The National Student Clearinghouse Announces David G. Payne as New Vice President of Learner Insights

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The National Student Clearinghouse Announces David G. Payne as New Vice President of Learner Insights

HERNDON, VA – (MAY 18, 2023) – The National Student Clearinghouse announced today that David G. Payne will join as the new Vice President of Learner Insights. David’s responsibility will be to drive the organization’s unification and growth of several products and services into one vertical business division, Learner Insights. In this industry-facing role, David will be responsible for the strategic future growth of division products and services, including the acquisition of new and improved products and services.

“We welcome David as part of the Clearinghouse’s strategic leadership team,” said Rick Torres, President and CEO of the National Student Clearinghouse. “David is a dynamic, collaborative, and visionary leader with deep knowledge of the higher education and employment markets. He will help us achieve growth and innovation with our product offerings by viewing and positioning them through a strong customer lens and ensuring that – through the learner insights we provide – we remain focused on our mission.”

“As a first-generation college student, I understand the transformative power of education,” said David Payne. I am excited to bring my experience as a research-active faculty member, administrator, and educational assessment business leader to this new role. I look forward to working with my team, the Clearinghouse’s Board of Directors, and the Research Center Board of Directors to provide strategic direction for the organization, deepen client satisfaction, and drive innovation in the education sector.”

Before joining the National Student Clearinghouse, David served as Senior Strategic Advisor, Solutions at JFF Labs, Jobs for the Future. Prior to that position, he spent several years at Educational Testing Services (ETS), where he served in various roles, from Associate Vice President to Global Higher Education Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He also served as Chairman of ETS Global B.V. and ETS International Holdings Limited.

David was a professor, the Psychology Department Chair, Vice Provost, and Graduate Dean at Binghamton University – SUNY in Binghamton, New York. He has a Ph.D. in Psychology from Purdue University. In addition, he holds a Master of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science, Psychology, both from State University of New York College at Cortland.

About the National Student Clearinghouse®

The National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit formed in 1993, is the trusted source for and leading provider of higher education verifications and electronic education record exchanges. Besides working with nearly 3,600 postsecondary institutions, the Clearinghouse also provides thousands of high schools and districts with continuing collegiate enrollment, progression, and completion statistics on their alumni. Education partners throughout the nation trust the National Student Clearinghouse because they know we take our commitment to student privacy very seriously. We focus on serving our customers with high-quality services that they expect from us. The Clearinghouse is scrupulous in its concern for student privacy and compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects students’ privacy rights in their education records. For more details, visit studentclearinghouse.org.

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The National Student Clearinghouse Announces Christopher Goodson as Chief Growth Officer

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The National Student Clearinghouse Announces Christopher Goodson as Chief Growth Officer

HERNDON, VA – (MAY 16, 2023) – The National Student Clearinghouse announced today that Chris Goodson will serve as its Chief Growth Officer (CGO) to oversee the organization’s continued expansion, particularly as it broadens its footprint in the workforce development and skills training areas.

“We are so pleased to welcome Chris to the Clearinghouse leadership team. He is a transformational business leader with a passion for education and a track record of success over more than two decades working across education verticals,” said Rick Torres, President and CEO of the National Student Clearinghouse. “His leadership of cross-functional teams in dynamic and evolving markets to meet customer and client needs and his ability to foster collaborative cultures will be invaluable to the Clearinghouse.”

Chris’ role as CGO will be to oversee a broad array of products and services. With a laser focus on the customer, he will be tasked with implementing new and improved product and service strategies to drive innovation. He will be responsible for all K-12 and higher education product development, business development and sales, marketing and communications, analytics and insights, and customer experience. He will also serve as one of the organization’s spokespersons.

“Like so many of its educational partners, I have relied on the National Student Clearinghouse’s unmatched data reporting, services, and insights throughout my career,” said Chris. “The Clearinghouse’s singular combination of longitudinal student data and deep relationships with education, workforce, and government partners has allowed the Clearinghouse to develop new, customer-aligned solutions to meet the needs of an ever-changing education landscape. I am thrilled and honored to join the Clearinghouse as it continues to grow and expand its services to benefit students, families, and its stakeholder community.”

