The National Student Clearinghouse as an Integral Part of the National Postsecondary Data Infrastructure
Published May 2016
This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) system as an essential component of the national postsecondary data infrastructure. As a self-sustaining nonprofit organization, NSC plays a crucial role in providing administrative services to colleges and universities while facilitating data verification, exchange, research, and compliance for various stakeholders in the education community. Despite its strengths, NSC faces limitations related to data ownership and accountability, prompting the authors to recommend an incremental approach for better utilization. The paper proposes strategies to encourage increased participation, enhance technical capabilities, and develop a public access data facility, along with the need for national standards to define and measure outcomes. Leveraging the existing data and infrastructure, NSC has the potential to meet the diverse needs of policy, accountability, research, and consumer information audiences.
This paper is part of Envisioning the National Postsecondary Data Infrastructure in the 21st Century.