Pilot Use of National Student Clearinghouse EdEvaluator To Gain Postbaccalaureate Enrollment Data: Filling an Accountability Gap. AIR 2002 Forum Paper.

Accountability in higher education promotes measurable outcomes considered indicative of performance, productivity, and quality. One prominent measure in evaluating baccalaureate programs is the proportion of graduates continuing to the graduate level. This study combined a well-established follow-up program, which includes education enrollment data at all levels of in-state public institutions in Florida, with the EdEvaluator program of the National Student Clearinghouse, which captures approximately 91% of higher education enrollment nationwide, to track graduates continuing their education in other states or at instate private institutions. The study examined baccalaureate graduates' enrollment behaviors by comparing characteristics and patterns of students continuing their education in-state and out-of-state. Of the state's 34,964 baccalaureate graduates, 11,287 continued their education following graduation, and 7,222 of these continued their education in-state. Graduates from some engineering, life sciences, and physical sciences programs were more likely than those in most disciplines to continue their education out-of-state. (Contains 9 tables and 17 references.) (SLD)