2018 Data Submission Deadline is January 31, 2019
2018 Data Collection Form
WEB PORTAL SUBMISSION FORMAT – PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING DATA.
We will only accept submissions through the web portal.
Click here for “How to Submit Data” PDF
Click here for instructional videos on how to use the Cost Study Web Portal
Welcome to the 2018 Delaware Cost Study submission process. All data will be submitted through our Web Portal Submission Platform. You will have the ability to enter your data by inputting data on individual program pages or uploading a flat file (Excel fixed column file) into the web portal. All program pages must be verified before you will be able to submit your institution’s data.
To start the registration process please go to our Fees Schedule and Payment Option page and complete all the required information. You will need to supply the name of the person responsible for submitting the data, your schools FICE Code, Carnegie Classification and whether you are a public or private institution. We have supplied look-up links for your convenience.
Once your payment has been received you will be sent a username and password to access your institution’s web portal platform. Click here for a Cost Study Instructional Power Point Demonstration on using the web portal.
Contact us if there are any questions at 302-831-2021 or ire-cost@udel.edu.
8 Steps for Completing the 2018 Delaware Cost Study.
Step 1. Log into the Delaware Cost Study web portal with the username and password provided. This will take you to the Member (your institution’s) Homepage. Please complete any missing information on the User Profile at this time. * The current password will expire after a year. You will need to contact us to access the data, after one year, unless you are participating in the next cycle. If that is the case your new password will give you access to the prior years’ submission. There is a drop down box in the upper right hand corner to select the current cycle of the study if you are a returning participant.
For security reasons, we will only issue administrative privileges to one user at each institution. The designated Administrative User will be responsible for gathering and inputting the data and will have the ability to create additional ‘view only’ usernames and passwords for their institution. This feature was created to facilitate data verification.
For example, if you would like to send the data to a program chair, business officer or top administrators for review, you will have the ability to create a username and password for each person.
* If the full name of your institution starts with “The”, the institution name should be written as “ABC University, The”.
All ‘view only’ users you create will need to be given a different username and password. This privilege should only be given to members of your campus community as per our “Terms of Use Agreement”.
♦
Step 2. If you are a returning institution from the 2016 or 2017 Delaware Cost Study, your programs will already be in the portal. If your program list has not change you can begin to add your data. If you are submitting data for a new program you must first add the CIP to your list. At this time, you can also remove any programs that you will no longer be supplying data to the study. If you are new to the study, begin adding your program names. The program name and CIP must be added one at a time to insure all of your institutions programs are included in the study and the CIP is accurate for the related field.
The CIP field will now require a 6 digit CIP code for each program. For example, Agriculture, Agriculture Operations and Related Sciences will be 01.0000. This field will only accept CIP codes in this format.
For those institutions that have participate in either the 2015 and / or the 2016 study, be aware, if you choose to start using 6-digit CIPs but previously used a CIP at the 4-digit level, you will need to go into the ‘Edit program Contact Info’ to update your CIP before you can upload your file.
You will also have the added ability to include the name of the person, on your campus, who may be responsible for the data relevant to a particular program. Once all programs have been added a CIP list will be generated and can be found within each program’s data form. This will enable to you move from program to program, simply by clicking on the name of the program.
♦
Step 3. Once you have added all program names and CIP codes, you will have the option to either upload your data from an Excel flat file (fixed column .xlsx file) or complete one program at a time by inputting directly onto the form. The form is set-up to resemble our old Excel template, so you will be supplying degree information, faculty counts, SCH and OCS, and financial information. Instructions on how to set up an Excel Fixed Column File can be found on the link ‘Web Portal Templates’
Be aware the portal will not accept ASCII files; you will have to convert any text file to an Excel .xlsx flat file and upload that file to the web portal before submitting your data.
* A two-page printable PDF file will be created for each CIP entered.
Please ensure no formula is included in your Excel flat file before uploading (make sure all formulas in the Excel file cells are converted to values before uploading your data). Always check the numbers on the web portal after uploading your data.
*You will need to click the “View Form” button below each department to review and edit your uploaded data in the formatted form.
♦
Step 4. There are important small boxes throughout the first page, please make sure to check them if they apply. The first box is under the degree data and should be checked if the program is a non-degree granting program.
