Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B)

Examines students' education and work experiences after they complete a bachelor's degree, with a special emphasis on the experiences of new elementary and secondary teachers. Provides both cross-sectional information 1 year after bachelor's degree completion, comparable to the Recent College Graduate Survey, and longitudinal data concerning entry into and progress through graduate-level education and the workforce. Provides information on entry into, persistence and progress through, and completion of graduate-level education. This information has not been available through follow-ups involving high school cohorts or even college-entry cohorts, both of which are restricted in the number who actually complete the bachelor's degrees and continue their education. Also see the NCES Bibliography for literature that has used this data. Following several cohorts of students over time, B&B looks at bachelor's degree recipients' workforce participation, and income and debt repayment. It addresses several issues specifically related to teaching, including teacher preparation, entry into and persistence in the profession, and teacher career paths. B&B also gathers extensive information on bachelor's degree recipients' undergraduate experience, demographic backgrounds, expectations regarding graduate study and work, and participation in community service. B&B draws its initial cohorts from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), which uses a nationally representative sample of postsecondary students and institutions to examine how students pay for postsecondary education. Initial B&B cohorts are a representative sample of graduating seniors in all majors. The first B&B cohort (about 11,000 students) was drawn from the 1993 NPSAS and followed-up by survey in 1994, 1997, and 2003. The second B&B cohort (about 10,000 students) was chosen from the 2000 NPSAS and followed-up in 2001. The third B&B cohort was drawn from the 2008 NPSAS sample. This group of approximately 19,000 sample members was followed up with in 2009, 2012, and 2018. A new B&B cohort was drawn from the 2016 NPSAS and was followed up in 2017.  The four year follow up ended in early 2021 and data processing is currently being conducted.