Assessing and Improving State Postsecondary Data Systems
Published May 2016
State Postsecondary Student Unit Record Systems (PSURS) analyze student progress and outcomes at the state level. These long-standing data systems have traditionally presented higher education data in a state context for decision-making and analysis. State policymakers often have questions for their postsecondary coordinating and governing boards (which manage PSURS) that are not easily answered by institutional and federal datasets. Specifically, state-level information about the effect of policies—such as remedial and developmental education reforms—in-state transfer policies, and outcomes-based funding initiatives all require state-level unit record data to address policy effects. Uses of state PSURS is broad and varies considerably among the states, but states use these systems to identify problems, support policy implementation, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.
Since these systems were developed, demand for accurate and comprehensive student data has increased and the questions asked of these data have grown more complex. The focus of states has shifted from primarily looking at enrollment indicators to tracking student progress and success throughout their postsecondary educations and into the workforce. Overall, state PSURS should be understood as the primary mechanism for generating state postsecondary metrics and as an integral piece of the postsecondary data infrastructure.
This paper is part of Envisioning the National Postsecondary Data Infrastructure in the 21st Century.