Values are either required, not required, or required based on certain conditions. For any values that are not required, you may either populate the fields or leave them blank.
Cohort Update File Variables
# | Variable | Variable Type | Format | Description | Required for Update | Can Be Updated |
1 | CH1 | Enumerated | Indicates the type of data record. Must be the first field in every detail record. Enter D1 for detail records. | Yes | No | |
2 | Cohort | Date | YYYY-YY | Academic year in which the student first enrolled in at least one course. Must match the Cohort value in the course data file. Must be 2 consecutive years between 2000 and today Example: 2019-20 | Yes | No |
3 | Cohort Term | Enumerated | Term in which student first enrolled in at least one course. Must match the Cohort Term value in the course data file. Valid codes:
|
Yes | No | |
4 | Cohort Term Begin Date | Date | YYYYMMDD | Date the Cohort Term began. Year must be between 1900 and today. | No | No |
5 | Cohort Term End Date | Date | YYYYMMDD | Date the Cohort Term ended. Year must be between 1900 and today. Cannot be before or the same as the Cohort Term Begin Date. | No | No |
6 | SSN | Numeric | 9 digits | Student’s Social Security number. If not available, leave blank and enter the Student ID instead. Required if Student ID is blank. Cannot be the same as Student ID. | Conditional | No |
7 | ITIN | Numeric | 9 digits | Individual Tax Payer Identification Number. Cannot be the same as SSN. | No | No |
8 | Student ID | Alphanumeric | 3 – 20 characters | Your institution’s ID number for the student. Required if SSN is blank. Cannot be the same as SSN or ITIN. Can include: period, apostrophe, hyphen, underscore | Conditional | No |
9 | First Name | Alphanumeric | Up to 60 characters | Student’s first name. Can include: space, period, apostrophe, hyphen | Yes | No |
10 | Middle Name | Alphanumeric | Up to 60 characters | Student’s middle name. Can include: space, period, apostrophe, hyphen | No | No |
11 | Last Name | Alphanumeric | Up to 60 characters | Student’s last name. Can include: space, period, apostrophe, hyphen | Yes | No |
12 | Street Line 1 | String | 2 – 30 characters | Student’s permanent street address. If unknown, enter UK. | Yes | No |
13 | Street Line 2 | String | Up to 30 characters | Second line of student’s address, if needed. | No | No |
14 | City | String | 2 – 20 characters | Student’s city of permanent residence. If unknown, enter UK. | Yes | No |
15 | State | Alphabetic | 2 characters | Student’s state of permanent residence. For US students, enter a valid state code (see Valid State Codes). For students outside the US, enter any other two characters. If unknown, enter UK. | Yes | No |
16 | Zip/Postal Code | Alphanumeric | 1 – 10 characters | Student’s permanent zip/postal code. Must include at least one number. Can include a hyphen. Cannot include spaces. For postal codes with spaces, you can remove the spaces or replace them with hyphens. | No | No |
17 | Country | Enumerated | 2 characters | Student’s country of permanent residence (see Valid Country Codes). If unknown, enter UK. | Yes | No |
18 | Date of Birth | Date | YYYYMMDD | Student’s date of birth. Year must be between 1900 and 10 years ago. If unknown, omit the student from the data file. | Yes | No |
19 | Ethnicity | Enumerated | Student’s ethnicity. Enter H for Hispanic, N for Non-Hispanic, or UK for unknown. | Yes | No | |
20 | Race | Enumerated | Student’s race. Can include multiple values separated by pipe symbols (|) in any order. For example, a student who is Asian, White, and a non-resident alien could be listed as: AN|W|A. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes | |
21 | Institution ID Type | Enumerated | Originating system of the institution ID (OPEID, FICE, NCES, ACT, etc.). Currently, you can only enter OPEID. | Yes | No | |
22 | Institution ID | Alphanumeric | 8 characters | Your institution’s ID. Currently, you can only enter an 8-digit OPEID (6-digit OPEID + 2-digit branch code). If you do not have a branch code, enter your 6-digit OPEID with 00 at the end. | Yes | No |
# | Variable | Variable Type | Format | Description | Required for Update | Can Be Updated |
23 | HS Completion Status | Enumerated | Student’s high school diploma or equivalency status. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes | |
24 | HS Completion Year | Date | YYYY | Date student earned their high school diploma or equivalency. Must be a year between 1900 and today. | No | Yes |
