NCES Next
A multi-year initiative convening leading national experts from across the higher education community to reimagine and strengthen the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
About NCES Next
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), housed within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the U.S. Department of Education, is the nation’s primary source of education data. Policymakers, institutions, and researchers rely on NCES data to understand how students access, pay for, and succeed in higher education.
In March 2026, IHEP launched NCES Next to reimagine the design of our nation’s federal postsecondary data infrastructure and develop recommendations for strengthening NCES. The initiative brings together leading researchers, data experts, and policy innovators to help shape a stronger federal data ecosystem.
The NCES Next Task Force will develop recommendations for a durable, accessible, and future-ready data infrastructure.
Over the course of the initiative, the task force will produce a series of papers on key issues shaping federal postsecondary data. Topics include the federal role in data collection and dissemination, data access and privacy, leveraging state and administrative data, workforce needs for federal statistical agencies, and the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. These insights will inform a comprehensive IHEP-authored blueprint for strengthening the federal postsecondary data system.
NCES Next Task Force Members
The task force includes higher education researchers, data experts, and policy innovators from around the country:
- Sean Simone, Vice President of Research and Director of the Pell Institute, Council for Opportunity in Education; former Associate Commissioner of the Administrative Data Division, National Center for Education Statistics, Task Force Chair
- Beth Akers, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
- Kate Akers, Vice President of Policy Implementation and Best Practices, Data Quality Campaign
- Eric Atchison, Vice President for Strategic Research, Arkansas State University System
- Dominique Baker, Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy, University of Delaware
- Jinann Bitar, Higher Education Research & Data Analytics Director, EdTrust
- Brian Bridges, former Secretary of Higher Education, State of New Jersey
- Chris Chapman, former Associate Commissioner of the Sample Surveys Division, National Center for Education Statistics
- Preston Cooper, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
- Jennifer Engle, Research Professor and Director of Policy and Strategy, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
- Denisa Gándara, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Texas at Austin
- Joanna Grama, Senior Principal & Partner, Vantage Technology Consulting Group
- Christine Keller, Executive Director & CEO, Association for Institutional Research
- Carrie Klein, Associate Vice President, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
- Bao Le, Associate Vice President, Data & Policy Analysis, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
- Clare McCann, Managing Director of Policy and Operations, Postsecondary Education & Economics Research Center at American University
- Amin Qazi, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, AQL Labs
- Nancy Sharkey, former Team Lead for State Longitudinal Data Systems, U.S. Department of Education
- Joshua Snoke, Senior Fellow, Georgetown University Massive Data Institute
- Kate Tromble, Vice President of Federal Policy, Data Quality Campaign
- David Troutman, Deputy Commissioner for Academic & Workforce Initiatives, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
- Thomas Weko, Research Professor, George Washington Institute of Public Policy; former Associate Commissioner for Postsecondary, Adult, and Career Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Interested in updates about the NCES Next Project or related initiatives? Stay connected by signing up for our newsletter or reach out to Erin Dunlop Velez (evelez@ihep.org).
