Common Data Set is a standardized set of questions and definitions that institutions complete annually to provide consistent information to publishers, rankings organizations, and the public.
How it works
Institutional research offices gather the required data elements, apply the CDS definitions, and submit or publish the completed form each year. Prospective students and researchers use the published CDS to compare institutions on items such as acceptance rate, yield, student-faculty ratio, and percentage of classes under 20 students.
Example: an institution’s CDS reports a 65 percent acceptance rate, an 85 percent first-year retention rate, and a 15:1 student-faculty ratio. A guidebook reprints those figures. Because the definitions match IPEDS for several items, a researcher can cross-check the retention rate against the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey.
How it differs
IPEDS is a mandatory federal data collection with legal definitions and public data files. The CDS is a voluntary publisher-oriented instrument. College Scorecard is a Department of Education consumer tool that merges IPEDS, NSLDS, and earnings data; it is not the CDS.
Common errors
Treating CDS figures as federally audited. Assuming every institution completes the CDS. Comparing a CDS class-size percentage with an IPEDS figure that uses a different definition.
References
- 1. Common Data Set initiativeStandardized institutional questionnaire
- 2. Publisher use of CDSSource for guidebooks and rankings
Common Data Set is a standardized set of questions and definitions that institutions complete annually to provide consistent information to publishers, rankings organizations, and the public.