A  |  B  |  C  |  D  |  E  |  F  |  G  |  H  |  I  |  J  |  K  |  L  |  M  |  N  |  O  |  P  |  Q  |  R  |  S  |  T  |  U  |  V  |  W  |  X  |  Y  |  Z

A

A1 (data elements)

The basic data elements collected from an institution that participates in our Enrollment Reporting service. These data elements include the student’s PII and Directory information. Ex. SSN, CSID, Name, Address, DOB, campus Status, campus Status Start Date, Term Begin and End Dates, AGD, etc.

A2 (data elements)

Additional enrollment data elements, such as middle name, CIP, college student ID, major, class, etc., which an institution that participates in our Enrollment Reporting can opt to report to the Clearinghouse. Institutions that report additional data elements are eligible to receive free or discounted StudentTracker service.

A3 (data elements)

Data elements used for reporting Program information for students in certificate or degree seeking programs. With the inception of the 150% Direct Loan Limit, the NSLDS requires Program level data be reported in addition to campus level data for compliance reporting purposes.

The A3/Program fields include the Program Indicator, CIP Code, CIP Year, Credential Level, Program Length, Program Length Measurement, Program Weeks in Academic Year, Program Begin Date, Program Special Indicator, Program Status, and Program Status Effective Date. Up to six active Programs can be reported for a student.

Adds Process

The Clearinghouse’s supplemental Adds Process was created to assist with adding missing students to the SSCR Rosters. This process can help reduce paper deferment form requests and is in addition to the FSA compliance requirements. The process in and of itself is not a federal compliance requirement, however, students sent to the NSLDS in the Adds Process may be added to your institution’s next SSCR Roster.

A student must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the adds process: they must have appeared on a previous SSCR Roster sent to the Clearinghouse in the last 20 years, is currently being reported with an active Status or a newly reported separation Status and was not on the most recent SSCR Roster.

Ad-hoc SSCR Roster

An ad-hoc SSCR Roster is an off schedule SSCR Roster that was requested by an institution. For participating institutions, once requested, the ad-hoc SSCR Roster will follow the SSCR Roster process. The Ad-hoc SSCR Roster can be requested directly on the NSLDS website by an authorized school user.

To request an Ad-hoc SSCR Roster:

1. Login to the NSLDS website.
2. Check the Select box next to the school location for which the ad Ad-hoc Roster is to be generated.
3. When more than one location displays, request by: a. Clicking the checkbox to the left of the location’s Code and School Name, or b. Selecting all records displayed on the page by clicking Check All at the top of the form.
4. Click Submit.

Advanced Registration (AR)

A file that captures students who have pre-registered for the upcoming term. It is used by institutions that participate in our Student Self Service (SSS)/Myhub service to enable their students to obtain pre-enrollment verifications online. An institution may submit an Advanced Registration file any time prior to the beginning of the term, however this data will not be available after the first day of the term reported. Advanced Registration data is not used for the purpose of compliance/NSLDS reporting.

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO)

AACRAO is a professional organization of personnel working in the fields of college and university admissions, academic records, and enrollment services.

Anticipated Graduation Date (AGD)

The AGD is the date the student is expected to complete their studies. Determined by the institution, the Anticipated Graduation Date (known as the Anticipated Completion Date (ACD) by the NSLDS) is required to be reported on all active status student records.

Ask/Answer

Ask/Answer is a term used to describe how student data is requested by and sent to lenders and the NSLDS. The lender process and the NSLDS SSCR Roster process are both what we call ask/answer processes. This means that we are only able to respond with the data from your institution that is attached to the requested SSN. We do not send over data for students that are not on these lists or are not eligible for the Supplemental adds process.

Audit Resource Center (ARC)

Offering year-round support to schools with compliance questions. A team within the Compliance & Operations department dedicated to supporting institutions with enrollment reporting compliance questions raised or presented during an audit (e.g., internal/self-audit, federal financial aid audit, Program Review, etc.).

B

Branch

Indicated by the two-digit code suffix of an institution’s OPEID, a branch identifies the school location (e.g., branch 00 is typically the main campus location) and there can be additional locations that are a part of the institution. See Official Branch and Unofficial Branch.

C

Calculated Withdrawal (W-C)

A Clearinghouse process applicable only on First of Term files reporting a standard/compulsory term to account for all student records reported by the institution. If a student or Program reported as actively enrolled in a previous term is not included on the next standard/compulsory term’s First of term file, the Clearinghouse will apply a Calculated Withdrawn (W-C) status to the record or Program. For previously reported F, Q, H, L Statuses, the Term End Date of the last Term they were reported, will be used for the Status Start/Effective Date. For students previously reported on a Leave of Absence, the W-C Status Start Date will be equal to the date reported for their A Status.

