Skip to main content
  • About IHEP
    • About IHEP
    • Message from our President
    • History
    • What We Do
      • What We Do
      • Current Initiatives
        • Current Initiatives
        • Postsecondary Data Collaborative
        • Degrees When Due
        • Assessing The Impact of Prison-Based Postsecondary Education Programs
      • Previous Initiatives
        • Previous Initiatives
        • Global Initiatives
        • IHEP Champions of Access and Success
        • College Not Prison
        • Minority-Serving Institutions-Models of Success Program
        • Film Series: Federal Student Aid History
        • Summer Academy
        • Community Partnership for Attainment
        • Symposium on Financial Literacy and College Success at Minority-Serving Institutions
        • Walmart Minority Student Success Initiative
        • BEAMS
        • Project Win-Win
        • Redefining Access for the 21st-Century Student
        • Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery
        • Pathways to College Network
    • Who We Are
      • Who We Are
      • IHEP Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Emeritus
    • Partners
      • Partners
      • Funding Partners
    • Working at IHEP
      • Working at IHEP
      • Career Opportunities
  • Policy Priorities
    • Policy Priorities
    • Affordability & Need-Based Aid
    • Data & Transparency
    • Degree Completion
    • Higher Education for Students Impacted by the Criminal Justice System
  • Research
    • Research
    • Publications
    • Search Publications
  • Press
    • Press
    • News Releases
    • Letters, Opinions, and Statements
    • Press Clips
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

25 Years of Equity

Twitter Facebook

  • About IHEP
    • Message from our President
    • History
    • What We Do
      • Current Initiatives
        • Postsecondary Data Collaborative
        • Degrees When Due
        • Assessing The Impact of Prison-Based Postsecondary Education Programs
      • Previous Initiatives
        • Global Initiatives
          • Global Policy Fellows Program
        • IHEP Champions of Access and Success
        • College Not Prison
        • Minority-Serving Institutions-Models of Success Program
        • Film Series: Federal Student Aid History
        • Summer Academy
          • Participating Institutions
        • Community Partnership for Attainment
          • Participating Communities
        • Symposium on Financial Literacy and College Success at Minority-Serving Institutions
          • Participating Institutions
        • Walmart Minority Student Success Initiative
          • Participating Institutions
        • BEAMS
          • Participating Institutions
        • Project Win-Win
        • Redefining Access for the 21st-Century Student
        • Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery
        • Pathways to College Network
    • Who We Are
      • IHEP Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Emeritus
    • Partners
      • Funding Partners
    • Working at IHEP
      • Career Opportunities
  • Policy Priorities
    • Affordability & Need-Based Aid
    • Data & Transparency
    • Degree Completion
    • Higher Education for Students Impacted by the Criminal Justice System
  • Research
    • Publications
    • Search Publications
  • Press
    • News Releases
    • Letters, Opinions, and Statements
    • Press Clips
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

You are here

Home / Research / Publications

Implementing a Federal Student-Level Data Network: Advice from Experts

Authors: Erin Dunlop Velez and Josh Pretlow, RTI International Amanda Janice Roberson, IHEP

Published: August 2020

There is steadily growing consensus around a critical issue in our nation’s higher education system: the need to modernize our postsecondary data infrastructure. Recognizing that building the Student-Level Data Network (SLDN) outlined in pending federal legislation will require the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to make key decisions around design, construction, and implementation, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) partnered with RTI International (RTI), operating in an independent capacity, to gather insights to inform the network’s implementation.

Implementing a Student-Level Data Network: Advice from Experts, shares the insights from that conversation with 15 experts from institutions, state systems, think tanks, and higher education associations. This brief outlines the data elements and definitional options needed to meet pending legislative requirements, maximize the quality and utility of the data, and minimize the burden on institutions. The data elements fit in five categories: enrollment and completion; financial aid; demographics; post-completion outcomes; and institutional characteristics. The brief also highlights areas that need further investigation and identifies the most pressing near-term topics in order to provide NCES and the legislatively-mandated Advisory Committee a foundation from which to start.

Implementing a Federal Student-Level Data Network: Advice from Experts
View PDF

Policy Priorities

  • Accountability & Transparency

More Like This

  • Implementing a Student-Level Data Network (Part II): Insights from Institutional Representatives
  • A Blueprint For Better Information: Recommendations For a Federal Postsecondary Student-Level Data Network
  • PTAC Data Breach Response Training Kit
  • Protecting Privacy and Information Security in a Federal Postsecondary Student Data System
  • Putting the "Integrated" Back Into IPEDS: Improving the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to Meet Contemporary Data Needs

Research

  • Publications
  • Search Publications

© Institute for Higher Education Policy 1993-2020.
1825 K Street, N.W., Suite 720 Washington, DC 20006
(202) 861-8223 TELEPHONE (202) 861-9307 FAX
institute@ihep.org  |  Join Our Mailing List | Read Our Privacy Policy | Read Our Informed Consent Policy

© Institute for Higher Education Policy
1993-2014.
1825 K Street, N.W., Suite 720 
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 861-8223 TELEPHONE
(202) 861-9307 FAX
institute@ihep.org
Join Our Mailing List