Formatting the Cohort Update File Detail Records

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:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Spring
  • Summer
 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:
  • A = Nonresident Alien
  • IA = American Indian or Alaska Native
  • AN = Asian
  • B = Black
  • HP = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
  • W = White
  • UK = Unknown
 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:
  • A = Adult High School Diploma
  • E = Endorsed/Advanced Diploma
  • G = General Education Development (GED)
  • H = Non-GED High School Equivalency
  • I = International Baccalaureate
  • M = Modified Diploma
  • D = Regular Diploma
  • V = Vocational Certificate
  • O = Other
 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:
  • N = No parent attended college
  • P = At least one parent attended college but earned no credential or degree
  • C = At least one parent earned a certificate
  • A = At least one parent earned an associate’s degree
  • B = At least one parent earned a bachelor’s degree or higher
  • E = At least one parent earned a credential or degree (level unknown)
 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.
  • DE = Past dual enrollment
  • SE = Past summer enrollment
  • DS = Past dual and summer enrollment
 No Yes
29 Enrollment Type Enumerated Student’s cohort enrollment type. Valid codes:
  • F = First time at institution, non-transfer
  • C = Continuing*
  • R = Re-admit*
  • T = Transfer
*Although normally Continuing and Re-admit students should not be included in the cohort data file, they are still valid codes because they are part of the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) for Enrollment Type. We recommend that you only include students enrolling for the first time and transfer students in the cohort data file.		 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:
  • C = College ready
  • N = Not college ready
  • UK = Unknown
 No Yes
33 English Placement Enumerated Student was college-ready in English upon enrollment based on your institution's English placement policies. Valid codes:
  • C = College ready
  • N = Not college ready
  • UK = Unknown
 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:
  • R = Required
  • N = Not required
  • UK = Unknown
 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:
  • R = Required
  • N = Not required
  • UK = Unknown
 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:
  • C = College ready
  • N = Not college ready
  • UK = Unknown
 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:
  • 0 = Student is not considered first generation
  • 1 = Neither biological parent earned a four-year college degree
  • 2 = Neither parent or guardian earned a four-year college degree
  • 3 = Neither parent or guardian earned a four-year college degree from an institution in the United States
  • 4 = Neither parent or guardian with primary influence on the student at age 16 earned a four-year college degree
  • 5 = Neither parent completed education beyond an associate/two-year degree
  • 6 = Neither parent entered any form of higher education
 No Yes
39  Gender Enumerated Gender of the student. If not provided, gender will be determined based on other Clearinghouse data. Valid codes:
  • M = Male
  • F = Female
  • P = Prefer not to specify
  • X = Nonbinary, intersex, or gender-nonconforming
  • UK = Unknown
 No Yes
40  Incarcerated Status Enumerated Up to 2 characters Whether the student is incarcerated or was previously incarcerated. Valid codes:
  • Y = Student is currently incarcerated
  • P = Student was previously incarcerated (at any point before enrolling at your institution)
  • N = Student is/was not incarcerated
  • UK = Unknown
 No Yes
41  Military Status Enumerated 1 character Whether the student is a veteran or on active duty. Valid codes:
  • 0 = None/unknown
  • 1 = Veteran
  • 2 = Active Duty/Reserves/National Guard
 No Yes
42  Employment Status Enumerated 1 character Whether the student is employed. Valid codes:
  • 0 = Unknown
  • 1 = Student is employed full-time
  • 2 = Student is employed less than full-time but at least half-time
  • 3 = Student is employed less than half-time
  • 4 = Student is not employed
 No Yes
43  Disability Status Enumerated Up to 2 characters Whether the student identifies as having a disability. Valid codes:
  • Y = Student has a documented disability with the disability office or similar office at your institution (including learning, physical, and/or psychological disabilities)
  • N = Student does not identify as having a disability or have a documented/reported disability with the disability office or similar office at your institution
  • UK = Unknown
 No Yes

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