PETS

Abstract

Transcript data provide researchers with an important analytic resource, creating opportunities to study course-taking patterns, credit transfer, student momentum and attrition, and the connection among course and major choices, occupations, and wages. Seven NCES longitudinal studies have collected postsecondary transcripts, beginning with the National Longitudinal Study of 1972, the transcripts for which were collected in 1984. The most recent NCES studies to contain transcript data are the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), the Beginning Postsescondary Students Study of 2004/2009 (BPS:04/09), and the Baccalaureate and Beyond Study of 2008 (B&B:08). Transcript data for these studies are available through the NCES restricted data program (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/licenses.asp). Data can also be analyzed online through PowerStats (nces.ed.gov/datalab) and/or downloaded from the Education Data Analysis Tool (eDAT) as a public use file, depending on the study.