Campus Level

Campus level, also referred to as Student level, includes the Enrollment Status, Status Start Date, Term Begin Date, Term End Date, Anticipated Graduation Date, Directory Block Indicator, Privacy Block Setting, and optional expanded data fields on a student’s enrollment record. Campus level Status and Status Start Date are terms used to differentiate between the student’s enrollment overall at the institution vs at the Program level.

Census Date

The date on which a student’s enrollment is considered by an institution to be finalized for the study period or term. This date can also be referred to as the deadline or end of the institution’s add/drop period at the start of a standard term.

Certification Date

The Certification Date is a data field used to report the date the institution confirmed the enrollment file contains current and accurate data.

Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP)

A taxonomic coding scheme of instructional programs, its purpose being to facilitate the organization, collection, and reporting of fields of study and program completions. This database of CIP codes is updated every ten years, and the current 2020 edition of the CIP presents an updated taxonomy of instructional program classifications and descriptions.

A CIP Code is one of the Program data identifiers that is a unique identifier along with Credential Level, Program Length/Measurement, and (for programs in Weeks or Months length) Weeks in Title IV Academic Year is a unique identifier.

Classification of Instructional Programs Year (CIP Year)

The CIP Year is a required field when reporting Program data for students on Enrollment files. The only data currently accepted in these fields is “2010” or “2020”. The year reported depends on which version of the CIP Code list an institution is utilizing for the CIP Codes of the Programs they offer. The Clearinghouse recommends institutions update CIP Codes, as needed, to align with the current 2020 CIP Code list and to report all students reported with Program data with “2020” in the Program CIP Year field. The CIP Codes list is revised approximately every 10 years by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the Department of Education.

Clearinghouse Academy (CHA)

The Clearinghouse Academy site contains live and self-paced Clearinghouse product training available for our participating institutions and clients. Users can register for live webinars on the site. If there are multiple courses available for one product, it’s recommended to start with the introductory course.

Clearinghouse Advisory Committee (CAC)

One of the Clearinghouse’s advisory committees, which helps provide a cross-section of insight and guidance on how we can better serve the higher education industry. The CAC provides feedback on ways to improve our existing services, recommends new areas of development and assists us in prioritizing our service roadmaps.

The CAC members represent a variety of sectors, institution types, including public, private, for-profit, proprietary, 2-year, 4-year, and geographical areas.

Clearinghouse Online Reporting Application (CORA)

A secure online application that enables small colleges (IE: fewer than 100 students) to participate in the Clearinghouse’s compliance reporting service. There is no separate programming required from the institution as enrollment data for their students will be generated onto an enrollment file through the CORA platform via the Clearinghouse secure website.

Client Success Manager (CSM)

The Client Success Manager ensures that school customers are successfully utilizing Clearinghouse products/services and overall satisfied with their partnership with the Clearinghouse. The Client Success team is also responsible for conducting outreach initiative to clients and helping craft internal Clearinghouse processes to increase satisfaction with this partnership.

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

CFR Title 34: Education is one of fifty titles comprising the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Title 34 is the principal set of rules and regulations issued by federal agencies of the United States regarding education.

COD Process

The Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) Process is a common process integrated with a system designed to support origination, disbursement, and reporting for Direct Loan, Pell Grant, and the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant.

COD System

The Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System is a technical solution designed to accommodate the COD Process for Pell Grant, the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant, and Direct Loan funding.

College Student Identification Number (CSID)

A unique identifier assigned to students by their post-secondary institution. In order for NO SSN students to be accepted into the Clearinghouse database, a valid CSID must be included in the CSID field (can be alphanumeric but should not contain special characters).

Common Origination & Disbursement (COD)

COD is a platform where Financial Aid Administrators, Servicers, or other officials can use the COD system to perform a variety of functions related to student/award/disbursement data for Pell, Direct Loan and Teach Grant programs.

Compliance & Data Operations (Data Ops)

Formerly known as School Operations. The Compliance & Data Operations Department is a department within the Clearinghouse responsible for the organization’s data processing, data reporting and data excellence operations. This includes the Clearinghouse’s core service, Enrollment and Compliance reporting, as well as other established Clearinghouse Services.

This team is comprised of a vast number of compliance and enrollment reporting subject matter experts. Data Ops processes Enrollment files, DegreeVerify files, Student Tracker files, manual enrollment online updates, deferment form requests, audit inquires, provides PDP service support, and responds to non-direct borrower lists and the NSLDS for compliance reporting. This department also assists with updates to School User account management and EFI account management.

Credential Level

Indicates the Credential associated with a unique program. Credential Level is a required field when reporting Program data for students on Enrollment files.

