Tracking Oakton Transfers Who Attend Two or More Schools after Oakton: The National Student Clearinghouse EnrollmentSearch

 

Oakton Community College

Office of Research

Trudy Bers

 

October, 2001

 

 

 

This year Oakton Community College for the first time began to use the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) EnrollmentSearch program.  The NSC is a not-for-profit organization that provides a central repository for data about student enrollments in United States postsecondary institutions, including public and private colleges, universities and vocational schools.  The Clearinghouse claims to have data for some 80% of all students enrolled in postsecondary education.  An institution participating in NSC’s EnrollmentSearch program submits to the Clearinghouse the names and birth dates of a cohort of its students.  The NSC matches these records with its data and sends back to the college information about whether a student enrolled in another postsecondary institution after leaving that college.  If the student did enroll, data about when and where enrollments occurred are provided.  The Clearinghouse does not have data about students’ academic performances nor degrees earned.  The first report the NSC sends back also indicates if a student has attended more than one participating college or university, but does not give information about which school(s).   It should be noted that the NSC data do not tell whether enrollment at any institution  was at the undergraduate or graduate level.  Thus some of these students may have enrolled in graduate level courses even at their first insitution after Oakton, and certainly their second or later ones.

 

The Clearinghouse uses name and birth date, not social security number, to match students.  This approach permits the Clearinghouse to comply with conservative interpretations of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The Clearinghouse asserts its method of matching students, using name and birth date, is highly accurate.

 

In May 2001 the Office of Research prepared a report giving the results of EnrollmentSearch for Oakton.[1]    The initial results focused on the first institutions attended after Oakton for the cohort of Oakton students who last enrolled at the college in fall 1997 or spring 1998.  (In the current report the first school attended  after Oakton is referred to as the “first institution.”)  There were 6383 students in the 1997-98 cohort.  The Clearinghouse found records (matches) for 6215 students.  Of these students, one-third (N = 2079)  transferred to another postsecondary institution after leaving Oakton, and two-thirds (N = 4136) did not.  A total of 241 students had their records blocked either by their institutions, by programming errors, or by their own requests.  “Blocked records” means that Oakton received no further transfer data for those students beyond that they enrolled somewhere after Oakton.  Thus transfer data were reported for 1838 students. 

 

As results are examined recall that some institutions key to Oakton do not participate in the National Student Clearinghouse program.  These include the University of Illinois at Urbana,[2] Indiana University, the University of Kansas and Purdue University.

 

In this report we focus on the 318 students (from the initial cohort of 6383) for whom matches were found and who attended more than one postsecondary institution after leaving Oakton.  The NSC data sometimes report different divisions of the same institution as different schools; e.g., DeVry Institute of Technology-DuPage is reported separately from DeVry Institute of Technology-Chicago.  Consequently, some of the 318 students attended what we would consider to be the same institution.   Of the 318 students, six were deleted from the dataset because of duplications or obvious data errors (e.g., the same Oakton SSN was attached to NSC observations for two students).   Another nine were deleted because we consider them to have attended the same institution as their first and second schools after Oakton. 

 

Of the 303 remaining students who attended more than one institution after leaving Oakton, 67 (22%) had reported to Oakton they already had a bachelor’s degree and 236 (78%) did not report they already had a bachelor’s degree.  Twenty-seven students (9%) were reported by NSC as having attended two or more schools after leaving Oakton, but no data were provided about second or later institutions.  Table 1 depicts these data.

 

 

Table 1

Students Attending More Than One Institution After Oakton

by

Bachelors Degree and Information Availability for Second Institution After Oakton

N = 303

 

 

 

Information Available about Second Institution

No Information Available about Second Institution

Total

No Bachelor’s Degree

209

27

236

Bachelor’s Degree

49

18

67

     Total

258

45

303

 

 

 

We turn now to a more detailed examining of first and subsequent institutions attended after Oakton by students who did not appear to have a bachelor’s degree while they were at Oakton, this based on student self-reports on their applications to the college.  There were 236 students in this group.  Where did they go?  

 

The 236 students attended 65 different institutions as their first school after leaving Oakton.  They enrolled at 74 identified and as many as 15 unidentified different institutions as their second school after Oakton.[3]    Of the 236 students, 194 (82%) first went to another Illinois institution.   At least 167 students (71%) attended an Illinois institution as their second school, and the number may be slightly higher if some of the unidentified second colleges are located in the state.  Appendix A provides a complete list of first and second schools attended after Oakton, organized alphabetically by the first and then second school names. 

 

Table 2 examines movement among  first and second institutions after Oakton for schools within the Chicago area.    Recall all students reflected in Table 2 attended Oakton first.   Data in Table 2 indicate there is transfer among Chicago area institutions, but except for the 14 students who attended both Northeastern Illinois University and University of Illinois at Chicago after leaving Oakton, patterns of transfer are fragmented, with no sets of schools drawing substantial numbers of transfers.  Moreover, some of these students may have attended a university for graduate rather than undergraduate work, and NSC data do not permit us to differentiate between graduate and undergraduate enrollment.  Consequently, data in Table 22 and in Appendix A should be interpreted with caution.

