| name | education-data-source-ipeds |
| description | IPEDS — primary federal postsecondary data (~6,500 institutions, 1979-present in the mirror; the IPEDS program dates from 1980): enrollment, completions, graduation rates, finance, aid, admissions, HR. For college/university analysis. Grad rates = first-time full-time; finance needs GASB/FASB care. |
| metadata | {"audience":"any-agent","domain":"data-source","skill-authored":"2026-02-09","skill-last-updated":"2026-08-06"} |
IPEDS Data Source Reference
IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) — the primary federal data system for ~6,500 U.S. postsecondary institutions, comprising 12+ annual survey components: enrollment, completions, graduation rates, finance, financial aid, admissions, human resources, and institutional characteristics (1979-present in the mirror — the IPEDS program dates from 1980; varies by component). Use when analyzing postsecondary enrollment, degree completions by CIP code, institutional finances, or admissions data. Graduation rates track first-time full-time students only (150% cohort). Cross-sector finance comparisons require care due to GASB vs. FASB accounting.
Comprehensive guide to understanding and using IPEDS data correctly. IPEDS is the most widely used source for postsecondary education data but has significant complexities — including sector-specific accounting standards, cohort-limited graduation rates, and integer-encoded categorical variables — that users must understand.
CRITICAL: Value Encoding
This document describes Education Data Portal integer encodings, which differ from NCES raw file string codes. The Portal converts categorical variables to integers for consistency across sources.
| Context | Race White | Race Black | Sex Male | Sector Public 4-yr |
|---|
| Portal (integers) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| NCES raw files | EFFY_WHITE | EFFY_BKAA | M | varies |
Always verify codes against Portal codebooks (available alongside each dataset in the Portal mirrors).
What is IPEDS?
IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) is a system of 12+ interrelated survey components:
- Administered by: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- Coverage: ~6,500 Title IV-participating postsecondary institutions
- Frequency: Annual collection in three periods (Fall, Winter, Spring)
- Mandate: Required for Title IV federal student aid participation
- Available years: content spans 1979-2024 in the v2 mirror (build validated 2026-08-06), varies by component. Note the content minimum is 1979 (not 1980); most series now reach 2023-24, while Finance lags (see Data Availability & Lag Times).
- Primary identifier: UNITID (6-digit institution ID)
- Available through: Education Data Portal mirrors (32 datasets covering most survey components; some variables not mirrored — see Data Access section)
Reference File Structure
| File | Purpose | When to Read |
|---|
survey-components.md | All 12+ IPEDS surveys with collection periods | Understanding data structure |
graduation-rates.md | CRITICAL GRS limitations and who is tracked | Any graduation rate analysis |
enrollment-data.md | Fall vs 12-month, FTE calculations | Enrollment comparisons |
finance-data.md | GASB vs FASB accounting standards | Cross-sector finance analysis |
financial-aid.md | Net price, aid types, populations | Aid and cost analysis |
institution-identifiers.md | UNITID, OPEID, mergers, closures | Data linking and longitudinal work |
completions-data.md | Degrees awarded, CIP codes | Completions and outcomes |
data-quality.md | Known issues, sector comparisons | Quality assurance |
Decision Trees
What data am I working with?
Working with IPEDS data?
├─ Graduation rates → ./references/graduation-rates.md (READ FIRST!)
├─ Enrollment counts → ./references/enrollment-data.md
├─ Finance/revenue/expenses → ./references/finance-data.md
├─ Financial aid/net price → ./references/financial-aid.md
├─ Degrees/completions → ./references/completions-data.md
├─ Institutional info → ./references/survey-components.md (IC section)
├─ Human resources/salaries → ./references/survey-components.md (HR section)
└─ Linking to other data → ./references/institution-identifiers.md
Is my analysis valid?
Cross-sector comparison?
├─ Comparing grad rates across sectors
│ └─ CAUTION: Different populations → ./references/graduation-rates.md
├─ Comparing finances across sectors
│ └─ CAUTION: GASB vs FASB → ./references/finance-data.md
├─ Comparing net price across sectors
│ └─ CAUTION: Aid populations differ → ./references/financial-aid.md
└─ Time series analysis
└─ Check for institutional changes → ./references/institution-identifiers.md
Finding specific variables?
Need variable definitions?
