Explore Strong Foundations
Since 2010, SHEEO has conducted surveys of state postsecondary data systems to better understand the “state of state postsecondary data.” The Strong Foundations reports are the outcomes of the surveys, documenting the content, capacity, and effective use of state postsecondary data systems.
This toolkit facilitates users’ interactions with the 2025 Strong Foundations survey administration, providing insights on how to interpret and use the survey data, exploring state contexts and common challenges, sharing…
Using findings from the Strong Foundations 2025 survey, this brief examines how 68 state postsecondary agencies overseeing PSURs manage those systems, the governance and privacy structures that support them, and…
Using findings from the Strong Foundations 2025 survey, this brief examines the current landscape of cross-agency data infrastructure, including governance models, data exchange practices, data linkage and access patterns, and…
Across North Carolina, community colleges play a critical role in connecting learners to opportunity, strengthening local economies, and responding to regional workforce needs. The North Carolina Community College System Office…
In February 2026, as a part of its Strong Foundations project, SHEEO brought together members of its Chief Research and Data Officers (CRDOs) constituency group for a two-day convening in…
In Strong Foundations 2025, SHEEO examines the extent to which state agencies collect and use rural data, the catalysts for their work, and the challenges and opportunities they encounter in using…
Since 2017, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has hosted Communities of Practice (CoPs) convenings to support state teams in strengthening their postsecondary data systems. CoPs are two-day, conference-style meetings…
In a new report, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) examines the ongoing efforts and challenges states have in safeguarding and sustaining their postsecondary student unit record systems…
For more than 50 years, state agencies have used postsecondary student unit record systems (PSURSs) data to inform policy and decision-making. In Strong Foundations 2023, SHEEO asked which state partner…
SHEEO agencies have long relied on postsecondary data to inform policy and decision-making. Since the 1970s, these data typically have been stored and protected in postsecondary student unit record systems…
State postsecondary data systems contain a wealth of information—including detailed records about individuals—that allow states to analyze and improve their postsecondary education systems. The entities that maintain these systems operate…
Since 2010, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has periodically administered the Strong Foundations survey, which documents the content, structure, and effective use of state postsecondary student unit…