The Information Exchange Procedures (IEP) developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) are a set of standard definitions and procedures for collecting information about disciplines and student degree programs, outcomes of instructional programs, and general institutional characteristics. These definitions and procedures have been developed to facilitate exchange of information among institutions of postsecondary education, providing institutions with some assurance that data they exchange are useful for purposes of comparison. The procedures and definitions recommended in this manual and other manuals about IEP are "targets" for institutions. While it is anticipated that most institutions will be able to follow these recommendations, some institutions may not have available the required information, and others may not be able to provide it at a reasonable cost. Any effort at exchange of data among institutions involves some compromise in an attempt to accommodate the wide variation among institutions. Consequently, while comparable information for exchange is the goal of IEP, NCHEMS cannot guarantee the absolute comparability of data as the final result of IEP. Hopefully, the implementation of IEP will represent reasonable progress toward that goal. (Author/PG)