How to read the facts

A missing value is not zero

Each published observation retains its source, student group, reporting period and retrieval date. “Not reported” means a value is unavailable; a reported zero is displayed as zero. Unknown information is not treated as evidence that a school lacks a service or that a student cannot pursue a career.

“Period not reported” means the year of that specific observation could not be established. A retrieval date, page update or ranking year does not fill that gap. Reported, estimated, corrected and stale values keep their labels so you can decide whether the evidence answers your question.

Costs depend on the measure and the student group

Tuition is the charge for instruction. Required fees are separate charges. Average net price describes a source-defined cost measure after financial assistance for a particular group. These measures answer different questions and cannot be substituted for one another.

IPEDS average net price describes full-time, first-time degree or certificate students in the reported aid group. Grant recipients, Title IV aid recipients and income bands remain separate. Public-institution figures may use in-state or in-district rates; selecting a residency category does not confirm that you qualify for it.

Some institutions report costs for their largest program rather than an academic year. We keep that basis visible. Tuition and fees are added in College Finder only when year, annual basis, student level and residency agree. That subtotal does not include housing, meals, books, travel or personal expenses.

Source estimates retain their flags. Reported negative net prices are preserved when aid exceeds the source cost measure; they are not changed to zero or presented as a promised refund. An institutional average is not a personal aid offer. Check current charges and assistance with the institution.

Study fields, reported completions and current programs

A subject appearing in graduate data confirms that the source reported completions in that subject. It does not establish that a program is currently open, taught online or available at every campus. These historical study areas are kept separate from verified official program listings.

Official listings have a verification date and an expiry date. A listing must still pass publication, institution and availability checks to appear as current. Degree programs, minors and concentrations retain their own types. Missing delivery formats, campus details and application dates stay unknown.

CIP classifies fields of study; O*NET-SOC classifies occupations. Published crosswalks connect related education and work. They can suggest paths to investigate, but do not establish a required degree, accreditation, professional licensing or admission eligibility. StudyIndex subject mappings are labelled separately from university-reported classifications.

Compare like with like

Numerical comparison rows keep the metric, reporting period and student group together. Facts from different groups or years remain separate. Retention, graduation and earnings describe particular cohorts; an average graduate earning is not a promise of an individual salary.

School comparisons also show directory years, grade quality, address type and source references. Hiding identical rows changes the view, not the underlying evidence. A saved private comparison preserves the facts used at the time; explicit updating replaces the snapshot with current evidence.

These comparisons do not assign an academic winner from incomplete or incomparable observations. Shared comparison links show current public directory facts; private snapshot names and stored content remain private.

How exploration and matching work

Career tests help you reflect on interests, preferences and practice experiences. They do not determine your purpose, diagnose a condition or guarantee admission, employment or success. Interest similarity is different from ability, admission probability and academic quality.

Required failures in College Finder cannot be offset by preference points. Missing required evidence needs confirmation. The preference index and evidence coverage are described in the versioned method; neither is an academic ranking.

Publication, quality checks and corrections

Imports validate file integrity, field types, supported ranges and external identifiers before publication. Ambiguous identities and invalid records are held for review. Quality checks can withhold suspicious values without hiding unrelated facts.

Verified corrections remain separate from original observations, carry their own evidence and survive later imports while applicable. Import history supports repeat processing and rollback. A partial collection does not close institutions merely because they were omitted.

Different fields can come from different sources. Always use the reference attached to the individual fact, rather than assuming that one profile-wide source or date describes everything.

Community reviews and ratings

StudyIndex does not import third-party review texts, authors or user-rating aggregates. Community reviews must come from StudyIndex users and pass moderation. An empty review section is shown without invented ratings or activity.

Source rankings are not StudyIndex scores. College comparisons and personal exploration matches are separate from community opinion.