├─ Survey component overview → ./references/survey-components.md
├─ Graduation cohort definitions → ./references/graduation-rates.md
├─ Enrollment level/status → ./references/enrollment-data.md
├─ Revenue/expense categories → ./references/finance-data.md
├─ Aid types and populations → ./references/financial-aid.md
└─ CIP codes for programs → ./references/completions-data.md
Quick Reference: Survey Components
| Component | Abbrev | Collection | Key Content |
|---|
| Institutional Characteristics | IC | Fall | Directory, tuition, mission |
| 12-Month Enrollment | E12 | Fall | Unduplicated headcount, FTE |
| Completions | C | Fall | Degrees by CIP, demographics |
| Cost | CST | Fall/Winter | Cost of attendance, net price |
| Admissions | ADM | Winter | Applications, admits, enrollees |
| Student Financial Aid | SFA | Winter | Aid counts and amounts |
| Graduation Rates | GR | Winter | 150% completion rates |
| Graduation Rates 200% | GR200 | Winter | 200% completion rates |
| Outcome Measures | OM | Winter | Part-time and transfer outcomes |
| Fall Enrollment | EF | Spring | Point-in-time enrollment |
| Finance | F | Spring | Revenue, expenses, assets |
| Human Resources | HR | Spring | Employees, salaries |
| Academic Libraries | AL | Spring | Library resources (biennial) |
Key Identifiers
| ID | Format | Level | Example | Notes |
|---|
unitid | 6-digit integer | Institution | 100654 | Unique, persistent across years; changes on merger |
opeid | 8-digit string | Institution (Title IV) | 00100200 | Links to FSA/NSLDS; shared across branches |
Institution Type Codes
| Variable | Values | Meaning |
|---|
inst_control | 1 | Public |
| 2 | Private nonprofit |
| 3 | Private for-profit |
| -1 | Missing/not reported |
institution_level | 1 | Less than 2-year |
| 2 | 2-year (at least 2 but less than 4) |
| 4 | 4-year or above |
| -1 | Missing/not reported |
sector | 0 | Administrative unit |
| 1 | Public, 4-year or above |
| 2 | Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above |
| 3 | Private for-profit, 4-year or above |
| 4 | Public, 2-year |
| 5 | Private not-for-profit, 2-year |
| 6 | Private for-profit, 2-year |
| 7 | Public, less-than 2-year |
| 8 | Private not-for-profit, less-than 2-year |
| 9 | Private for-profit, less-than 2-year |
| -1 | Sector unknown (not active) |
hbcu | 1 | Historically Black College/University |
| 0 | Not HBCU |
| -1 | Missing/not reported |
tribal_college | 1 | Tribal College |
| 0 | Not Tribal College |
| -1 | Missing/not reported |
degree_granting | 1 | Degree-granting |
| 0 | Non-degree-granting |
Note: There is no code 3 for institution_level. The Portal uses codes 1, 2, 4 (not 1, 2, 3).
inst_size Categories
| Code | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Under 1,000 |
| 2 | 1,000 - 4,999 |
| 3 | 5,000 - 9,999 |
| 4 | 10,000 - 19,999 |
| 5 | 20,000 and above |
Note: inst_size is a category code (1-5), not an actual enrollment count.
Race/Ethnicity Codes (Portal Integer Encoding)
| Code | Category | Notes |
|---|
1 | White | Single race, non-Hispanic |
2 | Black | Single race, non-Hispanic |
3 | Hispanic | Any race |
4 | Asian | Single race, non-Hispanic |
5 | American Indian/Alaska Native | Single race, non-Hispanic |
6 | Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | Single race, non-Hispanic |
7 | Two or more races | Multiple races selected, non-Hispanic |
8 | Nonresident alien | International students |
9 | Unknown | Race/ethnicity unknown |
20 | Other | Other race/ethnicity |
99 | Total | All races combined |
-1 | Missing/not reported | |
-2 | Not applicable | |
-3 | Suppressed | Privacy protection |
Historical note: Prior to 2010, Asian included Pacific Islanders (code 6 did not exist), and "Two or more races" (code 7) was not collected.
Sex Codes (Portal Integer Encoding)
| Code | Category |
|---|
1 | Male |
2 | Female |
3 | Nonbinary/Another gender |
4 | Unknown/Prefer not to say |
9 | Unknown |
99 | Total |
-1 | Missing/not reported |
-2 | Not applicable |
-3 | Suppressed |
Note: Codes 3 and 4 are recent additions for non-binary gender reporting. Historical data may only have codes 1, 2, and 99. The exact meaning of codes 3 vs 4 may vary by endpoint — check the specific codebook.
