Enrollment Reporting

National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)

Att_NSLDSEnrollmentReportingGuide2

Enrollment Reporting

OMB: 1845-0035

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National Student Loan Data System
Enrollment Reporting Guide

February 2008
Final Copy, July 8, 2008

Executive Summary

Executive Summary
The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Enrollment Reporting Guide includes a table
of contents, three chapters, and an appendix. Each of the chapters and the appendix are described
below. This guide assumes reader familiarity with basic computer terminology and concepts.
•

Chapter 1: Compliance, Guidelines, and Administrative Functions—Presents an
overview of Enrollment Reporting: compliance rules, reporting guidelines, and
administrative functions and responsibilities.

•

Chapter 2: NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Processing—Describes the batch reporting
process: receiving Enrollment Reporting roster files, matching/updating/returning student
records, and completing error files.

•

Chapter 3: Enrollment Reporting Online: The NSLDS Web Site—Provides step-bystep instructions for using the Web site, including how to log on, navigate the site, report
and update student enrollment, and create and modify reporting schedules.

•

Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts—Provides the
record layouts for Enrollment Reporting roster files and error files, as well as error codes
and explanations.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Compliance, Guidelines, and Administrative Functions ....................................... 1
1.1 Basic Concept of Enrollment Reporting ................................................................................... 1
1.2 Compliance ............................................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Reporting Requirements ........................................................................................................... 2
1.3.1 Additional School Enrollment Reporting Responsibilities.............................................. 4
1.3.1.1 Using an Enrollment Reporting Servicer.................................................................4
1.3.1.2 Listing an Enrollment Reporting Contact................................................................4
1.3.1.3 Student Identifiers and Data Conflicts.....................................................................5
1.4 Administrative Functions.......................................................................................................... 5
1.4.1 Software Options ............................................................................................................. 6
1.4.2 NSLDS Online ................................................................................................................. 6
1.5 How to Sign Up ........................................................................................................................ 7
1.6 Enrollment Reporting Process Flow ......................................................................................... 8
1.7 Scheduling: Building Enrollment Reporting Schedules ........................................................... 9
1.8 School Late Enrollment Reporting Roster Notification ......................................................... 10
1.9 School Enrollment Reporting Audit ....................................................................................... 11
1.9.1 Waiver Process............................................................................................................... 11
1.9.2 Change in School Eligibility.......................................................................................... 11
1.9.2.1 For Schools That Are Closing ...............................................................................12
1.9.2.2 For Schools That Are Ineligible.............................................................................12
1.9.2.3 For Schools That Are Merging ..............................................................................13
1.9.2.4 For Schools That Become a New Stand-Alone Entity ..........................................13
Chapter 2: NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Processing ............................................................ 15
2.1 Batch Enrollment Data Transmission: The Basics ................................................................. 16
2.1.1 Identifying Your Data: Message Classes....................................................................... 17
2.1.2 Adding Students to the Roster ....................................................................................... 19
2.2 Processing Enrollment Rosters ............................................................................................... 21
2.2.1 Receiving the Enrollment Reporting Roster File........................................................... 21
2.2.2 Preparing the Received Roster....................................................................................... 22
2.2.3 Matching Student Records............................................................................................. 23
2.2.4 Updating Student Information ....................................................................................... 23
2.2.5 Returning the Enrollment Reporting Roster File as the Submittal File......................... 24
2.2.6 Submittal File Processing .............................................................................................. 24
2.2.7 Error Notification and Correction.................................................................................. 24
2.3 Ad Hoc Reporting ................................................................................................................... 27
Chapter 3: Enrollment Reporting Online: The NSLDS Web Site ......................................... 28
3.1 Your Web Browser ................................................................................................................. 28
3.2 Enrollment Reporting Online: How the NSLDS Web Site Can Help You ............................ 28
3.3 Logging on to NSLDS ............................................................................................................ 29
3.4 Navigating: Where Do You Want to Go?............................................................................... 33
3.5 Viewing Enrollment Data for a Student ................................................................................. 34

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
3.5.1 Enrollment Summary: Selecting a Student to View ...................................................... 34
3.5.1.1 Enrollment Summary: A Closer Look ...................................................................36
3.5.2 Enrollment Detail: Getting the Full Picture................................................................... 38
3.5.2.1 Using Advanced Display Options for Enrollment Detail ......................................39
3.5.2.2 Enrollment Detail: A Closer Look.........................................................................40
3.5.3 Enrollment Timeline: The Whole Story ........................................................................ 42
3.5.3.1 Using Advanced Display Options..........................................................................43
3.5.3.2 Enrollment Timeline: A Closer Look ....................................................................44
3.6 Updating Student Enrollment Data......................................................................................... 45
3.6.1 Getting Started: The Enrollment Update Page .............................................................. 45
3.6.2 Retrieving All Your School’s Enrollment Records ....................................................... 46
3.6.3 Retrieving Student Records to Update........................................................................... 48
3.6.3.1 Narrowing the Search: The Primary Search Options.............................................48
3.6.3.2 Going Further: Using the Advanced Search Options ............................................51
3.6.4 Updating Selected Enrollment Records ......................................................................... 54
3.6.5 Confirming Enrollment Information.............................................................................. 55
3.6.6 Enrollment Update: What Happens If . . ....................................................................... 57
3.6.7 Handling Update and Certify Errors .............................................................................. 58
3.7 Adding Students to a School’s Enrollment Reporting Roster ................................................ 60
3.7.1 Retrieving Student Records to Add ............................................................................... 60
3.7.2 Updating New Enrollment Data..................................................................................... 64
3.7.3 Confirming Enrollment Information.............................................................................. 64
3.8 Enrollment Reporting Schedule............................................................................................. .65
3.8.1 The Enrollment Reporting Schedule Page..................................................................... 65
3.8.1.1 User Profile ............................................................................................................66
3.8.1.2 Current Schedule....................................................................................................67
3.8.2 Creating an Enrollment Reporting Schedule ................................................................. 67
3.8.2.1 Creating an Enrollment Reporting Schedule: Things to Remember .....................70
3.8.3 Modifying an Enrollment Reporting Schedule .............................................................. 71
Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts.......................................... 76
A.1 Record Layout Specifications ................................................................................................ 76
A.1.1 Header Record............................................................................................................... 78
A.1.2 Enrollment Reporting Roster File or Submittal File Detail Record ............................. 86
A.1.3 Enrollment Reporting Roster File or Submittal File Trailer Record .......................... 102
A.1.4 Acknowledgment/Error File ....................................................................................... 106
A.2 Enrollment Status Codes...................................................................................................... 108
A.3 Error Codes .......................................................................................................................... 110
A.4 Error Checking..................................................................................................................... 114
A.4.1 Header Record............................................................................................................. 114
A.4.2 Detail Record .............................................................................................................. 114
A.4.3 Trailer Record ............................................................................................................. 115

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Table of Contents

Figures
Figure 1–1, NSLDS Batch and Online Enrollment Reporting Process Flow..................................8
Figure 2–1, Process Flow...............................................................................................................17
Figure 2–2, Sample Enrollment Data Changes During the Enrollment Reporting Process ..........20
Figure 3–1, NSLDS Logon ............................................................................................................29
Figure 3–2, Privacy Act .................................................................................................................30
Figure 3–3, User Access Verification............................................................................................31
Figure 3–4, NSLDS Menu .............................................................................................................32
Figure 3–5, Enrollment Summary—No Student Selected.............................................................35
Figure 3–6, Enrollment Summery for a Student............................................................................36
Figure 3–7, Enrollment Detail .......................................................................................................38
Figure 3–8, Enrollment Timeline...................................................................................................43
Figure 3–9, Enrollment Update .....................................................................................................46
Figure 3–10, Enrollment Maintenance—Entire Enrollment Reporting Roster .............................47
Figure 3–11, Enrollment Maintenance—Primary Search Options (Name)...................................50
Figure 3–12, Enrollment Update—Advanced Search Options (SSN Begin/End).........................52
Figure 3–13, Enrollment Maintenance—Advanced Search Options Result .................................53
Figure 3–14, Enrollment Maintenance Confirm............................................................................55
Figure 3–15, Enrollment Maintenance—After Confirmation .......................................................56
Figure 3–16, Enrollment Maintenance Error Message..................................................................58
Figure 3–17, Enrollment Add ........................................................................................................61
Figure 3–18, Enrollment Add With Student SSN, First Name, and DOB Entered for Retrieval..63
Figure 3–19, Enrollment Maintenance ..........................................................................................64
Figure 3–20, Enrollment Reporting Schedule ...............................................................................66
Figure 3–21, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Create—New Schedule Options ...........................68
Figure 3–22, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Create Confirm .....................................................69
Figure 3–23, Enrollment Reporting Schedule—New Schedule ....................................................70
Figure 3–24, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify ..................................................................72
Figure 3–25, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify—New Report ...........................................73
Figure 3–26, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify Confirm....................................................74
Figure 3–27, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify—After Confirm .......................................75

Figure A–1, Enrollment Status Codes .................................................................................108, 109
Figure A–2, Error Codes and Messages ..............................................................................110–112

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iii

Chapter 1: Compliance, Guidelines, and Administrative Functions

Chapter 1: Compliance, Guidelines, and Administrative Functions
1.1 Basic Concept of Enrollment Reporting
Since the passage of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, schools have been required
to confirm and report the enrollment status of students who receive Federal student loans—
Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) and Federal Direct Loans. This process is called
Enrollment Reporting [formerly the Student Status Confirmation Report (SSCR)].
•

Schools report the enrollment status of students who received Title IV loans to the
NSLDS.

•

This enrollment information is updated in the NSLDS database and reported to
guarantors, lenders, and servicers of student loans.

A student’s enrollment status determines eligibility for in-school status, deferment, grace
periods, and repayments, as well as the Government’s payment of interest subsidies. Enrollment
Reporting is critical for effective administration of the Title IV student loan programs.
In 1996, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) began using NSLDS to track the enrollment of
all student loan borrowers. ED has incorporated Enrollment Reporting into NSLDS to centralize
and automate fully the enrollment verification system. The Enrollment Reporting process
benefits the entire student loan community: students, schools, Guaranty Agencies (GAs), the
Direct Loan Servicer, loan holders, and ED.
Students reported to NSLDS as having Title IV loans are added to the roster of the school that
has certified the loans. Students who also have Federal grants, and concurrently have an open
loan, will also be added to the roster of the school with grants.

1.2 Compliance
Federal regulations governing Title IV student aid programs require institutions, lenders, GAs,
and the Direct Loan Servicer to monitor and update the enrollment status of students who receive
Federal student loans. Completion of Enrollment Reporting satisfies the regulatory requirements
for schools. According to Federal Regulation 34 CFR 682.610 (c) Student status confirmation
reports:
“A school shall—
(1) Upon receipt of a student status confirmation report form from the Secretary . . .
complete and return that report within 30 days of receipt to the Secretary . . .; and
(2) Unless it expects to submit its next student status confirmation report . . .within
the next 60 days, notify the guaranty agency or lender within 30 days—
(i) If it discovers that a Stafford, SLS, or PLUS loan has been made to or on
behalf of a student who enrolled at that school, but who has ceased to be
enrolled on at least a half-time basis;

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
(ii)

If it discovers that a Stafford, SLS, or PLUS loan has been made to or on
behalf of a student who has been accepted for enrollment at that school,
but who failed to enroll on at least a half-time basis for the period for
which the loan was intended;
(iii) If it discovers that a Stafford, SLS, or PLUS loan has been made to or on
behalf of a full-time student who has ceased to be enrolled on a full-time
basis; . . . .”
Or, according to Federal Regulation 34 CFR 685.309 – Administrative and fiscal control and
fund accounting requirements for schools participating in the Direct Loan Program (b)
Student status confirmation reports:
“A school shall—
(1) Upon receipt of a student status confirmation report from the Secretary, complete
and return that report to the Secretary within 30 days of receipt; and
(2) Unless it expects to submit its next student status confirmation report to the
Secretary within the next 60 days, notify the Secretary within 30 days if it
discovers that a Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, or Direct PLUS Loan
has been made to or on behalf of a student who—
(i) Enrolled at that school but has ceased to be enrolled on at least a halftime basis;
(ii) Has been accepted for enrollment at that school but failed to enroll on at
least a half-time basis for the period for which the loan was intended; or
(iii) Has changed his or her permanent address.”
The accuracy of Title IV student loan records depends heavily on the accuracy of the enrollment
information reported by schools. Schools must review, update, and verify student enrollment
statuses, effective dates of the enrollment status, and the anticipated completion dates that appear
on the Enrollment Reporting roster file or on the Enrollment Maintenance page of the
NSLDSFAP Web site. Schools must correct any returned errors that are identified by NSLDS
within 10 business days.

1.3 Reporting Requirements
The following business rules apply for your school to be in compliance:
•

The Enrollment Reporting roster file is placed in schools’ (or enrollment reporting
servicers’) designated Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) mailboxes on the business
day of the month designated by the Enrollment Reporting Schedule. Schools may set up
their schedule using the Enrollment Reporting Schedule Web page under the Enroll Tab
on the NSLDS Web site. A school is advised that if an enrollment reporting servicer is
being used and a change is made to the normal reporting schedule, the servicer should be
notified.

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Chapter 1: Compliance, Guidelines, and Administrative Functions
•

Responses to the Enrollment Reporting roster file are due within 30 days of creation of
the file. Schools can set up or modify their Enrollment Reporting schedule via the
NSLDS Web site.

•

NSLDS processes the file and returns an Acknowledgment/Error File that contains a
count of accepted records and any error records. If the Acknowledgment/ Error File does
not indicate any errors, it serves as proof that the submittal file was received and
processed by NSLDS and should be kept for audit purposes.

•

If the Acknowledgement/Error file indicates any errors, error records must be corrected
by updating the student online or submitting an Error Correction file within 10 business
days of the date it was received.

•

Students are placed on a roster based on the school’s Office of Postsecondary Education
Identifier (OPEID) (8 digits) that is used to certify the loan. Schools that report grants at
a main campus, but that report loans at a branch campus, may find the student on both
rosters. Main campus and branch campus enrollments for a single student should be
reported only if the student is attending both campuses.

•

Correct reporting of a ‘G’ for “graduated” status rather than a ‘W’ for “withdrawn”
additionally assists the Government in identifying individual student completion of
programs of study. Further, an accurate anticipated completion date aids in correct
servicing of a student’s loans, avoiding unnecessary early conversion to repayment or
too late conversion, causing technical defaults.

•

Students are considered to be in school and continuously enrolled during academic year
holiday and vacation periods, as well as during the summer between academic years
(even if not enrolled in a summer session), as long as there is reason to believe that they
intend to enroll for the next regularly scheduled term. For example, students should not
be reported as: “Withdrawn” at the end of the spring term if they are expected to re-enroll
for the fall term. If they do not return as expected, status must be changed to
“Withdrawn” within 30 days of that determination, or within 30 days of the start of the
new term, whichever occurs first, with an effective date of the last date of attendance.

•

It is imperative that the student identifiers in the added records match the student
identifiers on NSLDS. Students cannot be added to NSLDS unless a current loan is on
the database. If a data provider has not reported a loan to NSLDS and the school tries to
add the record in a batch process, the student record will be rejected on the submittal file
or Error Correction File.

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
1.3.1 Additional School Enrollment Reporting Responsibilities
1.3.1.1 Using an Enrollment Reporting Servicer
As with any school/servicer arrangement for the administration of Title IV programs, the school
remains responsible for submitting timely, accurate, and complete responses to Enrollment
Reporting roster files and for maintaining proper documentation in accordance with Federal
Regulation 34 CFR 682.610(c).
Schools should understand that their reporting of data to their servicers may differ from when the
servicer responds to rosters on behalf of the school. You can see the NSLDS expectations on the
NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Schedule page of the Web site. NSLDS will send the roster to the
servicer designated; however, if the response is not received in a timely matter, NSLDS will
notify the school rather than the servicer. Refer to Section 1.8 for more information on the Late
Enrollment Reporting Roster Notification process.
Schools may designate an enrollment reporting servicer to handle the Enrollment Reporting
process. This may be done when you sign up for SAIG or at any time thereafter, through the
FSAWebenroll site. The Enrollment Reporting process, when using a servicer, proceeds as
follows:
1. NSLDS sends your school’s Enrollment Reporting roster file to the servicer.
2. The servicer matches the Enrollment Reporting roster file to enrollment data that you
provide to the servicer.
3. The servicer returns the updated Enrollment Reporting roster file (now the submittal file)
to NSLDS.
4. NSLDS processes the file and returns the Acknowledgment/Error File to the servicer.
5. The servicer corrects any errors and returns the Error Correction File to NSLDS. The
servicer may need to contact the school to correct errors.
Even though a school may use an enrollment reporting servicer, it is important that a member of
the institution has an online NSLDS User ID with enrollment update capabilities. This allows the
school to make immediate enrollment updates to NSLDS to ensure timely:
•

Conversion to repayment without loss of the grace period.

•

Documentation of enrollment for the granting of in-school deferments.

•

Reporting of enrollment should the servicer relationship change.

1.3.1.2 Listing an Enrollment Reporting Contact
Each school is required to have at least an Enrollment Reporting Contact and a Primary Contact
on the NSLDSFAP Web site for important communications from the NSLDS. To update the
Enrollment Reporting Contact and the Primary Contact of an organization, a school should log
onto the NSLDSFAP Web site and access the ORG tab. The ORG Contact List will display with
4

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Chapter 1: Compliance, Guidelines, and Administrative Functions
an “Add New Contact” selection option. To change a contact listed, click on the number beside
the function to view the contact detail and update the information.

1.3.1.3 Student Identifiers and Data Conflicts
You must be certain that you have a legitimate match of identifiers when reporting enrollment on
a student. One or more of the student identifiers provided by NSLDS may differ from the
information in your school records. If you are sure your data are correct based on the reliable
source of your data or documentation on file, you must contact the data provider (GA or lender,
lender/servicer, DLSS, and DCS for each loan) and work with the provider to make changes. If
you cannot resolve the discrepancy with the data provider, you may contact the NSLDS
Customer Service Center (CSC) at 1-800-999-8219, Option 3. You will need to provide copies
of certain legal documents to make changes. The student identifiers are:
− Student’s Social Security number (SSN) (record identifier)
− Student’s Last Name
− Student’s First Name (record identifier)
− Student’s Middle Initial
− Date of Student’s Birth (record identifier)
Schools that do not use the student SSN to identify student registration records may provide
NSLDS with their Student Designator. NSLDS will not remove or change the Student
Designator, which can be provided via file or online, so it may be used in later Enrollment
Reporting roster files to match records easily. You must not change the SSN provided by
NSLDS.

