Aligning Questions With Data: A Critical Review of the IPEDS Finance Survey

• In Event: Issues in PK–16 Education Funding

Abstract

Resource allocation in higher education has been front-and-center in policy discussions. In this project, we evaluated the usefulness of existing data from the IPEDS finance survey to answer pressing questions about how institutions use resources. Specifically, we develop a new typology of field-generated questions and examine the extent to which existing IPEDS data are appropriate to answer such questions. We found that stakeholders view the IPEDS finance survey as a valuable resource as the only publicly-available source of higher education finance data for most US postsecondary institutions. Yet, the survey’s capacity to generate necessary data and metrics falls short of addressing the broad range of contemporary questions. Opportunities for new metrics and revisions to the data collection are discussed.

Authors

• Tammy Kolbe, The University of Vermont

• Robert Kelchen, Seton Hall University