Credential Level is one of the Program data identifiers that is a unique identifier along with CIP Code, Program Length/Measurement, and (for programs in Weeks or Months length) Weeks in Title IV Academic Year is a unique identifier.

D

Deceased (D)

An enrollment status used by institutions to indicate that a student passed away.

DegreeVerify (DV)

A verification service offered by the Clearinghouse that allows third party requestors such as potential employers, background screening firms, other institutions of higher learning, etc. to confirm degree information for students from participating institutions.

Department of Education (ED)

A department of the United States government that establishes policies on federal financial aid and higher education, collects data on America’s educational institutions and disseminates research, focuses on addressing key education issues impacting the country, and ensures equal access to education.

Directory Block Indicator (DBI)

A data field used to inform the Clearinghouse of when a student has chosen to exercise their right under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to block the release of directory information such as their name, date of birth, attendance dates, etc. to third parties. An institution’s Student Information System should record the student’s request to block or to allow the release of directory information and this should be populated on the student record included on enrollment files as either Yes (Y) or No (N).

E

Early Registration (ER)

An optional enrollment file type that allows institutions to capture enrollment for a new standard/compulsory term prior to their Census Date. Eligible data from Early Registration files can be used for compliance reporting to the NSLDS. The non-deferrable Less than Half Time and Withdrawn statuses are rejected from Early Registration files. To avoid the NSLDS SSCR Errors 30 and 69, an institution should not submit an Early Registration file prior to the day after the Term Begin Date.

Education Finance Industry (EFI)

Members are entities that grant or service educational Financial Aid. This may be in the form of loans (Direct or Private) or Grants or Scholarships. Members need to verify the students’ enrollment status to determine how their accounts should be serviced.

There are three types of members:

• Reporting – provides the Clearinghouse with overlay file and receives data directly from us. They can view enrollment for their defined borrowers via the website.
• Non-Reporting – provides the Clearinghouse with overlay file but does not receive data directly from us but can view defined borrowers via the website.
• Online – no overlay/borrower list, online lookups only.

Eight-digit OPEID

The combination of the six-digit school code and the two-digit school location code. See Six-digit OPEID.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

Electronic Data Interchange is a format used by certain Student Information System software vendors and their participating institutions when reporting enrollment files and records.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Reject List

Student records submitted by EDI reporting institutions have an EDI mapping record layout for their record in the raw data file. Each record must meet certain requirements for the record to be accepted on an enrollment file during the file setup process.​ Records will be rejected due to missing or invalid data within the EDI record layout.

The rejected records will be placed in your institution’s FTP account for review after your enrollment file is uploaded. Anyone on your institution’s FTP email list will be notified that the list is available to retrieve and download. However, anyone with the FTP account’s username and password can access the list. May also be referred to as the Mercator Reject(s) list. ​

Electronic Transcript Exchange (ETX)

Electronic Transcript Exchange is a secure national exchange that enables secondary and postsecondary schools, systems, states, and educational organizations to automate transcript exchange.

Eligibility and Certification Approval Report (ECAR)

The Eligibility and Certification Approval Report (ECAR) is a report that the Department of Education sends to institutions that lists the educational programs and locations that are eligible for Federal Student Aid.

End of Term (EOT)

An End of Term file is the last Subsequent of Term file to capture final enrollment for the specific term. “End of Term” is not displayed as an Enrollment File Transmission Type on the Transmission Schedule.

Enrollment file

Electronic documents containing student enrollment data transmitted to the Clearinghouse via the secure FTP or CORA application.

Enrollment Reporting (ENR)

Enrollment Reporting is the Clearinghouse’s Core service. Enrollment Reporting provides enrollment status and deferment information for financial aid students on behalf of its participating institutions to guarantee agencies, lenders, servicers, and the Department of Education. In addition to loan servicer data flow, Enrollment Reporting is the driver providing data for other Clearinghouse services (Verification Services, Myhub, StudentTracker)

Enrollment Status

A student’s Enrollment Status is determined by the educational institution based on the number of classes/credits/clock hours a student is enrolled in during a term/enrollment period. Enrollment statuses are: Full Time, Three-quarter Time, Half Time, Less than Half Time, Withdrawn, Graduated, Approved Leave of Absence, and Deceased.

EnrollmentVerify

EnrollmentVerify is a web-based system that provides instant enrollment verifications for student service providers.

Error Resolution Report (ERW)

Online validation report that lists the data inconsistencies and possible discrepancies identified on an Enrollment File submission. The Error Resolution Report may list errors displayed in red and/or warnings displayed in black and the total number of records for each error/warning. When detailed into the errors and warnings, instructions will display advising how the error/warning can be updated as needed. Also included on the Error Resolution Report is the Clearinghouse Contact information, Submission Information, Request to Reject Submission icon and Download Error Resolution Report icon. Once the enrollment file has an assigned Compliance & Data Operations Analyst, their direct contact information is reflected on the ERW.

