The Higher Education Information Resource System (HEIRS) is DHE’s postsecondary data warehouse used to collect student data and analyze enrollment, progress, completions, and outcomes.
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Data in HEIRS are submitted through a series of data collections scheduled throughout each year. Some collections reference a specific term (fall, spring, or summer), while others reference a fiscal or academic year. Some reference all enrolled students, courses offered, awards conferred, etc., while others focus on specific programs. Most are submitted by the Commonwealth’s public colleges and universities, while some include certain private institutions as well.
Following is the schedule of HEIRS data collections, organized chronologically by due date. Click any collection name to jump to further information, including links to the applicable data dictionaries.
Comprehensive term files, required for fall and spring, contain applications (4-year institutions) and all credit enrollment and student demographics for undergraduate and graduate students.
Term files for fall, spring, and summer must also include enrollment for dual enrolled students who were either funded by the Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Program (CDEP) or enrolled in an Early College program, as well as math course enrollments for that academic year’s fall-entering cohort of first-time degree-seeking students.
Scope: All Public Institutions
Dictionaries:
Contains term enrollment outcomes for dual enrolled students who were either funded by the Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Program (CDEP) or enrolled in an Early College program. Math course outcomes are also required for that academic year’s fall-entering cohort of first-time degree-seeking students.
Scope: Public institutions with student populations outlined in the collection
Dictionaries:
Online application to capture information on fall applicants, acceptances, and new student enrollment.
Scope: Community Colleges
Captures all instructional activity that occurred throughout a fiscal year (July 1 through June 30).
Scope: Community Colleges and State Universities
Dictionaries:
Contains information on all awards granted annually by each institution within the public system.
Scope: All Public Institutions
Dictionaries:
Online application to capture annual credit headcounts and FTE for graduate and undergraduate students at the UMass campuses.
Scope: UMass President’s Office
Contains information on community college students who participate in Commonwealth Commitment.
Scope: Community Colleges
Dictionaries:
Captures all Pell students with additional details collected about an institution’s SUCCESS cohort(s) who engaged with services funded by the SUCCESS Initiative during the prior fiscal year.
Scope: Community Colleges
Dictionaries:
Captures a comparison group against which to compare student outcomes. The collection is limited to individuals who were degree- or certificate-seeking students in the fall term and who were recruited/eligible for SUCCESS at the institution but did not engage with SUCCESS services.
Scope: Community Colleges
Dictionaries:
Contains all annual instructional activity for designated Early College students enrolled in postsecondary coursework.
Scope: Select private institutions and select UMass campuses
Dictionaries:
Captures student and program information for the Housing Scholarship program.
Scope: Community Colleges and 4-year Partners
Dictionaries:
Contains information about courses using open educational resources (OER) in the academic year.
Scope: All Public Institutions
Dictionaries:
Contains information on active, suspended, or discontinued degree and certificate programs within the Massachusetts public higher education system.
Scope: All Public Institutions
Dictionaries:
Contains information on campus site locations where institutional credit and noncredit courses are offered, such as main and branch campuses and off-campus course and training locations.
Scope: All Public Institutions
Dictionaries:
DHE is currently conducting a pilot with six community colleges to determine the feasibility of collecting more information on noncredit programs, enrollment, and outcomes.
Captures all instructional activity that occurred throughout a fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) with extended fields for noncredit activity.
Scope: Pilot community colleges
Pilot Dictionaries:
Captures student-level participation and completion information for noncredit programs offered by institutions.
Scope: Pilot community colleges
Pilot Dictionaries:
Captures information about credentials earned and post-completion employment outcomes for students who complete noncredit courses or programs.
Scope: Pilot community colleges
Pilot Dictionaries:
Documents the approved structure, characteristics, and intended outcomes of each noncredit program offered and serves as the foundational reference for all noncredit reporting.
Scope: Pilot community colleges
Pilot Dictionaries:
Supports the Commonwealth’s implementation of the Workforce Pell program during the 2026–2027 initial adoption period to help institutions, workforce training providers, workforce development partners, and state agencies assess Workforce Pell eligibility and prepare the systems, reporting processes, and administrative data linkages needed to support future eligibility determinations.
Due: Friday, September 25, 2026
Dictionaries:
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