Table of Contents
For a list of student enrollment status codes and definitions, see Student Enrollment Statuses.
Advanced Registration Files
Advanced Registration files are optional files that supply pre-enrollment data for students who are pre-registered for the upcoming term. They are used in Myhub and Student Self-Service, which provide students with enrollment verifications for housing, health insurance, and discounts (e.g., computers and software). The data is available immediately and up to the first day of the term.
Advanced Registration files are for Myhub and Student Self-Service use only, not for compliance reporting to NSLDS or lender/loan deferment verification purposes.
We recommend institutions that participate in Myhub and Student Self-Service submit Advanced Registration files.
| When to Transmit Advanced Registration Files |
|---|
| Any time before the term begins |
Early Registration Files
See Early Registration vs. Advanced Registration for details about how these two files types differ.
Early Registration files are optional files used for compliance reporting for required terms only. These files capture student status changes that occur before the term census date and before you submit your first-of-term file (e.g., if you have multiple terms starting on separate dates).
Early Registration files only report deferrable statuses: full-time (F), three-quarter-time (Q), half-time (H), and approved leave of absence (A). The Clearinghouse does not process less than half-time (L) or withdrawn (W) records in early registration files.
Early Registration files make enrollment information available sooner for students who register early in the term and are certified at least half-time at the start of the term. Transmitting an early registration file can benefit students who are continuing in the same status and program(s) you reported for the prior term.
We recommend submitting Early Registration files for:
- Institutions that participate in EnrollmentVerify
- Large institutions with over 5K students enrolled
- Institutions with large populations of student loan borrowers
- Institutions that plan to transmit first-of-term files more than 18 days after the start of the term
- Institutions whose add/drop period extends well beyond the start of the term
| When to Transmit Early Registration Files |
|---|
| After the term begin date AND Before the term census date BUT No later than 10 days after classes begin |
You must complete the prior term’s data submission before submitting an Early Registration file for the next term.
We strongly recommend transmitting Early Registration file(s) after the first day of the term. Transmitting these files on or before the term begins can result in NSLDS errors due to future status start dates and certification dates.
First-of-Term Files
The First-of-Term file serves as the official start of comprehensive enrollment reporting for the term to the Clearinghouse. While institutions can choose to submit an Early Registration file beforehand, only students reported with at least half-time statuses on the Early Registration file are processed. By contrast, the First-of-Term file acknowledges and processes all reported enrollment statuses. This includes enrollment statuses typically ineligible for in-school deferment for the current term (e.g., less-than-half-time, withdrawn).
The Clearinghouse has a process, referred to as Calculated Withdrawn (W-C), that applies only to First-of-Term files for required terms. This process identifies students or programs previously reported as actively enrolled who are unreported on the First-of-Term file for the current required term.
- For students previously reported with F, Q, H, or L: The term end date of the last term in which they were reported will be used for the W-C status start/effective date.
- For students previously reported with A (Approved Leave of Absence): The W-C status start/effective date is set to the date originally reported for their A status.
The First-of-Term file is critical for ensuring accurate and timely student loan servicing and compliance with NSLDS enrollment reporting requirements. This file confirms which students have officially begun or resumed enrollment for the new term and identifies those who did not return. This information serves as the basis for loan servicers to accurately determine eligibility for in-school deferments, the start of grace periods, and the initiation of repayment schedules.
| When to Transmit First-of-Term Files |
|---|
| After the add/drop period ends AND Within 30 days of the term begin date |
You must complete data submission for the prior term before submitting the First-of-Term file for the next term.
Subsequent-of-Term Files
Subsequent-of-Term files report enrollment for students who registered late and students who have a withdrawn or changed status after the add/drop period ended or during the term.
| When to Transmit Subsequent-of-Term Files |
|---|
| Every 30 to 45 days |
End-of-Term Files (final Subsequent-of-Term file for the term)
The End-of-Term file is the last Subsequent-of-Term file you submit for the term to report final changes in status for students who registered late and students who have withdrawn (W). This file may also include students who graduated (G).
If possible, include the graduated (G) status at the campus level and/or program level, where applicable, for students who graduated from the school and/or completed program(s).
| When to Transmit End-of-Term Files |
|---|
| Ideally, on or after the term end date OR Once no additional status increases/decreases can occur for the term (except for W or G) AND No later than two weeks after classes end AND No more than 45 days after your last transmission |
Graduates Only Files
Graduates Only files are for reporting Graduated (G) and Withdrawn (W) status students who are not reported in your end-of-term (final subsequent-of-term) file as G or W. Graduates only files can include actively enrolled students who have completed individual programs.
You must report G or W status on the completed/withdrawn program for each student.
For more information about Graduates Only Enrollment files, see the Graduated (G) Status Reporting Guide.
| When to Transmit Graduates Only Files |
|---|
| After the term ends AND After the end-of-term file is submitted AND / OR Once your institution has awarded degrees |
Summer Term Files
If your institution offers summer sessions, you should transmit summer term files to the Clearinghouse.
A required term is an academic term that mandates attendance for students to be considered enrolled and not Withdrawn (W) from the school. Academic terms, which students are not required to attend to still be considered continuously enrolled, are classified as non-required terms.
Students who are 1) not considered Withdrawn (W) at the end of a required term and 2) are in an active enrollment status (F, Q, H, L, A) are considered continuously enrolled at the school if they are expected to return for the next required academic term. This applies even for institutions with a non-required summer term.
On the enrollment submission schedule, the file type for a non-required summer term is different than the file type for a required summer term.
- Non-required summer term: Summer-First of Summer-Subsequent
- Required summer term: First-of-Term or Subsequent-of-Term
The summer term file type must be accurate on your institution’s submission schedule to ensure correct data processing and reporting. That’s because non-required summer terms follow different reporting standards than required summer terms.
See our compliance reporting best practices resource, Enrollment Reporting for Summer & Other Non-Required Terms.
| When to Transmit Summer Term Files |
|---|
| At the beginning and end of the summer term, or monthly, depending on the summer term’s length. |
Non-Required/Special Term Files
If your institution offers other non-required term(s) that are standalone term(s), you should transmit them as special term files to the Clearinghouse.
| When to Transmit Special Term Files |
|---|
| At the beginning and end of each special term |