IPEDS Guide
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. Located within the Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences, NCES fulfills a Congressional mandate contained in the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by NCES. IPEDS gathers information from every college, university, and technical and vocational institution that participates in the federal student financial aid programs. The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, requires that institutions that participate in federal student aid programs report data on enrollments, program completions, graduation rates, faculty and staff, finances, institutional prices, and student financial aid. These data are made available to researchers and others through the IPEDS Data Center.
If you have questions or comments about the IPEDS Information content, please contact NAICU Director of Research and Policy Analysis Jason Ramirez.
2025-26 IPEDS Training Series
Earlier this year, the Trump Administration terminated a long-standing contract to provide federally-sponsored in-person and virtual workshops for campus professionals on how to report data to IPEDS. In response, NAICU is partnering with Dr. Carrie Mata, a former IPEDS educator who works with several state associations, to provide a series of webinars to help campuses comply with federal IPEDS requirements and better understand and use the data being collected.
These trainings (a few of which will use resources developed by AIR and shared with NAICU for these webinars) are designed for private, nonprofit campus institutional research teams who are new to IPEDS or looking to reinforce their understanding of the data system before diving into the next collection cycle.
Register at the respective links below:
Tackling the IPEDS Fall Collection (Overview)
August 25, 2025 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT
This session will provide an overview of the fall IPEDS data collection cycle, including an overview of IPEDS, compliance expectations, and keyholder responsibilities. (See link for additional details on this webinar.)
* Presented with resources provided by AIR.
Tackling the IPEDS Fall Collection (Deeper Dive)
September 15, 2025 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT
This session builds on the August overview and offers a more technical deep dive into the fall IPEDS components. The webinar will explore tricky issues, such as how to revise last year’s data, how to treat programs that are new or being sunset, where the data show up, and more. (See link for additional details on this webinar.)
IPEDS for Campus Benchmarking and State and Federal Data Advocacy (Part I)
October 20, 2025 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT
Once the data are submitted, how do you actually use them? This session shifts the focus from compliance to strategy. (See link for additional details on this webinar.)
Tackling the Winter Collection Cycle (Overview)
January 12, 2026 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST
The new year brings a new set of IPEDS responsibilities. This session introduces the winter IPEDS collection cycle. (See link for additional details on this webinar.)
* Presented with resources provided by AIR.
Tackling the Winter Collection Cycle (Deeper Dive)
February 23, 2026 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST
In this second winter IPEDS collection session, we’ll roll up our sleeves and take a closer look at the nuances of the winter IPEDS components. (See link for additional details on this webinar.)
* Presented with resources provided by AIR.
IPEDS for Campus Benchmarking and State and Federal Data Advocacy (Part II)
March 30, 2026 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT
By demonstrating various IPEDS tools, this training will demonstrate how to use data for campus benchmarking, and how your institutional data are used for state and federal advocacy and how advocacy organizations utilize the data to ensure policymakers understand the value of the private, nonprofit higher education sector. (See link for additional details on this webinar.)
This Week in IPEDS
Stay informed on developments in the IPEDS program with This Week in IPEDS.
Academic Year Data Collection
NCES provides information (background material and details by survey component) on changes that will affect the current IPEDS data collection cycle.
Required Federal Disclosures
Reporting and disclosure requirements as required under law by the U.S. Department of Education can be found in the Federal Students Aid Handbook.
- Information Required to Be Disclosed Under the Higher Education Act of 1965: A Supplemental Report (November 2011)
- Campus Safety and Security Reporting Handbook (February 2011)
- Information Required to Be Disclosed Under the Higher Education Act of 1965: Suggestions for Dissemination (November 2009)
IPEDS Technical Review Panels
NCES periodically convenes Technical Review Panels (TRP) to obtain peer review and public input regarding policies, processes, projects and plans for IPEDS. Complete summary reports are available at the IPEDS Technical Review Panel website.