QuickStats - NEW Online Tool Makes Data Available to Public

The National Center for Education Statistics announces the availability of QuickStats, a new data tool that makes several postsecondary education datasets easily accessible to the public.

QuickStats allows public access for data consumers -- such as policy makers, legislative staff, journalists, students, and others -- to answer questions using data collected by NCES. Users can easily create tables by selecting from a list of datasets, then selecting variables contained within as column and row categories, employing a simple drag-and-drop process. Once the tables are produced, they can choose to view their results in bar graph form, downloads into MS Excel, create a printer layout, or save them by generating a unique table ID for quick retrieval.

QuickStats allows users to obtain data from the following studies:

  • NEW! National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:08). Just released, NPSAS:08 is the most current nationally representative study of U.S. undergraduate and graduate students, with a special focus on how students and their families pay for college. QuickStats also includes data from NPSAS:04.
  • Baccalaureate and Beyond (B & B), a study of bachelor's degree recipients and their plans for and experiences after college graduation, including graduate study. The 1992-1993 longitudinal cohort was followed periodically for 10 years after graduation.
  • Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS), which follows first-time students beginning their postsecondary education, typically over a period of 6 years. The 1995-96 cohort was followed through 2001. The 2003-04 cohort was interviewed in 2006 and is currently being interviewed again.
  • National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF), a study of full-time and part-time postsecondary faculty and instructional staff at 2-year and 4-year institutions. NSOPF was last conducted in 2004.

QuickStats users can answer such questions as:

  • What percentage of all undergraduates are obtaining student loans and how much have they borrowed?
  • What is the average cost of attending one year at a private 4-year college?
  • What percentage of low-income freshmen who started college in fall 2003 were still enrolled three years later?
  • What was the average debt of graduating seniors in 2008?
  • What percentage of Hispanic 2008 bachelor's degree recipients enrolled in graduate study?

For more information, visit QuickStats at http://www.nces.ed.gov/datalab