For the current school year, South Carolina high schools do not have to submit a mandatory report detailing the college destinations of their graduating classes.
The SC Education Oversight Committee purchased access to the National Student Clearinghouse Student Tracker data for the first time in 2022, giving all SC high schools access to graduation and enrollment data from the nearly 3,600 colleges and universities that participate in the Clearinghouse system, covering 97 percent of two- and four-year colleges in the country.
This action allowed for the suspension of the college freshman reporting requirements of Section 59-101-130 of the South Carolina Code of Laws. The suspension occurred with the passage of a proviso in the 2023-2024 Appropriation Act.
“The data that schools receive from the National Student Clearinghouse is a significant step in providing clarity once students leave SC high schools and move on to postsecondary learning,” said EOC Executive Director Dana Yow.
“Each high school can now see what percentage of their graduates enter any postsecondary institution – in-state or out-of-state – and if those students persist into their sophomore year and ultimately receive a degree or credential within six years. Using this data to replace portions of the College Freshman Report requirement also removes that burden from SC educators.”
Each high school has received individualized reports for Classes 2015-2022, containing data on college enrollment, persistence, and completion within six years.
The EOC’s Post-Grad Dashboard visually illustrates the National Student Clearinghouse report and provides data on the percentage of graduates who enrolled in college the fall after graduation, top majors of students, as well as information on where students are attending college. For the reported years, 59 percent of SC high school graduates enrolled in college in the fall following graduation.
The Dashboard can be broken down to very specific data points. For example, the Post Grad Top Majors dashboard shows that 147 Kershaw County high school students from the graduation classes of 2014 to 2022 majored in Liberal Arts and Sciences and can further pinpoint the number of students from a specific graduation class and a specific high school.
The dashboard, as well as others, can be viewed at https://dashboardsc.sc.gov/postgrad