National Student Clearinghouse Report
- Robert Lenk
- Chris Barrett
- Miranda Thomas
- Sarah Marciniak
About the National Student Clearinghouse Report
The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) is an organization that facilitates the transmission of student enrollment data to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). The enrollment data drives loan terms and repayment for students.
PrerequisitesÂ
Before running the Clearinghouse report, it is important to understand the process' limitations and configure the Campus Cafe platform for your institution's business processes.
Limitations & Considerations
The Clearinghouse process supports only two academic programs, those specified in Major 1 and Major 2 on the student's degree detail screen. Major 3 is not included in the process.
The Clearinghouse process does not support multiple academic program start dates for a student pursuing simultaneous majors. For example, if a student is a physics major and later adds a chemistry major as an additional major, the process does not calculate the proper program start date for physics, instead overriding the start date with that of the chemistry start. The same would occur if a student was pursuing a certificate and then added a bachelor's program prior to completing the certificate.
Students enrolled in a zero credit course will be set to less than half time status.
Configuration Items
How the Clearinghouse report calculates the student's enrollment status and status date is configured in Custom Controls. Settings also specify the OPE ID and which student populations to include.
ProgramId | Seq Num | Parm | Description |
CHGRADDATE | 1 | 1 | If set to Y the process will use the expected graduation semester to calculate the anticipated graduation date provided that CHGRADDATE Sequence 1 Parameter 3 is set to N. |
CHGRADDATE | 1 | 2 | Only applies if CHGRADDATE Sequence 1 Parameter 1 is set to N. Will append the month and date specified to the Class Of field on the student degree detail screen. For example, if the Class of is 2020 and this parameter is set to 0530 the system will return 20200530. |
CHGRADDATE | 1 | 3 | If set to Y the process will use the start date override and end date override on the student degree detail screen to determine the student's program start date and student's expected graduation date. If set to N the process will use the first day of the student's entering semester as the program begin date and the expected graduation semester's last day as the expected graduation date. This control supersedes the option in CHGRADDATE, Sequence 1 Parmameter 1. |
CH_SET_PSD | 1 | 1 | If set to Y and CHGRADDATE Sequence 1 Parameter 3 is set to Y then the process will analyze all degree rows for a student. The process will identify the earliest date in the start date override field for each major and use that as the program begin date. For example, if a student has a degree row for Math with a start date override of 1/1/2018 and a second degree row with Political Science with a start date of 9/1/2020, the process would use 1/1/2018 as the Political Science program begin date. |
CH_AUDIT | 1 | 1 | If set to Y exclude audited courses from the file. An audited class has a final grade that is marked as an audit grade on the Quality Points Maintenance screen. |
CH_CRS_END | 1 | 1 | If set to Y the process will exclude any courses that ended prior to the date the process is run from the calculation of the student's enrollment status. It will also exclude any courses that are scheduled to start after the date the process is run. This requires class start and end dates being specified. |
CH_MATRIC | 1 | 1 | If set to Y Â the process will exclude students set to N on the Matriculate Code on the current Applicant Detail screen. |
CH_USEHIST | 1 | 1 | If set to Y, the site criteria on the NSC process setup screen will use the student's billing site on the student session data screen instead of the degree site on the student degree detail screen. |
CH_USE_LDA | 1 | 1 | If set to Y, the status date for a withdrawal will be the last day of attendance as calculated by the Campus Cafe attendance module. If set to N, the status date for a withdrawal will be the date set in the Status field on the student's degree detail screen. |
CH_USESEM | 1 | 1 | Not in use |
CH_PTLOGIC | 1 | 1 | For semester credit-based institutions always set to N. |
CH_TITLEIV | 1 | 1 | If set to Y, only students who have received Title IV aid will be included in the file. |
CH_USEPCD | 1 | 1 | If set to Y, the program start and status dates for students in credentials associated with level 99 will appear in the file. If set to N, the start and status dates will be blank. |
FA950AC | 1 | 1 | Six-digit U.S. Office of Postsecondary Education Identification (OPE ID) number. Do not include the branch number, which is specified on the NSC process setup screen. |
FA950AC | 2 | 1-10 | For students enrolled in any of these courses (one course code per parameter) the report will set student to half time status if sum of course credits is greater than 0 and less than the full-time credit threshold set on the semester dates screen. Takes precedence over other status codes. |
FA950AC | 5 | 1-10 | For students enrolled in any of these courses (one course code per parameter) the report will set student to full-time. Takes precedence over other status codes. |
CHSTATDATE | 1 | 1 | If set to Y the process will use the Status Date on the degree detail screen. If set to N, it will use the degree granted date. |
Transaction Codes
If custom control CH_TITLEIV is set to Y the NSC report will only include students who have received Title IV aid. The report determines students who have received Title IV aid by evaluating students' transaction codes where the Title IV Award Type field is not empty on the transaction detail page (Student Financials > Transaction Codes).