 

 

Table 2

 

Transfer Among Selected Chicago Area Institutions

By Students Who Attended More Than One School After Oakton

and Did Not Have a Bachelor’s Degree When At Oakton

 

Each Cell Gives the Number of Students Who Attended Both Institutions

 

 

 

College of DuPage

Columbia

DePaul

DeVry

Loyola

National-Louis

Northeastern

UIC

Columbia

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DePaul

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

DeVry

5

-

2

 

 

 

 

 

Loyola

1

-

2

-

 

 

 

 

Nat’l-Louis

-

3

-

-

-

 

 

 

Northeastern

1

2

4

3

3

1

 

 

UIC

4

-

5

3

3

2

14

 

Harper

3

1

0

4

2

1

2

4

 

 

 

                What conclusions can be reached regarding Oakton students’ transfer to more than one school after leaving Oakton?  In brief:

 

·    Interpreting National Student Clearinghouse data for second schools after Oakton is problematic because we cannot determine whether students attended for undergraduate or graduate studies. 

·    Students attend many different colleges and universities after leaving Oakton, whether as their first or their second schools.

·    The overwhelming majority of students stay within Illinois.

·    There is no clear pattern of transfer among Chicago area colleges, except there is an indication that students transfer back and forth between Northeastern Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Chicago after leaving Oakton.

 

The Office of Research will continue to explore patterns of student transfer using the National Student Clearinghouse EnrollmentSearch program.  Despite shortcomings, the NSC data remain the most comprehensive national data about student enrollments in postsecondary institutions across the country.

 

Appendix A

 

Institutions Attended After Oakton

Students Who Attended More Than One School After Oakton

and Did Not Have a Bachelor’s Degree When At Oakton

N = 236

(*** means no information about second school)

 

First School after Oakton

N at 1st School

Second School after Oakton

N at 1st & 2nd School

Anoka Technical College

1

William Rainey Harper College

1

Augustana College

1

University of Illinois at Chicago

1

Bowling Green State University

1

Owens Community College

1

College of DuPage

10

DeVry Institute Of Technology

3

 

 

Lewis University

1

 

 

Loyola University of Chicago

1

 

 

Moraine Valley Community College

1

 

 

Northern Illinois University

1

 

 

University of Illinois at Chicago

2

 

 

William Rainey Harper College

1

College of San Mateo

1

Canada College

1

College of The Desert, Coachella

1

Cape Cod Community College

1

Columbia College

7

***

1

 

 

College of Lake County

1

 

 

National Louis University

2

 

 

Northeastern Illinois University

1

 

 

Roosevelt University

1

 

 

University of Colorado At Boulder

1

Community College of Southern Nevada

1

Roosevelt University

1

Concordia College, Moorhead

1

DePaul University

1

Delta College

1

Saginaw Valley State University

1

DePaul University

9

College of DuPage

1

 

 

Columbia College

1

 

 

DeVry Institute Of Technology

1

 

 

Edgewood College

1

 

 

Northeastern Illinois University

1

 

 

Northwestern University

1

 

 

Roosevelt University

1

 

 

University of Illinois at Chicago

1

 

 

University of Virginia

1

DeVry Institute Of Technology

8

***

2

 

 

College of DuPage

2

 

 

College of Lake County

1

 

 

DePaul University

1

 

 

Illinois State University

1

 

 

William Rainey Harper College

1

Eastern Illinois University

1

Lake Land College

1

Elmhurst College

4

***

2

 

 

Illinois Institute Of Technology

1

 

 

National Louis University

1

Georgia Southern University

1

Concordia University

1

Illinois Institute Of Technology

4

College of DuPage

1

 

 

Columbia College

1

 

 

DePaul University

1

 

 

William Rainey Harper College

1

Illinois State University

6

***

2

 

 

Joliet Junior College

1

 

 

Lincoln College

1

 

 

National Louis University

1

 

 

University of Nevada-Reno

1

Kendall College

1

DePaul University

1

Kishwaukee College

2

Northern Illinois University

2

Lake Forest College

1

DePaul University

1

Lane Community College

1

University of Oregon, Main Campus

1

Lewis University

3

***

1

 

 

North Park College

1

 

 

William Rainey Harper College

1

Lincoln College

1

Western Illinois University

1

Loyola University of Chicago

7

***

1

 

 

College of New Rochelle-Undergrads

1

 

 

DePaul University

2

 

 

Elmhurst College

1

 

 

Northeastern Illinois University

1

 

 

Roosevelt University

1

Madison Area Technical College

1

William Rainey Harper College

1

Miami University

1

Northwestern University

1

Moraine Valley Community College

1

City Of Chicago, Wright College

1

Morton College

1

Lewis University

1

National Louis University

8

***

3

 

 

Columbia College

1

 

 

Dominican University

1

 

 

Moraine Valley Community College

1

 

 

Northwestern University

1

 

 

