Proposed Changes

The proposed changes to the Institutional Characteristics (IC)/Identification (ID) survey component are minor structural changes for improved alignment of data collection and data quality. This includes removing the cost of attendance (COA) and tuition elements to the new Cost (CST) survey component, combining IC elements with IC Header elements, and moving some screening questions to the impacted surveys. These changes are made based on NCES QC review and input from data reporters.

2024-25

Removal of Cost of Attendance (COA) and Tuition Elements. The COA and tuition elements are moved to the new CST survey component. This survey component will open in the Fall to allow COA data to be reported and then updated on College Navigator. The component will reopen in the Winter to collect selected information on financial aid awards to calculate an institutional Average Net Price (ANP), at which time COA data elements can be updated or corrected. This will minimize the challenges related to making changes in different survey components (IC and SFA) to calculate the ANP.

Combined IC and IC Header Elements. The remaining IC elements are combined with the IC Header elements to create the IC survey component that collects institutional directory information, including institution name, address, telephone number, control or affiliation, calendar system, levels of degrees and awards offered, types of programs, students services, athletic association, and accreditation. This survey component will need to be completed prior to the completion of the other fall survey components.

Dual Enrollment Screening Question. The screening question to indicate whether the institution enrolled high school students in college courses for credit during the 12-month reporting period has been moved to the 12-month Enrollment (E12) survey component. The change is made to better align the timing of this screening question to the reporting of the enrollment counts. This change was promoted by feedback from the IPEDS Help Desk and the IPEDS data reporters that separating the screening question and enrollment count reporting on two different survey components led to confusion and timing misalignment.

2025-26

Admissions Screening Question. The screening question on the Open Admissions is moved to the Admissions survey component to better align the timing of this screening question to the reporting of the Admissions (ADM) data elements and allow for additional data elements for institutions with the open admission policy.

Academic Libraries Expenses Screening Question. The screening question on the Academic Libraries expenses is removed to reflect the retirement of the Academic Libraries survey component.

Table 1. Proposed changes to the Institutional Characteristics survey component (includes Institutional Identification)
Change	Implementation year	Source	Estimated burden
Removal of the Cost of Attendance and Tuition elements to the new Cost (CST) survey component. Part C - Student Charges has been removed.	2024-25	NCES-initiated based on QC review; Survey alignment	Decrease for IC
Combined remaining of IC elements with IC Header elements All parts from IC Header Parts A, B, and D from IC	2024-25	NCES-initiated based on QC review; Survey alignment	None
Move of Dual Enrollment screening question from IC to E12	2024-25	NCES-initiated based on QC review; Survey alignment	Improvement
Move of Admissions screening question from IC to ADM	2025-26	NCES-initiated based on QC review; Survey alignment	Improvement
Removal of Academic Libraries Expenses screening question from IC	2025-26	NCES-initiated based on QC review; Retirement of Academic Libraries survey component	Improvement

A2. Completions

The proposed change to the Completions survey component for the 2024-25 is minor revision to the Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories screen and instructions.

Gender Question. The Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories screen and instructions are revised to improve clarity. This change was prompted by feedback from the IPEDS Help Desk and the IPEDS data reporters. It includes a clarification on the purpose of this section and the reporting period.

Table 2. Proposed changes to the Completions survey component

Change

Implementation year

Source

Estimated burden

Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories

The purpose of this supplemental section is to determine whether institutions are able to report the number of students for whom gender is unknown and the number of students for whom gender does not align with the ‘Men’ and ‘Women’ categories. Note that these students must still be allocated into the ‘Men’ and ‘Women’ categories in all other sections of the survey component.
Institutions should not ask students that do not select a binary gender to allocate themselves to a binary gender category; it is up to the institution to allocate unknown students and students that indicate another gender into the binary categories throughout the forms where required. One method commonly used by institutions is to allocate these students to the binary categories required in other parts of the form using the proportion of men to women reported.
The ‘gender unknown’ category is to report students for whom the institution does not know a gender.

Is your institution able to report another gender for the July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 reporting period ~~2024-25 data collection~~? If you indicate ‘No, my institution is not able to report ~~does not collect data on~~ another gender,’ leave the cells in the rows for ‘Another gender’ blank (i.e., do not report 0). If you indicate ‘No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students,’ your institution collects data on another gender, but some cells have a value of less than 5 students, do not report the data and leave the cells in the rows for ‘Another gender’ blank. If you indicate ‘Yes’, but no students identified as another gender, please enter ‘0’.

Undergraduate students:

RB	No, my institution is not able to report another gender (do not report) ~~Yes~~
RB	No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students (do not report)
RB	Yes ~~No, my institution does not collect data on another gender~~

Graduate students:

RB	No, my institution is not able to report another gender (do not report) ~~Yes~~
RB	No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students (do not report)
RB	Yes ~~No, my institution does not collect data on another gender~~

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

None/

Improvement

A3. 12-month Enrollment

The proposed changes to the 12-month enrollment (E12) survey component for 2024-25 are minor. The changes are made based on NCES QC review and input from data reporters.

Screening Question. The screening question is added to indicate whether the institution enrolled high school students in college courses for credit during the 12-month reporting period. This screening question originally appeared on the Institutional Characteristics (IC) survey component when first added in the 2023-24 data collection. This item was moved to the E12 component in the 2024-25 data collection to better align the timing of this screening question to the reporting of the enrollment counts. This change was prompted by feedback from the IPEDS Help Desk and the IPEDS data reporters that separating the screening question and enrollment count reporting on two different survey components led to confusion and timing misalignment.

New FAQ. FAQ has been added to better clarify the relationship between ‘transfer-in’ enrollment status on the Fall Enrollment (EF) and 12-month Enrollment (E12) survey components and the ‘non-first-time’ cohort on the Outcome Measures (OM) survey component. This change was prompted by feedback from the Technical Review Panel #69, IPEDS data reporters, and data users that the IPEDS survey materials conflated the concepts of “transfer-in” and “non-first-time,” which led to misunderstanding in interpretation. This change will clearly separate these two concepts in IPEDS survey materials to improve clarity and understanding of these terms.

Removed ‘Non-first-time.’ Removed mention of “non-first-time” on survey screens and instructions when discussing “transfer-in” student enrollment status to clarify the distinction between these two terms. This change was prompted by feedback from the IPEDS data reporters and data users that IPEDS survey materials conflated the concepts of “transfer-in” and “non-first-time,” which led to misunderstanding in interpretation. This change will clearly separate these two concepts in the IPEDS survey materials to improve clarity and understanding of these terms.

Table 3. Proposed changes to the 12-month enrollment survey component

Change

Implementation year

Source

Estimated burden

Screening Question

Enrolled High School Students

2. Did your institution enroll high school students in college courses for credit during the 12-month Enrollment (E12) reporting period of July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024?

