Below are links to databases and resources used extensively by postsecondary institutions, associations and governmental bodies to support higher education policy development, research, planning and decision-making activities.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) - Collects, analyzes and makes available data related to education in the US and other nations. The following tools are available to users to access data collected by NCES:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) compiles, analyzes and disseminates quantitative information about domestic and international resources devoted to science, engineering and technology. The following tool is available to access data collected by NSF:
Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA) - A voluntary initiative for 4-year public colleges and universities that communicates information on the undergraduate student experience through a common web reporting template, the College Portrait.
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching - An independent policy and research center with a primary mission "to do and perform all things necessary to encourage, uphold, and dignify the profession of the teacher and the cause of higher education." The Foundation established the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, widely used in the study of higher education as a way to represent and control for institutional differences, and also in the design of research studies to ensure adequate representation of sampled institutions, students, or faculty. The Carnegie Foundation website provides tools for looking up specific institutions, listing all institutions in a particular classification category, aggregating categories within a classification, and examining points of intersection across two or more classifications.