Errors (Red)

Student discrepancies on the Enrollment file’s Error Resolution Report that are marked in red are called Errors. Red Errors are required to be corrected before the Error Report can be returned to the Clearinghouse and before we can process the Enrollment File.

F

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records. When a student turns 18 years old, or enters a postsecondary institution at any age, the rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student.

Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL)

The Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL) is a former loan program that included the Federal Stafford Loan, Federal PLUS, Federal Supplemental Loans for Students (Federal SLS), and Federal Consolidation Loan programs. Lenders used their own funds to make loans to enable students or their parents to pay the costs of the students’ attendance at eligible institutions.

Federal Student Aid (FSA)

An office of the U.S. Department of Education, FSA is the largest provider of student financial aid in the United States. Federal Student Aid provides student financial assistance in the form of grants, loans, and work-study funds. Federal Student Aid is also responsible for the development, distribution, and processing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the fundamental qualifying form used for all federal student aid distribution programs, as well as for many state, regional, and private student aid programs.

First of Term (FOT)

A First of Term file is the first official file of the Term and is used to capture the initial enrollment for the term. It is recommended that the file is Certified and submitted after the add/drop period has ended but should arrive no later than 30 days after the Term Begin Date.

The campus Status Start Date will be defaulted to the Term Begin Date if a student is reported on a First of Term file in a new active Status and without a Status Start Date. On First of Term files for standard/compulsory terms, the Clearinghouse will calculate a Withdrawn Status for any student/Program that was previously reported with an active enrollment status (F/Q/H/L/A) and is not reported on the current file.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Federal Student Aid, a part of the U.S. Department of Education, is the largest provider of student financial aid in the nation. The office of Federal Student Aid provides grants, loans, and work-study funds for college or career school. The FAFSA form is available to students to determine federal financial assistance eligibility.

Full Time (FT)

A student’s enrollment in a postsecondary institution (other than a correspondence program) is considered Full Time if their academic workload constitutes Full Time status as determined by the institution using standards applicable to all students enrolled in the same program. The workload can consist of any combination of courses, work experience, research, or special studies, whether or not for credit, that the institution considers sufficient to constitute Full Time status. A student who is enrolled in a vocational school (other than a correspondence program) and carries a workload of not less than 24 hours per week, 12 semester or quarter hours of instruction, or the equivalent is considered Full Time.

Future Data Reporting Group (FDRG)

One of the Clearinghouse’s advisory committees comprised of representatives from a cross-section of institutions that use our Enrollment Reporting and DegreeVerify services. The FDRG provides feedback and direction from the hands-on user perspective to improve the user experience, processing efficiencies and ensure that the Clearinghouse data reporting services continue to meet and exceed client expectations.

G

G from DegreeVerify (G from Degree, G from DV)

G from Degree is an optional, no-cost add-on service for DegreeVerify participating institutions that can assist in capturing a Graduated Status on students’ enrollment records that can be sent to the NSLDS, participating lenders, servicers and guarantors for compliance reporting and student loan servicing purposes. The Clearinghouse system will auto generate a Graduates Only enrollment file also called a G from DV file after the DegreeVerify file is processed for students whose degree records are a definitive match to prior enrollment records and meet the G from DV function criteria. G from Degree is also referred to as “G from DV” or “G from DegreeVerify.”

Though the G from DV process can assist with capturing G statuses, we highly recommend submitting separation statuses throughout the term, on end of term files, and/or school submitted graduates only enrollment files, only relying on G from DV as a supplemental backup.

G Not Applied Tab

Accessible on the Clearinghouse secure site, the G Not Applied tab contains a list of students with degree records that were included on the DegreeVerify submission and loaded into the DegreeVerify database that are available for Degree verification requests but were not eligible to be generated onto the G from DV enrollment file. The G Not Applied tab should be reviewed once the list becomes available. Student records can be updated via the G Not Applied platform or included on the next enrollment file or Graduates Only enrollment file as needed.

Gender Identity

Gender Identity is an optional field on enrollment files used to report the gender by which the student identifies, which can be different than the sex the student was assigned at birth. The available options provided for this data element are based on the best practice recommendations contained in Student Identity , published in July 2019 by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers (AACRAO). These options include M (Male), F (Female), TF (Transgender Female), TM (Transgender Male), NB (Non-binary), AG (Agender), GQ (Genderqueer), or NA (Does Not Apply). See Sex for Reporting.

