News & Events / Members of Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) Encourage U.S. Department of Education to Include Equitable Data Principles for Reporting on Emergency Aid

Members of Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) Encourage U.S. Department of Education to Include Equitable Data Principles for Reporting on Emergency Aid

Published May 12, 2020

Washington, DC – Nineteen members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative (PostsecData) joined together to encourage the U.S. Department of Education to promote student success and advance educational equity by standardizing the data institutions will report on how they distributed CARES Act funds.

In light of the unprecedented circumstances facing higher education, with the full impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) unknown, we appreciate that the Department has already taken steps to encourage transparency by requiring public reporting of institutional spending.  Recognizing that transparency is most effective when data are consistent, accessible, and comparable, we call on the Department to clearly outline the mechanism for reporting, including templates and instructions for calculation and collection frequency, while limiting qualitative or open-ended responses that will be difficult to categorize or compare.

Read the full letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.