In addition to first-time, full-time students, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is now collecting data on three additional cohorts. This data will shed more light on so-called "nontraditional" students, who are an increasing proportion of the postsecondary student universe, including:
- First-time students attending part-time
- Non-first-time students attending full-time
- Non-first-time students attending part-time
Preliminary data from the new Outcome Measures Survey shows major differences between these cohorts. For instance, among full-time, non-first-time students who entered an undergraduate program in 2008, 66 percent had completed and 16 percent had transferred within eight years. In comparison, only 22 percent of part-time, first-time students had completed and 29 percent had transferred within eight years.
Starting with the 2017-18 collection, the Outcome Measures Survey will also ask about Pell and non-Pell recipients and differentiate between award types, including certificates and associate and bachelor’s degrees.
Another option for expanding postsecondary student data is a federal student-level data system. The Institute for Higher Education Policy has just released A Blueprint for Better Information: Recommendations for a Federal Postsecondary Student-Level Data Network, which describes the characteristics of a private, secure and effective student-level data system.
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