Results from the National 

Student Clearinghouse Data 

Match 

New Methods for Assessing 

AmeriCorps Alumni Outcomes 

Contract # 

CNSHQ14A0004-0006

April 27, 2016 

Prepared for: 

Corporation for National and 

Community Service 

250 E Street, SW 

Washington, DC 20525 

Submitted by: 

Abt Associates 

55 Wheeler Street 

Cambridge, MA 02138 

Authors 

Matthew Zeidenberg, Ph.D. 

Brian Freeman 

Eric Friedman 

Allan Porowski 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. Contents ▌pg. i

Results from National Student Clearinghouse Data Match 

Table of Contents 

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1

2. Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 3

2.1 NSC Enrollment and Graduation Coverage ...................................................................... 3

2.2 Sample Selection and Matching Process ........................................................................... 3

2.3 Coding Degrees and Majors .............................................................................................. 6

3. Data Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 8

3.1 Postsecondary Enrollments................................................................................................ 8

3.2 Postsecondary Institution Types ...................................................................................... 19

3.3 Highest Postsecondary Degrees ....................................................................................... 24

4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 30

References ........................................................................................................................................... 32
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 1

1. Introduction

Established in 1993, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) helps more than five 

million Americans improve the lives of their fellow citizens through service. The AmeriCorps program 

engages more than 80,000 Americans per year in intensive service at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, 

and community and faith-based groups across the country. CNCS’s program theory is that members who 

commit a year or more of their lives to serving their nation through AmeriCorps are likely to continue 

contributing to the country’s well-being through life-long civic engagement and service-oriented careers 

(CNCS, 2015a). 

CNCS’s research strategies to date have generated important information about alumni outcomes. A 

longitudinal study of AmeriCorps members who served in 1999-2000 found that eight years after their 

service, alumni had high levels of civic engagement in their communities, as measured by public service, 

volunteering, or other community activities (CNCS, 2008b). A study of three generations of VISTA 

members across the program’s history found positive civic engagement (voting, volunteering) and 

employment outcomes (labor force participation, income) (CNCS, 2008a). Findings from a 2015 CNCS 

pilot alumni outcomes survey indicate that the majority of AmeriCorps alumni perceive that the program 

had a positive influence on their future civic engagement, career-oriented soft skills, sense of community, 

and career pathways (Corporation for National and Community Service, 2015b).1

Abt Associates has been hired to build on CNCS’s previous work on the alumni outcomes survey and 

address three research questions: 

1. In what ways do national service experiences influence members’ career pathways, civic 

engagement, development of soft and hard career skills, and sense of community? 

2. How do member outcomes vary by life stage and by types of service experiences? 

3. What are the educational and employment outcomes of AmeriCorps alumni, and does national 

service serve as a pathway to educational and employment success? 

To address a portion of the third research question, Abt executed a match of a sample of three cohorts of 

AmeriCorps alumni (who completed their last term of service in 2005, 2010, and 2013) to postsecondary 

enrollment and graduation records held by the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). The NSC is a nonprofit organization that collects data on student enrollment, degree earned, and other credential 

completion from most institutions of higher education in the country. The NSC has the most extensive 

database of enrollments and credentials available.2 Over 3,600 colleges and universities, enrolling 98 

percent of all students in public and private institutions, provide data to the clearinghouse. While the NSC 

does not cover 100 percent of postsecondary enrollments, CNCS and Abt decided the coverage was high 

enough to allow for meaningful conclusions to be drawn from the results of a data match. This memo 

describes the NSC matching process and the educational outcomes returned for AmeriCorps alumni 

(postsecondary enrollment, highest degree, and major), disaggregating by program, cohort, and several 

demographic characteristics. 

 

1http://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/evidenceexchange/RB_AlumniOutcomesSurvey_Overview_0.pdf

2

 NSC does not collect full transcript data. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 2

We found high levels of enrollment and degree completion for alumni in the NSC match. Virtually all 

alumni enrolled at some level. Female alumni and those with higher levels of prior education had higher 

overall levels of enrollment. Alumni with two terms of service had the highest levels of enrollment and 

educational attainment. AmeriCorps alumni had significantly higher levels of degree attainment than did 

the general adult population in the United States. Female alumni had higher degree attainment than male 

alumni across the board, except for doctorates. The most common major associated with an alumnus’ 

highest degree was education, followed by social sciences, public administration and social services, 

business, and health professions. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 3

2. Methodology

This section describes the methodology employed for obtaining and analyzing NSC data on 

postsecondary enrollment and degree attainment for AmeriCorps alumni. Section 2.1 explains the 

coverage of the NSC data, section 2.2 describes the sample selection and matching process, and section 

2.3 explains how the study team categorized degree titles and majors. 

2.1 NSC Enrollment and Graduation Coverage 

Despite their extensive coverage, the NSC data have some limitations (Dynarski et al., 2013). Not all 

institutions participate, and participation has been increasing over time, so coverage is worse as one looks 

back over time. Therefore, the postsecondary enrollment of older alumni and alumni from the 2005 cohort 

are more likely to be missing from NSC. The coverage rate is highest for public institutions (virtually 

universal at this point), and lowest for for-profit institutions, although their participation is increasing.3

In 

addition, only a subset of schools that submit enrollment information also submit degree/other credential 

information (through a product called DegreeVerify). According to a recent NSC report, DegreeVerify 

covered only 84 percent of the postsecondary enrollments of a six-year cohort of students starting college 

in Fall 2009 (Shapiro et al., 2015). All NSC matches contain missing and incomplete data and will 

therefore underestimate the educational attainment of AmeriCorps’ alumni population, since alumni not 

matched to NSC enrollment records will be counted as not having been enrolled in postsecondary 

education.4

2.2 Sample Selection and Matching Process 

Abt sent the NSC data on a random sample of AmeriCorps alumni from the 2005, 2010, and 2013 

cohorts. While technically feasible, Abt did not submit the entire universe of AmeriCorps alumni records 

from those cohorts because the NSC charges per record submitted, and matching the entire universe 

would be cost-prohibitive. The random sample was stratified by cohort (2005, 2010, or 2013 alumni) and 

by program (AmeriCorps State and National [ASN], National Civilian Community Corps [NCCC], and 

Volunteers in Service to America [VISTA]) so that all of the alumni programs are represented. 

The AmeriCorps alumni file provided to Abt by CNCS contains 86,222 records. To be eligible for the 

NSC match, a record had to have a date of birth and an eligible total term length and last term length.5 Of 

the 86,222 alumni in the master file, 79,344 alumni (91 percent) were eligible for the NSC match and 

were included in the sampling frame (see Exhibit 1). 

 

3

 Coverage of private for-profit schools in the NSC was only 48% in 2003, but it rose to 72% in 2014. 

4

 Except for the for-profit sector, the coverage rate for NSC data was still high (80-95% depending on the sector) for 

records that are 10 years or older. See Figure 2a in Dynarski et al. (2013). 

