HBCU Default Risk

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

This repository analyzes student loan repayment and default-related indicators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Ivy League institutions, and community colleges. Analysis is performed in R using the rscorecard and ipeds packages; see code/hbcu-ivy.Rmd and code/ipeds_import.Rmd.

All source data files are stored under /data

Data sets

Dataset	Description	Source	Access Method	Location in/data
RScorecard	U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data on higher education institutions, including student loan repayment rates, completion rates, Pell Grant status, debt, and post-completion earnings.	College Scorecard via the rscorecard R package (data.gov API)	Queried live in R viasc_init() / sc_filter() / sc_select() / sc_get(); requires a free data.gov API key	Not cached as a file — pulled live via API incode/hbcu-ivy.Rmd
IPEDS	Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System institutional characteristics, directory information (HD survey), enrollment, graduation rates, institutional characteristics (IC), and student financial aid/net price data.	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) IPEDS via the ipeds R package and direct IPEDS data downloads	Queried in R viaipeds::load_ipeds() / ipeds::ipeds_survey(); supplementary tables downloaded directly from the IPEDS Data Center	data/downloaded/ (IPEDS 2020-21 database), data/ipeds-2023-*.csv (2023 graduation rate, institutional characteristics, and net price extracts), data/4-2-2025---421/ (custom IPEDS data extract and value labels)

RScorecard variables

Variables selected via sc_select() in code/hbcu-ivy.Rmd for the HBCU, Ivy League, and community college cohorts.

Variable Name	Description	Type	Source	Notes
unitid	Unique 6-digit institution identifier.	Character (ID)	College Scorecard	NCES unit ID; primary key used to merge with IPEDS data.
opeid6	6-digit OPE ID.	Character (ID)	College Scorecard	Used to link to federal aid/NSLDS data.
instnm	Institution name	Character	College Scorecard
stabbr	State postal abbreviation.	Character	College Scorecard
lo_inc_rpy_5yr_rt	5-year repayment rate for low-income borrowers (family income < $30,000).	Numeric (proportion)	College Scorecard
md_inc_rpy_5yr_rt	5-year repayment rate for middle-income borrowers (family income $30,000–$75,000).	Numeric (proportion)	College Scorecard
hi_inc_rpy_5yr_rt	5-year repayment rate for high-income borrowers (family income > $75,000).	Numeric (proportion)	College Scorecard
c150_4	Adjusted cohort completion rate at 150% of normal time, 4-year institutions.	Numeric (proportion)	College Scorecard	Sourced from the IPEDS Graduation Rates component.
d150_4	Adjusted cohort count (denominator) for the 150% completion rate, 4-year institutions.	Numeric (count)	College Scorecard
pctpell_dcs	Share of degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates awarded a Pell Grant.	Numeric (proportion)	College Scorecard
pell_debt_mdn	Median cumulative loan debt for Pell Grant recipients at time of leaving the institution.	Numeric (USD)	College Scorecard
grad_debt_mdn_supp	Median cumulative loan debt for completers.	Numeric (USD)	College Scorecard	Suppressed when n < 30.
grad_debt_mdn10yr_supp	Median completer debt expressed as an estimated monthly payment under 10-year amortization.	Numeric (USD)	College Scorecard	Suppressed when n < 30.
md_earn_wne_5yr	Median earnings of graduates working and not enrolled 5 years after completion.	Numeric (USD)	College Scorecard
md_earn_wne_inc1_p6	Median earnings 6 years after entry for students in the lowest earnings tercile.	Numeric (USD)	College Scorecard

IPEDS variables

Variables selected from the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics Directory (HD survey) via ipeds::ipeds_survey() / ipeds::load_ipeds() in code/hbcu-ivy.Rmd and code/ipeds_import.Rmd, plus variables selected from the 2023 Institutional Characteristics (IC), Graduation Rates (GR), and Student Financial Aid (SFA) CSV extracts in code/ipeds_import.Rmd.

