(undergraduate)
A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any institution for the first time at the
undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the
fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college
credits or postsecondary formal award earned before graduation from high school).
Full-time student
Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week
each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or
dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the
institution.
Full-year cohort
This is a group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period for tracking and reporting. For Graduation Rate (GR), a
full-year cohort is from September 1 through August 31 and is used primarily offer occupational programs of varying lengths. Students
must be full-time and first-time to be considered in the cohort. For Outcome Measures (OM) component, all degree-granting
institutions report on a full-year cohort from July 1 through June 30. Students are reported once in one of the four OM cohorts: firsttime, full-time; first-time, part-time: non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time.
Graduation rate
The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This rate is calculated as the total number
of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the revised adjusted cohort.
Graduation Rates (GR)
This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150
percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part of the institution's mission. Prior
to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid
and whether they completed within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL where
the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates worksheets that calculate rates, including
average rates over 4 years.
Hispanic/Latino
A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
Initial cohort
A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates (GR) and Outcome Measures (OM)
components of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as the enrollment count before removing revisions and exclusions of all
degree/certificate-seeking students who enter in either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2) between September 1st and
August 31st of the following year. For the GR component of IPEDS, the initial cohort is only for full-time, first-time students. For OM, all
undergraduates are placed in one of four initial cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and parttime, non-first time.
Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS)
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), conducted by the NCES, began in 1986 and involves annual institutionlevel data collections. All postsecondary institutions that have a Program Participation Agreement with the Office of Postsecondary
Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education (throughout IPEDS referred to as "Title IV") are required to report data using a webbased data collection system. IPEDS currently consists of the following components: Institutional Characteristics (IC); 12-month
Enrollment (E12);Completions (C); Admissions (ADM); Student Financial Aid (SFA); Human Resources (HR) composed of Employees by
Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries; Fall Enrollment (EF); Graduation Rates (GR); Outcome Measures (OM); Finance (F); and
Academic Libraries (AL).
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
Nonresident alien
A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have
the right to remain indefinitely.
Normal time to completion
The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution's
catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a
standard term-based institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree
in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.
Other degree/certificate-seeking
subcohort
A subset of students belonging to a GR cohort who were seeking a degree or certificate other than bachelor's degree upon entry.
Race and ethnicity unknown
The category used to report students or employees whose race and ethnicity are not known.
Race/ethnicity
Categories developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are used to describe groups to which individuals
belong, identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community. The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological
origins. The designations are used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.
Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as:
- Hispanic or Latino or
- Not Hispanic or Latino
Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- White
Revised cohort
Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that incorrect data were reported in an earlier
year.
Student Right-to-Know Act
Also known as the "Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act" (P.L. 101-542), which was passed by Congress November 9, 1990.
Title I, Section 103, requires institutions eligible for Title IV funding to calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or
degree-seeking, full-time students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates to all students and prospective students.
Further, Section 104 requires each institution that participates in any Title IV program and is attended by students receiving athleticallyrelated student aid to submit a report to the Secretary of Education annually. This report is to contain, among other things,
graduation/completion rates of all students as well as students receiving athletically-related student aid by race/ethnicity and gender
and by sport, and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years. These data are also required to be
disclosed to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes when the institution offers athletically-related student aid. The Graduation
Rates component of IPEDS was developed specifically to help institutions respond to these requirements. See Graduation Rates for the
current description of data collected.
Subcohort
A predefined subset of the initial cohort or the revised cohort established for tracking purposes. Degree/certificate-seeking students in
the bachelor's degree-seeking group in the Graduation Rates (GR) component and Pell-Grant, non-first-time, part-time students in the
Outcome Measures (OM) component are examples of subcohorts.
Title IV institution
An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV
federal student financial assistance programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the National Early Intervention
Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs).
Transfer-out rate
Total number of students who are known to have transferred out of the reporting institution within 150% of normal time to completion
divided by the adjusted cohort.
Transfer-out student
A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.
Transfer-preparatory program
A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer into a higher level program. For
example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of
undergraduate study needed for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for
entrance into health services fields.
Undergraduate
A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program, an associate's degree program, or a vocational or technical program
below the baccalaureate.
White
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
U.S. Department of Education
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
2017-18 Survey Materials > FAQ
Graduation Rates for 4-year institutions
Click one of the following questions to view the answer.
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How
do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
2)
Why is it necessary for 4-year institutions to separate their entering cohort into two groups?
3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?
4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
5)
Do I need to track students every term?
Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete the GR survey?
3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a
confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?
6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
7)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificate-seeking student this
fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?
12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
13)
Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers-out?
14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled as of
October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs,
students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or students who change programs?
15)
If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degrees (e.g., AA and BA) within the 6-year period, can I
count both completions?
16)
I have a student who intended upon entry to complete a bachelor’s degree, so he is included in my Section II Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort. However, he does not complete his BA within the 6-year
period, and instead completes an associate’s degree along the way, and it was completed within 3 years.
Where should I report him?
Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?
4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of normal time students
who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if the student does not receive the degree
until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?
Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do so. Am I
still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act, and am I still responsive to the GR
survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student Right-to-Know
Act?
3)
My institution belongs to the NCAA; do I have to report graduation rates data to IPEDS? Do I also need to report to
the Secretary of Education?
4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable exclusions) at my
institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
5)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program?"
6)
My institution offers pre-med and pre-vet programs, but formal awards are not given. What happens to these
students?
7)
My institution offers a PharmD program where students are accepted into the program after completing a 2 or 3
year program of undergraduate studies. What happens to these students?
8)
How do I deal with "3/2" programs? My institution provides the first 3 years of an engineering program and our
students matriculate to another university for the last 2 years of study and to attain their degree. Can we count
these students as completers when they receive their degree from the second institution?
9)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar
provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?
Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the institution, would
they be counted as part of these subgroups?
3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the institution, do they
have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to be counted as part of these
subgroups?
date: 8/4/2017
Answers:
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing
enrollment) basis. How do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
Student Right-to-Know legislation states that institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on
a term basis (semester, quarter, or trimester) must calculate graduation and transfer-out rates using a fall
cohort; otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort used to report your institution's GR data
is predetermined based on your response to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional
Characteristics Header survey component.
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2)
Why is it necessary for 4-year institutions to separate their entering cohort into two groups?
NCES requests that 4-year institutions that offer undergraduate awards other than a bachelor’s degree define
two distinct subcohorts: (1) students who upon entry intend to complete a bachelor’s or equivalent degree, and
(2) students who upon entry intend to complete an undergraduate award other than a bachelor’s or equivalent
degree. Students whose intent is unknown should be reported in the subcohort with those seeking a bachelor’s
or equivalent degree. By separating the cohort in this way, the graduation and transfer rates of the first group
can be compared with those at like institutions, as well as with those at institutions offering only a bachelor’s
degree. Similarly, the rates of the second group can more easily be compared with those at 2-year institutions.
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3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do
anything this year?
Student Right-to-Know legislation states that graduation rates reporting is mandatory for institutions
that enrolled full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the relevant cohort
year. If you did not enroll this type of student, or your institution was not in operation during the relevant cohort
year, please report this information on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component.
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4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means modifying the cohort
data to reflect better information that has become available since the cohort was first reported in the
relevant Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on the
cohort). Fall cohorts may be revised by entering new data in the Revised cohort column on the data collection
screen. Adjusting a cohort means subtracting any allowable exclusions from the revised cohort to establish a
denominator for graduation rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts are adjusted for you on the
worksheet screens when calculating graduation and transfer-out rates.
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5)
Do I need to track students every term?
No. You can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry, and then, at the end of 150% of normal time
to complete all requirements of the longest program, look back to see the status of those in the cohort. You will
need to know when students in the cohort completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track these students
from term-to-term.
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Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student who has no prior postsecondary experience
attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level." This means that the student is first-time
in terms of postsecondary education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary
institution). There are two exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution for the first time the summer
prior to entering your institution in the fall term are to be counted as "first-time", as are (2) students who
entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from high school).
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2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete
the GR survey?
Yes. You must report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions related to disclosure
requirements under Other below for additional information.
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3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for
which I have a confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
You should report the student as a transfer-out. For the purposes of the full-time, first-time cohort used
for IPEDS graduation rates reporting, this action closes out their status in the cohort. Upon re-enrolling at your
institution, the student would then be included in a subsequent, non-first-time cohort not collected through the
IPEDS GR survey.
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4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
The IPEDS GR survey does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE
INCLUDED IN ANY GR COHORT.
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5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental
courses?
These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to a
degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award, and if they are not eligible for Title IV federal financial aid.
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6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking in
the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. If a student is degree/certificate-seeking for the purposes of qualifying for
student financial aid, then they must be included in the GR cohort.
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7)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificateseeking student this fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a
postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they are entering with no credit.
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8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
Neither should be included in the cohort for graduation rates reporting.
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9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they should not
be included in the cohort according to Student Right-to-Know regulations. Be sure to carefully review the
definition of degree/certificate-seeking in the IPEDS Glossary.
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10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
If the student has never enrolled in a postsecondary institution, they should be counted as "first-time."
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11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as
"first-time"?
Since these students must have been previously enrolled in a postsecondary institution in order to obtain credit
through correspondence or distance learning, they are not considered "first-time."
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12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report in the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. For
additional information on this topic, please refer to the IPEDS Data Tip Sheet related to Reporting Students for
Institutions in Consortia.
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13)
Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be
considered transfers-out?
No. Keep the students in the cohort since they return in the fall and continue their programs of study.
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14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate
students enrolled as of October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what
happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or
students who change programs?
It looks like your cohort is defined correctly. Remember YOUR COHORT NEVER CHANGES. Students who stop
out or drop out do not leave the cohort. They remain in the count; and if they complete their most recent
program within 150% of normal time they should be reported accordingly. Students who switch to part-time
status or to another program are not given extra time to complete, nor are they removed from the cohort.
Report their status as requested.
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15)
If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level degrees (e.g., AA and BA) within the 6year period, can I count both completions?
No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your
decision as to which one you prefer to report.
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16)
I have a student who intended upon entry to complete a bachelor’s degree, so he is included
in my Section II - Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort. However, he does not
complete his BA within the 6-year period, and instead completes an associate’s degree along the
way, and it was completed within 3 years. Where should I report him?
By all means, count this student as a completer of an associate’s degree (at least 2 but less than 4 year
program) since that degree was completed within 150% of normal time. Remember, intent is not important
when reporting your completers; what is important is whether or not they finished any program within 150% of
normal time.
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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion". IPEDS has adopted the definition
developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time. As such,
"normal time to completion" is defined as "the amount of time necessary for a student to complete all
requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8
semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree in a standard termbased institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an
associate’s degree in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate
programs." Let’s look at some examples:
Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs (8 semesters – typically fall and spring).
Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would be 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the
sixth year.
Similarly, an associate’s degree program that is advertised as a 2-year program (6 quarters - fall, winter, and
spring, with no scheduled summer quarter) would extend to 9 quarters (1.5 x 6) or through the end of the
spring quarter of the third year.
However, the Technical Amendment to the Student Right-to-Know Act redefined the cohort year to allow you to
count completers through August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third
year of a 2-year program).
Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as
taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the student
completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.
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2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
If a student has switched programs, you will calculate 150% of normal time to completion based on his or her
most recent program for reporting outcomes. However, the student's "clock" does not reset once they switch
programs. He or she must still graduate, transfer, or qualify as an exclusion within 150% of normal time to
completion starting from the date he or she first entered the cohort.
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3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the
program?
There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time calculation should be applied as of the
student's initial start date, and is the same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term
or two and still complete within 150% of normal time.
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4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of
normal time students who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if
the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot
count them as completers?
Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree
upon completion of the program (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted in the student’s record)
and simply allow the student to "pick up" their degree at the December ceremony, then you should be able to
count the student as having completed within 150% of normal time.
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Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
The Student Right-to-Know legislation states that "An institution that determines that its mission includes
providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers-out
so that a transfer-out rate may be calculated for its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students. Students to be reported as transfers are those who have NOT completed a program
or graduated, so they cannot be counted as completers, but have subsequently enrolled in any program of an
eligible institution for which the insititution provided substantial preparation. If the institution does not have such
a mission, reporting of transfers-out is optional.
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2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
None. All verification requirements were dropped from the regulations.
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3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a
system to do so. Am I still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
Act, and am I still responsive to the GR survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
As long as your institution does not include providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another
eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers-out. However, if
your institution does have such a mission, you must be able to track and report on transfers-out. (Applicable
to Graduation Rates and Graduation Rates 200 only; requirements for Outcome Measures are different.
Please review the Outcome Measures requirements separately.)
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Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
Student Right-to-Know Act regulations state that an institution must annually prepare the completion or
graduation rates of its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students; and for
institutions that determine that their mission includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution, the transfer-out rate of these students. In calculating these rates, an institution must
count any students who have completed or graduated by the end of the 12-month period ending August 31
during which 150% of the normal time for completion or graduation from their program has lapsed.
Therefore, at a minimum, you must report and disclose your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31
of the prior year). The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information as warranted to
help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider disclosing additional rates as
well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students typically take
longer to complete.
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2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student
Right-to-Know Act?
NO! NO! and NO! The IPEDS GR survey provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for
calculating graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that
there is some level of consistency in the way the rates are calculated. However, the SRK requires disclosure of
these rates to students and prospective students. In addition, for schools that offer athletically-related student
aid there are additional disclosure and reporting requirements. By completing the GR survey, you will have the
rates you need to disclose, but you still need to make them available. The GR survey statisfies the reporting
requirements ONLY.
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3)
My institution belongs to the NCAA; do I have to report graduation rates data to IPEDS? Do I also
need to report to the Secretary of Education?
Completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey through the web-based data collection system satisfies all of
your reporting requirements to the Secretary of Education. However, the NCAA is now collecting their own data
on graduation rates, separately from IPEDS. You will still need to report data to the NCAA. If you have any
questions about these reporting requirements, you should contact the NCAA directly.
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4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable
exclusions) at my institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of students
who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.
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5)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program?"
This term is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and
qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers
this the equivalent of an associate’s degree, thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they
do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers.
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6)
My institution offers pre-med and pre-vet programs, but formal awards are not given. What
happens to these students?
Assuming that these are 2- or 3-year programs, count the students as completers of an "at least 2 but less than
4 year program" provided they complete within 150% of normal time.
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7)
My institution offers a PharmD program where students are accepted into the program after
completing a 2 or 3 year program of undergraduate studies. What happens to these students?
Students who complete the undergraduate portion of the program within 150% of normal time should be
counted in the other degree/certificate-seeking subcohort (Section III) as completers of an "at least 2 but less
than 4 year program". However, do not track their progress any further towards the PharmD since this is a firstprofessional degree, and thus not part of IPEDS GR reporting.
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8)
How do I deal with "3/2" programs? My institution provides the first 3 years of an engineering
program and our students matriculate to another university for the last 2 years of study and to
attain their degree. Can we count these students as completers when they receive their degree
from the second institution?
No, you should NEVER count a student as a completer when they receive their degree from another institution.
Your job is done when they leave your school. If the student completed the first 3 years of a 3/2 program
(within 150% of normal time) so that they are now ready to "transfer" in order to complete the remaining 2
years at another institution, then you should count the student as a completer of an "at least 2 but less than 4
year program." This works the same way as the "transfer-preparatory program" described above.
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9)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is
there a similar provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are
transferred to another duty station?
No, there is no such provision.
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Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
For the purposes of the GR component, a recipient of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan is a student who
receives and uses that award (i.e., award is partially or fully disbursed) within their first year at the institution.
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2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the
institution, would they be counted as part of these subgroups?
They would only be counted if they received and used their award within their first year at the institution. If
they received and used it at any later time, they would not be part of these subgroups. They would be part of
the calculated row - "Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan".
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3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the
institution, do they have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to
be counted as part of these subgroups?
As long as the student receives and uses their aid within their first year at the institution, they do not have to
continue to be awarded that aid during their time at the institution to be counted as part of these subgroups.
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date: 8/4/2017
2017-18 Survey Materials > Form
Graduation Rates for 2-year institutions reporting on a fall cohort (academic reporters)
Overview
Graduation Rates Overview
Welcome to the IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) survey component. The GR component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students and tracks their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of study. This information is collected
to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act.
Data Reporting Reminders
Once a student is in the cohort, they remain in the cohort, even if their status changes to part-time or they drop out or transfer out of the institution. However, adjustments
can be made to the cohort for allowable exclusions, which include the death of a student, permanent disability, military deployment, or service on an official church mission
or with a foreign aid service of the Federal government.