5

 Terms less than or equal to 84 days or greater than the number of days since the member turned 16 were 

considered ineligible. Also, the last term length needed to be greater than zero so that the alumni were correctly 

associated with the last AmeriCorps program (ASN, VISTA, NCCC) in which they served. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 4

Exhibit 1. Eligibility for National Student Clearinghouse Data Match 

Category Number

Alumni file 86,822

No date of birth 2

Ineligible last term length 111

Ineligible total term length 6,728

Ineligible last and total term length 637

Eligible for NSC match 79,344

Exhibit 2 outlines the sample size for each program and cohort stratum. The cells are optimally allocated 

to minimize the sum of the minimum detectable differences for the six comparisons (three pairwise cohort 

comparisons and three pairwise program comparisons), with equal importance given to cohort and 

program comparisons. Standard errors on proportion point estimates range between 1% and 3%. 

Exhibit 2. Sample Size for National Student Clearinghouse Data Match 

Cohort

Program

ASN NCCC VISTA Total

2005 568 (2%) 219 (3%) 214 (3%) 1,001 (2%)

2010 614 (2%) 226 (3%) 271 (3%) 1,111 (2%)

2013 581 (2%) 226 (3%) 231 (3%) 1,038 (2%)

Total 1,763 (1%) 671 (2%) 716 (2%) 3,150 (1%)

NOTE: standard errors on 50% proportion estimates are presented in parentheses. 

Within strata, the sample was selected using a systematic random sample with implicit stratification. The 

sampling frame was sorted by key variables related to post-service educational outcomes: education 

award amount, prior education level, gender, and state with missing data included (e.g., sex would consist 

of female, male, and missing) and, at the lowest level, by a randomly generated number. State was 

included because average socioeconomic status and access to higher education vary by state. Starting 

from a random point, every 1 in x cases were selected, where x = 1 f⁄ h.

6 This procedure reduces design 

effects compared to a simple random sample by ensuring proportional representation of groups within the 

stratum. Since some of the nine strata had more alumni than others, the smaller strata (in the NCCC 

program) were sampled at higher rates than the larger ones (ASN and VISTA). We applied inverse 

probability of selection weights to ensure that the data are representative of the overall population of 

AmeriCorps alumni (see Exhibit 3).

 

6 fh = nh⁄Nh where n is the sample size from 

Exhibit 2 and N is the population size for each of the h = 1, 2, ... , L strata. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 5

Exhibit 3. Population Size, Sample Size, and Analytic Weight 

Program Cohort Population Size Sample Size Analytic Weight

(Population/Sample)

ASN 2005 17,628 568 31

ASN 2010 24,954 614 41

ASN 2013 18,483 581 32

NCCC 2005 883 219 4

NCCC 2010 730 226 3

NCCC 2013 1,307 226 6

VISTA 2005 4,491 214 21

VISTA 2010 6,294 271 23

VISTA 2013 4,574 231 20

Total 79,344 3,150

The NSC StudentTracker database, which includes both enrollment and credential data, can be queried in 

one of two ways: using a combination of name and date of birth, or using Social Security Number (SSN). 

SSN matches require consent, which would be infeasible to collect in this case. Dynarski et al. (2013) 

report that the NSC’s confidential and proprietary matching algorithm is conservative in that it tends to 

err on the side of omitting matches (“false negatives”) rather than including potentially erroneous matches 

(“false positives”). The other factor that affects the availability of NSC information is the “FERPA 

(Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) privacy block.” When we conduct a name and date of birth 

query, we are relying on the fact that, under FERPA, enrollment and graduation information is by default 

considered “directory information” that can be made public. However, students have the right to request 

that this disclosure of directory information to the public be blocked (i.e., to Abt and other researchers). 

An SSN match with consent overcomes the FERPA block, but we would consider the non-response bias 

inherent in obtaining consent through a survey to be a much more severe problem than the FERPA 

blocks. 

AmeriCorps alumni records were matched to the NSC StudentTracker database on full name and date of 

birth. After doing whatever cleaning appeared necessary (e.g. apparent typos in first names, for instance 

changing “Mchael” to “Michael”), we submitted data to NSC in the format that they require. All 

enrollment and graduation records found for these individuals were returned to us, less records subject to 

FERPA blocks. Of the 3,150 alumni submitted, NSC did not return data for 568.7 However, 338 of the 

568 alumni were subject to FERPA blocks (18 at the school’s request, and 320 at the student’s request; 

see Exhibit 4). The FERPA block rate among the sampled AmeriCorps alumni is notably higher than the 

block rate for the NSC database as a whole (11 percent versus 4 percent, respectively). Among the 230 

 

7

 In the student-level dataset returned to Abt, there were 565 alumni without any enrollment records, not the 568 

reported in the match summary. NSC explained that FERPA block requests apply only to a single 

postsecondary institution. If a student attends one institution and chooses to block their record, then moves on to 

another institution and does not block their record at the second institution, records from the second (unblocked) 

institution will appear in the dataset. In the summary report a student is considered FERPA-blocked only if 

there is a FERPA block for their first postsecondary institution. For example, if Student A goes to Hometown 

University and transfers to Homeland Tech, then places a block at Homeland Tech, only Student A’s enrollment 

at Hometown University will be reported, and Student A will not be counted as FERPA-blocked. If Student B 

goes to Hometown University and blocks their records but transfers to Hometown Tech and does not, Student B 

will be counted as FERPA-blocked, but Student B’s enrollment at Hometown Tech will be reported (K. Mason, 

NSC StudentTracker Client Coordinator, personal communication, April 12, 2016). 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 6

unmatched alumni not subject to FERPA blocks, we are unable to distinguish between true negatives 

(those individuals who did not attend postsecondary education) and false negatives (those individuals who 

did attend, but whose name appears in a different form or who attended a school that does not report to 

the NSC). 

Exhibit 4. Alumni Matched to National Student Clearinghouse Data 

Alumni Category Number Percentage

Alumni submitted 3,150 100%

No matches reported 568 18%

FERPA block (student) 320 10%

FERPA block (school) 11 <1%

Not found in NSC 230 7%

Alumni with enrollment data reported 2,582 82%

2.3 Coding Degrees and Majors 

In the NSC database, a student’s degree title and major field of study are reported in text fields provided 

by the graduating institutions. There is no coding of these text fields. Therefore, the study team reviewed 

and manually coded the degree and major text fields. 

All NSC graduation records contain a text field describing the degree type. The AmeriCorps alumni 

sample dataset contained 467 unique degree names, which one member of the study team manually coded 

into one of six categories (Certificate, Associate’s Degree, Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, 

Doctorate,8 or Unknown). Another member of the study team reviewed and verified the codes. 

Both enrollments and degrees can have associated majors. Enrollment majors are the major associated 

with the degree that the student is pursuing, which may change over time (and from record to record). For 

enrollment records, two major text fields, which describe the major in words that are not consistent from 

school to school, and two corresponding CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) codes are 

available.9 However, only 20.5 percent of the enrollments in the matched dataset list a first major and one 

percent list a second major. Therefore, we do not report on enrollment major. 

