Common Data Set
Numerous publishers collect information each year for their college guide and ranking publications through lengthy campus questionnaires.
To reduce the amount of time and effort required to respond to duplicate questions on multiple surveys, publishers and the education community collaborated to produce a standard format (the Common Data Set) to capture most of the requested data. The publishers heading this effort are The College Board, Thomson-Peterson's, and U.S. News and World Report.
The Common Data Set is organized around the following topics:
A. General Campus
B. Enrollment and Persistence
C. First-Time, First-Year (Freshmen) Admissions
D. Transfer Admissions
E. Academic Offerings and Policies
F. Student Life
G. Annual Expenses
H. Financial Aid
I. Instructional Faculty and Class Size
J. Degrees Conferred
Common Data Set Definitions