Graduated (G)

A student enrolled in an eligible postsecondary institution and completed the requirements for graduation in the program of study in which they were enrolled is considered Graduated.

Graduates Only (Grad Only or G Only)

A Graduates Only Enrollment file is an Enrollment file type intended to capture separation statuses at the campus and/or program level to update student records to Graduated, Withdrawn or Deceased.

H

Half Time (HT)

A student’s enrollment in a postsecondary institution is considered Half Time when their academic workload is at least one-half (50%) the workload of a Full Time student, as determined by the institution. A student enrolled solely in an eligible correspondence program is also considered a Half Time student.

Higher Education Act (HEA)

The Higher Education Act of 1965 is a law designed to strengthen the educational resources of the colleges and universities of the United States and to provide financial assistance to post-secondary students.

I

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), conducted by the NCES, began in 1986 and involves annual institution-level data collections. All postsecondary institutions that have a Program Participation Agreement with the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education (throughout IPEDS referred to as “Title IV”) are required to report data using a web-based data collection system. IPEDS currently consists of the following components: Institutional Characteristics (IC); 12-month Enrollment (E12); Completions (C); Admissions (ADM); Student Financial Aid (SFA); Human Resources (HR) composed of Employees by Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries; Fall Enrollment (EF); Graduation Rates (GR); Outcome Measures (OM); Finance (F); and Academic Libraries (AL).

J

January Term (J-Term)

A January Term or J-Term is a Non-compulsory and Non-Summer Term offered between the standard/compulsory Fall and Spring Terms, typically in the month of January.

L

Leave of Absence (A) (For federal student aid: Approved Leave of Absence)

A student who is enrolled in an eligible postsecondary institution and has met the requirements for an approved student loan leave of absence in accordance with Federal Student Aid (FSA) guidance and, therefore, is considered to be on a temporary leave and not participating in academic activity. Federal aid recipient students on an Approved Leave of Absence (A) are considered eligible for in-school deferment and expected to return within 180 days of the leave of absence effective date, be in the A status for no more than 180 days in a 12 month period, and are considered Withdrawn (W) if they do not return within the set timeframe (180 calendar days).

Federal Aid recipient students who do not qualify for an Approved Leave of Absence (A) are typically considered Withdrawn (W) for federal financial aid purposes. Federal aid recipient students on an Approved Leave of Absence (A) who do not return from the Approved Leave of Absence are considered Withdrawn (W). The Withdrawn (W) effective date, in accordance with FSA guidance, for students attending institutions not mandated to take attendance is the backdated date equal to the Leave of Absence effective date. The Withdrawn (W) effective date, in accordance with FSA guidance, for students attending institutions mandated to take attendance is the backdated date equal to the student’s last date of attendance (LDA).

Less than Half Time (L, LTHT)

A student’s enrollment in a postsecondary institution is considered Less than Half Time when their workload amounts to less than the academic workload of a Half Time student, as determined by the institution.

Lived Name (First, Middle & Last)

The student’s Lived (or preferred) Name is a self-chosen personal and/or preferred professional name. This name is separate from the legal name and is used as a fundamental component of the student’s identity. The student’s Lived Name(s) is optional to report in addition to their legal First, Middle, and Last Name in our Enrollment Reporting, degree reporting, Advanced Registration, and individual student update options for both degree and enrollment data.

When reporting to the Clearinghouse, the Lived Name fields should not contain current or previous legal names. See Previous Name.

M

Maymester

A Maymester is a Non-Compulsory and Non-Summer Term typically offered after the Spring Term and prior to the Summer term, typically in the month of May.

Mid-Month NSLDS SSCR Roster Process

Is a courtesy process to supplement compliance reporting and is not a federal compliance requirement. If an enrollment file has been fully processed into the Clearinghouse database after the scheduled (typically) monthly SSCR roster has been responded to but before the middle of the month, an institution would usually meet criteria for the mid-month process. The Mid-month process is not guaranteed to occur every month.

Move To Field

The Move To field allows the institution to move student’s enrollment from one OPEID to another in the NSLDS.

Myhub

Myhub offers a complete student record solution. It’s a secure online resource for learners — including students and alumni, at any point along the learning continuum. Myhub brings together all of an individual’s verified academic records and achievements, as well as credentials earned through online or workplace-based learning, in one place.

N

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences, is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Education and the primary federal provider of education statistics on the condition of American Education. NCES maintains and publishes the CIP Code list.

National Student Clearinghouse (The Clearinghouse)

Founded in 1993 by the higher education community, the National Student Clearinghouse relieves the administrative burdens and costs related to student data reporting and exchange.

National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)

The National Student Loan Data System is the U.S. Department of Education‘s central database for Federal Student Aid.