If you are entering a new program where you may not have a degree count yet, we ask that you estimate the number of degrees that will be granted in the first cohort. If that information is not available, please let us know the level/levels of degrees that the program will grant.
The next boxes are beneath the Fall Undergraduate / Graduate On-line SCH and the Total Undergraduate / Graduate On-line SCH, if you are unable to supply this data please check the boxes, if you do not have on-line SCH please place a zero in each of the boxes.
There are boxes adjacent to the Total direct expenditures for separately budgeted research activities and public service activities, these boxes should only be checked if you are unable to supply the data for this program, if there are no expenditures associate with the program, place a zero in the cell.
♦
Step 5. NOTE: Since this is the National Study of Instructional Cost and Productivity, we ask that every effort be made to supply accurate financial data, including ‘other than personnel expenditures’, and research and public service dollars where applicable.
Please provide total year (fiscal year 2017-2018) student credit hours and all financial data in Section III of the portal. The first cell should contain only salary information. The next two cells are for Benefits costs; you are asked to either complete actual benefit dollars or provide the percentage of salaries attributed to Benefits.
Be advised you may only select one of following options concerning benefits amounts. Enter the exact benefits amount or enter the percentage in the appropriate box.
The next cell is for other than personnel expenditures.
As all programs/departments incur costs other than salaries and benefits, there should be a dollar figure other than zero in this cell.
The last two items collected are for Research Expenditures and Public Service Expenditures. Only check the boxes if you are unable to supply this data, if there are no expenditures associate with this program, place a zero in the cell.
Please be aware, the study will not accept negative dollar amounts for salary, benefits, research, public service or other expenditures.
♦
Step 6. When you have either uploaded your data or inputted the information directly onto the form, red flags may appear. We suggest that you verify, on each program page, that the data is correct, before moving on to the next program. If red flags remain you will see the last box before the save button “I have seen the warning messages and attest that this data is correct”. You will be unable to proceed to “page 2” of the program data until you have verified the data and checked the box. A text box will appear where you can explain the data.
If you modify your data in the form, click the “save” button to correct the information and to remove red flags. If the box remains you will be required to check the box in order to save your data that has been entered.
For example, if the warning message states ‘You have SCH but no class sections’ you can explain in the text box that the SCH are generated by labs. The warning message will remain on the page after you check the box. This is for internal use only.
If there is a warning message, you will be unable to proceed to “page 2” of the program data until you have updated and saved the new data or verified the data and checked the box.
If you modify any data in the form, click the “save” button to update the information and to remove red flags.
Please be aware that you will be unable to submit your data to us, until each program has been verified. You will be given the opportunity to explain the remaining flags when you submit your data.
♦
Step 7. The next step is to ‘Review your submission’. This button, next to the save button on the bottom of each program page, will take you to the preliminary tables previously found on page two of the template. The Preliminary Tables contain some of the more commonly used data from the study, and will provide immediate percentages and ratios for that program. You may see additional red flags, in this section, concerning ratios that appear disproportionate to typical results and will also be asked to verify that this information is correct. We would appreciate an email with a brief explanation for the unusual ratio.
NEW FEATURE: Page two of the web portal has a new 3-year average table, which contains financial peer information, based on the Carnegie Classification of your institution, to be used for immediate comparisons by program.
♦
Step 8. Once all your data has been entered and verified, please return to your Institution’s Home page and select the ‘Submit to The Delaware Cost Study’ button. Your data will be automatically submitted to our office. Please do not select this link until you have verified your data and are ready to submit to the study. This will lock your data from further input. If you have inadvertently selected this option, contact us to unlock your submission.
Note, once you submit your data to us, the web portal will be locked for data entry, and you will be unable to make any further adjustments. You will have to contact our office to unlock your submission. We will review your submission and contact you if there are any remaining questions or concerns with your data. Based on your response, we will make any needed adjustments to your data. You will be notified via email when your Institutional Preliminary Report will be available on the portal. Once your submission is closed if you find the need to make any changes to your data after submission, please contact us to consider your options.
As always, please contact us if you are having trouble with the portal or have questions concerning the data required for the study. Thank you for participating in this year’s study.