VT Census Case Studies : Oklahoma Higher Education/Workforce

Created by ziemer, last modified by kja5wk on 16 Jun 2015

Variables included in the Dataset:

K-12

  • Demographics
  • School
  • District
  • Attendance/Dropout
  • Grades/GPA
  • Courses
  • Test scores
  • ACT/SAT
  • Disciplinary action
  • Teacher info (salaries, etc.)

Higher Education

  • Demographics
  • Type of college
  • Enrollment
  • Courses
  • Major
  • Grades
  • Tuition/Scholarships

Workforce

  • Demographics
  • Salary
  • Industry

Link: http://www.okhighered.org/studies-reports/

 

Date Inventory Completed: 5/31/15

Screening

  • Is there data available for 2013?
  • Can we access the data by August 15th? Unclear

Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? UNDECIDED

Explanation: The student-level data for higher education appears to be more accessible than for K-12. The website states that the data can linked to K-12 and workforce data. It is unclear, however, which K-12 variables can be linked. The usefulness of this data will depend on how long the review process takes once a request is submitted. However, if the process does not take a long time, this could be a very useful dataset given that it links K-12 and workforce.

Full Inventory

Purpose

  • What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?

“The State Regents establish the principles governing access to and the dissemination of information gathered and maintained through the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education's Unitary Data System “

  • Who else uses the data? (make a note if they sell the data to companies)

Policy-makers, researchers, higher education institutions

 

Description

  • What is the general topic of the data?
  • K-12 Student Information
  • Higher Education Student Information
  • Workforce Information
  • Longitudinal Education Information (includes K-12, Higher Ed, and/or Workforce)

 

  • What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?

1997-2014

  • How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided?

Less than one year

 

Method

  • What is the data collection method (portal, other)?

Unknown

  • What is the raw source of the collected data (teacher, superintendent)?

Institutions report their own data, however, it is unclear who at the institutions is in charge of reporting.

 

Selectivity (conversely, the representativeness)

  • What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?

Students attending public and private higher education institutions in Louisiana. “There are 30 data-reporting entitites, institutions and branch campuses in the Oklahoma State System for Higher Education. Some of the private institutions do not participate in UDS, so grand totals including private institutions are not complete. Oklahoma has 25 public higher education institutions, 20 branch campuses and five learning centers. In addition, there are 12 private higher education institutions that are regionally accredited.”

 

Stability/Coherence

  • Note any changes to the universe of data being captured (e.g., including private schools).

The institutions that participate in the UDS and therefore report their data may have changed over the years.

  • Note any changes to the data capture method or sources of data.

Unknown

 

Metadata

  • Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?

No

  • Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?

Yes

  • Can K-12 be linked to higher ed or higher ed to workforce?

Yes. The website states that the higher education data can be linked to both workforce and K-12 data. There are downloadable files on the website that link individual high schools with college enrollment. However, other data linking K-12 to  higher education may not available to researchers.

  • Links to codebooks:

N/A

Accuracy

  • Any known sources of error?

Unknown

  • Describe any quality control checks performed by the state (or data manager).

Unknown

 

Accessibility

  • How is the school-level data accessed (note if it needs to be screen scraped)?

Pdf report as well as csv downloadable files: http://www.okhighered.org/studies-reports/preparation.shtml

  • How is the student-level data accessed?

Researchers complete a data request form: http://www.okhighered.org/studies-reports/data-access-mgmt/data-request-form.pdf

  • Note if IRB is needed or any other restrictions on accessing data.

No

  • Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source?

Unknown

  • Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

Does not state any cost.

 

Privacy and security

  • Note any confidentiality policies or legal limitations other than FERPA:

N/A

  • What do they consider personally identifiable information?

“Information contained in an education record such as a personal identifier, characteristic, or other information that would make the students identity easily traceable.”


Research

  • What research has been done with this dataset?

Employment outcomes of public college and university graduates, high school to college transition, student retention.

Describe any other notes you have or any gaps/concerns you see with this dataset:
The usefulness of this data will depend on how long the review process takes once a request is submitted. However, if the process does not take a long time, this could be a very useful dataset given that it links K-12 and workforce.