What We Do

The Clearinghouse helps educational institutions improve efficiency, reduce costs and workload, and enhance the quality-of-service they provide to their students and alumni, lending institutions, employers, and other organizations. We provide our services as an aligned agent to our participating institutions, supporting their administrative, student access, accountability, and analytical needs. Through our one-of-a-kind access to national student outcomes data and educational research services, the Clearinghouse also serves as a valuable source for longitudinal and other studies on educational progress.

Clearinghouse services comprise three areas:

• Compliance: Most U.S. institutions provide access to their current enrollment and graduation data to the Clearinghouse. As their trusted and authorized agent, the Clearinghouse reports enrollment status and deferment information for financial aid students on behalf of participating institutions to the education finance industry and Department of Education. Our compliance reporting services are provided to colleges and universities at no charge.
• Back-Office Support: The Clearinghouse offers a suite of services specifically designed to help institutions streamline a number of administrative areas, including academic verification, transcript ordering, and more. Our institutional services are available to colleges and universities at no charge or for a minimal fee. By participating in our full complement of back-office support services, institutions can virtually eliminate the administration of these functions and the associated costs while regaining the use of staff resources for other tasks.
• Academic Support: Only the Clearinghouse offers access to a nationwide coverage of postsecondary enrollment and degree records. Through our educational research service, StudentTracker, the Clearinghouse enables educational institutions and researchers to study postsecondary enrollment and success.

  Additionally, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center supports and enables the nationwide effort to use accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting to make better informed educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes. As part of this important effort, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center collaborates with postsecondary and secondary institutions, K-12 school districts, educational organizations, state education offices, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Clearinghouse services are designed to facilitate an institution's compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, The Higher Education Act, and other applicable laws.