Census is a "snapshot" of official student enrollment data.
Census is required for reporting official student data to IPEDS, accrediting agencies, and a wide-range of external reporting requests and surveys (e.g., Common Data Set, U.S. News & World Report), as well as internal records.
Beginning Fall 2025, census snapshots are captured on the Monday of the fourth week for Florida Tech Online, Melbourne Campus and Education Centers. For the 2024-25 academic year, census snapshots were captured on the Monday of the fifth week for Florida Tech Online, Melbourne Campus and Education Centers. Previous semesters, census snapshots were captured on the Friday of the fifth week for Melbourne Campus and Education Centers and on the Monday of the fourth week for Florida Tech Online.
When to use census data versus 'current' or 'real-time' data?
Use official census data for the following situations:
- Reporting on historical trends over time.
- Confirming official enrollment statistics.
- Using stable figures that will not change.
Use 'current' or 'real-time' data for the following situations:
- Needing current information on who is or is not enrolled.
- Attempting to answer a very specific question that involves attributes/information not available in census data.
Who captures census data?
Institutional Research & Strategic Analytics (IRSA) serves as the primary source for official university data. IRSA with the assistance of various offices across campus, captures census snapshots.