Common Data Sets

The Common Data Set (CDS) initiative is a collaborative effort, since 1996, among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Peterson's, part of the Thomson Corporation, and U.S. News & World Report. The combined goal of this collaboration is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved in a student's transition into higher education, as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers.

All files are provided in Excel (.xls) spreadsheet format for easy viewing.

Data Analysis and Comparison

College Results Online (Public): This interactive web tool, created by the Education Trust, allows you to learn more about student graduation rates at four-year colleges and universities. You can examine overall graduation rates, diverse group graduation rates, and graduation rates of similar institutions. Data used in this website is extracted from the National Education Center for Statistics IPEDS data base.

College Scorecard (Public): This tool, created and maintained by the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center, allows users to view selected data and calculations for colleges and universities across the U.S. The majority of data presented in the scorecard is from the National Education Center for Statistics IPEDS data base.

Common Data Sets

Data Analysis and Comparison

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