1.4 Administrative Functions
A school is responsible to report the enrollment status, the effective date of the status, and the
anticipated completion date of all borrowers attending its school. The enrollment status
categories are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

‘F’ (full-time)
‘H’ (half-time)
‘L’ (less than half-time)
‘A’ (leave of absence)
‘G’ (graduated)
‘W’ (withdrawn)
‘D’ (deceased)
‘X’ (never attended)
‘Z’ (record not found)

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
If a student has a reported enrollment status of ‘G’ or ‘W’ with an outstanding balance on any
FFEL or Direct Loan, he or she will remain on the Enrollment Reporting roster for 180 days
after the enrollment status effective date in case the student returns to the school. A student
reported with a status of ‘D’ (deceased), ‘X’ (never attended), or ‘Z’ (no record found) will not
appear on the next Enrollment Reporting roster.
Enrollment Reporting must be completed in a timely and accurate manner to meet regulatory
requirements. Enrollment information must be reported within 30 days whenever attendance
changes for students, unless a roster will be submitted within 60 days. These changes include
reductions or increases in attendance levels, withdrawals, graduations, or approved leaves-ofabsence. It is the school’s responsibility, as a participant in the Title IV aid programs, to monitor
and report these changes to the NSLDS.
NSLDS is responsible for forwarding reported enrollment data it receives to the appropriate GA
and/or Direct Loan Servicer. These notifications include newly reported enrollment data received
from schools through the batch process and online updates. The updates are sent weekly to the
GAs and Direct Loan Servicer. GAs are then responsible for sending enrollment updates to the
appropriate lender or lender servicer.
To increase the ease of meeting this requirement, the NSLDS Enrollment Reporting process can
be managed electronically. Managing enrollment reporting requires both batch and online
function access. The electronic exchange of information through the Enrollment Reporting
process is done using SAIG. The enrollment reporting can also be done on the NSLDS Web site,
www.nsldsfap.ed.gov. The organization must have both online and batch access. Refer to
Section 1.5 for more information on applying.

1.4.1 Software Options
ED makes Enrollment Reporting Roster processing software available. The SSCR–Release 3.0
Software can be downloaded from fsadownload.ed.gov. SSCR for Windows, Release 3.0 is a
multi-year software application designed to help schools electronically certify borrowers’
enrollment. The software and help files can be obtained at http://fsadownload.ed.gov/softsscr.
htm.
The use of SSCR software is optional. Your school may elect to process its student enrollment
data using commercial or in-house software. Schools may also use a servicer but should become
familiar with the online process.

1.4.2 NSLDS Online
In addition, NSLDS Web pages enable schools to create or modify their reporting schedule and
add ad hoc reports, giving each school control over when NSLDS will create its Enrollment
Reporting roster files. The NSLDS Web site displays the school’s Enrollment Reporting roster of
students, allowing easy enrollment certification for one or all of the school’s Title IV aid

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Chapter 1: Compliance, Guidelines, and Administrative Functions
recipients. Students can be added to the school’s Enrollment Reporting roster by simply entering
key identifier data [the student’s SSN, first name, and date of birth (DOB)]. As long as the
student exists in the NSLDS, the system retrieves the student record for update. The NSLDS
stores the full history of reported enrollment information, beginning with the student’s status on
the NSLDS at the end of 2001. This allows schools to return any Enrollment Reporting roster—
not just the last one created—and provides more complete information to the loan community.

1.5 How to Sign Up
To increase the ease of meeting this requirement, the NSLDS Enrollment Reporting process can
be managed electronically. Managing enrollment reporting requires both batch and online
functions access. The batch process allows schools to transmit enrollment information
electronically usually by responding to a file from NSLDS. The school may also update
enrollment information online by retrieving the entire roster or individual students. The
organization must have both online and batch access.
The electronic exchange of information through the Enrollment Reporting process is done using
SAIG. To apply for batch and online enrollment reporting access, go to
www.fsawebenroll.ed.gov.
The Primary Destination Point Administrator (PDPA) for the organization must complete the
application for the batch process and to request online access. The PDPA must also enforce the
security requirements as outlined in the SAIG User Statement including the completion and
maintenance of this statement(s). Your President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Chancellor/
Equivalent Person/Designee must approve each designated individual that applies for NSLDS
online access.

Web
Notes

You can enroll for access to the NSLDS Web site at
www.fsawebenroll.ed.gov.
See Section 1.5 for details.

After you have applied through fsawebenroll.ed.gov, NSLDS will assign a personal User ID to
you for online access. This will be e-mailed to the PDPA of your organization. When a User ID
is assigned to an individual, the NSLDS Rules of Behavior are included in the e-mail sent to the
PDPA, which contains the User ID. It is the PDPA’s responsibility to forward the e-mail to you.
The Rules of Behavior, along with the SAIG User Statement signed through the enrollment
process, outline the appropriate uses of all Federal Student Aid Systems including NSLDS online
and the consequences of inappropriate actions. On receipt of the e-mail, you will then contact
NSLDS Customer Service for your initial password.

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
1.6 Enrollment Reporting Process Flow
Enrollment Reporting through NSLDS streamlines the entire enrollment confirmation process.
Proper scheduling provides consistent submission of enrollment data. This is illustrated in Figure
1–1, NSLDS Batch and Online Enrollment Reporting Process Flow.
Roster Files
1

Submittal Files
2
Certify students
via NSLDS Web

NSLDS
Database

Acknowledgment/
Error Files

Schools
or
School Servicers

Error Correction Files
4
Correct errors
via NSLDS Web

Enrollment Data

Guaranty Agencies,
Direct Loan Servicer,
and Lenders

NSL-1138

Figure 1–1, NSLDS Batch and Online Enrollment Reporting Process Flow
The Enrollment Reporting process for batch and online is described in detail, designating the
responsible party for each step:
1. NSLDS:
A. Adds students with loans, or students with grants who also have loans, to the roster of
the school that certified the loan or awarded the grant.
B. Generates the Enrollment Reporting roster file for the school based on the Enrollment
Reporting schedule.
C. Forwards the Enrollment Reporting roster file to the school or its servicer through the
SAIG mailbox.
2. School (or servicer):
A. Receives the Enrollment Reporting roster file.
B. Matches the Enrollment Reporting roster file with registration files.
C. Updates the Enrollment Reporting roster file with any changes to each student’s
enrollment status, status effective date, or anticipated completion date fields.
D. Adds a Detail record for each new student.
E. Reviews the updated file for valid data to eliminate errors.
F. Returns the updated Enrollment Reporting roster file, now the submittal file, with a
certification date to NSLDS within 30 days of the creation date,
OR
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Chapter 1: Compliance, Guidelines, and Administrative Functions
goes online at www.nsldsfap.ed.gov to certify enrollment for its students.
3. NSLDS:
A. Receives the submittal file.
B. Edits (error-checks) the submittal file contents. If enrollment is updated online, edits
occur as entries are made.
C. Updates the NSLDS database with enrollment data.
D. Returns the Acknowledgment/Error File (contains any rejected records).
E. Forwards new and/or changed data to each affected data provider (GAs and the Direct
Loan Servicer).
4. School (or servicer):
A. Receives and saves the Acknowledgment/Error File, and reviews any error records.
Cycle is complete if all records are accepted by NSLDS.
B. Returns the corrected records to NSLDS as an Error Correction File within 10 days of
the date it is sent to the school (or servicer).
OR
Goes online at www.nsldsfap.ed.gov to certify students whose record had an error.
Certifying online will correct the errors, and no roster file will need to be returned.
5. NSLDS:
A. Receives the returned Error Correction File and repeats step 3.
B. Forwards new and/or changed data to each affected data provider, GA, and Direct
Loan Servicer.
Note: When error corrections are not completed, the enrollment record is not updated on the
NSLDS database or distributed to GAs or Direct Loan Servicers.

1.7 Scheduling: Building Enrollment Reporting Schedules
Default schedules for rosters are every 2 months for schools and weekly for all other
organizations. ED recommends that all schools report enrollment data using the Enrollment
Reporting process at least five times a year. Scheduling five regular Enrollment Reporting roster
files per year can reduce or eliminate the need for ad hoc submissions. Building your schedule
can be completed on the Enrollment Reporting Schedule page of the NSLDSFAP Web site.
Schools should review their academic schedules when preparing their Enrollment Reporting
schedule. NSLDS provides schools great flexibility in scheduling their Enrollment Reports,
including setting specific dates for creation of an Enrollment Reporting roster file. Schools may
wish to coordinate the schedule for Enrollment Reporting rosters to coincide with activities in
their academic calendar, such as after the end of a drop/add period at the beginning of a semester
or following the date of graduation.
The Enrollment Reporting Schedule page allows a school to select a start date, which can be any
valid date greater than or equal to the current date, and less than or equal to the current date plus

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
1 year. Files will only be generated on weekdays. This means that a file scheduled for generation
on a Saturday will be generated on the following Monday. Schools may also select a frequency
such as:
•

Every week

•

Every 2 weeks

•

Every month

•

Every 2 months (default frequency for schools)

•

Every 3 months

•

Every 4 months

•

Every 6 months

This will develop an initial schedule, which the school can modify for more specific time
periods. Every 6 months is only recommended for schools that have little enrollment change,
such as medical schools. Schools that select frequencies greater than bimonthly must keep in
mind that they will have to complete ad hoc reports or update online if a student enrollment
status changes within 30 days of the enrollment status change.

1.8 School Late Enrollment Reporting Roster Notification
Once NSLDS creates an Enrollment Reporting Roster file and sends it to a school, that school
has 30 days from the date the Enrollment Reporting Roster file was created to return a submittal
file to NSLDS or complete the updates online. Any school that fails to return a submittal file or
make updates online within the 30-day period is considered to be late in responding. NSLDS will
produce an e-mail notification to remind schools of their responsibility to “complete and return
that report within 30 days of receipt to the Secretary” [34 CFR 682.610(c)].
The Late Enrollment Reporting notification will be sent if no updates are received by batch or
online by the 37th day after the creation date of the roster from NSLDS. The notification is sent
to the school’s Enrollment Reporting Contact and Primary Contact as designated by the school
on the Organization Tab (ORG Tab). The President or CEO, as listed with the Postsecondary
Education Participation System (PEPS), is also copied on the e-mail notification.
This notification is the only warning the school will receive regarding its non-compliance in
replying to the Secretary of the Department of Education’s request for enrollment status
information.
The school is ultimately responsible for timely and accurate reporting, even when it uses an
enrollment reporting servicer to submit the Enrollment Reporting files. Therefore, Late
Enrollment Reporting e-mail notifications are sent to the school and not to the servicer. Schools
that do not comply may have their eligibility for Title IV student aid revoked or they may have
fines imposed.

February 2008

Chapter 1: Compliance, Guidelines, and Administrative Functions

1.9 School Enrollment Reporting Audit
Schools may wish to perform internal oversight or may receive a request for an audit history of
Enrollment Reporting. Requests are made by internal auditors, ED, GAs, and other agencies to
verify compliance with Federal regulations. The Enrollment Reporting Summary Report
(SCHER1) has been provided on the NSLDS Web site to assist schools by creating a report
showing the dates Enrollment Reporting roster files were sent and returned; the number of
errors, date, and number of online updates; and the number of late enrollment reporting
notifications that have been sent for overdue Enrollment Reporting rosters. Enter the requested
information,
8-digit OPEID, dates of the requested report, and output medium. The report will be deposited in
the designated SAIG mailbox. This report is a good tool for schools using an enrollment
reporting servicer to review the Enrollment Reporting History done on behalf of the school.
For answers to questions regarding the audit report, call the NSLDS CSC at 1-800-999-8219, or
submit your question to [email protected].

1.9.1 Waiver Process
A school may apply for a waiver for the Enrollment Reporting process if there are unusual or
unforeseen circumstances that prevent the submission of a roster within the required 30-day
period. A waiver has a start and an end date; the end date signifies when the roster cycle will
resume. If a waiver is granted, a late notification will not be sent, and while in effect, the school
is not considered to be out of compliance if the roster is not returned within the 37 days.
Each waiver request is reviewed by ED and approved or denied on a case-by-case basis. To
request a waiver, please call the NSLDS CSC at 1-800-999-8219, or e-mail [email protected].
Include with your request an explanation of the events that will cause you to miss the Enrollment
Reporting deadline. The waiver request must include the start date and expected end date. A
waiver can be requested before the late e-mail notification, but not after the distribution of the
Late Enrollment Reporting e-mail has been sent.
A waiver request for a deadline that has passed will not be processed once the late e-mail
notification has been sent for the missed cycle.

1.9.2 Change in School Eligibility
NSLDS receives school participation eligibility from PEPS. If a school’s eligibility to participate
in Title IV aid changes, it is the school’s responsibility to update properly all students on its
Enrollment Reporting roster before discontinuing participation in the Enrollment Reporting
process. Furthermore, a school can be non-eligible to disburse Title IV aid, yet still be eligible to
participate in loan deferments. If a school is eligible for loan deferments only, it must continue to
report enrollment for its students through the Enrollment Reporting process. Final updates can be

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
made via batch processing or online.

1.9.2.1 For Schools That Are Closing
Steps to complete the final enrollment reporting roster if your school is closing:
1. The school (or school’s servicer) must update roster one final time. All students need to be
updated to the appropriate non-active enrollment status, such as ‘G,’ ‘W,’ ‘X,’ or ‘Z.’ If the
status is based on the date the school closed, the enrollment status effective date will be the
date the school closed.
A) ‘G’ (graduated): Provide the status effective date of the student’s graduation.
B) ‘W’ (withdrawn): The status effective date should match the date the student
withdrew or the effective date of school’s closure.
C) ‘X’ (never attended): The status effective date should match the date the student was
first reported on the roster.
D) ‘Z’ (no record found): The status effective date should match the date the student was
first reported on the roster.
2. Once all updates and any resulting errors have been completed, the school should contact its
PDPA to terminate all online access including access for the Enrollment Reporting Process.

1.9.2.2 For Schools That Are Ineligible
Steps to complete the final enrollment reporting roster if your school is ineligible or has become
ineligible to participate in Title IV aid, and/or is ineligible to participate in loan deferments only:
1. The school (or school’s servicer) must update roster one final time. All students need to be
updated to the appropriate non-active enrollment status, such as ‘G,’ ‘W,’ ‘X,’ or ‘Z.’ If the
status is based on the date the school became ineligible to participate, the enrollment status
effective date will be the date the school lost eligibility or stopped participating.
A) ‘G’ (graduated): Provide the status effective date of the student’s graduation.
B) ‘W’ (withdrawn): The status effective date should match the date the student
withdrew or the effective date the school became ineligible.
C) ‘X’ (never attended): The status effective date should match the date the student was
first reported on the roster.
D) ‘Z’ (no record found): The status effective date should match the date the student was
first reported on the roster.
2. Once all updates and any resulting errors have been completed, the school should contact its
PDPA to terminate all online access including access for the Enrollment Reporting Process.

February 2008

Chapter 1: Compliance, Guidelines, and Administrative Functions
1.9.2.3 For Schools That Are Merging
Steps to complete the final enrollment reporting roster if your school has merged (old school)
with another school (new school):
1. The school (or school’s servicer) must update the roster one final time. All students need to
be updated to the appropriate non-active enrollment status, such as ‘G,’ ‘W,’ ‘X,’ or ‘Z,’ with
an enrollment status effective date that is the date of the school’s merger.
A) ‘G’ (graduated): Provide the status effective date of the student’s graduation.
B) ‘W’ (withdrawn): The status effective date should match the date the student
withdrew or the effective date of school’s merger.
C) ‘X’ (never attended): The status effective date should match the date the student was
first reported on the roster.
D) ‘Z’ (no record found): The status effective date should match the date the student was
first reported on the roster.
2. The old school must contact the new school. Any students who will continue to be enrolled
at the new school must be added to the new school roster with the appropriate enrollment
status and the effective date of the merger.
3. Once all updates and any resulting errors have been completed, the school should contact its
PDPA to terminate all online access including access for the Enrollment Reporting process
for the old school’s OPEID.

1.9.2.4 For Schools That Become a New Stand-Alone Entity
Steps to complete regarding enrollment reporting if your school has separated from another
school to become a new stand-alone entity:
1. The school (or school’s servicer) must update the roster one final time. All currently enrolled
students need to be updated to the appropriate non-active enrollment status, such as ‘G,’ ‘W,’
‘X,’ or ‘Z,’ with an enrollment status effective date that is the date of the school’s separation
to stand alone.
A) ‘G’ (graduated): Provide the status effective date of the student’s graduation.
B) ‘W’ (withdrawn): The status effective date should match the date the student
withdrew or the effective date of that school’s separation to stand alone.
C) ‘X’ (never attended): The status effective date should match the date the student was
first reported on the roster.
D) ‘Z’ (no record found): The status effective date should match the date the student was
first reported on the roster.
2. The new stand-alone school needs to sign up using the new OPEID to participate in the
NSLDS Enrollment Reporting through www.fsawebenroll.ed.gov.

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
3. Students who are currently enrolled and will continue to be enrolled at the new stand-alone
school must be withdrawn from the current school OPEID and added to the new school’s
Enrollment Reporting roster with the appropriate enrollment status and effective date.
If you have any questions regarding your responsibilities for enrollment reporting, please call the
NSLDS CSC at 1-800-999-8219, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

February 2008

Chapter 2: NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Processing

Chapter 2: NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Processing
The complete Enrollment Reporting process is discussed, including processes for setting up
Enrollment Reporting Schedules to minimize ad hoc reporting requirements, submission of
submittal files, and technical aspects of the process.
You can make the batch Enrollment Reporting process simpler and more
timely by using the NSLDS Web site.

Web
Notes

Web Notes throughout this chapter will provide hints and tips for using the
Web site in conjunction with the batch reporting process.
Refer to Chapter 3 for complete information on Web Enrollment Reporting.

Once a school receives notification that a batch roster file is available, the school can complete
the process online rather than downloading the file, responding, and resubmitting. The chart
below demonstrates various steps in the reporting process and how each step can be completed at
different points using either the batch or the Web process.
NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Process
Batch
Receive
Enrollment
Reporting
Roster File

• Check SAIG mailbox.
• Download Enrollment Reporting roster
file.

Update Roster • Match Enrollment Reporting roster file
File
with in-house database.

Return
Submittal File

Web
• Log on to NSLDSFAP and select
Enrollment Update.
• Retrieve school’s Enrollment Reporting
roster (or selected records).
• Edit and certify enrollment records on
Enrollment Maintenance page.