When reporting award levels for sub-baccalaureate certificates, determine program length by the number of credit or contact hours, NOT the academic year length in
parentheses. The academic year length is meant only to provide context.
Changes to This Year's Graduation Rates Component:
IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant.
Resources:
The survey materials package for this component can be downloaded using the following link: Survey Materials
If you have questions about completing this survey, please contact the IPEDS Help Desk at 1-877-225-2568.
Establishing cohort
Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component from the IPEDS
Fall 2017 data collection, your institution must report graduation rates data using a:
Fall Cohort (Fall 2014)
A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A full-year cohort is used by institutions offering primarily
occupational/vocational programs and operating on a continuous basis.
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Please review the data in the initial cohort column and re-enter the cohort data making any necessary corrections for omissions, erroneous reporting, or where better
information regarding race/ethnicity or gender is available. Institutions must continue to report using the new race/ethnicity categories. For information and assistance with
this, please visit the IPEDS Race/Ethnicity Information Center.
Men
Screen 1 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Initial cohort
Revised cohort
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 1 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Initial cohort
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Revised cohort
Completers within 150%
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
In the columns below, report the status of the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students listed in Column 10. Those who
completed their program within 150% of normal time as of August 31, 2017 should be reported in either Column 11 or 12, depending on the length of the program
completed.
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 2 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Cohort students who completed their program within
150% of normal time to completion
Cohort
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic
yrs (or equivalent)
(Column
10)
Completers of programs of at least 2 but less than 4
academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 11)
(Column 12)
Total
completers
within
150%
(Column
29)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska
Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other
Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 2 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Cohort students who completed their program within
150% of normal time to completion
Cohort
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic
yrs (or equivalent)
(Column
10)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska
Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other
Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
(Column 11)
Completers of programs of at least 2 but less than 4
academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 12)
Total
completers
within
150%
(Column
29)
Transfers/exclusions
In the columns below, report the status of those students in the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students listed in Column
10 who did not complete a program as of August 31, 2017.
Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed a program, you must report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students
that the school knows have transferred to another eligible institution. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part of your mission, you may
report transfer-out data if you wish.
Report eligible exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:
students who died or became permanently disabled
students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)
students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government
students who left school to serve on an official church mission
Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This includes students who have dropped out as well as those who completed in greater than 150% of
normal time.
If you do not have any values to report in either Column 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on this screen to continue.
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 3 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Cohort
Total completers
within 150%
Total transfer-out students
Total exclusions
Still enrolled
No longer enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column 51)
(Column 52)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 3 of 5
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Total in prior year (men and women)
Cohort year 2014
Cohort
Total completers
within 150%
Total transfer-out students
Total exclusions
Still enrolled
No longer enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column 51)
(Column 52)
Completers within 100%
In the columns below, report the status of those students in the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who completed
their program within 100% of normal time to completion.
Those who completed their program within 100% of normal time should be reported in either Column 55 or 56, depending on the length of the program completed.
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Screen 4 of
5
Cohort year 2014
Revised
Exclusions
cohort
Cohort students who completed their program within
100% of normal time to completion
Completers of programs of less than 2
academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 55)
Total men +
women
Completers of programs of at least 2 but less than
4 academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 56)
Total completers within 100%
(Column 55 + 56)
(Column 57)
Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
For each subcohort, report the number of students in the cohort, total exclusions for the cohort, and the number of students that completed a certificate or degree within
150% of normal time to completion.
Recipients of a Pell Grant and Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant are mutually exclusive, that is, if a student is in one cohort, they
cannot be in the other cohort.
- The total of these 2 subcohorts must be less than the full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Screen 5 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Number of students in cohort
Total exclusions
Number of students that
completed within 150% of
normal time to completion
(Column 10)
(Column 45)
(Column 29)
Full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Recipients of a Pell Grant (upon entry)
Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry) that did not receive a Pell Grant
Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry)
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2017-18 Survey Materials > Instructions
date: 8/4/2017
GR- 2yr - Full Instructions
Purpose of the Survey
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
Context Boxes
Coverage
Where to Get Help for Reporting
Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
Reporting Directions
Reporting Individuals by Racial/Ethnic Categories
Establishing Cohorts
Completers within 150% of Normal Time to Completion
Non-completers
Completers within 100% of Normal Time to Completion
Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates
Purpose of the Survey
The purpose of the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey component is to track given cohorts of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students - as well as their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of
study - at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Rightto-Know Act.
Changes in Reporting
- IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who
did not receive a Pell Grant
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
This survey component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled in
your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2014 (or the institution's official fall reporting date) for institutions that offer a predominant
number of programs based on standard academic terms (e.g., semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan); or (2) during the period
between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 for institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard
academic terms. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2017.
Context Boxes
Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component items. Note that some context
boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these
context boxes for applicability and appropriateness before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check
grammar and spelling of their entries.
Coverage
Who to Include in the Cohort
Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution either during the fall term or
during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the
prior summer term and students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduating from high school).
For institutions that will report using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all those students who entered the institution
between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including one
year in length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Include all students enrolled for credit toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award. Include students enrolled in courses
that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance
learning/home study programs.
Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for the purpose of student
financial aid determination. This includes students who:
Received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time
Received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or
transfer-seeking program
Obtained a student visa to enroll at a U.S. postsecondary institution
A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:
Becomes a part-time student
Transfers to another institution
Drops out of the institution
Stops out of the institution
Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate
Went on a study abroad program the first year upon entering the institution
Who to Exclude from the Cohort
Do NOT include students in the cohort who are:
Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational program (i.e., nondegree/certificate-seeking students)
Exclusively taking CEUs
Exclusively auditing classes
Enrolled part-time
Transfers into the institution
Foreign students who are only taking coursework at a host institution (e.g., an American institution overseas), if these students are
not enrolled at a U.S. institution
Where to Get Help with Reporting
IPEDS Help Desk
Phone: 1-877-225-2568
Email: ipedshelp@rti.org
Web Tutorials
You can also consult the IPEDS Website Trainings & Outreach page which contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced
overview of IPEDS tools, and other valuable resources.
IPEDS Resource Page
The IPEDS Website Reporting Tools page contains frequently asked questions, a link to data tip sheets, tutorials, taxonomies, information
centers (e.g., academic libraries, average net price, human resources, race/ethnicity, etc.), and other valuable information.
Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.
At the institution-level, data will appear in the:
College Navigator Website
IPEDS Data Center
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
College Affordability and Transparency Center Website
At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:
IPEDS First Looks
IPEDS Table Library
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
The Digest of Education Statistics
The Condition of Education
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
The File Import/Upload option is found under the Tools menu. In order to perform the upload you’ll need to have a file formatted to
specifications. Upload specifications are included with the survey materials found under the Help menu. There are three upload formats
available for the Graduation Rates survey component:
Fixed width file
Key value file
XML format
Reporting Instructions
Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category (1997 OMB)
This information is being collected in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972 and Sec. 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. These instructions correspond with the Final Guidance on
Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education, published in the Federal Register on
October 19, 2007.
Method of collection - Institutions must collect race and ethnicity information using a 2-question format. The first question is whether the
respondent is Hispanic/Latino. The second question is whether the respondent is from one or more races from the following list: American
Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. Institutions should allow
students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity. For further details on the guidance for collecting these data, please see the full
Federal Register notice.
Method of reporting aggregate data - Institutions must report aggregate data to the U.S. Department of Education using the NINE
categories below. Racial/ethnic designations are requested only for United States citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.
Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race
For Non-Hispanic/Latino individuals:
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
In addition, the following categories may be used:
Nonresident alien
Race and ethnicity unknown
Racial/ethnic descriptions - Racial/ethnic designations as used in this survey do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological
origins. The categories are:
Hispanic or Latino- A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless
of race.
American Indian or Alaska Native- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central
America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black or African American- A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other
Pacific Islands.
White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
Other descriptive categories
Nonresident alien - A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary
basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely. NOTE - Nonresident aliens are to be reported separately, in the boxes
provided, rather than included in any of the seven racial/ethnic categories. Resident aliens and other eligible (for financial aid
purposes) non-citizens who are not citizens or nationals of the United States and who have been admitted as legal immigrants for
the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who hold either an alien registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a
Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) with a notation that conveys legal immigrant status
such as Section 207 Refugee, Section 208 Asylee, Conditional Entrant Parolee or Cuban-Haitian) are to be reported in the appropriate
racial/ethnic categories along with United States citizens.
Race and ethnicity unknown - This category is used only if the person did not select EITHER a racial or ethnic designation.
Establishing Cohorts
The method used to report graduation rates data on this survey is predetermined by your institution's response to the predominant
calendar system question (B3) on the IC Header component of the IPEDS Fall 2017 data collection, according to the following rules:
1. Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 41-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of students. Institutions may use October 15, 2014 or the institution's official fall reporting
date to determine the cohort. This should be the same reporting date used for the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey.
2. Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (as defined above) will report
using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count as entering students all those students who entered the institution between
September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including one year in
length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Report each student only once.
Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information reported on full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate student enrollment at your institution on the 2014 IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey will be preloaded in this column. If you did
not respond to that survey, or if you are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.
Revised cohort - Institutions have the option of revising their preloaded cohort if:
there are eligible students who were omitted in the past
students were reported who did not belong in the cohort (e.g., they were not actually first-time, or full-time)
better information regarding race/ethnicity or gender is available for eligible students
Please review the data in the Initial cohort column (if applicable) and re-enter the cohort data in the Revised cohort column according to the
1997 racial/ethnic categories, making any necessary corrections for omissions, erroneous reporting, or where better information regarding
race/ethnicity or gender is available. If your data do not appear in the Initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment data as
requested in the Revised cohort column.
Completers within 150% of Normal Time to Completion
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2014 cohort of degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students as of 150% of normal time to completion for
their program or August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers by type of program completed. Report all
students by race/ethnicity and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. Do NOT include part-time students or students who
transferred into your institution.
Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare
students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a
transfer-preparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
Note that completers should be reported in terms of the type of program completed, as defined by award level. For programs that are
defined in terms of contact or credit hours, the program type may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to
complete. For more information on program types, please consult the IPEDS Glossary.
Revised Cohort (Column 10) – The data in this column are carried forward from the "Establishing Cohort" screen for your reference.
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 11) - Enter the number of students who completed
programs of less than 2 full-time equivalent academic years within 150% of normal time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or
diplomas of less than one academic year and of at least one but less than two academic years; or designed for completion in less than 60
semester or trimester credit hours, less than 90 quarter credit hours, or less than 1,800 contact or clock hours.
Completers of programs of at least 2 years but less than 4 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 12) - Enter the number of
students who completed programs of at least 2 but less than 4 full-time equivalent academic years within 150% of normal time to
completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of at least two but less than four academic years - or designed for completion in
at least 60 but less than 120 semester or trimester credit hours, at least 90 but less than 180 quarter credit hours, or at least 1,800
but less than 3,600 contact or clock hours - and associate's degrees.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous two columns, and is calculated for you by the data
collection system.
Non-completers
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the non-completers from the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students as
of 150% of the normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier). Report all students by
race/ethnicity and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. Do NOT include part-time students or students who
transferred into your institution.
Revised Cohort (Column 10) – The data in this column are carried forward from the "Establishing Cohort" screen for your reference.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - The data in this column are carried forward from the "Completers within 150%" screen for
your reference.
Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to
enroll in another eligible institution without having completed a program, you must report the total number of students who transferred
out of your institution (without earning a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion. Include students who transferred out
of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled at another eligible institution. If it is not part of your mission, you may still report transferout data if you wish.
Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150% of normal time to completion
for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another institution) due to one of the following documented reasons:
a. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.
b. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called up to active duty. (Do NOT include students already in the military
who transfer to another duty station.)
c. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the Peace Corps.
d. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.
NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the above reasons, but return prior to the status date of August 31, 2017, may still
be subtracted/excluded from the cohort during the calculation of graduation rates.
Still enrolled (Column 51) - Enter the number of students who were still enrolled at your institution as of 150% of normal time to
completion for their program (or August 31, 2017 if 150% of normal time to completion had not elapsed by that time).
No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column represents the difference between the revised cohort (Column 10) and the sum
of Columns 29, 30, 45, and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their program after 150% of normal time to
completion elapsed.
Completers within 100% of Normal Time to Completion
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who completed their
program as of 100% of normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of
completers by type of program completed. Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender. Note that this should be a subset of the
students reported as completers within 150% of normal time reported earlier in this survey.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. Do NOT include part-time students or students who
transferred into your institution.
Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
Revised Cohort (Column 10) – The data in this column are carried forward from the "Establishing Cohort" screen for your reference.
Exclusions - The data in this column are carried forward from Column 45 – Total Exclusions of the “Transfers/Exclusions” screen for your
reference.
Cohort students who completed their program within 100% of normal time to completion (Columns 55 and 56)
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 55) - Enter the number of students who completed
programs of less than 2 full-time equivalent academic years within 100% of normal time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or
diplomas of less than one academic year and of at least one but less than two academic years; or designed for completion in less than 60
semester or trimester credit hours, less than 90 quarter credit hours, or less than 1,800 contact or clock hours.
Completed a program of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years within 100% (Column 56) - Enter the number of students who
completed programs of at least 2 but less than 4 full-time equivalent academic years within 100% of normal time to completion. This
includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of at least two but less than four academic years - or designed for completion in at least 60 but
less than 120 semester or trimester credit hours, at least 90 but less than 180 quarter credit hours, or at least 1,800 but less than 3,600
contact or clock hours - and associate's degrees.
Total completers within 100% (Column 57) – This column is the sum of the previous two columns and is calculated for you by the data
collection system.
Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2014 cohort of first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking students as of 150% of normal time to completion or
August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students.
Do NOT include part-time students or students who transferred into your institution.
Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare students
for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a transferpreparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
For the first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort, data will be collected on those students who were recipients of a Pell Grant
and those students who were recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant.
Recipients are defined as those students receiving and using their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct loan. These students must receive and
use the award within their first year at the institution. If the student is a recipient of an award at a later point, they would not be included
in one of the subcohorts.
Number of students in the cohort - The number of students in the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort will be preloaded
from the GR form. Of those students, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who received a
subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two
subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Total exclusions - The number of exclusions in the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort will be preloaded from the GR form.
Of those students reported as exclusions, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who
received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two
subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Number of students completing within 150% or normal time - The number of students in the full-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking cohort who completed within 150% of normal time to completion will be preloaded from the GR form. Of those students reported
as completers, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who received a subsidized Direct
Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two subcohorts must be less
than or equal to the total of all students.
Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates
Worksheets
Worksheets calculating the Student Right-To-Know and overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,
first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for the 2014 student cohort are provided as a convenience to the institution.
Data previously reported by the institution are preloaded for use in these calculations.
Note that certain information from these worksheets will be displayed on College Navigator, as noted. Additional information relevant to
the calculated rates may be entered in the context box provided, and will also be displayed on College Navigator.
Privacy Issue With Disclosure
Before using the worksheets for disclosure, please consider the following:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended (1998) (FERPA) requires that institutions not disclose information
where students could be identified.
Glossary
date: 8/4/2017
Term
Definition
Adjusted cohort
The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for
calculating retention rate; for the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are
calculated; and for the Outcome Measures component, these are the four cohorts (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-firsttime, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time) for which outcomes rates are calculated at 4, 6, and 8 years.
American Indian or Alaska
Native
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural
identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Associate's degree
An award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work.
Black or African American
A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Cohort
A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.
Completers within 150% of
normal time
Students who completed their program within 150% of the normal (or expected) time for completion.
Degree/certificate-seeking
students
Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other formal award. This includes students who:
- received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
- received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate,
or transfer-seeking program; or
- obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution
High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.
Exclusions
Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation Rates, Outcome Measures, and Fall
Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution for one of the following reasons:
death or total and permanent disability; service in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid
service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.
Fall cohort
The group of students entering in the fall term established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component, this includes
all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the fall term of
a given year. For the Outcome Measures component, all degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who enter an institution
during the fall term of a given year must be placed in one of four cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, nonfirst-time; and part-time, non-first-time.
First-time student
(undergraduate)
A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any institution for the first time at the
undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the
fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college
credits or postsecondary formal award earned before graduation from high school).
Full-time student
Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week
each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or
dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the
institution.
Full-year cohort
This is a group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period for tracking and reporting. For Graduation Rate (GR), a
full-year cohort is from September 1 through August 31 and is used primarily offer occupational programs of varying lengths. Students
must be full-time and first-time to be considered in the cohort. For Outcome Measures (OM) component, all degree-granting
institutions report on a full-year cohort from July 1 through June 30. Students are reported once in one of the four OM cohorts: firsttime, full-time; first-time, part-time: non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time.