Before joining the National Student Clearinghouse, Chris held several leadership positions in education technology and business solutions. Most recently, he was with Lumen Learning as Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Customer Experience. Prior to Lumen, he spent six years at Amazon Web Services (AWS), assisting U.S. Higher Education customers transform their environments with cloud services. At HMH, he served first as a Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs and Social Responsibility and later Education Services, and during eight years at Microsoft, Chris held leadership roles in the U.S. and Worldwide Public Sector, focused primarily on Education. Chris has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

About the National Student Clearinghouse®

The National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit formed in 1993, is the trusted source for and leading provider of higher education verifications and electronic education record exchanges. Besides working with nearly 3,600 postsecondary institutions, the Clearinghouse also provides thousands of high schools and districts with continuing collegiate enrollment, progression, and completion statistics on their alumni. Education partners throughout the nation trust the National Student Clearinghouse because they know we take our commitment to student privacy very seriously. We focus on serving our customers with high-quality services that they expect from us. The Clearinghouse is scrupulous in its concern for student privacy and compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects students’ privacy rights in their education records. For more details, visit studentclearinghouse.org.

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College Student “Stop-Out” Population Increased 3.6% From Previous Year

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College Student “Stop-Out” Population Increased 3.6% From Previous Year

National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Releases New Data as Guide for States and Institutions to Reengage Former Students

HERNDON, VA – (APRIL 25, 2023) – The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center announced today that the “some college, no credential” (SCNC) population — former students who stopped out without earning a credential — is up 3.6 percent from a year earlier while fewer SCNC students returned and completed a credential. This suggests there’s an increasingly missed opportunity for states and institutions to reengage SCNC students.

The Some College, No Credential (SCNC) Student Outcomes: Annual Progress Report found that between July 2020 and July 2021, the U.S. added 1.4 million more SCNC students making the SCNC population now 40.4 million (July 2021), up from 39.0 million a year earlier. All 50 states and D.C. experienced growth.

This increase in the SCNC population is due to a lack of re-enrollment among the 39 million previously identified SCNC and 2.3 million newly identified SCNC students. During academic year 2021/22, nearly 80,000 fewer SCNC students re-enrolled, 7,000 fewer completed a credential within a year, and 23,100 fewer persevered to a second year of re-enrollment than the previous year.

“Growing numbers of stop-outs and fewer returning students have contributed to the broader enrollment declines in recent years,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “While our latest enrollment report suggests this trend may be stabilizing, it is still uncertain when or how colleges might return to pre-pandemic levels. Today’s report can help states and institutions understand the avenues of success for returning SCNC students and identify areas of opportunity for better supporting their needs.”

Two subgroups of students identified demonstrate promising re-enrollment and completion outcomes and may serve as a basis for further examination by states and institutions. Those are potential completers and recent stop-outs. Potential completers have already made at least two years’ worth of academic progress up until the last enrollment. Recent stop-outs are newly identified SCNC students this year, having stopped out since the previous SCNC report released in May 2022.

In addition to detailing the SCNC population growth nationally and in each state, this report shows the annual re-enrollment and completion outcomes among SCNC students and those who persevered beyond their first year of re-enrollment. The report highlights include:

  • Approximately 2.9 million (or 7.3% of the SCNC population) are “potential completers” who have already made at least two years’ worth of academic progress up until their last enrollment.
  • Most SCNC students were younger than 35 at the last enrollment. Potential completers and recent stop-outs were relatively younger, with nearly a quarter of recent stop-outs under 20 (24.6%) and potential completers primarily in their early 20s (55.6%).
  • Community colleges are the most common type of institution of last enrollment, re-enrollment, and first credential attainment for SCNC students.
  • Compared to the previous year, fewer SCNC students re-enrolled (864,800, -8.4%), earned a credential within one year after re-enrolling (53,300, -11.8%), or persevered into their second year of re-enrollment (508,700, -4.3%). The overall annual re-enrollment rate fell from 2.4% to 2.1%, and the completion rate within a year of re-enrolling fell from 6.4 to 6.2 percent.
  • Potential completers and recent stop-outs were more likely to re-enroll (6.1% and 9.4%, respectively) and to complete a credential within a year after re-enrolling (11.6% and 7.1%, respectively).
  • All regions experienced declines in completers within a year of re-enrolling, though 11 states saw slight growth. Short-term certificate earners increased more than associate and bachelor’s degree earners, with certificates accounting for 42.1 percent of all completers (up 7.1 points from a year ago). Certificates are most prevalent in the Midwest (50.6%), while bachelor’s degrees are prevalent in the Northeast (43.8%).
  • When we track over a two-year period after re-enrolling, 15.4 percent or 145,900 of the 944,200 re-enrollees in academic year 2020/21 earned their first-ever credential: 6.4 percent (60,500) earned in their first year of re-enrollment and 9.0 percent (85,400) in their second year of re-enrollment.
  • Black SCNC students were less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree within one year of re-enrolling (22.8% of Black completers) compared to the national average of 25.7 percent. However, the gap disappeared for potential completers, with the share of bachelor’s degree earners among all Black completers on par with the national average (38.4% vs. 38.8%).

