Timing of IPEDS Provisional and Final Data Releases

Quality control procedures and institution follow-up continue two to three months after a collection period closes. Missing data are imputed due to nonresponse to entire survey components or items. The provisional release of the edited and imputed data will include a set of WEB tables that formerly appeared in IPEDS First Look reports as well as a Data Release Memo that summarizes response rate information for each survey. The final data release is available after institutions have had a chance to revise their data in the following year. Final data are not issued with a set of WEB tables and a Data Release Memo.

The timing of the releases can vary somewhat depending on the nature of the internal process, but generally will follow this timetable:

The current review process for the data releases began with the 2018-19 IPEDS survey year and continues to undergo improvements. However, approval of the data release is subject to multiple steps in the review process and unanticipated delays can occur. The goal of NCES is to maintain or improve the timeliness of data release on an annual basis.

How provisional and final data are used by various Data Tools

IPEDS data, including provisional release data and final release data, adhere to rigorous quality control procedures established by NCES. Data are imputed for nonresponding institutions. Provisional release data are used for First Look web tables. Final release data include revisions to the provisional release data that have been made by institutions during the subsequent data collection year. While the final release data offer the most up to date data, these data may not match tables from the First Look web tables based on provisional release data.