Common Data Set / Student Right-to-Know Act

The Common Data Set (CDS) initiative is 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 combined goal of this collaboration is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved in a student’s transition into higher education, as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers.

This goal is attained by the development of clear, standard data items and definitions in order to determine a specific cohort relevant to each item. Data items and definitions used by the U.S. Department of Education in its higher education surveys often serve as a guide in the continued development of the CDS. Common Data Set items undergo broad review by the CDS Advisory Board as well as by data providers representing secondary schools and two- and four-year colleges.

Download 2021-2022 Common Data Set

Student Right-to-Know Act

The Student Right-to-Know Act, passed by Congress in 1990, requires institutions eligible for Title IV funding, under the Higher Education Act of 1965, to calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or degree-seeking, full-time students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates to current and prospective students. Every institution that participates in any Title IV program and is attended by students receiving athletically-related student aid is required to disclose graduation/completion rates of all students as well as students receiving athletically-related student aid by race/ethnicity, gender and by sport, and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years, to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes. To read more about the Student Right-to-Know Act, please visit the National Center for Education Statistics website at http://nces.ed.gov.

Navigator

College Navigator is a free consumer information tool designed to help students, parents, high school counselors, and others search for and obtain information about U.S. post-secondary institutions. Launch the College Navigator page for the University of Maine at Presque Isle.