June 27, 2007

TO: Licensed Trade and Registered Business Schools/Computer Training Facilities

FROM: Carole W. Yates, Director

SUBJECT: Occupational Education Data Survey (OEDS) Submission and Reporting Requirements

Section 5001(4)(e)(i) of the Education Law states, in part, that “Licensed private schools and registered business schools shall submit such certified statistical reports and annual financial statements as required by the commissioner.” Section 126.10(f) of Commissioner’s Regulations provide for more detail regarding the information necessary to be submitted as follows:

Each school shall submit annual statistical reports on forms prescribed by the commissioner. Such statistical reports shall be certified by the owner that they are true and accurate, in a manner established-by the commissioner. The commissioner may require audited statistical reports upon a determination that a school has provided false or inaccurate statistical reports. Statistical reports shall be submitted annually for a reporting period established by the commissioner and shall include the following information:

(1) number of applicants, by gender and program of instruction, who were accepted for enrollment during the reporting period;

(2) number of applicants, by gender and program of instruction, who applied for, but were denied, enrollment because they failed to satisfy the entrance requirements;

(3) number of full-time and part-time students, by gender and program of instruction, enrolled at the beginning of the reporting period;

(4) number of full-time and part-time students, by gender and program of instruction, who enrolled during the reporting period;

(5) number of full-time and part-time students, by gender and program of instruction, who were still enrolled at the end of the reporting period;

(6) number of full-time and part-time students, by gender and program of instruction, who graduated during the reporting period;

(7) number of full-time and part-time students, by gender and program of instruction, who withdrew without completing the program of instruction during the reporting period;

(8) number of full-time and part-time students, by gender and program of instruction, who received financial assistance from Federal and/or State programs during the reporting period; and

(9) the employment or educational status, by gender and program, of students graduating during the reporting period.

Additionally, besides reporting these statistics to the State Education Department, schools are required to include the information from their two most recent reporting periods in their catalogs in accordance with Regulations Section 126.9(a)(14) which states, in part, that

Each licensed private school and registered business school/computer training facility shall publish a catalog or bulletin, which shall be furnished to each prospective or enrolled student, which shall include…data regarding student completion and job placement as set forth in subdivision (f) of section 126.10 of this Part for the two most recent reporting periods…”

A number of years ago, the State discontinued providing a standardized report back to schools resulting from their data submission. Rather, the Bureau required schools to submit their data while, at the same time, recording it for publication in their catalogs in their own format provided that all of the required information, outlined above, was included. Unfortunately, some schools have concluded that, because the State no longer provides active feedback on these statistical submissions, such reporting is no longer mandatory. The purpose of this memorandum is to dispel that myth. All registered business schools, registered computer training facilities, and licensed private (trade) schools are required to annually submit OEDS information and are required to update their catalogs each year with the most recent two reports.

Within the State Education Department, the Office of Research and Information Systems (ORIS) collects the submitted data. Schools use the ORIS web site (http://www.highered.nysed.gov/oris) to submit their numbers. The reporting period set by the state is from July 1 through June 30 for each school year. The deadline date for OEDS submission is always April 15. Therefore, on April 15, 2007, OEDS information for the reporting period from July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006 was due. Because school catalogs must contain the statistics from most recent two reporting periods, school catalogs distributed after April 15, 2007 must contain the OEDS information for the July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006 period and for the July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005 period. Of course, if a new school was not in operation during one or more of those periods, no OEDS information would be expected.

Schools which did not retain a copy of their OEDS information submitted to ORIS may request a copy of that information by emailing the ORIS office at heds@mail.nysed.gov. Schools that never submitted OEDS information for the previous years must still do so, even after the deadline date. OEDS forms for the July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006 reporting period can be found in the listing of data collection forms at www.highered.nysed.gov/oris/forms/06-07/index.htm. OEDS forms for the July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005 reporting period can be found in the listing of data collection forms at www.highered.nysed.gov/oris/forms/05-06/index.htm.

Any questions regarding the submission of this data, the forms, or accessing the ORIS web site should be directed to ORIS by email at heds@mail.nysed.gov or by phone at (518) 474-5091.