Hobsons and National Student Clearinghouse Alliance Enables Cost-Effective Electronic Transcript Processing and Delivery for High Schools

Solution Leverages Existing Clearinghouse Data Exchange Networks, Including SPEEDE and Electronic Transcript Exchange, Under New G.R.E.E.N.(SM) Principles 

FAIRFAX, Va. and HERNDON, Va., Oct. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hobsons and the National Student Clearinghouse® today announced a strategic alliance to enable cost-effective electronic transcript processing and delivery for high schools via the Clearinghouse's exchange networks, now operating under its recently announced G.R.E.E.N. principles. G.R.E.E.N., the Global Registrar EduRecord Exchange Network(SM), is dedicated to promoting a free, open, principles-driven, and standards-based network, starting with those managed directly by the Clearinghouse, enabling the secure exchange of electronic student academic records worldwide. Hobsons, a leading provider of education solutions that serve millions of students across more than 7,500 schools, colleges, and universities worldwide, intends to use G.R.E.E.N. network participants for its offerings.

The Hobsons solution will seamlessly connect with the Clearinghouse exchange networks. Leveraging the broad reach of the Naviance Network, thousands of institutions using Naviance eDocs will be able to connect with receiving institutions through the Clearinghouse exchange, using the National Transcript Center's delivery infrastructure. Said Stephen Smith, president of the K-12 division at Hobsons: "We're excited to help support the free and open exchange of electronic transcripts between K-12 and Higher Education institutions. We are proud to collaborate with the National Student Clearinghouse to provide institutions with even more options to receive documents via their preferred methods." Hobsons recently expanded its electronic transcript capabilities through its acquisition of the National Transcript Center, the world's largest e-transcript exchange provider, serving more than 137,000 academic institutions, employers, licensure agencies, and scholarship organizations representing more than 14 million students.

This alliance is another step in the Clearinghouse's goal of expediting the transformation of electronic transcript processing and delivery for education. Through its alliance with Ellucian, announced earlier this year, the Clearinghouse is helping to cost effectively accelerate the rollout of eTranscript solutions. "Collaborating with Hobsons," according to Rick Torres, president and CEO, National Student Clearinghouse, "Offers an exciting opportunity for us to extend our principles-driven data exchange capabilities to high schools, along with the economic value that has been available to colleges through the Clearinghouse for the past 20 years. The Clearinghouse is by far the largest education electronic data exchange service provider, exchanging well over 250 million student data records with over 3,500 colleges and universities per year."

The electronic transcript solution with Hobsons complements the Clearinghouse's existing secondary education service, StudentTracker(SM) for High Schools, which enables high schools to access nationwide college access and persistence data. Last year, Hobsons integrated StudentTracker, the Clearinghouse's education research and reporting service, with its widely used college and career readiness platform, Naviance®. More than 6,000 high schools use StudentTracker.

Read the G.R.E.E.N. Statement of Principles.

About Hobsons

Hobsons helps educators, administrators, students, and families maximize success through every stage of the learning lifecycle. Hobsons' personalized learning, academic planning, post-secondary enrollment, and student support solutions serve millions of students across more than 7,500 schools, colleges, and universities worldwide.

About the National Student Clearinghouse

The National Student Clearinghouse (a nonprofit formed in 1993) is the trusted source for and leading provider of higher education verifications and electronic education record exchanges, handling more than 700 million verification requests and 250 million education record exchanges annually. The Clearinghouse serves as a single point of contact for the collection and timely exchange of accurate and comprehensive enrollment, degree, and certificate records on behalf of its more than 3,500 participating higher education institutions, which represent 98 percent of all students in public and private U.S. institutions. The Clearinghouse also provides thousands of high schools and districts with continuing collegiate enrollment, progression, and completion statistics on their alumni.

Through its verification, electronic exchange, and reporting services, the Clearinghouse saves the education community cumulatively more than 400 million dollars annually. Most Clearinghouse services are provided to colleges and universities at little or no charge, including enhanced transcript and research services, enabling institutions to redistribute limited staff and budget resources to more important student service efforts. Clearinghouse services are designed to facilitate an institution's compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, The Higher Education Act, and other applicable laws.

In addition, the Clearinghouse provides accurate, timely enrollment and degree verifications to student loan providers, employers, student credit issuers, the U.S. Department of Education, and others who access its registry more than half a billion times annually.

For more information, visit www.studentclearinghouse.org.

SOURCE National Student Clearinghouse