ASSIST FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I get access to ASSIST data?

Researchers desiring access to ASSIST must be an employee of a participating institution and be approved by the institutional ASSIST Steering Committee representative. Authorized ASSIST users must sign nondisclosure agreements and submit the form to their institutional ASSIST Steering Committee representative.

The ASSIST nondisclosure agreement must be signed and notarized. A copy may be emailed to assist@aztransfer.com to initiate the process but the notarized original must be sent to:

AZTransfer ASSIST
2411 W. 14th St.
Tempe, AZ 85281

Download the ASSIST nondisclosure agreement here.

Who is my ASSIST Steering Committee Representative?

Click here to access the list of Steering Committee members.

How can I connect to ASSIST to get data?

The design of ASSIST makes it possible for institutions to retrieve information using standard query language or SQL statements. You can connect to ASSIST using the Hyperion, Aqua Data Studio, Toad, or Microsoft Access. Contact assist@aztransfer.com to learn more about connection options.

What types of data items are available in ASSIST?

Demographic data: Student age, Arizona residency type, high school year, high school diploma type, gender, minority status, and ethnicity.

Course data: Course enrollment and grade by term

Enrollment data: Enrollment census flag, hours attempted, developmental hours attempted, developmental hours completed, total earned hours, major, CIP major, term GPA, cumulative GPA, transfer hours.

Transfer data: Transfer institution(s), transfer hours by institution, number of transfer institutions, number of AZCC institutions attended.

Degree data: AGEC completion type, AGEC completion year, associate degree type, associate degree year, bachelor degree type, bachelor degree year.

Where do the data come from?

The participating institutions submit ASSIST data annually. The records are matched and loaded into the ASSIST data warehouse. Students are assigned an anonymous ASSIST ID which becomes the primary key in the ASSIST data warehouse.

How timely are the data?

Most of the community college data are submitted on an academic year basis, typically in February of the following year (e.g., Academic Year 2014-2015 data by February 2016). Community college degree data are more up-to-date with annual degree files submitted in the fall following the previous academic year. University data are submitted on a semester basis.

Did we turn in our institution’s ASSIST file and has it been loaded?

File status may be checked at:

When are the ASSIST Meetings?

ASSIST sponsors annual statewide meetings in the spring for all Steering Committee members and authorized users. Each meeting includes demonstrations and discussion on various ASSIST issues. The ASSIST meeting is held in conjunction with the Arizona Association for Institutional Research (AZAIR) annual conference. ASSIST user groups— one for community college users and one for university users— also offer opportunities for users to further develop their knowledge and experience with ASSIST data.

Two key resources for new ASSIST users are the data diagram and data documentation.

Why can’t I see other institution’s data to use as comparison?

Each participating institution retains ownership and control over their data and approves all research involving ASSIST data. Therefore, an institution may only access records for their current and former students. Any other institutional comparison data can only be obtained directly from the other institution.

How can I check the validity of the ASSIST data with our institutional student data?

Personally identifiable characteristics such as name, birth date, and student ID are removed from the database accessed by researchers to ensure student privacy and compliance with federal law. Therefore, verification of individual ASSIST student records against your own institutional data is not possible.

Verification of aggregate number of records loaded against the number of records submitted in your institution’s data file is a primary responsibility of the submitting institution. You should also be able to confirm high-level aggregate numbers such as enrollment headcount loaded into ASSIST against your own institutional database.