Degree majors are the field in which a degree is awarded, like a B.A. in English or an M.S. in Chemistry. 

There are four major text fields for graduation records, since people can graduate with double or even 

triple or quadruple majors. However, the fourth major text field is missing for all graduation records. The 

first degree major text field is listed in 85.9 percent of the graduation records, and very small numbers of 

graduation records have second (5.7 percent) and third (0.24 percent) majors. Therefore, only first 

graduation majors are reported. 

There are 3,295 graduation records. For 1,988 of the 3,295 graduations (60 percent), both the first major 

text field and first major CIP code are non-missing. For an additional 841 graduations (26 percent of the 

total), the first major text field is non-missing but not the first major CIP code is missing.10 These 841 

 

8

 This includes all forms of doctorate that we found in the data, including PhDs, MDs, and JDs. 

9

 CIP codes provide a standardized taxonomy of instructional program fields of study. For more detail and a list of 

codes, see https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/cip2000/

10 There are no graduation records where the first major text field is missing and the first major CIP code is nonmissing. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 7

graduation records include 437 distinct degree major text descriptions. One member of the study team 

manually coded these 437 degree majors to one of the 60 high-level two-digit CIP codes (or unknown), 

and another member of the study team reviewed and verified the codes. After the manual codes were 

completed, we were able to report the two-digit CIP codes for first degree major for 86 percent of 

graduation records in Exhibit 45 on page 29 (the remaining graduation records do not include any 

information on first degree major). 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 8

3. Data Analysis

This section presents descriptive summaries of the postsecondary enrollment and graduation data returned 

by NSC. Section 3.1contains tables on enrollment rates and durations, section 3.2 contains tables on 

postsecondary institutional types, and section 0 contains tables on highest postsecondary degrees earned. 

3.1 Postsecondary Enrollments 

The following tables show statistics on postsecondary enrollment of our sample of AmeriCorps alumni. 

Each table contains median and mean weeks of enrollment for the entire sample and for those who 

actually enrolled, according to NSC records.11 It also includes the shares of the population, and the 

number, that enrolled. The population numbers are relative to our overall NSC sampling frame of 79,344 

alumni, of which our 3,150 alumni matched are representative. As described above, the nine cohortprogram combinations were sampled at different rates from the sampling rate, so weights were used to 

calculate the population values from the sample. They are subject to the caveats on FERPA blocks and 

NSC non-coverage which we have described, which means that the NSC enrollments do not capture all 

enrollments. 

Exhibit 5 shows statistics on all enrollments found in the NSC match, irrespective of when they occurred, 

by cohort and overall. For all enrollments, the rate of enrollment was highest for NCCC, lowest for 

VISTA. Note that the total weeks of enrollment is much higher when we look at the entire span of time, 

as opposed to only in or after the exit year in Exhibit 6, as we would expect. For all alumni, enrollments 

were found at a rate of 80.2 percent, and alumni that did enroll enrolled for a median of 182.6 weeks. 

Since about 10 percent of the sample was blocked due to students’ FERPA privacy requests, and there are 

also some students whose records do not appear in the NSC sample due to coverage issues, we suspect 

that the true enrollment figure is about 10-15 percent higher, about 90 percent in this case. 

Exhibit 5. All Enrollments Found, by Program and Overall

 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Program Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

ASN 61,065 49,136 80.5% 152.3 148.7 182.7 184.8

NCCC 2,920 2,567 87.9% 136.0 139.2 148.6 158.3

VISTA 15,359 11,914 77.6% 157.0 149.5 189.0 192.7

Overall 79,344 63,618 80.2% 152.3 148.5 182.6 185.2

Exhibit 6 shows enrollment in or after alumni’s exit year from the program, by program and overall 

across all programs. The table shows that enrollment in or after the exit year was highest for ASN and 

lowest for VISTA. It also shows that that the percent of alumni with enrollments found in or after their 

11 Most U.S. institutions of higher learning use semesters of approximately 15-16 weeks or quarters of 

approximately 10-11 weeks. This varies a bit from institution to institution. A full academic year of instruction 

(not including the summer) is two semesters or three quarters, or 30-33 weeks. See the U.S. Department of 

Education’s paper on Credit Systems, downloadable at 

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/credits.doc 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 9

exit year, overall, was 58.7 percent, and that the alumni that did enroll were enrolled for a median of 74.9 

weeks.

Exhibit 6. Enrollment In or After the Exit Year from AmeriCorps, by Program and Overall 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Program Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

ASN 61,065 37,202 60.9% 24.1 54.6 71.9 89.6

NCCC 2,920 1,920 65.7% 44.7 64.9 85.1 98.7

VISTA 15,359 7,433 48.4% 0.0 47.2 79.9 97.5

Overall 79,344 46,555 58.7% 17.9 53.5 74.9 91.2

Exhibit 7 shows statistics on enrollment rates and length of enrollments by cohort. The oldest cohort 

shows the most weeks of enrollment, for those enrolled, but the lowest enrollment rate. It is possible that 

enrollment rates are driven by NSC coverage (i.e., poorer coverage for older cohorts); therefore we should 

not over-interpret these findings. 

Exhibit 7. All Enrollments Found, by Cohort 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Cohort Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

2005 23,002 17,180 74.7% 135.3 142.6 185.9 190.9

2010 31,978 26,007 81.3% 154.1 153.2 189.4 188.4

2013 24,364 20,431 83.9% 158.6 148.0 175.0 176.5

Exhibit 8 shows enrollments in or after the exit year, by cohort. The enrollment rate and weeks of 

enrollment is highest for the oldest (2005) cohort, and lowest for the newest (2013) cohort. There are two 

countervailing effects at work; the older cohorts are less likely to show up as enrolled in NSC data, as 

NSC coverage has improved over time, but the oldest cohort also has longest period of possible 

enrollment. It appears that the second effect may be more prevalent in these data. 

Exhibit 8. Enrollment In or After the Exit Year from AmeriCorps, by Cohort 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Cohort Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

2005 23,002 15,166 65.9% 46.7 79.0 99.4 119.8

2010 31,978 19,040 59.5% 17.4 51.2 69.6 86.0

2013 24,364 12,349 50.7% 6.0 32.6 62.0 64.3

The following tables are by cohort for each program. We start, in 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 10

Exhibit 9, with all enrollments for the ASN cohorts. Here, we see a slight increase in the rate of 

enrollment for more recent cohorts, from 75.5 percent for the 2005 ASN cohort to 83.6 percent for the 

2013 ASN cohort. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 11

Exhibit 9. All Enrollments Found, by Cohort, ASN 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Cohort Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

2005 17,628 13,314 75.5% 137.1 143.6 187.0 190.2

2010 24,954 20,361 81.6% 154.1 153.3 192.6 187.9

2013 18,483 15,461 83.6% 157.4 147.4 173.5 176.2

Exhibit 10 shows enrollments since the exit year with the ASN cohorts. These show a decline in such 

enrollment with later cohorts, probably driven mainly by the fact that these later cohorts have had less 

opportunity to enroll. 