• Edit Enrollment Reporting roster file using
SSCR-3.0 software, mainframe program, • Submit.
or other software.
• Errors displayed on Enrollment
Maintenance page.
• Send submittal file to SAIG mailbox.
• Correct errors displayed and certify
changes.
• Submit and confirm.

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide

NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Process (continued)
Batch
Receive
• Check SAIG mailbox for
AcknowledgAcknowledgment/Error File.
ment/Error File
• Download Acknowledgment/Error file.
Correct Error
File

Web
• Log on to NSLDSFAP and use either
Enrollment Add or Enrollment Update.
• For Enrollment Add –
−

• Edit Acknowledgment/Error file using
SSCR-3.0 software, mainframe program,
or other software.

Enter list of SSNs that need to be
corrected from
Acknowledgment/Error file.

−

Retrieve list and update records
(see 3.6.3).

• Save as Error Correction file.

−

Submit and confirm.

• Match Acknowledgment/Error file to inhouse database.

Return Error
• Send Error Correction file to SAIG
Correction File
mailbox.

• For Enrollment Update
−

Use Advance Search Option
“Certification Date End.”

−

Enter the day before your batch
certification date to retrieve all
records that were not updated by
the last batch file.

−

Retrieve list and update records
(see 3.6.3).

−

Submit and confirm.

2.1 Batch Enrollment Data Transmission: The Basics
The batch Enrollment Reporting process involves transmitting files electronically. Schools find
batch processing to be an efficient method of data exchange. In batch processing, the Enrollment
Detail records are received from NSLDS as a single file (the Enrollment Reporting roster file),
fully processed in your school’s (or servicer’s) computing environment, and then transmitted
back to NSLDS—again as a single file (the submittal file). This is the most efficient method for
processing large quantities of data.
ED’s SAIG is used to send and receive batch enrollment data electronically. You can log on to
SAIG from a mainframe computer or personal computer (PC) to send and receive data through
the SAIG facility for batch file processing. You must have the EDconnect software or other
mainframe process to retrieve the file from the SAIG mailbox.

February 2008

Chapter 2: NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Processing

2. School retrieves
Roster File or
Acknowledgement/
Error File from its
mailbox.

1. NSLDS transmits
Roster File or
Acknowledgement/
Error File to school’s
mailbox.

School’s
SAIG
Mailbox
(Destination ID)

NSLDS
School

3. School transmits
Submittal File or Error
Correction File to
NSLDS mailbox.

4. NSLDS retrieves
Submittal File or
Error Correction File
from its mailbox.

NSL-1136

NSLDS
SAIG
Mailbox
(Destination ID)

Figure 2–1, Process Flow
If you have questions or problems downloading the file from the SAIG, please call CPS/SAIG
Technical Support at 1-800-330-5947.

Web
Notes

You can enroll for access to the NSLDS Web site at
www.fsawebenroll.ed.gov.
See Section 1.5 for details.

2.1.1 Identifying Your Data: Message Classes
NSLDS transmits the Enrollment Reporting Roster file to your SAIG electronic mailbox on the
Enrollment Reporting Schedule created by your institution. You can then retrieve the Enrollment
Reporting Roster file from your mailbox using either mainframe or PC communications
software.
The following message classes are used when transmitting enrollment data via SAIG to identify
the type of file being sent or received:
•

SSCRXXOP—Enrollment Reporting roster file (Appendix A.1.2) sent to your school by
NSLDS on the schedule created by your institution

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
•

SSCRXXIN—Completed submittal file (Appendix A.1.2) or Error Correction File
(Appendix A.1.4) that is returned to NSLDS

•

SSCEXXOP—Acknowledgment/Error File (Appendix A.1.4).sent to your school by
NSLDS

•

SSCMXXIN—Files generated by the school as an ad hoc report following the format of
the completed submittal files (Appendix A.1.2)

Note: ‘XX’ appears literally in each message class name. It represents date information that is
no longer included in the class name.
Each Roster file has the following structure:
•

Header, Detail, and Trailer Records—Each Enrollment Reporting Roster file contains
a single Header record, multiple Detail records, and a single Trailer record. The Header
record identifies the source of the file and the file’s preparation/creation date, as well as
the certification date. The Detail records, one for each student, contain current
information on file with NSLDS in the mandatory fields. The Trailer record shows the
number of Detail records contained in the file.

•

Format Data—Any Detail records added or data added, updated, or changed must be
formatted according to the record layout and field definition specifications in Appendix
A. Verify changes and check for formatting errors before returning the submittal file to
NSLDS.

•

Record Sequence Numbers—Each Detail record begins with a Record Sequence
Number, which NSLDS uses to ensure security and audit-ability. Sequence Numbers are
sorted by NSLDS in ascending order. Do not change the Record Sequence Number.

•

Student Identifiers—Each Detail record contains five student identifiers. Three of the
five student identifiers are also record identifiers, which NSLDS uses to match Detail
records in its database against Detail records returned in the school submittal file. The
student identifiers uniquely identify the Detail record.
The student identifiers are:
− Student’s SSN (record identifier)
− Student’s Last Name
− Student’s First Name (record identifier)
− Student’s Middle Initial
− Date of Student’s Birth (record identifier)

•

Student Designator—Schools that do not use the student SSN to identify student
registration records may enter the identifier in the Student Designator field provided in
the Detail record. NSLDS will not remove or change the Student Designator, so it may be
used in later Enrollment Reporting roster files to match records easily. You must not
change the SSN provided by NSLDS.

February 2008

Chapter 2: NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Processing
•

Enrollment-Related Fields—Each Detail record in the Enrollment Reporting roster file
includes three enrollment-related fields: Anticipated Completion Date (ACD), Code for
Enrollment Status (ES), and Enrollment Status Effective Date (ESED). These fields must
be reviewed for each record on the Enrollment Reporting roster file and updated with any
change. The list of valid Enrollment Status Codes is in Appendix A.

2.1.2 Adding Students to the Roster
If you are aware of students who should be on the Enrollment Reporting Roster file but who are
not, add a Detail record for each student to the submittal file. This occurs most frequently when a
transfer student has a loan that needs to be deferred. To add students to the Enrollment Reporting
roster file, the Record Sequence Number for added students must be 9999998, and all mandatory
fields must be completed (see Appendix A). If you use an Enrollment Reporting servicer, you
will need to work with it to have students added to your roster who should be there.
•

Pseudo SSN—Sometimes the Student SSN contains a pseudo-SSN constructed by the
data provider in the absence of the real SSN. This may be found in older student loans,
which were made before Congress required an official SSN on loan applications. Usually
a pseudo-SSN is indicated by a P in the Student’s Social Security Number Indicator field.
If a match is found between other NSLDS student identifiers and a student enrollment
record, and the real SSN is known, contact your data provider. Your data provider will
confirm that the NSLDS record and the school record are for the same student. Conflicts
in SSN identifiers can be reported to the NSLDS CSC by calling 1-800-999-8219.

•

Withdrawn or Graduated Students—Students who have graduated or withdrawn stay
on the Enrollment Reporting Roster for 180 days past the Enrollment Status Effective
Date (time equivalent to the grace period). A graduated student will continue on the
Enrollment Reporting Roster for 180 days only if there is a Title IV loan with an
outstanding balance. Students remain on the Enrollment Reporting Roster to enable you
to report easily a change back to an active status should they return to school.

It is imperative that the student identifiers in the added records match the student identifiers on
NSLDS. Students cannot be added to NSLDS unless a current loan is on the database. If a data
provider has not reported a loan to NSLDS and the school tries to add the record in a batch
process, the student record will be rejected on the submittal file or Error Correction File.

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide

You can add students to your school’s Enrollment
Reporting roster using the NSLDS Web site.
Enrollment data for students you add online are instantly
available.

Web
Notes

If you are unable to retrieve a record on the NSLDS Web
site, it means that the student has no record on the
database, and you must contact the lender, GA, or Direct
Loan Servicer before updating the student’s enrollment
information. If you discover an identifier conflict for a
student, make copies of verifying documents and contact
the data provider. If you cannot resolve the issue with the
data provider, contact the NSLDS Customer Service Center
at 1-800-999-8219, Option 3.
See Section 3.7 for details.

Figure 2–2, Sample Enrollment Data Changes During the Enrollment Reporting Process
illustrates sample enrollment data as first provided by NSLDS in the Enrollment Reporting
Roster file, then as returned by the school in the submittal file, and then as processed by NSLDS
and returned to the school as the next scheduled Enrollment Reporting Roster file. In this
example, the school has added a student designator and has updated several other fields. Also,
the GA or Direct Loan Servicer has submitted two name changes between reporting cycles.

Field Name

Reporting Requirement
(Mandatory,
Do Not Change,
Conditional,
or Optional)

As Provided
by NSLDS in
Enrollment
Reporting
Roster File

As Returned
by School in

Submittal
File

As Returned
by NSLDS in
the Next
Enrollment
Reporting
Roster File

Student’s SSN

Mandatory, Do Not Change

123456789

Student’s SSN Indicator

Mandatory, Do Not Change

Student’s Last Name

Mandatory, Do Not Change

Jones

Janes

Student’s First Name

Mandatory, Do Not Change

Helen

Helene

Student’s Middle Initial

Mandatory, Do Not Change

Date of Student’s Birth

Mandatory, Do Not Change

19781223

Date of Anticipated Completion

Mandatory, Conditional

20030528

20041215

Code for Enrollment Status

Mandatory

Date Enrollment Status
Effective

Mandatory

19990523

20010425

Spaces

98Z654321

School Identification Designator Optional

Figure 2–2, Sample Enrollment Data Changes During the Enrollment Reporting Process

February 2008

Chapter 2: NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Processing

2.2 Processing Enrollment Rosters
This section explains the following in detail:
•

How to receive your Enrollment Reporting Roster file from NSLDS

•

How to build a complete submittal file from the Enrollment Reporting Roster file

•

What to expect in the Acknowledgment/Error File you receive back from NSLDS

•

How to build an Error Correction File in response to the Acknowledgment/Error File

This section also explains how the enrollment data are processed by NSLDS.
If your school uses an enrollment reporting servicer, you must make sure that the servicer has the
latest student enrollment information.
The accuracy of Title IV student loan records depends heavily on the accuracy of the data that
your school reports. NSLDS records must be accurately matched with your enrollment records.
You should review, update, or verify student enrollment statuses and other information with
information that appears on the Enrollment Reporting roster file. You should correct any errors
in reporting that were identified by NSLDS. If the student has existing enrollment in NSLDS and
there is an error, the enrollment will not be updated; and if there is no existing enrollment
information, no new enrollment information will be added.
Your Enrollment Reporting Roster will include borrowers with enrollment statuses of ‘F’ (fulltime), ‘H’ (half-time), ‘L’ (less than half-time), ‘A’ (leave of absence), ‘G’ (graduated), or ‘W’
(withdrawn).
•

A student with an enrollment status of ‘W’ remains on the Enrollment Reporting Roster
for 180 days after the enrollment status effective date and is then dropped from the
Enrollment Reporting Roster if the status remains the same.

•

A student with an enrollment status of ‘G’ remains on the Enrollment Reporting Roster
for 180 days after the enrollment status effective date and is then dropped from the
Enrollment Reporting Roster if the status remains the same.

•

Any student who is certified by the school as ‘D’ (deceased), ‘X’ (never attended), or ‘Z’
(no record found) will not appear on the next Enrollment Reporting Roster.

2.2.1 Receiving the Enrollment Reporting Roster File
Based on the Enrollment Reporting Schedule set up by the school, NSLDS prepares an
Enrollment Reporting roster file for your school. This Enrollment Reporting roster contains
students with outstanding loans, newly reported loans, and students who may not have loans at
the institution, but have open loans and are receiving grants and borrowers reported as attending

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
your school, recently graduated, or withdrawn.
Enrollment Reporting Rosters are received as follows:
•

Telecommunications—Users log on to SAIG to receive the Enrollment Reporting
Roster file in an electronic mailbox.

•

Enrollment Reporting Servicers—Schools using a servicer will not receive the
Enrollment Reporting Roster file. The Enrollment Reporting Roster file is sent directly to
the servicer.

For data transmission details, see Section 2.1.
You can use the NSLDS Web site to view your school’s
current Enrollment Reporting roster.

Web
Notes

On the Enrollment Update page, simply click Retrieve without
entering any display options. Your school’s entire Enrollment
Reporting roster will then be displayed on the Enrollment
Maintenance page.
See Section 3.6.2 for details.

2.2.2 Preparing the Received Roster
This Enrollment Reporting Roster contains students with outstanding loans, newly reported
loans; students who may not have loans at the institution but who have open loans and are
receiving grants; and borrowers reported as attending your school, recently graduated, or
withdrawn. You can compare a printed copy of the Enrollment Reporting Roster file contents
against your registration records, but to do this, you will have to convert the Enrollment
Reporting Roster file into a printable format. Another option is to use SSCR–3.0 software to
obtain a printed copy of the records in your Enrollment Reporting Roster file. The most efficient
method for comparing records is to use an automated matching process or use the batch. Your
information technology (IT) department or enrollment reporting servicer has or can develop
software to match the records, and then you need to review manually only unmatched records.
It is imperative that the student identifiers in the added records match the student identifiers on
NSLDS. Students cannot be added to NSLDS unless a current loan is on the database. If a data
provider has not reported a loan to NSLDS and the school tries to add the record in a batch
process, the student record will be rejected on the submittal file or Error Correction File.

February 2008

Chapter 2: NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Processing
2.2.3 Matching Student Records
After receiving the Enrollment Reporting Roster file, you must match the Detail records in that
file to the student records in your registration system or other system that maintains current
enrollment information. During the matching process, you must be certain that you have a
legitimate match. One or more of the student identifiers provided by NSLDS may differ from the
information in your school records.
If you are sure your data are correct (based on the reliable source of your data or documentation
on file) you must contact the data provider (GA or Lender servicer for each loan) and work with
it to make changes. If you cannot resolve the discrepancy with the data provider, you may
contact the NSLDS CSC at 1-800-999-8219, Option 3. You will need to provide copies of
certain legal documents to make changes.
Enrollment Reporting Roster files received by electronic transmission through SAIG can be
processed on a PC. The SSCR-3.0 software provided by ED can display the Enrollment
Reporting Roster file records one at a time, and let you update them individually or as part of a
batch process. SSCR-3.0 software also builds the submittal file for transmission through SAIG.

2.2.4 Updating Student Information
For each matching record, you must either confirm that the current enrollment provided by
NSLDS in the enrollment roster is still valid, or update the enrollment status to the correct value
according to the codes in Appendix A. When updating the enrollment status, the ESED must also
be updated to correspond. If the status is correct but the ESED is not, you may correct the ESED
without a change of status. The ESED is critical to maintain student loan records and repayment
schedules properly, and therefore, must be reported accurately.

Web
Notes

You can use the NSLDS Web site to update your school’s
current roster.
See Section 3.6 for details.

•

Pseudo SSN—Sometimes the Student SSN contains a pseudo SSN constructed by the
data provider in the absence of the real SSN. This may be found in older student loans,
which were made before Congress required an official SSN on loan applications. Usually
a pseudo SSN is indicated by a P in the Student’s Social Security Number Indicator field.
If a match is found between other NSLDS student identifiers and a student enrollment
record and the real SSN is known, contact your data provider. Your data provider will
confirm that the NSLDS record and the school record are for the same student. Conflicts
in SSN identifiers can be reported to the NSLDS CSC by calling 1-800-999-8219.

•

Withdrawn or Graduated Students—Students who have graduated or withdrawn stay
on the Enrollment Reporting roster for 180 days past the Enrollment Status Effective

February 2008

NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
Date (time equivalent to the grace period). A graduated student will continue on the
Enrollment Reporting Roster for 180 days only if there is a Title IV loan with an
outstanding balance. Students remain on the Enrollment Reporting Roster to enable you
to report easily a change back to an active status should they return to school.

2.2.5 Returning the Enrollment Reporting Roster File as the Submittal File
After all enrollment records are validated as correct or updated appropriately, the submittal file is
returned to NSLDS via SAIG through message class SSCRXXIN.

Web
Notes

Using the NSLDS Web site eliminates the need to return
an Enrollment Reporting roster file.
All changes you make online are immediately applied to the
NSLDS database.
See Section 3.6 for details.

2.2.6 Submittal File Processing
After receiving the submittal file, NSLDS edits the file. Detail records that pass all edits are
accepted and processed through the remaining steps. Detail records that pass all edits are
accepted and updates are applied to NSLDS.
You have up to 10 business days to correct the errors. This may be done online or by returning
the file as the Error Correction File. Records that have been returned to the school in an
Acknowledgment/ Error File are not added to the NSLDS database unless the error is corrected
and the record returned to NSLDS.
Note: If you have not received an Acknowledgment/Error File within 48 hours of transmitting
your submittal file, you should contact the NSLDS CSC at 1-800-999-8219. NSLDS does not
send notification if the full submittal file fails.

2.2.7 Error Notification and Correction
Detail records that fail with one or more edits are returned in the Acknowledgment/Error file
(SSCEXXOP). Each Detail record returned has error code(s) appended to the end of the record
explaining the rejection. Except for appended error codes, the Acknowledgment/Error File has
the same format as the Enrollment Reporting Roster file, but it only contains those records that
have an error.
The following table shows the Error Codes and Error Messages (see also Appendix A.3):

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Chapter 2: NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Processing
Error
Code
11

Field Name

Error Message

Student’s Social
Security number

The student identifiers (Student’s Social Security number, first name, and date of
birth) submitted by a school do not match those for any student in the database.

Student’s First
Name
Date of
Student’s Birth
13

Date of
Student’s Birth

Invalid Date of Student’s Birth. Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD format.

Anticipated
Completion Date

Invalid Date of Anticipated Completion. Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD
format when Enrollment Status Code of ‘A,’ ‘F,’ or ‘H.’

Anticipated
Completion Date

Anticipated Completion Date cannot be greater than 10 years after the
Certification Date.

Enrollment
Status Code

Missing Enrollment Status.

Enrollment
Status Code

Invalid Enrollment Status Code. Valid codes are ‘F,’ ‘H,’ ‘L,’ ‘A,’ ‘W,’ ‘G,’ ‘D,’
‘X,’ and ‘Z.’

Enrollment
Status Effective
Date

Invalid Enrollment Status Effective Date. Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD
format. It must be less than 45 years in the past, based on Certification Date
(formerly based on Roster Generation), and greater than the Date of Student’s
Birth plus 12 years. This edit is not applied to Enrollment Status ‘D’ with default,
‘X’ or ‘Z.’

Enrollment
Status Code

A school cannot report an Enrollment Status of ‘X’ or ‘Z’ if an enrollment history
(Enrollment Status Code of ‘F,’ ‘H,’ ‘A,’ or ‘L’) already exists for student at that
school.

