NCES Blog

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is pleased to announce the release of the 2020 Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), which reflects the various programs of study being offered at postsecondary institutions around the country. This is the sixth edition of the CIP and contains more than 300 new programs of study, which can be searched on the new 2020 CIP website.

The CIP is updated about every 10 years to reflect changes in instructional program structures and the introduction of new fields of study. Beginning next year, postsecondary institutions will use the 2020 CIP when they report the degrees and certificates awarded for the 2020 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Completions Survey.

The CIP is a taxonomy of instructional programs that provides a classification system for the thousands of different programs offered by postsecondary institutions. Its purpose is to facilitate the organization, collection, and reporting of fields of study and program completions. CIP Codes and IPEDS Completions Survey data are used by many different groups of people for many different reasons. For instance, economists use the data to study the emerging labor pools to identify people with specific training and skills. The business community uses IPEDS Completions Survey data to help recruit minority and female candidates in specialized fields, by identifying the numbers of these students who are graduating from specific institutions.  Prospective college students can use the data to look for institutions offering specific programs of postsecondary study at all levels, from certificates to doctoral degrees.

To allow sufficient time for institutions to update their reporting systems, NCES is releasing the 2020 CIP and the new website approximately one year before it will be implemented.

The 2020 CIP website has many features, including multiple search options, an FAQ section, resources, a help page, and contact information. Users can search the 2020 CIP by code or keyword and the resource page contains lists of new, moved, and deleted CIP codes as well as Word and Excel versions of the 2020 CIP and 2010 CIP. The website also contains an online data tool called the CIP Wizard, which enables users to focus on changes at a specific institution between the 2010 and 2020 CIPs.

The CIP Wizard requires users to specify an institution by either name or IPEDS ID, a unique identification number assigned by NCES. The Wizard then searches the last 3 years of the IPEDS Completions Survey and compiles the CIP codes used by that institution. The Wizard also crosswalks an institution’s 2010 CIP codes to its 2020 CIP Codes and generates a report that categorizes the codes into the following categories:

• No substantive changes—codes that did not change from the previous version of the CIP

• New codes—codes that were added to this version of the CIP

• Moved codes—codes that were relocated and have two references: one in the former location  and one in the current location

• Deleted codes—codes that were removed from the previous version of the CIP

By looking through the CIP Wizard report, an institution can see exactly what changes have been made to the CIP codes it used in the last 3 years of Completions Survey data.

The CIP Wizard also suggests new CIP codes that might be of interest to the user, allows the user to export a report as either a Word or Excel file, and creates a file of CIP codes that can be uploaded to an institution’s reporting system.

Over the next several months, NCES will be preparing web-based tutorials on how to use the CIP website and the CIP Wizard. Until then, users can reference a list of frequently asked questions and a detailed help document, and also submit  questions by email to CIP2020@ed.gov.

By Michelle Coon

Revenues and expenditures per pupil on elementary and secondary education increased in school year 2015–16 (fiscal year [FY] 2016), continuing a recent upward trend in the amount of money spent on public preK–12 education. This is the third consecutive year that per pupil revenues and expenditures have increased, reversing three consecutive years of declines in spending between FY 10 and FY 13 after adjusting for inflation. The findings come from the recently released Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts: School Year 2015–16 (Fiscal Year 2016).

The national median of total revenues across all school districts was $12,953 per pupil in FY 16, reflecting an increase of 3.2 percent from FY 15, after adjusting for inflation.^[1] This increase in revenues per pupil follows an increase of 2.0 percent for FY 15 and 1.6 percent for FY 14. These increases in revenues per pupil between FY 14 and FY 16 contrast with the decreases from FY 10 to FY 13. The national median of current expenditures per pupil was $10,881 in FY 16, reflecting an increase of 2.4 percent from FY 15. Current expenditures per pupil also increased in FY 15 (1.7 percent) and FY 14 (1.0 percent). These increases in median revenues and current expenditures per pupil between FY 14 and FY 16 represent a full recovery in education spending following the decreases from FY 10 to FY 13.

The school district finance data can help us understand differences in funding levels for various types of districts. For example, median current expenditures per pupil in independent charter school districts were lower than in noncharter and mixed charter/noncharter school districts in 21 out of the 25 states that were able to report finance data for independent charter school districts. Three of the 4 states where median current expenditures were higher for independent charter school districts had policies that affected charter school spending. The new School District Finance Survey (F-33) data offer researchers extensive opportunities to investigate local patterns of revenues and expenditures and how they relate to conditions for other districts across the country.

More than 50 years ago, Congress established Title I, Part A funding (generally just called Title I) to support school districts in educating the nation’s economically disadvantaged students. Today, billions of dollars in Title I funding are distributed to school districts across the country through four grants, using a complex set of formulas.

A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provides a look at how Title I funds are allocated and how the current formulas affect school districts of various sizes, socioeconomic status, and geographic locales, such as rural or urban. The Study of the Title I, Part A Grant Program Mathematical Formulas was conducted in response to a congressional mandate under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which was passed in 2015.

In fiscal year 2015 (FY 15), the total Title I allocation per formula-eligible child in the United States was $1,227.^[1],[2] However, states varied in their total Title I final allocation per formula-eligible child, ranging from $984 in Idaho to $2,590 in Vermont, a difference of $1,606. (NOTE: A child is "formula eligible" if he or she is ages 5–17 and living in a family below the national poverty level or one that is receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF], a neglected and delinquent child located in a locally funded institution, or a foster child.)

Total Title I allocations per formula-eligible child also differed by geographic locale, district poverty level, and district size:

Transfer students who attend full time complete a degree at higher rates than those attending part time. There were 2.1 million students who transferred into a 4-year institution during the 2009-10 academic year. At public institutions, which had the majority of transfer students (1.3 million) in 2009-10, 61 percent of full-time transfers completed their degree after 8 years of entering the institution, compared to 32 percent of part-time transfers (figure 1).

