Envisioning the National Postsecondary Data Infrastructure in the 21st Century
Published May 18, 2016
America's students, policymakers, and institutions need better information about our postsecondary system, especially in this era of rising college costs and low completion rates.
To address this problem, IHEP convened a set of postsecondary data experts multiple times over the last year to develop targeted recommendations to improve the national postsecondary data infrastructure.
Today, IHEP is releasing the product of those important conversations, Envisioning the National Postsecondary Data Infrastructure in the 21st Century, a series of 11 policy papers that explore a variety of data systems, policy recommendations for improvement, and action steps for making those improvements.
This collection of papers represents the most expansive effort to date to improve the data infrastructure and is a crucial step toward improving student postsecondary success. The papers will be discussed TODAY during a live webcast from 12:30-4:30.
These papers describe problems with the existing infrastructure, but more importantly, they provide real guidance to inform state and federal data policy conversations and clear a path forward for creating a more functional ecosystem.
Many thanks to the many experts and organizations involved in this effort, including: Archie Cubarrubia (Miami Dade College); Patrick Perry (WestEd); American Institutes for Research; Association of Community College Trustees; Association for Institutional Research; Center for American Progress; Complete College America; EDUCAUSE; National Center for Higher Education Management Systems; National Student Clearinghouse Research Center; State Higher Education Executive Officers Association; Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education; Workforce Data Quality Campaign.
