HEDS Member Data Exchange Opportunites
HEDS facilitates the collection, analysis, and sharing of institutional data from our member institutions, public data sets, and third-party surveys. HEDS creates spreadsheets that allow members to easily generate custom comparison groups. Any reports we compile solely from public data sets are available to all HEDS member institutions, but our reports on data that HEDS institutions have opted to share are only available to those who shared their data. Sharing is voluntary but required for access to the data.
We revise and update HEDS data exchanges as the needs of our members change. The window for participating in each data exchange can vary from year to year, so we provide broad estimates below. When a data exchange is officially open, we will note the actual dates for participating. New members who join HEDS after an exchange has closed for the year can still have their data added to the report. Simply contact us and let us know which closed exchange(s) you want to submit data for.
All data in these exchanges are confidential and protected by our Statement of Understandings.
Baccalaureate Origins of Earned Doctorates
The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) is an annual census of all individuals receiving a research doctorate from an accredited U.S. institution in a given academic year. The SED is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Collection Method: We pull these data directly from the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Earned Doctorates.
Participation Window: No participation is required for this data-sharing opportunity. We generally update this information every three years from a publicly available data set. The last time was in 2019–2020.
Report: We will create a report that contains overall and discipline-specific data on the proportion of students from over 1,600 public and private institutions who go on to earn doctorates. This report will be made available to all our members.
Report Delivery Date: Varies
Common Data Set (CDS)
The Common Data Set (CDS) Initiative is 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 – to develop a set of standards and definitions of data items for their various surveys.
Collection Method: We collect the same file that members submit to participating college guide publishers.
Participation Window: Early winter – May
Report: Our report will provide comparisons on several of the data points from the CDS, including current financial aid information, SAT and ACT scores for the current first-year class, composition of the current first-year class, student-to-faculty ratios, and more.
Report Delivery Date: We begin releasing reports after we have data from 10 participating institutions and update weekly to bi-weekly after that. You can expect the final report within a couple of weeks of the collection window closing.
Faculty Compensation
We use the faculty salary and benefits data that institutions report on the IPEDS Human Resources Survey. The IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) system of interrelated surveys are conducted annually of every institution in the United States and other jurisdictions that participate in federal student financial aid programs.
Collection Method: After your institution has submitted your Human Resources Survey, you can download the data from IPEDS and email it directly to HEDS.
Participation Window: Mid-February through early April.
Report: Our report will provide comparisons on salaries by rank and gender, gender comparisons by rank, and salary comparisons to the previous year.
Report Delivery Date: We begin releasing reports after we have data from 10 participating institutions and update weekly to bi-weekly after that. You can expect the final report within a couple of weeks of the collection window closing.
First Destinations
We collect data on undergraduate student outcomes within six months of graduation, including employment, continuing education, service, and salary. This exchange uses data definitions adapted from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
Collection Method: HEDS will send you a simple Excel template to fill out. You can use the same data you submit to NACE to complete the template.
Participation Window: Early March – May 31.
Report: Our report will provide comparisons between participating institutions on primary activity type, degree type, mean salary, and more.
Report Delivery Date: We begin releasing reports after we have data from 10 participating institutions and update weekly to bi-weekly after that. You can expect the final report within a couple of weeks of the collection window closing – mid-June. We aim to provide the report to you well before NACE releases its report in the fall.
NACUBO Tuition Discounting
We collect data on tuition rates and institutional awards based on the annual NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study (TDS). NACUBO is a nonprofit professional organization representing chief administrative and financial officers at colleges and universities across the country. Your institution can participate in this exchange even if your institution does not belong to NACUBO.
Collection Method: We will send you a Qualtrics survey asking for final financial aid data for the previous academic year, preliminary financial aid data for the current academic year, enrollment numbers, tuition and fees, endowment, and other funding sources used as institutional financial aid.
Participation Window: Mid-January – March
Report: Our report will provide comparisons between participating institutions on endowments, percent of students on financial aid, discount rates, and average discounted tuition and fees revenue per student both for the prior academic year and estimates for the current year.
Report Delivery Date: We begin releasing reports after we have data from 10 participating institutions and update weekly to bi-weekly after that. You can expect the final report within a couple of weeks of the participation window closing – mid-April. We aim to provide the report to you before NACUBO’s planned May report release.
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
HEDS facilitates the exchange of National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data for members that have administered NSSE in the last three years. NSSE collects information on how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college.
Collection Method: We will send you a Qualtrics survey asking for your permission to request data directly from NSSE.
Participation Window: September through October
Report: Our report will provide comparisons between participating institutions on components of student engagement for first-year and senior students, for all students, and by gender.
Report Delivery Date: Between December and February. This will be determined by when we receive the requested data from NSSE.
*Please note that as we collect this data directly from NSSE, it is not possible to add new member data once the exchange has closed.
Number of Deposits
This data exchange provides you with snapshots of first-year, transfer, and other student deposits on pre-set dates – May 1, June 1, July 1, and August 1 – which allows participating institutions to see how their total student deposits compare as the summer progresses.
Collection Method: We collect data in a Google Sheet that is easy for you to fill in and provides immediate access to comparison data.
Participation Window: May 2 – August 31
Report: Our report will provide comparisons between participating institutions on total deposits, deadlines, and deferred enrollments by student type.
Report Delivery Date: You will have immediate access to comparison data in the Google Sheet, but at the end of each month, you will receive an updated Excel comparison tool. We will send the final report at the beginning of September.
Retention and Graduation Rates
Retention and Graduation Rates is open now through December 8, 2023.
This exchange provides you comparisons on retention and graduation rates for all students and broken out by race/ethnicity, by gender, and for Pell Recipients. For retention, we use a “survival model” which looks at what percentage of a cohort is still enrolled in the current fall term.
Collection Method: We collect data in a Google Sheet that is easy for you to fill in and provides immediate access to comparison data.
Participation Window: late-September – November
Report: Our report will allow you to compare your first to second year, first to third year, and first to fourth year retention rates, as well as 4-year and 6-year graduation rates to those at other participating institutions.
Report Delivery Date: You will have immediate access to comparison data in the Google Sheet. After the exchange closes, we will create an Excel file with additional filtering options for comparisons. We will send the report in December.
Starting Salaries
Starting Salaries is open now through December 1, 2023.
This exchange provides comparative data on baseline entry-level salary and benefits for assistant professors and the per-course base salary for adjuncts.
Collection Method: We will send you a short Qualtrics survey.
Collection Window: September – November
Report: Our report will provide comparisons on the baseline, entry-level salary, percent of benefits, and total compensation for assistant professors as well as the per course, base salary, for adjuncts, and the percent change in salaries over the last two years for both.
Report Delivery Date: We begin releasing reports after we have data from 10 participating institutions and update weekly to bi-weekly after that. You can expect the final report within a couple of weeks of the collection window closing.