• Education & Training Research
• Early Childhood Education
• Elementary & Secondary Education
• Postsecondary Education
• Education Policies & Programs
• Education & Training Solutions
• International Education

Postsecondary Education

We field teams of experts in education survey methodology and postsecondary education to conduct large-scale, national cross-sectional, and longitudinal studies for the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and other clients. Project personnel direct all aspects of survey project operations, including sample selection, instrument design, computing, tracing, data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Our surveys use Web, telephone, field, and other data collection methods. These studies gather data on a variety of issues affecting students, faculty, and former students. Current and recent surveys focus on key postsecondary issues such as student access and choice, persistence, attainment, financial aid, and rate of return. The statistical results are used by policy makers, planners, and educators to solve problems and to set directions at the postsecondary level.

Focus Areas

• Institutional studies
• Student surveys
• International education surveys

Capabilities

• Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies; study design; sampling
• Instrument design, testing, and delivery using multiple modes of data collection
• Data collection and data management; respondent tracing; institutional contacting
• Quantitative analysis; data tabulations and descriptive reporting
• Transcript keying and coding

Projects

• 2009 Postsecondary Education Transcript Study (PETS) (Oct 2007 to present). PETS:09 collects postsecondary transcripts for the two NCES longitudinal studies described below, the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B) and the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS). For the B&B:08 cohort, only transcripts from the institution awarding the bachelor's degree are being collected. For the BPS:04 cohort, transcripts from all postsecondary institutions attended since 2003-04 (their first year in college) are being collected. Transcript data are being keyed into a computer-based system. Courses taken are being coded using a hybrid coder based on the NCES Classification of Instructional Programs schema and the College Coursemapping.
• Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B) (July 2007 to present) and Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) (July 2007 to present). These two studies collect data from students who originally participated in NPSAS, asking questions about their job search activities, education, employment experiences after graduation, and the impact of postsecondary education on subsequent life experiences (employment, family formation, lifestyles).
• Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (May 2006 to present). RTI is redesigning and conducting this NSF annual survey which provides academic department level data on the number and characteristics of students in graduate science and engineering and health-related fields enrolleed in U.S. institutions. NSF uses the results of this annual survey to assess trends in financial support patterns and shifts in graduate enrollment and postdoctoral appointments.
• 2008 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) (Sept 2005 to present). NPSAS is the only periodic, nationally representative survey of student financial aid, the fundamental purpose of which is to create a research data set for a large sample of students that brings together information about federal, state, and private aid programs, and gathers additional demographic and enrollment data to establish the appropriate context. The 2008 NPSAS will provide detailed information on the affordability of and access to all levels of postsecondary education and will serve as the base year for a new longitudinal cohort for the Baccalaureate and Beyond study of graduating seniors, which has follow-up studies planned for 2009 and 2012.
• Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) (June 2003 to present). IPEDS is a series of related surveys designed to collect institution-level data from 6,600 postsecondary institutions in the United States on institutional characteristics, enrollment, program completion, pricing, finances, graduation rates, student financial aid, staff, and instructional faculty. IPEDS provides NCES with the basic data needed to meet its mandate to report full and complete statistics on the condition of postsecondary education in the United States.
• National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (May 2002 to Dec 2007). This study provides data about faculty and instructional staff at public and private not-for-profit 2- and 4-year postsecondary institutions in the United States to postsecondary education researchers, planners, and policymakers.