Subject: [OKAIRP] FW: [E-air] Electronic AIR, 5/4/04, AIR Alert 21

From: "Tyree, Laura" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 10:00:47 -0500

-----Original Message-----
From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]]On
Behalf Of Timothy Chow
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 12:42 PM
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Subject: [E-air] Electronic AIR, 5/4/04, AIR Alert 21

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*                   Special Issue - AIR Alert #21                    *
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http://www.airweb.org/page.asp?page=538

SUBJECT: NCES Requests Comments Regarding Proposed IPEDS Changes

PREPARED: May 2004 by Carol Fuller

TYPE: Request for feedback to the National Center for Education
      Statistics (NCES)

NOTE: The AIR Higher Education Data Policy Committee recommends that 
you share copies of this Alert with the individuals at your 
institution who are responsible for the IPEDS Institutional 
Characteristics, Employees by Assigned Position, Salaries, Fall 
Staff, Graduation Rates, Finance, and Completion surveys, and the 
IPEDS keyholder. 

SUMMARY
-------
NCES has posted two documents containing proposed changes to IPEDS 
at: http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/whatsnew.asp. 

Comments and suggestions on the issues and changes included in the 
document "Technical Review Panels #2, #3, and #5 - Recommend Changes 
in IPEDS Survey Collection Instruments" are to be submitted by 
May 20, 2004, mailto:[email-masked]. The email subject line 
should read: Comments on TRP Suggestions for Changes to IPEDS. 

Comments on the proposals in the second document, "Technical Review 
Panel #7 - Recommends Changes in First-Professional Degree 
Classification" are to be submitted to Jeff Weber at 
mailto:[email-masked] by May 15, 2004. The subject line should 
read: First-professional TRP - Proposal comments. Copies of your email 
should also be sent to Susan Broyles at mailto:[email-masked]. 

CURRENT STATUS
--------------
During 2003 and early 2004, NCES convened several Technical Review 
Panel meetings to address various IPEDS issues. The panel participants 
made a number of suggestions for changing the IPEDS survey forms and 
for adding additional programs to the classification of 
first-professional degrees.

The proposed changes for the Institutional Characteristics (IC) Survey 
include revising the way information about accreditation is collected, 
specifying the time period covered for applications data, removing the 
threshold that determines whether institutions report SAT/ACT scores 
(thus requiring this information from all institutions), and 
eliminating most of the questions regarding special opportunities and 
student services. The major change proposed for the IC Survey is to
add the collection of "early estimates" of fall enrollment data so 
they will be available prior to the official count collected in the 
spring.

It is suggested that NCES merge the Employees by Assigned Position, 
Salaries, and Fall Staff surveys into one large survey with three
main sections. Additional changes to the employee data may include 
expanding the category of medical schools in the EAP component to 
include dental schools, veterinary schools, etc., and reinstating 
reporting of tenure status by rank in the Salaries component. 

Proposed changes to the Enrollment Survey include collecting 
information on students who transfer into the institution, collecting 
residence of first-time students only from degree-granting 
institutions, and limiting the collection of information on the 
Total Entering Class to those institutions that use a fall cohort 
for reporting graduation rates and student financial aid. 

It is suggested that less than 2-year institutions no longer report 
transfers out or breakdowns by gender and race/ethnicity in the 
Graduation Rate Survey (GRS), and that a line be added to the GRS to 
collect data on the number of students in the cohort who are still 
enrolled as of the status date. 

The panels suggested making the Finance Survey available in the 
Winter and the Spring collection and no longer requiring private 
for-profit institutions to report Balance Sheet Information and 
Statement of Changes in Equity. 

TRP Panel #7 suggested that NCES revise the definition of 
first-professional degree programs, and include additional degree 
programs from the Classification of Instructional Programs. The new 
definition would be:

 An award that requires postsecondary study of the basic body of
 knowledge and skills required to function as an entry-level
 professional in certain fields specified for reporting purposes by
 the U.S. Department of Education. These awards require the
 completion of a program that meets all of the following criteria:
 completion of the program provides the academic prerequisites
 necessary for licensure in a recognized profession; the program
 requires at least 3 years of postbaccalaureate study; and the degree
 is awarded after a period of study such that the total registered
 time to degree, including both pre-professional and professional
 study, equals at least 6 full-time equivalent academic years. 

Programs being considered for inclusion as first-professional include 
audiology, physical therapy, architecture, professional engineering 
(such as chemical, physical, electrical, and civil), occupational 
therapy, naturopathic medicine, clinical psychology, social work, 
acupuncture/traditional Chinese medicine, and certain business 
professions (such as financial planning, master of accounting, 
brokerage, actuary).

IMPLICATIONS FOR INSTITUTIONS
-----------------------------
The proposals include some changes that would decrease reporting 
burden for at least a subset of the reporting institutions while 
other changes may increase burden. These suggestions should be 
carefully reviewed by the individuals responsible for each of the 
IPEDS surveys. The IPEDS keyholder may wish to coordinate the 
institution's responses to NCES.

TIMELINE
--------
Comments and suggestions on the issues and changes to IPEDS must be 
submitted by May 20, 2004, mailto:[email-masked]. The email 
subject line should read: Comments on TRP Suggestions for Changes 
to IPEDS. 

Comments on the proposals in the document, "Technical Review Panel #7 
- Recommends Changes in First-Professional Degree Classification" are 
to be submitted to Jeff Weber at mailto:[email-masked] by 
May 15, 2004. The subject line should read: First-professional TRP - 
Proposal comments. Copies of your email should also be sent to 
Susan Broyles at mailto:[email-masked]. 

Implementation dates for the proposed changes to IPEDS have not been 
specified. Pending receipt of comments from the higher education 
community and concurrence with this proposal, NCES would like to 
implement the new definition for reporting first-professional degree
and enrollment information with the Fall 2005 data collection. As with
all changes to IPEDS, the reporting in the first collection year would
be optional, but reporting in the second year would be mandatory. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
--------------------
Comprehensive information about IPEDS:
 http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds

Proposed changes to IPEDS:
 http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/whatsnew.asp 

Minor changes implemented in 2004-05 IPEDS collection:
 http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/pdf/webbase2003/changes0405.pdf 

Coordinated by the Higher Education Data Policy Committee.  All 
opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official 
position of the Association for Institutional Research.

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