Exhibit 10. Enrollment In or After the Exit Year from AmeriCorps, by Cohort, ASN 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Cohort Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

2005 17,628 11,980 68.0% 47.9 80.7 94.9 118.7

2010 24,954 15,647 62.7% 25.1 52.0 65.6 83.0

2013 18,483 9,576 51.8% 10.9 33.2 62.0 64.1

Exhibit 11 contains information on all enrollments for the NCCC cohorts. These cohorts had a very high 

rate of enrollment relative to alumni from other programs; enrollment rates are somewhat higher for the 

older cohorts, as are total weeks of enrollment. 

Exhibit 11. All Enrollments Found, by Cohort, NCCC

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Cohort Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

2005 883 823 93.2% 166.9 181.6 177.5 195.0

2010 730 675 92.5% 143.4 146.2 154.1 158.1

2013 1,307 1,070 81.9% 106.9 106.6 129.3 130.3

In Exhibit 12, we present the NCCC cohorts’ enrollment in or after the Exit Year. There has been a 

decrease in the enrollment rate and the median number of weeks of enrollment in more recent cohorts, 

probably driven mainly by the fact that older cohorts have had a longer time since exit to enroll. In fact, 

since NSC coverage has improved over time, the enrollment difference may be understated; alumni in 

older cohorts are more likely to have enrolled in postsecondary education when NSC coverage was lower 

than it is today, so their enrollments are more likely to be missing from the NSC dataset. 

Exhibit 12. Enrollment in or after the Exit Year from AmeriCorps, by Cohort, NCCC

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Cohort Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

2005 883 689 78.1% 91.7 106.2 115.4 136.1

2010 730 536 73.5% 64.2 70.5 91.4 96.0

2013 1,307 694 53.1% 10.6 33.9 61.6 63.8
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 12

Exhibit 13 presents the total enrollment statistics for the VISTA cohorts. In terms of total enrollment, 

there has been an increase in the enrollment rate for the more recent cohorts compared to the older ones, 

while the numbers of weeks of enrollment for the three cohorts are similar. Again, the differences are 

amplified by the fact that the older cohorts have worse coverage.

Exhibit 13. All Enrollments Found, by Cohort, VISTA 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Cohort Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

2005 4,491 3,043 67.8% 118.8 130.8 184.6 193.1

2010 6,294 4,970 79.0% 158.0 153.5 189.5 194.4

2013 4,574 3,901 85.3% 177.7 162.3 188.6 190.3

Exhibit 14 presents the enrollment rates and weeks of enrollment in or after the exit year for the VISTA 

cohorts. There is a declining enrollment rate for the more recent cohorts, as well as a decline in the weeks 

of enrollment. Again, this is probably largely due to the fact that the more recent cohorts have had less 

time to enroll. 

Exhibit 14. Enrollment in or after the Exit Year from AmeriCorps, by Cohort, VISTA 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Cohort Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

2005 4,491 2,497 55.6% 27.2 67.2 101.7 120.9

2010 6,294 2,857 45.4% 0.0 45.7 84.9 100.6

2013 4,574 2,079 45.5% 0.0 29.6 61.9 65.2

Exhibit 15 gives the statistics on total enrollments by the amount of the education award used. Those 

alumni who did not use the award enrolled at much lower rates. The other groups enrolled at very high 

but comparable rates, in the high-80% to the low-90% range. There appears to be a positive but weak 

relationship between the amount of the award used and the number of weeks of enrollment, as generally 

those who used more of the award had more weeks of enrollment, although the number of weeks declines 

slightly for the highest category . 

Exhibit 15. All Enrollments Found, by Amount of Education Award Used 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Amount of 

Education 

Award Used

Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

None 26,939 16,266 60.4% 35.9 87.5 141.3 144.9

$1-2,500 9,537 8,205 86.0% 152.3 152.9 169.3 177.7

$2,501-5,000 20,701 18,698 90.3% 182.1 179.8 195.3 199.1

$5,001-7,500 9,646 8,907 92.3% 182.3 182.6 190.6 197.7

$7,501-10,000 9,714 8,897 91.6% 211.7 199.6 223.4 218.0

$10,001+ 2,807 2,646 94.3% 204.3 194.8 210.3 206.6
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 13

Exhibit 16 gives the statistics on enrollments in or after the exit year, by the amount of the education 

award used. The table shows no systematic relationship between these enrollments and the amount of the 

award used, except for those who used no award. As one might expect, those who used no award had a 

much lower rate of enrollment than all of the other sub-groups.

Exhibit 16. Enrollment In or After the Exit Year from AmeriCorps, by Amount of Education 

Award Used 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Amount of 

Education 

Award Used

Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

None 26,939 9,909 36.8% 0.0 27.6 54.7 75.1

$1-2,500 9,537 6,620 69.4% 33.3 63.6 73.4 91.6

$2,501-5,000 20,701 14,355 69.3% 46.7 70.9 90.3 102.2

$5,001-7,500 9,646 6,366 66.0% 45.4 56.6 76.1 85.8

$7,501-10,000 9,714 7,471 76.9% 60.0 78.8 80.9 102.5

$10,001+ 2,807 1,834 65.3% 31.4 41.9 68.9 64.2

Exhibit 17 shows statistics for total enrollments by gender. This table shows that women had higher rates 

of enrollments and more weeks of enrollment than men. 

Exhibit 17. All Enrollments Found, by Gender 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Gender Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

Male 23,814 18,532 77.8% 130.0 134.3 164.9 172.5

Female 50,669 41,154 81.2% 161.0 156.3 189.9 192.4

Exhibit 18 shows enrollment statistics for the exit year or later by gender. Women enrolled at higher rates 

and if they enrolled, had more weeks of enrollment than men. This mirrors national trends of higher 

female participation in higher education. 

Exhibit 18. Enrollment In or After the Exit Year from AmeriCorps, by Gender 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Gender Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

Male 23,814 13,208 55.5% 16.0 50.0 73.6 90.1

Female 50,669 30,706 60.6% 30.4 56.7 76.1 93.5
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 14

Exhibit 19 shows total enrollments by age at program entry. This shows that the 23-29 age group had the 

highest total level of enrollment, both in terms of their enrollment rate and weeks enrolled. This may be 

because members of this group were college graduates when they entered AmeriCorps, since this includes 

the ages of traditional college graduates. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 15

Exhibit 19. All Enrollments Found, by Age at Program Entry 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Age at Program 

Entry

Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

17-22 24,429 19,071 78.1% 128.7 130.1 165.0 166.7

23-29 38,980 34,780 89.2% 184.0 177.8 196.1 199.2

30-39 7,155 5,323 74.4% 121.0 149.8 188.6 201.3

40+ 8,780 4,444 50.6% 9.6 68.8 95.0 136.0

Exhibit 20 shows enrollments in or after the exit year by age at program entry. We see a decline in the 

rate of enrollment and the median weeks of enrollment as participants with each older age group, which is 

most likely due to lower NSC coverage rates going back 10-15 years or more. This is likely because the 

older age groups are more likely to be composed of people who are already college graduates and 

therefore are less likely to go back to school. 