If you answer Yes to this question, you will ~~be able to~~ report the unduplicated count of high school students enrolled in college courses for credit on Part C of the ~~12-month Enrollment (~~E12) survey component ~~during the Fall collection~~.

RB	No
RB	Yes
		CB	Within a dual enrollment program
		CB	Outside a dual enrollment program

Note: Within a dual enrollment program is defined as within an organized system with special guidelines that allows high school

students to take college-level courses. The guidelines might have to do with entrance or eligibility requirements, funding, limits

on course taking, etc.

Outside a dual enrollment program is defined as high school students who simply enroll in credit courses through your

institution, and are treated as regularly enrolled college students.

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

Improvement

New FAQ

What is the relationship between “transfer-in” enrollment status on the Fall Enrollment (EF) and 12-month Enrollment (E12) components and the non-first-time cohort on the Outcome Measures (OM) component?

The count of transfer-in enrollment collected on the EF and E12 components includes the subset of undergraduate students who are 1) degree/certificate-seeking, 2) new to the IPEDS reporting institution (i.e., entering) during the relevant reporting period (e.g., fall term, 12-month reporting period) and 3) were previously enrolled at a different postsecondary institution (not as a high school student). Note that for IPEDS reporting purposes, current high school students enrolled in college courses for credit are reported as non-degree/non-certificate-seeking and therefore are not eligible to be classified as transfer-in students.

The non-first-time cohort on the OM component includes transfer-in students. However, non-first-time students also include students who are not new to the IPEDS reporting institution because they first entered the institution as non-degree/non-certificate-seeking (not as a high school student), but then changed their status to degree/certificate-seeking.

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review & TRP #69

None

Removed ‘Non-first-time’

Removed mention of ‘Non-first-time’ on the survey screens and instructions.

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

None

Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories

The purpose of this supplemental section is to determine whether institutions are able to report the number of students for whom gender is unknown and the number of students for whom gender does not align with the ‘Men’ and ‘Women’ categories. Note that these students must still be allocated into the ‘Men’ and ‘Women’ categories in all other sections of the survey component.
Institutions should not ask students that do not select a binary gender to allocate themselves to a binary gender category; it is up to the institution to allocate unknown students and students that indicate another gender into the binary categories throughout the forms where required. One method commonly used by institutions is to allocate these students to the binary categories required in other parts of the form using the proportion of men to women reported.
The ‘gender unknown’ category is to report students for whom the institution does not know a gender.

Undergraduate students:

RB	No, my institution is not able to report another gender (do not report) ~~Yes~~
RB	No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students (do not report)
RB	Yes ~~No, my institution does not collect data on another gender~~

Graduate students:

RB	No, my institution is not able to report another gender (do not report) ~~Yes~~
RB	No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students (do not report)
RB	Yes ~~No, my institution does not collect data on another gender~~

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

None/

Improvement

A4. Cost

The Cost (CST) survey component is the new survey component encompassing the elements needed to calculate net price and other tuition and fee questions. This change is based on the NCES QC review and the feedback from NPEC research.

Combined IC and SFA Elements. The data elements are moved from IC and SFA survey components to the new CST survey component. This new survey component will open in the Fall to allow Cost of Attendance (COA) data to be updated on College Navigator. The component will reopen in the Winter to collect selected information on financial aid awards to calculate an institutional Average Net Price (ANP), at which time COA data elements can be updated or corrected.

Student Financial Information. Two questions will be added to determine and make publicly available the information on whether postsecondary institutions ask for other financial information not on the FAFSA form and whether they collect asset data even when students qualify for having their assets exempted from the federal need analysis as this information required by the FAFSA Simplification Act.

Table 4. Proposed changes to the Cost survey component

Change

Implementation year

Source

Estimated burden

This survey component combines parts of IC and SFA. To create this new survey component, the following parts from IC and SFA were moved to CST:

IC: Part C – Student Charges
SFA (all from Section 1): Part C page 1, Cost of Attendance, Part D, Part E, Part F, Part G

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review; Survey alignment; Technical Review Panel #61, NPEC research

Decreased burden through better alignment

Screening Questions

9. For the purposes of awarding institutional financial aid, does your institution require asset information from students who qualify for the exemption from asset reporting on the FAFSA form?

RB	No
RB	Yes

10. For the purpose of awarding institutional financial aid, does your institution require additional financial information separate from the FAFSA form?

RB	No
RB	Yes (please include a website link to where your institution’s website explains what additional financial information is required.
	Link:

2024-25

The FAFSA Simplification Act

Minimal

Winter Collection

A5. Student Financial Aid

The proposed changes to the Student Financial Aid (SFA) survey component for 2024-25 include the removal of all cost of attendance and net price elements (moved to new survey component – the Cost survey component) and other minor changes that are the results of NCES QC review. The proposed changes are based, in part, on U.S. Department of Education guidance and clarifications and changes in industry practices since 2008. They are also based on National Education Postsecondary Cooperative (NPEC) research papers, Technical Review Panel (TRP) recommendations and feedback; IPEDS Help Desk feedback and suggestions; and NCES’ internal testing and quality control processes spanning the same time period.

Other notable changes include the clarification and distinction of federal, state and local pass-through funds from institutional and private funds for IPEDS reporting purposes; clarification on when and where to report private education loans.

The proposed changes to the SFA for 2025-26 are based on National Education Postsecondary Cooperative (NPEC) research papers and Technical Review Panel (TRP) recommendations and IPEDS internal discussions on improving the collection burden and the usability of IPEDS data. In addition, the changes will provide better information for students in categories other than full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students. NCES will collect the same award types in Section 1 for each of the existing student categories (all undergraduates, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, non-degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, and full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates). To accomplish this, the proposed changes include the combination of aid types collected previously for all undergraduate, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate, and non-degree/non-certificate-seeking undergraduate students with the aid types collected for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates. This will increase the number of major financial aid program/program groups previously reported in Section 1 for these student categories but will result in net reduction in reporting burden over the next two data collections since institutions will no longer need to pull different data for each student category. This will also improve data integrity and comparability since NCES calculated values will be based on the same methodology for each institution type.

Other notable changes include the clarification of the Post-9/11 VA and Department of Defense benefit amounts reported in Section 2 of the SFA Survey and other minor grammatical edits. Finally, Section 1 of SFA Survey Form is simplified and the detailed instructions are condensed since the same data elements are collected for all categories and of undergraduate students.

2024-25

Removal of Cost of Attendance and Average Net Price Data Elements. The Cost of Attendance (COA) and Average Net Price (ANP) elements are moved to the new Cost (CST) survey component. This survey component will open in the Fall to allow COA data to be reported and then updated on College Navigator. The component will reopen in the Winter to collected selected information on financial aid awards to calculate an institutional ANP, at which time COA data elements can be updated or corrected.

