Common Data Set: Difference between revisions

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The '''Common Data Set''' ('''CDS''') is aan annual product of the Common Data Set Initiative, "a collaborative effort among data providers in the [[higher education]] community and publishers as represented by the [[College Board]], [[Peterson's]], and ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]''."<ref>{{cite web|title=Common Data Set Initiative|url=http://www.commondataset.org|publisher=Common Data Set Initiative|accessdate=14 May 2015}}</ref> The stated goal is to provide accurate and timely data to students and their families while decreasing the workload of administrators. Publishers Inuse producingthe theirstandards popularand publicationsdata anditems rankings,defined theseby publishersthe CDS to "ask the same core questions" of(in institutionsaddition usingto thetheir Commonown Dataproprietary Setones) towhen definemaking thosetheir questionsrankings and theirpublications responsesof institutions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.airweb.org/page.asp?page=102 |title=AIR Alert #1 |author=Association for Institutional Research |year=1997 |accessdate=March 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613074502/http://airweb.org/page.asp?page=102 |archive-date=June 13, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> TheseResponse data are also used in public accountability efforts such as the [[Voluntary System of Accountability]]'s College Portrait.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.voluntarysystem.org/index.cfm?page=about_cp |title=About the College Portrait |year=2010 |accessdate=March 23, 2010 |author=Voluntary System of Accountability Program}}</ref>

==Annual CDS survey results==

Each year, the Common Data Set initiativeInitiative makes small changes to the "survey"surveys submitted for every contributing [[Higher education|college and university]] to complete. While the resulting database of all responses is not available forto the downloadpublic, individual colleges and universities typically publish their individual responses on their own [[website]].

These individual responses can provide valuableuseful information for students applying to a particular college or university. For example, section C7 - "Relative Importance of Common Academic and Non-Academic Admission Criteria" – indicates the admission process for thatthe college places on items like "Classclass Rank"rank, "[[Grading (education)|GPA]]", and "Extraextra-Curricularcurricular Activities".activities, Another example iswhile Sectionssections C9 to C12, which give a statistical breakdown of [[SAT|SAT/ACT]] scores, class rank, and GPA for the current freshman class. ThisTaken together, these can be a good indicator, especially for the more selective colleges and universities, of thewhat typicalis scorestypically needed for [[College admission|admission]]. Further Sectionssections on "[[College tuition|Tuition]] and Fees" and "Financial Aid" can help potential applicants to understandillustrate the typical costs and potential aid theyan applicant might receive based on the current [[College freshman|freshman class]] [[statistics]].

==Survey sections and topics==

The CDS annual survey includes the following major sections, identified by major sections (A–J) and their subsections (0, 1, 32, ...):

* A – General College Information: Address, Classification of [[Undergraduate]] Institution, [[Academic year|Academic Year]] Calendar, Degrees Offered

* B – Enrollment and Persistence: Current Institutional Enrollment – Men and Women, Enrollment by Racial/Ethnic Category, Number of Degrees Awarded, Graduation Rates, [[Retention Rates]]