General Mandate
IPEDS is conducted by NCES as part of the Center's Congressional
mandate under the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 (PL 103-382,
Sec. 404(a)) which states that "The duties of the Center are to collect,
analyze, and disseminate statistics and other information related to
education in the United States and in other nations, including--
- collecting, acquiring, compiling (where appropriate, on a state by
state basis), and disseminating full and complete statistics on the
condition and progress of education, at the pre-school, elementary,
secondary, and postsecondary levels in the United States, ...;
- conducting and publishing reports and analyses of the meaning and
significance of such statistics;
- collecting, analyzing, cross-tabulating, and reporting, to the
extent feasible, so as to provide information by gender, race, ...; and
- assisting public and private educational agencies, organizations,
and institutions in improving and automating statistical and data
collection activities..."
Vocational Education Data
IPEDS responds to certain of the requirements pursuant to Section
421(a)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. The data
related to vocational programs and program completions are collected from
postsecondary institutions known to provide occupationally specific
vocational education.1
Data on Race/Ethnicity and Gender of Students
The collection and reporting of race/ethnicity and gender data on
students and completers are mandatory for all institutions which receive,
are applicants for, or expect to be applicants for Federal financial
assistance as defined in the Department of Education (ED) regulations
implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (34 CFR 100), or
defined in any ED regulation implementing Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 (34 CFR 106). The collection of race/ethnicity and
gender data in vocational programs is mandated by Section 421(a)(1) of the
Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act.
Fall Staff Data
The collection and reporting of race/ethnicity and gender data on the
Fall Staff (S) section of the Human Resources (HR) component are mandatory
for all institutions which receive, are applicants for, or expect to be
applicants for Federal financial assistance as defined in the Department
of Education (ED) regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (34 CFR 100). The collection of data are also mandated by PL
88-352, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Equal
Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 (29 CFR 1602, subparts O, P, and Q).
Institutions with 15 or more full-time employees are required to respond
to the IPEDS Fall Staff component under this mandate.
Mandatory Reporting for Institutions with Program Participation
Agreements
The completion of all IPEDS surveys, in a timely and accurate manner,
is mandatory for all institutions that participate in or are applicants
for participation in any Federal financial assistance program authorized
by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. The
completion of the surveys is mandated by 20 USC 1094, Section 487(a)(17)
and 34 CFR 668.14(b)(19).
Cost of Higher Education
Section 101 of the Higher Education amendments of 1965 (PL 105-244)
requires that NCES collect the following information from institutions of
higher education: "(i) tuition and fees for a full-time undergraduate
student; (ii) cost of attendance for a full-time undergraduate student,
consistent with the provisions of section 472; (iii) average amount of
financial assistance received by an undergraduate student who attends an
institution of higher education, including - (I) each type of assistance
or benefit described in section 428(a)(2)(C)(i); (II) fellowships; and
(III) institutional and other assistance, and (IV) number of students
receiving financial assistance described in each" of the above
categories.
IPEDS is to "collect information regarding the data elements described
(in the paragraph above) with respect to at least all institutions of
higher education participating in programs under Title IV, beginning with
the information from academic year 2000 - 2001 and annually
thereafter."
Student Right-to-Know
Sections 668.41, 668.45, and 668.48 of the Student Assistance General
Provision (34 CFR 668) were amended to implement the Student Right-to-Know
Act, as amended by the Higher Education Amendments of 1991 and further by
the Higher Education Technical Amendments of 1993 and 1999. The final
regulations require an institution that participates in any student
financial assistance program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended, to disclose information about graduation or completion
rates to current and prospective students. The final regulations also
require such institutions that also award athletically related student aid
to provide certain types of data regarding the institution's student
population, and the graduation or completion rates of categories of
student-athletes, to potential athletes, their parents, coaches, and
counselors.
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1 Institutions providing vocational/occupational programs are
identified through responses to the Institutional Characteristics (IC)
survey and the Completions (C)
survey.