James S. Murphy
@jamessmurphy.bsky.social
Sometimes I write slow, sometimes I write quick. Mostly about college stuff.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.jamessmurphy.com
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.jamessmurphy.com
@ipeds_nces has until next Friday to release the Winter 2024-5 survey data before it will be the latest release ever.
November 26, 2025 at 7:59 PM
@ipeds_nces has until next Friday to release the Winter 2024-5 survey data before it will be the latest release ever.
NCES sites still down for me, three hours later. Are others seeing the same? @robertkelchen.com @bakerdphd.bsky.social @zachschermele.bsky.social @knottkatherine.bsky.social
IPEDS, Digest of Education Statistics, College Navigator, Common Core of Data, they all look like this as of 9:40 EST:
IPEDS, Digest of Education Statistics, College Navigator, Common Core of Data, they all look like this as of 9:40 EST:
November 26, 2025 at 2:41 PM
NCES sites still down for me, three hours later. Are others seeing the same? @robertkelchen.com @bakerdphd.bsky.social @zachschermele.bsky.social @knottkatherine.bsky.social
IPEDS, Digest of Education Statistics, College Navigator, Common Core of Data, they all look like this as of 9:40 EST:
IPEDS, Digest of Education Statistics, College Navigator, Common Core of Data, they all look like this as of 9:40 EST:
Saw a post over the weekend speculating that "elite" universities would soon be the only place offering bachelor's degrees in the humanities. I'm not so sure.
November 24, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Saw a post over the weekend speculating that "elite" universities would soon be the only place offering bachelor's degrees in the humanities. I'm not so sure.
Summer vacation proves kids don't need to go to school.
November 17, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Summer vacation proves kids don't need to go to school.
I worry that the financial and political pressure the Trump administration is putting on higher ed and the state of general anxiety and uncertainty will lead admissions offices to enroll even more students through ED, which favors the students with the most advantages.
November 15, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I worry that the financial and political pressure the Trump administration is putting on higher ed and the state of general anxiety and uncertainty will lead admissions offices to enroll even more students through ED, which favors the students with the most advantages.
Next year, they estimate that ACTS will only take 40 hours, which will make the burden 50% larger than at present.
November 13, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Next year, they estimate that ACTS will only take 40 hours, which will make the burden 50% larger than at present.
The average number of hours it takes an institution to complete *all* of IPEDS: 78.5
The estimated number of hours is will take to complete *just* the ACTS survey component this year: 200.
The party of small government has more than doubled the administrative burden on colleges & universities.
The estimated number of hours is will take to complete *just* the ACTS survey component this year: 200.
The party of small government has more than doubled the administrative burden on colleges & universities.
November 13, 2025 at 2:39 PM
The average number of hours it takes an institution to complete *all* of IPEDS: 78.5
The estimated number of hours is will take to complete *just* the ACTS survey component this year: 200.
The party of small government has more than doubled the administrative burden on colleges & universities.
The estimated number of hours is will take to complete *just* the ACTS survey component this year: 200.
The party of small government has more than doubled the administrative burden on colleges & universities.
ACTS is going to require colleges to report unweighted HS GPA. Which means that every admissions office is now going to have to calculate an unweighted GPA. Which means that high schools are going to have to report an unweighted GPA. That's from 1 change to IPEDS.
November 13, 2025 at 2:17 PM
ACTS is going to require colleges to report unweighted HS GPA. Which means that every admissions office is now going to have to calculate an unweighted GPA. Which means that high schools are going to have to report an unweighted GPA. That's from 1 change to IPEDS.
My intuition was that the more selective a college is, the less important tuition would be as a share of total revenue.
My intuition was wrong. I would love to be able to break this out by undergrad vs grad tuition revenue.
My intuition was wrong. I would love to be able to break this out by undergrad vs grad tuition revenue.
November 12, 2025 at 3:39 PM
My intuition was that the more selective a college is, the less important tuition would be as a share of total revenue.
My intuition was wrong. I would love to be able to break this out by undergrad vs grad tuition revenue.
My intuition was wrong. I would love to be able to break this out by undergrad vs grad tuition revenue.
Community colleges? Falling.
November 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Community colleges? Falling.
But what about private colleges??? COA also falling.
November 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM
But what about private colleges??? COA also falling.
