Common Data Set

Common data definitions for US colleges and universities The Common Data Set (CDS) is an annual product of the Common Data Set Initiative, "a collaborative effort among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Peterson's, and U.S. News & World Report." The stated goal is to provide accurate and timely data to students and their families while decreasing the workload of administrators. Publishers use the standards and data items defined by the CDS to "ask the same core questions" (in addition to their own proprietary ones) when making their rankings and publications of institutions. Response data are also used in public accountability efforts such as the Voluntary System of Accountability's College Portrait. Annual CDS survey results Each year, the Common Data Set Initiative makes small changes to the surveys submitted for every contributing college and university to complete. While the resulting database of all responses is not available to the public, individual colleges and universities typically publish their responses on their own website. These individual responses can provide useful information for students applying