Exploring CIP Codes Using IPEDS Completions Data
The purpose of this blog is (1) To demonstrate how to view CIP Codes used by a specific institution with IPEDS online data tools and (2) Explain how to interpret IPEDS Completions Data. You may recall from the last CIP Specialist blog that you can use College Navigator to view CIP Codes used by a specific institution. Some of the advantages of using College Navigator include that it's user-friendly and succinctly summarizes the total number of degrees and certificates awarded by field of study. Figure 1 shows a snippet of the completions data for Colby College, a 4-year, private non-profit, undergraduate institution. For example, for the 2019–2020 academic year, Colby College awarded 23 bachelor's degrees in Biology/Biological Sciences.
Hover over any of the images to zoom in.
Figure 1: 2019-2020 Completions Data for Colby College
While the data presented in College Navigator is easy to read, it is limited. For example, CIP Codes are limited to descriptive titles and do not include the numerical portion. They are also presented in alphabetical order by 2-digit series instead of in numerical order. For example, Computer and Informational Sciences and Support Services is the title associated with Series 11, while Computer Science is the title associated with CIP Code 11.0701. Additionally, the data are not broken out by gender, race, ethnicity or major status. However, this information can be obtained using the Look Up An Institution link on the IPEDS Use the Data webpage, which can be seen in Figure 2.
Click on the Browse for Programs icon and a dialog box will pop up with a list of possible programs and majors.
Figure 2
After clicking on the "Look Up an Institution" link, the user can specify the institution by name or IPEDS ID. In this example, we will be examining the completions for Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
Figure 3
Type enough text in the search box so that the list of found options is short enough to be viewed, but long enough to include the correct Colby College. (Figure 3)
On the resulting page, click on the link for Colby College, which in Figure 4 (below) is surrounded by an orange rectangle.
Figure 4
After clicking on the link for Colby College, the user will be taken to the data home page for the institution, where they will be able to view any of the data collected from the various IPEDS surveys from 2002-2019. To view the Completions data, click on the link for Reported data (see orange text box), make sure the correct year is selected in the left hand column, and then click on the link for Completions (see orange text box in Figure 5).
In terms of the IPEDS completions survey, data are available from 2002-2019 because 2002 was the first year in which schools were required to utilize the 2000 Classification of Instructional of Programs (CIP) to code their programs by field of study. The 2000 CIP was significantly different than previous versions of the CIP because the programs of study were expanded from just academic programs to also include vocational and professional training. The signficant change in the focus of the CIP reflected the expansion of the IPEDS universe from institutions of higher education to postsecondary institutions.
Figure 5
After clicking on the Completions Data link, a pop up window appears with the Completions Data. The user can either view the data by scrolling through it or they can download the data as a pdf file. (See Figure 6)
Interpreting Completions Data
For the Completions Survey, institutions are required to report the total number of completions by field of study and award level for first and second majors. Completions are further broken down by gender, race and ethnicity. As a result, completions data files tend to be very long files and can be intimidating to work until the user gains experience working with them.
Figure 8, shows Completions data for Colby College for the 2019–2020 academic year as Excel file even though the data file downloaded from the IPEDS website was initially an Adobe pdf file. The pdf file was converted to an Excel file using the Convert PDF to Excel website. The user uploads their PDF file to the website, where it is automatically converted to an Excel file, which the user can download to their computer (see Figures 7a and 7b).
Hover over any of the images to zoom in.
Figure 7b
In Figure 8, the data highlighted in yellow represent the number of bachelor's degrees completed in Environmental Studies as a first major, while the data highlighed in green represents the number of bachelor's degrees completed in Environmental Studies as a second major. To calculate the total number of bachelor's degrees awarded in Environmental Studies (31), the user needs to add the number of first (28) and second majors (3).
The total number degrees completed by field of study is further disaggregated by gender, race and ethnicity, however the IPEDS Completions data were not always collected in such details. Since 1869-70 completions data were reported by level of degree and gender. Starting in 1949-50 this was expanded to include field of study and in 1976-77 race and ethnicity were added.
At Colby College, more women than men completed a bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies (17 vs. 14), while more men than women (3 vs. 0) majored in Environmental Studies as a second major. The largest number of degrees in Environmental were awarded to white students (21 in total). Since Colby College is strictly an undergraduate institution, it awards only bachelor's degrees, which makes their data file shorter and a bit easier to work with since there is only 1 award level associated with each CIP Code.
