TOPICS OF INTEREST BY SURVEY STUDY

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POSTSECONDARY LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
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Postsecondary Longitudinal Information can come
from

• High School Cohort Studies
• Postsecondary Cohort Studies
• Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS)
• Baccalaureate and Beyond (BB)

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Why postsecondary longitudinal studies?

• Follows individuals over time regardless of
  enrollment and attendance patterns
• Tracks attendance at multiple institutions
• Shows multiple attendance patterns
• Shows transfer patterns
• Shows degree completion or other outcome
  regardless of number of institutions attended
• Shows interactions of education and work
• Tracks changes in career and income

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Where do the cohorts come from?

• National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS)
• Purpose Describe how students pay for college
• All levels of postsecondary institutions
• Undergraduate and graduate students
• Aided and non-aided students
• Full- and part-time students
• Every 3-4 years since 1987
• (1987, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008)
• Alternating years - BPS and BB cohorts

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• Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal
• Study (BPS)
• Website http//nces.ed.gov/surveys/bps/

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BPS - Features

• Follows a first-time freshmen cohort, instead of
  a age cohort
• Includes older students who delayed entering
  college
• Follows students 2 and 5 years after first
  enrolling in college
• Includes freshmen at all types of institutions

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BPS - Cohorts
Base Year 2 Years Out 4-5 Years
Out NPSAS90 ? BPS90/92 ?
BPS90/94 NPSAS96 ? BPS96/98 ? BPS96/01
NPSAS04 ? BPS04/06 ? BPS04/09
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Why BPS?

• Primary analytic features--Information on . . .
• progress, persistence, and completion of
  undergraduate programs
• undergraduate indebtedness
• career entry for vocational program degree
  completers
• employment/ unemployment patterns
• civic participation
• family formation

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BPS Research Issues

• What percentage of beginning students complete
  their degree within six year?
• What are the factors associated with degree
  completion?
• How long does it really take to attain a
  certificate or degree?
• How is actual attainment related to aspirations?
• How does overall persistence compare to
  persistence within individual institutions?
• Are students who received a certificate or degree
  working in a job related to their major?

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BPS - Analytic concerns

• Time-censors bachelors degree attainment
• Persistence/progress self-reported
• Selection of appropriate weight
• Sample size for some sub-groups of students
• Different follow-up schedule for different cohort
• Detailed financial information not available
  after first year, only self-reported, or record
  information

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BPS - Data Sources

• NPSAS
• Institutional records
• Education department financial aid records
• Student interview
• BPS
• Student interview 2 years after entry
• Student interview 4 or 5 years after entry
• Periodic Education department financial aid
  record updates
• Test score matches

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Why use or not use BPS96/01

• Issue Grade Comments
• Demographics A About 10,000 cases
• Undergraduate access F No non-entrants
• Undergraduate choice C Limited to choice of
  sector
• Undergraduate student financial aid A NCES, ED
  Records, self
• reports
• Undergraduate persistence A Spells of
  enrollments
• Undergraduate progress B- No transcripts
• Undergraduate degree attainment A 6 years after
  entry
• Time to bachelor's degrees A 6 years after entry
• Labor force participation B Better for those
  completing or
• leaving in lt 4 years
• Undergraduate debt A- Self reports, ED Records
• Graduate school access choice B- 6 years after
  entry
• Graduate school persistence C- 6 years after
  entry
• Graduate school student financial aid C- 6 years
  after entry
• Graduate school degree attainment C- 6 years
  after entry

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Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study
(BB) Website http//nces.ed.gov/surveys/bb/

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BB - Features

• First time longitudinal study of only bachelors
  degree graduates
• BB93 cohort was followed up to 10 years after
  bachelors degree completion
• BB2000 cohort followed up only one year later
• Begins where BPS starts to lose power

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BB - Cohorts
Base Year 1 Yr Out 4 Yrs Out 10
Yrs NPSAS93 ? BB93/94 ? BB93/97 ?
BB93/03 NPSAS00 ? BB2000/01 NPSAS08 ?
BB08/09 ? BB08/12
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Why BB?

• Primary analytic features--Information on . . .
• graduate school application, attendance, and
  progress
• career development/progress for bachelors degree
  completers
• special emphasis on new teachers-entry into the
  profession and career path
• undergraduate and graduate indebtedness
• civic participation
• family formation

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BB Research Issues

• How long does it take to complete a bachelors
  degree?
• How much do students borrow to complete their
  postsecondary education?
• Do bachelors degree recipients enter jobs
  related to their major field of study?
• What percentage of bachelors degree recipients
  attend graduate school?
• How do new college graduates who enter teaching
  as their first career choice differ from those
  who enter teaching later in life?

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BB - Analytic concerns

• Graduate study progress self-reported
• Time to completion for Ph.D. will be
• time censored
• Small sample sizes for some post-baccalaureate
  degrees

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BB - Data Sources

• NPSAS
• Institutional records
• Education department financial aid records
• Student interview
• Parent interview (1993)
• BB
• Student interview 1 year after entry (every
  cohort)
• Student interview 4 years after entry (1993
  cohort)
• Student interview 10 years after entry (1993
  cohort)
• Periodic Education department financial aid
  record updates for graduate study
• Undergraduate transcripts (1993 cohort)

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Why use or not use BB93/03

• Issue Grade Comments
• Demographics A Oversampled teachers
• undersampled business
• majors
• Time to bachelor's degrees A Self-report,
  transcripts
• Undergraduate course-taking A Transcripts
• Labor force participation A 10 years after
  bachelors
• Undergraduate debt A Self, ED records
• Graduate school access choice A 10 year after
  bachelors
• Graduate school persistence B 10 years after
  bachelors
• Graduate financial aid B- Self, ED records for
  loans
• Graduate degree attainment B 10 years after
  bachelors

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Data Availability

• Data Analysis System (DAS) - Public use
• DAS Online - http//nces.ed.gov/dasol

• Restricted
• CD ROM
• Electronic codebook (ECB)
• ASCII files
• To find out more - http//nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/li
  censes.asplicense

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DAS Online

• Go to http//nces.ed.gov/dasol/

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DAS Online

• Available applications

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DAS Online
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DAS Online Window
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News Flash
URL http//nces.ed.gov/newsflash/index.asp
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Who to contact

• For general information about each of the
  surveys, availability of data files, or help
  with the DAS
• Aurora M. DAmico [phone]
• E-mail aurora.damico_at_ed.gov
• Technical survey questions
• NPSAS James Griffith
• james.griffith_at_ed.gov [phone]
• BPS Tracy Hunt-White
• tracy.hunt-white_at_ed.gov [phone]
• BB Kristin Perry
• kristin.perry_at_ed.gov [phone]