Exhibit 20. Enrollment In or After the Exit Year from AmeriCorps, by Age at Program 

Entry 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Age at Program 

Entry

Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

17-22 24,429 16,332 66.9% 47.1 71.2 92.6 106.4

23-29 38,980 23,074 59.2% 17.6 48.5 66.6 82.0

30-39 7,155 3,952 55.2% 15.4 49.5 60.9 89.6

40+ 8,780 3,198 36.4% 0.0 30.1 56.4 82.5
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 16

Exhibit 21 shows total enrollments by the prior education level that was included in the AmeriCorps 

alumni sample data provided by CNCS. Those with bachelor’s or graduate degrees show the highest level 

of enrollment, while those with any degree show the highest number of weeks of enrollment. It is 

interesting that those with associate degrees have the highest median number of weeks of enrollment, 

which seems to indicate that this group is relatively unsuccessful, compared to the other two groups with 

degrees, at converting weeks of enrollment into postsecondary success (in terms of a bachelor’s degree or 

higher). However, we should wary of drawing any conclusions due to the large size of the group with an 

unknown prior education level. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 17

Exhibit 21. All Enrollments Found, by Prior Education 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Prior Education Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

Less than HS 2,299 841 36.6% 0.0 23.1 36.0 63.0

HS or equivalent 4,609 3023 65.6% 24.4 53.1 58.6 81.0

Vocational 

Training 554 329 59.3% 36.1 37.6 57.7 63.4

Some College 8,422 7117 84.5% 140.4 145.5 163.0 172.2

Associate 

Degree 1,546 1211 78.3% 176.3 168.6 213.9 215.3

Bachelor's 

Degree 25,393 22946 90.4% 184.9 180.8 193.7 200.1

Graduate Degree 3,708 3243 87.5% 193.1 184.4 202.7 210.8

Unknown 32,813 24907 75.9% 137.3 143.4 189.1 188.9

Exhibit 22 looks at enrollment in or after the exit year by prior education. Those with some college 

enrolled at the highest rate (perhaps to complete college), followed by those who did not report prior 

education (the “unknown group”). However, it is difficult to draw many conclusions from the enrollment 

rates of these groups, due to the large size of the unknown group. 

Exhibit 22. Enrollment In or After the Exit Year from AmeriCorps, by Prior Education 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Prior Education Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

Less than HS 2,299 792 34.5% 0.0 17.1 18.6 49.7

HS or equivalent 4,609 2,258 49.0% 0.0 32.7 48.0 66.7

Vocational 

Training 554 140 25.3% 0.0 12.7 46.0 49.9

Some College 8,422 5,815 69.0% 46.7 61.4 82.0 88.9

Associate 

Degree 1,546 826 53.4% 14.6 41.1 65.7 76.9

Bachelor's 

Degree 25,393 13,921 54.8% 16.4 40.6 65.6 74.0

Graduate Degree 3,708 1,640 44.2% 0.0 33.3 60.0 75.3

Unknown 32,813 21,163 64.5% 34.6 70.6 86.0 109.5
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 18

Exhibit 23 shows statistics on all enrollments by number of terms served. Those alumni who served two 

terms have the highest rate of enrollment. They also have the highest total weeks of enrollment. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 19

Exhibit 23. All Enrollments Found, by Number of Terms Served 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Number of

Terms Served

Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

1 48,047 37,173 77.4% 141.1 136.9 172.3 176.9

2 27,492 23,478 85.4% 181.0 171.4 203.6 200.7

3 2,999 2,410 80.4% 150.0 138.7 173.4 172.6

4 714 485 67.9% 65.3 102.7 92.6 151.3

5 92 71 77.3% 14.6 72.9 53.7 94.4

Exhibit 24 shows the enrollment statistics for the exit year or later by number of terms served. Again, 

those alumni who served two terms have the highest enrollment of this type. 

Exhibit 24. Enrollment In or After the Exit Year from AmeriCorps, by Number of Terms 

Served 

Weeks of Enrollment

Everyone Enrolled Only

Number of

Terms Served

Overall N Enrolled N Percent Enrolled Median Mean Median Mean

1 48,047 26,527 55.2% 16.3 50.1 74.9 90.7

2 27,492 17,951 65.3% 34.6 61.9 77.3 94.8

3 2,999 1,668 55.6% 16.3 38.8 57.4 69.7

4 714 390 54.5% 21.9 30.1 54.7 55.2

5 92 20 21.4% 0.0 25.0 116.9 116.9

3.2 Postsecondary Institution Types 

Exhibit 25 shows the institution type associated with each alumnus’s enrollments, by program and 

overall. The largest group of alumni had multiple types of schools in their enrollments. If they attended 

only one type of school, it was most likely to be a four-year public school. NCCC alumni had the highest 

rate of attendance at community colleges (two-year public schools), while VISTA alumni had the lowest. 

Exhibit 25. Institution Type of Enrollments, by Program and Overall 

Program No Enrollment

Two-Year

Public

Only

Four-Year

Public Only

Four-Year

Private 

Only

Two-Year Private or

Less than Two Year

Only Multiple Types

ASN 19.5% 11.1% 15.0% 10.8% 0.2% 43.3%

NCCC 12.1% 16.8% 17.9% 9.6% 0.0% 43.7%

VISTA 22.4% 4.7% 19.3% 15.2% 0.4% 38.0%

Overall 19.8% 10.1% 15.9% 11.6% 0.2% 42.3%

Exhibit 26 shows the institution type of enrollments by cohort. The largest group of alumni attended 

multiple types of school. The pattern for ASN cohorts shown in Exhibit 27 is similar. The pattern for the 

NCCC cohorts in Exhibit 28 and VISTA cohorts in Exhibit 29 also shows high rates for multiple types of 

schools. The two most recent VISTA cohorts make relatively high use of four-year public schools alone. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 20