Participation in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Post-9/11 GI Bill or U.S. Department of Defense Military Tuition Assistance Benefit Programs Screening Question. Applied the screening question and context box from Section 2 to all institutions.

Inclusion of Private Education Loans. Clarified that loans to students reported in Section 1, Part C, Line 7 include private education loans.

Enrollment Counts. Clarified Fall Enrollment (EF) student counts are carried forward and used to calculate average aid amounts and percentages for academic reporters whereas 12-Month Enrollment (E12) student counts are carried forward and used to calculate average aid amount and percentages for program reporters throughout the survey.

Other minor changes. Review the attached survey forms for other minor changes meant to clarify screens, instructions, and FAQs.

2025-26

Categories of Undergraduate Students. Changed Section 1 of the SFA Survey to the collect the same student counts and aid amounts for all of the existing categories of undergraduate students.

IASG awards. Instruct institutions to include Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG) awards in Federal Pell Grant student counts and award amounts reported to IPEDS due to a change mandated under the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources (FUTURE) Act.

Instructions in Section 2. Clarified institutions should report Department of Veteran Affair’s Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition and fee, books and supplies, and housing benefits disbursed known to the institution in Section 2 of the SFA Survey.

Table 5. Proposed changes to the Student Financial Aid survey component

Change

Implementation year

Source

Estimated burden

Removed all Cost of Attendance and Average Net Price data elements to new survey. This includes the following in Section 1:

Part C page 1, Cost of Attendance, Part D, Part E, Part F, Part G

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review; Survey alignment; Technical Review Panel #61, NPEC research

Decreased burden on SFA

Applied the screening question and context box from Section 2 to all institutions

Section 2 – Military Servicemembers’ and Veterans’ Benefits - Undergraduate and Graduate Students [Applicable to all institutions]

Section 2: Screening Question

1. Did your institution participate in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Post-9/11 GI Bill or U.S. Department of Defense Military Tuition Assistance benefit programs during the 2023-24 award period? (You are required to complete Section 2 of the SFA Survey if you answer “Yes” to this screening question.)
Radio button option	No
Radio button option	Yes, please check programs all available to students at your institution.
	Checkbox option	U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Post-9/11 GI Bill
	Checkbox option	U.S. Department of Defense Military Tuition Assistance

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

Minimal

Clarified that loans to students reported in Section 1, Part C, Line 7 include private education loans. Loans to students. This aid type is disaggregated into two program groups—Federal loans to students and Other loans to students (including private loans). Report loans awarded to and accepted by the student. Include money borrowed by the student from the federal government that must be repaid. Include all Title IV federal student loan programs. Include all institutionally sponsored short-term and long-term education loans to students made by the institution or its Schools, Colleges, or student organizations.	2024-25	NCES-initiated based on QC review	None/ Improvement
Changed Section 1 of the SFA Survey to the collect the same student counts and aid amounts for categories of undergraduate students (all undergraduates, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, non-degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates, and full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates). The following aid types, which were combined from previous collections, will be reported for these categories: Grant or scholarship aid from the federal government, state/local government, the institution, and other sources known to the institution (Do NOT include student loans) Grants or scholarships from the federal government, state/local government, or the institution (Do NOT include student loans) Grant or scholarship aid from other sources known to the institution (Do NOT include student loans) Federal grant and scholarship aid Federal Pell Grants Other federal grant and scholarship aid State/local government grant or scholarship aid (includes fellowships, waivers, and employee exemptions) Institutional grant or scholarship aid (includes fellowships, waivers, and employee exemptions) Loans to students Federal loans to students Other loans to students (including private loans)	2025-26	NCES-initiated based on QC review	Moderate, long term decrease due to simplified and consistent reporting
Clarified instructions for institutions to include Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG) awards in Federal Pell Grant student counts and award amounts reported to IPEDS due to a change mandated under the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources (FUTURE) Act.	2025-26	NCES-initiated based on review of legislation	Moderate
Clarification. Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits: A federal education benefit for veterans, who served on active duty after September 10, 2001, administered by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs that provides up to 36 months of education benefits at an approved institution for tuition and fees; books and supplies; and housing. The tuition and fees payment, which is the cost for an in-state student attending a public institution, is made directly to the postsecondary institution whereas payments for books and supplies and housing are sent directly to the student. Some benefits may be transferred to dependents. Do not include Yellow Ribbon Program institutional match.	2025-26	NCES-initiated based on QC review	None
Revised FAQ. Should Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, or IASG funded under the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act be reported to IPEDS? Yes, IASG should be reported to IPEDS as federal grants, not scholarships. Beginning with the 2025-26 IPEDS data collection, IASG awarded should be included in Federal Pell Grant student counts and award amounts reported to IPEDS. Even though the grants are awarded, in part, based on Federal Pell Grant methodology, the U.S. Department of Education does not consider these amounts to be Federal Pell Grants prior to the 2024-25 award year. As such, IASG awards should be ~~excluded~~ ~~from Federal Pell Grant student counts and award amounts reported to IPEDS~~	2025-26	NCES-initiated based on review of legislation	Moderate

A6. Outcome Measures

The proposed changes to the Outcome Measures (OM) survey component are minor and are the results of NCES QC review and the Technical Review Panel (TRP) #69. The changes include clarification to instruction on including students who change from non-degree/non-certificate-seeking to degree/certificate-seeking at the IPEDS reporting institution, as well as a new and several revised FAQs.

Instructions Clarification. Clarified instructions about including students who change from non-degree/non-certificate-seeking to degree/certificate-seeking at the IPEDS reporting institution. This change is added to clarify that the term “entering” does not just apply to students who are new to the reporting institution (i.e., students who change their degree/certificate-seeking status are included despite having already attended the reporting institution).

New FAQ. Added a new FAQ to better clarify the relationship between “transfer-in” enrollment status on the Fall Enrollment (EF) and 12-month Enrollment (E12) components and the “non-first-time” cohort on the Outcome Measures (OM) component.

Revised FAQs. Revised FAQ about “non-first-time” degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in response to recommendations from Technical Review Panel #69 to further clarify how non-first-time students should be reported in IPEDS. Added a new example to FAQ about students who change from non-degree/non-certificate-seeking to degree/certificate-seeking at the IPEDS reporting institution in response to recommendations from Technical Review Panel #69 to further clarify how non-first-time students should be reported in IPEDS. Finally, added additional information to FAQ about resources for tracking subsequent enrollment based on the IPEDS Help Desk recommendations for OM.

Other. Other minor changes include a changed of the term “Attendance level” to “Cohort status” in the instructions to improve clarity and consistency with terminology used in IPEDS publications and data tools.