University of Illinois at Chicago

1

North Harris Montgomery Cc Dist

2

Houston Community College

1

 

 

North Park College

1

North Hennepin Community College

1

St Cloud State University

1

North Park College

4

DeVry Institute Of Technology

1

 

 

Metropolitan State College

1

 

 

Northeastern Illinois University

2

Northeastern Illinois University

31

***

2

 

 

Cerritos College

1

 

 

College of DuPage

1

 

 

Columbia College

1

 

 

Community College of Southern Nevada

1

 

 

DePaul University

3

 

 

DeVry Institute Of Technology

3

 

 

Dominican University

1

 

 

Kendall College

1

 

 

Loyola University of Chicago

2

 

 

Milwaukee Area Tech College

1

 

 

National Louis University

1

 

 

Roosevelt University

1

 

 

Seminole Community College

1

 

 

United States International

1

 

 

University of Illinois at Chicago

9

 

 

William Rainey Harper College

1

Northern Illinois University

5

***

1

 

 

DeVry Institute Of Technology

2

 

 

Roosevelt University

1

 

 

William Rainey Harper College

1

Northern Virginia Community College

1

DeVry Institute Of Technology

1

Northwestern University

9

***

3

 

 

College of DuPage

1

 

 

New York Medical College-Medical

1

 

 

DePaul University

1

 

 

Loyola University of Chicago

1

 

 

Northeastern Illinois University

1

 

 

University of Southern California

1

Ohio State University

1

Columbus State Community Coll.

1

Parkland College

2

Columbia College

1

 

 

National Louis University

1

Portland Community College

1

Portland State University

1

Rochester Community & Technical College

1

Oakland Community College

1

Rogue Community College

1

William Rainey Harper College

1

Roosevelt University

9

DePaul University

3

 

 

Diablo Valley College

1

 

 

Loyola University of Chicago

2

 

 

National Louis University

1

 

 

University of South Carolina

1

 

 

William Rainey Harper College

1

San Diego Mesa College

2

Barry University

1

 

 

San Diego State University

1

Seattle Community College - Central

1

Seattle University

1

Southern Illinois Univ At Edwardsville-E

1

University of Alaska, Fairbanks

1

Southern Illinois University At Carbondale

3

***

1

 

 

Columbia College

1

 

 

John A. Logan College

1

Southwestern Illinois College

1

College of DuPage

1

St Louis CC at Florissant Valley

1

St Charles County Community

1

St Xavier University

1

College of St Scholastica - Semesters

1

St. Thomas Of Villanova

1

Palm Beach Atlantic College

1

Trinity International University-Seminar

1

***

1

University of California-Extension

1

University of The Pacific-Pharmacy

1

University of Colorado At Boulder

3

Eastern Michigan University

1

 

 

Loyola University of Chicago

1

 

 

National Louis University

1

University of Illinois at Chicago

24

***

2

 

 

College of DuPage

2

 

 

Creighton University

1

 

 

DePaul University

4

 

 

DeVry Institute Of Technology

3

 

 

Illinois Institute Of Technology

1

 

 

Loyola University of Chicago

3

 

 

National Louis University

1

 

 

Northeastern Illinois University

5

 

 

William Rainey Harper College

2

University of Kansas

3

DePaul University

2

 

 

National Louis University

1

University of Louisville

1

Sullivan College

1

University of Michigan-Central Campus

1

American University

1

University of Utah

1

Academy Of Art College

1

University of Wisconsin @ Green Bay

1

***

1

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

1

Northern Illinois University

1

University of Wisconsin-Parkside

2

College of Lake County

1

 

 

William Rainey Harper College

1

Washtenaw Community College

1

University of Michigan-Central Campus

1

Western Illinois University

2

Spoon River College

2

William Rainey Harper College

27

***

3

 

 

Benedictine University

1

 

 

College of DuPage

2

 

 

College of Lake County

1

 

 

Columbia College

1

 

 

DeVry Institute Of Technology

3

 

 

Elmhurst College

1

 

 

Irvine Valley College

1

 

 

Lewis University

1

 

 

Loyola University of Chicago

2

 

 

National Louis University

1

 

 

National University of Health Sciences

1

 

 

North Park College

1

 

 

Northeastern Illinois University

1

 

 

Parkland College

1

 

 

Roosevelt University

3

 

 

University of Illinois at Chicago

2

 

 

University of Wisconsin-Madison

1

Yavapai College

1

University of Southern Mississippi-Hatti

1

 

 

 


[1]   For a copy of this report, entitled “Tracking Oakton Transfers: Using The National Student Clearinghouse EnrollmentSearch, May 2001,” contact the Office of Research.

 

[2]  In the May report the absence of the University of Illinois at Urbana among participating NSC schools was not noted; it should have been.  However, data from other sources, including reports directly from the university to Oakton and findings from the Illinois Shared Enrollment File, which includes students from all public Illinois two and four-year institutions, indicate relatively few students transfer from Oakton to the University of Illinois at Urbana.

 

[3]   There were 15 students among the 236 whose second institution was not identified in the National Student Clearinghouse data.