Press Release
National Student Clearinghouse Reports Over 1,000 Colleges Accepted More
Than 18,000 Katrina-Displaced Students From Six Closed Louisiana Colleges
Where Did They Come From? Where Did They Go?
HERNDON, VA, November 16, 2005 - Among the many people displaced when
Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, were thousands
of college students. Many of these students attended six Louisiana
institutions that participate in the National Student Clearinghouse (the
Clearinghouse). As the storm struck just prior to the beginning of the fall
term and these six institutions were unable to resume normal operations for
the fall, many students quickly applied to new colleges in order to continue
their education.
The Clearinghouse, which provides academic reporting and verification
services to more than 2,800 institutions, continues to work with
Katrina-impacted colleges to track the re-enrollment of their students.
Using its nationwide enrollment and degree database, which includes
enrollment data for more than 91% of the nation's postsecondary students,
the Clearinghouse has tracked the re-enrollment of more than 18,000 of the
displaced students*. Additionally, the Clearinghouse was in a position to
assist the more than 1,000 Clearinghouse participating institutions that
accepted displaced students by verifying the students' previous enrollment
which, in many cases, helped to speed their acceptance into their new
institutions.
KATRINA'S IMPACTED COLLEGE STUDENTS
- Six Clearinghouse participating institutions in Louisiana were unable
to resume normal operations for the fall term: Delgado Community
College, Dillard University, Loyola University of New Orleans, Tulane
University, University of New Orleans, and Xavier University of
Louisiana.
- The Clearinghouse has identified the current enrollment for 18,602
students who attended these six Katrina-impacted colleges.*
- Half of the impacted Clearinghouse colleges were public institutions;
half were private institutions. This even split is reflected in the
number of impacted students: 9,017, or 48.47%, moved from a public
college; 9,585, or 51.53%, moved from a private college.*
- 16,463, or 88.50%, of the students moved from a four-year college
(only one of the impacted Clearinghouse institutions, Delgado Community
College, is a two-year school).*
- More than half of the students that moved came from two institutions,
Tulane University (5,900 or 31.72%) and the University of New Orleans
(4,702 or 25.28%).*
WHERE DID KATRINA-IMPACTED STUDENTS GO?
- 1,017 institutions that participate in the Clearinghouse have accepted
Katrina-impacted students. These institutions are located in every state
as well as the District of Columbia.
- Colleges in 10 states accepted nearly three-quarters of all identified
Katrina-impacted students. Nearly half of the students moved to
institutions in Texas or enrolled in other Louisiana institutions.* (See
the table below for a breakdown of the top 10 receiving states.)
| State |
Number of Students
Received* |
% of Students
Received |
| Louisiana |
5,631 |
30.27% |
| Texas |
2,882 |
15.49% |
| New York |
907 |
4.88% |
| Georgia |
895 |
4.81% |
| Illinois |
864 |
4.64% |
| California |
688 |
3.70% |
| Tennessee |
618 |
3.32% |
| Florida |
541 |
2.91% |
| Missouri |
446 |
2.40% |
| Alabama |
428 |
2.30% |
- Although slightly more than half of the students had been enrolled in
a private college, nearly three-quarters enrolled in public institutions
(13,631 or 73.28%) compared to private institutions (4,971 or
26.72%).*
- Almost 12% of the students had been enrolled in two-year schools. Only
1,013 or 5.45% moved to two-year or less schools.*
- Louisiana State University accepted the largest number of
Katrina-impacted students (3,271 or 17.58%).*
Because these impacted institutions participate in the Clearinghouse, the
Clearinghouse was able to facilitate the admission of their students by
providing online enrollment confirmations to transfer-in institutions. In
addition, the Clearinghouse is providing online enrollment and degree
verification to Katrina-impacted colleges that participate in its
EnrollmentVerify and DegreeVerify services. These services ensure that the
enrollment and degree records of displaced students and alumni can continue
to be verified by potential employers and others while their colleges
concentrate on recovery efforts.
Read the coverage in The Chronicle of
Higher Education.
About The National Student Clearinghouse
The National Student Clearinghouse is the most trusted source for enrollment
and degree verification in the U.S. A non-profit organization founded in
cooperation with the higher education community in 1993, the Clearinghouse
serves as a central repository and single point of contact for the collection
and timely exchange of accurate, comprehensive enrollment, degree and
certificate records on behalf of participating institutions.
More than 3,300 colleges, enrolling 92% of US college students, participate
in the Clearinghouse. Student loan providers, employers, student credit issuers,
student health insurance providers, the U.S. Department of Education, and others
access the Clearinghouse's registry over 100 million times annually to conduct
electronic student record verifications. In addition, the Clearinghouse provides
educational research services to both secondary and postsecondary institutions
that provide insights on student access, transfer, permanence, and graduation
rates.
Most Clearinghouse services are provided to colleges and universities at
little or no charge, enabling institutions to redistribute limited staff and
budget resources to more important student service efforts. Its services are
designed to work for institutions of any size, from those with fewer than 500
students to those with enrollments exceeding 35,000. Cumulatively, institutions
have saved millions of dollars by participating in the Clearinghouse. The
success of the Clearinghouse's customer-oriented approach was recognized in a
fall 2008 survey of its institutional participants wherein 92% said they would
recommend the Clearinghouse to other educational institutions.
For more information, visit www.studentclearinghouse.org.
For Questions About This Press Release Only, Contact:
Kathleen Dugan
Marketing Director
703-742-4208
dugan@studentclearinghouse.org
For Help With or Questions About Any Clearinghouse Service, Contact:
703-742-4200
service@studentclearinghouse.org
