Why is there a difference between what I entered under Race/Ethnicity and what Populi displays?

Populi bases its Race/Ethnicity collection and reporting in accordance with IPEDS requirements as detailed on their website. As part of this compliance, oddly enough, there are sometimes differences between what you enter in Populi and what is displayed or reported in different parts of the system.

Here is a quick overview of the difference between what is collected and what is displayed:

• If they are Hispanic and don't check any boxes, or they check just the box for White, they are reported as Hispanic.
• If they are Hispanic and choose anything other than just White, they are reported as Non-White Hispanic.
• If they aren't a US citizen, but they have a Primary or Home address in the US, they are reported as U.S. Nonresident.
• If they aren't a US citizen, and they don't have Primary or Home address in the US, they are reported as Unknown.
• If they are not Hispanic, and select one race, that race is reported.
• If they are not Hispanic, and select more than one race, they are reported as Two or More Races.
• If nothing is entered, they are reported as Unknown.

Using custom fields to record race/ethnicity

If your school reports to NCES, do not create custom fields for race/ethnicity. Populi uses its built-in fields when compiling the data used in the preset IPEDS reports; these fields reflect the official reporting categories. Your custom fields will not be used in these reporting tools, so any time you spend on custom race/ethnicity fields is undoubtedly better used grabbing a cup of coffee or searching for pickle recipes to use up that bumper crop of cucumbers in your garden.