Enrollment
Status Effective
Date

Missing Enrollment Status Effective Date. Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD
format. This edit is not applied to Enrollment Status ‘D,’ ‘X,’ or ‘Z.’

Anticipated
Completion Date

Anticipated Completion Date must be greater than Certification Date when school
reports Enrollment Status Code of ‘A,’ ‘F,’ or ‘H.’ NSLDS will substitute the
ACD on its database when no ACD is returned on the submittal file, but that ACD
will still be subject to this edit.

Enrollment
Status Effective
Date

Enrollment Status Effective Date must be less than Certification Date.

Enrollment
Status Effective
Date

Student status could not be applied as current.
Formerly, this was due to a school reporting an Enrollment Status Effective Date
prior or equal to two or more previous Enrollment Status Effective Dates.
Beginning January 2, 2002, this is due to a school reporting an Enrollment Status
Code, Enrollment Status Effective Date, or Anticipated Completion Date that does
not match the current value stored in the database with a new Certification Date
prior to the current Certification Date.

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
Error
Code
33

Field Name
Anticipated
Completion Date

Error Message
Anticipated Completion Date must be greater than or equal to Enrollment Status
Effective Date for Enrollment Status of ‘F,’ ‘H,’ and ‘A.’

Enrollment
Status Effective
Date
34

Certification
Date

If the Enrollment Status Code is ‘F,’ ‘H,’ or ‘A,’ and has not changed since the
last submission, Enrollment Status Effective Date cannot equal Certification Date.

Enrollment
Status Effective
Date
35

Enrollment
Status Code

Certification Date cannot be more than 180 days after Enrollment Status Effective
Date for Enrollment Status of ‘A.’

Enrollment
Status Effective
Date

If a school has 10 or more students on its previous Enrollment Reporting Roster
file and more than 10 percent of the records on a submittal file have an
Enrollment Status Code of ‘D,’ Roster Receipt will reject all the detail records
that contain that status.

37/11
Web/
header

Certification
Date is Invalid

Invalid Date of Certification. Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD format.

38/13
Web/
header

Certification
Date is too Old

The certification date has preceded the earliest allowable date for certification of
data. This date is controlled by a validation parameter and is calculated by
subtracting the number of parameter days from the current date.

39/21
Web/
header

Certification
Date is in the
future

The certification date is in the future. Future certification of data is not allowed.

After NSLDS receives and processes the file, you will receive one of the following:
•

An Acknowledgment/Error File that contains no error records—It is an acknowledgment
that the Detail records in the submittal file contained no errors and were added to the
database.

•

An Acknowledgment/Error File with error records—It will contain the Detail records that
could not be processed and the applicable error codes.
Note: The Trailer record of the Acknowledgment/Error File contains the total number of
Detail records received in positions 27–34, the total number of accepted records in
positions 35–42, and the total number of rejected records in positions 43–50.

This file serves as the acknowledgment that NSLDS has received and processed the submittal
file. You should retain a copy of the Acknowledgment/Error File for audit purposes.
If you received an Acknowledgment/Error File containing Detail records with errors, you must
correct the errors and return the file as the Error Correction File within 10 days. You should
build and return the Error Correction File the same way you built and returned the submittal file.

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Refer to the Error File record layout specifications in Appendix A for formatting differences.
The error codes occupy an additional 30 bytes at the end of each Detail record.

Web
Notes

You can use the NSLDS Web site to correct the records of
student errors contained in the Acknowledgment/Error
file. Sort by certification date to retrieve those records
that were not updated.
If you correct errors using the Web, you do not need to
return the Error Correction File through SAIG.
See Section 3.6.7 for details.

If you have not received an Acknowledgment/Error File within 48 hours of transmitting a
submittal or correction file, you should call the NSLDS CSC at 1-800-999-8219.

2.3 Ad Hoc Reporting
Because Enrollment changes must be reported within 30 days, or on an Enrollment Reporting
Roster if it is to be received by NSLDS within 60 days of the enrollment change, there is a
chance that not all scheduled rosters will fulfill this requirement. You can fulfill this requirement
by Ad Hoc reporting. Ad Hoc reporting may be done by requesting a file from NSLDS or by
creating your own submittal file.
•

You can request a previously unscheduled roster file by requesting an Ad Hoc report
using the Enrollment Reporting Schedule function on the NSLDS Web site under the
ENROLL tab. The request can be for a file to be produced the same day or a future day
and will be sent via SAIG. It may be updated and returned as a submittal file through the
SAIG.

•

You can also submit an unscheduled submittal file (Ad Hoc) containing detail for
enrollment status changes (created on a PC or mainframe). The file is created using the
file layout for a submittal file as in Appendix A.1. The file is submitted via SAIG using
message class SSCMXXIN.

You can also fulfill the requirement of notifying NSLDS of the enrollment change by going
online and updating the individual students who have had a change.

Web
Notes
February 2008

Use the NSLDS Web site to create or update your
school’s Enrollment Reporting Schedule.
See Section 3.8.1.2 for details.

NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide

Chapter 3: Enrollment Reporting Online: The NSLDS Web Site
This chapter tells how to access and use the Enrollment Reporting pages available to school
users on the NSLDS Web site at www.nsldsfap.ed.gov.

3.1 Your Web Browser
To use the NSLDS Web site, you need Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 5.0 or higher). If you
do not have Internet Explorer, you can download from www.microsoft.com/ie/. (As of February
2008, ED no longer provides technical support for Netscape.)
For security, you must be capable of encrypting transmissions between your computer and
NSLDS. To do this, the browser uses a form of encryption called secure socket layer (SSL).
Current browsers support 40-bit, 56-bit, and 128-bit encryption (128-bit is the most secure).
NSLDS can operate with any of these encryption levels, but to increase the security of your
financial aid data, we recommend that you use 128-bit encryption.

3.2 Enrollment Reporting Online: How the NSLDS Web Site Can Help You
•

Enrollment Update—Select a student or a range of students, and make changes
to the enrollment information. You can choose which students to retrieve and
how they are to be sorted—by name, SSN, school-designated identifier, or
enrollment status. The default setting displays all students associated with your
school, 30 at a time/per page.

•

Enrollment Add—Add students to your Enrollment Reporting roster. Once a
student has been added, you can immediately certify the enrollment status and
anticipated completion date for that student. As of January 1, 2002, NSLDS
began retaining all enrollment data you report, providing a full history for all
enrollment data received for each student. This history includes data already in
NSLDS as of January 1, 2002.

•

Enrollment Reporting Schedule—View or modify your current enrollment
schedule, create a new schedule, or request that additional ad hoc Enrollment
Reporting Roster files be sent to your school.

•

Enrollment Detail—View a detailed history of a student’s enrollment status.

•

Enrollment Timeline—View a chronology of a student’s enrollment status as
reported to NSLDS.

•

Enrollment Reporting Contact Under the ORG Tab
The Late Enrollment Reporting Notification e-mail will be sent to the Enrollment
Reporting Contact designated by the school on the Organization Tab (ORG Tab)
Contacts page of the NSLDSFAP Web site. It is important to keep contacts
updated and e-mail contact roles current.

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•

Help!—Each Enrollment Reporting page has its own printable Help page, which
can be viewed by clicking the question mark icon. If you wish to download all or
part of the Help pages, click Download Help on the Menu page.

3.3 Logging on to NSLDS
Once you have a valid user ID and password, you can reach the Web site from your PC using
Microsoft Internet Explorer.
1. Type www.nsldsfap.ed.gov in your Web browser’s address box and press Enter. The
NSLDS Logon page now appears (Figure 3–1).

Figure 3–1, NSLDS Logon
2. Type your NSLDS user ID in the User ID box. Press Tab on your keyboard or use your
mouse to move the cursor to the Password box.
3. Type your NSLDS password in the Password box. Your password does not display as
you type.
•

If the message “Unable to recognize this User ID. Please refer to Help” appears,
make sure the user ID and password you type in are correct and try again. You can
also click the Help icon for more information.

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•

After three unsuccessful logon attempts, NSLDS activates a lockout but continues to
display the error message. If this happens, you must contact the NSLDS CSC at
1-800-999-8219 and ask it to reset your user ID and password. The NSLDS CSC will
tell you how to log on after the reset.

4. Click Logon to continue. The Privacy Act appears (Figure 3–2).

Figure 3–2, Privacy Act
•

All information in NSLDS is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 (as
amended). It is your responsibility under Federal law to obey Privacy Act
regulations that protect the information in this database.

5. Click “I Agree” to continue. The User Access Verification page appears (Figure 3–3).

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Chapter 3: Enrollment Reporting Online: The NSLDS Web Site

Figure 3–3, User Access Verification
6. Enter the text shown in the image displayed on the screen. The text may include both
alphabetical and numerical characters. Click ‘Submit Response.’ The NSLDS Menu page
appears (Figure 3-4).
•

If the text is entered correctly, the Main Menu will display. If the text is entered
incorrectly, a new image will appear. Enter the text displayed in that image and
submit it again. After three unsuccessful attempts, the user access is revoked. If this
happens, you must contact the NSLDS CSC immediately at 1-800-999-8219 to
request assistance.

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide

Figure 3–4, NSLDS Menu

Congratulations!
You have successfully logged on to NSLDS.

Note: For security reasons, NSLDS will time out after 30 minutes of
inactivity. This means enrollment data that have not been submitted
within 30 minutes WILL BE LOST when NSLDS automatically logs
you off. A warning pop-up button appears 5 minutes before the page
times out. Clicking on this button resets the clock for another 30
minutes if clicked before the time listed in the pop-up message.

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3.4 Navigating: Where Do You Want to Go?
The Navigation Bar is directly below the Navigation Tabs, and includes links to the other pages
within the section. Your name and your institution’s name appear below the links. There are also
icons and symbols to help you. Below is a list of what you might see.
Legend of Icons and Symbols
Icon/Symbol

Description
Contact icon links you to the NSLDS contact information page for help by
phone or e-mail.
Help icon links you to the specific Help page.
Exit icon logs you off and returns you to the Logon page.
Colored tab with white text indicates that you are in the active subject area.
Blue tab with white text indicates that other subject areas are available to you
by clicking that tab.

Help

Popup text appears near the mouse pointer explaining an icon’s function.
(This is an example of that text.)

LINK

Underlined blue text links you to additional information.
Left arrow icon returns you to a specified page. For example:
Menu.

Return to

Right arrow icon links you to the next page in a series of pages. For example:
Go to Report Log.
Previous group arrow icon links you to the previous list of items for this page.
Next group arrow icon links you to the next list of items for this page.
Alert symbol warns you of critical information that is not in error. For
example: The borrower has defaulted loans.
Information symbol notifies you that additional facts are available. For
example: The borrower has received Pell Grants.
Error symbol alerts you of an error. If the error is an entry error, the prompt
for the box is displayed in bold RED.
Capitalized Interest symbol notifies you that the identified Outstanding
Principal Balance contains Capitalized Interest.
Lock icon indicates the loan is locked and cannot be updated.

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide

Icon/Symbol

Description
History icon links you to the Borrower Name History page or Borrower SSN
History page if history exists in the database.
Active Bullet Number icon allows you to update, delete, or see more detail.
Blue is the active selection color.
Inactive Bullet Number indicates that no additional information is available
regarding this item.
Plus symbol provides you more detailed information. It is activated when the
mouse pointer is on the symbol.
Report Log Page icon links you to the Report Log.
E-mail icon links you to e-mail.
Glossary icon links you to the Glossary page.
Print icon allows you to print the Help page.
Close icon allows you to close the Help page.

3.5 Viewing Enrollment Data for a Student
Three enrollment pages allow NSLDS users to view the enrollment records that NSLDS has for a
student. The display options are:
1. Enrollment Summary—Provides an overview of a student’s most recent status at every
school where enrollment has been reported for that student.
2. Enrollment Detail—Gives the full details of a student’s enrollment information at each
school attended.
3. Enrollment Timeline—Displays a chronology of a student’s enrollment status and
allows users to check a student’s status at a particular point in time.
The following sections explain how to use these three options.

3.5.1 Enrollment Summary: Selecting a Student to View
To view a student’s enrollment records, you must first search for the student in the NSLDS
database.
1. On the NSLDS Menu page, look for the Enrollment tab and click Enrollment Summary.
The Enrollment Summary—No Student Selected page appears (Figure 3–5).

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Chapter 3: Enrollment Reporting Online: The NSLDS Web Site
OR
You can also reach the Enrollment Summary page at any time by clicking the Enroll tab.
This will cause the Enrollment Summary page to appear.

Figure 3–5, Enrollment Summary—No Student Selected
2. Type in the student’s identifying information in the corresponding boxes at the top of the
page:
•

SSN

•

First Name

•

DOB

You can retrieve using only the student’s SSN, but you must make sure the correct
student is displayed.
3. Click Retrieve. The Enrollment Summary for A Student page redisplays with the latest
enrollment information provided to NSLDS by schools and loan holders for the student
you selected (Figure 3– 6).
If the student has attended more than one school, each school’s enrollment summary
information is displayed on a separate line. If the student has attended or is attending a
school that has not certified enrollment, the school will be displayed with the enrollment
information provided by the GA or Direct Loan Servicer.

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide

Figure 3–6, Enrollment Summary for a Student
The page also displays the following buttons:
•

Enrollment Detail—Displays the Enrollment Detail page, where you can view the
full details of a student’s enrollment information at each school attended. Enrollment
Detail is explained in Section Error! Reference source not found.

•

Enrollment Timeline—Displays the Enrollment Timeline page, which shows a
chronology of a student’s enrollment status and allows you to check a student’s status
at a particular point in time. Enrollment Timeline is explained in Section 3.5.3.

•

Enrollment Maintenance—This button is visible ONLY to school users who have
signed up for Enrollment Update capabilities. It takes you to the Enrollment
Maintenance page, where you can make changes to the student’s enrollment
information as described in Section 3.6.4.

3.5.1.1 Enrollment Summary: A Closer Look
Enrollment Summary provides a quick overview of a student’s most recent status at every school
where enrollment has been reported for that student. Whenever possible, the Enrollment
Summary page displays enrollment information reported by schools. It only displays information
reported by GAs or the Direct Loan Servicer when they have reported on a particular student but
the school has not.
The Enrollment Summary page contains the following information:

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Chapter 3: Enrollment Reporting Online: The NSLDS Web Site
•

School Name—The name of the school at which enrollment was reported for the student.
Click the school name to link to the school’s Organization Contact List page. If the
student’s enrollment was not reported by the school, a small warning icon appears after
the school’s name.

•

OPEID—The 8-digit OPEID number of the school that reported enrollment.

•

Most Recent Status—The status most recently reported for the student at that school.
Users wanting to view the full history of a student’s status at one or more schools should
navigate to the Enrollment Detail page.

•

Eff. Date—The Effective Date is the date when the most recently reported status took
effect. The following special rules apply:
− NSLDS sets the Effective Date equal to the Certification Date for Enrollment Status
‘X’ (Never Attended) or ‘Z’ (No Record Found) when it is not reported by the school.
− NSLDS sets the Effective Date equal to 12/31/9999 when it is not reported by the
school for records with an Enrollment Status of ‘D’ (Deceased).

•

ACD—The Anticipated Completion Date is the date when the student completed, or is
expected to complete, his or her studies. The following special rules apply:
− Anticipated Completion Date is not required for Enrollment Status ‘X’ (Never
Attended), ‘Z’ (No Record Found), ‘W’ (Withdrawn), and ‘L’ (Less Than Half
Time).
− NSLDS sets the Anticipated Completion Date to 12/31/9999 for Enrollment Status
‘D’ (Deceased).
− NSLDS sets the Anticipated Completion Date equal to the Effective Date for
Enrollment Status ‘G’ (Graduated).

•

Cert. Date—The Certification Date is the date a school certified the enrollment
information.

•

Cert. Method—The Certification Method shows the method the school used to certify
the enrollment information. The following methods are used:
− School Batch—The school certified the enrollment information through the batch
Enrollment Reporting process. This includes files submitted by a Servicer on behalf
of a school.
− NSLDS Web—The school certified the enrollment information using the Enrollment
Maintenance page.
− ED Authorized—NSLDS certified enrollment information when students are affected
by a school’s closure, merger, or loss of eligibility.
− N/A—The enrollment information has not been certified by the school.

Sources other than schools do not certify enrollment data. If an Enrollment Summary record
is based on non-school data, the Cert. Date and Cert. Method boxes for that record will display
‘N/A’ (Not Applicable).
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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide

3.5.2 Enrollment Detail: Getting the Full Picture
The Enrollment Detail page allows schools and loan holders to view the full record of student
enrollment reported to NSLDS. There are two ways to view Enrollment Detail on the Enrollment
Summary page:
1. If the student has one or more schools listed, click the blue number next to school whose
records you wish to see (Figure 3-6).
2. To view all schools listed, click Enrollment Detail.
The Enrollment Detail page appears (Figure 3–7). The detail information you selected is shown
in the table at the bottom of the page.

Figure 3–7, Enrollment Detail
•

To return to the Enrollment Summary page, click the blue arrow at the upper left corner
of the Enrollment Detail page.

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Chapter 3: Enrollment Reporting Online: The NSLDS Web Site
3.5.2.1 Using Advanced Display Options for Enrollment Detail
Advanced Display Options, located in the center of the Enrollment Detail page, allow you to
limit or expand the number of enrollment records displayed on the page. This is useful when a
student has many enrollment detail records and you need to see, for example, only records from
a specific school or within a certain date range. You can also choose how the enrollment data are
sorted. For example, you can sort by Effective Date, 8-digit OPEID, or Anticipated Completion
Date, depending on your needs.
To use this feature:
1. Select the options you wish to use by clicking on the corresponding lists and clicking the
desired value. You can also type in the Begin Effective Date and/or End Effective Date.
2. Click Apply. The Enrollment Detail page will appear again, showing only the records
you specified using Advanced Display Options.
The following Advanced Display Options are available:
•

Enrollment At—Allows you to select enrollment information about all the schools the
student has attended or about an individual school identified by name and 8-digit OPEID.