Nearly all states (45) currently have a post-high school attainment goal to improve the average education levels of their residents and develop a highly educated workforce. The Some College, No Credential Student Outcomes report, made possible with support from Lumina Foundation, is an important resource to help states identify the level of opportunity for re-engaging SCNC students in the post-high school attainment pipeline.

About the National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes. To learn more, visit nscresearchcenter.org.

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Community College Enrollment Beginning To Grow This Spring

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Community College Enrollment Beginning To Grow This Spring

Dual Enrollee and Freshman Growth Drive Community College Uptick

HERNDON, VA – (MARCH 29, 2023) – Enrollment at community colleges is beginning to grow this spring (+2.1% over last spring), according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Stay Informed with the Latest Enrollment Information, the first-look spring 2023 enrollment report found that the trend is due to an accelerated increase in dual enrollees and spring freshmen. Freshmen increased across all institution types, with most attending a community college (58.8%).

“It’s encouraging to see this second straight year of growth in spring freshmen and dual-enrolled high school students,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “However, community colleges still face significant declines in adult learners, who have been opting out of college in larger numbers since the start of the pandemic.”

Undergraduate enrollment remained steady this spring (+0.2%) following two straight years of steep pandemic-related losses. Only the public four-year sector continued to experience undergraduate enrollment declines (-0.9%). Total enrollment, including undergraduates and graduates, has remained unchanged since last spring (+0.0%).

Additional research highlights include:

  • Certificate program enrollment increased at both the undergraduate (+5.5%) and graduate (+4.6%) levels, continuing pre-pandemic trends. Associate degree-seeking students increased slightly (+0.3%) while bachelor’s seeking students continued to slide (-0.6%).
  • Undergraduate enrollment at rural and town campuses declined by nearly seven times the rate of urban settings for all four-year institutions (-2.7% for town/rural; -0.4% for urban). Conversely, community college enrollment grew across all campus settings.
  • Enrollment grew only among younger undergraduate students, while older age groups (21 or above) continued a downward trend, extending multi-year losses in adult enrollment.
  • Undergraduate men, who were hit harder at the beginning of the pandemic, saw slight growth in their enrollment (0.7%), whereas enrollment among women continued to decline (-0.9%).
  • Among undergraduate students, only Latinx students had enrollment gains this spring (+0.9%), while all other major race and ethnicity groups showed slowing declines or stabilization.
  • Undergraduate enrollment in the health field continues to decline across all credential levels. Among graduate students, health field enrollment grew only at the certificate and doctoral levels.

Results are preliminary as of February 23, 2023, capturing 8.5 million spring enrollments in a panel representing 54% of the Clearinghouse universe of institutions. Results are subject to change as more data are reported for the spring of 2023.

About the National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes. To learn more, visit nscresearchcenter.org.

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The National Student Clearinghouse Contracts with State of Rhode Island for its DiplomaVerify℠ High School Program

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The National Student Clearinghouse Contracts with State of Rhode Island for its DiplomaVerify℠ High School Program

State is the latest Clearinghouse customer of high school diploma verification service

HERNDON, VA – (MARCH 27, 2023) – The National Student Clearinghouse today announced that it has contracted with Rhode Island’s Department of Education to provide the Clearinghouse’s DiplomaVerify℠ high school diploma verification services to the 67 high schools statewide.

