The first BPS cohort followed NPSAS:90 beginning students starting in 1992. About 8,000 students who began their postsecondary education in the 1989-90 academic year responded to NPSAS:90 and were included in the first BPS (BPS:90/92) in the spring of 1992 and the second BPS (BPS:90/94) in the spring of 1994. NPSAS:90 collected data for over 6,000 parents of those students. In addition BPS collected postsecondary federal financial aid records covering the entire undergraduate period to provide complete information on progress and persistence. The first data from BPS became available in summer 1994. Access is possible through the Internet. Public use files on media other than the Internet also became available in fall 1994. A second BPS cohort was based on NPSAS:96 with the first BPS followup in 1998 and the second in 2001. In addition to base-year NPSAS and all interview data, BPS:96/01 contains postsecondary entry test scores as well as financial aid records for the entire undergraduate period. A third BPS cohort of about 19,000 students was selected from NPSAS:04 with the first BPS followup conducted in 2006 and the second scheduled for 2009. Like its predecessors, the interviews focus on enrollment since the first year, persistence and degree attainment at any postsecondary institution, not just the beginning institution, transition to employment, and key changes in marital status, family composition, income and debt, goals, and volunteerism over time.
