IPEDS Data Center

Provisional and final release data by survey

Complete Date Files allows you to download data files, by survey and year, in zipped comma separated values (CSV) format. Provisonal and final data files are included in the zip files for years where both provisional and final have been released.

Available Data	Preliminary/Provisional release	Final Release
Institutional Characteristics (IC)	2020-21	2008-09 to 2019-20
Pricing and Tuition (IC)	2020-21	2009-10 to 2011-12
Admissions (ADM)	2020-21	2008-09 to 2019-20
Completions (C)	2019-20	2003-04 to 2018-19
12-month Enrollment (E12)	2019-20	2003-04 to 2018-19
Fall Enrollment (EF)	2020~	2004 to 2018
Student Financial Aid (SFA)	2019-20	2003-04 to 2018-19
Graduation Rates (GR)	2020	2004 to 2019
Outcome Measures (OM)	2020	2015 to 2019
Finance (F)	2019-20~	2003-04 to 2017-18
Human Resources (HR)	2020-21~	2004-05 to 2018-19
Academic Libraries (AL)	2019-20~	2014-15 to 2017-18

Years listed indicate which years, final release data are available. All other years have only one release.

~ Preliminary Release

Data Release Cycle Info
How provisional and final data are used by various Data Tools

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:

Collection Period	Survey Components	Collection closes	Provisional data	Final (Revised) data
FALL	IC, C, E12	November	Approximately 7 months after collection closes	Approximately 7 months after institutions have revised their data the following year
WINTER	ADM, GR, SFA, OM	March
SPRING	EF, F, HR, AL	April
WEB Tables and Data Release Memo			Yes	No

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

Data Tool	Usage
Data Trends (Trend Generator)	Provisional released data are used for the current year. Final data are used where both are available
Survey Data Complete Data Files	Provisional and final data files are included in the zip files for years where both provisional and final have been released.
Survey Data ACCESS Data Base	Provisional released data are used for the current year. Final released data are used when both are available. Historical provisional data bases are not available.
Survey Data Custom Data Files Compare Institutions Statistical Tables Summary Tables	Provisional released data are used for the current year. Final data are used when available, but users are given the option to use provisional data.
Data Feedback Report	Data feedback reports are only created when data are provisionally released. Historic reports are available but are not recreated using final/revised data.
Look Up an Institution (Institution Profile)	Profiles are only based on the most current provisionally released data.
Look Up an Institution (Reported Data)	Historically the reported data tool contained only provisionally released data. Final data have recently been loaded for IPEDS collection years 2014-15 through 2021-22.

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.

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