The federal government agencies used the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), a federal database operated by the National Center for Education Statistics that includes information on more than 7,500 U.S. colleges and universities to calculate the $277 million estimate.
Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera said in the letter to the U.S. Department of Education that the IPEDS has “well-documented issues,” pointing to a report by the Institute for Higher Education Policy – a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization – which found that the IPEDS data system has several limitations, but it is unclear if the data is inaccurate.
“The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is the nation’s most comprehensive source for information on more than 7,500 colleges and universities,” the report states. “However, IPEDS — as it currently operates — is insufficient to answer the emerging critical questions that facilitate college choice, transparency, policymaking, institutional improvement, and accountability, and in some cases answers questions that are no longer relevant.”
Read the full article at Virginia Mercury.
Photo courtesy of Virginia State University