Cross-cutting. NCES is making some other minor cross-cutting edits. Cross-cutting changes are described in the cross-cutting table.

Table 6. Proposed changes to the Outcome Measures survey component
Change	Implementation year	Source	Estimated burden
Instruction Clarification Who to Include in the Cohorts All degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students entering the institution (during the 12-month period as described in the "Reporting Period Covered" section above) should be reported in one of the subcohorts. All degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates should be reported in one of the subcohorts in the 12-month reporting period they become degree/certificate-seeking. This typically aligns to when students enter the IPEDS reporting institution. However, students who begin at the IPEDS reporting institution as non-degree/non-certificate-seeking and change to degree/certificate-seeking during the 12-month reporting period should also be included in the relevant OM cohort. All institutions will report using a full-year cohort, which counts all students who entered the institution between July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2017 (i.e., the coverage cohort year). For academic reporting institutions, report students who were enrolled through the term's Census Date for enrollment purposes. For program/hybrid reporting institutions, report students 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.	2024-25	NCES-initiated based on QC review and TRP #69	None
New FAQ What is the relationship between “transfer-in” enrollment status on the Fall Enrollment (EF) and 12-month Enrollment (E12) components and the non-first-time cohort on the Outcome Measures (OM) component? The count of transfer-in enrollment collected on the EF and E12 components includes the subset of undergraduate students who are 1) degree/certificate-seeking, 2) new to the IPEDS reporting institution (i.e., entering) during the relevant reporting period (e.g., fall term, 12-month reporting period) and 3) were previously enrolled at a different postsecondary institution (not as a high school student). Note that for IPEDS reporting purposes, current high school students enrolled in college courses for credit are reported as non-degree/non-certificate-seeking and therefore are not eligible to be classified as transfer-in students. The non-first-time cohort on the OM component includes transfer-in students. However, non-first-time students also include students who are not new to the IPEDS reporting institution because they first entered the institution as non-degree/non-certificate-seeking (not as a high school student), but then changed their status to degree/certificate-seeking.	2024-25	NCES-initiated based on QC review and TRP #69	None/ Improvement

Revised FAQs

What is a “non-first-time” degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate student?

A non-first-time degree/certificate undergraduate student has previously enrolled at a postsecondary institution (not as a high school student) before enrolling at the IPEDS reporting institution as a degree/certificate-seeking student. This student cohort includes entering transfer-in students and students who entered the institution as non-degree/non-certificate-seeking (not as a high school student) but became degree/certificate-seeking during the OM cohort reporting period. is new to your institution but has prior postsecondary experience. This term will most likely refer to students who transferred-in during the entry year of the cohort. Transfer-in students may enter with or without credit.

17. How do I report students who change from non-degree/non-certificate-seeking to degree/certificate-seeking at my institution?

Students’ statuses for OM reporting purposes are determined in their first full term as a degree/certificate-seeking student. For example:

A student who began as non-degree/non-certificate-seeking in fall 2016 (not as a high school student) and became degree/certificate-seeking in spring 2017 would be included in the 2016-17 OM cohort as a non-first-time entering student.
A student who began as non-degree/non-certificate-seeking in fall 2012 (not as a high school student), stops out for four years, and ultimately re-enrolls in fall 2016 as degree/certificate-seeking would be included in the 2016-17 OM cohort as a non-first-time entering student.
A student who began as non-degree/non-certificate-seeking between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016 (not as a high school student), and became degree/certificate-seeking after July 1, 2016 would not be included in the 2016-17 OM cohort. This student should be reported in the OM cohort year in which they became degree/certificate-seeking as a non-first-time entering student.

Note: ~~These instructions do not apply to~~ ~~dual enrolled students, who~~ High school students enrolled in college courses for credit should be reported as first-time entering students upon receipt of their high school diploma and becoming degree/certificate-seeking students.

39. What other resources are available to help me report on subsequent enrollment?

For institutions that report student unit-record data to a coordinated-system office (e.g., coordinating board, system office, state department of higher education, board of regents/trustees, etc.), those offices may be a resource to help identify subsequent enrollment at another institution within that coordinated system. Administrative data records, such as the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), may also be used to verify subsequent enrollment.

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review, TRP #69, IPEDS Help Desk recommendations

None/

Improvement

Term Change

Determining Cohort Status ~~Attendance Level~~

~~The~~ A student’s cohort status ~~attendance level of students~~ is determined in on the first full term (i.e., semester or quarter) that a student becomes degree/certificate-seeking (typically as an entering student). For example, if a degree/certificate-seeking transfer-in student entered an institution in the Spring term of the coverage cohort year as part-time, this student should be in OM's part-time, non-first-time cohort.
Degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who take a summer session preceding the start of OM coverage cohort year (July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2017) should be reported in the full year 2016-17 cohort. The cohort status ~~attendance level~~ of a summer session student is determined by that student's immediate full-term enrollment. For example, a first-time student takes a summer session that starts May 31, 2017 and enrolls the following fall term as a full-time student. This student should be in OM's full-time, first-time cohort.

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

None

A7. Graduation Rates

The proposed change to the Graduation Rates (GR) survey component includes the removal of the Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories question.

Gender Question. The Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories question is removed due to concerns with privacy and ability of institutions to change data submitted numerous years prior.

Table 7. Proposed changes to the Graduation Rates survey component

Change

Implementation year

Source

Estimated burden

Removed (related FAQs also removed).

~~Section I - Establishing cohorts - Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories~~

~~The ‘gender unknown’ category is to report students for whom the institution does not know a gender.~~
Institutions should not ask students that do not select a binary gender to allocate themselves to a binary gender category; it is up to the institution to allocate unknown students and students that indicate another gender into the binary categories throughout the forms where required. One method commonly used by institutions is to allocate these students to the binary categories required in other parts of the form using the proportion of men to women reported.

Is your institution able to report another gender for the 2024-25 data collection? If you indicate ‘No, my institution does not collect data on another gender,’ leave the cells in the rows for ‘Another gender’ blank (i.e., do not report 0). If you indicate ‘No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students,’ your institution collects data on another gender, but some cells have a value of less than 5 students, do not report the data and leave the cells in the rows for ‘Another gender’ blank. If you indicate ‘Yes’, but no students identified as another gender, please enter ‘0’.