Never Attended (X)

Data element in enrollment reporting. When reporting a Never Attended (X) status for a Program, this will indicate that a student was never truly enrolled in a specific program based on the unique Program identifiers. This Program enrollment status can be utilized when a Program was reported in error and needs to be removed from the student’s record because it is not eligible to be linked to the correct/current Program.

Non-compulsory & Non-summer (Non-comp)

Non-compulsory and Non-Summer files are used to report any non-standard and non-required Terms that do not fall under the Summer Term category such as Maymesters or J-Terms. Non-compulsory terms are terms that students are not required to attend to still be considered continuously enrolled at the school so long as the student is expected to attend the next standard/compulsory academic term.

Non-Compulsory terms should be included in your Clearinghouse enrollment reporting schedule. These terms are typically shorter than other academic terms and often only have one transmission line on the schedule.​ When submitting enrollment files during these non-compulsory terms, only include students that are taking classes during these optional terms, and only report a student as Withdrawn if the student has officially Withdrawn and is not returning to your institution for the next standard/compulsory term. Students that complete a prior term’s program can be reflected with an active campus level if attending a non-compulsory term with a program level, Graduated status if the student completed a program as determined by the school after the prior term ended.

​Data submitted on Non-compulsory files is eligible to be sent to non-direct lenders and the NSLDS.

Non-direct Borrower List

List of students requested by non-direct lenders, servicers, and guarantee agencies. Non-direct agencies are typically organizations separate from Direct Loan servicing. Direct Loan servicing relates to NSLDS.

O

Office of Inspector General (OIG)

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is a generic term for the oversight division of a federal or state agency aimed at preventing inefficient or illegal operations within their parent agency. Such offices are attached to many federal executive departments, independent federal agencies, as well as state and local governments. Each office includes an Inspector General (or I.G.) and employees charged with identifying, auditing, and investigating fraud, waste, abuse, embezzlement, and mismanagement of any kind within the executive department.

OIG publishes the compliance supplement typically utilized by auditors to conduct federal financial aid audits at postsecondary institutions.

Office of Postsecondary Education Identification Number (OPEID, OPE ID)

Identification number used by the U.S. Department of Education‘s Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) to identify schools that have Program Participation Agreements (PPA) so that its students are eligible to participate in Federal Student Financial Assistance programs under Title IV regulations.

Official Branch

An Official Branch is an approved, and recognized, location by the Department of Education (ED). These branches receive their own NSLDS SSCR Rosters. See Unofficial Branch.

Online Update

A processable submission manually submitted by a school user via the Clearinghouse website or internally by a Clearinghouse analyst in accordance with a school user for an update, change, and/or correction to an individual student record.

P

Personally identifiable information (PII)

Personally Identifiable Information means any information identified as personally identifiable information under FERPA or applicable state law, including small cell-size data that are linkable to a specific student, as provided under FERPA regulations. PII includes, but is not limited to:

• The student’s name
• The address of the student
• A personal identifier, such as a student number
• Other indirect identifiers, such as the student’s date of birth
• Other information that alone or in combination is linked or linkable to a specific student that would allow a reasonable person in the school community who does not have knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to identify the student with reasonable certainty

Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP)

The Postsecondary Data Partnership is a Research Center initiative and product that leverages the Clearinghouse’s wealth of enrollment and degree data to enable colleges and educational organizations track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as enrollment and time to completion in order to perform educational research and analyses.

Postsecondary Education (PSE)

Formal learning that occurs after secondary education.

Postsecondary Education Participants System (PEPS)

PEPS is the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) management information system of all organizations that have a role in administering student financial aid and other Higher Education Act programs. PEPS maintains eligibility, certification, demographic, financial review, audit and default rate data about schools, lenders, guarantors participating in the Title IV programs.

Previous Name (First & Last)

The Previous First Name and Previous Last Name are optional for reporting a student’s previous legal First and/or legal Last Name(s). See Lived Name.

Privacy Block Setting (PBS)

The Privacy Block Setting (PBS) is a reportable value that your institution can use to communicate to the Clearinghouse that a student’s enrollment and/or degree record is restricted from certain uses by the Clearinghouse due to the requirements of state or federal data privacy laws (or, even in some cases, the law of a foreign jurisdiction).

Program

A field of study for which a student is/was actively enrolled. A unique program is defined as a combination of the school’s eight-digit OPEID number, the CIP code, the CIP year, the Credential Level, Published Program Length, Published Program Length Measurement and if applicable Weeks in Title IV Academic Year.

Program Begin Date (PBD)

Date on which the student began attending the program. This date should not change unless submitting a correction, even if the student has separated from (Withdrawn) and returned to the same program. Program Begin Date is a required field when reporting Program data for students on Enrollment files.