Country Codes
For students with foreign addresses, the Clearinghouse requires specific country abbreviations. The abbreviation is stored in the STParm associated with the country. Countries are set using STParm XXXXCN. The NSC country code must be set in the ISO box.
Semester Dates
The Semester Dates Maintenance screen (Admin > Semester Date Maintenance) defines the start and end dates of the semester, which are important to calculating correct program start dates and expected graduation terms. As such, it is important to set up semesters far enough out to accommodate the graduate expected to complete farthest in the future. Additionally, each semester must have a semester not tied to any specific site.
Credit Thresholds (Enrolled Enrollment Status)
The Semester Dates Maintenance screen (Admin > Semester Date) defines credit thresholds that define whether a student is half time or full time.
The FT Credit Threshold and HT Credit Threshold apply to majors configured (Admin > Major Maintenance) with credential levels 01, 02, 03 or 04. The Grad FT Credit Threshold and Grad HT Credit Threshold apply to majors configured (Admin > Major Maintenance) with credential levels 05, 06, 07, 08 or 99.
This sets the student's enrollment status of L, H, Q or F in the Clearinghouse file.
Major Codes
The Clearinghouse report relies on major codes (Admin > Majors) to define information about the credential including the CIP code, program length, length type, special code, credential level, weeks in academic year and hours to complete. The Degree Seeking box must be checked to indicate the Y for a program indicator, meaning the major leads to a recognized credential.
Class Level
For the class level to populate (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) the credits to define each level must be established on the Major Code detail page. (Admin > Majors). Additionally, the custom control (GPA_Line, Sequence 1, Parameter 1) to activate the nightly process to determine these levels must be activated (set to Y).
Course Dates
The report relies on accurate begin and end dates for all courses (Registrar > Courses).
Attendance
The report relies on accurate attendance in the Campus Cafe attendance module if custom control CH_USE_LDA 1, 1 is set to Y.
Process Explanation
The NSC process reviews students based on the configuration items in custom controls, the semester dates, individual student degree records, attendance records and financial transactions associated with each student. The process creates a student semester status row with site 99 to hold this data for analysis.
The Clearinghouse process leverages data from previous files. Once a file contains a student as graduated, it will exclude the student from future files. This also means that once the file is run future files will build on it. If there is an error in a file, the client must contact Campus Cafe support to have the file removed before running any future files.
No Start Status
No start represents students who planned to attend the institution but never actually attended or is otherwise to have considered never to have attended the institution. If the degree status is set to N - No Start on the Student Degree Detail screen, the enrollment file status will be set as X - No Start and will use the status date.
Withdrawal Status
A student will be marked as withdrawn if the Student Degree Detail screen status is W - Withdrawn. The status date will be the last day of attendance (LDA) as calculated by the system using data in the Campus Cafe attendance module or the date in the status field on the Student Degree Detail screen depending on the custom control settings.
Leave of Absence Status
A student will be set as a status of leave of absence based a status of L - Leave of Absence on the Student Degree Detail screen. The status date will be the last day of attendance (LDA) as calculated by the system using data in the Campus Cafe attendance module.Â
If the status date is greater than 180 days in the past from the run date of the process the status code is changed to a W for withdrawn. (Federal regulations only allow a student to be on a leave for a maximum of 180 days.)
Graduation Status
A student will be marked as withdrawn if the Student Degree Detail  screen status is C - Completed or Y - Conferred. The status date will be the Status Date on the Student Degree Detail screen or the Degree Granted Date on the student degree detail screen depending on the custom control settings.
