Social and Economic Sciences Research Center

Puget Sound Office

Washington State College Enrollment Study
Background Information


National Student Clearinghouse Data

The National Student Clearinghouse maintains information on student enrollment in institutions of higher education nationwide. Their database includes approximately 90% of all higher education enrollments. The data does not include information on private career schools.


College Enrollment Figures

  • Figure 1 provides an unduplicated estimate of graduates enrollment in colleges and universities across the United States. "Unduplicated" means that every student is counted once and only once even if they attend multiple institutions.
  • Figure 2 is a set of pie charts of unduplicated enrollment data from Figure 1.
  • Figure 3 provides a count of graduates enrollments at colleges by gender and ethnicity.

Data Notes

Overall Coverage: The National Student Clearinghouse database includes approximately 90% of all higher education enrollments. The data does not include information on private career schools.

Underestimates: It appears that the National Student Clearinghouse does not capture all enrolled students, especially at technical colleges. Based on data from the Graduate Follow up Study (GFS) we have corrected the undercount at all public colleges in Washington.

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