Graduation rate
The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This rate is calculated as the total number
of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the revised adjusted cohort.
Graduation Rates (GR)
This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150
percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part of the institution's mission. Prior
to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid
and whether they completed within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL where
the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates worksheets that calculate rates, including
average rates over 4 years.
Hispanic/Latino
A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
Initial cohort
A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates (GR) and Outcome Measures (OM)
components of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as the enrollment count before removing revisions and exclusions of all
degree/certificate-seeking students who enter in either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2) between September 1st and
August 31st of the following year. For the GR component of IPEDS, the initial cohort is only for full-time, first-time students. For OM, all
undergraduates are placed in one of four initial cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and parttime, non-first time.
Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS)
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), conducted by the NCES, began in 1986 and involves annual institutionlevel data collections. All postsecondary institutions that have a Program Participation Agreement with the Office of Postsecondary
Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education (throughout IPEDS referred to as "Title IV") are required to report data using a webbased data collection system. IPEDS currently consists of the following components: Institutional Characteristics (IC); 12-month
Enrollment (E12);Completions (C); Admissions (ADM); Student Financial Aid (SFA); Human Resources (HR) composed of Employees by
Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries; Fall Enrollment (EF); Graduation Rates (GR); Outcome Measures (OM); Finance (F); and
Academic Libraries (AL).
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
Nonresident alien
A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have
the right to remain indefinitely.
Normal time to completion
The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution's
catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a
standard term-based institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree
in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.
Race and ethnicity unknown
The category used to report students or employees whose race and ethnicity are not known.
Race/ethnicity
Categories developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are used to describe groups to which individuals
belong, identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community. The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological
origins. The designations are used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.
Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as:
- Hispanic or Latino or
- Not Hispanic or Latino
Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- White
Revised cohort
Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that incorrect data were reported in an earlier
year.
Student Right-to-Know Act
Also known as the "Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act" (P.L. 101-542), which was passed by Congress November 9, 1990.
Title I, Section 103, requires institutions eligible for Title IV funding to calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or
degree-seeking, full-time students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates to all students and prospective students.
Further, Section 104 requires each institution that participates in any Title IV program and is attended by students receiving athleticallyrelated student aid to submit a report to the Secretary of Education annually. This report is to contain, among other things,
graduation/completion rates of all students as well as students receiving athletically-related student aid by race/ethnicity and gender
and by sport, and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years. These data are also required to be
disclosed to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes when the institution offers athletically-related student aid. The Graduation
Rates component of IPEDS was developed specifically to help institutions respond to these requirements. See Graduation Rates for the
current description of data collected.
Title IV institution
An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV
federal student financial assistance programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the National Early Intervention
Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs).
Transfer-out rate
Total number of students who are known to have transferred out of the reporting institution within 150% of normal time to completion
divided by the adjusted cohort.
Transfer-out student
A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.
Transfer-preparatory program
A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer into a higher level program. For
example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of
undergraduate study needed for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for
entrance into health services fields.
Undergraduate
A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program, an associate's degree program, or a vocational or technical program
below the baccalaureate.
White
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
2017-18 Survey Materials > FAQ
Graduation Rates for 2-year institutions
Click one of the following questions to view the answer.
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How
do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?
4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
5)
Do I need to track students every term?
Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete the GR survey?
3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a
confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?
6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
7)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificate-seeking student this
fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?
12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
13)
Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers-out?
14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled as of
October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs,
students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or students who change programs?
17)
If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level awards (e.g., certificate in cosmetology and an AA)
within the 3-year period, can I count both completions?
Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?
4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of normal time students
who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if the student does not receive the degree
until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?
Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do so. Am I
still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act, and am I still responsive to the GR
survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student Right-to-Know
Act?
4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable exclusions) at my
institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
9)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?
10)
My school enrolls students on a monthly basis, so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9
months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time; and which cohort should I use?
11)
Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study, but did not finish
their program?
12)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar
provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?
Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the institution, would
they be counted as part of these subgroups?
3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the institution, do they
have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to be counted as part of these
subgroups?
Answers:
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing
enrollment) basis. How do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
The Student Right-to-Know legislation states that institutions that offer a predominant number of programs
based on a term basis (semester, quarter, or trimester) must calculate graduation and transfer-out rates using a
fall cohort; otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort used to report your institution's GR data
date: 8/4/2017
is predetermined based on your response to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional
Characteristics Header survey component.
Back to top
3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do
anything this year?
Student Right-to-Know legislation states that graduation rates reporting is mandatory for institutions
that enrolled full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the relevant cohort
year. If you did not enroll this type of student, or your institution was not in operation during the relevant cohort
year, please report this information on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component.
Back to top
4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means modifying the cohort
data to reflect better information that has become available since the cohort was first reported in the
relevant Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on the
cohort). Fall cohorts may be revised by entering new data in the Revised cohort column on the data collection
screen. Adjusting a cohort means subtracting any allowable exclusions from the revised cohort to establish a
denominator for graduation rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts are adjusted for you on the
worksheet screens when calculating graduation and transfer-out rates.
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5)
Do I need to track students every term?
No. You can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry, and then, at the end of 150% of normal time
to complete all requirements of the longest program, look back to see the status of those in the cohort. You will
need to know when students in the cohort completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track these students
from term-to-term.
Back to top
Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student who has no prior postsecondary experience
attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level." This means that the student is first-time
in terms of postsecondary education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary
institution). There are two exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution for the first time the summer
prior to entering your institution in the fall term are to be counted as "first-time", as are (2) students who
entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from high school).
Back to top
2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete
the GR survey?
Yes. You must report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions related to disclosure
requirements under Other below for additional information.
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3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for
which I have a confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
You should report the student as a transfer-out. For the purposes of the full-time, first-time cohort used
for IPEDS graduation rates reporting, this action closes out their status in the cohort. Upon re-enrolling at your
institution, the student would then be included in a subsequent, non-first-time cohort not collected through the
IPEDS GR survey.
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4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
The IPEDS GR survey does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE
INCLUDED IN ANY GR COHORT.
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5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental
courses?
These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to a
degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award, and if they are not eligible for Title IV federal financial aid.
Back to top
6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking in
the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. If a student is degree/certificate-seeking for the purposes of qualifying for
student financial aid, then they must be included in the GR cohort.
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7)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificateseeking student this fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a
postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they are entering with no credit.
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8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
Neither should be included in the cohort for graduation rates reporting.
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9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they should not
be included in the cohort according to Student Right-to-Know regulations. Be sure to carefully review the
definition of degree/certificate-seeking in the IPEDS Glossary.
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10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
If the student has never enrolled in a postsecondary institution, they should be counted as "first-time."
Back to top
11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as
"first-time"?
Since these students must have been previously enrolled in a postsecondary institution in order to obtain credit
through correspondence or distance learning, they are not considered "first-time."
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12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report in the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. For
additional information on this topic, please refer to the IPEDS Data Tip Sheet related to Reporting Students for
Institutions in Consortia.
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13)
Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be
considered transfers-out?
No. Keep the students in the cohort since they return in the fall and continue their programs of study.
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14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate
students enrolled as of October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what
happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or
students who change programs?
It looks like your cohort is defined correctly. Remember YOUR COHORT NEVER CHANGES. Students who stop
out or drop out do not leave the cohort. They remain in the count; and if they complete their most recent
program within 150% of normal time they should be reported accordingly. Students who switch to part-time
status or to another program are not given extra time to complete, nor are they removed from the cohort.
Report their status as requested.
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17)
If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level awards (e.g., certificate in cosmetology
and an AA) within the 3-year period, can I count both completions?
No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your
decision as to which one you prefer to report.
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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion". IPEDS has adopted the definition
developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time. As such,
"normal time to completion" is defined as "the amount of time necessary for a student to complete all
requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8
semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree in a standard termbased institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an
associate’s degree in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate
programs." Let’s look at some examples:
Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs (8 semesters – typically fall and spring).
Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would be 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the
sixth year.
Similarly, an associate’s degree program that is advertised as a 2-year program (6 quarters - fall, winter, and
spring, with no scheduled summer quarter) would extend to 9 quarters (1.5 x 6) or through the end of the
spring quarter of the third year.
However, the Technical Amendment to the Student Right-to-Know Act redefined the cohort year to allow you to
count completers through August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third
year of a 2-year program).
Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as
taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the student
completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.
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2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
If a student has switched programs, you will calculate 150% of normal time to completion based on his or her
most recent program for reporting outcomes. However, the student's "clock" does not reset once they switch
programs. He or she must still graduate, transfer, or qualify as an exclusion within 150% of normal time to
completion starting from the date he or she first entered the cohort.
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3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the
program?
There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time calculation should be applied as of the
student's initial start date, and is the same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term
or two and still complete within 150% of normal time.
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4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of
normal time students who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if
the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot
count them as completers?
Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree
upon completion of the program (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted in the student’s record)
and simply allow the student to "pick up" their degree at the December ceremony, then you should be able to
count the student as having completed within 150% of normal time.
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Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
The Student Right-to-Know legislation states that "An institution that determines that its mission includes
providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers-out
so that a transfer-out rate may be calculated for its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students. Students to be reported as transfers are those who have NOT completed a program
or graduated, so they cannot be counted as completers, but have subsequently enrolled in any program of an
eligible institution for which the insititution provided substantial preparation. If the institution does not have such
a mission, reporting of transfers-out is optional.
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2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
None. All verification requirements were dropped from the regulations.
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3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a
system to do so. Am I still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
Act, and am I still responsive to the GR survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
As long as your institution does not include providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another
eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers-out. However, if
your institution does have such a mission, you must be able to track and report on transfers-out. (Applicable
to Graduation Rates and Graduation Rates 200 only; requirements for Outcome Measures are different.
Please review the Outcome Measures requirements separately.)
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Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
Student Right-to-Know Act regulations state that an institution must annually prepare the completion or
graduation rates of its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students; and for
institutions that determine that their mission includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution, the transfer-out rate of these students. In calculating these rates, an institution must
count any students who have completed or graduated by the end of the 12-month period ending August 31
during which 150% of the normal time for completion or graduation from their program has lapsed.
Therefore, at a minimum, you must report and disclose your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31
of the prior year). The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information as warranted to
help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider disclosing additional rates as
well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students typically take
longer to complete.
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2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student
Right-to-Know Act?
NO! NO! and NO! The IPEDS GR survey provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for
calculating graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that
there is some level of consistency in the way the rates are calculated. However, the SRK requires disclosure of
these rates to students and prospective students. In addition, for schools that offer athletically-related student
aid there are additional disclosure and reporting requirements. By completing the GR survey, you will have the
rates you need to disclose, but you still need to make them available. The GR survey statisfies the reporting
requirements ONLY.
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4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable
exclusions) at my institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of students
who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.
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9)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?
This term is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and
qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers
this the equivalent of an associate’s degree, thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they
do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers.
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10)
My school enrolls students on a monthly basis, so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest
program is 9 months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time; and which cohort should I use?
Let's look at this one step at a time. First, schools with programs of less than 4 years are to report on the 2014
cohort. Therefore, you should look at those students who entered your institution between September 1, 2014
and August 31, 2015. Next, assuming the latest possible enrollment date would be August 31, 2015, 150% of 9
months following this date would extend to October 15, 2016 (13 1/2 months later). In order to complete the
IPEDS GR survey, the first status date following this is August 31, 2017 and the report is due during the Winter
2017-18 data collection. So you are on track for reporting this cohort.
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11)
Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study,
but did not finish their program?
No, you may not report these students as completers since they left the institution prior to completing their
program.
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12)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is
there a similar provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are
transferred to another duty station?
No, there is no such provision.
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Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
For the purposes of the GR component, a recipient of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan is a student who
receives and uses that award (i.e., award is partially or fully disbursed) within their first year at the institution.
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2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the
institution, would they be counted as part of these subgroups?
They would only be counted if they received and used their award within their first year at the institution. If
they received and used it at any later time, they would not be part of these subgroups. They would be part of
the calculated row - "Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan".
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3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the
institution, do they have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to
be counted as part of these subgroups?
As long as the student receives and uses their aid within their first year at the institution, they do not have to
continue to be awarded that aid during their time at the institution to be counted as part of these subgroups.
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
date: 8/4/2017
2017-18 Survey Materials > Form
Graduation Rates for 2-year institutions reporting on a full-year cohort (program reporters)
Overview
Graduation Rates Overview
Welcome to the IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) survey component. The GR component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students and tracks their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of study. This information is collected
to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act.
Data Reporting Reminders
Once a student is in the cohort, they remain in the cohort, even if their status changes to part-time or they drop out or transfer out of the institution. However, adjustments
can be made to the cohort for allowable exclusions, which include the death of a student, permanent disability, military deployment, or service on an official church mission
or with a foreign aid service of the Federal government.
When reporting award levels for sub-baccalaureate certificates, determine program length by the number of credit or contact hours, NOT the academic year length in
parentheses. The academic year length is meant only to provide context.
Changes to This Year's Graduation Rates Component:
IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant.
Resources:
The survey materials package for this component can be downloaded using the following link: Survey Materials
If you have questions about completing this survey, please contact the IPEDS Help Desk at 1-877-225-2568.
Establishing cohort
Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component from the IPEDS
Fall 2017 data collection, your institution must report graduation rates data using a:
Full-Year Cohort (September 1, 2014 - August 31, 2015)
A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A full-year cohort is used by institutions offering primarily
occupational/vocational programs and operating on a continuous basis.
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
NOTE: Reporting using the new race/ethnicity categories is now mandatory. On this screen you will need to establish your 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking undergraduate students using the new race/ethnicity categories. For information and assistance with this, please visit the IPEDS Race/Ethnicity Information Center.
Men
Screen 1 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Cohort
(Column 01)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 1 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Cohort
(Column 01)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Total in prior year (men and women)
Completers within 150%
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
In the columns below, report the status of the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students listed in Column 10. Those who
completed their program within 150% of normal time as of August 31, 2017 should be reported in either Column 11 or 12, depending on the length of the program
completed.
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 2 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Cohort students who completed their program within
150% of normal time to completion
Cohort
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic
yrs (or equivalent)
(Column
10)
Completers of programs of at least 2 but less than 4
academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 11)
(Column 12)
Total
completers
within
150%
(Column
29)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska
Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other
Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 2 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Cohort students who completed their program within
150% of normal time to completion
Cohort
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic
yrs (or equivalent)
(Column
10)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska
Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other
Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
(Column 11)
Completers of programs of at least 2 but less than 4
academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 12)
Total
completers
within
150%
(Column
29)
Transfers/exclusions
In the columns below, report the status of those students in the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students listed in Column
10 who did not complete a program as of August 31, 2017.
Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed a program, you must report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students
that the school knows have transferred to another eligible institution. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part of your mission, you may
report transfer-out data if you wish.
Report eligible exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:
students who died or became permanently disabled
students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)
students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government
students who left school to serve on an official church mission
Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This includes students who have dropped out as well as those who completed in greater than 150% of
normal time.
If you do not have any values to report in either Column 30, 45, or 51, you must enter at least one zero in a field on this screen to continue.
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Report Hispanic/Latino individuals of any race as Hispanic/Latino
Report race for non-Hispanic/Latino individuals only
Men
Screen 3 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Cohort
Total completers
within 150%
Total transfer-out students
Total exclusions
Still enrolled
No longer enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column 51)
(Column 52)
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total men
Women
Screen 3 of 5
Nonresident alien
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
Race and ethnicity unknown
Total women
Total men + women
Total in prior year (men and women)
Cohort year 2014
Cohort
Total completers
within 150%
Total transfer-out students
Total exclusions
Still enrolled
No longer enrolled
(Column 10)
(Column 29)
(Column 30)
(Column 45)
(Column 51)
(Column 52)
Completers within 100%
In the columns below, report the status of those students in the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who completed
their program within 100% of normal time to completion.
Those who completed their program within 100% of normal time should be reported in either Column 55 or 56, depending on the length of the program completed.
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Screen 4 of
5
Cohort year 2014
Revised
Exclusions
cohort
Cohort students who completed their program within
100% of normal time to completion
Completers of programs of less than 2
academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 55)
Total men +
women
Completers of programs of at least 2 but less than
4 academic yrs (or equivalent)
(Column 56)
Total completers within 100%
(Column 55 + 56)
(Column 57)
Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
For each subcohort, report the number of students in the cohort, total exclusions for the cohort, and the number of students that completed a certificate or degree within
150% of normal time to completion.
Recipients of a Pell Grant and Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant are mutually exclusive, that is, if a student is in one cohort, they
cannot be in the other cohort.
