2016 NASFAA National Conference Graduate Student Data Task Force

2016 NASFAA National Conference
1 © 2016 NASFAA
Slide 1 © 2016 NASFAA
National Association of Student
Financial Aid Administrators
© 2016 NASFAA
The following is a presentation
prepared for NASFAA’s
2016 National Conference
in Washington, DC
July 10 – 13, 2016
National Association of Student
Financial Aid Administrators
© 2016 NASFAA
Outcomes from the Task
Force Examining the Lack of
Graduate-Specific Data
Emily Osborn
Director-Chicago Office of Financial Aid
Northwestern University
Fabiola Ortega
Financial Aid Manager-Graduate School of Business
Florida International University
John Ingram
Associate Director-Enrollment Management
Duquesne University
Tracy Hunt-White
Statistician
National Center for Education Statistics
Slide 3 © 2016 NASFAA Slide 3 © 2016 NASFAA
Topics
•  Overview of the Task Force
•  Task Force Recommenda@ons
•  Overview of Na@onal Postsecondary Student
Aid Study
•  Discussion/Ques@ons

2 © 2016 NASFAA
Overview of the Task Force
Task Force Charter
•  Recommenda@on from the 2014-15
Graduate/Professional Issues CommiMee
Caucus
•  Iden@fy
–  Data that is currently being collected
–  What new data the community would like to see
collected in the future
•  6 Task Force members and 2 NASFAA Staff Liaisons

•  Task force met between November 2015 and April 2016
•  Following the Task Force Charter, task force focused on
–  Data already being collected
Ø  How data is being collected, used currently and how it could be used in
the future
–  Addi@onal data elements that the task force felt would be helpful to
graduate/professional students and the aid community
Ø  Examined examples of organiza@ons that are collec@ng graduate/
professional data and how that data is used
Chair: Emily Osborn, Northwestern University NASFAA Staff
John Ingram, Duquesne University CharloMe E@er
David DeBoer, Davenport University Stephen Payne
Fabiola Ortega, Florida Interna@onal
University
Ian Cooper, Northcentral University
Mendy Schmerer, University of Oklahoma
Overview of the Task Force
Task Force Recommendations
•  Enhance NSLDS
repor@ng capabili@es
•  Create a G/P Shopping
Sheet
•  Refine CIP codes
•  Addi@onal consumer
tes@ng for G/P students

•  Training for the G/P
community on using the
outcomes from NPSAS
•  NPSAS should partner
with G/P FAA’s to refine
survey outcomes
•  NCES should increase
the popula@on of G/P
students surveyed

3 © 2016 NASFAA
Enhance NSLDS
•  Recommenda@on #1
–  Enhance Na@onal Student Loan Data Sysetm
repor@ng capabili@es to provide graduate
program-level data on indebtedness—u@lizing
Classifica@on of Instruc@onal Programs (CIP)
codes– and Cohort Default Rates (CDRs), as well
as na@onal-level data so students and financial
aid administrators may draw comparisons
between the levels
Create a G/P Shopping Sheet
–  U@lize consumer tes@ng to create a Shopping
Sheet with informa@on specific to G/P students
and G/P program-level data, using the CIP code
data from NSLDS
Refine CIP Codes
–  Addi@onal work should be done to streamline and
add consistency to assignment of CIP codes

4 © 2016 NASFAA
Additional Consumer Testing for
G/P students
–  Addi@onal consumer tes@ng should be conducted to
beMer understand and address the needs of
prospec@ve G/P students as they are applying for
programs
Ø  Recommenda@on includes consumer tes@ng on 2 items
–  A na@onal program-level ‘fact card’ similar to the AAMC’s Debt
Fact Card using data currently available through ED systems
–  Informa@on outside of the tradi@onal federal student loan debt
data points
Training for the G/P community on
using the outcomes from NPSAS
–  NASFAA should work with the Na@onal Center for
Educa@on Sta@s@cs (NCES) to organize training
for the G/P community for how to u@lize the
Na@onal Postsecondary Student Aid Study
(NPSAS)
NPSAS should partner with G/P
FAA’s to refine survey outcomes
–  NPSAS Survey Directors should partner with
ﬁnancial aid administrators from G/P ins@tu@ons
to look for ways to link together student
popula@ons in similar program structures