•

Show Records—Allows you to select which records to view:
− All Active and Inactive—Allows you to view a complete record of the enrollment
information that was reported to NSLDS and when it was reported. If you select this
option, you should distinguish between active records (which contain current
information about a student’s enrollment history), and inactive records (which
contain enrollment information previously reported to NSLDS and that is no longer
current).
− Active Only—Active records collectively constitute NSLDS’ current understanding of
a student’s enrollment history. (Inactive records contain enrollment information that
was reported to NSLDS at some time in the past but was corrected at a later date.)
Showing all active records allows you to view a complete record of a student’s
enrollment history in the NSLDS database.
− Active Only, Changes Only, Earliest Certified—Allows you to view only active
records that contain a change in Enrollment Status, Effective Date, or Anticipated
Completion Date from the previous record reported to NSLDS. If you select this
option, records containing such changes are displayed together with the first
Certification Date on which they took effect.
− Active Only, Changes Only, Latest Certified (Default Setting)—Allows you to view
only active records that contain a change in Enrollment Status, Effective Date, or
Anticipated Completion Date from the previous record reported to NSLDS. If you
select this option, records containing such changes are displayed together with the
last Certification Date on which they were in effect.

•

Reported By—Allows you to display only the enrollment information reported by
specific types of organizations.

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
− All—Allows you to view information reported by both schools and non-school
organizations.
− Schools (Default Setting)—Allows you to view only information reported by schools.
− Non-Schools—Allows you to view only information reported by GAs and Direct
Loan Servicers.
•

Sort Schools By—Allows you to select the order in which the schools the student
attended are displayed on the page.
− OPEID (Default Setting)—Presents the schools in numerical order by their 8-digit
OPEID number.
− Name—Presents the schools in alphabetical order by the school name.
− Merge Schools—Combines enrollment information from all the schools the student
attended in a single table.

•

Sort Records By—Allows you to select the order in which records for a student’s
enrollment at a given school are displayed.
− Reported By, Certification Date (Default Setting)—Performs a primary sort on
Reported By and a secondary sort on Certification Date.
− Reported By, Effective Date—Performs a primary sort on Reported By and a
secondary sort on Effective Date.
− Reported By, Anticipated Completion Date—Performs a primary sort on Reported By
and a secondary sort on Anticipated Completion Date.
− Date Received—Performs a single sort on the date when NSLDS received the
information. This sort is the only sort that mixes records reported by schools with
records reported by GAs and other organizations. It can help you determine the order
in which enrollment information was reported to NSLDS, regardless of effective date.
Note: NSLDS converted all existing records to new enrollment tables to begin
retaining history. Enrollment records on NSLDS during the conversion display a
Date Received of 12/26/2001, 12/27/2001, or 12/28/2001. Records added after the
conversion have actual Dates Received.

•

Begin Effective Date—Allows you to display only records with an Effective Date later
than or equal to the date you enter.

•

End Effective Date—Allows you to display only records with an Effective Date earlier
than or equal to the date you enter.

3.5.2.2 Enrollment Detail: A Closer Look
The Enrollment Detail table (located at the bottom of the Enrollment Detail page) displays the
following information for each enrollment record that matches the Advanced Display Options
you selected:

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Chapter 3: Enrollment Reporting Online: The NSLDS Web Site
•

School Name and OPEID—The name and OPEID of the school where enrollment has
been reported for a student. This information normally displays on a separate row that
divides the records for enrollment at one school from the records for enrollment at
another school. When you select Merge Schools as the option for Sort Schools By,
schools’ 8-digit OPEIDs display in a single column at the left side of the Enrollment
Detail table.

•

Reported By—Identifies the type of organization that reported the enrollment
information.

•

Reported By ID—Contains the organizational code, such as the OPEID or GA number,
for the organization that reported the enrollment information.

•

Status—The student’s enrollment status.
− Includes students with enrollment statuses of ‘F’ (full-time), ‘H’ (half-time), ‘L’ (less
than half-time), ‘A’ (leave of absence), ‘G’ (graduated), ‘W’ (withdrawn), ‘D’
(deceased), ‘X’ (never attended), or ‘Z’ (no record found). Eff. Date—The Effective
Date, which is the date when the reported status change took effect. The following
special rules apply:
− NSLDS sets the Effective Date equal to the Certification Date for Enrollment Status
‘X’ (Never Attended) or ‘Z’ (No Record Found) when it is not reported by the school.
− NSLDS sets the Effective Date equal to 12/31/9999 when it is not reported by the
school for records with Enrollment Status ‘D’ (Deceased).

•

Active—An identifier that indicates whether a record reflects a valid enrollment status in
the NSLDS database.
− Yes—Indicates that the record is active.
− No—Indicates that the record is no longer active. This means the record contains
enrollment information that was reported to NSLDS at some point in the past but was
subsequently corrected by a later submission. For example, a student was reported
with a full-time status beginning September 30, but the school subsequently reported
that the full-time status was effective July 30. The September 30 record will be coded
with ‘N.’

•

ACD—The Anticipated Completion Date, which is the date when the student completed,
or is expected to complete, his or her studies. The following special rules apply:
− Anticipated Completion Date is not valid for Enrollment Status ‘X’ (Never
Attended), ‘Z’ (No Record Found), ‘W’ (Withdrawn), and ‘L’ (Less Than Half
Time).
− NSLDS sets the Anticipated Completion Date to 12/31/9999 for Enrollment Status
‘D’ (Deceased).
− NSLDS sets the Anticipated Completion Date equal to the Effective Date for
Enrollment Status ‘G’ (Graduated).

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•

Cert. Date—The Certification Date is the date as of which the school certified the
enrollment information to be accurate.

•

Cert. Method—NSLDS will display the Certification Method used by the school to
certify the enrollment information as one of the following methods:
− School Batch—The school certified the enrollment information through the batch
Enrollment Reporting process.
− NSLDS Web—The school certified the enrollment information using the Enrollment
Maintenance page.
− ED Authorized—NSLDS certified enrollment information when students are affected
by a schools closure, merger, or loss of eligibility. This process was first run on
06/20/2007, for all schools in NSLDS with open enrollment at closed, merged, and
ineligible schools.
− N/A—The enrollment information has not been certified by the school.

•

Date Received—Indicates the day when NSLDS processed the enrollment information.
In cases where different organizations were reporting different information about the
same student, or where you suspect that an organization may not have reported
information in a timely manner, you can use Date Received to determine when
information was reported to NSLDS and in what order.
Note: In December 2001, NSLDS converted all existing records to new enrollment tables
to begin retaining history. Enrollment records existing on NSLDS during the conversion
display a Date Received of 12/26/2001, 12/27/2001, or 12/28/2001. Records added after
the conversion have actual Dates Received.

Sources other than schools do not certify enrollment information. If an Enrollment Detail
record is based on non-school data, the Cert. Date and Cert. Method boxes for that record will
display ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable).

3.5.3 Enrollment Timeline: The Whole Story
The Enrollment Timeline page displays the student’s enrollment history chronologically. This
format is useful when you need an ‘audit trail’ showing how each school or data provider
reported the student’s enrollment over time.
The Enrollment Timeline consists of a series of boxes, each displaying a date range at the top
and a table of enrollment data at the bottom. NSLDS adds a new box to the top of the timeline
each time the student’s enrollment status changes. Ordering is based on the Effective Date of the
most recent change. The date range at the top of each box runs from the day after the previous
change to the day of the latest change. The rows in the table show the latest enrollment records
from every school and data provider that has reported enrollment data for the student. Thus, each
box provides a ‘snapshot’ view of the student’s complete enrollment status since the previous
status change.

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To view the student’s enrollment timeline, start at the Enrollment Summary page:
1. Click Enrollment Timeline. The Enrollment Timeline page appears (Figure 3–8).

Figure 3–8, Enrollment Timeline
•

Click the blue arrow at the upper left corner to return to the Enrollment Summary page.

3.5.3.1 Using Advanced Display Options
As on the Enrollment Detail page, you can select Advanced Display Options to show specific
types of records in the timeline. You can also specify a particular date and NSLDS will display
the enrollment record for that student at that time.
The following Advanced Display Options are available:
•

Reported By—Allows you to display only enrollment information reported by a specific
type of organization.
− All—Allows you to view information reported by both schools and non-school
organizations, such as GAs and Direct Loan Servicer.
− Schools (Default Setting)—Allows you to view only information reported by schools.

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− Non-Schools—Allows you to view only information reported by organizations other
than schools, including GAs and Direct Loan Servicer.
•

Date—Causes the date range containing the date you type to appear at the top of the
timeline. You will still be able to scroll up or down to earlier or later time periods.
Remember: The date range refers to the Effective Date of the current and previous
enrollment status changes.

To use Advanced Display Options:
1. In the Reported By list, click a selection.
2. Type a date in the Date box.
3. Click Apply.

3.5.3.2 Enrollment Timeline: A Closer Look
The Enrollment Timeline table displays the following information in descending chronological
order, from the present to the earliest time period for which any enrollment was reported. All the
enrollment information displayed on the timeline is ordered according to Effective Date. Data for
each time period is displayed in an individual box. A new box is created only when an
organization reports new enrollment information.
•

Statuses in Effect—The time period in which the enrollment statuses were in effect. This
information appears in each box above the rows containing enrollment records.

•

School OPEID—The 8-digit OPEID number of the school for which enrollment was
reported.

•

Reported By—Identifies the type of organization that reported the enrollment
information.

•

Reported By ID—Contains the organizational code, such as OPEID or GA number, for
the organization that reported the enrollment information.

•

Status—The student’s enrollment status.

•

Eff. Date—The Effective Date is the date when the most recently reported status took
effect. The following special rules apply:
− NSLDS sets the Effective Date equal to Certification Date for Enrollment Status ‘Z’
(No Record Found).
− NSLDS sets the Effective Date equal to 12/31/9999 when it is not reported by the
school for records with an Enrollment Status of ‘D’ (Deceased).

•

Last ACD—The Anticipated Completion Date most recently reported to NSLDS for that
status. The Anticipated Completion Date is the date when the student completed, or was
expected to complete, his or her studies. The following special rules apply when there is
no reported date by school:

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− NSLDS sets the Anticipated Completion Date to 01/01/0001 for Enrollment Status
‘Z’ (No Record Found), ‘W’ (Withdrawn), and ‘L’ (Less Than Half Time) in the
batch file and displays blank online.
− NSLDS sets the Anticipated Completion Date to 12/31/9999 for Enrollment Status
‘D’ (Deceased).
− NSLDS sets Anticipated Completion Date equal to the Effective Date for Enrollment
Status ‘G’ (Graduated).

3.6 Updating Student Enrollment Data
The Enrollment Update pages allow you to change student enrollment data for your school’s
Title IV aid recipients. If you are using the batch Enrollment Reporting process (see Chapter 2),
you can use these pages to display your school’s Enrollment Reporting roster and correct errors
shown in the Acknowledgment/Error file. Updating student enrollment data involves three
activities:
1. Retrieving the student records you want to update using the Enrollment Update page
2. Changing and certifying the enrollment data in those records using the Maintenance
page
3. Confirming the new enrollment data using the Enrollment Maintenance Confirm page
This section explains how to perform these activities.

3.6.1 Getting Started: The Enrollment Update Page
1. On the NSLDS Menu page, look for the Enrollment tab and click Enrollment Update.
The Enrollment Update page appears (Figure 3–9).
OR
You can also reach the Enrollment Update page at any time by clicking the Enroll tab.
This will cause the Enrollment Summary page to appear. Then look for the teal menu row
at the top of the page and click Enrollment Update.

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Figure 3–9, Enrollment Update

3.6.2 Retrieving All Your School’s Enrollment Records
The quickest way to retrieve enrollment records to update is simply to display them all. This is
the equivalent of viewing an Enrollment Reporting roster file in the batch process. Retrieving the
roster online provides the most current information NSLDS has and may not match a previously
generated roster file. If loans have loaded with students at your school since the roster file was
generated they will appear online, although they may not have been in your roster file.
If you click Retrieve without entering any search criteria, Enrollment Update will retrieve all
enrollment records for your school.
1. On the Enrollment Update page, click Retrieve. The Enrollment Maintenance page will
appear (Figure 3–10), showing ALL enrollment records for your school, 30 at a time. If
your Enrollment Reporting roster contains more than 30 records, you can use the blue
arrows to scroll through the records.
2. Follow the instructions in Section 3.6.1 to update and certify your records.

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Figure 3–10, Enrollment Maintenance—Entire Enrollment Reporting Roster

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3.6.3 Retrieving Student Records to Update
Before you can make changes to students’ enrollment records, you must retrieve the records you
wish to update. The Enrollment Update page gives you three options for retrieving records:
1. Retrieve ALL enrollment records for your school by simply clicking
Retrieve. This is equivalent to getting your school’s most recent roster.
2. Retrieve and sort a set of records by student’s SSN, last name, or Student
Designator using the Primary Search Options.
3. Retrieve a smaller and more specific set of records using Advanced Search
Options.
The following sections describe how to use each of these options.

3.6.3.1 Narrowing the Search: The Primary Search Options
You can limit the number of enrollment records retrieved, and control the order in which they
are displayed, by entering criteria in the Primary Search Options box.
1. In the Primary Search Options box, click the Retrieve/Sort by list to display the three
retrieve/sort options. These are:
•

SSN (Default)—Displays student records in ascending numeric order by student
SSN.

•

Last Name—Displays student records in ascending alphabetic order by student last
name.

•

Student Designator—Displays student records ordered by the identifier you use on
your internal system, provided that you report that identifier to NSLDS as part of the
Enrollment Reporting process.

2. Click the Retrieve/Sort by option you wish to use.
3. In the Begin Value box, type the letters or numbers you wish to use as the starting point
of your search.
•

You can type an entire name, SSN, or student identifier as a beginning value for the
roster you will retrieve. For example, if you choose NAME as your Retrieve/Sort By
option and type the first few letters of a name, such as ‘Rep’ and it will retrieve all
the student records beginning with those letters and the records that follow (see
Figure 3–11).

4. Click Exact Match Only if you want an exact match for the Begin Value you typed.
Keep the following facts in mind:
•

When you click Exact Match Only with a complete SSN or a unique Student
Designator, NSLDS returns only one student record.

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•

When it is used with last name, Exact Match Only returns records for all students
with that last name.

5. Click Retrieve. When the Enrollment Maintenance page appears (Figure 3–11), follow
the instructions in Section 3.6.1 to update and certify your records.

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Figure 3–11, Enrollment Maintenance—Primary Search Options (Name)

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3.6.3.2 Going Further: Using the Advanced Search Options
The Primary Search Options alone are adequate for most enrollment maintenance situations.
Sometimes, however, you may need to narrow your search using other criteria. The Advanced
Search Options give you additional flexibility in choosing enrollment records to update.
The Advanced Search Options include the following:
•

Last Name Begin/End—Allows you to retrieve records for students whose last
names fall within an alphabetic range. Be careful when typing the End value. A
single letter End value (such as ‘B’) will not retrieve names that begin with that
letter (such as ‘Bush’) since the names come after the letter alphabetically. Type
the next letter after the initial letter of the names(s) you seek, or do not specify an
End value. To search for last names that begin with ‘Z,’ leave the End value blank
or type ‘ZZZZZZZ’.

•

SSN Begin/End—Allows you to retrieve records for students whose SSNs fall
within a numeric range. Be careful when typing the End value. An End value
containing fewer than 9 digits (such as ‘99’) will not retrieve SSNs that begin
with that number but contain more digits (such as ‘990–00–0000’), since the
longer number comes after the shorter one numerically.

•

Student Designator Begin/End—Allows you to retrieve records for students
whose designators fall within an alphanumeric range. Be careful when typing the
End value.

•

Certification Date Begin/End—Allows you to retrieve records for students who
have been certified within a specified date range. The Begin and End values are
inclusive; that is, records with a Certification Date equal to the Begin or End date
are retrieved, as well as records certified between those two dates. If you recertify a group of students online, you can, at some later time, set the End date
equal to the day before the earlier online session to retrieve all the records you did
not re-certify in that session.

•

Anticipated Completion Date Begin/End—Allows you to retrieve records for
students whose ACD falls within a specific date range. The Begin and End values
are inclusive; that is, records with an ACD equal to the Begin or End date are
retrieved, as well as records with an ACD between those two dates. You can use
these options to retrieve all students who are scheduled to graduate at the end of a
given semester.

•

Enrollment Codes—Allows you to search for records with specific Enrollment
Codes. By default, Enrollment Update searches for all Enrollment Codes.

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To retrieve a student using the Advanced Search Options:
1. Select the Primary Search Options you want (see Section 3.6.3, Steps 2–5), or skip this
step to use the default option: SSN.
2. Enter the Advanced Search Options you want. In Figure 3–12, for example, partial
student SSNs have been entered in the SSN Begin: and End: boxes.

Figure 3–12, Enrollment Update—Advanced Search Options (SSN Begin/End)
3. Click Retrieve. The Enrollment Maintenance—Advanced Search Options Result page
appears (Figure 3–13). In this example, the page displays enrollment records for students whose
SSNs begin with values between 9665594 and 9665599 inclusive. Follow the instructions in
Section 3.6.13.6.4 to update and certify your records.

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Figure 3–13, Enrollment Maintenance—Advanced Search Options Result
When you use the Advanced Search Options, keep the following facts in mind:
•

If you do not enter any Primary or Advanced Search Options and accept the default sort
on Student SSN, your organization’s entire Student Portfolio displays in SSN order on
the Enrollment Maintenance page, 30 at a time.

•

Advanced Search options are evaluated together with Primary Search options. Neither
supersedes the other. This means that if your Primary and Advanced Search Options
contradict each other, Enrollment Update will not find any records, even though each
individual part of the combination would find and display records.
For example, if you select an exact match on Student SSN 111-11-1111 as your Primary
Search Option and Student SSNs between 555-55-5555 and 888-88-8888 as your
Advanced Search Option, Enrollment Update will not find any records. This occurs even
though the NSLDS contains enrollment records for a student with SSN 111-11-1111 and
for students with SSNs between 555-55-5555 and 888-88-8888.

•

As you scroll through the list and update individual or multiple records, the Enrollment
Maintenance Page continues to display only those records that match the search options

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you selected on the Enrollment Update page. To change search options, you must return
to Enrollment Update.

3.6.4 Updating Selected Enrollment Records
The Enrollment Maintenance page displays all enrollment records for your school that match the
criteria you entered in Steps 1–3 of the previous section. To update the selected student
enrollment records:
1. On the Enrollment Maintenance page, type a recertification date in the Recertification
Date box, or accept the default date (the current date) displayed by the page. This date is
used to populate the Cert. Date box of the individual student records you select in Step 2
below.
2. Select the student enrollment records you want to certify. There are two ways to do this:
•

Select the records individually by clicking the check box to the far left of the row
with the student’s SSN, name, and DOB.

•

Select all the records displayed on the page by clicking Check All at the top of the
form.

3. Update as necessary the information in the following boxes:
•

Cert. Date (Certification Date)—The Certification Date is the date a school certified
the enrollment information.

•

Enroll Code (Enrollment Code)—Allows you to search for records with specific
Enrollment Codes.