- The total of these 2 subcohorts must be less than the full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Screen 5 of 5
Cohort year 2014
Number of students in cohort
Total exclusions
Number of students that
completed within 150% of
normal time to completion
(Column 10)
(Column 45)
(Column 29)
Full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Recipients of a Pell Grant (upon entry)
Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry) that did not receive a Pell Grant
Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry)
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2017-18 Survey Materials > Instructions
date: 8/4/2017
GR- 2yr - Full Instructions
Purpose of the Survey
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
Context Boxes
Coverage
Where to Get Help for Reporting
Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
Reporting Directions
Reporting Individuals by Racial/Ethnic Categories
Establishing Cohorts
Completers within 150% of Normal Time to Completion
Non-completers
Completers within 100% of Normal Time to Completion
Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates
Purpose of the Survey
The purpose of the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey component is to track given cohorts of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students - as well as their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of
study - at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Rightto-Know Act.
Changes in Reporting
- IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who
did not receive a Pell Grant
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
This survey component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled in
your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2014 (or the institution's official fall reporting date) for institutions that offer a predominant
number of programs based on standard academic terms (e.g., semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan); or (2) during the period
between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 for institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard
academic terms. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2017.
Context Boxes
Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component items. Note that some context
boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these
context boxes for applicability and appropriateness before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check
grammar and spelling of their entries.
Coverage
Who to Include in the Cohort
Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution either during the fall term or
during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the
prior summer term and students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduating from high school).
For institutions that will report using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all those students who entered the institution
between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including one
year in length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Include all students enrolled for credit toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award. Include students enrolled in courses
that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance
learning/home study programs.
Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for the purpose of student
financial aid determination. This includes students who:
Received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time
Received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or
transfer-seeking program
Obtained a student visa to enroll at a U.S. postsecondary institution
A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:
Becomes a part-time student
Transfers to another institution
Drops out of the institution
Stops out of the institution
Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate
Went on a study abroad program the first year upon entering the institution
Who to Exclude from the Cohort
Do NOT include students in the cohort who are:
Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational program (i.e., nondegree/certificate-seeking students)
Exclusively taking CEUs
Exclusively auditing classes
Enrolled part-time
Transfers into the institution
Foreign students who are only taking coursework at a host institution (e.g., an American institution overseas), if these students are
not enrolled at a U.S. institution
Where to Get Help with Reporting
IPEDS Help Desk
Phone: 1-877-225-2568
Email: ipedshelp@rti.org
Web Tutorials
You can also consult the IPEDS Website Trainings & Outreach page which contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced
overview of IPEDS tools, and other valuable resources.
IPEDS Resource Page
The IPEDS Website Reporting Tools page contains frequently asked questions, a link to data tip sheets, tutorials, taxonomies, information
centers (e.g., academic libraries, average net price, human resources, race/ethnicity, etc.), and other valuable information.
Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.
At the institution-level, data will appear in the:
College Navigator Website
IPEDS Data Center
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
College Affordability and Transparency Center Website
At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:
IPEDS First Looks
IPEDS Table Library
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
The Digest of Education Statistics
The Condition of Education
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
The File Import/Upload option is found under the Tools menu. In order to perform the upload you’ll need to have a file formatted to
specifications. Upload specifications are included with the survey materials found under the Help menu. There are three upload formats
available for the Graduation Rates survey component:
Fixed width file
Key value file
XML format
Reporting Instructions
Reporting Persons by Racial/Ethnic Category (1997 OMB)
This information is being collected in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972 and Sec. 421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. These instructions correspond with the Final Guidance on
Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education, published in the Federal Register on
October 19, 2007.
Method of collection - Institutions must collect race and ethnicity information using a 2-question format. The first question is whether the
respondent is Hispanic/Latino. The second question is whether the respondent is from one or more races from the following list: American
Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. Institutions should allow
students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity. For further details on the guidance for collecting these data, please see the full
Federal Register notice.
Method of reporting aggregate data - Institutions must report aggregate data to the U.S. Department of Education using the NINE
categories below. Racial/ethnic designations are requested only for United States citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.
Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race
For Non-Hispanic/Latino individuals:
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
In addition, the following categories may be used:
Nonresident alien
Race and ethnicity unknown
Racial/ethnic descriptions - Racial/ethnic designations as used in this survey do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological
origins. The categories are:
Hispanic or Latino- A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless
of race.
American Indian or Alaska Native- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central
America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black or African American- A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander- A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other
Pacific Islands.
White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
Other descriptive categories
Nonresident alien - A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary
basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely. NOTE - Nonresident aliens are to be reported separately, in the boxes
provided, rather than included in any of the seven racial/ethnic categories. Resident aliens and other eligible (for financial aid
purposes) non-citizens who are not citizens or nationals of the United States and who have been admitted as legal immigrants for
the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who hold either an alien registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a
Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) with a notation that conveys legal immigrant status
such as Section 207 Refugee, Section 208 Asylee, Conditional Entrant Parolee or Cuban-Haitian) are to be reported in the appropriate
racial/ethnic categories along with United States citizens.
Race and ethnicity unknown - This category is used only if the person did not select EITHER a racial or ethnic designation.
Establishing Cohorts
The method used to report graduation rates data on this survey is predetermined by your institution's response to the predominant
calendar system question (B3) on the IC Header component of the IPEDS Fall 2017 data collection, according to the following rules:
1. Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 41-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of students. Institutions may use October 15, 2014 or the institution's official fall reporting
date to determine the cohort. This should be the same reporting date used for the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey.
2. Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (as defined above) will report
using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count as entering students all those students who entered the institution between
September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including one year in
length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Report each student only once.
Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information reported on full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate student enrollment at your institution on the 2014 IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey will be preloaded in this column. If you did
not respond to that survey, or if you are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.
Revised cohort - Institutions have the option of revising their preloaded cohort if:
there are eligible students who were omitted in the past
students were reported who did not belong in the cohort (e.g., they were not actually first-time, or full-time)
better information regarding race/ethnicity or gender is available for eligible students
Please review the data in the Initial cohort column (if applicable) and re-enter the cohort data in the Revised cohort column according to the
1997 racial/ethnic categories, making any necessary corrections for omissions, erroneous reporting, or where better information regarding
race/ethnicity or gender is available. If your data do not appear in the Initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment data as
requested in the Revised cohort column.
Completers within 150% of Normal Time to Completion
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2014 cohort of degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students as of 150% of normal time to completion for
their program or August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers by type of program completed. Report all
students by race/ethnicity and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. Do NOT include part-time students or students who
transferred into your institution.
Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare
students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a
transfer-preparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
Note that completers should be reported in terms of the type of program completed, as defined by award level. For programs that are
defined in terms of contact or credit hours, the program type may not be indicative of the actual calendar time a program takes to
complete. For more information on program types, please consult the IPEDS Glossary.
Revised Cohort (Column 10) – The data in this column are carried forward from the "Establishing Cohort" screen for your reference.
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 11) - Enter the number of students who completed
programs of less than 2 full-time equivalent academic years within 150% of normal time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or
diplomas of less than one academic year and of at least one but less than two academic years; or designed for completion in less than 60
semester or trimester credit hours, less than 90 quarter credit hours, or less than 1,800 contact or clock hours.
Completers of programs of at least 2 years but less than 4 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 12) - Enter the number of
students who completed programs of at least 2 but less than 4 full-time equivalent academic years within 150% of normal time to
completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of at least two but less than four academic years - or designed for completion in
at least 60 but less than 120 semester or trimester credit hours, at least 90 but less than 180 quarter credit hours, or at least 1,800
but less than 3,600 contact or clock hours - and associate's degrees.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - This column is the sum of the previous two columns, and is calculated for you by the data
collection system.
Non-completers
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the non-completers from the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students as
of 150% of the normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier). Report all students by
race/ethnicity and gender.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. Do NOT include part-time students or students who
transferred into your institution.
Revised Cohort (Column 10) – The data in this column are carried forward from the "Establishing Cohort" screen for your reference.
Total completers within 150% (Column 29) - The data in this column are carried forward from the "Completers within 150%" screen for
your reference.
Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to
enroll in another eligible institution without having completed a program, you must report the total number of students who transferred
out of your institution (without earning a degree/award) within 150% of normal time to completion. Include students who transferred out
of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled at another eligible institution. If it is not part of your mission, you may still report transferout data if you wish.
Total exclusions (Column 45)- Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150% of normal time to completion
for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another institution) due to one of the following documented reasons:
a. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.
b. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called up to active duty. (Do NOT include students already in the military
who transfer to another duty station.)
c. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the Peace Corps.
d. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.
NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the above reasons, but return prior to the status date of August 31, 2017, may still
be subtracted/excluded from the cohort during the calculation of graduation rates.
Still enrolled (Column 51) - Enter the number of students who were still enrolled at your institution as of 150% of normal time to
completion for their program (or August 31, 2017 if 150% of normal time to completion had not elapsed by that time).
No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column represents the difference between the revised cohort (Column 10) and the sum
of Columns 29, 30, 45, and 51. This column should include students who graduated from their program after 150% of normal time to
completion elapsed.
Completers within 100% of Normal Time to Completion
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who completed their
program as of 100% of normal time to completion for their program or August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of
completers by type of program completed. Report all students by race/ethnicity and gender. Note that this should be a subset of the
students reported as completers within 150% of normal time reported earlier in this survey.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. Do NOT include part-time students or students who
transferred into your institution.
Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
Revised Cohort (Column 10) – The data in this column are carried forward from the "Establishing Cohort" screen for your reference.
Exclusions - The data in this column are carried forward from Column 45 – Total Exclusions of the “Transfers/Exclusions” screen for your
reference.
Cohort students who completed their program within 100% of normal time to completion (Columns 55 and 56)
Completers of programs of less than 2 academic years (or equivalent) (Column 55) - Enter the number of students who completed
programs of less than 2 full-time equivalent academic years within 100% of normal time to completion. This includes awards, certificates, or
diplomas of less than one academic year and of at least one but less than two academic years; or designed for completion in less than 60
semester or trimester credit hours, less than 90 quarter credit hours, or less than 1,800 contact or clock hours.
Completed a program of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years within 100% (Column 56) - Enter the number of students who
completed programs of at least 2 but less than 4 full-time equivalent academic years within 100% of normal time to completion. This
includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of at least two but less than four academic years - or designed for completion in at least 60 but
less than 120 semester or trimester credit hours, at least 90 but less than 180 quarter credit hours, or at least 1,800 but less than 3,600
contact or clock hours - and associate's degrees.
Total completers within 100% (Column 57) – This column is the sum of the previous two columns and is calculated for you by the data
collection system.
Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2014 cohort of first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking students as of 150% of normal time to completion or
August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students.
Do NOT include part-time students or students who transferred into your institution.
Count completers only once and indicate the highest award level attained.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare students
for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a transferpreparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
For the first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort, data will be collected on those students who were recipients of a Pell Grant
and those students who were recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant.
Recipients are defined as those students receiving and using their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct loan. These students must receive and
use the award within their first year at the institution. If the student is a recipient of an award at a later point, they would not be included
in one of the subcohorts.
Number of students in the cohort - The number of students in the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort will be preloaded
from the GR form. Of those students, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who received a
subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two
subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Total exclusions - The number of exclusions in the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort will be preloaded from the GR form.
Of those students reported as exclusions, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who
received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two
subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Number of students completing within 150% or normal time - The number of students in the full-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking cohort who completed within 150% of normal time to completion will be preloaded from the GR form. Of those students reported
as completers, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who received a subsidized Direct
Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two subcohorts must be less
than or equal to the total of all students.
Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates
Worksheets
Worksheets calculating the Student Right-To-Know and overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of full-time,
first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for the 2014 student cohort are provided as a convenience to the institution.
Data previously reported by the institution are preloaded for use in these calculations.
Note that certain information from these worksheets will be displayed on College Navigator, as noted. Additional information relevant to
the calculated rates may be entered in the context box provided, and will also be displayed on College Navigator.
Privacy Issue With Disclosure
Before using the worksheets for disclosure, please consider the following:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended (1998) (FERPA) requires that institutions not disclose information
where students could be identified.
Glossary
date: 8/4/2017
Term
Definition
Adjusted cohort
The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for
calculating retention rate; for the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are
calculated; and for the Outcome Measures component, these are the four cohorts (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-firsttime, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time) for which outcomes rates are calculated at 4, 6, and 8 years.
American Indian or Alaska
Native
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural
identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Associate's degree
An award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work.
Black or African American
A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Cohort
A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.
Completers within 150% of
normal time
Students who completed their program within 150% of the normal (or expected) time for completion.
Degree/certificate-seeking
students
Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other formal award. This includes students who:
- received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
- received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate,
or transfer-seeking program; or
- obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution
High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.
Exclusions
Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation Rates, Outcome Measures, and Fall
Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution for one of the following reasons:
death or total and permanent disability; service in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid
service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.
Fall cohort
The group of students entering in the fall term established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component, this includes
all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the fall term of
a given year. For the Outcome Measures component, all degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who enter an institution
during the fall term of a given year must be placed in one of four cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, nonfirst-time; and part-time, non-first-time.
First-time student
(undergraduate)
A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any institution for the first time at the
undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the
fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college
credits or postsecondary formal award earned before graduation from high school).
Full-time student
Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week
each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or
dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the
institution.
Full-year cohort
This is a group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period for tracking and reporting. For Graduation Rate (GR), a
full-year cohort is from September 1 through August 31 and is used primarily offer occupational programs of varying lengths. Students
must be full-time and first-time to be considered in the cohort. For Outcome Measures (OM) component, all degree-granting
institutions report on a full-year cohort from July 1 through June 30. Students are reported once in one of the four OM cohorts: firsttime, full-time; first-time, part-time: non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time.
Graduation rate
The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This rate is calculated as the total number
of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the revised adjusted cohort.
Graduation Rates (GR)
This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150
percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part of the institution's mission. Prior
to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid
and whether they completed within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL where
the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates worksheets that calculate rates, including
average rates over 4 years.
Hispanic/Latino
A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
Initial cohort
A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates (GR) and Outcome Measures (OM)
components of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as the enrollment count before removing revisions and exclusions of all
degree/certificate-seeking students who enter in either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2) between September 1st and
August 31st of the following year. For the GR component of IPEDS, the initial cohort is only for full-time, first-time students. For OM, all
undergraduates are placed in one of four initial cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and parttime, non-first time.
Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS)
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), conducted by the NCES, began in 1986 and involves annual institutionlevel data collections. All postsecondary institutions that have a Program Participation Agreement with the Office of Postsecondary
Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education (throughout IPEDS referred to as "Title IV") are required to report data using a webbased data collection system. IPEDS currently consists of the following components: Institutional Characteristics (IC); 12-month
Enrollment (E12);Completions (C); Admissions (ADM); Student Financial Aid (SFA); Human Resources (HR) composed of Employees by
Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries; Fall Enrollment (EF); Graduation Rates (GR); Outcome Measures (OM); Finance (F); and
Academic Libraries (AL).
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
Nonresident alien
A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have
the right to remain indefinitely.
Normal time to completion
The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution's
catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a
standard term-based institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree
in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.
Race and ethnicity unknown
The category used to report students or employees whose race and ethnicity are not known.
Race/ethnicity
Categories developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are used to describe groups to which individuals
belong, identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community. The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological
origins. The designations are used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.
Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as:
- Hispanic or Latino or
- Not Hispanic or Latino
Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- White
Revised cohort
Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that incorrect data were reported in an earlier
year.
Student Right-to-Know Act
Also known as the "Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act" (P.L. 101-542), which was passed by Congress November 9, 1990.
Title I, Section 103, requires institutions eligible for Title IV funding to calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or
degree-seeking, full-time students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates to all students and prospective students.
Further, Section 104 requires each institution that participates in any Title IV program and is attended by students receiving athleticallyrelated student aid to submit a report to the Secretary of Education annually. This report is to contain, among other things,
graduation/completion rates of all students as well as students receiving athletically-related student aid by race/ethnicity and gender
and by sport, and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years. These data are also required to be
disclosed to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes when the institution offers athletically-related student aid. The Graduation
Rates component of IPEDS was developed specifically to help institutions respond to these requirements. See Graduation Rates for the
current description of data collected.
Title IV institution
An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV
federal student financial assistance programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the National Early Intervention
Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs).
Transfer-out rate
Total number of students who are known to have transferred out of the reporting institution within 150% of normal time to completion
divided by the adjusted cohort.
Transfer-out student
A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.
Transfer-preparatory program
A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer into a higher level program. For
example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of
undergraduate study needed for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for
entrance into health services fields.
