ope8_id verse id in API request

Question

I have a standing API query that has been using ope8_id for data requests, but recently it has stopped returning data; I was wondering if ope8_ids can no longer be used in requests or if the call has changed?

For example:
Using regular ID for Boston College

api.data.gov/ed/collegescorecard/v1/schools?id=164924&api_key=XXXXX 

returns data

My standing query using ope8_id for Boston College:

api.data.gov/ed/collegescorecard/v1/schools?ope8_id=212800&api_key=XXXX 

returns no data.

I was wondering if anyone had similar issues?

Answer 1

The ope8_id requests are still fine to use. Your problem unfortunately is related to the change that was made on May 21, 2019 -- see this issue on GitHub. The ope8_id and ope6_id field data types were corrected in the API to be cast as strings instead of integers. As integers, the leading zeros were being dropped from the API, which was not correct.

For your particular query, ope8_id value would need to be updated to include the leading zeros:

api.data.gov/ed/collegescorecard/v1/schools?ope8_id=00212800&api_key=XXXX