Missing Data Codes
| Code | Meaning | When Used |
|---|
-1 | Missing/not reported | Data not submitted by institution |
-2 | Not applicable | Item doesn't apply to this institution type |
-3 | Suppressed | Data suppressed for privacy |
null | Not available | Field not collected for this survey year |
Year Field Meanings
| Data Type | Year Field Meaning |
|---|
| Institutional characteristics | As of fall of indicated year |
| Fall enrollment | As of fall census date |
| 12-month enrollment | July 1 to June 30 academic year |
| Completions | Awarded during academic year |
| Graduation rates | Cohort entered in indicated year |
| Finance | Fiscal year ending in indicated year |
| Student financial aid | For indicated academic year |
Data Access
Datasets for IPEDS are available via the mirror system. See datasets-reference.md for canonical paths, mirrors.yaml for mirror configuration, and fetch-patterns.md for fetch code patterns.
Key datasets:
| Dataset | Type | Path | Codebook |
|---|
| Directory | Single | ipeds/colleges_ipeds_directory | ipeds/codebook_colleges_ipeds_directory |
| Admissions | Single | ipeds/colleges_ipeds_admissions-enrollment | ipeds/codebook_colleges_ipeds_admissions-enrollment |
| Enrollment FTE | Single | ipeds/colleges_ipeds_enrollment-fte | ipeds/codebook_colleges_ipeds_enrollment-fte |
| Graduation Rates | Single | ipeds/colleges_ipeds_grad-rates | ipeds/codebook_colleges_ipeds_grad-rates |
| Finance | Single | ipeds/colleges_ipeds_finance | ipeds/codebook_colleges_ipeds_finance |
32 IPEDS datasets exist in the mirror (5 shown above). See datasets-reference.md for the complete list with all paths and codebook paths.
Known Portal gaps:
- Distance education enrollment variables (
efdeexc, efdesom, efdenom) are not in Portal mirror datasets. Use the NCES IPEDS Data Center for these.
- Open-admissions policy variable (
OPENADMP) is not in Portal mirror datasets. Note: open_public is NOT the same thing — see Common Pitfalls below.
- Finance data may have a year lag relative to NCES releases (last verified through 2017 in some datasets).
For data not available through Portal mirrors, access NCES directly at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/.
Codebooks are .xls files co-located with data in all mirrors. Use get_codebook_url() from fetch-patterns.md to construct download URLs:
url = get_codebook_url("ipeds/codebook_colleges_ipeds_directory")
mirror <- yaml::read_yaml("mirrors.yaml")$mirrors[[1]]
url <- paste0(mirror$root_url, "/", "ipeds/codebook_colleges_ipeds_directory", ".xls")
Truth Hierarchy: When interpreting variable values, apply this priority:
- Actual data file (what you observe in the parquet/CSV) — this IS the truth
- Live codebook (.xls in mirror) — authoritative documentation, may lag
- This skill documentation — convenient summary, may drift from codebook
If this documentation contradicts the codebook, trust the codebook. If the codebook contradicts observed data, trust the data and investigate.
Filtering
import polars as pl
df = pl.read_parquet("data/raw/admissions.parquet")
df_totals = df.filter(pl.col("sex") == 99)
df = df.with_columns(
(pl.col("number_admitted") / pl.col("number_applied") * 100).alias("admit_rate")
)
df = df.filter(
(pl.col("sector") == 1) &
(pl.col("degree_granting") == 1)
)
library(arrow)
library(dplyr)
df <- read_parquet("data/raw/admissions.parquet")
df_totals <- df |> filter(sex == 99)
df <- df |> mutate(admit_rate = number_admitted / number_applied * 100)
df <- df |> filter(sector == 1, degree_granting == 1)
Data Availability & Lag Times
IPEDS data becomes available with significant lag. Always verify year availability before committing to a year range.
| Survey Component | Typical Lag | Latest Available (v2 mirror, 2026-08-06) |
|---|
| Directory | ~1 year | 2024 (also +7 cc_*_2025 Carnegie classification columns) |
| Admissions-Enrollment | ~2 years | 2024 |
| Fall Enrollment | ~2-3 years | 2024 (race and age files extended through 2024) |
| Completions | ~2 years | 2023 (2-digit and 6-digit CIP completions; the completers file itself drops 2022, reaching 2021) |
| Finance | ~4+ years | 2017 (not re-verified against the v2 mirror; see warning below) |
| Graduation Rates | ~2-3 years | 2023 (grad-rates-pell reaches 2023; the 150% grad-rates file reaches 2023 — see the dedup+revaluation note in education-data-query/references/vintage-drift.md) |
New in the v2 mirror (2026-08-06): the directory gained the 2023-24 year and seven Carnegie-2025 classification columns (cc_*_2025); fall-enrollment-race and fall-enrollment-age each gained 2023 and 2024 files; 2-digit/6-digit CIP completions gained 2023. The 150% graduation-rates file was de-duplicated and wholesale-revalued (10.69M → 6.14M rows) — any pre-2026q3 analysis of it must be fully re-run. See the vintage-drift reference for the complete change map.