Undergraduate
A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program, an associate's degree program, or a vocational or technical program
below the baccalaureate.
White
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
2017-18 Survey Materials > FAQ
Graduation Rates for 2-year institutions
Click one of the following questions to view the answer.
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How
do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?
4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
5)
Do I need to track students every term?
Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete the GR survey?
3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a
confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?
6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
7)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificate-seeking student this
fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?
12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
13)
Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be considered transfers-out?
14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled as of
October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs,
students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or students who change programs?
17)
If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level awards (e.g., certificate in cosmetology and an AA)
within the 3-year period, can I count both completions?
Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?
4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of normal time students
who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if the student does not receive the degree
until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?
Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do so. Am I
still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act, and am I still responsive to the GR
survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student Right-to-Know
Act?
4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable exclusions) at my
institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
9)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?
10)
My school enrolls students on a monthly basis, so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9
months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time; and which cohort should I use?
11)
Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study, but did not finish
their program?
12)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar
provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?
Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the institution, would
they be counted as part of these subgroups?
3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the institution, do they
have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to be counted as part of these
subgroups?
Answers:
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing
enrollment) basis. How do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
The Student Right-to-Know legislation states that institutions that offer a predominant number of programs
based on a term basis (semester, quarter, or trimester) must calculate graduation and transfer-out rates using a
fall cohort; otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort used to report your institution's GR data
date: 8/4/2017
is predetermined based on your response to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional
Characteristics Header survey component.
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3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do
anything this year?
Student Right-to-Know legislation states that graduation rates reporting is mandatory for institutions
that enrolled full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the relevant cohort
year. If you did not enroll this type of student, or your institution was not in operation during the relevant cohort
year, please report this information on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component.
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4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means modifying the cohort
data to reflect better information that has become available since the cohort was first reported in the
relevant Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on the
cohort). Fall cohorts may be revised by entering new data in the Revised cohort column on the data collection
screen. Adjusting a cohort means subtracting any allowable exclusions from the revised cohort to establish a
denominator for graduation rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts are adjusted for you on the
worksheet screens when calculating graduation and transfer-out rates.
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5)
Do I need to track students every term?
No. You can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry, and then, at the end of 150% of normal time
to complete all requirements of the longest program, look back to see the status of those in the cohort. You will
need to know when students in the cohort completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track these students
from term-to-term.
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Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student who has no prior postsecondary experience
attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level." This means that the student is first-time
in terms of postsecondary education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary
institution). There are two exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution for the first time the summer
prior to entering your institution in the fall term are to be counted as "first-time", as are (2) students who
entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from high school).
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2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete
the GR survey?
Yes. You must report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions related to disclosure
requirements under Other below for additional information.
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3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for
which I have a confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
You should report the student as a transfer-out. For the purposes of the full-time, first-time cohort used
for IPEDS graduation rates reporting, this action closes out their status in the cohort. Upon re-enrolling at your
institution, the student would then be included in a subsequent, non-first-time cohort not collected through the
IPEDS GR survey.
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4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
The IPEDS GR survey does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE
INCLUDED IN ANY GR COHORT.
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5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental
courses?
These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to a
degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award, and if they are not eligible for Title IV federal financial aid.
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6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking in
the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. If a student is degree/certificate-seeking for the purposes of qualifying for
student financial aid, then they must be included in the GR cohort.
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7)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificateseeking student this fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a
postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they are entering with no credit.
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8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
Neither should be included in the cohort for graduation rates reporting.
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9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they should not
be included in the cohort according to Student Right-to-Know regulations. Be sure to carefully review the
definition of degree/certificate-seeking in the IPEDS Glossary.
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10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
If the student has never enrolled in a postsecondary institution, they should be counted as "first-time."
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11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as
"first-time"?
Since these students must have been previously enrolled in a postsecondary institution in order to obtain credit
through correspondence or distance learning, they are not considered "first-time."
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12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report in the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. For
additional information on this topic, please refer to the IPEDS Data Tip Sheet related to Reporting Students for
Institutions in Consortia.
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13)
Many of our students take courses during the summer at other schools; should these be
considered transfers-out?
No. Keep the students in the cohort since they return in the fall and continue their programs of study.
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14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate
students enrolled as of October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what
happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or
students who change programs?
It looks like your cohort is defined correctly. Remember YOUR COHORT NEVER CHANGES. Students who stop
out or drop out do not leave the cohort. They remain in the count; and if they complete their most recent
program within 150% of normal time they should be reported accordingly. Students who switch to part-time
status or to another program are not given extra time to complete, nor are they removed from the cohort.
Report their status as requested.
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17)
If a student in my cohort obtains two undergraduate level awards (e.g., certificate in cosmetology
and an AA) within the 3-year period, can I count both completions?
No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your
decision as to which one you prefer to report.
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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion". IPEDS has adopted the definition
developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time. As such,
"normal time to completion" is defined as "the amount of time necessary for a student to complete all
requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8
semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree in a standard termbased institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an
associate’s degree in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate
programs." Let’s look at some examples:
Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs (8 semesters – typically fall and spring).
Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would be 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the
sixth year.
Similarly, an associate’s degree program that is advertised as a 2-year program (6 quarters - fall, winter, and
spring, with no scheduled summer quarter) would extend to 9 quarters (1.5 x 6) or through the end of the
spring quarter of the third year.
However, the Technical Amendment to the Student Right-to-Know Act redefined the cohort year to allow you to
count completers through August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third
year of a 2-year program).
Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as
taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the student
completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.
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2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
If a student has switched programs, you will calculate 150% of normal time to completion based on his or her
most recent program for reporting outcomes. However, the student's "clock" does not reset once they switch
programs. He or she must still graduate, transfer, or qualify as an exclusion within 150% of normal time to
completion starting from the date he or she first entered the cohort.
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3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the
program?
There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time calculation should be applied as of the
student's initial start date, and is the same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term
or two and still complete within 150% of normal time.
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4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of
normal time students who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if
the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot
count them as completers?
Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree
upon completion of the program (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted in the student’s record)
and simply allow the student to "pick up" their degree at the December ceremony, then you should be able to
count the student as having completed within 150% of normal time.
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Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
The Student Right-to-Know legislation states that "An institution that determines that its mission includes
providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers-out
so that a transfer-out rate may be calculated for its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students. Students to be reported as transfers are those who have NOT completed a program
or graduated, so they cannot be counted as completers, but have subsequently enrolled in any program of an
eligible institution for which the insititution provided substantial preparation. If the institution does not have such
a mission, reporting of transfers-out is optional.
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2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
None. All verification requirements were dropped from the regulations.
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3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a
system to do so. Am I still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
Act, and am I still responsive to the GR survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
As long as your institution does not include providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another
eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers-out. However, if
your institution does have such a mission, you must be able to track and report on transfers-out. (Applicable
to Graduation Rates and Graduation Rates 200 only; requirements for Outcome Measures are different.
Please review the Outcome Measures requirements separately.)
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Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
Student Right-to-Know Act regulations state that an institution must annually prepare the completion or
graduation rates of its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students; and for
institutions that determine that their mission includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution, the transfer-out rate of these students. In calculating these rates, an institution must
count any students who have completed or graduated by the end of the 12-month period ending August 31
during which 150% of the normal time for completion or graduation from their program has lapsed.
Therefore, at a minimum, you must report and disclose your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31
of the prior year). The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information as warranted to
help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider disclosing additional rates as
well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students typically take
longer to complete.
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2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student
Right-to-Know Act?
NO! NO! and NO! The IPEDS GR survey provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for
calculating graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that
there is some level of consistency in the way the rates are calculated. However, the SRK requires disclosure of
these rates to students and prospective students. In addition, for schools that offer athletically-related student
aid there are additional disclosure and reporting requirements. By completing the GR survey, you will have the
rates you need to disclose, but you still need to make them available. The GR survey statisfies the reporting
requirements ONLY.
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4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable
exclusions) at my institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of students
who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.
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9)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?
This term is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and
qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers
this the equivalent of an associate’s degree, thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they
do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers.
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10)
My school enrolls students on a monthly basis, so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest
program is 9 months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time; and which cohort should I use?
Let's look at this one step at a time. First, schools with programs of less than 4 years are to report on the 2014
cohort. Therefore, you should look at those students who entered your institution between September 1, 2014
and August 31, 2015. Next, assuming the latest possible enrollment date would be August 31, 2015, 150% of 9
months following this date would extend to October 15, 2016 (13 1/2 months later). In order to complete the
IPEDS GR survey, the first status date following this is August 31, 2017 and the report is due during the Winter
2017-18 data collection. So you are on track for reporting this cohort.
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11)
Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study,
but did not finish their program?
No, you may not report these students as completers since they left the institution prior to completing their
program.
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12)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is
there a similar provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are
transferred to another duty station?
No, there is no such provision.
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Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
For the purposes of the GR component, a recipient of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan is a student who
receives and uses that award (i.e., award is partially or fully disbursed) within their first year at the institution.
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2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the
institution, would they be counted as part of these subgroups?
They would only be counted if they received and used their award within their first year at the institution. If
they received and used it at any later time, they would not be part of these subgroups. They would be part of
the calculated row - "Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan".
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3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the
institution, do they have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to
be counted as part of these subgroups?
As long as the student receives and uses their aid within their first year at the institution, they do not have to
continue to be awarded that aid during their time at the institution to be counted as part of these subgroups.
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
date: 8/4/2017
2017-18 Survey Materials > Form
Graduation Rates for less-than-2-year institutions reporting on a fall cohort (academic reporters)
Overview
Graduation Rates Overview
Welcome to the IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) survey component. The GR component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students and tracks their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of study. This information is collected
to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act.
Data Reporting Reminders
Once a student is in the cohort, they remain in the cohort, even if their status changes to part-time or they drop out or transfer out of the institution. However, adjustments
can be made to the cohort for allowable exclusions, which include the death of a student, permanent disability, military deployment, or service on an official church mission
or with a foreign aid service of the Federal government.
When reporting award levels for sub-baccalaureate certificates, determine program length by the number of credit or contact hours, NOT the academic year length in
parentheses. The academic year length is meant only to provide context.
Changes to This Year's Graduation Rates Component:
IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant.
Resources:
The survey materials package for this component can be downloaded using the following link: Survey Materials
If you have questions about completing this survey, please contact the IPEDS Help Desk at 1-877-225-2568.
Graduation rates
Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component from the IPEDS
Fall 2017 data collection, your institution must report graduation rates data using a:
Fall Cohort (Fall 2014)
A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A full-year cohort is used by institutions offering primarily
occupational/vocational programs and operating on a continuous basis.
In the columns below, indicate the status of the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students reported in Column 10.
The cumulative number of these students who completed their program within 150% of normal time as of August 31, 2017 should be reported in Column 11.
Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed a program, you must report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students
that the school knows have transferred to another eligible institution. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part of your mission, you may
report transfer-out data if you wish.
Report eligible exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:
students who died or became permanently disabled
students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)
students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government
students who left school to serve on an official church mission
Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This includes students who dropped out as well as those who completed in greater than 150% of normal
time.
Column 55 [Completers within 100%] is a subset of Column 11 [Completers within 150%]. These data are being requested so they can be preloaded into next year's
Graduation Rates 200% survey component.
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Screen 1 of 2
Cohort year 2014
Adjusted
Initial Revised
Total
cohort
cohort cohort exclusions (Col 10 Col 45)
(Column
10)
Total men + women
Total men + women
prior year
(Column
45)
(Column
50)
Completed within 150% of
normal time to completion
(Column 11)
Of those in Column 11, those who completed
within 100% of normal time to completion
(Column 55)
Total transferStill
out students enrolled
(Column 30)
No
longer
enrolled
(Column (Column
51)
52)
Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
For each subcohort, report the number of students in the cohort, total exclusions for the cohort, and the number of students that completed a certificate or degree within
150% of normal time to completion.
Recipients of a Pell Grant and Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant are mutually exclusive, that is, if a student is in one cohort, they
cannot be in the other cohort.
- The total of these 2 subcohorts must be less than the full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Screen 2 of 2
Cohort year 2014
Number of students in cohort
Total exclusions
Number of students that
completed within 150% of
normal time to completion
(Column 10)
(Column 45)
(Column 11)
Full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Recipients of a Pell Grant (upon entry)
Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry) that did not receive a Pell Grant
Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry)
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2017-18 Survey Materials > Instructions
date: 8/4/2017
Graduation Rates Full Instructions - Less Than 2-Year Institutions
Purpose of the Survey
Changes in Reporting
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
Context Boxes
Coverage
Where to Get Help for Reporting
Where Reported Data Will Appear
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
Reporting Directions
Purpose of the Survey
The purpose of the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey component is to track given cohorts of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students - as well as their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of
study - at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Rightto-Know Act.
Changes in Reporting
- IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who
did not receive a Pell Grant
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
This survey component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled in
your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2014 (or the institution's official fall reporting date) for institutions that offer a predominant
number of programs based on standard academic terms (e.g., semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan); or (2) during the period
between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 for institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard
academic terms. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2017.
Context Boxes
Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component items. Note that some context
boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these
context boxes for applicability and appropriateness before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check
grammar and spelling of their entries.
Coverage
Who to Include in the Cohort
Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution either during the fall term or
during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the
prior summer term and students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduating from high school).
For institutions that will report using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all those students who entered the institution
between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including one
year in length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Include all students enrolled for credit toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award. Include students enrolled in courses
that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance
learning/home study programs.
Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for the purpose of student
financial aid determination. This includes students who:
Received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time
Received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or
transfer-seeking program
Obtained a student visa to enroll at a U.S. postsecondary institution
A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:
Becomes a part-time student
Transfers to another institution
Drops out of the institution
Stops out of the institution
Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate
Went on a study abroad program the first year upon entering the institution
Who to Exclude from the Cohort
Do NOT include students in the cohort who are:
Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational program (i.e., nondegree/certificate-seeking students)
Exclusively taking CEUs
Exclusively auditing classes
Enrolled part-time
Transfers into the institution
Foreign students who are only taking coursework at a host institution (e.g., an American institution overseas), if these students are
not enrolled at a U.S. institution
Where to Get Help with Reporting
IPEDS Help Desk
Phone: 1-877-225-2568
Email: ipedshelp@rti.org
Web Tutorials
You can also consult the IPEDS Website Trainings & Outreach page which contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced
overview of IPEDS tools, and other valuable resources.
IPEDS Resource Page
The IPEDS Website Reporting Tools page contains frequently asked questions, a link to data tip sheets, tutorials, taxonomies, information
centers (e.g., academic libraries, average net price, human resources, race/ethnicity, etc.), and other valuable information.
Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.
At the institution-level, data will appear in the:
College Navigator Website
IPEDS Data Center
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
College Affordability and Transparency Center Website
At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:
IPEDS First Looks
IPEDS Table Library
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
The Digest of Education Statistics
The Condition of Education
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
The File Import/Upload option is found under the Tools menu. In order to perform the upload you’ll need to have a file formatted to
specifications. Upload specifications are included with the survey materials found under the Help menu. There are three upload formats
available for the Graduation Rates survey component:
Fixed width file
Key value file
XML format
Reporting Instructions
The method used to report graduation rates data on this survey is predetermined by your institution's response to the predominant calendar
system question (B3) on the IC Header component of the IPEDS Fall 2017 data collection, according to the following rules:
a. Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 41-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of students. Institutions may use October 15, 2014 or the institution's official fall reporting
date to determine the cohort. This should be the same reporting date used for the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey.
b. Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (as defined above) will report
using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count as entering students all those students who entered the institution between
September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including one year in
length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Cohort Data
Report the status of the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students as of August 31, 2017 in
terms of the number of completers within 150% of normal time to completion for their program, the number of transfer-out students, and
the number of allowable exclusions to the cohort. Report the combined total of men and women.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. Do NOT include part-time students or students who
transferred into your institution.
Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information reported on full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate student enrollment at your institution on the 2014 IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey will be preloaded in this column. If you did
not respond to that survey, or if you are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.
Revised cohort (Column 10) - Institutions have the option of revising their preloaded cohort if:
there are eligible students who were omitted in the past
students were reported who did not belong in the cohort (e.g., they were not actually first-time, or full-time)
Please review the data in the Initial cohort column (if applicable) and make any necessary corrections for omissions or erroneous
reporting in the Revised cohort column. If your data do not appear in the Initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment data as
requested in the Revised cohort column.
Total exclusions (Column 45) - Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150% of normal time to completion
for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another institution) due to one of the following documented reasons:
a. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.
b. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called up to active duty. (Do NOT include students already in the military
who transfer to another duty station.)
c. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the Peace Corps.
d. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.
NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted above, but return prior to the status date of August 31, 2017, may
still be subtracted/excluded from the cohort during the calculation of graduation rates.
Completed within 150% of normal time to completion (Column 11) - In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student
Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only those students who received their degree/certificate within 150% of
the normal time for program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a
degree or certificate according to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree/certificate
from another institution.
Enter the number of students who completed programs of less than 2 full-time equivalent academic years within 150% of normal time to
completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of less than one academic year and of at least one but less than two academic
years; or designed for completion in less than 60 semester or trimester credit hours, less than 90 quarter credit hours, or less than 1,800
contact or clock hours. For example, a student who completed a 6-month (or equivalent) program in 9 months or less would be reported in
Column 11; those taking longer would not be reported in this column.
Completed within 100% of normal time to completion (Column 55) - Of those students reported in Column 11 who completed their
program within 150% of normal time to completion, enter the number who completed their program within 100% of normal time. For
example, a student who completed a 6-month (or equivalent) program in 6 months or less would be reported in column 55; those taking
longer would not be reported in this column.
The number of students reported in Column 55 should be a subset of those reported in Column 11.
Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to
enroll in another eligible institution without having completed a program, and your institution has information on students who transferout, report the total number of students who transferred out of your institution (without earning a degree/award) within 150% of normal
time to completion. Include students who transferred out of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled in another eligible institution. If
it is not part of your mission, you may still report transfer-out data if you wish.
Still enrolled (Column 51) - Enter the number of students who are still enrolled at your institution as of the fall census date for the fall
term following 150% of normal time to completion of their program.
Report each student in only one outcome category (i.e., as completing a program, as a transfer-out, as an exclusion, or as still
enrolled) with the exception of those students reported in Column 55, which are a subset of the students reported in Column 11.
No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column represents the difference between the revised cohort (Column 10) and the sum of
Columns 11, 30, 45, and 51.
Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates
Worksheets
A worksheet calculating the Student Right-To-Know and overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for the 2014 student cohort is provided as a convenience to the
institution. Data previously reported by the institution are preloaded for use in these calculations.
Note that certain information from these worksheets will be displayed on College Navigator, as noted. Additional information relevant to
the calcualated rates may be entered in the context box provided on the previous screen, and will aso be displayed on College
Navigator.
Privacy Issue With Disclosure
Before using the worksheets for disclosure, please consider the following:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended (1998) (FERPA) requires that institutions not disclose
information where students could be identified.
Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2014 cohort of first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking students as of 150% of normal time to completion or
August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. Do NOT include part-time students or students who
transferred into your institution.
Count completers only once.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare
students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a
transfer-preparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
For the first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort, data will be collected on those students who were recipients of a Pell Grant
and those students who were recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant.
Recipients are defined as those students receiving and using their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan. These students must receive the
award upon entry into the institution. If the student is a recipient of an award at a later point after entry, they would not be included in
one of the subcohorts.
Number of students in the cohort - The number of students in the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort will be preloaded
from column 10 of the GR form. Of those students, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students
who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these
two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Total exclusions - The number of exclusions in the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort will be preloaded from column 45
of the GR form. Of those students reported as exclusions, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of
students who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The
total of these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Number of students completing within 150% or normal time - The number of students in the full-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking cohort who completed within 150% of normal time to completion will be preloaded from column 11 of the GR form. Of those
students reported as completers, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who received a
subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two
subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Glossary
date: 8/4/2017
Term
Definition
Adjusted cohort
The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for
calculating retention rate; for the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are
calculated; and for the Outcome Measures component, these are the four cohorts (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-firsttime, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time) for which outcomes rates are calculated at 4, 6, and 8 years.
Cohort
A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.
Completers within 150% of
normal time
Students who completed their program within 150% of the normal (or expected) time for completion.
Degree/certificate-seeking
students
Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other formal award. This includes students who:
- received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
- received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate,
or transfer-seeking program; or
- obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution
High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.
Exclusions
Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation Rates, Outcome Measures, and Fall
Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution for one of the following reasons:
death or total and permanent disability; service in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid
service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.
Fall cohort
The group of students entering in the fall term established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component, this includes
all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the fall term of
a given year. For the Outcome Measures component, all degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who enter an institution
during the fall term of a given year must be placed in one of four cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, nonfirst-time; and part-time, non-first-time.
First-time student
(undergraduate)
A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any institution for the first time at the
undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the
fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college
credits or postsecondary formal award earned before graduation from high school).
Full-time student
Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week
each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or
dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the
institution.
Full-year cohort
This is a group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period for tracking and reporting. For Graduation Rate (GR), a
full-year cohort is from September 1 through August 31 and is used primarily offer occupational programs of varying lengths. Students
must be full-time and first-time to be considered in the cohort. For Outcome Measures (OM) component, all degree-granting
institutions report on a full-year cohort from July 1 through June 30. Students are reported once in one of the four OM cohorts: firsttime, full-time; first-time, part-time: non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time.
Graduation rate
The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This rate is calculated as the total number
of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the revised adjusted cohort.
Graduation Rates (GR)
This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150
percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part of the institution's mission. Prior
to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid
and whether they completed within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL where
the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates worksheets that calculate rates, including
average rates over 4 years.
Initial cohort
A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates (GR) and Outcome Measures (OM)
components of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as the enrollment count before removing revisions and exclusions of all
degree/certificate-seeking students who enter in either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2) between September 1st and
August 31st of the following year. For the GR component of IPEDS, the initial cohort is only for full-time, first-time students. For OM, all
undergraduates are placed in one of four initial cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and parttime, non-first time.
Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS)
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), conducted by the NCES, began in 1986 and involves annual institutionlevel data collections. All postsecondary institutions that have a Program Participation Agreement with the Office of Postsecondary
Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education (throughout IPEDS referred to as "Title IV") are required to report data using a webbased data collection system. IPEDS currently consists of the following components: Institutional Characteristics (IC); 12-month
Enrollment (E12);Completions (C); Admissions (ADM); Student Financial Aid (SFA); Human Resources (HR) composed of Employees by
Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries; Fall Enrollment (EF); Graduation Rates (GR); Outcome Measures (OM); Finance (F); and
Academic Libraries (AL).
Normal time to completion
The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution's
catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a
standard term-based institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree
in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.
Revised cohort
Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that incorrect data were reported in an earlier
year.
Student Right-to-Know Act
Also known as the "Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act" (P.L. 101-542), which was passed by Congress November 9, 1990.
Title I, Section 103, requires institutions eligible for Title IV funding to calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or
degree-seeking, full-time students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates to all students and prospective students.
Further, Section 104 requires each institution that participates in any Title IV program and is attended by students receiving athleticallyrelated student aid to submit a report to the Secretary of Education annually. This report is to contain, among other things,
graduation/completion rates of all students as well as students receiving athletically-related student aid by race/ethnicity and gender
and by sport, and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years. These data are also required to be
disclosed to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes when the institution offers athletically-related student aid. The Graduation
Rates component of IPEDS was developed specifically to help institutions respond to these requirements. See Graduation Rates for the
current description of data collected.
Title IV institution
An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV
federal student financial assistance programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the National Early Intervention
Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs).
Transfer-out rate
Total number of students who are known to have transferred out of the reporting institution within 150% of normal time to completion
divided by the adjusted cohort.
Transfer-out student
A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.
Transfer-preparatory program
A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer into a higher level program. For
example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of
undergraduate study needed for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for
entrance into health services fields.
Undergraduate
A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program, an associate's degree program, or a vocational or technical program
below the baccalaureate.
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
2017-18 Survey Materials > FAQ
Graduation Rates for Less than 2-year institutions
Click one of the following questions to view the answer.
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How
do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?
4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
5)
Do I need to track students every term?
Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete the GR survey?
3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a
confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?
6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
6)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificate-seeking student this
fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?
12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled as of
October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs,
students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or students who change programs?
18)
If a student in my cohort obtains two awards (e.g., certificate in cosmetology and certificate in word processing)
within the 150% of normal time for the longest program (cosmetology), can I count both completions?
Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?
4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of normal time students
who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if the student does not receive the degree
until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?
Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do so. Am I
still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act, and am I still responsive to the GR
survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student Right-to-Know
Act?
4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable exclusions) at my
institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
9)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?
10)
My school enrolls students on a monthly basis, so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9
months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time; and which cohort should I use?
11)
Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study, but did not finish
their program?
12)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar
provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?
Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the institution, would
they be counted as part of these subgroups?
3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the institution, do they
have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to be counted as part of these
subgroups?
Answers:
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing
enrollment) basis. How do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
Student Right-to-Know legislation states that institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on
a term basis (semester, quarter, or trimester) must calculate graduation and transfer-out rates using a fall
cohort; otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort used to report your institution's GR data
is predetermined based on your response to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional
date: 8/4/2017
Characteristics Header survey component.
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3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do
anything this year?
Student Right-to-Know legislation states that graduation rates reporting is mandatory for institutions
that enrolled full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the relevant cohort
year. If you did not enroll this type of student, or your institution was not in operation during the relevant cohort
year, please report this information on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component.
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4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means modifying the cohort
data to reflect better information that has become available since the cohort was first reported in the
relevant Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on the
cohort). Fall cohorts may be revised by entering new data in the Revised cohort column on the data collection
screen. Adjusting a cohort means subtracting any allowable exclusions from the revised cohort to establish a
denominator for graduation rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts are adjusted for you on the
worksheet screens when calculating graduation and transfer-out rates.
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5)
Do I need to track students every term?
No. You can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry, and then, at the end of 150% of normal time
to complete all requirements of the longest program, look back to see the status of those in the cohort. You will
need to know when students in the cohort completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track these students
from term-to-term.
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Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student who has no prior postsecondary experience
attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level." This means that the student is first-time
in terms of postsecondary education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary
institution). There are two exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution for the first time the summer
prior to entering your institution in the fall term are to be counted as "first-time", as are (2) students who
entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from high school).
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2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete
the GR survey?
Yes. You must report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions related to disclosure
requirements under Other below for additional information.
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3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for
which I have a confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
You should report the student as a transfer-out. For the purposes of the full-time, first-time cohort used
for IPEDS graduation rates reporting, this action closes out their status in the cohort. Upon re-enrolling at your
institution, the student would then be included in a subsequent, non-first-time cohort not collected through the
IPEDS GR survey.
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4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
The IPEDS GR survey does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE
INCLUDED IN ANY GR COHORT.
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5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental
courses?
These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to a
degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award, and if they are not eligible for Title IV federal financial aid.
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6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking in
the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. If a student is degree/certificate-seeking for the purposes of qualifying for
student financial aid, then they must be included in the GR cohort.
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6)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificateseeking student this fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a
postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they are entering with no credit.
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8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
Neither should be included in the cohort for graduation rates reporting.
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9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they should not
be included in the cohort according to Student Right-to-Know regulations. Be sure to carefully review the
definition of degree/certificate-seeking in the IPEDS Glossary.
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10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
If the student has never enrolled in a postsecondary institution, they should be counted as "first-time."
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11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as
"first-time"?
Since these students must have been previously enrolled in a postsecondary institution in order to obtain credit
through correspondence or distance learning, they are not considered "first-time."
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12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report in the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. For
additional information on this topic, please refer to the IPEDS Data Tip Sheet related to Reporting Students for
Institutions in Consortia.
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14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate
students enrolled as of October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what
happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or
students who change programs?
It looks like your cohort is defined correctly. Remember YOUR COHORT NEVER CHANGES. Students who stop
out or drop out do not leave the cohort. They remain in the count; and if they complete their most recent
program within 150% of normal time they should be reported accordingly. Students who switch to part-time
status or to another program are not given extra time to complete, nor are they removed from the cohort.
Report their status as requested.
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18)
If a student in my cohort obtains two awards (e.g., certificate in cosmetology and certificate in
word processing) within the 150% of normal time for the longest program (cosmetology), can I
count both completions?
No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your
decision as to which one you prefer to report.
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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion". IPEDS has adopted the definition
developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time. As such,
"normal time to completion" is defined as "the amount of time necessary for a student to complete all
requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8
semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree in a standard termbased institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an
associate’s degree in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate
programs." Let’s look at some examples:
Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs (8 semesters – typically fall and spring).
Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would be 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the
sixth year.
Similarly, an associate’s degree program that is advertised as a 2-year program (6 quarters - fall, winter, and
spring, with no scheduled summer quarter) would extend to 9 quarters (1.5 x 6) or through the end of the
spring quarter of the third year.
However, the Technical Amendment to the Student Right-to-Know Act redefined the cohort year to allow you to
count completers through August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third
year of a 2-year program).
Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as
taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the student
completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.
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2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
If a student has switched programs, you will calculate 150% of normal time to completion based on his or her
most recent program for reporting outcomes. However, the student's "clock" does not reset once they switch
programs. He or she must still graduate, transfer, or qualify as an exclusion within 150% of normal time to
completion starting from the date he or she first entered the cohort.
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3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the
program?
There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time calculation should be applied as of the
student's initial start date, and is the same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term
or two and still complete within 150% of normal time.
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4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of
normal time students who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if
the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot
count them as completers?
Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree
upon completion of the program (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted in the student’s record)
and simply allow the student to "pick up" their degree at the December ceremony, then you should be able to
count the student as having completed within 150% of normal time.
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Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
The Student Right-to-Know legislation states that "An institution that determines that its mission includes
providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers-out
so that a transfer-out rate may be calculated for its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students. Students to be reported as transfers are those who have NOT completed a program
or graduated, so they cannot be counted as completers, but have subsequently enrolled in any program of an
eligible institution for which the insititution provided substantial preparation. If the institution does not have such
a mission, reporting of transfers-out is optional.
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2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
None. All verification requirements were dropped from the regulations.
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3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a
system to do so. Am I still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
Act, and am I still responsive to the GR survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
As long as your institution does not include providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another
eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers-out. However, if
your institution does have such a mission, you must be able to track and report on transfers-out. (Applicable
to Graduation Rates and Graduation Rates 200 only; requirements for Outcome Measures are different.
Please review the Outcome Measures requirements separately.)
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Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
Student Right-to-Know Act regulations state that an institution must annually prepare the completion or
graduation rates of its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students; and for
institutions that determine that their mission includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution, the transfer-out rate of these students. In calculating these rates, an institution must
count any students who have completed or graduated by the end of the 12-month period ending August 31
during which 150% of the normal time for completion or graduation from their program has lapsed.
Therefore, at a minimum, you must report and disclose your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31
of the prior year). The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information as warranted to
help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider disclosing additional rates as
well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students typically take
longer to complete.
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2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student
Right-to-Know Act?
NO! NO! and NO! The IPEDS GR survey provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for
calculating graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that
there is some level of consistency in the way the rates are calculated. However, the SRK requires disclosure of
these rates to students and prospective students. In addition, for schools that offer athletically-related student
aid there are additional disclosure and reporting requirements. By completing the GR survey, you will have the
rates you need to disclose, but you still need to make them available. The GR survey statisfies the reporting
requirements ONLY.
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4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable
exclusions) at my institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of students
who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.
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9)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?
This term is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and
qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers
this the equivalent of an associate’s degree, thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they
do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers.
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10)
My school enrolls students on a monthly basis, so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest
program is 9 months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time; and which cohort should I use?
Let's look at this one step at a time. First, schools with programs of less than 4 years are to report on the 2014
cohort. Therefore, you should look at those students who entered your institution between September 1, 2014
and August 31, 2015. Next, assuming the latest possible enrollment date would be August 31, 2015, 150% of 9
months following this date would extend to October 15, 2016 (13 1/2 months later). In order to complete the
IPEDS GR survey, the first status date following this is August 31, 2017 and the report is due during the Winter
2017-18 data collection. So you are on track for reporting this cohort.
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11)
Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study,
but did not finish their program?
No, you may not report these students as completers since they left the institution prior to completing their
program.
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12)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is
there a similar provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are
transferred to another duty station?
No, there is no such provision.
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Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
For the purposes of the GR component, a recipient of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan is a student who
receives and uses that award (i.e., award is partially or fully disbursed) within their first year at the institution.
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2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the
institution, would they be counted as part of these subgroups?
They would only be counted if they received and used their award within their first year at the institution. If
they received and used it at any later time, they would not be part of these subgroups. They would be part of
the calculated row - "Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan".
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3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the
institution, do they have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to
be counted as part of these subgroups?
As long as the student receives and uses their aid within their first year at the institution, they do not have to
continue to be awarded that aid during their time at the institution to be counted as part of these subgroups.