While NCES data users may be more familiar with the postsecondary transfer student data in the Beginning Postsecondary Study, NCES also collects data on this topic through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collection. IPEDS annually requires over 4,000 colleges and universities to report their transfer data starting from enrollment to completion. As defined by IPEDS, students who transfer into an institution with prior postsecondary experience–whether credit was earned or not–are considered transfer-in students. Students who leave an institution without completing their program of study and subsequently enrolled in another institution are defined as transfer-out students.

Below are some of the key data collected on student transfers through the different IPEDS survey components:

• Fall Enrollment (EF): Transfer-in data

Collected since 2006-07, institutions report the fall census count and specific characteristics—i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, and attendance status (full and part time)—of transfer-in students.

• Graduation Rates (GR): Transfer-out data

Collected since 1997-98, GR collects counts of students who are part of a specific first-time, full-time student cohort. Data users can calculate the transfer-out rates of first-time, full-time students by race/ethnicity and gender for each institution that reports transfer-out data. NCES requires the reporting of transfer-out data if the mission of the institution includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible institution without having completed a program. If it is not part of the institution’s mission, an institution has the option to report transfer-out data.

• Outcome Measures (OM): Transfer-in and transfer-out data

Collected since 2015-16, OM collects information on entering students who are first-time students as well as non-first-time students (i.e., transfer-in students). Institutions report on the completions of transfer-in students at three points in time: at 4, 6, and 8 years. Also, any entering student who does not earn an award (i.e., certificate, associate’s degree, or bachelor’s degree), leaves the institution, and subsequently enrolls in another institution is reported as a transfer-out student. Click to learn more about OM. All institutions reporting to OM must report their transfer-out students regardless of mission.

NCES has been collecting IPEDS for several decades, which allows for trend analysis. Check out the IPEDS Trend Generator’s quick analysis of transfer-in students' fall enrollment. Also, the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative commissioned a 2018 paper that provides a high-level examination of the most common issues regarding U.S. postsecondary transfer students and presents suggestions on how NCES could enhance its student transfer data collection. For example, one caveat to using IPEDS transfer data is that information on where students transfer from or to is not collected. This means IPEDS data cannot be used to describe the various pathways of transfer students, such as reverse, swirling, and lateral transferring.^[1]. While these nuances are important in today’s transfer research, they are out of the scope of the IPEDS collection. However, IPEDS data do provide a valuable national look at transfers and at the institutions that serve them. 

UPDATED Blog: New and Updated Modules Added

NCES provides a wealth of data online for users to access. However, the breadth and depth of the data can be overwhelming to first time users, and, sometimes, even for more experienced users. In order to help our users learn how to access, navigate, and use NCES datasets, we’ve developed a series of online training modules.

The Distance Learning Dataset Training  (DLDT) resource is an online, interactive tool that allows users to learn about NCES data across the education spectrum and evaluate it for suitability for specific  research purposes. The DLDT program at NCES has developed a growing number of online training modules for several NCES complex sample survey and administrative datasets.  The modules teach users about the intricacies of various datasets, including what the data represent, how the data are collected, the sample design, and considerations for analysis to help users in conducting successful analyses. 

The DLDT is also a teaching tool that can be used by individuals both in and out of the classroom to learn about NCES complex sample survey and administrative data collections and appropriate analysis methods.

There are two types of NCES DLDT modules available: common modules and dataset-specific modules. The common modules help users broadly understand NCES data across the education spectrum, introduce complex survey methods, and explain how to acquire NCES micro-data. The dataset-specific modules introduce and educate users about particular datasets. The available modules are listed below and more information can be found on the DLDT website. 

         AVAILABLE DLDT MODULES

Common Modules

• Introduction to the NCES Distance Learning Dataset Training System
• Introduction to the NCES Datasets
• Introduction to NCES Web Gateways: Accessing and Exploring NCES Data
• Analyzing NCES Complex Survey Data
• Statistical Analysis of NCES Datasets Employing a Complex Sample Design
• Acquiring Micro-level NCES Data
• DataLab Tools: QuickStats, PowerStats, and TrendStats

Dataset-Specific Modules

• Common Core of Data (CCD)
• Introduction to MapED
• Fast Response Survey System (FRSS)
• Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort (ECLS-B)
• Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K)
• Early Secondary Longitudinal Studies (1972 – 2000)
  • National Longitudinal Study of 1972 (NLS-72)
  • High School and Beyond (HS&B)
  • National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88)
• Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002)
• High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09)
• Introduction to High School Transcript Studies
• Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) – UPDATED!
• National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
  • Main, State, and Long-Term Trend NAEP
  • NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS)
  • National Indian Education Study (NIES)
• National Household Education Survey Program (NHES)
• National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) – NEW!
• Postsecondary Education Sample Survey Datasets
  • National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS)
  • Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Study (BPS)
  • Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B)
• Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS)
• Private School Universe Survey (PSS)
• Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS)
  • Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS)
  • Principal Follow-up Survey (PFS)
  • Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study (BTLS)
• School Survey On Crime and Safety (SSOCS)
• International Activities Program Studies Datasets
  • Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)
  • Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) – UPDATED!
  • Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) – UPDATED!
  • Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)

Modules under Construction

• Accessing NCES Data via the Web
• Fast Response Survey System (FRSS)
• Introduction to the Annual Reports and Information Group
• NCES Longitudinal Studies
• NCES High School Transcript Collections
• Mapping Education Data (MapED)
• Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS)

This blog was originally posted on July 12, 2016 and was updated on January 11, 2019.

By Andy White