New Data, New Research Possibilities: A Brief Introduction to College and Beyond II

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

College and Beyond II is a new data resource funded by the Mellon Foundation and available to researchers through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). Like the original College and Beyond data--which was collected in the 1990s and resulted in such pivotal works as The Shape of the River--College and Beyond II aims to produce new insights into how higher education works, and for whom. However, College and Beyond II differs from its predecessor by focusing on public education. And the richness and scale of CBII makes it unique among currently available higher education data resources.

College and Beyond II (CBII) contains administrative data on all bachelor’s-seeking undergraduates enrolled from 2000-2020 at six public institutions [Georgia College & State University, Indiana University-Bloomington, Truman State University, University of California-Irvine, University of Houston, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor] and an entire university system [City University of New York]. This administrative data links to qualitative data on course content and respondents’ writing about undergraduate experiences, survey data on long-term life outcomes (for example, psychological well-being and democratic engagement), and National Student Clearinghouse data on educational attainment. When CBII is released in summer 2022 it will be available to the research community in ICPSR’s virtual data enclave, a restricted environment that protects student confidentiality.

No matter which research methodologies and paradigms researchers employ, College and Beyond II will likely be able to facilitate their work.This workshop will provide researchers with the tools needed to begin planning a study and “hit the ground running” when the data is available. Researchers will leave the workshop with an understanding of the data’s potential to answer critical questions about undergraduate education, examples of how it can be used to measure constructs, and step-by-step instructions on how to apply for data access.

Sub Unit

• AERA Research and Science Policy Series

Chair

• Allyson Flaster, University of Michigan/ICPSR

Presenters

• Carson Byrd, University of Michgian

• Kelly Hartwell, University of Michigan

• Susan Jekielek, University of Michigan

• Andrew Moos, University of Michigan

• Annaliese Paulson, University of Michigan