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
date: 8/4/2017
2017-18 Survey Materials > Form
Graduation Rates for less-than-2-year institutions reporting on a full-year cohort (program reporters)
Overview
Graduation Rates Overview
Welcome to the IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) survey component. The GR component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students and tracks their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of study. This information is collected
to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act.
Data Reporting Reminders
Once a student is in the cohort, they remain in the cohort, even if their status changes to part-time or they drop out or transfer out of the institution. However, adjustments
can be made to the cohort for allowable exclusions, which include the death of a student, permanent disability, military deployment, or service on an official church mission
or with a foreign aid service of the Federal government.
When reporting award levels for sub-baccalaureate certificates, determine program length by the number of credit or contact hours, NOT the academic year length in
parentheses. The academic year length is meant only to provide context.
Changes to This Year's Graduation Rates Component:
IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant.
Resources:
The survey materials package for this component can be downloaded using the following link: Survey Materials
If you have questions about completing this survey, please contact the IPEDS Help Desk at 1-877-225-2568.
Graduation rates
Based on your institution's response to the predominant calendar system question (B3) on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component from the IPEDS
Fall 2017 data collection, your institution must report graduation rates data using a:
Full-Year Cohort (September 1, 2014 - August 31, 2015)
A fall cohort is used by institutions with standard academic terms (semester, trimester, quarter, 4-1-4). A full-year cohort is used by institutions offering primarily
occupational/vocational programs and operating on a continuous basis.
In the columns below, indicate the status of the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students reported in Column 10.
The cumulative number of these students who completed their program within 150% of normal time as of August 31, 2017 should be reported in Column 11.
Report transfers-out who did not complete a program in Column 30. If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution WITHOUT having completed a program, you must report transfer-out data in Column 30. A school is required to report only on those students
that the school knows have transferred to another eligible institution. A school must document that the student actually transferred. If it is not part of your mission, you may
report transfer-out data if you wish.
Report eligible exclusions from the cohort in Column 45. The ONLY allowable categories for this column are:
students who died or became permanently disabled
students who left school to serve in the armed forces (or have been called up to active duty)
students who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government
students who left school to serve on an official church mission
Column 52 [No longer enrolled] will be calculated for you. This includes students who dropped out as well as those who completed in greater than 150% of normal
time.
Column 55 [Completers within 100%] is a subset of Column 11 [Completers within 150%]. These data are being requested so they can be preloaded into next year's
Graduation Rates 200% survey component.
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Screen 1 of 2
Cohort year 2014
Adjusted
Initial Revised
Total
cohort
cohort cohort exclusions (Col 10 Col 45)
(Column
10)
Total men + women
Total men + women
prior year
(Column
45)
(Column
50)
Completed within 150% of
normal time to completion
(Column 11)
Of those in Column 11, those who completed
within 100% of normal time to completion
(Column 55)
Total transferStill
out students enrolled
(Column 30)
No
longer
enrolled
(Column (Column
51)
52)
Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
For each subcohort, report the number of students in the cohort, total exclusions for the cohort, and the number of students that completed a certificate or degree within
150% of normal time to completion.
Recipients of a Pell Grant and Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant are mutually exclusive, that is, if a student is in one cohort, they
cannot be in the other cohort.
- The total of these 2 subcohorts must be less than the full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
Screen 2 of 2
Cohort year 2014
Number of students in cohort
Total exclusions
Number of students that
completed within 150% of
normal time to completion
(Column 10)
(Column 45)
(Column 11)
Full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort
Recipients of a Pell Grant (upon entry)
Recipients of a Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry) that did not receive a Pell Grant
Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Direct Subsidized Loan (upon entry)
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2017-18 Survey Materials > Instructions
date: 8/4/2017
Graduation Rates Full Instructions - Less Than 2-Year Institutions
Purpose of the Survey
Changes in Reporting
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
Context Boxes
Coverage
Where to Get Help for Reporting
Where Reported Data Will Appear
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
Reporting Directions
Purpose of the Survey
The purpose of the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey component is to track given cohorts of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students - as well as their completion status at 150% of the normal time to complete all requirements of their program of
study - at postsecondary institutions. These data are collected to assist institutions in complying with the requirements of the Student Rightto-Know Act.
Changes in Reporting
- IPEDS will collect the HEA, as amended, required graduation rate for Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who
did not receive a Pell Grant
General Instructions
Reporting Period Covered
This survey component collects data on the cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled in
your institution either (1) as of October 15, 2014 (or the institution's official fall reporting date) for institutions that offer a predominant
number of programs based on standard academic terms (e.g., semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 4-1-4 plan); or (2) during the period
between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 for institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard
academic terms. Institutions are to report the status of these students as of August 31, 2017.
Context Boxes
Context boxes are provided to allow institutions to provide more information regarding survey component items. Note that some context
boxes are posted on the College Navigator Website, which is the college search tool offered by NCES. NCES will review entries in these
context boxes for applicability and appropriateness before posting them on the College Navigator Website; institutions should check
grammar and spelling of their entries.
Coverage
Who to Include in the Cohort
Include all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution either during the fall term or
during the 12-month period as described above. Include students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the
prior summer term and students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduating from high school).
For institutions that will report using a full-year cohort, count as entering students all those students who entered the institution
between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including one
year in length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Include all students enrolled for credit toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award. Include students enrolled in courses
that are part of a vocational or occupational program, INCLUDING those enrolled in off-campus centers and those enrolled in distance
learning/home study programs.
Be sure to include full-time students taking remedial courses if the student is considered degree-seeking for the purpose of student
financial aid determination. This includes students who:
Received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time
Received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or
transfer-seeking program
Obtained a student visa to enroll at a U.S. postsecondary institution
A student who is designated as a member of the cohort remains in the cohort, even if the student:
Becomes a part-time student
Transfers to another institution
Drops out of the institution
Stops out of the institution
Has not fulfilled the institution's requirements to receive a degree or certificate
Went on a study abroad program the first year upon entering the institution
Who to Exclude from the Cohort
Do NOT include students in the cohort who are:
Enrolled exclusively in courses not creditable toward a formal award or the completion of a vocational program (i.e., nondegree/certificate-seeking students)
Exclusively taking CEUs
Exclusively auditing classes
Enrolled part-time
Transfers into the institution
Foreign students who are only taking coursework at a host institution (e.g., an American institution overseas), if these students are
not enrolled at a U.S. institution
Where to Get Help with Reporting
IPEDS Help Desk
Phone: 1-877-225-2568
Email: ipedshelp@rti.org
Web Tutorials
You can also consult the IPEDS Website Trainings & Outreach page which contains several tutorials on IPEDS data collection, a self-paced
overview of IPEDS tools, and other valuable resources.
IPEDS Resource Page
The IPEDS Website Reporting Tools page contains frequently asked questions, a link to data tip sheets, tutorials, taxonomies, information
centers (e.g., academic libraries, average net price, human resources, race/ethnicity, etc.), and other valuable information.
Where the Reported Data Will Appear
Data collected through IPEDS will be accessible at the institution- and aggregate-levels.
At the institution-level, data will appear in the:
College Navigator Website
IPEDS Data Center
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
College Affordability and Transparency Center Website
At the aggregate-level, data will appear in:
IPEDS First Looks
IPEDS Table Library
IPEDS Data Feedback Reports
The Digest of Education Statistics
The Condition of Education
Uploading Files to the IPEDS Data Collection System
The File Import/Upload option is found under the Tools menu. In order to perform the upload you’ll need to have a file formatted to
specifications. Upload specifications are included with the survey materials found under the Help menu. There are three upload formats
available for the Graduation Rates survey component:
Fixed width file
Key value file
XML format
Reporting Instructions
The method used to report graduation rates data on this survey is predetermined by your institution's response to the predominant calendar
system question (B3) on the IC Header component of the IPEDS Fall 2017 data collection, according to the following rules:
a. Institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (semesters, trimesters, quarters, or 41-4 plan) will report using a fall cohort of students. Institutions may use October 15, 2014 or the institution's official fall reporting
date to determine the cohort. This should be the same reporting date used for the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey.
b. Institutions that do not offer a predominant number of programs based on standard academic terms (as defined above) will report
using a full-year cohort. These institutions must count as entering students all those students who entered the institution between
September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, and who were enrolled for at least 15 days in a program of up to and including one year in
length; or 30 days in a program of greater than one year in length.
Cohort Data
Report the status of the 2014 cohort of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students as of August 31, 2017 in
terms of the number of completers within 150% of normal time to completion for their program, the number of transfer-out students, and
the number of allowable exclusions to the cohort. Report the combined total of men and women.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. Do NOT include part-time students or students who
transferred into your institution.
Initial cohort - If you are reporting on a fall cohort, the information reported on full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate student enrollment at your institution on the 2014 IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey will be preloaded in this column. If you did
not respond to that survey, or if you are reporting on a full-year cohort, the column will be blank.
Revised cohort (Column 10) - Institutions have the option of revising their preloaded cohort if:
there are eligible students who were omitted in the past
students were reported who did not belong in the cohort (e.g., they were not actually first-time, or full-time)
Please review the data in the Initial cohort column (if applicable) and make any necessary corrections for omissions or erroneous
reporting in the Revised cohort column. If your data do not appear in the Initial cohort column, please provide the enrollment data as
requested in the Revised cohort column.
Total exclusions (Column 45) - Indicate the total number of students who left your institution within 150% of normal time to completion
for their program (and have neither graduated nor transferred to another institution) due to one of the following documented reasons:
a. The student is deceased or is totally and permanently disabled and thus unable to return to school.
b. The student left school to serve in the armed forces or was called up to active duty. (Do NOT include students already in the military
who transfer to another duty station.)
c. The student left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government, such as the Peace Corps.
d. The student left school to serve on an official church mission.
NOTE: Students who leave the institution for one of the reasons noted above, but return prior to the status date of August 31, 2017, may
still be subtracted/excluded from the cohort during the calculation of graduation rates.
Completed within 150% of normal time to completion (Column 11) - In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student
Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only those students who received their degree/certificate within 150% of
the normal time for program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a
degree or certificate according to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree/certificate
from another institution.
Enter the number of students who completed programs of less than 2 full-time equivalent academic years within 150% of normal time to
completion. This includes awards, certificates, or diplomas of less than one academic year and of at least one but less than two academic
years; or designed for completion in less than 60 semester or trimester credit hours, less than 90 quarter credit hours, or less than 1,800
contact or clock hours. For example, a student who completed a 6-month (or equivalent) program in 9 months or less would be reported in
Column 11; those taking longer would not be reported in this column.
Completed within 100% of normal time to completion (Column 55) - Of those students reported in Column 11 who completed their
program within 150% of normal time to completion, enter the number who completed their program within 100% of normal time. For
example, a student who completed a 6-month (or equivalent) program in 6 months or less would be reported in column 55; those taking
longer would not be reported in this column.
The number of students reported in Column 55 should be a subset of those reported in Column 11.
Total transfer-out students (Column 30) - If the mission of your institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to
enroll in another eligible institution without having completed a program, and your institution has information on students who transferout, report the total number of students who transferred out of your institution (without earning a degree/award) within 150% of normal
time to completion. Include students who transferred out of your institution and subsequently re-enrolled in another eligible institution. If
it is not part of your mission, you may still report transfer-out data if you wish.
Still enrolled (Column 51) - Enter the number of students who are still enrolled at your institution as of the fall census date for the fall
term following 150% of normal time to completion of their program.
Report each student in only one outcome category (i.e., as completing a program, as a transfer-out, as an exclusion, or as still
enrolled) with the exception of those students reported in Column 55, which are a subset of the students reported in Column 11.
No longer enrolled (Column 52) - This column represents the difference between the revised cohort (Column 10) and the sum of
Columns 11, 30, 45, and 51.
Calculation of Graduation and Transfer-out Rates
Worksheets
A worksheet calculating the Student Right-To-Know and overall four-year average completion/graduation and transfer-out rates of fulltime, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for the 2014 student cohort is provided as a convenience to the
institution. Data previously reported by the institution are preloaded for use in these calculations.
Note that certain information from these worksheets will be displayed on College Navigator, as noted. Additional information relevant to
the calcualated rates may be entered in the context box provided on the previous screen, and will aso be displayed on College
Navigator.
Privacy Issue With Disclosure
Before using the worksheets for disclosure, please consider the following:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended (1998) (FERPA) requires that institutions not disclose
information where students could be identified.
Pell recipients and recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan who did not receive a Pell Grant
Report each student only once.
Report the status of the 2014 cohort of first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking students as of 150% of normal time to completion or
August 31, 2017 (whichever was earlier) in terms of the number of completers.
Report only for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. Do NOT include part-time students or students who
transferred into your institution.
Count completers only once.
SPECIAL NOTE: In order to resolve a potential conflict between transfers-out and the mission of particular programs to prepare
students for transfer to other institutions, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed a
transfer-preparatory program.
Transfer-preparatory program is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and qualifies a student for
admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers this the equivalent of an associate’s degree,
thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers of
an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
Similarly, institutions may count as completers those students who have successfully completed the first three years of a 3-2 program
and are eligible to enter another institution to complete the program (provided the program is acceptable for full credit towards a fiveyear bachelor's degree, and qualifies a student for admission into the fourth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program). As with a
transfer-preparatory program, these students should be counted as completers of an at least 2 but less than 4 year program.
In order to calculate a graduation rate that complies with Student Right-to-Know regulations, institutions may count as completers only
those students who received their degree/certificate (or completed a transfer-preparatory program) within 150% of the normal time for
program completion (normal time to completion is the amount of time necessary to complete all requirements for a program according
to the institution's catalog). Do not count as completers students who receive their degree from another institution.
For the first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort, data will be collected on those students who were recipients of a Pell Grant
and those students who were recipients of a subsidized Direct Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant.
Recipients are defined as those students receiving and using their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan. These students must receive the
award upon entry into the institution. If the student is a recipient of an award at a later point after entry, they would not be included in
one of the subcohorts.
Number of students in the cohort - The number of students in the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort will be preloaded
from column 10 of the GR form. Of those students, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students
who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these
two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Total exclusions - The number of exclusions in the full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking cohort will be preloaded from column 45
of the GR form. Of those students reported as exclusions, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of
students who received a subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The
total of these two subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Number of students completing within 150% or normal time - The number of students in the full-time, first-time degree/certificateseeking cohort who completed within 150% of normal time to completion will be preloaded from column 11 of the GR form. Of those
students reported as completers, report the number of students who received a Pell Grant and the number of students who received a
subsidized Direct Loan but DID NOT receive a Pell Grant. These two categories will be mutually exclusive. The total of these two
subcohorts must be less than or equal to the total of all students.
Glossary
date: 8/4/2017
Term
Definition
Adjusted cohort
The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for
calculating retention rate; for the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are
calculated; and for the Outcome Measures component, these are the four cohorts (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-firsttime, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time) for which outcomes rates are calculated at 4, 6, and 8 years.
Cohort
A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.
Completers within 150% of
normal time
Students who completed their program within 150% of the normal (or expected) time for completion.
Degree/certificate-seeking
students
Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other formal award. This includes students who:
- received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
- received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate,
or transfer-seeking program; or
- obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution
High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.
Exclusions
Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation Rates, Outcome Measures, and Fall
Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution for one of the following reasons:
death or total and permanent disability; service in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid
service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.
Fall cohort
The group of students entering in the fall term established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component, this includes
all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the fall term of
a given year. For the Outcome Measures component, all degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who enter an institution
during the fall term of a given year must be placed in one of four cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, nonfirst-time; and part-time, non-first-time.
First-time student
(undergraduate)
A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any institution for the first time at the
undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the
fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college
credits or postsecondary formal award earned before graduation from high school).
Full-time student
Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week
each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or
dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the
institution.
Full-year cohort
This is a group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period for tracking and reporting. For Graduation Rate (GR), a
full-year cohort is from September 1 through August 31 and is used primarily offer occupational programs of varying lengths. Students
must be full-time and first-time to be considered in the cohort. For Outcome Measures (OM) component, all degree-granting
institutions report on a full-year cohort from July 1 through June 30. Students are reported once in one of the four OM cohorts: firsttime, full-time; first-time, part-time: non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time.
Graduation rate
The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This rate is calculated as the total number
of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the revised adjusted cohort.
Graduation Rates (GR)
This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150
percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part of the institution's mission. Prior
to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid
and whether they completed within 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL where
the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates worksheets that calculate rates, including
average rates over 4 years.
