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Using National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) as the base year, the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B) cohorts alternate with the Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Study (BPS). The NPSAS is a large, nationally representative sample of institutions, students, and parents. NPSAS provides a highly efficient and cost-effective way of identifying a nationally representative sample of baccalaureate degree completers. For each NPSAS serving as the base year for a B&B cohort, the sample is structured to provide an optimum sample of graduating seniors in all majors. This method allows the accurate identification of baccalaureate degree completers and provides additional information concerning both past education experiences and future education employment expectations. Data from all components of the NPSAS (such as, the institutional record abstract, the student interview, annual matches with U.S. Department of Education financial aid records and SAT/ACT scores) are also are available as base-year data for the B&B sample.
B&B follows baccalaureate degree completers identified in alternating NPSAS surveys, beginning with NPSAS:93. About 11,000 students who completed their degree in the 1992–93 academic year were included in the first B&B cohort, followed up in 1994 and 1997 to date (B&B:93/97), with a third follow-up scheduled for 2003. NPSAS:93 also provided data for over 8,000 of their parents. In addition to the student interview data, B&B:93/94 collected postsecondary transcripts covering the undergraduate period. These transcripts provide information on progress and persistence at the undergraduate level. The second B&B follow-up took place in spring 1997 (B&B:93/97) and provided new information on employment, entry into graduate school, and progress in the teacher pipeline. A new B&B cohort began with NPSAS:2000 and involved only a 1-year follow-up in 2001. Future B&B cohorts will alternate with BPS in using NPSAS surveys as their base.
