Resources / Reports / The Case for the Institute of Education Sciences Postsecondary Studies and Resources

The Case for the Institute of Education Sciences Postsecondary Studies and Resources

THE CASE FOR IES POSTSECONDARY STUDIES AND RESOURCES

POSTSECONDARY DATA HELP STUDENTS, INSTITUTIONS, EMPLOYERS, AND POLICYMAKERS MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS

Students and families need and deserve data to inform choices that shape one of the largest investments of their lives: whether and where to enroll in college. Institutions and employers need data to drive institutional improvement and align college offerings with workforce needs. Policymakers at all levels depend on reliable data to support evidence-based decision-making. Our latest blog post series explores the devastating impact of recent cuts to postsecondary data collections led by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and layoffs at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). These actions threaten the nation’s ability to understand and respond to the experiences of today’s college students.

Drawing from key federal data sources— Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) and the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS)—the series explores what’s at risk if policymakers, researchers, and student success advocates lose access to the most comprehensive sources of information on college affordability, institutional characteristics, and student experiences and outcomes. These data are especially critical for understanding variation across different student populations.

AN IHEP BLOG SERIES

How IPEDS Provides Key Consumer Information About College Costs, Outcomes, and More

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) provides essential data on over 6,000 colleges and universities across the United States, offering key insights into costs, financial aid, enrollment, and graduation rates. These comprehensive annual surveys ensure that students and other stakeholders have access to consistent and comparable data. IPEDS is the foundation for tools like the College Scorecard and is used by high school counselors and community-based organizations to help students compare college options. This blog post explores how recent cuts and layoffs jeopardize the future of these data and the tools that rely on them.

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DataLab Makes Accessing Education Data Quick and Easy

One major casualty of the unprecedented cancellation of IES grants and contracts is DataLab, an interactive online tool managed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). DataLab allows researchers, policymakers, and educators to explore, analyze, and visualize federal education data through secure, customizable tools. In many cases, it is the only accessible way to examine key trends in student access, affordability, financial aid use, and post-college outcomes using federal data. While the platform remains operational, ongoing support for its functionality has been halted. Without a plan to maintain DataLab, the tool could become obsolete, threatening future research and slowing efforts to inform policy.

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How Cutting Education Data Threatens U.S. Economic Growth and Global Competitiveness

The dismantling of federal education data systems, particularly the loss of long-standing publications like the Digest of Education Statistics and the congressionally mandated Condition of Education, undermines efforts to track student progress and global competitiveness. These data sources provide key indicators and trends on academic performance in elementary and secondary schools, college enrollment and completion, workforce outcomes, and international comparisons. These data support evidence-based national and state level policymaking aimed at ensuring students succeed, and the U.S. economy remains strong.

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National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS)

The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) examines the characteristics of students in postsecondary education, with a special focus on how they finance their education.

Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS)

The Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) surveys cohorts of first-time students at three points in time: at the end of their first year, then three and six years after first starting in postsecondary education.

What NPSAS and BPS Tell us About College Affordability and Student Outcomes

NPSAS and BPS are large, nationally representative studies that provide unique information on students’ experiences and outcomes. For example, these studies show how students pay for college, what sacrifices they make to stay enrolled, and how financial hardship shapes whether they complete a degree and succeed after graduation. Without these studies, critical evidence about financial aid and unmet need, how students manage affordability gaps, and how affordability is connected to long-term student outcomes would disappear, leaving policymakers and advocates without the information necessary to improve college affordability and ensure that all students experience strong outcomes from their college experience.

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What NPSAS and BPS Tell Us About Student Veterans, Parents, First-Generation Student Experiences

NPSAS and BPS provide key insights on specific student populations that are not reflected in other datasets. For example, student veterans, parents, working students, and first-generation students face unique challenges on the path to a degree—challenges that are of interest to policymakers—but without NPSAS and BPS, understanding their experiences nationally and holistically would be impossible. This blog post examines the vital role these IES studies play in tracking patterns in how these students pay for college, navigate campus resources, and transition to the workforce—and what’s at stake if these data sources disappear.

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POSTSECONDARY DATA COLLABORATIVE

The Postsecondary Data Collaborative, better known as “PostsecData,” is an IHEP-led coalition of diverse organizations that recognize the power of high-quality data to ensure equitable access and success in higher education. The coalition jointly advocates for the use of high-quality postsecondary data, recognizing that thoughtful use of higher education data has the power to promote student success, evaluate and inform federal, state, and institutional policies, and empower college choices. Students and families can use data to make educated decisions about where to attend college, how to pay for it, and what to study.

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