5 © 2016 NASFAA
NCES should increase the population
of G/P students surveyed
–  NCES should increase the popula@on of G/P
students surveyed in NPSAS
Ø  Due to the current smaller size of G/P students in the
survey results, some variables used when querying
may result in a small sample size and thus the output
is masked
Ø  The task force strongly recommends that NCES
consider increasing the sample of G/P students in
future NPSAS studies
Graduate Student Data in the
National Postsecondary Student Aid
Study (NPSAS)
Tracy Hunt-White
Project Officer, National Postsecondary Student Aid Study
Sample Surveys Division: Longitudinal Surveys Branch
National Center for Education Statistics
NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS
15
Postsecondary Sample Surveys
•  Generate a nationally representative portrait of
students enrolled in postsecondary education
–  Who are these students?
–  Where are they enrolling?
–  How are they paying for college?
•  Student, institutional, state, and federal financing
–  What are they experiencing in the postsecondary
environment?
–  What outcomes are undergraduate students
attaining?
•  Educational awards
•  Labor market outcomes
•  Further education and training

6 © 2016 NASFAA
Study Periodicity Target Population Main Purpose
National
Postsecondary
Student Aid Study
(NPSAS)
Cross-sectional;
Conducted every
3-4 years
All students enrolled
in Title IV
participating
institutions in a
given academic
year
Examine student
financing of their
college education
Beginning
Postsecondary
Students
Longitudinal Study
(BPS)
Follows a cohort for
up to 6 years after
entering college
First-time beginning
college students
Examine
persistence and
degree attainment
Baccalaureate and
Beyond
Longitudinal Study
(B&B)
Follows a cohort for
up to 10 years
Students graduating
with a bachelor’s
degree
Examine labor
market outcomes,
graduate education,
and life after college
16
NPSAS:87
NPSAS:90
NPSAS:93
NPSAS:96
NPSAS:00
NPSAS:04
NPSAS:08
NPSAS:12
BPS:90/92 BPS:90/94
BPS:96/98 BPS:96/01
BPS:04/06 BPS:04/09
BPS:12/14 BPS:12/17
B&B:93/94 B&B:93/97
B&B:00/01
B&B:08/12B&B:08/09
B&B:93/03
Transcripts
Transcripts
Transcripts
B&B:08/18
NPSAS:16 B&B:16/20B&B:16/17 B&B:16/26
17
18
National Postsecondary Student Aid
Study (NPSAS)
•  Focused on how students and their families pay for
postsecondary education
•  Collects data from a large, nationally representative
sample of postsecondary students every 4 years
•  Legislatively mandated data collection to be conducted at
least every 4 years
•  Alternative cycles spin off BPS or B&B studies
•  Conducted since 1987; current iteration 2015-16
•  Sample size ~110,000 (including 16,000 graduate
students)

7 © 2016 NASFAA
•  Target: All undergraduate and graduate students
enrolled in Title IV institutions
•  Nationally representative of students by sector
•  Includes students with and without financial aid
•  2011-12 NPSAS sampled 95k UG/ 16k Grad
•  Represents 23 million UG and 4 million graduate students
•  Stratified graduate sample to ensure reliable estimates for
–  Masters and doctoral-research/scholarship students in education
and business, STEM, and other programs
–  Doctoral-professional practice students
–  Other graduate students
NPSAS Sample
STEM=Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics 19
Data Gathered by NPSAS
•  Financial aid by source and type
•  Price of college (including net price)
•  Student demographic characteristics
•  College experiences
•  Employment while enrolled
•  Institutional characteristics
20
NPSAS Research Issues – Graduate
Education
•  Where are students enrolling and in what type of degree
program?
•  When did students start their programs?
•  Did students combine school and work and, if so, how?
•  What is the price of a graduate education?
•  What types and amounts of financial aid did students
receive?
•  How much have students borrowed for both their
undergraduate and graduate education?
21

