By Stage

Institutions are required to submit course and cohort data to the Postsecondary Data Partnership. Dashboards can be developed once an institution successfully submits data to the PDP.

Starting mid-November, PDP will be transitioning to a new and improved data submission process.

Users will need to submit any course, cohort, and financial aid files through our new Data Provider Intake Platform. Note: the file formats for your course, cohort, and financial aid files ARE NOT changing. Only the steps to submit your files are changing.

Download the quick start user guide for the new submission process.

When the new process is released, any files that have not been certified or that have data quality checks to acknowledge or correct, will be automatically rejected, and users will need to resubmit those files in the new interface. Because of that, we recommend that you do not submit any files on or after November 10 until the new interface has been released.

Please be on the lookout for communication and outreach from the PDP team if your files need to be resubmitted.

Additional content and resources regarding the new data submission process will be updated when the new process is available.

ARTICLES

Certification & Data Quality Checks

Reviewing Submissions

Learn how the PDP system performs validation and data quality checks on submitted files and alerts you if your submission fails these checks.

Reviewing Validation Errors

Learn how to review structural and field validation errors.

Reviewing Data Quality Errors

Learn how to review the errors when one of your submissions fails a data quality check.

Overriding Data Quality Errors

Learn how to override if you review a data quality error and determine that the data is correct.

Using the Dashboards to Check Data Quality

Learn how to use the Data Quality Dashboard Check to help you determine if all the data your institution submitted is visible and the dashboards and filters are functioning correctly.

Creating Data Files

Creating a Data File

Data files are used to submit data through the PDP. They must include all of the necessary information and be properly formatted in order to be validated and processed by The Clearinghouse.

Formatting a Data File

Learn how to format a data file.

Formatting the Header Record

Learn about the fields that must be included in the header record for each data file and see samples.

Formatting the Trailer Record

Learn about the fields that must be included in the trailer record for each data file and see a sample.

Formatting the Column Header Record

Learn about the column header record and column headings for the fields in the data file and see samples.

Formatting the Detail Records

Learn about the detail records which contain the field values in the data files.

Formatting the Cohort File Detail Records

Learn about the three kinds of information you should include In the cohort data file.

Formatting the Course File Detail Records

Learn about the three kinds of information you should include In the course data file.

Formatting the Financial Aid File Detail Records

Submitting a financial aid data file is optional. Learn about the three kinds of information you should include in this type of file.

Sample Data Files

See samples of cohort, course, and financial aid data files to help guide you.

Valid State Codes

Find valid state codes for use in your data files.

Valid Country Codes

Find valid country codes for use in your data files.

Data File Templates

Use these data file templates as guides to help you format your data submission files.

CIP Codes Site

Creating PDP course data files includes knowing the program’s specific numeric code, or Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP).

Printable Data Submission Guide

This guide explains how to use the Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP) system to submit data to the National Student Clearinghouse (The Clearinghouse).

Data File Updates

Updating Previously Submitted Data

Learn how to submit an updated data file if you need to make changes to previously submitted and successfully processed data.

Formatting an Update File

Although an update data file should be formatted the same as the original file, learn about the key differences in the requirements for each record.

Formatting the Cohort Update File Detail Records

Learn what values are either required, not required, or required based on certain conditions when formatting the cohort update file.

Formatting the Course Term Update File Detail Records

Learn what values are either required, not required, or required based on certain conditions when formatting the course term update file.

Formatting the Course Update File Detail Records

Learn what values are either required, not required, or required based on certain conditions when formatting the course update file.

Submitting Data Files

When to Submit Data Files

Find out when you should submit your data and more about the data submission timeline.

Submitting Data Files through FTP

Learn more about how to use your service account number and secure FTP credentials to submit your data files.

Certifying Submissions

Learn how to certify your submissions once you have submitted your data files and resolved any validation errors.

Rejecting Submissions

Learn how you can reject invalid submissions so the PDP system discards them.

Recertifying Submissions

Learn how to recertify the submission when you resubmit a data file.

Reviewing Update Results

Learn about the results file that you will receive after you submit updated data and the information it provides.

Submitting Data Files through API

Learn how you can submit files to the PDP using API, which allows you to automate your upload process.

Using the Submission Tracker

Learn how you can use the Submission Tracker to view the statuses of an institution’s data submissions, some information about the data files submitted for the institution to date, and relevant dates for data submission, analysis-ready files, and dashboards.

File Submission Course

This course covers the PDP data elements needed for the required data files, how to submit data files, and how to resolve errors during the validation process.