Basic information is collected from institutions that do not have an open-admissions policy on the undergraduate selection process for first-time, degree/certificate-seeking students.

In IPEDS, the following enrollment-related data are collected: IPEDS collects data on the number of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who receive different types of student financial aid, including grants and loans, from different sources at each institution.

In March 2024, the NCES announced that it would be retiring the Academic Libraries survey after the 2024-2025 data collection period.

[2] College Navigator is a "free consumer information tool designed to help students, parents, high school counselors, and others get information about over 7,500 postsecondary institutions in the United States - such as programs offered, retention and graduation rates, prices, aid available, degrees awarded, campus safety, and accreditation."

In March 2005, the U.S. Department of Education released a study about the feasibility of a student unit record system within IPEDS.

This Unit Record proposal met with immediate and vocal opposition from congressional leaders as well as colleges and universities.

In a report issued in March 2006 by the Department of Education, Social Security Number was specifically excluded from the Unit Record upload data.