The Common Data Set (CDS) is a collaborative initiative between institutions of higher education and publishers such as the College Board, Peterson's, and U.S. News & World Report. The intent of this collaboration is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to prospective college and university students, and to reduce the reporting burden on higher education institutions.
The CDS is a set of standards and definitions of data items rather than a survey instrument or dataset. Each of the higher education surveys conducted by the participating publishers incorporates items from the CDS as well as unique items to distinguish the various surveys. Many of the terms in the CDS are defined in the .
Please direct any questions or comments regarding the CDS to: oiagallup@unm.edu
