How often does CampusPin update college data?

The cadence depends on the source. IPEDS and College Scorecard data refresh annually with a 1–2 cycle lag. Clery security reports refresh annually after the October deadline. Claimed-institution submissions land continuously after verification (usually within hours). Editorial content (blog, help) is updated continuously with date stamps visible on each article.

Can institutions update their own CampusPin profile?

Yes, after claiming the profile through the claim verification flow. Claimed institutions can submit updates to logos, photography, marketing copy, program offerings, and format availability. Quantitative fields tied to federal reporting (tuition, enrollment, acceptance rate) are not overwritten by claimed submissions unless the institution provides a verifiable source.

Where can I see the source year for a specific value?

On the profile page itself. Each value is shown alongside its source and year (e.g., "Tuition $X — IPEDS, 2024–25"). The data dictionary at /data-dictionary documents source provenance per field family.

Are there any fields that refresh in real time?

No quantitative institutional fields refresh in real time. Search-side state (pinned shortlists, comparison sessions, saved searches) is real-time for the user. Editorial content (blog, help) is updated on commit. Federal data is bounded by the source cadence.

How can I be notified when a school I care about updates?

Saved searches and pinned shortlists are available to logged-in users. A per-school notification subscription is on the roadmap; in the meantime, claimed-institution updates are visible on the profile with a freshness stamp.

Data Resources

When CampusPin's college data refreshes, and how to read the source-year stamp

CampusPin's freshness depends on the source. Federal datasets refresh annually with a 1–2 cycle lag. Claimed-institution updates can land continuously after verification. Every profile field carries its source year so users can see exactly what they're looking at.

Federal cadence

Annual

Federal lag

1–2 cycles

Claimed updates

Continuous

Source stamp

On every field

The short version

Different fields refresh on different clocks — read the stamp

A common question about any college discovery tool is "how current is this?" The honest answer is "it depends on the field and the source". CampusPin shows the source year alongside each value (e.g., "Tuition $X — IPEDS, 2024–25") rather than slapping a single global "last updated" date across the whole platform, because doing so would imply a freshness CampusPin doesn't have for every field.

This page documents the refresh cadence by source so users (and AI engines citing CampusPin) can interpret the source-year stamp without guessing.

Refresh cadence

When each source's data lands on CampusPin

The "lag" column is the typical delay between the academic year the data describes and the calendar period when the source publishes it. CampusPin's display lag is usually the source lag plus a few weeks for ingest, normalisation, and verification.

Source	Cadence	Typical lag vs. current AY	Notes
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator	Annual	1–2 cycles	Full annual release each spring; covers tuition, enrollment, completions, outcomes, finance.
College Scorecard	Annual (rolling sub-releases)	1–2 cycles	Net price, earnings, default rate. Sub-releases land throughout the year.
Clery Act security reports	Annual	1 cycle	Each institution must publish by October 1 covering the previous three years.
FBI Uniform Crime Report	Annual	1 cycle	Used only for area-crime context, not institutional incidents.
Common Application member directory	Annual	Same cycle	Refreshed in late summer for the upcoming application cycle.
Claimed-institution submissions	Continuous	Hours to days after verification	Logos, photography, verified copy, program updates. Reviewed before publishing.
Editorial content (blog, help, guides)	Continuous	Same day	Author/date metadata visible on each article.

The source year is always visible on the profile next to the value. If a field looks stale, check the stamp — and use the institution's own website for the current academic year before applying.

Why federal data lags

The lag is in the source, not in CampusPin

IPEDS and the College Scorecard collect data for academic year N, validate it, and publish it during academic year N+1 or N+2. This lag is intrinsic to how federal higher-education statistics work — institutions report after the year ends, the federal authority validates the report, and the public release follows.

CampusPin cannot make this lag shorter. What CampusPin does is surface the stamp transparently and route the user to the institution's own website for current-year details. The federal data is the authoritative historical record; the institution is the authoritative current source.

