Institutional Research and Effectiveness Support - UWF Common Data Set

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, Thomson Peterson's, and U.S. News & World Report. The combined goal of this collaboration is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved in a student's transition into higher education, as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers.

When possible, this goal is attained by the development of clear, standard data items and definitions in order to determine a specific cohort relevant to each item. Data items and definitions used by the U.S. Department of Education in its higher education surveys often serve as a guide in the continued development of the CDS. NOTE: Readers are cautioned that some data may not be comparable across institutions, because there can be differences in definitions, cohorts, and dates when snapshots of data are taken. Common Data Set, IPEDS, and State University System of Florida definitions sometimes change, so care should be taken when comparing performance across reporting cycles. Additionally, UWF believes that the accuracy of the data it collects and reports is paramount to ensuring accountability. Thus, the University may resubmit some data to correct errors when they are discovered. This policy may lead to changes in historical data in reports compiled at later points in time.

The CDS is a set of standards and definitions of data items rather than a survey instrument or set of data represented in a database. Each of the higher education surveys conducted by the participating publishers incorporates items from the CDS as well as unique items proprietary to each publisher. Consequently, the publishers' surveys differ in that they utilize varying numbers of items from the CDS.

NOTE: The Common Data Set is under review to ensure consistency with Board of Governors policies and definitions.