25 | HS Unweighted GPA | Numeric | X.XX | Student’s unweighted high school GPA on a 4-point scale. Does not include weights for advanced placement, honors, or other types of advanced classes. Must be a number between 0 and 4 with up to two decimal places. If only one GPA is available and you are not sure if it is weighted or unweighted, enter the same value for both HS Unweighted GPA and HS Weighted GPA. | No | Yes |
26 | HS Weighted GPA | Numeric | X.XX | Student’s weighted high school GPA on a 6-point scale. Includes weights for advanced placement, honors, and other types of advanced classes. Must be a number between 0 and 6 with up to two decimal places. If only one GPA is available and you are not sure if it is weighted or unweighted, enter the same value for both HS Unweighted GPA and HS Weighted GPA. | No | Yes |
# | Variable | Variable Type | Format | Description | Required for Update | Can Be Updated |
27 | First Gen | Enumerated | Indicates if one or more of the student’s parents attended college. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes | |
28 | Dual and Summer Enrollment | Enumerated | Student was a previous dual enrollment student and/or enrolled in summer work before their first term enrolled with credential-seeking status.
|
No | Yes | |
29 | Enrollment Type | Enumerated | Student’s cohort enrollment type. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes | |
30 | Number of College Credits Attempted to Transfer | Numeric | XXXX.XX | Number of credits the student attempted to transfer from another institution (whether or not the credits were accepted). If the student is a transfer student but did not attempt to transfer credits, enter 0. | No | Yes |
31 | Number of College Transfer Credits Accepted | Numeric | XXXX.XX | Number of transfer credits your institution accepted for the student. If the student is a transfer student but no transfer credits were accepted, enter 0. | No | Yes |
32 | Math Placement | Enumerated | Student was college-ready in math upon enrollment based on your institution's math placement policies. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes | |
33 | English Placement | Enumerated | Student was college-ready in English upon enrollment based on your institution's English placement policies. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes | |
34 | Gateway Math Status | Enumerated | Whether the student is required to complete a gateway math course at enrollment. You may classify more than one course as a math gateway course. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes | |
35 | Gateway English Status | Enumerated | Whether the student is required to complete a gateway English course at enrollment. You may classify more than one course as an English gateway course. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes |
# | Variable | Variable Type | Format | Description | Required for Update | Can Be Updated |
36 | Reading Placement | Enumerated | Student was college ready in reading at time of first enrollment based on your institution's reading placement policies. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes | |
37 | Special Program | Alphanumeric | Up to 64 characters | Whether the student is participating in a special program. For example, Community College Growth Engine Fund (CCGEF) = ccgefcohort. Do not include special characters. | No | Yes |
38 | NASPA First-Generation | Enumerated | 1 character | NASPA’s coding for the first-generation status of the student. Does not impact the first-generation filter. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes |
39 | Gender | Enumerated | Gender of the student. If not provided, gender will be determined based on other Clearinghouse data. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes | |
40 | Incarcerated Status | Enumerated | Up to 2 characters | Whether the student is incarcerated or was previously incarcerated. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes |
41 | Military Status | Enumerated | 1 character | Whether the student is a veteran or on active duty. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes |
42 | Employment Status | Enumerated | 1 character | Whether the student is employed. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes |
43 | Disability Status | Enumerated | Up to 2 characters | Whether the student identifies as having a disability. Valid codes:
|
No | Yes |
Previous: Formatting an Update File | Next: Formatting the Course Term Update File Detail Records