12-month Enrollment (E12)
The 12-month Enrollment count is the unduplicated headcount of students enrolled over a 12-month period. Because this enrollment measure encompasses an entire year, it provides a more complete picture of the number of students at non-traditional institutions that enroll students year round or for short-term programs.
Data collected include:
- Unduplicated headcounts by level of student, race/ethnicity, and gender;
- Instructional activity (total hours students are engaged in instruction); and
- Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment (calculated based on instructional activity).
FTE provides a meaningful combination of full- and part-time students across institutions that operate on different calendar systems and is used to calculate expenses per FTE and revenues per FTE.
Data Presentation
Graphics

10 States with the highest 12-month enrollment at degree-granting title IV institutions
Other Resources
- Race/Ethnicity Information Center
- How Institutions Report Study Abroad Students
- Data Release Cycle Information
- The History and Origins of Survey Items (2022–23 Update)
- Data use tip sheet: Using Student Financial Aid (SFA) and Fall (EF) or 12 Month (E12) Enrollment data to calculate how many undergraduates receive financial aid
- Distance Education in IPEDS
- Timing of IPEDS Data Collection
- Student Cohorts and Subgroups in IPEDS
Survey Materials
Survey Forms
FAQ
Glossary
Training and Tutorials
Videos
- Provides an overview of the survey component
- Explains the difference between fall enrollment and 12-month enrollment
- Explains at which students to include when reporting 12-month and fall enrollment counts
- Explains how to use edit explanations and context boxes
- Discusses the calculation of the full-time equivalent student enrollment measure for clock hour reporters
- Discusses the calculation and uses of the full-time equivalent student enrollment measure for credit hour reporters
- NCES Tutorials for Using IPEDS Data