NSC Program Data:
Program Begin Date, Enrollment Status, and Effective Date

Students' program information is captured on the NSC Edit Transmittal Detail Records window. It acts as an NSC enrollment reporting tool. For up to six programs, you can view and edit these columns:

The NSC program information comes from a database view called the CIP Active Degree View (CIP_ACTIVE_DEGREE_V). A view is a query stored in the database that produces a result set.

The CIP Active Degree View pulls data from several tables in the database, including DEGREE_HISTORY and DEGREE_HISTORY_ARCHIVE, plus multiple definition tables (DEGREE_DEFINITION, MAJOR_MINOR_DEF, CERTIFICATION_DEF, CIP_DEFINITION, etc. (See Reference Information below for a complete list). This produces a result set that includes all of the values necessary for reporting to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), as well as to the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC).

Program Begin Date

While the CIP Active Degree View pulls most data from the Degree History and corresponding definition tables, the Program Begin Date comes from the Degree History Archive table, based on the latest (most recent) Record Change Date where one or more of the Major 1-4 or Certification 1-4 column values were changed.

Every time a user adds a row to the Degree History table, or makes changes to the data on an existing row, a database trigger (automated process) inserts a row into the Degree History Archive table. The Degree History Archive table contains all of the same columns as the Degree History table, plus a “change” column corresponding to each (for example, MAJOR_1 and MAJOR_1_CHG). The trigger sets the “change” column to 1 if the data in the corresponding column was changed, and to 0 if it wasn’t. For example, if a user backspaces the value ENG in the Major 1 field and types in HIS instead, and then saves, the row in the archive table will record a 1 in the MAJOR_1_CHG column, since Major 1 was changed from English (ENG) to History (HIS).

The CIP Active Degree View compares the rows in the Degree History Archive table to the corresponding rows in the Degree History table, and where the rows match on sequence number and majors 1 – 4 or certifications 1 – 4, where one or more of those eight column values was changed, it looks for the most recent Record Change Date. It then uses the Record Change Date as the Program Begin Date for that Degree History row.

To ensure that the CIP Active Degree View captures the date you want to report as the student’s Program Begin Date, according to NSLDS definitions for Program and Program Begin Date (see the NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide), Jenzabar recommends the following best practices:

·       Use the Start Date of the first term in which the student enrolls in a program of study, as the Entry Date and Record Change Date on the initial Degree History row; term start dates are identified in the Year Term Subterm window, on the Year/Term tab (YEAR_TERM_TABLE).

·       Don’t “recycle” Degree History rows.
When a students changes their program of study, remove them from the previous program. Enter the Exit Date and Exit Reason, and deselect the Active checkbox. Then add a row to the Degree History table to reflect the new program of study.

·       Be consistent with your dates:

o     When you process a program change after the term has begun, but not after the term’s census date, use that term’s Start Date as both the Entry Date and the Record Change Date.

o     When you process a program change after the term has begun and after the census date, use the upcoming term’s Start Date as both the Entry Date and the Record Change Date.

o     Be careful to deselect the Student Division Master checkbox in the Cross Table Student Information Update pop-up window | Update Entry Date group. This ensures that it doesn’t overwrite the student’s Original Entry Date on the Student Division Master row, if you want that column to reflect the student’s original entrance into the division.

Program Enrollment Status

Several factors determine how the Populate Transmittal Tables process calculates the Program Enrollment Status value:

·       Is this the first time you are reporting a particular program for a student?

·       Is this the first time you are capturing data for the specified term?

·       What is the student’s “campus-level” enrollment status (Status column in the top section of the NSC Edit Transmittal Detail Records window)?

·       Is the campus-Level enrollment status a “terminal” status, such as Deceased (D), Graduated (G), or Withdrawn (W)?

For the most part, the Populate Transmittal Tables process sets the Program Enrollment Status equal to the campus-level enrollment status, with a couple of exceptions:

·       If the student has changed programs, the previous program’s enrollment status will be set to Withdrawn, and the new program’s status will match the campus-level enrollment status.

·       If the student was enrolled in more than one program and has completed one but not both (or all) programs, the completed program’s status will be set to Graduated, while the other program’s status will match the campus-level enrollment status

If the student has a value in the Special Status column in the NSC Edit Student Data Records window (NSLC_STUDENT_MAST table), the process will use that value as the campus-level enrollment status. Special status values include Leave of Absence (A), Deceased (D), and Graduated (G).

If the student does not have a special status, the process will use the value found on the most recent row in the NSC Edit Registration Transactions window (NSLC_REG_TRANSACT table), for the year and term you are reporting. The status values found in this table include Full Time (F), Three Quarter Time (Q), Half Time or More (H), Less Than Half Time (L), and Withdrawn (W).

Program Enrollment Status Effective Date

The Populate Transmittal Tables process uses a complex algorithm to calculate the Program Enrollment Status Effective Date, which includes looking at the Program Enrollment Status, the campus-level enrollment status, the history file used for comparison, and the CIP Active Degree View.

First it determines whether this is the first time you are reporting the program for the student. It determines this by comparing the information found in the CIP Active Degree View, to the history file you selected for comparison in the Create NSC Transmittal and Final Files window.

Scenarios

Final Tips

Make sure the data in your history is accurate. The history file you select for comparison determines whether this is the first time you are reporting data for a particular program, and whether the student’s status has changed.

If you find inaccuracies, make corrections in the NSC Edit Transmittal History Records window for the Report Date you are selecting as the History File to Use for Compare for your current file. Then use the Populate Transmittal Tables process again to refresh the data collected for your current file once you’ve saved those corrections. You may also need to make corrections in the NSC system.

Reference Information

CIP Active Degree View – Alphabetical Tables Listing

Program Enrollment Status Effective Date – Quick Reference

Learn More

NSC Transmittal Detail Records Window

National Student Clearinghouse Overview