RB	~~Yes~~
RB	~~No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students (do not report)~~
RB	~~No, my institution does not collect data on another gender~~

~~Of the total students in the~~ ~~revised cohort, how many students did you allocate to a binary gender category (Men/Women) because their gender was unknown or another gender than the provided categories?~~

~~Undergraduate Students~~	~~Number of students~~
~~Grand total [CF]~~	CF
~~Gender unknown (i.e., gender information is not known or not collected).~~	RV
~~Another gender (i.e., gender information is known but does not fall into either of the~~ ~~mutually exclusive binary categories provided [Men/Women]).~~	RV
~~Total of Gender unknown + Another gender [CV]~~	CV
~~Total of Students for whom gender is known and falls into one of the mutually exclusive~~ ~~binary categories provided [Men/Women] [CV]~~	CV

You may use the box below to provide additional context for the data you have reported above. Context notes will be posted on the College Navigator website. Therefore, you should write all context notes using proper grammar (e.g., complete sentences with punctuation) and common language that can be easily understood by students and parents (e.g., spell out acronyms).

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

None/ Decreased burden

A8. 200% Graduation Rates

There are no proposed changes to 200% Graduation Rates (GR200).

A9. Admissions

The proposed change to the Admissions (ADM) survey component for 2024-25 is a minor revision to the Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories screen and instructions to improve clarity. Based on the feedback received during the 60-day public comment period, clarifications regarding the meaning of “considered” and description of the options are added to the survey screens and instructions for Admission Considerations part, as well as the FAQ on reporting “legacy status” is revised for clarity. The proposed changes to ADM for 2025-26 are substantial and based on the TRP #64 on Modernizing the Admissions Component that took place in June 2021. The changes include collection of admission considerations data for transfer-in degree/certificate-seeking students, expansion of Part C to collect applicants, admits, and enrolled counts for transfer-in degree/certificate-seeking students, disaggregate applicants, admits, and enrolled counts by race/ethnicity, and full-time/part-time enrollment status, expansion of Part D to collect test score data for transfer-in degree/certificate-seeking students, and addition of the new Part E to collect data on Waitlist, Early Decision, and Early Action (if applicable). The data are being added to better understand institutional admission policies. Based on the feedback received during the 60-day public comment period, several revisions were done to the proposed Waitlist, Early Decision, and Early Action screens and instructions.

2024-25

Gender Question. The Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories is revised to improve clarity. This change was prompted by feedback from the IPEDS Help Desk and the IPEDS data reporters. It includes a clarification on the reporting period.

Meaning of “Considered.” A clarification about the meaning of “considered” is added to the Admission Considerations screen and instructions based on the feedback received during the 60-day public comment period.

Description of Admissions Considerations Options. A description of the admission considerations options is added to the Admission Considerations screen based on the feedback received during the 60-day public comment period.

Revised FAQ. FAQ #12 on how to report “legacy status” is revised to clarify what legacy status and “considered” mean based on the feedback received the 60-day public comment period.

2025-26

Screening Questions. Several screening questions are added to determine whether an institution has an open admission policy, whether an open admission institution uses an Ability to Benefit (ATB) or similar test beyond the high school diploma/equivalent, whether an institution has admission requirements for first-time and/or transfer-in students, whether admission requirements for both first-time students and transfer-in students are same. In addition, there are questions on whether an institution enrolled first-time and/or transfer-in students in Fall [ADM reporting period], and additional data on transfer credits (if applicable).

Admission Considerations. Expanded Part B to collect admissions considerations information for transfer-in degree/certificate-seeking students at institutions that do not have an open admission policy and for students in program(s) with admissions requirements at institutions that are primarily open admission but have at least one program that is not open admission (if applicable).

Applicants, Admits, and Enrolled. Expanded Part C to collect applicants, admits, and enrolled counts for transfer-in degree/certificate-seeking students at institutions that do not have an open admission policy and for students in program(s) with admissions requirements at institutions that are primarily open admission but have at least one program that is not open admission (if applicable). In addition, expanded Part C to disaggregate applicants, admits, and enrolled counts by race/ethnicity and full-time/part-time enrollment status. Finally, revised Another Gender section to include “Gender unknown” and “Total of Gender unknown + Another gender” as it was accidently omitted in the initial package submitted for the 60-day comment period.

Test Scores. Expanded Part D to collect test score information for transfer-in degree/certificate-seeking students at institutions that do not have an open admission policy (if applicable).

New Part E. Added Part E – Waitlist, Early Decision, and Early Action (if applicable). This part asks questions about institutional admissions policies related to waitlists, early decision, and early action. These policies are important factors in equitable access to institutions.

Table 9. Proposed changes to the Admissions survey component

Change

Implementation year

Source

Estimated burden

Gender Question

The ‘gender unknown’ category will be determined by subtracting (men + women + another gender) from the Total.

Is your institution able to report another gender for the Fall 2024~~-25 data collection~~? If you indicate ‘No, my institution ~~does not collect data on~~ is not able to report another gender,’ ~~you will not receive the screen for another gender~~ leave the cells in the rows for ‘Another gender’ blank (i.e., do not report 0). If you indicate ‘No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students,’ your institution collects data on another gender, but some cells will have a value of less than 5 students, do not report ~~you will~~ the data and leave the cells in the rows for ‘Another gender’ blank. ~~not receive the screen for another gender (note: another gender is not disaggregated by race/ethnicity).~~ If you indicate ‘Yes’, but no students identified as another gender, please enter ‘0’.

~~Can~~ Is your institution able to report another gender?
RB	~~Yes~~ No, my institution is not able to report another gender (do not report)
RB	No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students (another gender not disaggregated by race/ethnicity)
RB	~~No, my institution does not collect data on another gender~~ Yes

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

None/

Improved

Instructions – Added clarification about meaning of “considered”

Considered means that an institution includes an item in the admission materials that are reviewed by admissions officers during the review process and the item may factor into a decision for admission.

Admissions Considerations screen – Added instructions

Select the option that best describes how your institution used any of the following data in its selection process for the Fall 2025 student cohorts indicated. The options are:

Required to be considered for admission (not applicable for legacy status)
Not required for admission, but considered if submitted
Not considered for admission, even if submitted

Considered means that an institution includes an item in the package that is reviewed by admissions officers during the review process and the item may factor into a decision for admission.

Admission Considerations	Required to be considered for admission	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted	Not considered for admission, even if submitted
Secondary school GPA	RB	RB	RB
Secondary school rank	RB	RB	RB
Secondary school record	RB	RB	RB
Completion of college-preparatory program	RB	RB	RB
Recommendations	RB	RB	RB
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g., portfolios, certificates of mastery, assessment instruments)	RB	RB	RB
Work experience	RB	RB	RB
Personal statement or essay	RB	RB	RB
Legacy status	N/A	RB	RB
Admission test scores Select options based on whether scores are required for admissions, not placement once admitted.	Required to be considered for admission	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)
SAT/ACT	RB	RB	RB
Other Test (ATB, Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.) Note: If this is the only requirement other than a diploma or equivalent, and few students are not admitted due to this test, your institution is open admission. Please contact the Help Desk to correct your response to this question.	RB	RB	RB
English Proficiency Test (for applicable students)	RB	RB	RB

Revised FAQ

12)

How should I report for the ‘legacy status’ admissions consideration?