Exhibit 26. Institution Type of Enrollments, by Cohort 

Cohort No Enrollment

Two-Year 

Public 

Only

Four-Year 

Public Only

Four-Year 

Private 

Only

Two-Year Private or 

Less than Two Year 

Only Multiple Types

2005 25.3% 11.5% 13.5% 11.0% 0.6% 38.1%

2010 18.7% 8.9% 16.1% 10.7% 0.1% 45.5%

2013 16.1% 10.3% 17.8% 13.5% 0.1% 42.1%

Exhibit 27. Institution Type of Enrollments, by ASN Cohort 

Cohort No Enrollment

Two-Year 

Public 

Only

Four-Year 

Public Only

Four-Year 

Private 

Only

Two-Year Private or 

Less than Two Year 

Only Multiple Types

2005 24.5% 12.9% 13.2% 10.4% 0.5% 38.6%

2010 18.4% 10.1% 14.7% 9.1% 0.2% 47.6%

2013 16.4% 10.8% 17.0% 13.6% 0.0% 42.2%

Exhibit 28. Institution Type of Enrollments, by NCCC Cohort 

Cohort No Enrollment

Two-Year 

Public 

Only

Four-Year 

Public Only

Four-Year 

Private 

Only

Two-Year Private or 

Less than Two Year 

Only Multiple Types

2005 6.8% 8.7% 20.1% 11.9% 0.0% 52.5%

2010 7.5% 17.3% 18.6% 8.8% 0.0% 47.8%

2013 18.1% 22.1% 15.9% 8.4% 0.0% 35.4%

Exhibit 29. Institution Type of Enrollments, by VISTA Cohort 

Cohort No Enrollment

Two-Year 

Public 

Only

Four-Year 

Public Only

Four-Year 

Private 

Only

Two-Year Private or 

Less than Two Year 

Only Multiple Types

2005 32.2% 6.5% 13.6% 13.1% 0.9% 33.6%

2010 21.0% 3.3% 21.8% 17.0% 0.0% 36.9%

2013 14.7% 4.8% 21.6% 14.7% 0.4% 43.7%
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 21

Exhibit 30 shows the institution type of enrollments by the amount of the education award used. Again, 

multiple types are common; those using no award have lower levels of overall enrollment. No other 

patterns stand out. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 22

Exhibit 30. Institution Type of Enrollments, by Amount of Education Award Used 

Amount of 

Education 

Award Used

No 

Enrollment

Two-Year 

Public 

Only

Four-Year 

Public Only

Four-Year 

Private 

Only

Two-Year Private or

Less than Two Year 

Only Multiple Types

None 39.6% 13.4% 13.7% 7.6% 0.5% 25.3%

$1-2,500 14.0% 14.2% 16.0% 7.3% 0.0% 48.6%

$2,501-5,000 9.7% 7.5% 18.4% 13.1% 0.3% 51.0%

$5,001-7,500 7.7% 6.6% 20.0% 19.1% 0.0% 46.6%

$7,501-10,000 8.4% 7.4% 13.6% 14.0% 0.0% 56.6%

$10,001+ 5.7% 4.7% 12.5% 21.0% 0.0% 56.0%

As shown in Exhibit 31, there appear to be only small differences by gender in the types of institutions 

used, except that men use two-year publics only at a higher rate. This probably reflects men’s lower levels 

of educational attainment generally (DiPrete and Buchman, 2013). 

Exhibit 31. Institution Type of Enrollments, by Gender 

Gender

No 

Enrollment

Two-Year 

Public 

Only

Four-Year 

Public Only

Four-Year 

Private 

Only

Two-Year Private or 

Less than Two Year 

Only Multiple Types

Male 22.2% 13.2% 15.9% 9.8% 0.4% 38.6%

Female 18.8% 8.6% 16.4% 11.7% 0.2% 44.3%

Exhibit 32 shows institution type by age. The youngest and oldest groups use community colleges (only) 

at higher rates, and the middle two groups use four-year publics (only) at a higher rate. 

Exhibit 32. Institution Type of Enrollments, by Age at Program Entry 

Age at 

Program

Entry

No 

Enrollment

Two-Year 

Public 

Only

Four-Year 

Public Only

Four-Year 

Private 

Only

Two-Year Private or 

Less than Two Year 

Only Multiple Types

17-22 21.9% 15.7% 13.9% 10.0% 0.5% 37.9%

23-29 10.8% 5.6% 17.9% 14.1% 0.1% 51.5%

30-39 25.6% 8.9% 17.6% 5.3% 0.0% 42.6%

40+ 49.4% 15.2% 11.1% 10.4% 0.5% 13.4%
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 23

Exhibit 33 shows institution type by prior education. As prior education goes up, so does usage of fouryear public schools (only) and four-year private schools (only), except for a dip in four-year private 

schools for those with graduate degrees. Those with less education are more likely to have attended 

community college, which makes sense. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 24

Exhibit 33. Institution Type of Enrollments, by Prior Education 

Prior 

Education

No 

Enrollment

Two-Year 

Public 

Only

Four-Year 

Public Only

Four-Year 

Private 

Only

Two-Year Private or 

Less than Two Year 

Only Multiple Types

Less than HS 63.4% 20.3% 9.1% 4.2% 0.0% 3.0%

HS or 

equivalent 34.4% 34.7% 9.2% 4.7% 0.0% 17.0%

Vocational 

Training 40.7% 27.7% 7.9% 1.0% 0.0% 22.7%

Some 

College 15.5% 18.4% 19.2% 5.0% 0.2% 41.8%

Associate 

Degree 21.7% 8.8% 13.8% 11.2% 0.0% 44.5%

Bachelor's 

Degree 9.6% 1.1% 19.1% 16.8% 0.0% 53.3%

Graduate 

Degree 12.5% 3.8% 20.3% 13.8% 0.0% 49.5%

Unknown 24.1% 11.2% 13.8% 10.8% 0.5% 39.7%

Exhibit 34 shows the institution type by number of terms served. There is not much of a pattern here. 

Those who served five terms are much more likely to have attended community college (only) or a fouryear public school (only), but the small number of alumni who served five terms means these numbers are 

less meaningful. 

Exhibit 34. Institution Type of Enrollments, by Number of Terms Served 

Number of

Terms 

Served

No

Enrollment

Two-Year

Public

Only

Four-Year

Public Only

Four-Year

Private 

Only

Two-Year Private or

Less than Two Year

Only Multiple Types

1 22.6% 10.3% 16.2% 11.0% 0.3% 39.7%

2 14.6% 9.2% 15.6% 12.7% 0.3% 47.6%

3 19.6% 14.8% 15.9% 12.7% 0.0% 37.0%

4 32.1% 8.9% 8.9% 8.9% 0.0% 41.2%

5 22.7% 21.4% 34.4% 0.0% 0.0% 21.4%

3.3 Highest Postsecondary Degrees 

Exhibit 35 shows the highest degree found in the NSC data, by program and overall. VISTA participants 

have the highest rate of both bachelor’s degree attainment and master’s degree attainment. Overall, 31.9 

percent of AmeriCorps alumni had a bachelor’s degree, 18.2 percent a master’s degree, and 3.6 percent 

with a doctorate, according to NSC. This is a total of 53.7 percent of alumni with a bachelor’s degree or 

higher. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 32.5 percent of adults aged 25 or older in the U.S. had a 

bachelor’s degree or higher in 2015.12 Thus the AmeriCorps alumni are considerably better educated than 

the population at large. Also, the NSC degree percentages are undercounts of the true level of educational 

 

12 https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2015/tables.html 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 25

attainment, because NSC coverage is incomplete and the coverage rates are lower for degrees than for 

enrollments (see section 2.1). 

