IPEDS data are collected at the institution level, not at the student level. IPEDS graduation rates (GR) are reflective of full-time, first-time, degree-/certificate-seeking students who started and finished at the same institution.
Graduation Rates & Cohorts
The IPEDS GR survey components collect the number of students enrolled in a cohort year and the number in that cohort graduating within different lengths of time. These numbers are then used to explain on how to create cohorts and to calculate published graduation rates
