StudentTracker for Colleges & Universities Knowledge Base

A batch query file is an Excel spreadsheet that contains the students you want to query and is formatted to our system’s requirements.

Sample Batch Query File

Step 1: Set Cells to Text Format

To retain leading zeroes in your file, you must format all cells in text format.

1. Create a new spreadsheet in Excel.
2. Highlight columns A through L.
3. Right-click within the highlighted columns and select Format Cells.

1. On the Number tab, select Text.

1. Click OK.

Step 2: Create the Header Row

The header row informs our system who sent the file, when they sent the file, and what type of query to perform. This row must be the first row in the file.

Sample Header Row

Header Row Details

Header Row Details

Column	Required?	Field	Characters	Description	Sample
A	Yes	H1	2	Indicates the start of the header row.	H1
B	Yes	School Code	6	First six digits of your institution’s OPEID.	001234
C	Yes	Branch Code	2	Last two digits of your institution’s OPEID.	00
D	Yes	School Name	40	Your institution name.	HOMETOWN UNIVERSITY
E	Yes	File Creation Date	8	Date you are creating the file in YYMMDD format.	20240202
F	Yes	Query Option	2	CO = Longitudinal Cohort DA = Declined Admissions PA = Prior Attendance SE = Subsequent Enrollment	SE
G	Yes	Capital “I”	1	“I” for Institution.	I

Step 3: Create the Student Detail Rows

Our system uses the information you enter in the student detail rows to locate matching records in our enrollment database. Enter these rows between the header row and trailer row in your file. Include one header row for each student you are querying. You must enter a minimum of 11 and a maximum of 250,000 student detail rows per file.

Sample Student Detail Rows

Student Row Details

Student Row Details

Column	Required?	Field	Characters	Description	Sample
A	Yes	D1	2	Indicates the start of a student detail row.	D1
B	No	Social Security Number	9	PA Query on Non-enrolled: Enter nine-digit SSN. CO, DA, or SE Query: Leave blank.
C	Yes	First Name	20	Student’s first name. Do not include accented and/or special characters.	ASANTE
D	No	Middle Initial	1	We strongly recommend including this field for best results. Do not include accented and/or special characters.	A
E	Yes	Last Name	20	Student’s last name. Do not include accented and/or special characters.	ALBERTSON
F	No	Suffix	5	Student’s suffix. Do not include accented and/or special characters.	JR
G	Yes	Date of Birth	8	Student’s date of birth in YYYYMMDD format.	19900320
H	Yes	Search Date	8	Must be in YYYYMMDD format. Earliest date accepted is 1/1/1960. CO Query: Search date cannot be more than 16 years in the past.	20150601
I	Yes	Blank Column	0	Leave blank.
J	Yes	School Code	6	First six digits of your institution’s OPEID.	001234
K	Yes	Branch Code	2	Last two digits of your institution’s OPEID.	00
L	No	Requester Return Field	50	Use a period to separate identifiers (e.g. ID1.ID2.ID3). Do not use symbols (e.g. [, ], @, #). We do not match using identifier information.	10045643.M.ROTC

Searching by Lived Name

Beginning in December 2023, the National Student Clearinghouse allows you to report a lived (or preferred) first name, middle name, and last name when reporting student enrollment. StudentTracker allows you to search for any version of a reported first, middle, or last name through its batch query feature. The name returned in your student detail report will always reflect the name that was submitted in your batch query file.

Step 4: Create the Trailer Row

The trailer row informs our system that your file ends at that row. This row must be the last row in the file.

Sample Trailer Row

Trailer Row Details

Trailer Row Details

Column	Required?	Field	Characters	Description	Sample
A	Yes	T1	2	Indicates the start of a trailer row.	T1
B	Yes	Row Count	6	The number of rows in your file.	13

Step 5: Save the File in Text (Tab Delimited) Format

1. In Excel, click File.
2. Select Save As.
3. Navigate to and select the location where you would like to save your file.
4. Enter a filename. Do not include any special characters (e.g. !, @, #).
5. From the file type drop-down, select Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt).

1. Click Save.