The Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) currently surveys cohorts of first-time, beginning students at three points in time: at the end of their first year, and then three and six years after first starting in postsecondary education.

What's New

  • PETS data for the 2012/2017 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study is now available.
    The newly released BPS:12/17 transcript data are now available for restricted-use license holders. BPS:12 PETS is the third data release for a study of a nationally representative sample of first-time beginning postsecondary students who were surveyed 3 times over 6 academic years, in 2011-12, 2014, and 2017. Postsecondary academic transcripts were requested from all institutions attended by sample members. These transcript data include detailed information, by institution attended and by time periods, on enrollment, degree programs, fields of study, course taking, credit accumulation, and academic performance.
  • 2012/2017 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study Restricted-Use Data File now available.
    The newly released BPS:12/17 restricted-use data are now available for restricted-use license holders. BPS: 12/17 followed a cohort of 2011-12 first-time beginning students in their first, third, and sixth year since entering college. These record-level data are based on student interviews and other administrative data sources and allow users to examine topics related to enrollment, persistence, and degree attainment over six academic years, from 2011-12 to 2016-17. Transcripts were also collected from all the institutions ever attended by BPS cohort members over a six year period. Transcript data will be available to researchers in 2020.
  • NCES Releases New Distance Learning Dataset Training (DLDT) Modules
    The DLDT program provides online training modules for several NCES complex survey datasets. These interactive modules allow users to learn about NCES data across the education spectrum and evaluate it for suitability for particular research purposes For more information, go to: http://nces.ed.gov/training/datauser.
  • New Data Tool – The College and Career Tables Library
    This tool allows users to browse through 5,000+ tables from NCES' postsecondary publications that cover a comprehensive range of topics.
  • Federal Education Tax Benefits: Who receives them and to what extent do They Shape the Price of college attendance?
    This Statistics in Brief applies IRS rules and data to a nationally representative sample of 2007–08 undergraduates to estimate who received education tax benefits and looks at the extent to which these benefits shaped their price of college attendance.
  • Learning at a Distance: Undergraduate Enrollment in Distance Education Courses and Degree
    This Statistics in Brief investigates undergraduates' participation in distance education using nationally representative student-reported data collected through the three most recent administrations of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:2000, NPSAS:04, and NPSAS:08).
  • Borrowing at the Maximum: Undergraduate Stafford Loan Borrowers in 2007–08
    This Statistics in Brief uses nationally representative data to determine the extent to which undergraduate students borrowed the maximum possible within the limits of the Stafford loan program, defined by students' individual eligibility for financial aid.
  • 2004/2009 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study Restricted-Use Data File now available.
    The newly released BPS:04/09 restricted-use data are now available for restricted-use license holders. BPS:04/09 followed a cohort of 2003-04 first-time beginning students in their first, third, and sixth year since entering college. These record-level data are based on student interviews and other administrative data sources and allow users to examine topics related to enrollment, persistence, and degree attainment over six academic years, from 2003-04 to 2008-09. Transcripts were also collected from all the institutions ever attended by BPS cohort members over a six year period. Transcript data will be available in the fall of 2011 as a separate restricted-use file.
  • 2004-2009 BPS First Look: Persistence and Attainment of 2003–04 Beginning Postsecondary Students: After Six Years
    This first wave of BPS:04/09 variables are now available via PowerStats. In addition to these traditional BPS variables, a future release will feature student transcript information from all postsecondary institutions the students attended between 2004 and 2009.
  • 2008–09 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:08/09): A First Look at Recent College Graduates
    The first wave of B&B:08/09 variables are now available via PowerStats. In addition to the traditional B&B variables, a future release will feature college transcript information from the graduates' alma maters.
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