National Student Clearinghouse Research Center
The National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™ publishes relevant, objective data on postsecondary metrics to serve the community. With the majority of institutions in the United States providing data to the Clearinghouse, the research center’s publications guide policymakers and business leaders to make the best decisions for higher education.
Publication Series
Stay Informed with the Latest Enrollment Information – Fall 2024
This report series continues to enable educational and policy leaders to make informed decisions through timely enrollment trend reporting that began with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last Published October 23, 2024
2.9%
Increase in postsecondary enrollment from a year earlier (as of 9/26/2024)
High School Benchmarks
Provides the most current data on high school graduates’ postsecondary enrollment, persistence, and completion outcomes.
Last Published September 12, 2024
78%
Persistence rate from the first to second year of college for 2021 graduates from low-income high schools, a 3 percentage point increase from the previous year.
Persistence and Retention
This report series helps institutions understand first-year college persistence and retention patterns and identify disparities between different students, institutions, or states in this important early success indicator.
Last Published June 27, 2024
76.5%
First-year persistence rate for fall 2022 starters, up 0.8 percentage points over the previous cohort
Some College, No Credential
This report series seeks to understand the educational trajectories of millions of U.S. adults who left postsecondary education without receiving a credential and are no longer enrolled.
Last Published June 6, 2024
36.8M
Some College, No Credential population currently under 65 as of July 2022, up 2.9% from previous year
Current Term Enrollment Estimates
Latest enrollment estimates for the spring of 2024 nationally and by state, reported on by institution types, student groups, and major fields.
Last Published May 22, 2024
447,000
Increase in postsecondary enrollment from a year ago
Tracking Transfer
Latest six-year baccalaureate degree completion rate for transfer students from two- to four-year institutions is reported for the 2016 cohort of first-time degree-seeking students, analyzed by student demographics and institutional characteristics.
Last Published April 18, 2024
15.3%
Fall 2016 community college starters who earned a BA in six years
Undergraduate Degree Earners
Insights into undergraduate credential earners in the 2022-23 academic year by demographic and educational profiles.
Last Published April 11, 2024
-2.8%
Decline in college graduates from a year ago
Transfer and Progress
A report series on undergraduate transfer enrollment and pathways and the mobility and progress of pandemic-impacted community college starters.
Last Published February 28, 2024
+7.7%
Increase in upward transfers from a year ago (as of 11/19/2023)
Postsecondary Data Partnership Insights
The PDP Insights report focuses on students’ first-year credit completion ratio (CCR) and credit accumulation rate (CAR). These early momentum measures can offer insights into students’ progression toward degree completion and provide indicators of when and where gaps in ultimate degree attainment between groups may begin.
Published January 16, 2024
73%
Credits earned, on average, out of all attempted among first-year students in 2021-22
Completing College
Provides a comprehensive overview of postsecondary completion trends nationally and by state. For all students who enter postsecondary education for the first time each year, it examines the diverse pathways the student traversed toward completion, as well as a degree or certificate completion rate within six and eight years of enrolling.
Last Published November 30, 2023
62.2%
The national 6-year college completion rate, counting all students at all institutions
College Closures and Student Outcomes
Building on a three-report series offering a national view of how students are affected by college closures, an interactive dashboard provides additional data insights on characteristics of closed institutions that lead to more positive student outcomes and reenrollment rates of students who became part of the Some College No Credential (SCNC) population following closure.
Published November 2, 2023
47%
Reenrollment rate following a campus closure
Yearly Success and Progress Rates
Year-by-year rates of persistence, transfer, completion, and stop-out can help states and institutions better identify effective intervention points to increase student success.
Last Published April 4, 2023
30%
Part-time beginning students no longer enrolled anywhere two years later
COVID-19: Transfer, Mobility, and Progress
Recognizing the urgency of COVID-19’s impact on students and institutions, these reports disseminate rapid response information to identify trends and raise areas of concern early enough for education and policy leaders to take corrective actions quickly.
Last Published September 13, 2022
296,200
Total two-year loss of transfer students during pandemic
Upcoming Publications
DECEMBER 2024
Completing College
DECEMBER 2024
Postsecondary Data Partnership Insights
JANUARY 2025
CTEE: Final Look Fall 2024 Enrollment
Current Initiatives
Postsecondary Data Partnership
The Postsecondary Data Partnership is a nationwide initiative to help colleges and universities more efficiently gain a fuller picture of student progress and outcomes, meet various reporting requirements, and focus more of their resources on using data to help students.