The Common Data Set (CDS) initiative is a collaborative effort among institutional researchers and guidebook publishers, as represented by the College Board, Peterson's, and U.S. News & World Report. The goal of the CDS is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided in college guidebooks as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers. The CDS is a set of standards and definitions of data items rather than a survey instrument or set of data represented in a database. Each of the higher education surveys conducted by the participating publishers incorporates items from the CDS. For more information, please .