CRITICAL: IPEDS Finance Data Cutoff. As of January 2026, IPEDS Finance data is only available through 2017 in the Portal mirrors. This affects endowment values (endowment_end), revenue/expense data, and any financial ratios. Options: (1) limit analysis to available years, (2) use NCCS 990 data for private institutions as an alternative, or (3) forward-fill with a documented caveat and indicator column.
Variable Name Mappings
The Portal uses different names than NCES raw file documentation. The table below lists commonly confused mappings:
| NCES Raw File Name | Actual Portal Name | Notes |
|---|
INSTNM | inst_name | Institution name |
STABBR | state_abbr | State abbreviation |
CONTROL | inst_control | Institutional control |
ICLEVEL | institution_level | Level of institution |
DEGGRANT | degree_granting | Degree-granting status |
CYACTIVE | currently_active_ipeds | Currently active flag |
DEATHYR | year_deleted | Year institution closed |
APPLCN | number_applied | Total applicants |
ADMSSN | number_admitted | Total admitted |
EFTOTLT | enrollment_fall | Fall enrollment (in fall-enrollment-race dataset) |
various GR* | completion_rate_150pct, completers_150pct, etc. | Grad rate variables |
Note: Portal variable names are always lowercase with underscores. NCES documentation often uses UPPERCASE or CamelCase. When in doubt, fetch a sample of the actual data and inspect its column names.
Enrollment Dataset Clarification
IPEDS has multiple enrollment-related datasets in the Portal:
| Dataset | Key Columns | Best For |
|---|
fall-enrollment-race (yearly) | enrollment_fall, race, sex, level_of_study, ftpt, class_level, degree_seeking | Detailed demographic breakdowns |
fall-enrollment-age (yearly) | Enrollment by age group | Age distribution analysis |
enrollment-fte (single) | est_fte, rep_fte | FTE-based comparisons |
enrollment-headcount (single) | Headcount data | Headcount-based analysis |
fall-retention (single) | Retention rates | Retention analysis |
Note: The fall-enrollment-race yearly dataset provides the most granular enrollment data, disaggregated by multiple dimensions. For institution-level totals, filter to race == 99, sex == 99, ftpt == 99, level_of_study == 99.
Common Pitfalls
| Pitfall | Issue | Solution |
|---|
| Using string codes | Portal uses integer encodings, not NCES string codes | Always verify against Portal codebooks; see encoding table above |
| Grad rates as sole quality metric | IPEDS tracks only first-time, full-time, fall-entering students; excludes ~40% transfers, ~40% part-time | Use Outcome Measures (OM) for part-time/transfer data; note limitations |
| Cross-sector finance comparison | Public (GASB) and private (FASB) use different accounting standards | Compare within sector only; see ./references/finance-data.md for crosswalk |
| Net price for all students | Net price covers only first-time, full-time students who received Title IV aid | Document population limitation; excludes full-pay students |
| Admissions without sex filter | Admissions data disaggregated by sex — unfiltered data has duplicates | Filter to sex == 99 for institution totals |
No institution_level 3 | Codes are 1, 2, 4 — not sequential 1, 2, 3 | Use exact codes: 1=less-than-2yr, 2=2yr, 4=4yr+ |
| Ignoring mergers/closures | Institutions merge, close, or change sector over time | Check currently_active_ipeds and year_deleted; track UNITID changes; see ./references/institution-identifiers.md |
inst_size as enrollment | inst_size is a 1-5 category code, not an enrollment count | Use enrollment endpoints for actual counts |
| Distance education variables missing | efdeexc, efdesom, efdenom are not in Portal mirror datasets | Use the NCES IPEDS Data Center directly for distance education enrollment |
| GRS duplicate rows per institution | Graduation rates data has multiple rows per unitid within the same subcohort/year, differing in cohort_rev and count columns | Filter to target subcohort first (e.g., subcohort == 2 for bachelor's-seeking at 4-yr), then deduplicate: sort by completion_rate_150pct descending (nulls last), then unique(subset=["unitid"], keep="first") |
Critical Limitations
Graduation Rates (GRS)
CRITICAL: IPEDS graduation rates track ONLY first-time, full-time, fall-entering students.
| Excluded Population | Approximate % of Undergrads |
|---|
| Transfer students | ~40% |
| Part-time students | ~40% |
| Spring/summer starts | Varies |
| Students who transfer OUT | Counted as non-completers |
At community colleges, IPEDS grad rates may represent <25% of students.
