Navigating the National Student Clearinghouse: A Comprehensive Guide

The National Student Clearinghouse is a vital resource for students, educational institutions, lenders, and employers, providing a range of services related to educational record verification, enrollment reporting, and research. Understanding how to effectively contact and interact with the Clearinghouse is essential for accessing these services and ensuring data privacy.

Contacting the National Student Clearinghouse

While specific contact details like phone numbers and email addresses aren't included in the provided text, the following information will help you navigate their systems and understand how to get in touch with the right department.

General Inquiries and Service Requests

For general inquiries or to request a product or service, the Clearinghouse uses provided information only to process and answer requests, or to manage business needs in connection with such participation or request, and in accordance with their Privacy Policy.

Data Privacy and FERPA

The Clearinghouse commits to following FERPA regulations as a School Official (as that term is defined by FERPA), as appointed by Participating Institutions. If you believe there is an error in your records or they are incomplete, you must contact your institution directly to correct that error. The Clearinghouse may only amend a record at the request and direction of a Participating Institution.

StudentTracker® for High Schools

A parent, legal guardian, or eligible student may exercise his/her right to review and inspect education records held by the Clearinghouse as an agent for STHS Participants by contacting the STHS Participant. The STHS Participant may then contact its designated account representative at the Clearinghouse for support.

Job Seekers

The National Student Clearinghouse is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. The company’s Section 503 and VEVRAA plans are available for review by applicants and employees upon request during core business hours. The Clearinghouse accepts unsolicited resumes directly from candidates only. Resumes from a recruiter, recruiting firm, or staffing agencies will only be accepted if there is a signed agreement with the Clearinghouse and if the Clearinghouse approves opening the job requisition to your recruiting firm/staffing agency. The Clearinghouse is currently set up to hire in the following states - Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia.

Understanding the Clearinghouse's Role and Services

The National Student Clearinghouse acts as a trusted intermediary between educational institutions, students, and other organizations, facilitating the secure and efficient exchange of educational data.

Data Collection and Usage

The Clearinghouse collects education records, which include both Directory and Non‐Directory Information, from Participating Institutions, education agencies, and other education authorities, under either the school official or directory information exceptions to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”). They may collect your attendance, enrollment, degree, credential, or transcript information from the educational institution holding such information when you request services from the Clearinghouse. They also receive nonpublic personal information from various lenders, holders, and servicers of student loans for the purpose of reporting on the enrollment status of borrowers on behalf of Participating Institutions.

Services for Educational Institutions

Enrollment Reporting: The Clearinghouse periodically receives enrollment files containing all enrolled students from Participating Institutions, which they incorporate into their nationwide central repository of enrollment information. They advise Lenders on which financial aid recipients are currently enrolled in Participating Institutions.
StudentTracker®: Participating Institutions have appointed the Clearinghouse as their agent to respond to the requests of authorized educational institutions, organizations, and agencies (“Authorized Requesting Entities”) for information on the postsecondary enrollment of, and credentials earned by, their current and former students, under the directory information, audit and evaluation, and/or studies exceptions to FERPA, as applicable.
Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP): PDP Institutions report personally identifiable course and credit data (including grades), credential data, demographic data, individual identifiers, institutional information, high school completion data, and college readiness data.
Reverse Transfer: The Clearinghouse facilitates the awarding of degrees and certificates between Participating Institutions by transmitting course data through Reverse Transfer and other course exchange programs.

Services for Students

Transcript Services: The Clearinghouse delivers student transcripts to third parties only with a student’s consent or, if another valid FERPA exception applies, at the direction of the Participating Institution.

Services for High Schools

StudentTracker® for High Schools (STHS): Through the Clearinghouse’s StudentTracker® for High Schools (“STHS”) service, participating high schools, school districts, state and local educational agencies and authorities (“STHS Participants”) provide the Clearinghouse with data on their graduates, including PII, and the Clearinghouse returns reports to the STHS Participants on the postsecondary enrollment and degrees of those graduates.

Services for Employers and Background Screeners

DiplomaVerify: The Clearinghouse provides a DiplomaVerify service for participating high schools, school districts, and state agencies (“DiplomaVerify Participants”). This service verifies an individual’s status as a high school graduate, their year of graduation, and the name of their high school, to employers, background screeners, and others seeking confirmation of these data elements for an employment or educational purpose, provided that the individual is 17 years of age or older. This verification is performed with the consent of the individual or, if the individual is 17 years old, with the consent of the individual’s parent or guardian.

Research Center

Through aggregated longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center facilitates better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes. The Clearinghouse periodically produces several aggregate reports on student enrollment, movement, and other important student outcomes.

Data Privacy and Security Measures

The Clearinghouse prioritizes the security of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and adheres to strict privacy regulations.

Read also: Eligibility for National Awards

Compliance with FERPA

The Clearinghouse commits to following FERPA regulations as a School Official, as appointed by Participating Institutions. FERPA regulates what data Participating Institutions can share with the Clearinghouse, and what redisclosures of that data the Clearinghouse can make.

Data Security Program

The Clearinghouse maintains a comprehensive information security program based on the ISO 27001/27002 standards, staffed by experienced professionals, and backed by comprehensive security policies that detail Operational, Management, and Technical control requirements that are mapped to widely accepted, industry best practice security standards.

Limitations on Data Sharing

The Clearinghouse will not sell, rent, or trade your PII to any third party. However, we may share your PII with third‐party service providers hired to support our business and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep PII confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.

GDPR Compliance for Controller Organizations

At the request of organizations who provide personal data collected from EU data subjects to the Clearinghouse for processing (such organizations hereinafter referred to as “Controller organizations”), the Clearinghouse enters into a Data Processing Addendum with Controller organizations whereby the Clearinghouse as a processor agrees to assist these organizations with the fulfillment of their obligations as set out in the GDPR. In case of a personal data breach, the Clearinghouse will notify the Controller organization(s) without undue delay upon becoming aware of the personal data breach.

Website Information and Cookies

The information we collect automatically is statistical data and does not include personal information, but we may maintain it or associate it with personal information we collect in other ways or receive from third parties. This information also is collected for information security purposes, particularly to detect, prevent and respond to fraud, abusive practices, and security risks that could harm the Clearinghouse, our data, and our users. A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser.

Employment Opportunities

The National Student Clearinghouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer. They are currently set up to hire in the following states - Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia. The Clearinghouse will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. As a Federal Contractor, the National Student Clearinghouse is required to participate in the E-Verify Program to confirm eligibility to work in the United States.

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