Program Level

Program Level enrollment contains the information on a specific program(s) a student is or was enrolled in.

Program Status Effective Date (PSED)

The effective date for the program(s) enrollment status currently being reported. This date should not change unless a students’ status in the specific program has changed. Program Status Effective Date is a required field when reporting Program data for students on Enrollment files.

Program Weeks in Title IV Academic Year (PWAY)

The total number of weeks of instruction in the program’s academic year. Only report when Published Program Length Measurement is W (Weeks) or M (Months).

Format nnnnnn, with an implied decimal point between the third and fourth digits. Thus, schools should report:

• 000100 to represent a value of one tenth
• 001000 to represent a value of one
• 010000 to represent a value of ten
• 100000 to represent a value of one hundred

When a Program is reported in Weeks or Months, the Weeks in Title IV Academic Year is one of the Program data identifiers that is a unique identifier along with CIP Code, Credential Level, Program Length/Measurement.

Published Program Length

Published Program Length is a required field when reporting Program data for students on Enrollment files. The length of the instructional program in years, months, or weeks as published by the institution.

Format nnnnnn, with an implied decimal point between the third and fourth digits. Thus, schools should report:

• 000100 to represent a value of one tenth
• 001000 to represent a value of one
• 010000 to represent a value of ten
• 100000 to represent a value of one hundred

Published Program Length is one of the Program data identifiers that is a unique identifier along with CIP Code, Credential Level, Program Length Measurement, and (for programs in Weeks or Months length) Weeks in Title IV Academic Year is a unique identifier.

Published Program Length Measurement

Published Program Length Measurement is a required field when reporting Program data for students on Enrollment files. Used to identify if the length of instructional program is measured in Weeks, Months or Years.

Published Program Length Measurement is one of the Program data identifiers that is a unique identifier along with CIP Code, Credential Level, Program Length, and (for programs in Weeks or Months length) Weeks in Title IV Academic Year is a unique identifier.

R

Received Date

The Received Date is the date the file became available for review to the Data Ops analyst following upload to the FTP or CORA platform.

Regional Relationship Manager (RRM)

The individual responsible for promoting Clearinghouse collegiate services to institutions and maintaining key institutional client relationships. In addition, RRMs act as spokespersons for the Clearinghouse at industry seminars and conferences. Each RRM is assigned a specific territory. Those territories can be found here.

Reject Detail Report

A list of students that were rejected from an enrollment file during the review and processing of the file. Records on the Reject Detail Report should be reviewed and corrected as soon as possible after the Enrollment file is processed, where applicable.

Reject Request

A request placed by the institution via the Error Resolution Report to reject an enrollment file in-house.

Reverse Transfer

The Clearinghouse’s Reverse Transfer platform is the first national automated solution that enables course and grade data to be transferred from a four- or two-year institution to any two-year institution in order to award associate degrees to eligible students.

In Reverse Transfer, the two parties exchanging course and grade data are known as the host institution (the institution where the student is currently enrolled) and degree-granting institution or DGI (the institution that will be awarding the degree). A host institution can be either a four- or two-year institution.

Roster Response

When the Clearinghouse sends data to the NSLDS in response to the SSCR Roster.

S

Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)

Secure FTP is used to safely and securely collect, store, manage and distribute sensitive information between your organization and the Clearinghouse. All files in the SFTP environment are securely stored using FIPS 140-2 validated AES encryption, the U.S. federal encryption standard.

Sex for Reporting

Sex for Reporting is an optional field on enrollment files used to report the sex that a student is declared to be according to government records. Accepted values for this field are M (Male), F (Female), or U (Unknown). This data field was previously known as the Gender field. See Gender Identity.

Six-digit OPEID (OPE ID)

The first six digits of the OPEID number relate to the education institution.

Social Security Number (SSN)

Unique nine-digit number generated by the Social Security Administration (SSA) assigned to each U.S. citizen to track Social Security benefits and for other identification purposes.

Special Program Indicator

Data element reported on Enrollment Files. The Special Program Indicator is a field in the Program-Level Record that schools should use to flag programs that have special treatment. Flag to indicate that the program belongs to one of the following groups:

• A (Special Admission Associate Degree Program)
• B (Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program)
• N (Not Applicable)
• P (Preparatory Coursework Graduate Professional Program)
• T (Non-Credential Teacher Certification Program)
• U (Preparatory Coursework Undergraduate Program)

SSCR Error (NSLDS SSCR Error)

A record that is not accepted by the NSLDS and is sent back on the SSCR error report.