If your institution includes the answer to any application questions about where relatives of an applicant completed college in the materials that admissions offices review in making admissions decisions, ~~considers legacy status in making admissions decisions,~~ select “Not required for admission, but considered if submitted.” If your institution does not consider legacy status (or it is not applicable to your institution), select “Not considered for admission, even if submitted.” Considered means that an institution includes an item in the package that is reviewed by admissions officers during the review process and the item may factor into a decision for admission.

Feedback received during the 60-day public comment period

None/

Improved

Screening Questions

Part A. Screening Questions

1. For the Fall 2025 admission cycle, did your institution have an open admission policy under which virtually all students that completed a high school diploma (or received a GED/other equivalent) were admitted for all or most entering undergraduate-level programs? Institutions that require only an Ability to Benefit (ATB) or similar test beyond the high school diploma/equivalent, and only reject a very small number of students based on the test, are also considered open admission. If your institution has one or more programs with admissions requirements, you should select ‘no’ to this question.
Data reported to the Admissions survey component will vary based on response to this question.
RB	Yes, all undergraduate-level programs at the institution are open admission.
RB	No, all or nearly all undergraduate-level programs at the institution have admission requirements (i.e., all or nearly all entering students are evaluated against admission criteria to be granted admission to the institution).
RB	No, only one or a few undergraduate-level programs at the institution have admission requirements (i.e., all or nearly all programs are open admission; only students applying to a limited number of programs are evaluation against admission criteria to be granted admission to the institution).

2. Does your institution use an Ability to Benefit (ATB) or similar test beyond the high school diploma/equivalent? [Open Admission institutions only]

RB	Yes, please indicate test(s) used.
	CB	Wonderlic Basic Skills Test (WBST)
	CB	Combined English Language Skills Assessment (CELSA)
	CB	ACCUPLACER
	CB	Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS)
	CB	Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Assessment
	CB	Other
RB	No

3. For which entering degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate student type(s) does your institution have admissions requirements? [Institutions that are not open admission]

	CB	First-time students
	CB	Transfer-in students

4. If your institution has admission requirements for both first-time students and transfer-in students, are these requirements the same? [Institutions that are not open admission; if applicable based on Question #3]

RB	Yes
RB	No

5. Did your institution enroll first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in Fall 2025? If no, you will not report admissions data for first-time students. [Institutions that are not open admission; if applicable based on Question #3]

RB	Yes
RB	No

6. Did your institution enroll transfer-in degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in Fall 2025? If no, you will not report admissions data for transfer-in students. [Institutions that are not open admission; if applicable based on Question #3]

RB	Yes
	CB	Students may transfer credits earned from coursework completed at another postsecondary institution (e.g., college, university).
	CB	Students must complete a minimum number of credit or clock hours to enter as a transfer-in student.
		Report the minimum number of credit or clock hours	RV	RB	Credit hours
				RB	Clock hours
RB	No

2025-26

TRP #64

Minimal

Admissions Considerations – adding for transfer-in students

Applicable student type [First-time students, Transfer-in students]
Admission Considerations	Required to be considered for admission	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted	Not considered for admission, even if submitted
Secondary school GPA	RB	RB	RB
Secondary school rank	RB	RB	RB
Secondary school record	RB	RB	RB
Completion of college-preparatory program	RB	RB	RB
College/other postsecondary GPA [transfer-in students only]	RB	RB	RB
College/other postsecondary transcripts [transfer-in students only]	RB	RB	RB
Recommendations	RB	RB	RB
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g., portfolios, certificates of mastery, assessment instruments)	RB	RB	RB
Work experience	RB	RB	RB
Personal statement or essay	RB	RB	RB
Legacy status	N/A	RB	RB
Admission test scores Select options based on whether scores are required for admissions, not placement once admitted.	Required to be considered for admission	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)
SAT/ACT	RB	RB	RB
Other Test (ATB, Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.) Note: If this is the only requirement other than a diploma or equivalent, and few students are not admitted due to this test, your institution is open admission. Please contact the Help Desk to correct your response to this question.	RB	RB	RB
English Proficiency Test (for applicable students)	RB	RB	RB

2025-26

TRP #64

Minimal

Applicants, Admits, and Enrolled – adding race/ethnicity

This screen collected for ‘Women’ and ‘Men’ and a ‘Total’ is calculated(Include ‘another gender’ and ‘gender unknown’ students allocated to this category)

	Applicable student type [First-time students, Transfer-in students]
	Applicants	Admits	Enrolled
	Applicants	Admits	Full-time	Part-time	Total enrolled	Percent enrolled
U.S. Nonresident	RV	RV	RV	RV	CV	CV
Hispanic/Latino	RV	RV	RV	RV	CV	CV
American Indian or Alaska Native	RV	RV	RV	RV	CV	CV
Asian	RV	RV	RV	RV	CV	CV
Black or African American	RV	RV	RV	RV	CV	CV
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	RV	RV	RV	RV	CV	CV
White	RV	RV	RV	RV	CV	CV
Two or More Races	RV	RV	RV	RV	CV	CV
Race and Ethnicity Unknown	RV	RV	RV	RV	CV	CV
Total women	CV	CV	CV	CV	CV	CV
Total women prior year	PY	PY	PY	PY	PY	PY

Another Gender

	Applicable student type [First-time students, Transfer-in students]
	Applicants	Admits	Enrolled
	Applicants	Admits	Full-time	Part-time	Total enrolled	Percent enrolled
Gender unknown (i.e. gender information is not known or not collected)	RV	RV	RV	RV	CV	CV
A~~Total a~~nother gender (i.e., gender information is known but does not fall into either of the mutually exclusive binary categories provided [Men/Women])	RCV	RCV	RCV	RCV	CV	CV
Total of Gender unknown + Another gender	CV	CV	CV	CV	CV	CV
Total of Gender unknown + Aanother gender prior year	PY	PY	PY	PY	PY	PY

2025-26

TRP #64

Moderate

Test Scores

Part D. Test Scores

Provide data for all students for whom a test score was used in the admissions decision for Fall 2025. Include ~~new~~ entering students admitted the summer prior to Fall 2025. If you report less than 5 students for any of the scores, do not report percentiles.

Institutions that use test scores for admissions decisions for some students report the number of students for whom test scores were used.

Screen below will show for each applicable student type (based on responses to screening questions).