Anticipated Graduation Date
The expected graduation date will be determined based on the End Date Override or the Expected Grad Sem on the Student Degree Detail screen depending on the custom control settings.
Academic Programs
The report determines a student's academic program of study from the student's major concentration on the Student Degree Detail screen. The process only supports Major 1 and Major 2.
Program Begin Date
To determine the program begin date, the system will look first at historical runs of the process to determine the first time the student was reported in the program and use that date. If no date is found, the process will look at custom control CH_SET_PSD.Â
If CH_SET_PSD parameter 1, sequence 1 is set to Y and CHGRADDATE Sequence 1 Parameter 3 is set to Y then the process will analyze all degree rows for a student. The process will identify the earliest date in the start date override field for each major and use that as the program begin date. For example, if a student has a degree row for Math with a start date override of 1/1/2018 and a second degree row with Political Science with a start date of 9/1/2020, the process would use 1/1/2018 as the Political Science program begin date.
If CH_SET_PSD parameter 1, sequence 1 is set to N then the process will use the Start Date Override on the student's current Degree Detail screen. If the Start Date Override field is blank, the process will use the start date of the Entering Semester on the student's current Degree Detail screen.
The process will always use the start date from a previous run if the date exists. If a start date override or begin semester is changed after a file is created the updated date will not be captured in future files.
Directory Block Indicator
The report will set a Directory Block (FERPA) Indicator for a student if the student's Privacy code is set to Y on the Student Bios screen.
Deceased Status
The report determines if the student is deceased by checking the deceased date on the Student Bios screen.
Degree Status of X
A Campus Cafe degree status of X is available only to customers with specially customized versions of Campus Cafe. Typically, the status indicates cancelled. Students with a Campus Cafe degree status of X will be excluded entirely from the enrollment file.
Run the Process
Because the Clearinghouse files build upon one another, Campus Cafe recommends that institutions always run the file in test mode and review the data prior to running the file.
Prepare the statistics
Navigate to Registrar > Clearinghouse
Semester(s): Semester codes to include in the report. Credits for all semesters entered will be combined and summed to determine enrollment status. The first semester is used in the file header for identification purposes and for the credit thresholds for determining enrollment status. If no semester is provided, the default semester set in Reg. Control will be used.
Special Run for GRADS ONLY: Check for the Graduates Only file. The file will include only students whose degree status on the student's degree detail page is Completed (C) or Conferred (Y). If checked complete only the left-most semester box to indicate the first semester of graduates.
End Semester - Grad Run: If running a Graduates Only file, enter the the last semester to check for graduates
Site Number(s): Optional. Site codes to include in the file. The site number is determined by the student's site number on the student's degree detail page for the current degree. If left blank all sites will be included.
Lowest Degree Level: The lowest degree level to include. Stored on the student's degree detail page for the current degree.
Highest Degree Level: The highest degree level to include. Stored on the student's degree detail page for the current degree.
Sub-Semester(s) to Exclude: Sub-semesters to exclude from the process
Branch Number: The OPE ID branch number to affiliate with the file (The Clearinghouse requires one file per branch) The default branch is 00.
Major Codes: Major code concentrations to either exclude or include. Leave blank for all
Exclude Majors: Check to exclude the listed majors
Include Majors: Check to include the listed majors
Compulsory Semester: Indicates a required term per institution's financial aid/academic policies
Is Test Run: Check for a test file. If checked the the process will not update the REG_LAST_CH_STATUS table with the student's enrollment status.
Include ID#s: Check to include student ID numbers, an optional field for the NSC report
Include Race: Check to include student race, an optional field for the NSC report
Click Create Clearinghouse File
Wait on the screen until the processes completes. It is normal behavior for the boxes to clear and the screen to refresh.
When the process completes a download link appears. Click the link to download the file to submit to the Clearinghouse through its website.
Review the File
Campus Cafe offers a review report that summarizes key fields of the Clearinghouse file. Institutions may review this report prior to submitting the file to the Clearinghouse.
Go to Faculty/Staff > Base Reports.
Click Registrar Reports.
Click Clearing House Submission Review.
Run the report.