Status Start Date (SSD)

The Campus Level enrollment status effective date in which a student’s enrollment status began (i.e., Full Time, Three Quarter Time, Half Time, Less than Half Time, Withdrawn, Graduated, etc.). This date should not change unless a student’s status changes.

Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG)

Pronounced “sage,” SAIG is the tool that allows Federal Student Aid trading partners to securely exchange batch data with Federal Student Aid Application Systems.

Student Aid Internet Gateway Form (SAIG form)

An official Department of Education document that designates the Clearinghouse as the post-secondary institutions’ servicer for SSCR processing.

Student Information System (SIS)

A software application for education establishments to manage student data.

Student Look-up Tab

A platform on the Clearinghouse Secure Site that enables school users to view a student’s Enrollment History, Degree History, Notification History and NSLDS SSCR Notification History where applicable. Online Updates can be made via the Student Look-up tab to manually edit a student’s enrollment record.

Student Self Service (SSS)

A service offered by the Clearinghouse through which colleges and universities can enable students to perform a wide range of enrollment verification activities: Print enrollment certificates; View enrollment history; Check enrollment verifications that the Clearinghouse has provided to student service providers on their behalf; View student loan deferments; Link to real-time information on their student loans.

Student Status Confirmation Report (SSCR) Process

Process used to report the enrollment status of students receiving Title IV aid to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). This enrollment information is merged to the NSLDS database (the U.S. Department of Education‘s central database for student aid) and reported to the guarantors, lenders, and servicers of student loans. The Clearinghouse completes SSCRs on behalf of institutions participating in its free Enrollment Reporting service.

StudentTracker (ST)

StudentTracker is the only nationwide source of college enrollment and degree data, enabling high school districts, colleges, and higher education outreach organizations to query our participating institutions’ student data to perform all types of educational research and analyses.

Submission ID

A unique identification number assigned by the Clearinghouse to a file.

Subsequent of Term (SOT)

Enrollment file to report enrollment for a required Term following the First of Term file or previous Subsequent of Term files.

Summer First of Term (Summer FOT)

Enrollment file used to report the first enrollment for a Non-Compulsory Summer Term. It is recommended to be submitted after add/drop has ended but within 30 days from the Term Begin Date.

Summer Subsequent of Term (Summer SOT)

Enrollment file used to report enrollment for a Non-Compulsory Summer Term following the Summer First of Term file or previous Summer-Subsequent files for Non-Compulsory Summer academic terms.

T

Transmission Schedule

The Transmission Schedule is a tool that the Clearinghouse provides to institutions to help remain in compliance with federal reporting regulations. Once an institution creates its initial schedule, we will automatically create next year’s schedule based on this year’s schedule (evergreen process). This enables the institution to focus on changes to the schedule without having to recreate it year after year. There is a Transmission Schedule for Enrollment file reporting and DegreeVerify file reporting. The Transmission Schedule is also referred to as the Submission Schedule.

Term Begin Date (TBD)

The Term Begin Date is the date an institution considers the current academic term/enrollment reporting period to have started. Typically, this should be the first day of classes. Term Dates may vary student to student depending on an institution’s policy or term structure. It is recommended to report the Term Dates for a student using the date range of the disbursement period if/when aid is awarded to them.

Term End Date (TED)

The Term End Date is the date an institution considers the current academic term/enrollment reporting period to have ended up to the last day final exams are held. Term Dates may vary student to student depending on an institution’s policy or term structure. It is recommended to report the Term Dates for a student using the date range of the disbursement period if/when aid is awarded to them.

Third-Party Servicer

Entity or individual that administers any aspect of an institution’s participation in the Title IV programs.

Three-quarter Time (Q)

Enrollment status is determined by an institution and dependent upon the number of credit hours scheduled for a student. Less than Full Time status and greater than Half Time status.

Transmission Date

Date the transmission is reported by the institution. This data element is provided by the institution in the Header Record of the enrollment or DegreeVerify File.

U

Unofficial Branch

An Unofficial Branch is not an Official Branch location approved, or recognized, by the Department of Education, including NSLDS. These branches are created within the Clearinghouse database to allow institutions to report enrollment data for separate groups of students that are not able to be generated onto the same enrollment file. Students reported to the Clearinghouse in an Unofficial Branch that are requested by a lender or the NSLDS are requested through the Official Branch 00 Roster.

W

Warning (Black)

Student discrepancies on the Enrollment file’s Error Resolution Report that are listed in black are called Warnings. Black Warnings can be conditionally accepted if the record reflects current and accurate data for the student. All Warnings should be reviewed for accuracy and updated if incorrect data is present.

Withdrawn (W)

A student enrolled in a postsecondary institution who has Withdrawn, dropped out, failed to re-enroll or been terminated, expelled, or dismissed by the institution is considered Withdrawn.