•

Eff. Date (Effective Date)—The Effective Date is the date when the most recently
reported status took effect.

•

ACD (Anticipated Completion Date)—The Anticipated Completion Date, which is
the date when the student completed, or is expected to complete, his or her studies.

•

Student Designator—Is an identifier you use on your internal system, provided that
you report that identifier to NSLDS as part of the Enrollment Reporting process.

4. Click Certify Checked Students to submit the enrollment data changes.
If you click Reset, the Enrollment Maintenance page will redisplay with whatever
information it displayed when you last retrieved your students’ records.
5. If the information you submitted contains no errors, the Enrollment Maintenance
Confirm page appears (Figure 3–14).
If your information contains errors, NSLDS will display an appropriate message. See
Section 3.6.7 for more information on handling errors.

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Figure 3–14, Enrollment Maintenance Confirm

3.6.5 Confirming Enrollment Information
To confirm your changes:
1. On the Enrollment Maintenance Confirm page, verify the displayed enrollment
information to make sure it is correct and up to date.
2. Click Confirm to apply your changes to the database. The Enrollment Maintenance page
redisplays with the updated enrollment information Figure 3–15).
You can also click Cancel to return to the Enrollment Maintenance page, where you can continue
to correct or change your enrollment data.

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Figure 3–15, Enrollment Maintenance—After Confirmation

Congratulations!
You have successfully updated and certified your school’s
enrollment records.

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3.6.6 Enrollment Update: What Happens If…
When updating student enrollment records, these situations come up:
You change your mind?
•

If you check records but then decide that you do not want to certify them, uncheck the
records individually or click Uncheck All at the top of the form. When you uncheck a
record, the Cert. Date reverts to the date it was set to before you selected the record, but
any other changes you made to enrollment information remain.

You click the Reset button?
•

If you click Reset, Enrollment Maintenance will redisplay the information it displayed
when you last retrieved your students’ records. This creates two possibilities:
If you have not clicked Certify Checked Students, Enrollment Maintenance will redisplay
with the information it displayed when you first navigated to it.
− If you have clicked Certify Checked Students one or more times, Enrollment
Maintenance will redisplay with the information it displayed after you last clicked
Submit.

Your student disappears?
•

Sometimes, submitting and confirming an update to a student’s enrollment status causes
that student to “disappear” from the Enrollment Maintenance page. This happens because
your school no longer has any obligation to report enrollment information for a student
under the following circumstances:
− There is no longer any lending institution with an interest in tracking the enrollment
status of the student. The NSLDS only tracks enrollment information for students
with an open FFEL or Direct Loan. When you update a student’s enrollment status,
the NSLDS also verifies that the student still holds an open loan, and so is of
interest to some lending institution. If the student no longer holds an open loan, the
NSLDS removes that student from the Enrollment Maintenance page for your
school, regardless of the student’s enrollment status.
You update a student’s enrollment status to Withdrawn (‘W’), Graduated (‘G’), or
Deceased (‘D’) with an Effective Date more than 180 days in the past.
− You update a student’s enrollment status to Never Attended (‘X’) or No Record
Found (‘Z’).

You want to retrieve specific students?
•

You can use the Enrollment Add page to search for up to 30 specific students at a time.
For instance: Tom Jones, Jasmine Singh, Joe Black, Bob White, Martha Schultz, Pedro
Perez, Kim Nguyen, and Tamika Morrison.
See Section 3.7.1 for detailed instructions.

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3.6.7 Handling Update and Certify Errors
If the information you submitted contains errors, the Enrollment Maintenance Error Message
page redisplays (Figure 3–16). A small error icon appears to the left of each row that contains an
error. In the example below, record number 1 displays an error icon to the left of the record
number. Place your cursor over the icon to display the error message associated with that row.

Figure 3–16, Enrollment Maintenance Error Message

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There are several ways to correct errors so the enrollment information you updated can be saved
in NSLDS:
•

Edit the data in the boxes for Cert. Date, Enroll. Code, Eff. Date, and ACD for all records
displaying errors.
For example, in Figure 3–16, James T. Ftyiwkrat’s record has an error: ensure
Enrollment Effective Date is less than or equal to certification date. Correct this error and
resubmit as instructed.

•

If you are unable to correct an individual record so that NSLDS will accept it, uncheck
that record so it is not submitted when you resubmit the other student records you want to
certify. Write down the student identifiers for the record, or identify some search criteria
that allow you to retrieve and certify it later, after you have done the research needed to
submit information acceptable to NSLDS.

•

If the records you want to certify contain too many errors or failed edits, you may have to
perform the Update process over again. In this case, you can use Primary Search
Options at the top of the Enrollment Maintenance page to retrieve your school’s student
enrollment records again. You can also return to the Enrollment Update page and use
Advanced Search Options to retrieve a different set of records.
Common Errors

Error Message

Anticipated Completion Date

Invalid Date of Anticipated Completion. Must be a valid date in
CCYYMMDD format when Enrollment Status Code of ‘A,’ ‘F,’ or ‘H.’)

Anticipated Completion Date

Anticipated Completion Date cannot be greater than 10 years after the
Certification Date.

Enrollment Status Effective Date

Invalid Enrollment Status Effective Date. Must be a valid date in
CCYYMMDD format. It must be less than 45 years in the past, based on
Certification Date (formerly based on Roster Generation), and greater than the
Date of Student’s Birth plus 12 years. This edit is not applied to Enrollment
Status ‘D’ with default, ‘X’ or ‘Z.’)

Enrollment Status Code

A school cannot report an Enrollment Status of ‘X’ or ‘Z’ if an enrollment
history (Enrollment Status Code of ‘F,’ ‘H,’ ‘A,’ or ‘L’) already exists for
student at that school.

Anticipated Completion Date

Anticipated Completion Date must be greater than Certification Date when
school reports Enrollment Status Code of ‘A,’ ‘F,’ or ‘H.’ NSLDS will
substitute the ACD on its database when no ACD is returned on the submittal
file, but that ACD will still be subject to this edit.

Enrollment Status Effective Date

Enrollment Status Effective Date must be less than Certification Date.

Anticipated Completion Date

Anticipated Completion Date must be greater than or equal to Enrollment
Status Effective Date for Enrollment Status of ‘F,’ ‘H,’ and ‘A.’

Enrollment Status Code

Certification Date cannot be more than 180 days after Enrollment Status
Effective Date for Enrollment Status of ‘A.’

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3.7 Adding Students to a School’s Enrollment Reporting Roster
Enrollment Add allows you to inform NSLDS that a current or former Title IV aid recipient, who
does not appear on your roster, is attending your school. Adding the student with updated
enrollment allows NSLDS to inform the GA and Direct Loan Servicers of the attendance, which
allows lenders to put the student in an automatic In-School Deferment. Additionally, the student
will be added to your roster for continued monitoring should the enrollment status change.
Adding Title IV aid recipients to your school’s Enrollment Reporting roster involves three
activities:
1. Retrieving NSLDS student records for specific existing Title IV aid recipients to add to
your school’s Enrollment Reporting roster
2. Changing and certifying the enrollment data in those records using the Maintenance page
3. Confirming the new enrollment records using the Enrollment Maintenance Confirm page
This section explains how to perform these activities.

3.7.1 Retrieving Student Records to Add
To add student enrollment records to your school’s Enrollment Reporting roster, you must first
determine whether NSLDS contains loan records for those students. If you already have access
to student identifier information (SSN, first name, DOB), you can use Enrollment Add to search
for existing students in the NSLDS database.
1. On the NSLDS Menu page, look for the Enrollment tab and click Enrollment Add. The
Enrollment Add page appears (Figure 3–17).
OR
You can also reach the Enrollment Add page at any time by clicking the Enroll tab. This
will cause the Enrollment Summary page to appear. Then look for the teal menu row at
the top of the page and click Enrollment Add.

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Figure 3–17, Enrollment Add
This page displays 30 blank lines to allow you to check the database for up to 30 students
at a time.

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2. Type the identifiers (SSN, First Name, and DOB) for the students you want to add in the
boxes (Figure 3–18).
You can either type information in all three boxes (SSN, First Name, and DOB) or only
type information in the SSN box.
•

If you type the SSN only, and that SSN is shared by two or more students, an icon
will ask that you ensure the correct student has been retrieved. Compare the first
name, last name, and DOB of what is displayed to the student you are trying to
update. If you retrieve students by SSN alone, check all three identifiers of the
student records that display on the Enrollment Maintenance page to make sure
that Enrollment Add has retrieved the students you want.

To clear the SSN, First Name, and DOB boxes on a given row, click Clear.

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Figure 3–18, Enrollment Add With Student SSN, First Name, and DOB Entered for Retrieval

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3. Click Retrieve at the bottom of the page. The Enrollment Maintenance page appears
(Figure 3–18), displaying enrollment information for the students you specified in Step 2.

Figure 3–19, Enrollment Maintenance
•

The student does not have to have a loan with your school to be added to your roster.
Any student with open Title IV loans (even if not from your school) must have
enrollment reported.

•

If a student you specified does not appear on the Enrollment Maintenance page, it
means that no Title IV loan record for that student exists in the NSLDS database. If
this happens, check with the loan provider to determine why the student has not been
added to NSLDS.

3.7.2 Updating New Enrollment Data
The procedure for updating new enrollment data using the Enrollment Maintenance page is
identical to the one described in Section 3.6.4, Updating Selected Enrollment Records.

3.7.3 Confirming Enrollment Information
The procedure for confirming new enrollment data is identical to the one described in Section
3.6.5, Confirming Enrollment Information.

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3.8 Enrollment Reporting Schedule
This area of the Web site allows a school, GA, or Direct Loan Servicer to display its enrollmentreporting schedule, and it allows authorized users to change that schedule online. This area also
contains complete information and rules for setting and maintaining Enrollment Reporting
Schedules.
When a school signs up for Enrollment Reporting, unless the school selects a reporting schedule,
the default schedule determined by the Department will be assigned. The default schedule is set
at every 2 months or every 60 days. You may wish to change this default schedule to reflect
accurately the frequency of enrollment changes at your school, as well as your own need for
timely enrollment data.
The following Enrollment Reporting Schedule functions are available on the NSLDS Web site:
•

Enrollment Reporting Schedule—Displays your enrollment reporting schedule. Start at
this page to use the Create and Modify features.

•

Create Enrollment Schedule—Allows you to delete your existing reporting schedule and
create a new one.

•

Modify Enrollment Schedule—Allows you to make changes to your existing reporting
schedule. This function is also used to schedule ad hoc reports.

The following sections explain how to use these options.

3.8.1 The Enrollment Reporting Schedule Page
To begin working with your school’s Enrollment Reporting schedule, you must start at the
Enrollment Reporting Schedule page.
1. On the NSLDS Menu page, look for the Enrollment tab and click Enrollment Reporting
Schedule. The Enrollment Reporting Schedule page appears (Figure 3–20).

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Figure 3–20, Enrollment Reporting Schedule
The page contains the Create Schedule and Modify Schedule buttons, a User Profile box, and
a table showing your school’s current reporting schedule. The Current Schedule extends 1 year
into the future.

3.8.1.1 User Profile
The User Profile displays different user options depending on the type of organization and the
particular values the organization has selected. The user profile contains three pre-populated
fields:

•

Distribution Medium—Beginning January 1, 2007, all enrollment information is sent to
the organization via SAIG. (Reports on tape have been eliminated for security of data.)

•

Distribution SAIG User ID—The organization’s TG number. For organizations that
receive enrollment information by the SAIG, this is the TG number to which that
information is sent.

•

Sort Order (Schools Only)—The order in which enrollment records are sorted on the
enrollment report. Options are:

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− Student SSN (Default)—Sort student records in ascending numeric order by student
SSN.
− Last Name—Sort student records in ascending alphabetic order by student last name.
− Student Designator—Sort student records ordered by the identifier you use on your
internal system, provided that you report that identifier to NSLDS as part of the
Enrollment Reporting process.
•

Split File Indicator (Schools Only)—For schools that use a third-party servicer, a “Yes”
or “No” option indicating whether the servicer submits enrollment information for all the
schools it services as a single file (No) or as a series for separate files (Yes).
Note: A school is only able to modify the Sort Order option of the User Profile, which is
explained in Section 3.8.3, Modifying an Enrollment Reporting Schedule.

3.8.1.2 Current Schedule
The Current Schedule displays the following information:
•

Date—The date when NSLDS will send an organization an Enrollment Reporting roster
file if the organization is a school, or a Notification file if the organization is a GA or the
Direct Loan Servicer. Dates are displayed up to 1 year into the future or past.

•

Type—The type of file that NSLDS will send the organization. Valid values are:
− Regular—A regularly scheduled file. When NSLDS sends an organization a regular
file, it automatically schedules another such file for 1 year in the future.
− Ad hoc—A file generated that is not part of the organization’s regular schedule.
When NSLDS sends an organization an ad hoc file, it will not automatically schedule
another ad hoc file.

•

Created By (Date)—Who created or updated the schedule that caused the generation of a
particular schedule item and, in parentheses, the date the change was made. Valid values
are:
− Original Schedule—Schedule items created when the organization originally signedup with NSLDS.
− User Name—Schedule items created by an online user using the Enrollment
Reporting Create page or the Enrollment Reporting Modify page.

3.8.2 Creating an Enrollment Reporting Schedule
This selection allows you to delete your school’s existing report schedule and create a new one.
Submitting a Start Date, a Frequency, and a Default Sort Order will create a sample schedule
based on those parameters.
To create a new schedule:
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1. On the Enrollment Reporting Schedule page, click Create Schedule. The Enrollment
Reporting Schedule Create page appears (Figure 3–21).

Figure 3–21, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Create—New Schedule Options
2. In the Start Date box, type a valid date greater than or equal to the current date and less
than or equal to the current date plus 1 year.
3. In the Frequency box, click a selection. Valid frequencies for schools are:

•

Every Week

•

Every Two Weeks

•

Every Month

•

Every Two Months

•

Every Three Months

•

Every Four Months

•

Every Six Months

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Valid frequencies for GAs and Direct Loan Servicer are:
•

Every Day

•

Every Week

The default frequency is Every Two Months for schools and Every Week for all other
organizations.
4. In the Default Sort Order box (Schools only), click a selection. Valid sort orders are:
•

Student SSN (Default)—Sort student records in ascending numeric order by student
SSN.

•

Last Name—Sort student records in ascending alphabetic order by student last name.

•

Student Designator—Sort student records ordered by the identifier you use on your
internal system, provided that you report that identifier to NSLDS as part of the
Enrollment Reporting process.

5. Click Submit. If you entered a valid start date and frequency, the Enrollment Reporting
Schedule Create Confirm page appears (Figure 3–22).

Figure 3–22, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Create Confirm

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6. Click Confirm. NSLDS now voids the original schedule and replaces it with the one you
just created. The Enrollment Reporting Schedule page appears again, displaying your
new schedule (Figure 3–23).
You can also discard your new schedule by clicking Cancel. The Enrollment Reporting
Schedule Create page appears again, showing your original schedule.

Figure 3–23, Enrollment Reporting Schedule—New Schedule

3.8.2.1 Creating an Enrollment Reporting Schedule: Things to Remember

•

If you entered an invalid start date or frequency, the Enrollment Reporting Schedule
Create page will redisplay with the appropriate error message.

•

The start date can be any valid date greater than, equal to, and up to 1 year in the future
from the current date. Files will only be generated on weekdays. This means that a file
scheduled for generation on a Saturday will be generated on the following Monday.
However, NSLDS will not generate more than one file for the same organization at the
same time. This means that if an organization has files scheduled for generation on

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Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, a single file will be generated on Monday, not three
separate files.
•

Default frequencies are every 2 months for schools and weekly for all other
organizations. The following variations are possible:
− If a school does not enter a start date and selects a default frequency, Enrollment
Reporting rosters are scheduled for the first day of every other month, and the months
are odd or even depending on the school type.
− If a school enters a start date and selects a default frequency, Enrollment Reporting
rosters are scheduled every other month starting on the date selected by the school.
− If a non-school organization does not enter a start date and selects a default
frequency, Notification files are scheduled for Monday every week.
− If a non-school organization enters a start date and selects a default frequency,
Enrollment Reporting rosters are scheduled weekly starting on the date selected by
the non-school organization.

Note: The flexibility of Enrollment Reporting allows schools to schedule Enrollment Reporting
rosters to coincide with important academic dates, such as add-drop date, mid-term, or
graduations.

3.8.3 Modifying an Enrollment Reporting Schedule
The Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify page allows you to make changes to your school’s
current Enrollment Reporting Schedule, the SSCR roster can be sent as often as once a week or
as seldom as twice a year. Specifically, you can change the following report settings:
•

Default Sort Order—Allows schools to change how the records on your enrollment
reports are sorted.

•

Add blank line—Allows you to add a new scheduled or ad hoc report to your school’s
current reporting schedule.

•

Date—You can change the specific date on which to receive an Enrollment Reporting
roster from NSLDS. This is useful if a regularly scheduled report is to arrive on an
inconvenient date. This field also allows you to specify the date on which to receive an
ad hoc Enrollment Reporting roster.

•

Type—Allows you to specify whether a report is part of your school’s normal reporting
schedule or an ad hoc (off-schedule) report.

•

Cancel—Allows you to remove an individual report from your school’s current reporting
schedule.

To modify the existing schedule:

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1. On the Enrollment Reporting Schedule page, click Modify Schedule. The Enrollment
Reporting Schedule Modify page appears (Figure 3–24). You may change one or any of
the available fields.

Figure 3–24, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify
2. In the Default Sort Order list, click a selection. Valid sort orders are:
•

Student SSN (Default)—Sort student records in ascending numeric order by student
SSN.

•

Last Name—Sort student records in ascending alphabetic order by student last name.

•

Student Designator—Sort student records ordered by the identifier you use on your
internal system, provided that you report that identifier to NSLDS as part of the
Enrollment Reporting process.

3. To add a new report date to your school’s reporting schedule, click Add blank line. The
Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify—New Report page displays again, this time with
a blank row in the Current Reporting Schedule (Figure 3–25). Update the information for
the new report as described in Steps 4 and 5.

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Figure 3–25, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify—New Report
4. In the Date field for an individual report, type over any date you wish to change for
receiving the report from NSLDS. The date must be greater than or equal to the current
date and less than or equal to the current date plus 1 year.
5. In the Type list, click the type of individual report you wish to retrieve. Reports types
are:
•

Regular—A regularly scheduled file. When NSLDS sends an organization a regular
file, it automatically schedules another such file for 1 year in the future.

•

Ad hoc—A file generated for some special reason and not as part of the
organization’s regular schedule. When NSLDS sends an organization an ad hoc file,
it does not automatically schedule another ad hoc file for 1 year in the future.

