National Student Clearinghouse collects and sells student data on the majority of high school and college students in the United States. The organization provides educational reporting, enrollment and degree verification, and research services to colleges and universities throughout North America. The organization also provides data on student enrollment to left-of-center voter advocacy and registration organizations and operates a diversity, equity, and inclusion data center. The group has a research and educational arm called the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center that publishes reports on trends in higher education enrollment. The Clearinghouse claims to have collected data on 97 percent of those enrolled in postsecondary education institutions in the United States and has operating agreements with more than 3,600 colleges and universities. ¹

National Student Clearinghouse has received grants in exchange for data from left-leaning grantmaking institutions including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Association for Institutional Research, and the Lumina Foundation. ²

Background

National Student Clearinghouse was established in 1993 as a national resource for postsecondary enrollment data and completed its initial pilot program at 34 colleges and universities in 1994. Within its first decade of existence, the organization launched several trademarked services for third-party degree verification, enrollment verification, student loan locating and verification, and high school student tracking. ³

The four main service areas of the organization include data exchange and transcript services, financial aid compliance, research, and degree and enrollment verification. ⁴

The organization has stated that its data services collect data on 97 percent of postsecondary students at 3,600 participating colleges and universities and on 70 percent of high school students at 22,000 participating high schools. ⁵

The organization also operates a research arm called the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center that publishes reports for use of school administrators and policymakers regarding trends in U.S. college and high school enrollment and completion. ^{6 7}

National Student Clearinghouse is a nonprofit organization and receives around $65 million in annual revenue. Ricardo Torres, the president and CEO of the organization, receives $656,000 in annual compensation. ⁸

Partnerships

In 2006, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation selected National Student Clearinghouse’s StudentTracker service to conduct the foundation’s first “statewide student tracking study.” In 2009, the Gates Foundation gave a grant to the organization to conduct the National Student Clearinghouse’s first “national secondary research and reporting system.” ^{9 10}

In 2017, the organization launched a Postsecondary Data Partnership pilot program in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, the Association for Institutional Research, and the Lumina Foundation. ^{11 12}

Other third-party organizations to which the National Student Clearinghouse has provided data include the Student Veterans Association, the Department of Veteran Affairs, Ascendium Education Solutions, the ECMC Foundation, IBM, the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S. Department of Commerce. ¹³

Student Loan Data

National Student Clearinghouse sells student data to student loan providers, which use information about a student’s enrollment status to make loan decisions. In 2020, the Student Borrower Protection Center, an advocacy group, sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging the agency to supervise the National Student Clearinghouse as a consumer reporting agency, define it as a “larger participant,” and add it to the CFPB’s public list of consumer reporting agencies. ¹⁴

The National Student Clearinghouse paid $2 million to settle a 2019 class action lawsuit filed by students who alleged that it was illegal for the organization to charge them for obtaining personal data held by the organization. ¹⁵

Student Voter Registration Data

Data provided by the National Student Clearinghouse is used by left-of-center voter outreach organizations such as the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at Tufts University to monitor student voting rates and inform get-out-the-vote campaigns at colleges and universities as part of the institute’s National Study of Learning Voting, and Engagement. ^{16 17 18}

1. “About.” National Student Clearinghouse. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/about/
2. “Clearinghouse Timeline.” National Student Clearinghouse. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/wp-content/uploads/Clearinghouse-Timeline.pdf
3. “Clearinghouse Timeline.” National Student Clearinghouse. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/wp-content/uploads/Clearinghouse-Timeline.pdf
4. “Clearinghouse Timeline.” National Student Clearinghouse. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/wp-content/uploads/Clearinghouse-Timeline.pdf
5. “About.” National Student Clearinghouse. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/about/
6. “About.” National Student Clearinghouse. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/about/
7. “About Us.” National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://nscresearchcenter.org/aboutus/
8. “National Student Clearinghouse.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed February 10, 2023.  https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521836384
9. “National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.” Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/committed-grants/2018/08/opp1192181
10. “Clearinghouse Timeline.” National Student Clearinghouse. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/wp-content/uploads/Clearinghouse-Timeline.pdf
11. “National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.” Lumina Foundation. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.luminafoundation.org/grant/10091/
12. “Clearinghouse Timeline.” National Student Clearinghouse. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/wp-content/uploads/Clearinghouse-Timeline.pdf
13. “Clearinghouse Timeline.” National Student Clearinghouse. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/wp-content/uploads/Clearinghouse-Timeline.pdf
14. Culhane, John. “Student borrower advocacy group urges CFPB to supervise National Student Clearinghouse as CRA ‘larger participant’.” Ballard Spahr LLP Consumer Finance Monitor. January 30, 2020. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.consumerfinancemonitor.com/2020/01/30/student-borrower-advocacy-group-urges-cfpb-to-supervise-national-student-clearinghouse-as-cra-larger-participant/
15. Pierce, Mike. “How a Data Company at the Center of the Student Loan System is Costing Borrowers Millions.” Student Borrower Protection Center. January 28, 2020. Accessed February 10, 2023.  https://protectborrowers.org/how-a-data-company-at-the-center-of-the-student-loan-system-is-costing-borrowers-millions/
16. “Student Voting Rates for University of Wisconsin-Madison – 2020 NSLVE Campus Report.” Institute for Democracy and Higher Education. October 2021. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://morgridge.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/11/NSLVE-Report-2020-UW-Madison.pdf
17. Shearer, Nicole. “University student voter turnout experiences a monumental increase.” Nevada Today. September 24, 2019. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2019/increased-student-voter-turnout
18. “Reauthorizing NSLVE Webinar.” Institute for Democracy and Higher Education. October 2021. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://tufts.app.box.com/s/9ri9sojy5wdmkuwyukv03wgoltfasw71