This lesson describes the four areas of functionality in the StudentTracker for Colleges & Universities Premium service and includes descriptions and screen shots of each. Functionality covered includes file re-run, visualizations, an analysis-ready report and institution specific versions of national Research Center reports.
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Transcript
Welcome. The purpose of this tutorial is to define what the StudentTracker for Colleges and Universities Premium service is and where you can go to get more information about it.
First of all, it's important to note that there are two types of StudentTracker services available for postsecondary institutions:
- StudentTracker for Colleges and Universities also known as STCU or the basic service and StudentTracker for Colleges
- and Universities Premium also referred to as the premium service or just premium for short.
The premium service is the result of a major upgrade the Clearinghouse launched in 2017 to the basic STCU service. The intent is to take the insights from the STCU Base Service a step further and package that information into an even better user experience. Please note that premium subscribers continue to get all the functionality of the STCU basic service.
There are four basic parts of the premium service and they are:
- the analysis ready or wide file report,
- request file rerun,
- institution specific signature and snapshot reports
- and data visualizations.
Let's take a closer look at each of these components.
The analysis ready report is also known as the wide file format. Instead of the multiple rows of data per student as shown in the detail report, the analysis ready consolidates all of this information into one row per student. The purpose is to provide users with a file that is analysis ready in a format where it's easier to spot trends in your data and understand a student's academic career without the need to synthesize multiple rows of data.
The premium service comes with the ability to rerun a request file that has been previously submitted. This is great for those looking to track a specific cohort over time. Rerunning request files saves you time and effort by eliminating the need to store and re-upload a request file. Please note this is only available for files submitted after July 23, 2016. Each file may be rerun up to four times per year based on submission date.
You may already be familiar with the signature and snapshot reports produced at the national level by our Research Center. The premium service may provide participants with institution level versions of these reports which can be downloaded through the application interface. Institution level reports are only available for the main campus of an institution meaning the branch code of the school is 00. These reports are calculated for a cohort of students determined by the Research Center from data your institution provided through the Enrollment Reporting and DegreeVerify Services. The signature completions report may be available for three consecutive fall cohorts. The signature tracking transfer report may be available for three consecutive fall cohorts. The persistence and retention snapshot report includes multiple fall cohorts in one report.
Data visualizations allow users to see demographic and institution level data for students included in your request file. In aggregated form, these visuals graphically represent remedial course enrollment, gender, race and ethnicity and schools first or last attended by school name and sector. There is one other visualization which presents completion rates by gender as presented in the school's institution specific completions report.
You can find more details on the analysis ready report, request file rerun functionality, institution level signature and snapshot reports and data visualizations in the premium service user guide found online. You can also find more information by viewing our other tutorials and OnDemand webinars at clearinghouseacademy.org.