Common Data Sets
The Common Data Set is a product of the Common Data Set Initiative, 鈥渁 collaborative effort among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Peterson鈥檚, and U.S. News & World Report.鈥� The stated goal is to provide accurate and timely data to students and their families while decreasing the workload of administrators. In producing their popular publications and rankings, these publishers 鈥渁sk the same core questions鈥� of institutions using the Common Data Set to define those questions and their responses.