Survey content
The NPSAS collects data from a variety of sources: * Institutional student records are collected for each student enrolled in the study. These include student information such as major, admission test scores, grades, and financial data as well as institutional information such as the cost of tuition and institution type. * Student interviews ask about such things as language spoken in participants' childhood homes, expenses while attending college, employment, race/ethnicity. * Parents are surveyed regarding topics such as marital status, income, age, occupation, and the types of financing used to pay for their child's postsecondary education. * Financial Aid ( FAFSA) records are collected from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). This data contains information about financial need (in the form of expected family contributions), loans granted, total debt, and repayment status. In addition, an element called the non-traditional student risk index is calculated using risk factors for dropping out of college. This index includes factors that have been correlated with low persistence such as working full-time, being a single parent, and being enrolled part-time.Use of NPSAS data in research
Aggregate NPSAS data is made available to the public via the Department of Education's website. Data containing personally identifiable information is only available to researchers who apply for and obtain a restricted use license from the Department of Education. NPSAS data is used by researchers to identify trends, for example in student loan repayments and the demographics of postsecondary students. This trend data is used in a variety of ways, for example identifying best practices in decreasing inequalities in higher education and means of increasing student persistence. Selected examples of NPSAS data research include: * A 2019 Pew Research Center report identified a rise in student poverty, particularly at less selective institutions. * An article published in the 2019 volume of the journal ''Educational Researcher,'' which discusses the differences in student borrowing across race and ethnicity. * An Urban Institute report published in 2022 studying the impacts of inflation and financial aid borrowing limits on postsecondary students. * A 2022 article in the journal ''Harvard Educational Review'' outlines the impact of the post-9/11 GI bill on the college choices of Veterans.Trends
Criticisms of the NPSAS
The most recently released full NPSAS data set is from 2015 to 2016, nearly seven years out-of-date at the time of this writing, and researchers have emphasized the importance of a more timely release of data, especially given the turbulence of higher education policy. Researchers have also critiqued the level of aggregation of NPSAS data sets made available without expensive and difficult-to-obtain restricted data use licenses, and have commented on limitations of the PowerStats online data analysis tool to group students by multiple variables and to create new variables. Others have found that useful variables are not included in the NPSAS, for example the status of tax return filings and high school grades. Another criticism is that the data collection cycle necessarily discounts students who drop out early in their studies or who enroll in a semester other than Fall. Similarly, Pell Grant data is not available by semester, making it difficult to calculate eligibility for part-time students. At other times, the differences in data collection between the NPSAS and other government entities makes it difficult to make direct comparisons.{{Cite web , title=Publication of the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition , url=http://www.ncset.org/publications/viewdesc.asp?id=1747 , access-date=2023-04-12 , website=www.ncset.orgReferences
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