The American Council on Education's Office of Research has instituted a large-scale data bank for research in American higher education. This cross-sectional and longitudinal data bank is available to the general community of scholars and administrators interested in student characteristics, student development, comparative institutional effects, educational trends and related research questions. The purpose of this manual is to provide a research and policy guide to those who wish to employ the resources of the data bank for their own research interests and objectives. The manual describes the sampling design of the data files, the types of information available, the computer hardware and the system software capabilities, and policy guidelines for using the data bank. On the basis of findings from 2 earlier studies, comprehensive full-scale studies of entering students attending a representative sample of more than 300 institutions were begun in 1966. Since then, new surveys of entering freshmen at these and additional institutions have been made annually, and periodic follow-ups of previous freshman classes have been undertaken. Supplemental information on these students has been obtained from several other sources. Copies of this manual may be obtained from The Office of Research, American Council on Education, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20036. (Author/JS)