The Nsc Data Source
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COLLEGE‐GOING IN MAINE : DATA BRIEF July 2013 The Maine Department of Education (DOE) and the Mitchell Institute are working in partnership with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to provide Maine public high schools with information about their recent graduates’ college enrollment patterns. This Brief provides state and regional comparison data for context, and describes the school-level reports. THE NSC DATA SOURCE The National Student Clearinghouse is a college enrollment and degree verification service with records for more than 3,600 institutions of higher education. The NSC is the primary provider of data on two-year and four-year college degree program enrollment to school districts, colleges, foundations, and state and federal governments. 93% of college students in the U.S. attend colleges and universities that report enrollment to the NSC. The Clearinghouse’s Student Tracker for High Schools service uses student names and dates of birth to produce detailed reports on initial college enrollment, persistence, and degree attainment for a six-year trajectory beyond high school graduation. Many U.S. high schools pay to participate in the Student Tracker program, but the Maine Department of Education covers the cost for all Maine public high schools to receive these reports, using student data the schools have already reported to DOE. Student Tracker reports provide a snapshot of college enrollment, persistence, and graduation trends for each graduating class. Many school districts use these data to inform their one-year action plans and/or long-term strategic planning processes. FIGURE A: STATE OF MAINE COLLEGE‐GOING RATES, FALL SEMESTER AFTER GRADUATION High School Graduating Class Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Total in the class 14,187 14,338 14,191 13,899 14,114 13,635 13,255 8,076 8,485 8,733 8,426 8,690 8,263 8,287 Enrolled in college 57% 59% 62% 61% 62% 61% 63% 4-year college 79% 79% 76% 76% 76% 77% 76% 2-year college 21% 21% 24% 24% 24% 23% 24% In-state college 67% 69% 71% 69% 70% 70% 71% Out-of-state 33% 31% 29% 31% 30% 30% 29% college Public institution 68% 68% 66% 65% 65% 67% 67% Private institution 32% 32% 34% 35% 35% 33% 33% Mitchell Institute | 1 SCHOOL‐LEVEL TREND REPORTS AND DATA The Mitchell Institute distributes two electronic school-level reports—a spreadsheet and a PDF-format file—to each Maine public high school, via e-mail to the Superintendent, Principal, and Guidance Office. The spreadsheet contains school-level aggregate data, and student-level college enrollment detail is also available to schools, upon request. Schools may use the spreadsheets to perform additional analysis and calculations, generate charts for presentations, etc. The spreadsheet data can be augmented to make them more useful. For example, schools could add information they have collected on military and occupational training program enrollment, or examine student characteristics and course-taking patterns associated with college-going and persistence. “Student Tracker for High Schools Aggregate Report” is a 43-page, PDF-format collection of more than 20 charts and ten tables detailing college enrollment, persistence, and completion across the graduating classes of 2006 through 2012. To help prioritize the wealth of information contained in the aggregate report, the following is a list of some of the key sections that, taken together, can give schools a good overview of their graduates’ college careers. Pages 2-6 show college enrollment in the fall semester after high school graduation, including breakdowns by public and private college, 4-year and 2-year institutions, and in-state and out-of-state colleges. The first four charts show percentages, and the table on page 6 provides the underlying numbers. For comparison, note that the statewide college enrollment rate has increased from 57% in 2006 to 63% in 2012, with all of the increase accounted for by students enrolling in Maine institutions. [See Figures A and B in this Brief for Maine state and superintendent region averages.] Pages 17-21 show freshman to sophomore year college persistence rates among students who enrolled in college during the first year after high school, for the classes of 2006-2010. The Maine average persistence rate is 84% for all these graduating classes. [Superintendent region averages are shown in Figure C of this Brief.] Pages 22-43 show the six-year college degree completion rate, as a percentage of all 2006 high school graduates. The Maine average is 37%. [Figure D of this Brief shows the superintendent regions.] Pages 29-40 show postsecondary enrollment and progress detail for each graduating class from 2006 to 2011. Page 41 lists the 25 most-attended colleges among all graduates from 2006-2012, with counts of