OPEID is the identification number assigned by the Office of Postsecondary Education to institutions that participate in Title IV federal student aid programs.
How it works
When an institution is certified to participate in Title IV, it receives an OPEID. All aid disbursements and enrollment reporting to Federal Student Aid reference that number. Program-level data in Scorecard are often keyed by a combination of Unit ID, OPEID, and CIP code.
Example: a university system has one IPEDS Unit ID for its main campus and separate OPEIDs for the main campus and an online branch. Aid and debt figures for the online branch appear under its own OPEID even though some IPEDS surveys are reported under the main Unit ID.
How it differs
Unit ID is the NCES/IPEDS identifier and covers the IPEDS reporting entity. OPEID is the Federal Student Aid identifier and follows Title IV certification. They are not interchangeable without a crosswalk.
Common errors
Assuming every Unit ID has exactly one OPEID. Using an OPEID to pull IPEDS graduation rates without verifying the crosswalk. Treating a branch-campus OPEID as if it represented the entire institution’s outcomes.
References
- 1. Federal Student Aid OPEIDTitle IV institutional identifier
- 2. Scorecard UNITID-OPEID crosswalkDifferences in campus reporting
OPEID is the identification number assigned by the Office of Postsecondary Education to institutions that participate in Title IV federal student aid programs.