6. If you want to remove a report date from your school’s schedule, click the appropriate
box under the Cancel column.
7. When you have finished changing your school’s reporting schedule, click Submit. The
Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify Confirm page appears (Figure 3–26).
You can also discard your schedule changes and return to the Enrollment Reporting
Schedule page by clicking Reset.

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Figure 3–26, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify Confirm
8. To save your schedule changes to the NSLDS database, click Confirm. The Enrollment
Reporting Schedule page appears again, showing the newly modified reporting schedule
(Figure 3–27).
You can also return to the Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify page without saving
changes by clicking Cancel. This allows you to continue modifying your schedule.

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Figure 3–27, Enrollment Reporting Schedule Modify—After Confirm

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Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts
This appendix defines the layout for each record within the Enrollment Reporting roster files and
each field within the records. You must ensure both the accuracy of the reporting data and
correct placement and coding of the data within the files. In addition to the record layouts and
field definitions, this chapter lists the codes for two fields: Enrollment Status Codes and error
codes returned in the Acknowledgment/Error File. The appendix ends with a table showing the
error checking, or edits, that NSLDS performs on the submittal file. You can use this table to
develop software that updates the submittal file before returning it to NSLDS and reduce the
error correction portion of the Enrollment Update cycle.
Remember these files are transmitted via SAIG:
•

SSCRXXOP—The Enrollment Reporting roster file sent to your school by NSLDS on
the schedule created by your institution.

•

SSCRXXIN—The completed submittal files or Error Correction File that is returned to
NSLDS.

•

SSCEXXOP—The Acknowledgment/Error File sent to your school by NSLDS.

•

SSCMXXIN—The files generated as a result of ad hoc reporting.

A.1 Record Layout Specifications
This section describes the record and file formats that NSLDS uses to collect enrollment
verification from schools. The record layout specification is provided, including field definitions
and formatting instructions.
The Enrollment Reporting roster file and the submittal file have the same record layout. The
Acknowledgment/Error File and the Error Correction File have the same record layout.
Each field definition includes the following:
•

Name—Brief, descriptive title

•

Description—Short narrative definition

•

Type—Indicator of the kind of value that must be in the field, as follows:
− Character denotes a field that may contain spaces, letters, or numbers in any
combination—for example, 17 Magnolia Street. Character fields not specifically
reported must be filled with spaces. If a field is said to require a value ‘greater than
spaces,’ the field must contain at least one letter or number.
− Numeric denotes a field that must contain only numbers—for example, 1234567 as a
Loan Sequence Number. Letters, special characters, or spaces in a numeric field are
invalid. An entry of T491_24, for example, would not be accepted. Unless otherwise
specified in the record layout, numeric fields not specifically reported must be filled
with zeros.

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− Date fields must contain only numeric data, 8 digits, and appear in the format
CCYYMMDD, where:
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒

CC
YY
MM
DD

=
=
=
=

2-digit century
2-digit year
2-digit month designation (01–12)
2-digit day designation (01–31, depending on the month and year)

Under this convention, an entry of 19950430 would be accepted, but 043095 would
not. Unless otherwise specified in the record layout, date fields not specifically
reported must be filled with zeros.
− Date/Timestamp fields add a timestamp immediately after the date and appear in the
format HHMMSSNNNNNN, where:
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒

HH
MM
SS
NNNNNN

=
=
=
=

2-digit hour designation
2-digit minute designation
2-digit second designation
6-digit nanosecond designation

The field’s full format is CCYYMMDDHHMMSSNNNNNN. NSLDS supplies the
data for all date/timestamp fields.
•

Size—Number of bytes the field occupies

•

Comments—Additional information about the field

•

Edit(s)—Description of the error checking that NSLDS applies to the file that you return

•

Reporting—Instructions indicating whether the field must contain data other than spaces
or zeroes are described below:
− Mandatory, do not change—NSLDS provides the data in the field and you must not
change it.
− Mandatory—You must fill in this field for every Detail record.
− Mandatory, conditional—You must fill in this field if the condition described applies
to the student. For example, ACD (anticipated completion date) must be completed
for ‘F’ enrollment status, but not for ‘W’ or ‘L’ enrollment status.
− Optional—You may fill in this field if desired.

•

Position—The position refers to the beginning and ending location (byte number) of the
field within the record.

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A.1.1 Header Record
The following section provides the specifications of the Header record at the beginning of the
Enrollment Reporting roster file and submittal file. NSLDS provides most of the data in this
record’s fields, and it must not be changed. The sole exception is the Certification Date, which
must be filled in before the file is returned to NSLDS.
Enrollment Reporting Roster Header Records
Enrollment Reporting Roster Header Record
Roster Sequence Number
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

N/A

Numeric

1–7

Description:

A 7-digit number used to verify the proper location of the Header record in
the Enrollment Reporting roster file or submittal file.

Comments:

None

Edits:

Must equal 0000000.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory, do not change.

Verifies:

Error:

Error No.:

Error Message:

Must equal 0000000.

Does not equal 000000.

None

File not processed.

Cannot be blank.

Is blank.

None

File not processed.

Trailer record required for
each header in file.

Trailer record is missing.

None

File not processed.

School or servicer must be
enrolled with the NSLDS as
a participant.

School or servicer not
enrolled with the NSLDS
as a participant.

None

File not processed.

SAIG mailbox same as sent
to SAIG mailbox.

Received SAIG mailbox
different than sent to
SAIG mailbox.

None

File not processed.

Servicer submitted batch for
school using a servicer.

School cannot submit
batch if signed on with a
servicer.

None

File not processed.

School not set up with
servicer submits own data.

School not submitting
own data.

None

File not processed.

Submission is from SAIG

Submission not from
SAIG.

None

File not processed.

Date Revised:

2/10/2008

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Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts

Enrollment Reporting Roster Header Title
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

N/A

Character

8–25

Description:

Contains SSCR ROSTER HEADER to indicate that this is the Enrollment
Reporting roster file or the submittal file. Or contains SSCR ERROR
HEADER to indicate Acknowledgment/Error File.

Comments:

NSLDS supplies the data in this field.

Edits:

None

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory, do not change.

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

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Filler
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

N/A

Numeric

26–28

Description:

Blank field reserved for future use.

Comments:

This field is blank when sent to the school.

Edits:

Not applicable

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory, do not change.

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

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Code for School
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

N/A

Numeric

29–36

Description:

An 8-digit ED Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) code used to
identify the school.

Comments:

•

NSLDS supplies the code in this field.

•

If a school has questions about its OPE code, it should call the NSLDS
Customer Service Center at 1–800–999–8219.

Edits:

Must be all numbers and a valid OPE school code from the NSLDS School
Codes Table.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory, do not change.

Verifies:

Error:

Error No.:

Error Message:

Must be numeric.

Not numeric.

None

File not processed.

Must be valid OPE ID.

Not valid OPE ID.

None

File not processed.

Date Revised:

3/3/1999

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Enrollment Reporting Roster Create Date/Timestamp
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Date/Timestamp

37–56

Description:

Date and time the Enrollment Reporting roster file was produced by
NSLDS.

Comments:

•

CCYYMMDDHHMMSSNNNNNN format.

•

This is the date and time affixed to an Enrollment Reporting roster file
when it is generated for the school by NSLDS.

•

Should equal spaces for Ad Hoc File (File type A).

Edits:

Must be a valid date. Date must match a date in an original Enrollment
Reporting roster file sent to the school.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory, do not change.

Verifies:

Error:

Error No.:

Error Message:

Must be valid date.

Invalid date.

None

File not processed.

Date must match an
Enrollment Reporting roster
file date.

Date does not match date
of an Enrollment
Reporting roster file.

None

File not processed.

Date Revised:

1/2/2002

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Certification Date
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Date

57–64

Description:

Date the school certifies the enrollment information updated in the
Enrollment Reporting roster file. At this time, it becomes the submittal file.

Comments:

•

CCYYMMDD format.

•

You must fill in this field with the certification date for the submittal
file.

•

Certification date must be greater than the CCYYMMDD portion of
the Create Date/Timestamp.

•

Certification date must be less than process date.

•

Certification date must be within a parameter set by NSLDS to ensure
the certification date is not unreasonably old.

Edits:

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory

Verifies:
Must be valid date.
Date Revised:

Error:
Invalid or no date.

Error No.:
None

Error Message:
File not processed.

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File Type
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

N/A

Character

65–65

Description:

Indicates that this is the Enrollment Reporting roster file/submittal file or
the Acknowledgment/Error File.

Comments:

None

Edits:

•

Must be R; however, if all records in the file are being added and
sequence numbers are 9999998, then this field should be A for ad hoc
reporting.

•

Must be E, if Acknowledgment/Error File.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory, do not change.

Verifies:
Must be R, A, or E.
Date Revised:

Error:
Invalid character.

Error No.:
None

Error Message:
File not processed.

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Filler
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

N/A

Character

265

66–330

Description:

Blank field to complete full record length.

Comments:

Fill with spaces.

Edits:

Not applicable.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory, do not change.

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

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A.1.2 Enrollment Reporting Roster File or Submittal File Detail Record
The following section provides specifications of the Detail record that are part of the Enrollment
Reporting roster file and submittal file. NSLDS provides data in some fields that you must not
change. Fields that may be changed are enrollment status fields. A school may also add the
Student Designator that the school uses to identify students when the SSN is not used.
Detail Records
Record Sequence Number
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Numeric

1–7

Description:

A 7-digit number that identifies the position of the student record in the
Enrollment Reporting roster file.

Comments:

•

The sequence number for the first Detail record is 0000001.

•

Subsequent records are incremented sequentially by one.

•

For NSLDS-provided records, this data element is filled when the
Enrollment Reporting roster file is produced.

•

If you are adding one or more students, the sequence number for all
added records must be 9999998.

•

Values in Student’s SSN, Student’s First Name, and Student’s Last
Name must match values in the Enrollment record produced by
NSLDS.

Edits:

None

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

•

For NSLDS-provided records: Do not change.

•

For school-initiated records: Must contain 9999998.

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

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Put message classes(s) at top of table and then place file name at the top of each table.
Student’s Social Security Number
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Character

8–16

Description:

Social Security Number of a Title IV aid recipient.

Comments:

•

Valid or pseudo-SSN reported to NSLDS by the data provider.

•

If a school believes the NSLDS data are incorrect, contact the NSLDS
Customer Service Center and provide verifying documents.

•

If you add a student to the Enrollment Reporting roster file, you must
fill in this field with the student’s actual SSN.

•

If the actual number is not available, enter the pseudo-SSN assigned by
the data provider.

•

Values in Student’s SSN, Student’s First Name, and Student’s Last
Name must match values in the enrollment record produced by
NSLDS, except for school-added records.

Edits:

For NSLDS-provided records, the value must match SSN in Enrollment
Reporting roster file. For school-initiated records, the value must match an
SSN in the NSLDS database.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

•

For NSLDS-provided records: Do not change.

•

For school-initiated records: Mandatory.

Verifies:

Error:

Must match value in NSLDS
database.

Date Revised:

Does not match value in
NSLDS database.

Error No.:

Error Message:

No Detail record matches the record
identifiers (Student’s First Name,
Student’s Last Name, and Student’s
SSN) in the NSLDS database.

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Student’s Social Security Number Indicator
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Character

Description:

A single-character indicator showing whether the Student’s Social Security
number is real or pseudo.

Comments:

•

SSN indicator reported to NSLDS by the data provider could be R (for
“real”) or P (for “pseudo”).

•

If you add a student to the submittal file, you must use the correct SSN
and fill in this field with R (for “real”).

Edits:

Must be R (for “real”) or P (for “pseudo”).

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

•

For NSLDS-provided records: Do not change.

•

For school-initiated records: Mandatory.

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

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Student’s Last Name
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Character

18–52

Description:

Current last name of the Title IV aid recipient.

Comments:

•

Last name reported to NSLDS by the data provider.

•

If the student has no last name, this field contains NLN.

•

If you believe the NSLDS data are incorrect, contact the data provider
and provide verifying documents.

•

If you add a student to the submittal file, you must fill in this field with
the last name.

•

If the student does not have a last name, you must fill in this field with
NLN.

•

If the last name exceeds 35 characters, drop any characters in excess of
35.

Edits:

For NSLDS-provided records: Must match Enrollment Reporting roster
file.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

•

For NSLDS-provided records: Do not change.

•

For school-initiated records: Mandatory.

Verifies:

Error:

Must match value in NSLDS
database.

Date Revised:

Does not match value in
NSLDS database.

Error No.:

Error Message:

No Detail record matches the record
identifiers (Student’s First Name,
Student’s Last Name, and Student’s
SSN) in the NSLDS database.

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Student’s First Name
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Character

53–64

Description:

First name of the Title IV aid recipient.

Comments:

•

First name reported to NSLDS by the data provider.

•

If the student has no first name, this field contains NFN (no first
name).

•

If you believe NSLDS data are incorrect. Contact the data provider and
provide verifying documents.

•

If you add a student to the submittal file, you must fill in this field with
the first name.

•

If the student does not have a first name, you must fill in this field with
NFN.

•

If the first name exceeds 12 characters, drop any characters in excess
of 12.

•

Values in Record Sequence Number, Student’s SSN, Student’s First
Name, and Date of Student’s Birth must match values in enrollment
record produced by NSLDS, except for school-added records.

Edits:

For NSLDS-provided records: Must match Enrollment Reporting roster
file.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

•

For NSLDS-provided records: Do not change.

•

For school-initiated records: Mandatory.

Verifies:

Error:

Must match value in NSLDS
database.

Date Revised:

Does not match value in
NSLDS database.

Error No.:

Error Message:

No Detail record matches the record
identifiers (Student’s First Name,
Student’s Last Name, and Student’s
SSN) in the NSLDS database.

1/2/2002

Continued from previous page

February 2008

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Student’s Middle Initial
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Character

Description:

Middle initial of the Title IV aid recipient.

Comments:

•

Middle initial (MI) reported to NSLDS by the data provider.

•

If you believe NSLDS data are incorrect, contact the data provider and
provide verifying documents.

•

If you add a student to the submittal file and the student has no middle
initial, leave this field blank.

Edits:

None

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

•

For NSLDS-provided records: Do not change.

•

For school-initiated records: Conditional, Mandatory if MI is known.

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

3/3/1999

Continued from previous page

February 2008

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Date of Student’s Birth
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Date

66–73

Description:

Date (year, month, and day) on which the Title IV aid recipient was born.

Comments:

•

CCYYMMDD format.

•

Date of Student’s Birth as reported to NSLDS by the data provider.

•

If a student’s birth date is unknown, this field contains 19000101.

•

If you believe NSLDS data are incorrect, contact the data provider and
provide verifying documents.

•

If you add a student to the submittal file, you must fill in this field.

•

If the Date of Student’s Birth is unknown, fill in the field with
19000101.

•

Must all be numeric.

•

MM must be a value from 01–12; DD must be a value from 01–31,
depending on the month and year.

Edits:

Default Value/Use:

Use 19000101 for school-initiated records, if Date of Student’s Birth is
unknown.

Reporting:

•

For NSLDS-provided records: Do not change.

•

For school-initiated records: Mandatory.

Verifies:
Must be valid date.
Date Revised:

Error:
Invalid date.

Error No.:
13

Error Message:
Invalid Date of Student’s Birth.

1/2/2002

Continued from previous page

February 2008

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Put message classes(s) at top of table and then place file name at the top of each table.
Filler
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Character

74–138

Description:

Blank to full length.

Comments:

Blank when sent to the school.
This area was formerly used to send identifier changes to NSLDS. Schools
should contact the data provider of the loan information for the student to
arrange correction to SSN, first and last name, middle initial, or SSN.*

Edits:

Not applicable.

Default Value/Use:

None.

Reporting:

Mandatory do not change.

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

3/3/1999

Continued from previous page
*Note: Schools and loan holders (data providers) are encouraged to resolve identifier conflicts
directly between the two parties. NSLDS has available on its Web site organization contacts to
help facilitate this process. If you are unable to resolve data conflicts, please contact the NSLDS
Customer Service Center at 1–800–999–8219, Option 3.

February 2008

NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
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Date of Anticipated Completion
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Date

139–146

Description:

Date (year, month, and day) when a student is scheduled to complete
course requirements.

Comments:

•

CCYYMMDD format.

•

For degree programs, this date is the same as the anticipated graduation
date. The date already in this field is the one most recently reported to
NSLDS by the school. If the school has not reported, the date supplied
by the data provider is used.

•

This is a key element in monitoring the student’s projected entry into
the grace period and subsequent repayment period.

•

This field must be reviewed in each Enrollment Reporting roster file
and updated as appropriate especially when an enrollment status
change occurs.

•

If the date seems reasonable given the student’s academic progress, do
not modify. Modify only if there is a substantial change (that is, May to
August, rather than May 2nd to May 3rd).

•

If you add a student to the submittal file, this field must contain the
school’s most current estimate.

•

The date received from a school will be modified if the date is 10 years
more than the Certification Date. The date will be modified to a date
10 years from the Certification Date.

•

ACD is not required for an enrollment status of ‘D,’ ‘L,’ ‘W,’ ‘X,’ or
‘Z.’

•

Must be all numeric.

•

MM must be a value from 01–12; DD must be a value from 01–31,
depending on the month and year; CC must be 19 or 20.

•

If the Enrollment Status Code equals ‘A,’ ‘F,’ or ‘H,’ this date must be
greater than the Certification Date and the Enrollment Status Effective
Date (see Figure A–1, Enrollment Status Codes).

•

If the Enrollment Status Code equals ‘G,’ this field must equal the
Enrollment Status Effective Date.

Edits:

Default Value/Use:

None.

Reporting:

Mandatory if Enrollment Status Code equals ‘G,’ ‘A,’ ‘F,’ or ‘H.’

Verifies:
Must be numeric when
Enrollment Status Code
equals ‘G,’ ‘A,’ ‘F,’ or ‘H.’

Error:
Invalid date.

Error No.:
15

Error Message:
Invalid date of Anticipated
Completion.

February 2008

Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts

Date of Anticipated Completion
Must be greater than
Certification Date when
Enrollment Status Code
equals ‘A,’ ‘F,’ or ‘H.’

Is less than Certification
Date.

Anticipated completion date must be
greater than Certification Date when
Enrollment Status Code equals ‘A,’
‘F,’ or ‘H.’

Must be greater than or equal
to ESED.

Is less than ESED.

Anticipated completion date must be
greater than or equal to Date
Enrollment Status Effective.