Exhibit 35. Highest Degree Found in NSC Data, by Program and Overall 

Program

No Degree 

Recorded

Unknown 

Degree Certificate

Associate 

Degree

Bachelor's 

Degree

Master's 

Degree Doctorate

ASN 41.4% 1.4% 0.8% 3.7% 30.8% 18.1% 3.8%

NCCC 43.6% 3.2% 0.9% 6.0% 32.9% 11.2% 2.2%

VISTA 34.8% 2.1% 0.8% 2.8% 35.9% 20.3% 3.3%

Overall 40.2% 1.6% 0.8% 3.6% 31.9% 18.2% 3.6%

Exhibit 36 shows the highest degree found in the NSC data, by cohort. The more recent cohorts are 

increasingly likely to have a bachelor’s degree as their highest degree. However, this may be simply 

because they have had less time to attain a master’s degree. 

Exhibit 36. Highest Degree Found in NSC Data, by Cohort 

Cohort

No Degree 

Recorded

Unknown 

Degree Certificate

Associate 

Degree

Bachelor's 

Degree

Master's 

Degree Doctorate

2005 45.8% 2.0% 0.8% 3.7% 21.4% 20.1% 6.2%

2010 38.4% 1.1% 0.9% 3.2% 31.7% 20.5% 4.1%

2013 37.3% 2.0% 0.7% 4.1% 41.9% 13.5% 0.5%

Exhibit 37 shows the highest degree attained in the NSC data for the ASN cohorts. The pattern here is 

similar to the cohorts overall, since ASN is by far the largest program. 

Exhibit 37. Highest Degree Found in NSC Data, by ASN Cohort 

Cohort

No Degree 

Recorded

Unknown 

Degree Certificate

Associate 

Degree

Bachelor's 

Degree

Master's 

Degree Doctorate

2005 46.3% 1.9% 0.7% 3.5% 21.5% 19.5% 6.5%

2010 40.1% 0.8% 1.0% 3.3% 29.8% 20.8% 4.2%

2013 38.6% 1.7% 0.7% 4.5% 41.1% 12.9% 0.5%

Exhibit 38 shows the highest degree attained in the NSC data for the NCCC cohorts. Here, we see a 

decline in both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the latest (2013) cohort. Again, this is likely due to the 

fact that the latest cohort has had less time to get a degree. 

Exhibit 38. Highest Degree Found in NSC Data, by NCCC Cohort 

Cohort

No Degree 

Recorded

Unknown 

Degree Certificate

Associate 

Degree

Bachelor's 

Degree

Master's 

Degree Doctorate

2005 26.0% 3.7% 2.3% 5.9% 32.4% 23.7% 5.9%

2010 37.6% 2.7% 0.9% 6.6% 37.6% 12.8% 1.8%

2013 58.8% 3.1% 0.0% 5.8% 30.5% 1.8% 0.0%
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 26

Exhibit 39 shows the highest degree attained in the NSC data for the VISTA cohorts. The latest cohort 

has a higher bachelor’s degree attainment rate than the other two programs; master’s degree attainment is 

similar among the three cohorts. Some of this difference is due to improving NSC coverage. 

Exhibit 39. Highest Degree Found in NSC Data, by VISTA Cohort 

Cohort

No Degree 

Recorded

Unknown 

Degree Certificate

Associate 

Degree

Bachelor's 

Degree

Master's 

Degree Doctorate

2005 47.7% 1.9% 0.9% 3.7% 19.2% 21.5% 5.1%

2010 32.1% 1.8% 0.7% 2.6% 38.7% 19.9% 4.1%

2013 26.0% 2.6% 0.9% 2.2% 48.5% 19.5% 0.4%

Exhibit 40 shows the highest degree attained in the NSC data, by the amount of the education award used. 

Those using the most ($10,000 or more) have the highest rate of bachelor’s degree attainment and the 

second highest rate of master’s degree attainment. However, this is the smallest group. The largest group 

used no award, and the second largest group used $2,501-$5,000. 

Exhibit 40. Highest Degree Found in NSC Data, by Amount of Education Award Used 

Amount of 

Education 

Award Used

No Degree 

Recorded

Unknown 

Degree Certificate

Associate 

Degree

Bachelor's 

Degree

Master's 

Degree Doctorate

None 65.2% 1.4% 0.7% 2.8% 22.5% 6.2% 1.2%

$1-2,500 41.5% 2.4% 1.1% 6.0% 32.0% 14.8% 2.0%

$2,501-5,000 26.5% 1.4% 0.5% 4.6% 38.4% 22.3% 6.3%

$5,001-7,500 23.1% 2.6% 1.5% 1.8% 42.5% 24.8% 3.6%

$7,501-10,000 22.8% 1.0% 1.0% 3.7% 28.9% 35.7% 6.9%

$10,001+ 15.8% 0.8% 0.0% 2.3% 47.6% 32.4% 1.1%

Exhibit 41 shows the highest degree found in the NSC data by gender. Women have highest rates of 

bachelor’s degree and master’s degree receipt than men, but men lead in doctorates. 

Exhibit 41. Highest Degree Found in NSC Data, by Gender 

Gender

No Degree 

Recorded

Unknown 

Degree Certificate

Associate 

Degree

Bachelor's 

Degree

Master's 

Degree Doctorate

Male 48.0% 1.0% 0.2% 3.0% 29.0% 13.6% 5.0%

Female 36.3% 1.9% 1.2% 4.0% 32.9% 20.5% 3.1%
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 27

Exhibit 42 shows the highest degree found in NSC data by age at program entry. The 23-29 group leads 

in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorates. The over 40 group has much lower recorded educational 

attainment levels than the other groups, perhaps in part because they have the worst coverage in NSC, 

since they are likely to have gotten any education the longest time ago. 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 28

Exhibit 42. Highest Degree Found in NSC Data, by Age at Program Entry 

Age at 

Program 

Entry

No Degree 

Recorded

Unknown 

Degree Certificate

Associate 

Degree

Bachelor's 

Degree

Master's 

Degree Doctorate

17-22 51.9% 1.6% 0.7% 4.7% 25.9% 11.4% 3.7%

23-29 24.1% 1.9% 0.6% 2.0% 42.3% 24.6% 4.5%

30-39 47.2% 1.7% 1.8% 5.3% 23.0% 17.8% 3.1%

40+ 73.5% 0.4% 1.0% 6.2% 9.6% 9.1% 0.3%

Exhibit 43 shows the highest degree found in the NSC data by prior education level. This table largely 

shows consistency between the two measures, although not every degree reported by participants in their 

prior education level is showing up in the NSC match results due to incomplete NSC coverage of degrees. 

In addition, prior education level is unknown for about 45 percent of alumni. 

