Tracking Applicants Using National Student Clearinghouse and State Databases in Florida SAIR Conference San Antonio, TX Denise S. Gater & Carol Huang Office of Institutional Research October 13, 2003

 Introduction  Process  Results  Data Issues  Conclusions  Future Research

Introduction  National competition for best students  Indicator of institutional quality  Used in rankings, accountability, benchmarking  Our focus on top students – If we accept them and they do not attend, where are they enrolling?

The Process  Examined subsequent enrollment of students admitted by UF who did not enroll – Prospective First-time Freshmen Prospective Graduate Students Prospective First-Professional Students Law Dentistry Medicine Pharmacy Vet Medicine

The Process  Two Data Sources National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) State Databases in Florida  Official student data (Fall Semester)  Submitted by each institution in the state university system to the Florida Division of Colleges and Universities

Initially formed to simplify enrollment verification for student loans, assisting both higher ed institutions and lenders in a complex process. EnrollmentSearch – a service that institutional researchers can use to query the NSC database of 40 million postsecondary enrollment records. What is NSC?

Institutions must sign an agreement that will allow sharing of their data Data on prospective, current, and former students > 2500 institutions (or 86% currently enrolled students) Directory information (FERPA-compliant) What is NSC?

Enrollment of prospective students at our peer institutions Association of American Universities (AAU)  49 Active (82%)  6 Inactive (10%)  5 blocked ( 8%) What is NSC?

Institutional Request File Layout

Sample NSC Report

NSC Response File Layout

Prospective First-time Freshmen with SAT >= 1100 (N = 4,402) 3,650 (83%) found enrolled Enrolled in 352 institutions Enrolled in 47 states Results- Prospective First-time Freshmen

Results – Prospective First-time Freshmen

Prospective First-time Freshmen Top Universities by SAT Range

Prospective First-time Freshmen Top Universities by Ethnicity

1,171 (40%) found enrolled Enrolled in more than 200 institutions Enrolled in 46 states Results – Prospective Graduate Students (N = 2,950)

Prospective Graduate Students By Ethnicity

Prospective Graduate Students By Top States

Prospective Graduate Students Top institutions of enrollment

Results Prospective Law Students 217 out of 303 enrolled Enrolled in about 66 institutions Enrolled in 24 states

Prospective Law Students By Ethnicity

Prospective Law Students By Top States

Prospective Law Students Top institutions of enrollment

Prospective First Professionals – Dentistry, Medicine, Pharmacy, & Vet Medicine

Data Issues  Registrars’ concerns  Timely submission of data  Student classification level needed Students enrolled in non-degree programs 1 st Professional admits enrolled in non- professional programs

Data Issues  Response file  Institutional classifications  Subsequent enrollment dates

Conclusions  Rich data source for analyses Results useful for recruitment and admission purposes  Positive experience with NSC  More institutions participating/sharing data

Future Research  Where do our baccalaureate graduates enroll in graduate school?  Where do our transfers-out enroll?  Examination of prospective graduate students by GRE/GMAT, etc.

Questions? or Comments?

Tracking Applicants Using National Student Clearinghouse and State Databases in Florida SAIR, San Antonio, TX Denise Gater Carol Huang University of Florida