When the federal number disagrees with the school's website

This is almost always a timing artifact. The institution's site shows the current academic year; the federal source shows the most recently validated year, which is usually one cycle behind. For applications and aid decisions, treat the institution's site as authoritative.

Claimed-profile updates

When an institution claims its profile, updates land faster

Institutional representatives can claim their CampusPin profile through the claim flow. Once verified, claimed institutions can submit updates to a defined set of fields (logos, photography, marketing copy, program offerings, format availability) that bypass the federal-cycle lag.

Submissions are reviewed by CampusPin's editorial team before they go live. The review verifies that the submission is from a verified institutional account and that the change is plausible given the institution's own public sources. After approval the update is live within hours.

Claimed updates do NOT overwrite federally-reported quantitative fields (tuition, enrollment, acceptance rate) unless the institution provides a verifiable source for the new value. This avoids a "claim wins" pattern that would let an institution rewrite its own numbers without external verification.

How to interpret freshness on any profile

Reading the source-year stamp like a power user

Every CampusPin profile field carries its source and year. Here is how to read it.

1Look for the source name (IPEDS / Scorecard / Clery / Institutional) printed next to the value.
2Look for the year or year range. A "2024–25" stamp on tuition means the figure describes the 2024–25 academic year, not the year you're reading the page in.
3If the stamp is more than two years old, treat the field as directional and confirm the current figure on the institution's site.
4If a field is absent, see /data-resources/how-campuspin-handles-missing-data — absence is information.
5For any application or financial decision, confirm with the institution's admissions or financial aid office. Federal data is the historical record; the school is the current authority.

Frequently asked questions

Answers students and families ask first

How often does CampusPin update college data?: The cadence depends on the source. IPEDS and College Scorecard data refresh annually with a 1–2 cycle lag. Clery security reports refresh annually after the October deadline. Claimed-institution submissions land continuously after verification (usually within hours). Editorial content (blog, help) is updated continuously with date stamps visible on each article.
Why does CampusPin's tuition figure not match the school's website?: Almost always a timing artifact. The institution's site shows the current academic year; the federal source CampusPin uses shows the most recently validated year, which is usually one cycle behind. For applications and aid decisions, treat the institution's site as authoritative for the current year.
Can institutions update their own CampusPin profile?: Yes, after claiming the profile through the claim verification flow. Claimed institutions can submit updates to logos, photography, marketing copy, program offerings, and format availability. Quantitative fields tied to federal reporting (tuition, enrollment, acceptance rate) are not overwritten by claimed submissions unless the institution provides a verifiable source.
Where can I see the source year for a specific value?: On the profile page itself. Each value is shown alongside its source and year (e.g., "Tuition $X — IPEDS, 2024–25"). The data dictionary at /data-dictionary documents source provenance per field family.
Are there any fields that refresh in real time?: No quantitative institutional fields refresh in real time. Search-side state (pinned shortlists, comparison sessions, saved searches) is real-time for the user. Editorial content (blog, help) is updated on commit. Federal data is bounded by the source cadence.
How can I be notified when a school I care about updates?: Saved searches and pinned shortlists are available to logged-in users. A per-school notification subscription is on the roadmap; in the meantime, claimed-institution updates are visible on the profile with a freshness stamp.

Important note

Refresh cadences described here apply to typical conditions; specific releases can be delayed by source-side issues outside CampusPin's control. For application and aid decisions, always treat the institution's own website as authoritative for the current academic year.

Keep exploring CampusPin

Back to Data Resources hub

All of CampusPin's data trust pages in one place.

Read the full methodology

Source-by-field detail beyond this overview.

How CampusPin uses college data

Pipeline from ingest to display.

How CampusPin handles missing data

Why blank means blank, not zero.

Field-level definitions

What each profile column means and how it's sourced.

Suggest a correction

Tell us what looks wrong; we review every submission.