In 2018, the United States Congress passed the "Strengthening of Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act." This legislation included the requirement to conduct a comprehensive local needs assessment, which must include input from community stakeholders. This project designed and evaluated a three-step process that…

This article is the second of a three-part series based on the book "Basic Guide to Financial Aid." The contents within are adapted from the publication, with additional emphasis on the impact federal student aid administration has on non-financial aid professionals in higher education today. It should be noted that this information is…

Since 2013, DaSy has tracked the status of Part C and Part B 619 state data systems to understand states' technical assistance needs, provide stakeholders with a national picture of what capacities state data systems have, and to track how those capacities are changing over time. Most recently, in spring of 2021, DaSy collected comprehensive…

Across the international higher education sector, existing studies highlight that student evaluations of courses and teaching are biased and prejudiced towards academics and can cause mental distress. Yet student evaluation data is often used as part of faculty hiring, firing, promotion, award and grant decisions. That a data source known to be…

Enrollment of students with disabilities in postsecondary education is rising, with a significant increase from 11 percent in 2004 to 21 percent in 2020. The growth rate of this population underscores the need for comprehensive and reliable data about their experiences and outcomes in higher education. Despite these trends, the field lacks robust…

The "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" (IDEA) requires state education agencies (SEAs) to establish a general supervision system for their local education agencies (LEAs), which includes making LEA determinations. In this resource, the IDEA Data Center (IDC) provides an overview of the annual LEA determinations requirements…

The restoration of Pell Grant eligibility in 2024 has catalyzed a new era for higher education in prison, opening doors for approximately 800,000 incarcerated individuals to pursue postsecondary education. Nearly 400 higher education in prison programs now operate across the US, yet basic data about these students at scale--such as enrollment,…

The prevalence of data use in education requires researchers to critically examine data-collection practices that could inform, obscure, or omit accurate representations of students. Thus, an innovative approach to accurate demographic collection and reporting can enable school districts to more accurately count and represent American…

Over the past several years, schools across the nation have seen historic declines in student performance in reading, math, and other academic subjects due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. School closures adversely affected student groups at different rates and further exacerbated long-standing learning gaps. There has been a debate among scholars for…

This guidance is for program and agency staff who have identified the need to develop a new data system or make major enhancements to an existing system. Key considerations are presented as questions to help guide staff through the initiation and planning process. The system initiation phase requires a broad team with the expertise and knowledge…

Partnerships between the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program and Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program can support and improve outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and their families. Collaboration between these programs is specified in the IDEA Part C Regulations 34 CFR…

Section 487(a)(17) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), requires postsecondary schools participating in Title IV programs to annually report data, including data relevant to students' cost of attendance and financial aid and the schools' graduation rates, to the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) Integrated Postsecondary…

This brief seeks to improve staff effectiveness while maximizing and streamlining support for students and families experiencing homelessness, ensuring they receive the assistance they need and deserve. The guidance is intended for, but not limited to, Massachusetts policymakers and Boston Public Schools (BPS) administrators, offering key insights…

This brief, the second in the series, advances a theory of change that centers the learner experience in strategies to improve institutional data collection and use and strengthen college information management systems. It is the second in the Advance CTE's Advancing Postsecondary CTE Data Quality Initiative (PDI) series highlighting five states…

This position statement focuses on the importance of the federal role in the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and why federal involvement matters. The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) recognizes the crucial role that the federal government has played in the education of students with disabilities. CEC is committed to ensuring…