The Census Bureau Higher Education Consortium (CBHEC) brings the nation’s higher education institutions directly into the mission of delivering high‑quality statistics.

The CBHEC is a collaborative effort by the U.S. Census Bureau and academia to develop the next generation of innovators to meet the nation’s statistical needs.

The consortium was created after discussions with higher education institutions led to a plan to address challenges like:

• Siloed environments that limit collaboration on the use of Census Bureau statistical products.
• Varied levels of statistical literacy and awareness of Census Bureau tools, statistical products and resources.
• Limited use of Census Bureau statistical products in the higher education classroom to prepare students for the workforce.

The CBHEC is uniquely poised to address these challenges and prepare students for the demands of using complex data in an evolving workforce. 

To build a multidisciplinary talent pipeline, CBHEC will focus on three core goals:

• Strengthening collaboration between the Census Bureau and higher education institutions.
• Advancing data access and statistical literacy while improving existing and inspiring new Census Bureau statistical products.
• Helping prepare a new generation of statistical innovators.

CBHEC institutions will help shape specialized trainings led by -matter experts at the U.S. Census Bureau. Recent trainings include “Getting Started with data.census.gov”, and "Learning about Curated Academic Training within U.S. Census Bureau’s Data Dissemination and Training Program". Consortium members will share curricula, research, capstone projects, project-based learning, and other applications to demonstrate how Census Bureau datasets and statistics are leveraged.

These shared resources will strengthen statistical literacy, broaden access to Census Bureau statistical products, and expand the community of experts who rely on Census Bureau statistics.

The CBHEC will also streamline engagement with higher education stakeholders to improve Census Bureau statistical products. This collaboration identifies opportunities to strengthen existing and develop new products to meet this key stakeholder’s data needs. 

Today, we are proud to announce the official launch of the Census Bureau Higher Education Consortium (CBHEC) through the signing of five-year memorandums of agreement (MOAs) with an inaugural group of colleges and universities across the United States.

Members of the inaugural cohort by region include:

• North
  • New York University
  • University of Connecticut
  • University of Maryland Global Campus
• South
  • Georgia Southern University
  • North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
  • North Carolina State University
  • Sam Houston State University
  • Texas A&M University
  • The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
  • University of Texas at San Antonio
• Midwest
  • Chicago State University
  • University of Illinois Chicago
• West
  • Brigham Young University
  • Utah State University
  • University of Utah
• Pacific
  • American Samoa Community College
  • Northern Marianas College
  • University of Guam
  • University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Many other institutions are also actively engaged in this effort.

CBHEC is engaging with private and public institutions, land grant institutions, community colleges, and many more. This mix reflects the wide interest in expanding access to Census Bureau resources and building statistical capacity across the country.

As statistical needs continue to evolve, the goal is to grow this network in ways that support the wide spectrum of regions, institutions and academic departments across the nation.

If your institution is interested in joining the CBHEC, please visit our website or email us at [email protected].