National Student Clearinghouse
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE MISSION OF THE NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE IS TO SERVE THE EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE COMMUNITIES AND ALL LEARNERS WITH ACCESS TO TRUSTED DATA, RELATED SERVICES, AND INSIGHTS.
- Income
- $105.7 million
- Spending
- $100.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 69%
- Reserves
- 2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 97%
- Employees
- 406
- Volunteers
- 12
- Highest pay
- $1.3 million, president and ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 60 out of 100. Higher than 40% of charities in its peer group (education, over $100m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.0 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 72% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 5% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 3% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1569% of spending went to programs.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 41% of charities in its peer group (education, over $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2512 of 12 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $21.0 million spent. DEGREE VERIFICATION SERVICES - SEE SCHEDULE O DEGREE VERIFICATION SERVICES:PARTICIPATING POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS HAVE AUTHORIZED THE NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE TO MAINTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE DEGREE DATABASE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENHANCING EDUCATION INFORMATION ACCURACY AND ELIMINATING FRAUD. AS AN AGENT OF THESE INSTITUTIONS, THE CLEARINGHOUSE IS AUTHORIZED TO PROVIDE LIMITED ACCESS TO THE PORTIONS OF THIS DATA THAT VERIFY DEGREE ATTAINMENT FOR:1) OTHER POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS AND HIGHER EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS SO THAT THEY COULD COMPLY WITH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION-MANDATED PERFORMANCE REPORTING.2) EMPLOYERS SO THAT INSTITUTIONS CAN SUPPORT THE TRANSITION OF STUDENTS AND GRADUATES TO GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT.3) PROVIDERS OF BENEFITS TO GRADUATES THAT IS DEPENDENT ON A GRADUATE'S STATUS.
- $20.9 million spent. EDUCATION DATA EXCHANGE SERVICES - SEE SCHEDULE OEDUCATION DATA EXCHANGE SERVICES: ON BEHALF OF PARTICIPATING POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS, NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE PROVIDES A CENTRAL AUTHENTICATED DATA EXCHANGE PLATFORM AMONG PARTICIPATING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO MEET THEIR COLLECTIVE NEED FOR THE SECURE AND CONFIDENTIAL TRANSFER AND ACCESS TO ACADEMIC DATA. NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE PROVIDES A TRANSCRIPT ORDERING PLATFORM, WHICH IS AVAILABLE TO ALL PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS, WHICH PROCESSED ORDERS FOR OVER 6.8 MILLION TRANSCRIPTS FROM THE INSTITUTION'S STUDENTS TO: 1) OTHER POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION OF STUDENT ENROLLMENT APPLICATIONS. 2) EMPLOYERS SO THAT PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS CAN SUPPORT THE TRANSITION OF STUDENTS TO GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT AND PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM BY ELIMINATING FRAUD.3) ADMISSIONS OFFICERS WHO HAVE A SIGNED STUDENT CONSENT MEETING THE FERPA CONSENT REQUIREMENTS TO ORDER TRANSCRIPTS FOR THEIR INSTITUTION'S ADMITTED STUDENTS AND APPLICANTS.
- $13.9 million spent. RESEARCH SERVICES - SEE SCHEDULE OON BEHALF OF PARTICIPATING POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS, NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE IS AUTHORIZED TO MAINTAIN A DATABASE OF THE COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND DEGREE DATA FOR APPROXIMATELY 3,500 PARTICIPATING COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WHICH ENABLES ADMINISTRATORS AT HIGH SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, AND OTHER EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS TO ACCESS STUDENT DATA TO PERFORM EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND ANALYSES. RESEARCH SERVICES ALSO PERFORMS ANALYSIS ON THESE DATA BASED ON CUSTOMER-DEFINED REQUIREMENTS TO FURTHER THE ASSESSMENTS MADE REGARDING THE SUCCESS OF VARIOUS ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AT THE LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL LEVELS; ENABLE MANDATORY STATE AND FEDERAL OUTCOMES REPORTING; AND FACILITATE IMPROVEMENT TO THE QUALITY OF THE K-20 EDUCATION SYSTEM.ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION SERVICES:THE NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE IS AUTHORIZED BY PARTICIPATING POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS TO MAINTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE ENROLLMENT DATABASE. AS THEIR AGENT, IT PROVIDES LIMITED ACCESS TO VERIFY STUDENT RECORDS TO PROVIDERS OF BENEFITS TO STUDENTS AND GRADUATES DEPENDENT ON ENROLLMENT STATUS. THIS HELPS TO PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM BY ELIMINATING FRAUD. THE PROCESS AUTOMATES ALL ENROLLMENT VERIFICATIONS FOR CREDIT GRANTORS, TRAVEL COMPANIES, COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE RESELLERS. THIS IMPROVES EFFICIENCY AND STUDENT SERVICE AND REDUCES FRAUDULENT STUDENT STATUS CLAIMS. THE SERVICE IS FREE FOR INSTITUTIONS AND IS FERPA COMPLIANT.
- $13.5 million spent. ENROLLMENT REPORTING SERVICES: THE NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1993 TO MEET A SPECIFIC NEED IN THE US EDUCATION SYSTEM. SINCE THEN, ON BEHALF OF PARTICIPATING POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS ENROLLING 97% OF THE US STUDENT POPULATION, THE NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE HAS COMPLETED ALL REQUIRED STUDENT LOAN ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION ACTIVITIES. ALL RELATED STUDENT VERIFICATION RECORDS WERE REPORTED TO THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, ALL STATE AND NON-PROFIT GUARANTEE AGENCIES, AND THE STUDENT LOAN SERVICING ORGANIZATIONS. THIS HAS RESULTED IN A REDUCED ADMINISTRATIVE WORKLOAD, MORE PROMPT AND ACCURATE REPORTING OF DEFERMENTS, IMPROVED SERVICE TO STUDENTS AND FINANCIAL AID PROVIDERS, ELIMINATION OF MANUAL STUDENT LOAN-BASED VERIFICATIONS, GREATER ENROLLMENT REPORTING AND RECORD-KEEPING EFFICIENCY, AND DECREASED LOAN DELINQUENCY AND DEFAULT RATES.ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION SERVICES:THE NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE IS AUTHORIZED BY PARTICIPATING POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS TO MAINTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE ENROLLMENT DATABASE. AS THEIR AGENT, IT PROVIDES LIMITED ACCESS TO VERIFY STUDENT RECORDS TO PROVIDERS OF BENEFITS TO STUDENTS AND GRADUATES DEPENDENT ON ENROLLMENT STATUS. THIS HELPS TO PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM BY ELIMINATING FRAUD. THE PROCESS AUTOMATES ALL ENROLLMENT VERIFICATIONS FOR CREDIT GRANTORS, TRAVEL COMPANIES, COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE RESELLERS. THIS IMPROVES EFFICIENCY AND STUDENT SERVICE AND REDUCES FRAUDULENT STUDENT STATUS CLAIMS. THE SERVICE IS FREE FOR INSTITUTIONS AND IS FERPA COMPLIANT.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since October 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.