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| Classification of Instructional Programs | |
|---|---|
| Name | Classification of Instructional Programs |
| Type | Taxonomy |
| Developed by | National Center for Education Statistics |
| Initial release | 1980s |
| Latest version | 2020 |
| Scope | Postsecondary instructional programs |
| Identifier | CIP code |
Classification of Instructional Programs
The Classification of Instructional Programs is a standardized taxonomy used to organize postsecondary instructional programs by field of study, program focus, and instructional content. It provides a common framework for data reporting across institutions such as U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, and agencies like Office of Management and Budget that rely on consistent program-level identifiers. Administrators at institutions including Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Columbia University use the classification to align academic offerings with national surveys, accreditation reviews by bodies such as the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, and workforce analyses by Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The system assigns unique numeric codes to instructional programs to enable comparable reporting across institutions such as Stanford University, University of Oxford, Yale University, and Princeton University. Codes are referenced by federal collections like Common Core of Data, by state agencies such as the California Community Colleges system and by research organizations including the American Council on Education and the Rockefeller Foundation. Program titles mapped to codes include offerings at institutions like University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin, Johns Hopkins University, and professional schools such as Georgetown University Law Center and New York University School of Medicine.
Initial editions were developed under guidance from the National Science Foundation and coordinated with the U.S. Department of Education during policy initiatives in the 1980s and 1990s. Later revisions reflected input from institutions like University of Chicago, Cornell University, and consortia such as the Association of American Universities and the American Association of Community Colleges. Major updates have coincided with legislative and administrative milestones involving entities like the Higher Education Act of 1965 reauthorizations, consultations with the Institute of Education Sciences, and collaborations with international partners including Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development analysts.
The coding system groups programs hierarchically: broad fields, detailed subfields, and instructional concentrations used by universities such as Duke University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania. Numeric codes allow crosswalks to classification systems employed by the International Standard Classification of Education and by national statistics offices like Statistics Canada, enabling comparisons with programs at institutions like University of Toronto and McGill University. The taxonomy supports mapping for professional certifications issued by organizations such as the American Medical Association, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, and the American Bar Association for law programs at schools like Georgetown University and Columbia Law School.
Researchers at think tanks such as the Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, and Pew Research Center use the classification to study program-level trends at institutions like Rutgers University, Ohio State University, and University of Florida. State higher education boards, including the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the New York State Education Department, employ the codes for budgeting and program approval. Employers and labor analysts at Goldman Sachs, Google, IBM, and Boeing use code-based data for talent forecasting; workforce programs link to credentials issued by entities like the Department of Labor and regional workforce investment boards.
Colleges and universities report program data through systems such as Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and administrative reporting used by Common Core of Data and state longitudinal data systems maintained by agencies like Florida Department of Education and California Department of Education. Accrediting organizations including the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges require alignment of program descriptions with codes for audits. Surveys conducted by the National Student Clearinghouse and the Census Bureau utilize the taxonomy for longitudinal tracking of graduates from programs at institutions like Penn State University and University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Scholars at institutions such as University of California, Los Angeles, Indiana University Bloomington, and policy centers including the Century Foundation have criticized the taxonomy for lagging behind emergent interdisciplinary offerings at places like Carnegie Mellon University and California Institute of Technology. Limitations noted by analysts at RAND Corporation and Brookings Institution include challenges mapping microcredentials offered by providers such as Coursera, edX, and industry badge programs from Microsoft and Amazon Web Services to existing codes. Policymakers in state capitals and federal offices have raised concerns about granularity when comparing professional programs at schools like Northwestern University and Vanderbilt University.
Crosswalks to international schemes, including the International Standard Classification of Education and national taxonomies used by United Kingdom Office for Students, Australian Qualifications Framework, and German Qualifications Framework, facilitate comparisons among institutions like University of Melbourne, University of Cambridge, Technical University of Munich, and Seoul National University. Multilateral organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization coordinate efforts to harmonize field-of-study classifications for global program inventories used by research bodies including the World Bank and the European Commission.
Category:Higher education classification systems