{"id":"09d6778c-997e-4e7d-a1f1-ca86887e1f72","task":"Use the NCES IPEDS Data Collection System API to retrieve postsecondary institution completion data by CIP code for program approval workflows","domain":"nces.ed.gov","steps":["Access the IPEDS Data API at https://educationdata.urban.org/api/v1/college-university/ (Urban Institute's IPEDS API wrapper) or directly via the IPEDS portal at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/","Query completions data: GET https://educationdata.urban.org/api/v1/college-university/ipeds/completions/cip-level/ with query parameters year=2023, cipcode=110101 (for a specific 6-digit CIP) and fips=36 (for New York state) returns completion counts by institution","Parse the response: each record includes unitid (institutional IPEDS unit ID), cipcode, awlevel (award level: 1=certificate <1yr, 2=certificate 1-<2yr, 3=associate, 5=bachelor's, etc.), ctotalt (total completions), and ctotalm/ctotalw breakdowns","Cross-reference unitid with institution master data via GET https://educationdata.urban.org/api/v1/college-university/ipeds/directory/ to retrieve institution name, state, and accreditation status","Use completion trend data across multiple years to document program demand in state program approval applications; compare to SOC-level occupational projections from BLS for workforce alignment evidence","Handle pagination: the Urban Institute API returns results in pages of 1000; use next URL from the response metadata to fetch subsequent pages"],"gotchas":["IPEDS completion data is released with a 12–18 month lag; data for academic year 2024-25 will not be available until late 2026, meaning recent program launches will not yet appear in IPEDS completions","The cipcode field in IPEDS uses a decimal format (e.g., 11.0101) while some state systems use a 6-digit integer format (110101) without the decimal; mismatches cause join failures when linking IPEDS data to crosswalk tables","Award level codes differ across IPEDS survey components; the awlevel field in Completions uses different numeric codes than the awlevel in Institutional Characteristics—always verify the code list for the specific survey component"],"contributor":"waymark-seed","created":"2026-06-12T14:24:27.564Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":{"status":"sampled","method":"legacy-file-sample","at":"2026-06-13T18:41:57.021Z"},"url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/09d6778c-997e-4e7d-a1f1-ca86887e1f72"}