First-time students
Transfer-in students

2025-26

TRP #64

Minimal to

Moderate

Waitlist, Early Decision, and Early Action

Part E. Waitlist, Early Decision, and Early Action [institutions that indicate they have admission criteria for first-time students and enrolled first-time students during reporting period]

Waitlist

For Fall 2025, did your institution maintain a waitlist for first-time students? A waitlist is a list of applicants who met admission requirements but were only to be admitted if space became available. [Applicable to first-time students at institutions that are not open admission]

RB	Yes. If so, check below if your waitlist is ranked.
	CB	Waitlist is ranked. Indicate whether students are notified of their place on the list, as well as the number of applicants placed on the listed and admitted, accepted, and enrolled.
		RB	~~Students are notified of their place on the list.~~
		RB	~~Students are NOT notified of their place on the list.~~
		Number of applicants placed on waiting list		RV
		Number of applicants from waiting list admitted		RV
		~~Number of applicants from waiting list that accepted~~		RV
		~~Number of applicants from waiting list that enrolled~~		RV
RB	No

Early Decision

For Fall 2025, did your institution permit first-time students to apply and be notified of an admission decision in advance of the regular notification date if the student commits to attending if accepted (Early Decision)? [Applicable to first-time students at institutions that are not open admission]

RB	Yes
	Number of applicants received for Early Decision	RV
	Number of applicants admitted for Early Decision	RV
	Number of applicants admitted for Early Decision that subsequently enrolled	RV
RB	No

Early Action

For Fall 2025, did your institution permit first-time students to apply and be notified of an admission decision in advance of the regular notification date that did not require the student to commit to attending if accepted (Early Action)? [Applicable to first-time students at institutions that are not open admission]

RB	Yes
	Number of applicants received for Early Action	RV
	Number of applicants admitted for Early Action	RV
	Number of applicants admitted for Early Action that subsequently enrolled	RV
RB	No

2025-26

TRP #64; Feedback received during the 60-day public comment period

Moderate

Spring Collection

A10. Human Resources

The proposed changes to the Human Resources (HR) survey component for 2024-25 are minor and are based on NCES-initiated QC review and feedback from data reporters. The changes include the removal of references to new hires in the instructions and a clarification for the Part G4 instructions. The changes were promoted by feedback from the IPEDS Help Desk.

New Hires. For the Human Resources Instructions for Degree-granting Institutions with Less than 15 Full-Time Staff and Non-degree-granting institutions for the 2024-25 through 2026-27 Data Collections, removed references to New Hires in the instructions. This change was made to reduce confusion as “New Hire” information is not collected in the Human Resources Instructions for Degree-granting Institutions with Less than 15 Full-Time Staff and Non-degree-granting institutions survey form.

Instruction Clarification. Added a clarification to Part G4 instructions to report full year salaries, even if the employee did not work a full year (regardless of when hired). This change was made to clarify the intent of the previous instructions is that salaries should be reported based on their yearly amount, regardless of when hired.

Table 10. Proposed changes to the Human Resources survey component
Change	Implementation year	Source	Estimated burden
New Hires Reporting Period Covered The HR component is intended to provide both a snapshot of your institution's human resources/payroll data at a specific point in the fall. As such, report employees ~~and new hires~~ on the payroll of the institution as of November 1, 2024. Report salaries for 2024-25. 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 this Report Persons on the payroll of the institution as of November 1, 2024. For New hires, report the number of persons who were hired for full-time permanent employment either for the first time (new to the institution) or after a break in service for persons that are on the payroll of the institution as of November 1, 2024. For additional information relevant to reporting Salaries data in Part G, please refer to the Key Reporting Concepts section of these instructions below. ~~New hires: Even if staff were not employed for an entire year as of the snapshot date, their entire base annual salary should be reported in Part G, as applicable.~~	2024-25	NCES-initiated QC review and feedback from institutions	None to Improvement
Instruction Clarification Part G4: Salary Outlays for Full-time Non-instructional Staff by Occupational Category On this screen, report the TOTAL ANNUAL salary outlays for full-time, non-medical school, non-instructional staff at the institution by occupational category. (The total number of full-time, non-medical school, non-instructional staff is CF from the previous screens for your reference.) These totals are not disaggregated by race/ethnicity and gender. Please report full year salaries, even if the employee did not work a full year (regardless of when hired). Please refer to the survey materials for 'Who to include/exclude' and 'SOC Classification Principles and Coding Guidelines'.	2024-25	NCES-initiated QC review and feedback from institutions	None to Improvement

A11. Academic Libraries

There are no proposed changes to Academic Libraries (AL) for 2024-25. IPEDS will retire AL after the 2024-25 collection.

A12. Fall Enrollment

The proposed changes to the Fall Enrollment (EF) survey component for 2024-25 are minor and are the results of NCES QC review and TRP #69. The changes are made based on NCES QC review and input from data reporters.

Screen Clarifications. Clarified in Part E - First-time Bachelor's Cohort Retention Rates (Line E4) that students from Fall 2023 cohort who completed their bachelor’s degree as of Fall 2024 are to be reported as retained. This change will now align the survey screen with text changes that were made to the EF instructions in 2023–24, when this guidance was first provided. This change is made address an inconsistency between the survey item and the related instructions; now both will be aligned. This change is applicable to 4-year degree-granting institutions with bachelor’s cohorts only.

Instruction Clarifications. Added a note to the instructions for Part D to indicate that high school students enrolled in college courses for credit should not be included in any calculations to determine an institution’s entering class. This change was prompted by feedback from the IPEDS Help Desk and IPEDS data reporters that it was unclear if and how non-first-time students who were high school student fit into an institution’s entering class. This change clarifies who should and should not be included in an institution’s entering class. The change is applicable to degree-granting institutions only.

Gender Question. The Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories is revised to improve clarity. This change was prompted by feedback from the IPEDS Help Desk and the IPEDS data reporters. It includes a clarification on the purpose of this question and the reporting period.

Table 12. Proposed changes to the Fall Enrollment survey component

Change

Implementation year

Source

Estimated burden

New FAQ

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review & TRP #69

None

Removed ‘Non-first-time’

Removed mention of ‘Non-first-time’ on the survey screens and instructions.

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

None

Screen Clarifications

FULL-TIME, FIRST-TIME BACHELOR'S COHORT RETENTION:				Prior year data (Fall 2022 cohort)
E1	Full-time, first-time Fall 2023 bachelor's cohort	RV		PY
E2a	Exclusions from the Fall 2023 cohort	RV		PY
E2b	Inclusion to the Fall 2023 cohort	RV		PY
E3	Adjusted Fall 2023 cohort (line E1- E2a + E2b)	CV		PY
E4	Students from Fall 2023 cohort still enrolled as of Fall 2024 + students from Fall 2023 cohort who completed their bachelor’s degree as of Fall 2024	RV		PY
E5	Full-time, first-time Fall 2023 bachelor's cohort retention rate (line E4 / line E3)	CV	%	PY	%

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

None/

Improvement

Instruction Clarifications

In Line D5, report the subset of non-degree/non-certificate-seeking undergraduate students displayed on line D4, who are new to the institution in Fall 2024. Note: high school students enrolled in college courses for credit should not be included in any calculations to determine an institution’s entering class.