Look everybody! It's your annual reminder to look at the actual cost of attending college, not the sticker price. Even if it means acknowledging the the COA of public colleges has been falling.
November 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Look everybody! It's your annual reminder to look at the actual cost of attending college, not the sticker price. Even if it means acknowledging the the COA of public colleges has been falling.
I added Tufts to the post-SFFA tracker, which now contains 23 colleges and institutions. No Hopkins, no Duke, no Stanford, no Brown, no Dartmouth.
At this point last year, I had 35. I do not think we are going to get there this year.
At this point last year, I had 35. I do not think we are going to get there this year.
November 6, 2025 at 2:39 AM
I added Tufts to the post-SFFA tracker, which now contains 23 colleges and institutions. No Hopkins, no Duke, no Stanford, no Brown, no Dartmouth.
At this point last year, I had 35. I do not think we are going to get there this year.
At this point last year, I had 35. I do not think we are going to get there this year.
Today is the deadline for Early Decision. I've got a new report out called "The Use and Abuse of Early Decision." I'm worried that the political and financial pressure created by the Trump Administration is going to lead some colleges to lean in even more on ED.
November 1, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Today is the deadline for Early Decision. I've got a new report out called "The Use and Abuse of Early Decision." I'm worried that the political and financial pressure created by the Trump Administration is going to lead some colleges to lean in even more on ED.
This is what I was coming here to say. IPEDS suggests the New College is not seeing a ton of money in federal grants.
October 27, 2025 at 6:14 PM
This is what I was coming here to say. IPEDS suggests the New College is not seeing a ton of money in federal grants.
LSU will spend more money paying off a fired coach than it did on merit scholarships last year.
October 27, 2025 at 2:21 AM
LSU will spend more money paying off a fired coach than it did on merit scholarships last year.
That chart doesn't indicate those comparisons aren't all apples to apples.
Some institutions continue to report %ages in ways that aren't consistent w/ federal reporting standards. Harvard reports in a way that's utterly bespoke
Here's a more accurate view. jamessmurphy.com/2025/09/15/t...
Some institutions continue to report %ages in ways that aren't consistent w/ federal reporting standards. Harvard reports in a way that's utterly bespoke
Here's a more accurate view. jamessmurphy.com/2025/09/15/t...
October 26, 2025 at 4:21 PM
That chart doesn't indicate those comparisons aren't all apples to apples.
Some institutions continue to report %ages in ways that aren't consistent w/ federal reporting standards. Harvard reports in a way that's utterly bespoke
Here's a more accurate view. jamessmurphy.com/2025/09/15/t...
Some institutions continue to report %ages in ways that aren't consistent w/ federal reporting standards. Harvard reports in a way that's utterly bespoke
Here's a more accurate view. jamessmurphy.com/2025/09/15/t...
The nest time you see a story about the kid who got over 1500 on the SAT and got rejected from their dream school remember this: ~40,000 people break 1500 on the SAT each year, and they're all applying to a lot of schools.
October 25, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The nest time you see a story about the kid who got over 1500 on the SAT and got rejected from their dream school remember this: ~40,000 people break 1500 on the SAT each year, and they're all applying to a lot of schools.
Here's what happened with enrollment after the SFFA decision, comparing the average of the 2 years before and the average of the 2 years after.
October 25, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Here's what happened with enrollment after the SFFA decision, comparing the average of the 2 years before and the average of the 2 years after.
The post-SFFA admissions tracker is now up to 22 schools with the addition of MIT, Williams, Bates, and Harvard. The last one there once again chose to publish numbers in the least clear fashion possible.
At this point last year, I had 35 schools.
At this point last year, I had 35 schools.
October 24, 2025 at 7:18 PM
The post-SFFA admissions tracker is now up to 22 schools with the addition of MIT, Williams, Bates, and Harvard. The last one there once again chose to publish numbers in the least clear fashion possible.
At this point last year, I had 35 schools.
At this point last year, I had 35 schools.
I added Amherst to the tracker. We're still at less than half the institutions I had by this point last year, but thinking we might see at least one more tomorrow.
October 23, 2025 at 1:03 AM
I added Amherst to the tracker. We're still at less than half the institutions I had by this point last year, but thinking we might see at least one more tomorrow.
Except that's not what LSAC is showing
October 18, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Except that's not what LSAC is showing