Are there differences between the 2026 CIP codes and the 2020/2022 versions and where is the change log published?
Executive summary
The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is maintained by NCES and is updated roughly every ten years; the current widely used revision is CIP 2020 and NCES publishes the full lookup/browse tools on its IPEDS/CIP pages (search/browse) [1] [2]. Available sources do not present an official “2026 CIP” release from NCES, but they do note downstream operational changes tied to aid years and systems (for example, a Complex CIP tag for Aid Year 2026 in COD-related systems) and updates by other agencies (DHS, Canada, institutions) that use CIP codes and sometimes publish their own change lists [3] [4] [5].
1. What the NCES CIP is and how often it changes — the baseline
NCES’s Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is the federal taxonomy used to identify fields of study at the 2-, 4-, and 6‑digit levels; historically NCES revised the CIP in 1985, 1990, 2000, 2010 and most recently in 2020, and NCES hosts lookup and browse pages and resources for the CIP on the IPEDS site [6] [7] [2]. Multiple institutional guidance pages and data services treat “2020” as the current CIP year (for example, the Clearinghouse and state/college resources referencing CIP 2020) [1] [8].
2. Is there a “2026 CIP” and how would differences be communicated?
Available sources do not show an NCES-published “CIP 2026” taxonomy. Rather, NCES provides year-tagged CIP pages (search/browse) and the 2020 revision is referred to as the current CIP code year in guidance from data managers [2] [1]. That said, agencies and systems that rely on CIP sometimes announce operational adjustments ahead of a new aid year or program year — for example, Oracle/PeopleSoft documentation warns of a new “Complex CIP Code” intended for Aid Year 2026 and a new COD schema 5.0c that will accompany it; the note explicitly says the Complex CIP Code is meant only for Aid Year 2026 and that including it in 2025 files will cause problems [3]. This shows changes tied to program years can appear in implementation guides even if NCES hasn’t republished CIP as a new edition.
3. Practical differences institutions and agencies are already handling
Institutions, state education offices, and other agencies are already mapping program changes or publishing year‑specific CIP assignments for upcoming years (for example, campus lists of 2025–26 CIP assignments and state CTE charts), and some countries/authorities (like DHS for STEM OPT or Canada for PGWP eligibility) maintain separate, periodically updated lists that map into the NCES CIP taxonomy at specific digit levels [9] [4] [5]. These downstream lists can create de facto “differences” in use — e.g., DHS’s STEM Designated Degree Program list interprets CIP at two-, four- or six-digit levels and updates eligibility around its own rulemaking [4].
4. Where a formal change log would appear — and where reporting shows changes
The most authoritative place to look for NCES-published CIP changes or a change log is the NCES / IPEDS CIP pages (the Quick CIP Code Finder, browse, search, and resources pages) which host the lookup tables and related resources [2] [10] [11] [12]. Federal rulemaking that references specific CIP lists (such as Federal Register notices listing approved CIP codes for regulatory programs) is another formal place that publishes explicit lists or changes tied to federal programs (for example, a 2024 Federal Register notice listing approved CIP codes for gainful employment measures) [13]. For implementation-level schema or aid-year tags (like the Complex CIP Code for Aid Year 2026), vendor or systems documentation (PeopleSoft/Oracle, COD schema notes) has been the place to find change notices [3].
5. Where stakeholders should monitor for authoritative updates
Monitor NCES/IPEDS CIP pages (search, browse, and resources) for any official new edition or lookup tables [2] [12]. Also watch Federal Register notices when CIP lists are used in rulemaking [13], and agency pages that rely on CIP (DHS STEM OPT, Immigration/Canada PGWP guidance) because they publish eligibility mappings or nomination processes that can change how particular codes are treated [4] [14] [5]. Finally, systems integrators and vendor advisories (e.g., PeopleSoft/Oracle COD-related notices) can reveal implementation timing or schema tags that institutions must adopt for aid years [3].
6. How to interpret “differences” between 2020/2022 and any later lists
When you see a new list or an aid‑year implementation note, distinguish between (a) an NCES revision of the CIP taxonomy (a new official edition published on NCES/IPEDS), which is the definitive structural change [7], and (b) operational changes by agencies or systems that reclassify or map existing CIP codes for eligibility, reporting, or schema purposes (DHS STEM list, Canada PGWP lists, COD schema changes). Many institutional updates or program-level reassignments reflect local or agency re‑mapping rather than a new NCES taxonomy [4] [5] [3].
Limitations: available sources do not report a formal “2026 CIP” edition from NCES; the guidance above is drawn from NCES/IPEDS pages, federal rule notices, DHS/Canada mappings, and system vendor advisories that reference changes for aid years [2] [12] [13] [4] [5] [3].