enrolled students. Mitchell Institute | 2 FIGURE B: MAINE SUPERINTENDENT REGIONS COLLEGE‐GOING RATES, FALL SEMESTER AFTER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION The Mitchell Institute calculated the following regional averages to provide schools with a frame of reference and comparison for their own data. High School Graduating Class Year Superintendent Region 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Aroostook County 63.4% 65.3% 62.7% 63.9% 64.5% 65.8% 66.9% Cumberland County 65.3% 65.5% 66.5% 67.5% 68.4% 66.6% 70.6% Hancock County 54.5% 56.0% 58.5% 54.7% 53.3% 58.3% 54.8% Kennebec Valley 57.0% 54.9% 60.8% 59.3% 60.2% 59.2% 60.5% Mid-Coast 53.1% 54.6% 53.1% 52.8% 55.3% 50.7% 53.4% Penquis 54.9% 58.4% 60.7% 58.9% 57.6% 60.6% 58.0% Washington County** 48.2% 44.6% 52.9% 53.1% 54.1% 47.7% 51.1% Western Maine 53.1% 55.3% 58.3% 57.2% 59.6% 56.7% 61.2% York County 51.1% 60.5% 62.9% 59.4% 61.2% 61.0% 62.2% 60% Schools* 57.4% 60.0% 62.8% 63.3% 62.0% 61.9% 65.2% Maine 56.9% 59.2% 61.5% 60.6% 61.6% 60.6% 62.5% 80% Aroostook Cumberland 70% Hancock Kennebec Midcoast 60% Penquis Washington** Western 50% York 60% Schools* State Average 40% 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Average of 5 lowest Maine schools 39% 40% 44% 40% 41% 38% 40% Average of 5 highest Maine schools 81% 84% 84% 86% 81% 83% 88% *“60% Schools” is the average of Maine’s 11 60% publicly-funded private high schools: Erskine Academy, Foxcroft Academy, Fryeburg Academy, George Stevens Academy, Lee Academy, Lincoln Academy, John Bapst Memorial High School, Maine Central Institute, Maine School of Science and Mathematics (state-operated), Thornton Academy, and Washington Academy. **Note that Washington County Community College enrollment is not included in the National Student Clearinghouse, so Washington County averages are not directly comparable to the other regions. Mitchell Institute | 3 FIGURE C: MAINE SUPERINTENDENT REGIONS COLLEGE‐ENROLLED STUDENTS: FRESHMAN TO SOPHOMORE PERSISTENCE This statistic includes students who returned to college at any institution for a second year, as a percentage of those who enrolled in college within the first year after high school graduation. High School Graduating Class Year Superintendent Region 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Aroostook County 79.5% 83.8% 84.1% 83.9% 81.9% Cumberland County 87.9% 89.2% 88.2% 88.7% 89.2% Hancock County 81.5% 81.2% 74.7% 78.3% 80.6% Kennebec Valley 82.5% 84.6% 86.3% 82.2% 84.4% Mid-Coast 83.7% 86.9% 83.3% 80.0% 83.3% Penquis 82.3% 81.5% 82.1% 81.6% 83.8% Washington County** 83.3% 82.2% 78.7% 76.6% 71.4% Western Maine 79.3% 81.1% 83.6% 83.2% 82.9% York County 87.0% 85.4% 81.9% 82.9% 84.5% 60% Schools* 86.2% 83.6% 86.2% 83.8% 81.7% Maine 84.1% 84.7% 84.4% 83.8% 84.5% Freshman to Sophomore College Persistence, High School Graduating Class of 2010 Cumberland York State Average Kennebec Penquis Midcoast Western Aroostook 60% Schools* Hancock Washington** 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% *“60% Schools” is the average of Maine’s 11 60% publicly-funded private high schools: Erskine Academy, Foxcroft Academy, Fryeburg Academy, George Stevens Academy, Lee Academy, Lincoln Academy, John Bapst Memorial High School, Maine Central Institute, Maine School of Science and Mathematics (state-operated), Thornton Academy, and Washington Academy. **Note that Washington County Community College enrollment is not included in the National Student Clearinghouse, so Washington County averages are not directly comparable to the other regions. Mitchell Institute | 4 FIGURE D: MAINE SUPERINTENDENT REGIONS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATING CLASS OF 2006: COLLEGE DEGREE ATTAINMENT WITHIN SIX YEARS Cumberland, 44.8% 60% Schools*, 39.9% Aroostook, 37.2% Maine, 37.2% Kennebec, 37.1% York, 36.7% Hancock, 34.2% Penquis, 33.4% Midcoast, 32.9% Western, 32.3% Washington, 27.2% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Students earning a college degree within six years, as a % of all high school graduates *“60% Schools” is the average of Maine’s 11 60% publicly-funded private high schools: Erskine Academy, Foxcroft Academy, Fryeburg Academy, George Stevens Academy, Lee Academy, Lincoln Academy, John Bapst Memorial High School, Maine Central Institute, Maine School of Science and Mathematics (state-operated), Thornton Academy, and Washington Academy. **Note that Washington County Community College enrollment is not included in the National Student Clearinghouse, so Washington County averages are not directly comparable to the other regions. STUDENT TRACKER DATA NOTES Three factors contribute to potential inaccuracies in the Student Tracker reports: The NSC uses name and date of birth to match students’ high school and college enrollment records, which in some cases is not enough to confirm a match.