Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2026-27 Through 2028-29

Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2026-27 Through 2028-29

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before December 8, 2026.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Department is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) is the estimated burden of the data collection accurate; (2) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (3) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2026-27 through 2028-29.

OMB Control Number: 1850-0582.

Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved ICR.

Respondents/Affected Public: Private Sector; State, Local, and Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 61,467.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 818,023.

Abstract: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is seeking clearance, including revisions, for the 2026-27, 2027-28, and 2028-29 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data collections. The currently active OMB clearance for IPEDS (1850-0582, v. 33) was granted on August 05, 2024, approved with change on December 16, 2025, and extends through August 31, 2027.

IPEDS is a web-based data collection system designed to collect basic data from all postsecondary institutions in the United States and the other jurisdictions. The IPEDS data collection enables NCES to report on key dimensions of postsecondary education such as admission and enrollments, degrees and other awards earned, tuition and fees, average net price, student financial aid, graduation rates, student outcomes, revenues and expenditures, faculty salaries, and staff employed. IPEDS data are available to the public through multiple websites, including the College Navigator and IPEDS Use the Data websites. The reported data is also used for research and analysis to inform decisionmakers at institutions, state and federal government, and other stake holding parties. All Title IV institutions are required to respond to IPEDS (Section 490 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1992 [Pub. L. 102-325]). IPEDS allows other (non-Title IV) institutions to participate on a voluntary basis.

In Version 34 of this clearance, NCES proposes changes only to the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS). Specifically, we propose: (1) a change in the eligibility criteria for the ACTS components; (2) improvements in the ACTS aggregator tool; (3) removal of variables that, despite their potential analytic utility, were determined during the disclosure avoidance process to reduce the utility of the ACTS data collection overall; and (4) clarifications to instructions and item definitions based on feedback from institutions and practitioners provided prior to a recent Technical Review Panel (TRP) held in 2026. All other IPEDS survey components are unchanged from the previously approved collection.

NCES encourages the public to thoroughly review and comment upon the contents of this package.