Exhibit 43. Highest Degree Found in NSC Data, by Prior Education 

Prior 

Education

No Degree 

Recorded

Unknown 

Degree Certificate

Associate 

Degree

Bachelor's 

Degree

Master's 

Degree Doctorate

Less than HS 98.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 1.0% 0.0%

HS or 

equivalent 87.6% 1.6% 2.1% 6.4% 2.4% 0.0% 0.0%

Vocational 

Training 81.5% 5.7% 10.9% 0.7% 1.2% 0.0% 0.0%

Some 

College 62.4% 0.9% 2.2% 7.4% 22.6% 4.1% 0.5%

Associate 

Degree 40.3% 5.4% 3.9% 25.7% 21.6% 3.0% 0.0%

Bachelor's 

Degree 15.0% 1.8% 0.2% 1.1% 58.8% 20.3% 2.8%

Graduate 

Degree 20.1% 1.6% 0.6% 2.0% 12.9% 55.4% 7.4%

Unknown 44.8% 1.5% 0.6% 3.6% 23.0% 20.8% 5.6%

Exhibit 44 shows the highest degree found in the NSC data by terms served. Those who served two terms 

have the highest level of education in terms of a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Exhibit 44. Highest Degree Found in NSC Data, by Number of Terms Served 

Number of 

Terms 

Served

No Degree 

Recorded

Unknown 

Degree Certificate

Associate 

Degree

Bachelor's 

Degree

Master's 

Degree Doctorate

1 44.0% 1.7% 0.7% 3.8% 32.4% 14.2% 3.2%

2 32.7% 1.1% 0.9% 3.3% 31.3% 25.7% 4.8%

3 43.3% 3.6% 1.8% 3.2% 32.2% 15.7% 0.2%

4 59.9% 4.5% 0.0% 4.5% 17.8% 13.4% 0.0%

5 78.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 21.4% 0.0% 0.0%

Exhibit 45 shows the degree major field associated with the highest degree in the NSC data, overall, by 

program, and by cohort (The coding of degree majors is described in section 2.3).Only the top ten fields 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 29

are listed in the exhibit (a complete list of major fields is provided in a supplementary Excel file provided 

to CNCS summarizing the NSC match results). Education is the most popular field, although social 

sciences is the most popular field among VISTA alumni and for the entire 2013 cohort. Other popular 

fields include public administration and social services, business, and health professions. 

Exhibit 45. Major Field of Highest Degree, Overall, by Program, and by Cohort 

Major Field of Highest Degree Overall ASN NCCC VISTA 2005 2010 2013

Education 10.3% 11.9% 4.5% 5.1% 10.9% 11.8% 7.5%

Social Sciences 7.3% 6.3% 6.8% 11.3% 3.2% 7.4% 11.0%

Public Administration and 4.0% 3.4% 4.3% 6.4% 5.1% 3.8% 3.5%

Social Service Professions

Business, Management, 

Marketing, and Related Support 3.7% 3.3% 3.9% 5.4% 4.1% 3.8% 3.2%

Services

Health Professions and Related 3.5% 3.6% 2.7% 3.1% 4.3% 4.0% 1.7%

Programs

Psychology 2.9% 3.2% 4.2% 1.8% 2.9% 1.9% 4.4%

Liberal Arts and Sciences, 

General Studies and 2.9% 2.9% 3.7% 2.7% 3.1% 2.7% 2.8%

Humanities

English Language and 2.8% 2.4% 2.3% 4.2% 1.3% 3.5% 3.2%

Literature/ Letters

Legal Professions and Studies 2.4% 2.5% 1.4% 2.4% 3.4% 2.8% 1.0%

Biological and Biomedical 1.9% 2.0% 2.5% 1.5% 0.9% 1.2% 4.0% Sciences

Other Field 15.3% 14.5% 15.6% 18.4% 11.3% 16.5% 17.7%

Unknown or No Degree 43.0% 44.1% 48.0% 37.7% 49.5% 40.7% 40.1%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 30

4. Conclusion

While the NSC match proved to have some limitations with incomplete coverage and with a higher than 

expected rate of FERPA blocks for AmeriCorps alumni in the sample it did produce largely meaningful 

results. Some of the key findings are as follows: 

 There was almost universal enrollment in college among alumni: an NSC rate of 80.2 percent, 

which is probably about 10-15 percent too low due to coverage gaps and FERPA blocks. The 

match results showed that 58.7 percent of alumni enrolled in college in their exit year or later 

according to the NSC match, which again is an underestimate of the true value. 

 There was variation in enrollment by cohort and program. The older cohorts had slightly lower 

enrollment, but this is in least in part explained by reduced coverage by the NSC going back ten 

or more years. NCCC had the highest enrollment rate (at 87.9 percent) and VISTA the lowest (at 

77.6 percent), although both rates are likely 90% or higher after correcting for the FERPA blocks 

and additional false negatives in the data match results. 

 As expected, women had higher enrollment than men, and enrollment rates declined as the age of 

members at the time of program entry increased, assumedly due to lower NSC coverage in the 

more distant past. 

 As expected, total weeks of enrollment increased with higher reported prior education levels. 

 Alumni with two terms of AmeriCorps service had the highest levels of enrollment and 

educational attainment. 

 Most alumni enrolled in multiple types of institutions; if they enrolled in a single type, it was 

most likely to be a four-year public institution. 

 Alumni were found to have a significantly higher level of attainment of bachelor’s degrees or 

higher degrees than the general adult population. Of the three programs, VISTA alumni had the 

highest rate of four-year college completion and NCCC the lowest, but all three had substantially 

higher rates than the U.S. adult population. 

 Female alumni had higher degree attainment across the board, except for doctorates. Older people 

had fewer degrees, although this could be more due to lower coverage rates by the NSC for the 

more distant past. 

 Those who had higher prior education levels per the alumni data provided by CNCS also had 

higher attainment in the NSC data, with discrepancies likely caused by coverage issues, false 

negatives in the NSC match, and a significant number of FERPA blocks. 

 The most common major associated with alumni’s highest degree was education, followed by 

social sciences. The next most common were public administration and social services, business, 

and health professions. 

In conclusion, the NSC match provided rich information about the educational attainment of AmeriCorps 

alumni, including information about enrollments and degrees, both total and after program exit, as well as 

detailed information about degree majors. We believe that NSC could serve as a useful resource for 

CNCS going forward if the agency wants to track the educational outcomes of its alumni. While the 

coverage for degrees is not quite as good as that for enrollments (for the latter, coverage is becoming 

close to universal outside the for-profit higher education sector), coverage for both is improving yearly, so 

the results of any future matches will only get better with time. FERPA blocks and false negative nonmatches will continue to cause underestimates of postsecondary outcomes, but their impact is fairly 

minimal. If program or cohort averages are of interest rather than the outcomes of specific alumni, 

matches can be completed at relatively low cost with a high degree of statistical precision by using 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 31

stratified random samples rather than the full population of alumni. A sample of around 1,000 alumni can 

generate estimates with standard errors of around 2 percent (margin of error +/- 4 percentage points), and 

a sample of around 3,000 alumni can generate estimates with standard errors of around 1 percent (margin 

of error +/- 2 percentage points). 
Results from the National Student Clearinghouse Data Match

Abt Associates Inc. ▌pg. 32

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