STEP 1: Ensure eligibility
- MEDC can release data to researchers at an institution of higher education or a non-profit research institution.
- Researchers requesting data must have their primary affiliation with an eligible institution, or be a currently enrolled student in a doctoral program at an eligible institution.
- If you are a graduate student or a postdoctoral researcher at an eligible institution, please review these guidelines prior to starting your application.
STEP 2: Confirm that data are available through MEDC
Prior to submitting an application, researchers should review MEDC codebooks and confirm that MEDC is in possession of data and variables that are required for the study. Because the data request needs to include specific variables and data years, please use the MEDC codebooks to ensure that the variables needed are available in the years covered by the study.
MEDC is unable to provide researchers with summary statistics, aggregate counts or highly customized files, many of which are available at mischooldata.org.
Therefore, researchers should familiarize themselves with the holdings of mischooldata.org and determine whether publicly available data can be used in lieu of individual-level records to answer research questions.
For applications which require a match between program records and MEDC data, please review the process by which MEDC performs a probabilistic match between any incoming dataset and the PII dataset maintained in house.
STEP 3: Preliminary forms, training, and cost
Prior to submitting an application, researchers should:
- Review FERPA exceptions if the request involves individual student data.
- Review a summary of MEDC’s data service fee structure for approved projects, annual updates, and probabilistic matches in the table below. Additional details regarding MEDC’s service fee structure can be found here.
| MEDC Service Type | FY25 fees for U-M researchers | FY25 fees for all other eligible researchers* |
| Fee for new projects | $4,796 | $6,187 |
| Fee for data updates | $479 | $618 |
| Fee for probabilistic matches Cost per match depends on the match complexity, factors of which include input variables, the number of records to match, and the estimated effort. | ||
*Please note that the fees shown for all other eligible researchers reflect the cost of services provided by MEDC, in addition to applicable services provided by the University of Michigan.
* Additionally, note that MEDC service fees are reviewed and updated each fiscal year (12/1 - 11/30 of each year). The fees listed above may change slightly from when an application is submitted and the time when an invoice is issued. MEDC will post updated fees as soon as they are available.
- Obtain approval from their Institutional Review Board (IRB).
- Ask all members of your research team who will be included as part of this application to complete FERPA training.
- Obtain signed confidentiality and security forms for all research team members included in the application.
STEP 4: Complete the Research Application
To submit the online research application, researchers first create an account through Survey Monkey Apply. Other members of the research team can be invited as research collaborators once an application is generated.
The MERI Research Application Guide lists all relevant steps.
Upcoming application deadlines are:
- Friday, November 29, 2024
- Friday, January 24, 2025
- Friday, March 28, 2025
- Friday, May 30, 2025
- Friday, July 25, 2025
- Friday, September 26, 2025
- Friday, November 28, 2025
STEP 5: Application Decision and Data Delivery
After the MERI review team fully reviews each application, researchers will receive a signed decision letter (i.e. approval or denial). With this letter, approved researchers will receive communication about next steps, which should include sample specifications of the approved data request and directions for fee invoicing and payment. Data will be delivered after payment for MEDC services has been confirmed.
Amending an Approved Research Project
Amendment Instructions
As of Fall 2023, we have switched to a new amendment request (née change request) process. Researchers should review the amendment instructions prior to logging into the Michigan Education Research Institute - Research Proposal System to update their application.
The deadlines for submitting change request:
- Friday, January 10, 2025
- Friday, March 7, 2025
- Friday, May 9, 2025
- Friday, July 11, 2025
- Friday, September 5, 2025
- Friday, November 7, 2025
Our team is available to discuss studies and provide feedback on developing applications.
STEP A: Identify the changes
You may have one or many aspects of your research application to update. In most cases, it is best to package these changes into a single amendment request. Common reasons for amending an application include:
- Adding or removing team members
- Refining or adding research questions
- Extending the project completion date
- Request additional years or types of data
STEP B: Confirm access
There are two circumstance in which you may have troubles submitting an amendment request. First, if someone else on your team created and submitted the original application, you may not have permission to update it. In this case, the application owner will need to login, select/view the research application and add you as a collaborator. Second, amendments are not allowed if your application is currently under review for other changes or is in the data delivery stage. To resolve this, email us and let us know you need to amend your application.
STEP C: Complete the Amendment Request Task
In this step, you let us know what changes you would like to make to your research project. Select the appropriate application and navigate to the Amendment Request Task. Complete the form and mark the task as complete. You will receive an email from the MERI team notifying you that your application has been reopened to edit the requested sections of your application.
STEP D: Submit Amendments/Revisions
After your application is reopened, you may refresh your account page to see that your application has been reopened for editing. Although the full research application is open for editing, you may only edit the sections of your application that were previously specified in the amendment request task. Please do not edit unspecified sections of your application as this may delay processing of your request. Navigate to the requested section(s) of the application that you would like to amend and make all necessary changes. After you have completed the requested changes, ensure that each section of your application is marked as complete and click submit.