Our Story

Three decades ago, financial aid was a stressful swirl of paperwork, errors, and complexity — all of which made it harder for learners to successfully complete a college degree.

Until the Clearinghouse.

The innovative approach taken by the National Student Clearinghouse^® solved the problem of massive erroneous delinquencies, technical defaults, and expensive manual processing by creating a then-revolutionary centralized and secure data repository to speed and simplify enrollment reporting for learners, institutions, and financial aid providers.

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1993

Founded by the higher education community

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In the nearly 30 years since our nonprofit was founded by the higher education community, we have become a trusted partner to America’s colleges and universities, as well as secondary education, outreach programs, educational organizations, education finance providers, and servicers and guarantee agencies. Our solutions provide best-in-class reporting, data exchange, verification, and research services to the education and workforce communities as well as learners and policymakers. Read more about the Clearinghouse.

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2009

Created the National Student Clearinghouse^® Research Center^™

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We created the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, dedicated to informing the national dialogue on higher education access and outcomes with valuable insights on completion, transfer, mobility, and more, including most recently the impact of COVID-19 on enrollment and transfers.

Although today’s learners have traded typewriters for smartphones, one thing will never change: Every learner deserves access to education. The Clearinghouse is driven to help all learners succeed and brighten their futures.

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Our Reach

50

U.S. states & territories

97%

nationwide postsecondary enrollment

~3,600

colleges & universities

70%

nationwide secondary enrollment

~20,000

high schools

Read more about

Our Impact

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Our Future Plans

Meet

Our Team

Together, we can continue to enable learner success

For nearly three decades, the Clearinghouse has worked in partnership with educational institutions and organizations nationwide that have provided the collaboration and support to help us grow our service mission and help your grantees fulfill their education-related goals.

The Clearinghouse’s high-impact initiatives can maximize the philanthropic yield of your organization’s investments and contribute to the collective impact that the Clearinghouse, along with its grantees and partners, has on learners’ lives nationwide.

Because we make it easier and simpler for thousands of colleges, universities, high schools, and educational organizations to better serve their learners, the Clearinghouse can — through our services — enable your organization to amplify your impact across the education and workforce communities and, most importantly, on the lives of millions of learners.

Find out how the Clearinghouse can partner with and enable your organization to make a difference in the lives of learners who will shape our world tomorrow.