Colleges and universities can sign up to administer the survey through Oct. 10This year marks the 60th administration of the CIRP Freshman Survey (TFS), a milestone in higher education research and planning. The Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) is a national longitudinal study of the American higher education system, developed in 1966 by Alexander Astin at ACE.
CIRP surveys have been administered by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) since 1973. Since 2023, ACE has been partnering with the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies and its National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) to advance HERI/CIRP surveys and their intellectual and practical impact.
Now open for 2025, the CIRP Freshman Survey is available through Oct. 10, providing colleges and universities with a rich, data-driven look at their incoming first-year class—before students even arrive on campus.
The survey explores key areas such as academic preparedness, financial concerns, college expectations, values, and social readiness. Institutions receive a detailed profile of their incoming class alongside national comparison data for peer institutions, helping guide decisions on strategic planning, program development, and resource allocation.
CIRP data also supports accreditation, tracks long-term trends in student demographics and attitudes, and helps campuses enhance institutional effectiveness through evidence-based decision-making. The survey’s robust methodology ensures accuracy and representativeness across a wide range of institution types.
Since the pandemic in 2020, participation has declined, limiting the ability to publish national benchmarks. By participating in the 60th administration, institutions not only gain valuable insights for their own planning but also contribute to rebuilding the national dataset that has informed higher education for decades.
With six decades of impact, the CIRP Freshman Survey remains a vital tool for understanding and supporting students from day one. Learn more about administering TFS and how your institution can benefit from joining this historic initiative.