Overview[]
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is the federal government’s core postsecondary data collection program. All postsecondary schools participating in federal student financial aid programs are required to complete a group of annual surveys on a variety of topics. While IPEDS has the most up-to-date, comprehensive data on postsecondary schools, the only distance education data collected are whether an institution offers distance education opportunities to its students. No data on the extent of a school’s distance education offerings are collected. Additionally, because the IPEDS definition of distance education course has changed over time, consistent trend data are not readily available.