Efforts to develop common higher education data standards are expanding both within and across countries. The institutional research (IR) community plays a critical role in assuring that these efforts capture the diverse manifestations of the postsecondary and tertiary education systems and promote responsible comparisons. This chapter provides…

One of the many pieces of "consumer information" that the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requires the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to post on its College Navigator website is a student-to-faculty ratio for institutions in the IPEDS universe with undergraduate programs. NCES added the collection of this measure…

The effect of alternative census dates on the determination of student enrollment and retention rates and the accuracy of tuition revenue projections was analyzed at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. A set of pseudo-extract files was created for the first 8 weeks of two consecutive fall semesters (1993 and 1994). The accuracy of…

The sources and structure of data reported in the annual "Top 100" list of colleges and universities conferring the highest numbers of degrees to students of color are described, and the use of the data to make comparisons between historically black and traditionally white institutions is explained. Some trends in the eight-year history of the…

The sources and structure of data reported in the annual "Top 100" list of colleges and universities conferring the highest numbers of degrees to students of color are described, including the way in which various student categories are reported. (MSE)