OpenDecisions
Schema ReferenceTypes

Institution

Higher education institution, identity, classification, enrollment, accreditation, contact

Institution

@id: https://schema.opendecisions.org/v1/Institution

A higher education institution (university or college). Core entity for identity, classification, enrollment, accreditation, and contact.


Properties (top-level)

PropertyExpected typeRequiredDescription
institutionIdstringYesStable OpenDecisions identifier. Pattern: inst:{country}:{authority}:{id}. See Identifiers.
namestringYesOfficial or primary name of the institution.
aliasesstring[]NoAlternative names or abbreviations.
identifiersIdentifiersYesCrosswalk keys for entity resolution.
locationLocationRecommendedPhysical location.
classificationClassificationRecommendedCarnegie, control, degree level, locale, flags.
enrollmentEnrollmentNoEnrollment counts and demographics.
accreditationAccreditation[]NoList of accreditation records.
contactContactNoWebsite, net price calculator URL, phone.
endowmentEndowmentNoEndowment beginning/end, currency, validForYear.
provenanceProvenanceYesSource IDs and updatedAt.

Identifiers (object)

Crosswalk keys for linking to IPEDS, Scorecard, and federal aid systems.

PropertyTypeDescription
ipedsUnitIdstringIPEDS Unit ID (NCES). Primary federal identifier for US institutions.
opeIdstringOffice of Postsecondary Education ID (8-digit).
opeId6stringOPE ID 6-digit variant.
scorecardIdstringCollege Scorecard institution ID (often same as IPEDS Unit ID).
federalSchoolCodestringFederal school code used for financial aid (FAFSA).

Location (object)

PropertyTypeDescription
addressstringStreet or full address.
citystringCity name.
statestringState or province (code or name).
zipstringPostal/ZIP code.
countrystringISO country code (e.g. US).
latitudenumberLatitude (WGS84).
longitudenumberLongitude (WGS84).

Classification (object)

PropertyTypeDescription
carnegieBasicstringCarnegie Basic code or label.
carnegieBasicLabelstringHuman-readable Carnegie Basic label.
carnegieUgProfilestringCarnegie undergraduate profile code.
carnegieSizeSetstringCarnegie size and setting code.
controlstringSector: public, private_nonprofit, private_forprofit.
controlCodenumber1=public, 2=private nonprofit, 3=private for-profit.
levelstringE.g. 4-year, 2-year.
predominantDegreestringcertificate, associate, bachelors, graduate.
predominantDegreeCodenumber0=not classified, 1=certificate, 2=associate, 3=bachelors, 4=graduate.
highestDegreestringnon_degree, certificate, associate, bachelors, doctoral.
highestDegreeCodenumber0–4.
localestringUrbanization: e.g. city_midsize, suburb, rural.
localeCodenumberIPEDS locale code.
religiousAffiliationstring or nullReligious affiliation name/code if applicable.
isHBCUbooleanHistorically Black College or University.
isHSIbooleanHispanic-Serving Institution.
isTribalbooleanTribal College or University.
isPBIbooleanPredominantly Black Institution.
isAANAPIIbooleanAsian American and Native American Pacific Islander–Serving Institution.
isMenOnlybooleanMen-only institution.
isWomenOnlybooleanWomen-only institution.
isDistanceOnlybooleanDistance education only.
isOpenAdmissionbooleanOpen admission policy.
isMainCampusbooleanMain campus (vs branch).
numberOfBranchesnumberNumber of branch campuses.

Enrollment (object)

PropertyTypeDescription
totalEnrollmentnumberTotal headcount.
undergraduateEnrollmentnumberUndergraduate headcount.
graduateEnrollmentnumberGraduate headcount.
nonDegreeSeekingnumberNon-degree-seeking headcount.
studentFacultyRationumberStudent-to-faculty ratio.
percentPartTimenumberProportion part-time. In [0, 1].
percentFullTimeFirstTimenumberProportion full-time first-time. In [0, 1].
demographicsDemographicsRace/ethnicity and gender proportions. Only published where cell size ≥ k_min.
validForYearnumberAcademic year this enrollment applies to.

Demographics (object)

All proportions in [0, 1]. Publish only when cell size ≥ k_min (default 20).

PropertyTypeDescription
percentWhitenumberProportion White.
percentBlacknumberProportion Black.
percentHispanicnumberProportion Hispanic/Latino.
percentAsiannumberProportion Asian.
percentAIANnumberProportion American Indian/Alaska Native.
percentNHPInumberProportion Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
percentTwoOrMorenumberProportion two or more races.
percentNRAnumberProportion nonresident alien.
percentUnknownnumberProportion race/ethnicity unknown.
percentMennumberProportion men.
percentWomennumberProportion women.

Accreditation (array)

Each element:

PropertyTypeDescription
accreditingAgencystringName of accrediting agency.
accreditationCodestringShort code (e.g. NECHE).
accreditedSincestringDate first accredited (YYYY-MM-DD).
typestringE.g. regional, national.

Contact (object)

PropertyTypeDescription
websitestring (URI)Institution website URL.
netPriceCalculatorUrlstring (URI)Net price calculator URL.
phonestringMain phone number.

Endowment (object)

PropertyTypeDescription
endowmentBeginningnumberEndowment at start of fiscal period (dollars).
endowmentEndnumberEndowment at end of fiscal period (dollars).
currencystringE.g. USD.
validForYearnumberFiscal/academic year.