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

None/

Improvement

Gender Unknown or Another Gender than Provided Categories

The purpose of this supplemental section is to determine whether institutions are able to report the number of students for whom gender is unknown and the number of students for whom gender does not align with the ‘Men’ and ‘Women’ categories. Note that these students must still be allocated into the ‘Men’ and ‘Women’ categories in all other sections of the survey component.
Institutions should not ask students that do not select a binary gender to allocate themselves to a binary gender category; it is up to the institution to allocate unknown students and students that indicate another gender into the binary categories throughout the forms where required. One method commonly used by institutions is to allocate these students to the binary categories required in other parts of the form using the proportion of men to women reported.
The ‘gender unknown’ category is to report students for whom the institution does not know a gender.

Is your institution able to report another gender for the Fall 2024 reporting period ~~2024-25 data collection~~? If you indicate ‘No, my institution is not able to report ~~does not collect data on~~ another gender,’ leave the cells in the rows for ‘Another gender’ blank (i.e., do not report 0). If you indicate ‘No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students,’ your institution collects data on another gender, but some cells have a value of less than 5 students, do not report the data and leave the cells in the rows for ‘Another gender’ blank. If you indicate ‘Yes’, but no students identified as another gender, please enter ‘0’.

Undergraduate students:

RB	No, my institution is not able to report another gender (do not report) ~~Yes~~
RB	No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students (do not report)
RB	Yes ~~No, my institution does not collect data on another gender~~

Graduate students:

RB	No, my institution is not able to report another gender (do not report) ~~Yes~~
RB	No, some cells will have a value of less than 5 students (do not report)
RB	Yes ~~No, my institution does not collect data on another gender~~

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review

None/

Improvement

A13. Finance

The proposed change to the Finance (F) survey component for 2024-25 is minor clarification to the instructions. The change is based on NCES-initiated QC review and is designed to simplify reporting for institutions.

Scholarships and Fellowships Expenses: Clarified for GASB reporting institutions (Part C-1, Line 10) that it is private awards to students where the selection of the student recipient is not made by institution are not included, as opposed to any awards/grants. This clarification was prompted by the feedback from the IPEDS data reporters.

Term Clarification. Replaced all references to the State Student Incentive Grants (SSIG) with Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships or LEAP (formerly State Student Incentive Grant or SSIG) to reflect renaming of the program.

Table 13. Proposed changes to the Finance survey component
Change	Implementation year	Source	Estimated burden
Scholarships and fellowships expenses, excluding discounts and allowances This amount is carried forward from Part E: Scholarships and Fellowships, line 11. Scholarships and fellowships expenses in the form of outright grants to students selected and awarded by the institution. This is the amount that exceeds fees and charges assessed to students by the institution and that would not have been recorded as discounts and allowances. This classification will include the excess of awards over fees and charges from Pell grants and other resources, including funds originally restricted for student assistance. Do not include loans to students or ~~amounts~~ private awards where the institution is given custody of the funds but is not allowed to select the recipients; these are transactions recorded in balance sheet accounts and not revenues and expenses.	2024-25	NCES-initiated QC review	None/Improvement
Grants by state government — Report the amount of state grants received for funding scholarships and fellowships such as the state share of Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships or LEAP (formerly State Student Incentive Grant or SSIG). Report portable student aid from another state as a state source.	2024-25	NCES-initiated QC review	None/Improvement

All Collections

A14. Cross-cutting changes

Several proposed changes are being made across multiple survey components.

Cross-cutting – Glossary. NCES is adding and removing some terms from the glossary based on NCES QC review, TRP #64 on Modernizing the Admissions Component (June 2021), and TRP #69 (October 2023). There are also some terms that have minor edits that can be reviewed in the glossary attachment.

Transfer-in (non-first-time entering) student. Revised definition for “Transfer-in student” Glossary term to improve clarity. This change was prompted by feedback from the TRP #69 recommendations, the IPEDS data reporters, and data users that the current definition for “Transfer-in student” led to misunderstanding in interpretation. This change will clarify this term for greater understanding among the IPEDS audiences.

Non-first-time entering student (undergraduate). Revised definition for “Non-first-time student (undergraduate)” Glossary term to improve clarity. This change was prompted by feedback from the TRP #69 recommendations, IPEDS data reporters, and data users that the current definition for “Non-first-time student (undergraduate)” led to misunderstanding in interpretation. This change will clarify this term for greater understanding among the IPEDS audiences.

Continuing/Returning student (undergraduate). Revised definition for “Continuing/Returning student (undergraduate)” Glossary term to improve clarity. This change was prompted by feedback from the IPEDS data reporters and data users that the current definition for “Continuing/Returning student (undergraduate)” led to misunderstanding in interpretation. This change will clarify this term for greater understanding among the IPEDS audiences.

Entering students (undergraduate). Revised definition for “Entering students (undergraduate)” Glossary term to improve clarity. This change was prompted by feedback from the TRP #69 recommendations, the IPEDS data reporters, and data users that the current definition for “Entering students (undergraduate)” led to misunderstanding in interpretation. This change will clarify this term for greater understanding among the IPEDS audiences.

Undergraduate student. Revised the ‘Undergraduate student’ term for improved clarity and consistency with the survey instructions.

New Terms. Added several new terms to the Glossary to improve clarity, consistency, and reflect the addition of the new CST survey component.

Table 14. Proposed cross-cutting changes that impact multiple survey components
Additions to glossary Cost (CST), Student aid assets, attendance status, student level Edits Transfer-in student, transfer-out student, non-first-time student (undergraduate), continuing/returning student (undergraduate), entering students (undergraduate), undergraduate student.	2024-25	NCES-initiated based on QC review; TRP #64 on Modernizing the Admissions Component (June 2021); TRP #69 (October 2023).	None/Improvement

Table 14. Proposed cross-cutting changes that impact multiple survey components

Change

Implementation year

Source

Estimated burden

Additions to glossary

Cost (CST), Student aid assets, attendance status, student level

Edits

Transfer-in student, transfer-out student, non-first-time student (undergraduate), continuing/returning student (undergraduate), entering students (undergraduate), undergraduate student.

2024-25

NCES-initiated based on QC review; TRP #64 on Modernizing the Admissions Component (June 2021); TRP #69 (October 2023).

None/Improvement

Appendix A – IPEDS 2024-25 THROUGH 2026-27 DETAILED PROPOSED CHANGES | 16

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Author	Aida Ali Akreyi
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File Created	2024-07-21

Proposed Changes

Appendix A - IPEDS 2024-25 through 2026-27 Detailed Proposed Changes 30D.docx

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2024-25 through 2026-27