Common Data Set

The Common Data Set (CDS) is a standardized questionnaire that contains many frequently asked questions about institutions of higher education (e.g., student demographics, financial aid, and tuition). It was a collaboration among colleges, universities, and publishers (i.e., the College Board, Peterson's, and U.S. News & World Report) to improve the comparability of higher education institutions and to reduce the workload of data providers. Institutions of higher education voluntarily complete the CDS, and their responses are used in many publications and rankings, such as U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" guide. Our responses to the CDS are available.