Initial cohort
A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates (GR) and Outcome Measures (OM)
components of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as the enrollment count before removing revisions and exclusions of all
degree/certificate-seeking students who enter in either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2) between September 1st and
August 31st of the following year. For the GR component of IPEDS, the initial cohort is only for full-time, first-time students. For OM, all
undergraduates are placed in one of four initial cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and parttime, non-first time.
Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS)
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), conducted by the NCES, began in 1986 and involves annual institutionlevel data collections. All postsecondary institutions that have a Program Participation Agreement with the Office of Postsecondary
Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education (throughout IPEDS referred to as "Title IV") are required to report data using a webbased data collection system. IPEDS currently consists of the following components: Institutional Characteristics (IC); 12-month
Enrollment (E12);Completions (C); Admissions (ADM); Student Financial Aid (SFA); Human Resources (HR) composed of Employees by
Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries; Fall Enrollment (EF); Graduation Rates (GR); Outcome Measures (OM); Finance (F); and
Academic Libraries (AL).
Normal time to completion
The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution's
catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a
standard term-based institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate's degree
in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.
Revised cohort
Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that incorrect data were reported in an earlier
year.
Student Right-to-Know Act
Also known as the "Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act" (P.L. 101-542), which was passed by Congress November 9, 1990.
Title I, Section 103, requires institutions eligible for Title IV funding to calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or
degree-seeking, full-time students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates to all students and prospective students.
Further, Section 104 requires each institution that participates in any Title IV program and is attended by students receiving athleticallyrelated student aid to submit a report to the Secretary of Education annually. This report is to contain, among other things,
graduation/completion rates of all students as well as students receiving athletically-related student aid by race/ethnicity and gender
and by sport, and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years. These data are also required to be
disclosed to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes when the institution offers athletically-related student aid. The Graduation
Rates component of IPEDS was developed specifically to help institutions respond to these requirements. See Graduation Rates for the
current description of data collected.
Title IV institution
An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV
federal student financial assistance programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the National Early Intervention
Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs).
Transfer-out rate
Total number of students who are known to have transferred out of the reporting institution within 150% of normal time to completion
divided by the adjusted cohort.
Transfer-out student
A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution.
Transfer-preparatory program
A program designed specifically to provide a student with the basic knowledge needed to transfer into a higher level program. For
example, this may be the first 2 years of a baccalaureate level program for which the institution does not offer an award, or 2 years of
undergraduate study needed for entrance into a first-professional program, or 1 or more years of undergraduate study needed for
entrance into health services fields.
Undergraduate
A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program, an associate's degree program, or a vocational or technical program
below the baccalaureate.
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NCES National Center for Education Statistics
2017-18 Survey Materials > FAQ
Graduation Rates for Less than 2-year institutions
Click one of the following questions to view the answer.
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing enrollment) basis. How
do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do anything this year?
4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
5)
Do I need to track students every term?
Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete the GR survey?
3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for which I have a
confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental courses?
6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
6)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificate-seeking student this
fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as "first-time"?
12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled as of
October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what happens to: stop outs, drop outs,
students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or students who change programs?
18)
If a student in my cohort obtains two awards (e.g., certificate in cosmetology and certificate in word processing)
within the 150% of normal time for the longest program (cosmetology), can I count both completions?
Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the program?
4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of normal time students
who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if the student does not receive the degree
until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot count them as completers?
Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a system to do so. Am I
still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know Act, and am I still responsive to the GR
survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student Right-to-Know
Act?
4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable exclusions) at my
institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
9)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?
10)
My school enrolls students on a monthly basis, so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest program is 9
months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time; and which cohort should I use?
11)
Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study, but did not finish
their program?
12)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is there a similar
provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are transferred to another duty station?
Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the institution, would
they be counted as part of these subgroups?
3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the institution, do they
have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to be counted as part of these
subgroups?
Answers:
General
1)
My institution has programs that operate on both a term basis AND a clock hour (continuing
enrollment) basis. How do I choose which cohort to use for Graduation Rates (GR) reporting?
Student Right-to-Know legislation states that institutions that offer a predominant number of programs based on
a term basis (semester, quarter, or trimester) must calculate graduation and transfer-out rates using a fall
cohort; otherwise, you must use a full-year cohort. The cohort used to report your institution's GR data
is predetermined based on your response to the Calendar System question on the IPEDS Institutional
date: 8/4/2017
Characteristics Header survey component.
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3)
My institution does not have any information on the cohort you are requesting. Do I have to do
anything this year?
Student Right-to-Know legislation states that graduation rates reporting is mandatory for institutions
that enrolled full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the relevant cohort
year. If you did not enroll this type of student, or your institution was not in operation during the relevant cohort
year, please report this information on the Institutional Characteristics Header survey component.
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4)
When can I revise or adjust my cohort?
There is a difference between revising and adjusting a cohort. Revising a cohort means modifying the cohort
data to reflect better information that has become available since the cohort was first reported in the
relevant Fall Enrollment survey (e.g., you may now have more complete racial/ethnic information on the
cohort). Fall cohorts may be revised by entering new data in the Revised cohort column on the data collection
screen. Adjusting a cohort means subtracting any allowable exclusions from the revised cohort to establish a
denominator for graduation rate calculation. Both fall and full-year cohorts are adjusted for you on the
worksheet screens when calculating graduation and transfer-out rates.
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5)
Do I need to track students every term?
No. You can set up your system to identify your cohort upon entry, and then, at the end of 150% of normal time
to complete all requirements of the longest program, look back to see the status of those in the cohort. You will
need to know when students in the cohort completed, but it is not necessary to compare or track these students
from term-to-term.
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Cohort
1)
What is a "first-time" student?
According to the IPEDS Glossary, a first-time student is "A student who has no prior postsecondary experience
attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level." This means that the student is first-time
in terms of postsecondary education (or the student is not known to have attended another postsecondary
institution). There are two exceptions: (1) students who attended any institution for the first time the summer
prior to entering your institution in the fall term are to be counted as "first-time", as are (2) students who
entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from high school).
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2)
My institution has a very small cohort, sometimes only 4 or 5 students. Do I need to complete
the GR survey?
Yes. You must report the data to NCES regardless of the cohort size. See the questions related to disclosure
requirements under Other below for additional information.
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3)
How do I count a student who started in my original cohort, transferred to another institution (for
which I have a confirmation of transfer), and then returned to my institution and is still enrolled?
You should report the student as a transfer-out. For the purposes of the full-time, first-time cohort used
for IPEDS graduation rates reporting, this action closes out their status in the cohort. Upon re-enrolling at your
institution, the student would then be included in a subsequent, non-first-time cohort not collected through the
IPEDS GR survey.
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4)
Where do I place transfers INTO my institution?
The IPEDS GR survey does NOT collect information on transfers in. THESE STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE
INCLUDED IN ANY GR COHORT.
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5)
How do I report students who are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) or developmental
courses?
These students are not included in the cohort if their courses are not part of a program of study that leads to a
degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award, and if they are not eligible for Title IV federal financial aid.
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6)
Are students in remedial courses included in the cohort?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report as degree/certificate-seeking in
the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. If a student is degree/certificate-seeking for the purposes of qualifying for
student financial aid, then they must be included in the GR cohort.
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6)
If a student took only remedial courses last year and applies as a full-time degree/certificateseeking student this fall, can I count the student as "first-time"?
No. The student does not qualify as "first-time" because they are known to have previously attended a
postsecondary institution (yours or another school) even though they are entering with no credit.
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8)
What about non-credit enrollment, or students taking CEUs?
Neither should be included in the cohort for graduation rates reporting.
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9)
Are non-degree/certificate-seekers included?
Even though these students are enrolled for credit, if they are not seeking a degree/certificate, they should not
be included in the cohort according to Student Right-to-Know regulations. Be sure to carefully review the
definition of degree/certificate-seeking in the IPEDS Glossary.
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10)
How do I treat new entrants that receive credit for life experience?
If the student has never enrolled in a postsecondary institution, they should be counted as "first-time."
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11)
Do I count students who have acquired credits through distance learning or correspondence as
"first-time"?
Since these students must have been previously enrolled in a postsecondary institution in order to obtain credit
through correspondence or distance learning, they are not considered "first-time."
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12)
How do I report students studying in consortium agreements?
Use the same reasoning here that you use to determine who to report in the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. For
additional information on this topic, please refer to the IPEDS Data Tip Sheet related to Reporting Students for
Institutions in Consortia.
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14)
My initial cohort includes all full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate
students enrolled as of October 15 - the same as on my IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey. Now what
happens to: stop outs, drop outs, students who enroll part-time after the first semester, or
students who change programs?
It looks like your cohort is defined correctly. Remember YOUR COHORT NEVER CHANGES. Students who stop
out or drop out do not leave the cohort. They remain in the count; and if they complete their most recent
program within 150% of normal time they should be reported accordingly. Students who switch to part-time
status or to another program are not given extra time to complete, nor are they removed from the cohort.
Report their status as requested.
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18)
If a student in my cohort obtains two awards (e.g., certificate in cosmetology and certificate in
word processing) within the 150% of normal time for the longest program (cosmetology), can I
count both completions?
No, you may only count one. NCES recommends that you report the highest degree attained, but it is your
decision as to which one you prefer to report.
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Normal Time and Calculation of 150% of Normal Time
1)
How do I calculate 150% of normal time to completion?
In order to calculate this, we must first define "normal time to completion". IPEDS has adopted the definition
developed by the Joint Commission on Accountability Reporting (JCAR) as a definition of normal time. As such,
"normal time to completion" is defined as "the amount of time necessary for a student to complete all
requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution’s catalog. This is typically 4 years (8
semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor’s degree in a standard termbased institution; 2 years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an
associate’s degree in a standard term-based institution; and the various scheduled times for certificate
programs." Let’s look at some examples:
Many bachelor’s degree programs are outlined as 4-year programs (8 semesters – typically fall and spring).
Extending this to 150% (1.5 x 8) would be 12 semesters or through the end of the spring term of the
sixth year.
Similarly, an associate’s degree program that is advertised as a 2-year program (6 quarters - fall, winter, and
spring, with no scheduled summer quarter) would extend to 9 quarters (1.5 x 6) or through the end of the
spring quarter of the third year.
However, the Technical Amendment to the Student Right-to-Know Act redefined the cohort year to allow you to
count completers through August 31 of the summer following the sixth year of a 4-year program (or the third
year of a 2-year program).
Certificate programs must be handled somewhat differently. If a 900 contact hour course is advertised as
taking 30 weeks to complete, the calculation of 1.5 x 30 equals 45 weeks after the start date. If the student
completes within that 45-week period, they are within 150% of normal time.
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2)
How do I report a student who has switched programs since entering the cohort?
If a student has switched programs, you will calculate 150% of normal time to completion based on his or her
most recent program for reporting outcomes. However, the student's "clock" does not reset once they switch
programs. He or she must still graduate, transfer, or qualify as an exclusion within 150% of normal time to
completion starting from the date he or she first entered the cohort.
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3)
How do I calculate 150% for students who stop out, or drop out, and then return and complete the
program?
There is no difference in the calculation. The 150% of normal time calculation should be applied as of the
student's initial start date, and is the same regardless of stop-out time. Some students may stop out for a term
or two and still complete within 150% of normal time.
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4)
According to the Technical Amendment to the SRK, I can count as completers within 150% of
normal time students who complete their program through August 31 of the 6th year; but what if
the student does not receive the degree until our December graduation? Does this mean I cannot
count them as completers?
Technically you cannot count the completion until the degree has been conferred. If you "award" the degree
upon completion of the program (i.e., an award date of, or prior to, August 31 is noted in the student’s record)
and simply allow the student to "pick up" their degree at the December ceremony, then you should be able to
count the student as having completed within 150% of normal time.
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Transfers-Out
1)
Does my institution need to report transfers-out?
The Student Right-to-Know legislation states that "An institution that determines that its mission includes
providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution" must report transfers-out
so that a transfer-out rate may be calculated for its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking
undergraduate students. Students to be reported as transfers are those who have NOT completed a program
or graduated, so they cannot be counted as completers, but have subsequently enrolled in any program of an
eligible institution for which the insititution provided substantial preparation. If the institution does not have such
a mission, reporting of transfers-out is optional.
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2)
What kind of verification must I have to report a student as a transfer-out?
None. All verification requirements were dropped from the regulations.
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3)
My school does not track transfers-out, and our limited budget does not allow us to set up a
system to do so. Am I still in compliance with the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
Act, and am I still responsive to the GR survey, if I don’t report transfers-out?
As long as your institution does not include providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another
eligible institution as part of its mission, you do not need to set up a system to track transfers-out. However, if
your institution does have such a mission, you must be able to track and report on transfers-out. (Applicable
to Graduation Rates and Graduation Rates 200 only; requirements for Outcome Measures are different.
Please review the Outcome Measures requirements separately.)
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Other
1)
Exactly what must be disclosed in order to be in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act?
Student Right-to-Know Act regulations state that an institution must annually prepare the completion or
graduation rates of its full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students; and for
institutions that determine that their mission includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in
another eligible institution, the transfer-out rate of these students. In calculating these rates, an institution must
count any students who have completed or graduated by the end of the 12-month period ending August 31
during which 150% of the normal time for completion or graduation from their program has lapsed.
Therefore, at a minimum, you must report and disclose your graduation and transfer-out rates (as of August 31
of the prior year). The Secretary urges institutions to disclose as much additional information as warranted to
help consumers understand institutional mission, etc. Thus you should consider disclosing additional rates as
well, such as rates for part-time students and possibly rates 8 or 10 years out, if your students typically take
longer to complete.
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2)
Will completing the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey satisfy all of my requirements for the Student
Right-to-Know Act?
NO! NO! and NO! The IPEDS GR survey provides institutions with instructions, definitions, and a format for
calculating graduation rates and transfer-out rates. It also provides institutions with a methodology so that
there is some level of consistency in the way the rates are calculated. However, the SRK requires disclosure of
these rates to students and prospective students. In addition, for schools that offer athletically-related student
aid there are additional disclosure and reporting requirements. By completing the GR survey, you will have the
rates you need to disclose, but you still need to make them available. The GR survey statisfies the reporting
requirements ONLY.
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4)
The number of students who could be considered for the adjustments to the cohort (allowable
exclusions) at my institution is very small. Do I need to track these "leavers"?
No. The allowable exclusions are provided for those institutions that may have a significant number of students
who require longer to (or cannot) complete their programs for the reasons stated.
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9)
What is a "transfer-preparatory program"?
This term is defined in 34 CFR Student Assistance General Provisions, Section 668.8(b)(1)(ii) as "the successful
completion of at least a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree and
qualifies a student for admission into the third year of a bachelor’s degree program." The Secretary considers
this the equivalent of an associate’s degree, thus completers of transfer-preparatory programs (although they
do not receive a "formal award") should be counted as completers.
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10)
My school enrolls students on a monthly basis, so we will be using a full-year cohort. If my longest
program is 9 months, how do I calculate 150% of normal time; and which cohort should I use?
Let's look at this one step at a time. First, schools with programs of less than 4 years are to report on the 2014
cohort. Therefore, you should look at those students who entered your institution between September 1, 2014
and August 31, 2015. Next, assuming the latest possible enrollment date would be August 31, 2015, 150% of 9
months following this date would extend to October 15, 2016 (13 1/2 months later). In order to complete the
IPEDS GR survey, the first status date following this is August 31, 2017 and the report is due during the Winter
2017-18 data collection. So you are on track for reporting this cohort.
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11)
Can I report students as completers if they left the institution to get a job in their field of study,
but did not finish their program?
No, you may not report these students as completers since they left the institution prior to completing their
program.
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12)
There is a provision for excluding students who leave the institution to join the Armed Forces. Is
there a similar provision for excluding students who are already in the military but are
transferred to another duty station?
No, there is no such provision.
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Pell Grants/Subsidized Direct Loans
1)
Who is considered a "recipient" of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan?
For the purposes of the GR component, a recipient of a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan is a student who
receives and uses that award (i.e., award is partially or fully disbursed) within their first year at the institution.
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2)
If a student received their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan after their initial entry into the
institution, would they be counted as part of these subgroups?
They would only be counted if they received and used their award within their first year at the institution. If
they received and used it at any later time, they would not be part of these subgroups. They would be part of
the calculated row - "Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan".
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3)
If a student receives and uses their Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct Loan upon entry into the
institution, do they have to continue to receive this aid throughout their time at the institution to
be counted as part of these subgroups?
As long as the student receives and uses their aid within their first year at the institution, they do not have to
continue to be awarded that aid during their time at the institution to be counted as part of these subgroups.
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| File Type | application/pdf |
| Author | Lawley, Tara |
| File Modified | 2017-08-18 |
| File Created | 2017-08-18 |