About the Report
The Top 25 Postsecondary Institutions First Attended Report (Top 25 Report) provides a look at the top 25 postsecondary institutions that your high school students first attended within two years after leaving high school, whether a student remained at the same school in the second year and got a credential from the institution or transferred to another institution.
There is a report for each high school for which you’ve submitted data up to the most recent eight years. The report packet includes a top 25 list for each high school class that is included in your set of reports. A high school class is determined by the graduation date or last date of attendance that you provide in your StudentTracker graduates or request file. It is based on the date range of September 1st to August 31st. Districts, state agencies, and consortiums receive a report for each high school in their service agreement and an aggregate report that includes counts for all of the high schools in their service agreement.
Report Criteria
The count of students in this report is based on the unique students returned in the Detail Report. The count will not tally to the Aggregate Report of students who attended within the first two years after high school (the basic Aggregate Report also includes counts of any students who have blocked records).
For each high school class, the logic identifies all students who have at least one postsecondary enrollment within two years after leaving high school and the postsecondary institutions associated with the enrollments. The logic counts the number of students at each postsecondary institution and lists the top 25 institutions on the report by order of frequency. The count is at the eight-digit postsecondary school code level.
When a student has multiple enrollment records within an academic year, the record with the earliest term begin date takes precedence.
The example below assumes all students have a high school graduation date of June 3, 2014.
| Student | First Enrollment Term | Postsecondary ID and Name |
| Student 1 | 8/29/2014-12/20/2014 | 001234-00 Hometown University |
| Student 2 | 8/29/2014-12/20/2014 | 001234-00 Hometown University |
| Student 3 | 1/08/2015-5/10/2015 | 001234-00 Hometown University |
| Student 4 | 5/20/2015-9/10/2015 | 001234-01 Hometown University – City Center |
| Student 5 | 5/20/2015-9/10/2015 | 009876-00 State University |
| Student 6 | 9/2/2016-12/22/2016 | 001234-01 Hometown University – City Center |
The report lists:
- Hometown University (001234-00): 3 students
- Hometown University – City Center (001234-01): 2 students
- State University (009876-00): 1 student
Retained Criteria
A student is counted as retained if they have at least one postsecondary enrollment record within the academic year immediately following the first enrollment at the same postsecondary institution based on the eight-digit postsecondary school code.
Transferred Criteria
A student is counted as transferred if they have postsecondary enrollment in the academic year immediately following the first enrollment at a different postsecondary institution based on the eight-digit postsecondary school code.
In the second year, when the student has enrollment records at the same postsecondary institution and at a different postsecondary institution, the same institution is given preference. A student cannot be counted as both retained and transferred.
Postsecondary Academic Year
The postsecondary academic year is determined by the date range August 15th – August 14th. The enrollment term begin date must occur within the date range.
The date range for determining a first fall enrollment is different. The date range for the first fall is August 15th – October 31st. The student must have an enrollment that occurs within these dates—either the term begin date or term end date—or a term that crosses through this date range.
When a student’s only enrollment in the first year is in the first fall, the postsecondary institution is counted as first attended, even though the term begin date may be outside the date range.
The example below assumes the students graduated in June 2019.
| Student | First Enrollment Term | Postsecondary ID/Name | Description |
| Student 1 | 7/30/2019-10/31/2019 | 001234-00 Hometown University | This is a first fall enrollment. Hometown University is counted as the first school attended, even though the term begin date is not within the date range. |
| Student 2 | 7/5/2109-8/20/2019
9/10/2019-12/11/2019 |
009898-00 Local Community College
005555-00 Citywide State University |
The student has a first fall enrollment at Local Community College. Local Community College is counted as the first postsecondary institution attended. |
Counting Credentials Report
The Counting Credentials Report includes counts of certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor’s degrees. A student can be included in each of these counts, depending on the credentials earned over the eight years that a high school class is included in the report. A student can be counted only once in each unique count.
A student’s enrollment record must be counted as retained or transferred in order for a degree to be included in the Counting Credentials Report. It is not counted in the report if a student had at least one enrollment record within the first two years after high school, did not have any enrollment in the subsequent year, and had a degree with an award date in the third year or later.
Impact of Effective Dates
The Top 25 Report counts are based on the results of postsecondary matching for each effective date. The counts are updated with each subsequent effective date: fall, spring, and summer. See About Effective Dates and Academic Years for more information.
Reconciling to the Detail Report
The Top 25 Report was created so you can reconcile it to the Student-Level Detail Report. Students with FERPA blocks are not counted in the Top 25 Report.
