Ethnicity Coding at Columbia

-What is the Ethnicity Coding Project?
In October 2007, the U.S. Department of Education created new categories for collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data at higher education institutions. Under the new system, a set of two questions will ask individuals to designate their ethnicity as either Hispanic/Latino or non-Hispanic and then to select one or more races from a list. Collection and reporting of data have also changed. Data must be collected in a two-question format but reported in nine categories. For example, “nonresident alien” and “two or more races” are reporting categories but not collection categories. Educational institutions must ensure that they are compliant with these collection and reporting changes by July 1, 2010.

-What does this mean for Columbia?
All systems, procedures, and forms that collect, store, or report race and ethnicity data on Columbia students, faculty and staff must be identified immediately. A project team, sponsored by the Senior Vice Provost and led by Academic & Student Technologies, is compiling information and providing tools and resources to those managing affected systems, to ensure a smooth transition and maximal compliance.

-Do I need to take action?
If any of the following statements apply to you, or if you are aware of an affected system, please contact K. Munson, the Ethnicity Coding Project Manager:

I use a custom, third-party, or Columbia-provided system to input, track, or review race and ethnicity data for students, faculty, or staff.
I am the technical or functional contact for a system that collects race and ethnicity data.
I collect or review race and ethnicity data in any capacity, including via paper forms.
I use race and ethnicity data to prepare reports or make decisions.

-What is IPEDS?
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is the primary federal data collection program for postsecondary educational institutions. IPEDS collects data on institutional characteristics, enrollment, staff distribution and salaries (HR), revenue and expenses (finance), student financial aid, degree completions, and graduation rates, for use by researchers and government programs. Under law, IPEDS requires postsecondary educational institutions to report race and ethnicity data about their faculty, staff and students to the federal government.

-The New Categories for Race and Ethnicity Identification
Under the new regulations, individuals are asked to first indicate whether they are Hispanic/Latino or non-Hispanic, and then to indicate one or more races that apply among the following:

American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White

The following definitions have been provided by the federal government to describe the available categories:

Hispanic or Latino	A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
American Indian or Alaska Native	A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian	A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black or African American	A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
White	A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
Nonresident alien	A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.
Resident alien (and other eligible non-citizens)	A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States but who has been admitted as a legal immigrant for the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who holds either an alien registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) with a notation that conveys legal immigrant status such as Section 207 Refugee, Section 208 Asylee, Conditional Entrant Parolee or Cuban-Haitian).
Race/ethnicity unknown	The category used to report students or employees whose race and ethnicity are not known.

Definitions from http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/reic/definitions.asp.

-More Information
To learn more about IPEDS and the changes in race and ethnicity data collection and reporting, visit the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) website or the IPEDS website.

Columbia University’s IPEDS profile is accessible here (http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Columbia+University&s=all&id=190150