U.S. National Center for Education Statistics

Program Overview:The Common Core of Data (CCD) nonfiscal surveys consist of data submitted annually to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) by state education agencies (SEAs) in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the four US Island Areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the US Virgin Islands), the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). In order to provide data comparable across states, NCES and representatives of SEAs have worked since the 1950s to develop and accept common data items and definitions. SEAs report school-, agency-, and state-level education data for the CCD through the US Department of Education's EDFacts collection system. CCD survey staff edits the data to produce the final data file, which NCES uses to construct general-purpose publications and specialized reports. The principal users of CCD nonfiscal data are the federal government; the education research community; state and local government officials, including school boards and LEA administrators; and the general public.   Guidelines for Missing, Not Applicable, and Suppression Code Values: For Numeric Data: -1 denotes missing, not available, or not reported data items. -2 denotes "not applicable" data items. -9 indicates suppressed data because it failed the multi-year edit.        

This dataset contains the number of first-time freshmen by the state of residence, along with data on the number who graduated from high school the previous year. Institutions with traditional academic year calendar systems (semester, quarter, trimester or 4-1-4) report their enrollment as of October 15 or the official fall reporting date of the institution. Institutions with calendar systems that differ by program or allow continuous enrollment report students that are enrolled at any time between August 1 and October 31. 

This dataset contains the graduation rate status as of 2021 for the cohort of full-time, first-time degree / certificate-seeking undergraduates in both four year and two year institutions. Data for four year institutions include the number of bachelor degree-seeking students who were enrolled in 2011, the number of bachelor degree seeking students who completed any degree / certificate within 150 percent of normal time, the number who completed a bachelor's degree within 100, 125 or 150 percent of normal time, and the number of bachelor's degree-seeking students who transferred out. Data for students seeking a degree / certificate other than a bachelor's degree are also included for four year institutions. Data for two year institutions include the number of full-time, first-time students who were enrolled in 2014, the number of students who completed any degree / certificate within 100 or 150 percent of normal time and the number of students who transferred out. This file has multiple records per institution. Records are uniquely defined by the variables IPEDS ID (UNITID), and the cohort and graduation status within the cohort (GRTYPE). Each record will contain the above data by gender and race / ethnicity. Note: The number of students who completed a degree / certificate within 100 percent of normal time is not available by race / ethnicity and gender. "This file contains the graduation rate status as of August 31, 2017 for the cohort of full-time, first-time degree / certificate-seeking undergraduates in both four year and two year institutions. Data for four year institutions include the number of bachelor degree-seeking students who were enrolled in 2011, the number of bachelor's degree seeking students who completed any degree / certificate within 150 percent of normal time, the number who completed a bachelor's degree within 100, 125 or 150 percent of normal time, and the number of bachelor's degree-seeking students who transferred out . Data for students seeking a degree / certificate other than a bachelor's degree are also included for four year institutions. Data for two year institutions include the number of full-time, first-time students who were enrolled in 2014, the number of students who completed any degree / certificate within 100 or 150 percent of normal time and the number of students who transferred out. This file has multiple records per institution. Records are uniquely defined by the variables IPEDS ID (UNITID), and the cohort and graduation status within the cohort (GRTYPE). Each record will contain the above data by gender and race / ethnicity. Note: The number of students who completed a degree / certificate within 100 percent of normal time is not available by race / ethnicity and gender.

Unduplicated head count: Unduplicated head count of students enrolled over a 12-month period for both undergraduate and graduate levels. These enrollment data are particularly valuable for institutions that use non-traditional calendar systems and offer short-term programs. Because this enrollment measure encompasses an entire year, it provides a more complete picture of the number of students these schools serve. Instructional activity: Instructional activity measured in total credit and/or contact hours delivered by institutions during a 12-month period.  The credit hour and contact hour activity data are used to derive 12-month full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollments for both undergraduate and graduate levels. The graduate level does not include credit hours for doctoral professional practice students.