Date Revised:

12/4/2006

Continued from previous page

February 2008

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Put message classes(s) at top of table and then place file name at the top of each table.
Filler
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Character

143

147–289

Description:

Blank to length of the field

Comments:

Blank when sent to the schools

Edits:

Not applicable

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory, do not change

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

3/3/1999

Continued from previous page

February 2008

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Code for Enrollment Status
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Character

290

Description:

Code reflecting student’s current enrollment status (as of the Certification
Date in the Header record). See Appendix A.2.

Comments:

•

This field in the Enrollment Reporting roster file contains the
enrollment status most recently reported to NSLDS. Along with the
Date Enrollment Status Effective field, it is the most significant piece
of data in the entire Enrollment Reporting process.

•

Together these fields determine the exact beginning of the student’s
grace and subsequent repayment period.

•

If a student’s enrollment status has changed, you must update this field
with the student’s current enrollment status (see Appendix A.2,
Enrollment Status Codes).

Edits:

Must be a valid code from Appendix A.2, Enrollment Status Codes, and
must have a corresponding value in the Date Enrollment Status Effective
field.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory

Verifies:

Error:

Error No.:

Error Message:

Cannot be blank.

Is blank.

Missing Code for Enrollment Status.

Must be valid code.

Invalid code.

Invalid Code for Enrollment Status.

Date Revised:

12/4/2006

Continued from previous page
Note: If a school determines that a student has transferred from another school from which he or
she received a Title IV loan, the school is encouraged to update NSLDS on the Web, showing
that the student is now attending its institution, or add the student to its submittal file. The new
enrollment information will be passed on to loan holders so that the student is not inadvertently
placed in repayment.

February 2008

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Date Enrollment Status Effective
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Date

291–298

Description:

Effective date (year, month, and day) a borrower entered current
enrollment status.

Comments:

•

CCYYMMDD format.

•

Specific instructions regarding which date to report in conjunction with
each enrollment status code are provided in Section A.2, Enrollment
Status Codes.

•

If the enrollment status has not changed, do not change this field.

•

This field is the date a borrower entered current enrollment status and
not the date the file is processed by the school (Certification Date).

•

Must be all numeric.

•

MM must be a value from 01–12 and DD must be a value from 01–31,
depending on the month and year.

•

There must be a corresponding value in the Code for Enrollment Status
field.

•

Must be no more than 30 years in the past, based on the Enrollment
Reporting roster generation date.

•

Cannot be before the student’s date of birth plus 12 years.

Edits:

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory

Verifies:

Error:

Error No.:

Error Message:

Must be numeric.

Invalid date.

Invalid Date Enrollment Status
Effective.

Field is completed.

Field not completed.

Missing Date Enrollment Status
Effective; mandatory when Code for
Enrollment Status is not equal to ‘D’
for Deceased.

Must be less than 30 years in
the past, based on
Enrollment Reporting roster
generation date.

More than 30 years in the
past.

Invalid Date Enrollment Status
Effective.

Must be greater than
Student’s Date of Birth plus
12.

Less than Student’s Date
of Birth plus 12.

Invalid Date Enrollment Status
Effective.

Must be less than or equal to
Certification Date.

Greater than or equal to
Certification Date.

Certification Date must be greater
than or equal to Date Enrollment
Status Effective.

February 2008

Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts

Date Enrollment Status Effective
Must be less than or equal to
ACD.

Greater than ACD.

Date Enrollment Status Effective
must be less than or equal to ACD.

Date change falls in
acceptable range in relation
to historical data.

Date sequence error.

Student status could not be applied
as current due to a reporting/history
violation.

Date Revised:

3/3/1999

Continued from previous page

February 2008

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School Identification Designator (ID)
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Character

299–318

Description:

School-assigned designation used instead of the SSN to identify the Title
IV aid recipient.

Comments:

•

If your school does not use the SSN as the key identifier in its
registration database, use this field to capture the designator you use
for that purpose.

•

If supplied, NSLDS will return the school ID in each Enrollment
Reporting roster file, which will ease the task of subsequently
matching NSLDS records to school data.

•

The data are not forwarded to the data provider.

Edits:

None, although left-justification is recommended.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Optional

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

1/2/2002

Continued from previous page

100

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Filler
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

N/A

Character

319–330

Description:

Blank field to complete full record length.

Comments:

Not applicable

Edits:

Not applicable

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

3/3/1999

Continued from previous page

February 2008

101

NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
A.1.3 Enrollment Reporting Roster File or Submittal File Trailer Record
The following section provides specifications of the Trailer record that are part of the Enrollment
Reporting roster file and submittal file. NSLDS provides the data in this record’s fields and you
must not change them (except the Number of Detail records field). This must be updated to
reflect additional records before returning the file to NSLDS.
Enrollment Reporting Roster Trailer Records
Enrollment Reporting Roster Sequence Number
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

N/A

Numeric

1–7

Description:

A 7-digit number used to verify the proper location of the Trailer record in
the Enrollment Reporting roster file.

Comments:

None

Edits:

Must equal 9999999.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory, do not change.

Verifies:
Must equal 9999999.
Date Revised:

102

Error:

Error No.:

Does not equal 9999999.

None

Error Message:
File not processed.

3/3/1999

February 2008

Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts

Enrollment Reporting Roster Trailer Title
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Character

8–26

Description:

Contains SSCR Roster Trailer to indicate that this is the Enrollment
Reporting roster file or submittal file. Contains SSCR Error Trailer for
the Acknowledgment/Error File.

Comments:

NSLDS supplies the data in this field.

Edits:

None

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory, do not change.

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

3/3/1999

Continued from previous page

February 2008

103

NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide

Number of Detail Records
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Numeric

27–34

Description:

Number of Detail records in the file.

Comments:

•

This field confirms that you have returned all records in the Enrollment
Reporting roster file.

•

This field contains the number of records in the Enrollment Reporting
roster file.

•

If you add Detail records to the file for students not included in the
Enrollment Reporting roster file, you must update this field to reflect
those additional records.

•

If you remove Detail records from the Enrollment Reporting roster file,
you must update this field to reflect those records.

Edits:

Must be equal to the number of Detail records in the submittal file.

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory

Verifies:
Must equal total number of
Detail records in the
submittal file.
Date Revised:

Error:

Error No.:

Does not equal total
number of Detail records
in submittal file.

None

Error Message:
File not processed.

12/4/2006

Continued from previous page

104

February 2008

Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts

Filler
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

N/A

Character

296

35–330

Description:

Blank field to complete full record length.

Comments:

Not applicable

Edits:

Not applicable

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

3/3/1999

Continued from previous page

February 2008

105

NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
A.1.4 Acknowledgment/Error File
The Acknowledgment/Error File (SSCEXXOP) contains the same file layout as listed above
with one exception. The Enrollment Reporting roster file and submittal file use fields 331–360 as
filler in the Detail record. In the Acknowledgment/Error File, any Detail records returned to the
school contain error codes in this position. The error code indicates the reason the data were not
accepted by NSLDS and must be corrected and returned within 10 days.

Web
Notes

106

February 2008

Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts

Error Codes in Detail Record
History Kept:

Type:

Size:

Position:

Yes

Character

331–360

Description:

Contains 2-digit Error Code—one or more codes may be attached to a
record. See Figure A.2

Comments:

Error Code(s) indicating the reason the record was not able to update data
on NSLDS.

Edits:

Not applicable

Default Value/Use:

None

Reporting:

Mandatory

Verifies:
N/A
Date Revised:

Error:
N/A

Error No.:
N/A

Error Message:
N/A

1/2/2002

Schools may submit an Error Correction File in the format of the submittal file with the records
from the Acknowledgment/Error file corrected. Schools may also correct the rejected records by
providing certification information for the student on the NSLDS Web site.

February 2008

107

NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
A.2 Enrollment Status Codes
Figure A-1 displays the valid Enrollment Status Codes to be used in a submittal file or for
Enrollment Update on the NSLDS Web site.

Code

Status

Definition

Date Used as Effective Date

Approved leave Student is currently enrolled at this
of absence
institution, but has a leave of absence
approved in accordance with [34 CFR
668.22(d)(2)].

Date the student began an approved leave
of absence.

Deceased

Student is deceased.

Date of death, if known; otherwise, the date
the institution was notified of the death by a
reliable source.

Full-time

Student is enrolled full-time, according to
the institution’s definition, in accordance
with [34 CFR 668.2] or [34 CFR 682.200].

Date on which the student most recently
began uninterrupted1 enrollment on a fulltime basis.

Graduated

Student has completed the course of study
and is not currently admitted to, nor
enrolled in, a different course of study at
this institution.

Date the student completed the course
requirements (not presentation date of the
diploma or certificate).

Half-time or
more, but less
than full-time

Student is enrolled at least half-time, but
less than full-time, according to this
institution’s definition, in accordance with
[34 CFR 682.200].

Date student dropped below full-time, or if
half time is the original status, the date on
which the student most recently began
uninterrupted1 enrollment on a half time or
more, but less than full-time basis.

Less than halftime

Student is enrolled less than half-time,
according to this institution’s definition, in
accordance with [34 CFR 682.200].

Date student dropped below half time, or if
less than half time is the original status, the
date on which the student most recently
began uninterrupted1 enrollment on a less
than half-time basis.

Withdrawn
(voluntary or
involuntary)

Student has officially withdrawn from all
courses at this institution, stopped attending
all classes at this institution but did not
officially withdraw, or for any reason did
not re-enroll at this institution for the next
regular (non-summer) term without
completing the course of study.

Date student officially withdraws or, in the
absence of a formal withdrawal, the last
recorded date of attendance. In the case of
the student who completes a term and does
not return for the next, leaving the course of
study uncompleted, the final day of the term
in which the student was last enrolled.

Never attended

Individual on whose behalf a loan was
certified or awarded, who was admitted,
may have enrolled (registered), but never
attended classes at this institution.
(Institution does have a record of the
individual.)

Report certification date, as recorded in the
submittal file Header record.

108

February 2008

Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts

Code
Z

Status

Definition

No record found Individual for whom a thorough search of
the institution’s records reveals no
information. (Institution does not have a
record of the individual.)

Date Used as Effective Date
Report certification date, as recorded in the
submittal file Header record.

Students are considered to be in school and continuously enrolled during academic year holiday and vacation
periods, as well as during the summer between academic years (even if not enrolled in a summer session), as long
as there is reason to believe that they intend to enroll for the next regularly scheduled term. For example, students
should not be reported as “Withdrawn” at the end of the spring term if they are expected to re-enroll for the fall
term. If they do not return as expected, status must be changed to “Withdrawn” within 30 days of that
determination, or within 30 days of the start of the new term, whichever occurs first, with an effective date of the
last date of attendance.

Figure A–1, Enrollment Status Codes

February 2008

109

NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
A.3 Error Codes
Figure A-2 summarizes the record-level edits returned in the Acknowledgment/Error File or
displayed on the NSLDS Web site when adding or updating student enrollment data.
Error
Code
11

Field Name

Position

Error Message

Student’s
Social Security
number

8-16

Student’s First
Name

53-64

Date of
Student’s Birth

6-73

Date of
Student’s Birth

66-73

Invalid Date of Student’s Birth. Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD
format.

Anticipated
Completion
Date

139-146

Invalid Date of Anticipated Completion. Must be a valid date in
CCYYMMDD format when Enrollment Status Code of ‘A,’ ‘F,’ or ‘H.’
(See Notes 1-3 below.)

Anticipated
Completion
Date

139-146

Anticipated Completion Date cannot be greater than 10 years after the
Certification Date. (See Notes 1-3 below.)

Enrollment
Status Code

290-290

Missing Enrollment Status.

Enrollment
Status Code

290-290

Invalid Enrollment Status Code. Valid codes are ‘F,’ ‘H,’ ‘L,’ ‘A,’ ‘W,’
‘G,’ ‘D,’ ‘X,’ and ‘Z.’

Enrollment
Status
Effective Date

291-298

Invalid Enrollment Status Effective Date. Must be a valid date in
CCYYMMDD format. It must be less than 45 years in the past, based
on Certification Date (formerly based on Roster Generation), and
greater than the Date of Student’s Birth plus 12 years. This edit is not
applied to Enrollment Status ‘D’ with default, ‘X’ or ‘Z’. (See Note 4
below.)

Enrollment
Status Code

290-290

A school cannot report an Enrollment Status of ‘X’ or ‘Z’ if an
enrollment history (Enrollment Status Code of ‘F’, ‘H’, ‘A’, or ‘L’)
already exists for student at that school.

Enrollment
Status
Effective Date

291-298

Missing Enrollment Status Effective Date. Must be a valid date in
CCYYMMDD format. This edit is not applied to Enrollment Status ‘D,’
‘X,’ or ‘Z.’ (See notes 4-5 below.)

Anticipated
Completion
Date

139-146

Anticipated Completion Date must be greater than Certification Date
when school reports Enrollment Status Code of ‘A,’ ‘F,’ or ‘H.’ NSLDS
will substitute the ACD on its database when no ACD is returned on the
submittal file, but that ACD will still be subject to this edit. (See Notes
1-3 below.)

110

The student identifiers (Student’s Social Security number, first name,
and date of birth) submitted by a school do not match those for any
student in the database.

February 2008

Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts

Error
Code

Field Name

Position

Error Message

Enrollment
Status
Effective Date

291-298

Enrollment Status Effective Date must be less than Certification Date.

Enrollment
Status
Effective Date

291-298

Student status could not be applied as current.
Formerly, this was due to a school reporting an Enrollment Status
Effective Date prior or equal to two or more previous Dates Enrollment
Status Effective.
Beginning January 2, 2002, this is due to a school reporting an
Enrollment Status Code, Enrollment Status Effective Date, or
Anticipated Completion Date that does not match the current value
stored in the database with a new Certification Date prior to the current
Certification Date.

Anticipated
Completion
Date

139-146

Enrollment
Status
Effective Date

291-298

Certification
Date

From
Header
57-64

Enrollment
Status
Effective Date

291-298

Enrollment
Status Code

290-290

Certification Date cannot be more than 180 days after Enrollment Status
Effective Date for Enrollment Status of ‘A.’

Enrollment
Status
Effective Date

291-298

If a school has 10 or more students on its previous Enrollment
Reporting roster file and more than 10 percent of the records on a
submittal file have an Enrollment Status Code of ‘D,’ Roster Receipt
will reject all the detail records that contain that status.

37/11
Web/
header

Certification
Date is Invalid

From
Header
57-64

Invalid Date of Certification. Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD
format.

38/13
Web/
header

Certification
Date is too Old

From
Header
57-64

The certification date has preceded the earliest allowable date for
certification of data. This date is controlled by a validation parameter
and is calculated by subtracting the number of parameter days from the
current date.

39/21
Web/
header

Certification
Date is in the
future

From
Header
57-64

The certification date is in the future. Future certification of data is not
allowed.

February 2008

Anticipated Completion Date must be greater than or equal to
Enrollment Status Effective Date for Enrollment Status of ‘F,’ ‘H,’ and
‘A.’ (See Notes 1-3 below.)

If the Enrollment Status Code is ‘F,’ ‘H,’ or ‘A,’ and has not changed
since the last submission, Enrollment Status Effective Date cannot equal
Certification Date.

111

NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide

Error
Code

Field Name

Position

Error Message

Notes:
1. Anticipated Completion Date is adjusted by NSLDS to 0001-01-01 for Enrollment status ‘X,’ ‘Z,’ ‘W,’
and ‘L.’
2.

Anticipated Completion Date is adjusted by NSLDS to 9999-12-31 for Enrollment Status of ‘D.’

Anticipated Completion Date is adjusted by NSLDS to Enrollment Status Effective Date for Enrollment
Status ‘G.’

Enrollment Status Effective Date is adjusted by NSLDS to Certification Date for Enrollment Status ‘X’
and ‘Z’ when a valid date is not supplied.

Enrollment Status Effective Date is adjusted by NSLDS to 9999-12-31 when not reported by the school
and Enrollment Status is ‘D.’

Figure A–2, Error Codes and Messages

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Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts
A.4 Error Checking
Check your data for errors before submitting the completed submittal file or Error Correction
File to NSLDS. The following tables list common reasons that files and records are rejected.

A.4.1 Header Record
Data Element

Validation Criteria

Action

Sequence Number

Must be 0000000.

Accept only if the sequence number of the
first record is 0000000.

Create Date/Timestamp

Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD
format. Must match the date/timestamp in
the Enrollment Reporting roster file sent to
the school.

Reject if the date/timestamp in the
submittal file does not match the
date/timestamp in the Enrollment
Reporting roster file received from
NSLDS.

Certification Date

Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD
format. Must be greater than or equal the
Enrollment Status Effective Date.

Accept when both criteria are met.

File Type

For the submittal file, must be ‘R.’

Reject if neither ‘R,’ ‘E,’ nor ‘A.’

For the Error Correction File, must be ‘E.’
For the ad hoc file, must be ‘A.’

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NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide
A.4.2 Detail Record
Data Element
Student’s SSN
Student’s Last Name

Validation Criteria

Action

Every field’s contents must match the
original field contents in the Enrollment
Reporting roster file sent to the school.

Reject if any field contents have changed
compared to the Enrollment Reporting
roster file transmitted to the school.

Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD
format.

Accept when all criteria are met.

Student’s First Name
Date of Student’s Birth
Date of Anticipated
Completion

If the Enrollment Status Code equals ‘G,’
this field must equal the Enrollment Status
Effective Date.
If the Enrollment Status Code equals ‘A,’
‘F,’ or ‘L,’ this date must be greater than
the Certification Date.
Code for Enrollment
Status

Must be one of the values in the
Enrollment Status Codes table.

Accept if in the Enrollment Status Codes
table; reject otherwise.

Date Enrollment Status
Effective

Must be a valid date in CCYYMMDD
format.

Accept when all criteria are met; reject
otherwise.

If the Code for Enrollment Status is ‘D,’
this date is optional. If you know this date,
you must provide it.
Student Branch
Designator

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None

Optional field used by schools to identify
students within their own systems.

February 2008

Appendix A: Enrollment Reporting Roster File Record Layouts
A.4.3 Trailer Record
Data Element

Validation Criteria

Action

Enrollment Update
Sequence Number

Must be 9999999.

Accept only if the sequence number of the
last record is 9999999.

Number of Detail
records

Must equal total number of Detail records. Accept only if the count is equal to the
number of Detail records.

Note: Before returning the file, update positions 27–34 in the Trailer record. This number must match the total
number of error records being returned.

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115

File Type	application/pdf
File Title	STUDENT STATUS CONFIRMATION REPORT (SSCR) USER’S GUIDE
Author	Roger Hillas
File Modified	2008-09-09
File Created	2008-09-09