External Resources
No, we won’t ever be able to mine all of the fascinating higher ed data that’s now available. But, we’ve assembled some of it here so you can geek out with us.
Data Sets
- IPEDS is the U.S. Department of Education’s resource for college and university statistics. You can grab millions of data points here—4,000 institutions x 12 surveys x lots of questions per survey x lots of years! Here in IRAP, we most commonly use the “Look Up an Institution” feature. It can be difficult to navigate at first, so if you’re stuck, just call us.
- The DOE’s College Scorecard data set was assembled to increase transparency for those interested in college quality. Since much of a college’s quality is not quantitative, we’re a bit skeptical, but there’s certainly no other place where IRS data about graduates’ earnings has been tied back to the schools they attended.
- In IRAP, we take the college’s commitment to becoming anti-racist seriously. One of the best national resources for the effort is Opportunity Insights, now housed at Harvard, which shares datasets and code about social mobility and a variety of other outcomes.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections are fascinating for faculty who are tying the core competencies of the liberal arts to the careers of tomorrow.
- For those interested in enrollment trends, WICHE’s projections of high school graduates is the place to start. Nathan Grawe’s book Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education does all of the analysis for us, and he updated his projections in a more recent book, The Agile College.
Studies and Assessment Tools
- Wabash Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education (“a large-scale, longitudinal study to investigate critical factors that affect the outcomes of liberal arts education.”) Beloit College joined the Wabash Study in 2010 and continues to learn from and with the Center of Inquiry.
- Have you been thinking about the aims and outcomes of a 21st century college education? The folks at the AAC&U have, and their report College Learning for the New Global Century lays it out.
- Thinking about general education or college-wide learning, rather than a specific department? The AAC&U publishes Resources for General Education that might be helpful.
- National Institute for Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) is a major player in the world of student learning assessment. The NILOA Searchable Publications is a library of learning outcomes assessment resources.
- The Assessment Commons is among the largest regularly updated link warehouses for assessment in higher education. You can search or browse for resources, tools, and publications that might be useful to you.