FEBP Website Now Includes Higher Education Data for Every State and Institution

Over the past five years, policymakers across the country have turned their focus to the availability and use of education data. These data, whether they focus on funding, demographics, or outcomes, can be important and powerful tools in the policymaking process. Despite national calls for improved access to data (by policymakers, researchers and the public, alike), much of today’s education data are still buried deep inside state and federal agencies or available in inaccessible formats.

The Federal Education Budget Project (FEBP), an initiative of the New America Foundation and Ed Money Watch’s parent initiative, seeks to bring those data into the light. Today, FEBP released the latest version of its website, www.EdBudgetProject.org, which expands upon an already rich array of education data. Since its launch in 2008, FEBP has become the largest, most up-to-date source of information on both K-12 and higher education funding, demographics, and outcomes. See the video below for a brief introduction to the site.

The FEBP website now provides data on every institution of higher education in the country, including an easy-to-read account of federal financial aid trends, student demographics, and student and school outcomes at each institution. These data can be used to compare federal funding across institutions, assess the degree to which students at individual schools have access to various forms of financial aid, and evaluate student and school outcomes at different types of institutions.

The newly released data include:

• Allocations and disbursements of federal grants and loans such as Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, Grad PLUS Loans, Work-Study, and Perkins Loans;
• Average grant and loan awards and student participation rates in aid programs;
• Graduation rates, retention rates, student loan default rates, and student loan repayment rates; and
• Tuition and fees, including average net price after financial aid.

The new website also features a more user-friendly interface with improved graphics and maps. These changes make the site easier to use and are tailored to the needs of various types of users including policymakers, the media, and the public. The improvements include:

• A simplified interactive comparison function for both K-12 and higher education data;
• Faster and easier data downloads for analysts and researchers; and
• More visually pleasing maps of states, K-12 school districts, and institutions of higher.

The website also includes recently updated K-12 data for every state and school district in the country. These data come from multiple sources including the U.S. Department of Education, state departments of education, and the U.S. Census Bureau. They include:

• State and district Title I allocations under the recently finalized fiscal year 2011 appropriations;
• State IDEA, Impact Aid, School Nutrition, and Education Jobs Fund allocations; and
• State and school district per pupil expenditure and demographic data for 2009.

The new version of the FEBP website allows users to follow the flow of federal dollars to states, K-12 school districts, and institutions of higher education. It is a useful tool that combines data on funding, demographics and outcomes from multiple sources and makes them all available in one easy-to-use place. Additionally, the site provides background and analysis on major federal education programs, national rankings maps and analysis, and policy papers and issue briefs.

Check back with Ed Money Watch over the coming weeks as we dive into the new K-12 and higher education data as part of our “Examining the Data” series.