“The Clearinghouse is pleased to offer our verification services to Rhode Island to support their high schools and students,” said Phil Smith, Senior Manager, Secondary Education Business Development. “With DiplomaVerify’s immediate online and FERPA-compliant high school diploma verifications, Rhode Island schools will benefit from the reduction of manual work, which will free time for their counselors so they can spend it with students. Another benefit for the schools is that their graduates will qualify for jobs faster.”

Rhode Island’s Department of Education understood the benefits of a statewide contract due to its longstanding history with the Clearinghouse as a trusted partner for its student data and information services under a secure platform. Other benefits were the efficiency of the work that will be offloaded by the service to provide immediate online verifications.

DiplomaVerify uses data that a school, district, or consortium currently submits to the Clearinghouse to give employers 24-7 online access to diploma verifications. The service helps to reduce the time a school spends on verification work and is offered for those schools that have the StudentTracker® for High Schools customers.

The DiplomaVerify is used to verify high school diplomas for high education institutions and many employers, including those in government, the military, healthcare, and retail.

About the National Student Clearinghouse®

The National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit formed in 1993, is the trusted source for and leading provider of higher education verifications and electronic education record exchanges. Besides working with nearly 3,600 postsecondary institutions, the Clearinghouse also provides thousands of high schools and districts with continuing collegiate enrollment, progression, and completion statistics on their alumni. Education partners throughout the nation trust the National Student Clearinghouse because they know we take our commitment to student privacy very seriously. We focus on serving our customers with high-quality services that they expect from us. The Clearinghouse is scrupulous in its concern for student privacy and compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects students’ privacy rights in their education records. For more details, visit studentclearinghouse.org.

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Undergraduate Credential Earners Declined for the First Time in a Decade

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Undergraduate Credential Earners Declined for the First Time in a Decade

HERNDON, VA – (MARCH 16, 2023) – Undergraduate credential earners declined for the first time in a decade (-1.6% or -58,800 graduates from the previous year), according to a new report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. A total of 3.6 million people earned an undergraduate-level credential during the 2021-22 academic year, a new low not seen in four years (see figure 1).

“The pandemic’s impact on higher education has gone beyond the declining numbers of current students and is now showing up as a drop in the annual number of new graduates as well, taking it all the way back to the level of 2016-17.” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “This is a setback to those seeking higher postsecondary attainment rates, leaving the nation and many states falling further behind on goals for a highly educated workforce.”

The Undergraduate Degree Earners report demonstrates that the drop was caused by an unprecedented one-year loss of first-time graduates (-1.9% or -50,700), accounting for 86.2% of the overall decline. This marks the largest decline in first-time graduates since 2012-13, for which we have the data available. Graduates with a prior award also fell but at a smaller rate than first-time graduates (-0.8% or -8,100). As a result, first-time graduates are a declining share of the overall undergraduate credential earners, comprising 72.9 percent in 2021-22.

Other key findings:

  • Among first-time graduates, associate degree completions fell sharply (-7.6% or -56,800), followed by baccalaureate recipients (-2.4% or -36,000). First-time bachelor’s degree earners fell for the first time in a decade. In contrast, first-time certificate completers grew considerably (+9.0% or +42,200).
  • Declines are particularly steep among first-time graduates 25 years and older (-4.1% or -30,600). Declines are smaller among graduates 24 years and younger (-1.0% or -19,100).
  • Baccalaureate earners who had a prior associate degree decreased (-2.5% or -11,600), after having steadily grown over the past eight years. It has caused the overall non-first-time graduate numbers to slide for the first time in a decade (-0.8% or -8,100).

The Undergraduate Degree Earners report series, published annually, provides demographic and educational profile data for all students graduating with an undergraduate credential each year. Undergraduate credentials may include associate and bachelor’s degrees and certificates. In the current report, we profile graduates in the 2021-22 academic year, with a focus on first-time versus non-first-time graduates, and changes in demographics and education credentials received since the 2012-13 academic year. The Appendix provides state-level and regional trends, in addition to the national graduate profiles by age and type of credential received.

About the National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes. To learn more, visit nscresearchcenter.org.

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