Data Sources
A transparent catalog of the authoritative federal and public datasets that power EDsmart Data charts, tables, and rankings.
Evidence-first assurance
Every primary figure on this site is sourced from authoritative federal agencies or named public records. We do not invent campus marketing stats or crowdsourced sentiment for core rankings. Accuracy and verifiability come before speed.
Higher education datasets
College Scorecard
U.S. Department of Education consumer data on costs, completion, debt, and post-enrollment earnings where published.
IPEDS (NCES)
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System — enrollment, completions, institutional characteristics, prices, and student aid.
NCES
National Center for Education Statistics — broader education statistics, College Navigator, and related research series.
Federal Student Aid
Title IV aid volumes, cohort default and repayment context where cited on debt and aid pages.
Workforce & economic indicators
O*NET OnLine
U.S. Department of Labor occupational tasks, skills, and work environments used to align majors and career profiles.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
OEWS wages, employment counts, and occupational projections used on career pages and ROI context.
Data harmonization process
Ingestion
Pull from published federal files and documented APIs—no undocumented scraping for primary metrics.
Validation
Cross-check Scorecard vs IPEDS where both report related fields; suppress unreliable small-n cells.
Contextualization
Apply page-level filters and document cohort rules so comparisons stay explicit.
Data quality standards
Datasets that fail more than one of these criteria are excluded from primary rankings and headline metrics.
- Public accountability
Derived from a publicly funded agency or transparent research entity. - Sample size robustness
Small-n cells are suppressed per federal privacy and reliability rules. - Temporal relevance
“Current” views use the latest published release; lag is noted on the page. - Documented methodology
Definitions align with Scorecard, IPEDS, OEWS, or O*NET documentation cited on-page.
Supplemental contextual datasets
| Dataset | Contribution | Access |
|---|---|---|
| Census ACS (5-Year) | Demographic and regional context on select pages | Public API |
| FRED (St. Louis Fed) | Macro series when interest-rate or debt context is cited | Open access |
| State longitudinal systems | State-specific pipelines only when explicitly named | Varies by state |