The Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) Longitudinal Study is designed specifically to collect data related to persistence in and completion of postsecondary education programs; relationships between work and education efforts; and the effect of postsecondary education on the lives of individuals.
BPS follows students who are enrolled in a postsecondary institution for the first time. Initially, these individuals are surveyed through the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) to find out how they and their families pay for education beyond high school. These same students are surveyed 2- and 5-years later through BPS to find out about their undergraduate experiences, persistence in school, degree completion, and employment following enrollment.
Recent Publications
August 20, 2008:
Community Colleges: Special Supplement to The 2008 Condition of EducationThis Special Supplement to The Condition of Education 2008 provides a descriptive profile of community colleges in the United States, examines the characteristics of students who entered community college directly from high school, and looks at rates of postsecondary persistence and attainment among community college students in general.
July 30, 2008:
Descriptive Summary of 2003-04 Beginning Postsecondary Students: Three Years LaterUsing data from the 2004/06 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/06), this report provides a description of the characteristics and enrollment patterns of a nationally representative sample of students who began postsecondary education for the first time during the 2003-04 academic year.
March 25, 2008:
Digest of Education Statistics, 2007The 43rd in a series of publications initiated in 1962, the Digest’s primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school.
December 11, 2007:
2004/06 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/06) Methodology ReportThis report describes and evaluates the methods and procedures used in the 2004/06 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/06), the first follow-up of the cohort of first-time beginning students who were identified as part of the 2003–04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04).