See ./references/graduation-rates.md for complete details.
Finance Data
CRITICAL: Public and private institutions use different accounting standards.
| Standard | Institution Type | Comparison |
|---|
| GASB | Public | Compare within sector only |
| FASB | Private nonprofit | Different from GASB |
| FASB | Private for-profit | Different revenue treatment |
See ./references/finance-data.md for crosswalk guidance.
Net Price
Net price is calculated ONLY for:
- First-time, full-time students
- Who received Title IV aid
- Excludes full-pay students
See ./references/financial-aid.md for details.
Data Quality Checklist
import polars as pl
def ipeds_quality_check(df):
"""Basic IPEDS data quality checks using Portal variable names."""
issues = []
if "completion_rate_150pct" in df.columns:
bad = df.filter(
(pl.col("completion_rate_150pct") > 1.0) |
(pl.col("completion_rate_150pct") < 0)
)
if bad.height > 0:
issues.append(f"Invalid grad rates: {bad.height} rows")
if "currently_active_ipeds" in df.columns:
inactive = df.filter(pl.col("currently_active_ipeds") != 1)
if inactive.height > 0:
issues.append(f"Non-active institutions: {inactive.height}")
if "inst_control" in df.columns:
invalid = df.filter(
~pl.col("inst_control").is_in([1, 2, 3, -1])
)
if invalid.height > 0:
issues.append(f"Invalid control codes: ")
issues
library(dplyr)
issues <- character(0)
if ("completion_rate_150pct" %in% names(df)) {
bad <- df |> filter(completion_rate_150pct > 1.0 | completion_rate_150pct < 0)
if (nrow(bad) > 0) {
issues <- c(issues, paste0("Invalid grad rates: ", nrow(bad), " rows"))
}
}
if ( df
inactive df filtercurrently_active_ipeds
nrowinactive
issues issues paste0 nrowinactive
df
invalid df filterinst_control
nrowinvalid
issues issues paste0 nrowinvalid
cat issues
issues catpasteissues collapse
Related Data Sources
| Source | Relationship | When to Use |
|---|
education-data-source-scorecard | Non-traditional student outcomes | Post-college earnings, broader student population |
education-data-source-fsa | Detailed loan/grant data | Federal student aid analysis (link on OPEID) |
education-data-source-nccs | Private institution 990 data | Financial data beyond IPEDS cutoff year |
education-data-source-pseo | Post-college employment | State-level employment outcomes |
education-data-source-eada | College athletics | Athletics equity and finance |
education-data-source-nacubo | Endowment data | Endowment analysis beyond IPEDS |
education-data-source-campus-safety | Campus crime statistics | Safety and compliance |
education-data-explorer | Parent discovery skill | Routing questions to mirror dataset files |
education-data-query | Data fetching | Downloading parquet/CSV files |
Topic Index
| Topic | Reference File |
|---|
| Survey components overview | ./references/survey-components.md |
| Graduation rate cohort definition | ./references/graduation-rates.md |
| First-time full-time limitation | ./references/graduation-rates.md |
| Transfer-out rates | ./references/graduation-rates.md |
| Outcome Measures survey | ./references/graduation-rates.md |
| 150% vs 200% time | ./references/graduation-rates.md |
| Fall enrollment | ./references/enrollment-data.md |
| 12-month enrollment | ./references/enrollment-data.md |
| FTE calculations | ./references/enrollment-data.md |
| Enrollment by level | ./references/enrollment-data.md |
| GASB accounting | ./references/finance-data.md |
| FASB accounting | ./references/finance-data.md |
| Revenue categories | ./references/finance-data.md |
| Expense categories | ./references/finance-data.md |
| Net price definition | ./references/financial-aid.md |
| Pell grant data | ./references/financial-aid.md |
| Aid by income level | ./references/financial-aid.md |
| UNITID | ./references/institution-identifiers.md |
| OPEID | ./references/institution-identifiers.md |
| Institutional mergers | ./references/institution-identifiers.md |
| Sector changes | ./references/institution-identifiers.md |
| CIP codes | ./references/completions-data.md |