Variable Name	Description	Type	Source	Notes
unitid	6-digit institution identification number.	Character (ID)	IPEDSHD survey	NCES unit ID; primary key used to merge with College Scorecard data. Used inhbcu-ivy.Rmd and ipeds_import.Rmd.
instnm	Institution name.	Character	IPEDSHD survey	Used inhbcu-ivy.Rmd and ipeds_import.Rmd.
webaddr	Institution's web address.	Character (URL)	IPEDSHD survey	Used inhbcu-ivy.Rmd and ipeds_import.Rmd.
stabbr	State postal abbreviation.	Character	IPEDSHD survey	Used inhbcu-ivy.Rmd and ipeds_import.Rmd.
control	Institutional control/sector (e.g., public, private not-for-profit, private for-profit).	Character (categorical)	IPEDSHD survey	Recoded from numeric codes to labels viaipeds::recodeDirectory(). Used inhbcu-ivy.Rmd and ipeds_import.Rmd.
UNITID	Institution identifier as named in the raw 2023 CSV exports (uppercase); equivalent tounitid above.	Character (ID)	IPEDS 2023 CSV extracts (IC, GR, SFA)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd to preview the ic, gradrate, and aid data frames.
PEO1ISTR	Whether the institution offers occupational instructional programs (may lead to a certificate, degree, or other formal award).	Numeric (binary flag)	IPEDSIC survey (2023)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd.
PEO2ISTR	Whether the institution offers academic instructional programs (leading to a certificate, degree, or diploma).	Numeric (binary flag)	IPEDSIC survey (2023)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd.
PEO3ISTR	Whether the institution offers continuing professional education programs (postbaccalaureate only).	Numeric (binary flag)	IPEDSIC survey (2023)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd.
PEO4ISTR	Whether the institution offers recreational or avocational instructional programs.	Numeric (binary flag)	IPEDSIC survey (2023)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd.
GRTYPE	Cohort/graduation-status type code (e.g., bachelor's-degree-seeking cohort at 150% of normal time).	Numeric (categorical code)	IPEDSGR survey (2023)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd.
CHRTSTAT	Graduation-rate status of a student within the cohort (e.g., completer, transfer-out, still enrolled, no longer enrolled).	Numeric (categorical code)	IPEDSGR survey (2023)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd.
SECTION	Section of the IPEDS survey form the record belongs to.	Numeric (categorical code)	IPEDSGR survey (2023)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd.
COHORT	Identifier for the graduation-rate cohort (e.g., 2017 4-year cohort, 2020 2-year cohort).	Numeric (categorical code)	IPEDSGR survey (2023)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd.
SCUGRAD	Total number of undergraduate students, financial aid cohort, as of the institution's fall reporting date.	Numeric (count)	IPEDSSFA survey (2023)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd.
SCUGDGSK	Total number of degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students, financial aid cohort.	Numeric (count)	IPEDSSFA survey (2023)	Inferred from the IPEDSSFA naming convention (DGSK = degree-seeking); used in ipeds_import.Rmd.
SCUGNDGS	Total number of non-degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students, financial aid cohort.	Numeric (count)	IPEDSSFA survey (2023)	Inferred from the IPEDSSFA naming convention (NDGS = non-degree-seeking); used in ipeds_import.Rmd.
SCUGFFN	Total number of full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students, financial aid cohort.	Numeric (count)	IPEDSSFA survey (2023)	Used inipeds_import.Rmd.

Repository structure

• code/ — R Markdown analysis (hbcu-ivy.Rmd, ipeds_import.Rmd)
• data/ — All source data files (Scorecard pulls are live via API and are not cached here)
  • downloaded/ — IPEDS 2020-21 database download
  • ipeds-2023-*.csv — 2023 IPEDS graduation rate, institutional characteristics, and net price extracts
  • 4-2-2025---421/ — Custom IPEDS data extract and value labels

Project members

Ari Kamau, Nathan Alexander, Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics, Howard University