8 © 2016 NASFAA
NPSAS Limitations
•  Sample sizes may be too small to generate
nationally representative estimates for smaller
fields of study.
•  Graduate interview is least robust feature on
NPSAS; known shortcomings in questions
related to graduate financing beyond Title IV
aid.
22
23
Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B)
Longitudinal Study
•  Focused on life after completing a bachelor’s degree,
including labor market outcomes, further education, and
family formation
•  New cohort initiated with every other NSPAS – next
collection in 2016
•  Cohorts will be followed 1, 4, and 10 years after
completing bachelor’s degree
•  Special emphasis on teachers and STEM majors
•  Most recent data available are for B&B:08/12
•  Sample size ~ 15,500
24
•  Employment after bachelor’s degree
•  Relationship of degree to work experiences
•  Graduate school attendance and progress
•  Undergraduate and graduate indebtedness
•  Repayment of federal education loans
•  New teachers’ entry into the profession and career
path
Data Gathered by B&B

9 © 2016 NASFAA
B&B Research Issues – Graduate
Education
•  What percentage of bachelor’s degree recipients
attend graduate school?
•  What are the characteristics of those who enroll in
graduate school?
•  What degrees do they pursue?
•  Do graduate students stay in the same field as their
undergraduate major?
•  What percentage complete a graduate degree by the
end of the study?
•  Which factors are related to students’ enrollment in
and completion of a graduate degree?
25
Accessing Postsecondary Sample Data
●  Public-Use Data Tools (http://nces.ed.gov/datalab/)
―  QuickStats – Simple tables; Subset of variables
―  PowerStats – Complex tables; All variables
―  TrendStats – Trend tables; Subset of variables
●  Restricted-Use Data File
―  Record-level data (No personally identifiable information)
―  CD with electronic codebook & ASCII files
―  Need restricted-use license: http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/
instruct.asp
26
Specific Recommendations about NPSAS
•  Recommendation #5: NASFAA should work with the
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to
organize training for the Graduate/Professional (G/P)
community on how to utilize the National
Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS).
•  Recommendation #6: NPSAS Survey Directors
should partner with financial aid administrators from
G/P institutions to look for ways to link together
student populations in similar program structures.
•  Recommendation #7: NCES should increase the
population of G/P students surveyed in NPSAS.
27

10 © 2016 NASFAA
Recommendation #5: Training on NPSAS
•  In-person / webinar training available upon request
in the Washington, DC area
•  NCES Online Resources
–  Distance Learning Dataset Training (DLDT) (
http://nces.ed.gov/training/) - interactive tool to learn
about NCES data across the education spectrum and
evaluate it for suitability for particular research purposes.
–  ED Data Inventory (http://datainventory.ed.gov/)
describes data reported to the Department of Education
and contains descriptive information about each data
collection.
28
Recommendation #5: Training on NPSAS
•  NCES Online Resources
–  DataLab Learning Center (
http://nces.ed.gov/datalab/learningcenter/learn.aspx)
provides video training modules, guides, and exercises
on using QuickStats, PowerStats, and TrendStats.
–  College and Careers Tables Library (
http://nces.ed.gov/datalab/tableslibrary/home.aspx)
contains tables from NCES reports, ad hoc tables, and
user-requested tables.
29
Recommendation #6: Link Students in
Similar Program Structures
•  NCES is looking forward to receiving more
feedback on this recommendation.
•  NCES held a Technical Review Panel for the
Graduate component of NPSAS to increase
the utility of the survey and improve sampling.
•  Feedback from experts on how to design the
NPSAS graduate student sample to allow for
comparisons between programs or other
categorization was inconclusive.
30

11 © 2016 NASFAA
Recommendation #7: Increase the sample
size of G/P students surveyed in NPSAS
•  NCES is open to exploring the increase in sample
size for graduate students.
•  There are many challenges to obtaining a high
enough sample size to enable financial aid
comparisons to be made at the program/field and
degree levels. There are too many programs to collect
representative data on each one given current
funding.
•  Classifying programs into common groups or
categories may yield a workable solution.
31
32
NewsFlash
URL: http://ies.ed.gov/newsflash
33
Questions?
Tracy Hunt-White
tracy.hunt-white@ed.gov
202-245-6507

12 © 2016 NASFAA
Open Discussion/Ques@ons
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2016 NASFAA National Conference Graduate Student Data Task Force

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