High School Data Collection Guidance for SSP and OCCA

Program Overview
High School Data Collection Process
High School Data Collection Fields
Internal Monitoring and Technical Support

Program Overview

Effective with the 2027-28 processing cycle, ISAC conducts a single annual High School Data Collection Process that supports both the State Scholar Program (SSP) and One Click College Admit (OCCA). Because the data collected serves both programs, submissions must include all data elements required for each program.

High School Data Collection Process

  1. Data Collection Timeline

    High school data collection occurs once annually and supports both the SSP and OCCA programs.

    • The annual data collection period for fiscal year 2026 (FY26) opened on May 18, 2026 and will close on July 1, 2026. Schools must wait until after the end of the spring term before submitting data. Data collection must close on July 1, 2026 to allow sufficient time for OCCA data matching and other program processes to occur during the summer.
    • Following the data collection deadline of July 1, ISAC will communicate information – about any high schools that have not submitted data – to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) for assistance with follow-up.
    • Chicago Public Schools Central Office can continue to coordinate with ISAC’s Program Services team on their data collection process.
  2. File Submission and Data Corrections – Overview

    Due to the one-time data collection, ISAC has changed some processes from previous years to ensure the data collection runs smoothly for schools.

    • You must provide data for the entire class of juniors at your high school, even if a student does not appear to meet SSP eligibility criteria. A student that does not meet the eligibility for SSP may still qualify for direct admission into Illinois public institutions through OCCA.
    • All data must be submitted through a data file upload process, using the SSP/OCCA system in the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access portal. Online data entry will not be available during the May-June submission period. For this reason, ISAC requires all schools to use the SSP and OCCA File Upload Template to simplify and standardize submissions. Maintain a master student data file in this Excel template, which contains all required student data for submission. Use this master student file for the initial data submission and any subsequent data corrections.
      • ISAC's Program Services team will work directly with Chicago Public Schools Central Office on any data collection issues.
    • If you need to update previously submitted information, corrections must be made in your school's master student data file. Update the applicable student records in the master file and then reupload the entire corrected master file via the SSP/OCCA system. Do not upload a file containing only the corrected student records, as this will overwrite the existing data in the system.

    The following highlights changes from prior year data collection practices that were discussed above for FY26:

    • You must submit data for ALL juniors.
    • You must submit data files via upload through the SSP/OCCA system.
    • Because data is collected during a single submission period, you are not able to upload information or correct errors through online entry during the summer submission period.
    • If corrections are required during the submission period, you must upload a revised and complete Excel spreadsheet through the SSP/OCCA system.
  3. Program-Specific Considerations

    • OCCA Data Considerations: OCCA timelines require early data matching and processing. As a result, the program relies on the data submission window to ensure the data needed for program operations is available.
    • SSP Data Considerations: SSP requires additional data verification prior to final selections. Because of this review process, SSP selections will not be finalized immediately at the close of data collection. Schools may have additional opportunities to make corrections to SSP-related data, before the selection process begins and while ISAC staff review submitted data after receipt of ACT/SAT test scores. Communications will be sent to high schools in the fall to provide an overview of this and other SSP processes and updates.

High School Data Collection Fields

  1. High School Profile Information

    The High School Profile collects information that applies to the school as a whole. Only questions that all high schools must are included in this section of the SSP/OCCA system. Information specific to individual students is collected through the student-level data file.

    Required High School Profile Fields

    You must provide data for the following fields:
    ✔ High School Name
    ✔ High School Address
    ✔ High School Six-Digit ACT Code
    ✔ 6th Semester Class Size
    ✔ GPA Scale (4.0, 5.0, or other)
    ✔ Does School Rank (Yes/No)
    ✔ Does School Collect Weighted GPA? (Yes/No)
    ✔ SSP Contact Name and Email
  2. Student-Level Data Collection Fields

    Student-level data will be collected for all high school juniors and will include fields required for SSP eligibility determination and OCCA data matching.

    General Requirements

    SSP will continue to collect those fields necessary for the administration of the program, adding the collection of student address information for the 2027-28 cycle and moving forward. OCCA requires the cumulative unweighted grade point average (GPA) as of the end of the 6th semester, which must be provided for all students. The data collection template highlights which fields are mandatory and which are optional (provide if necessary or available).

    Mandatory Student-Level Fields

    You must provide data for the following fields for all juniors at your high schools.
    ✔ Student Last Name
    ✔ Student First Name
    ✔ Student Date of Birth
    ✔ Student Address 1
    ✔ Student City
    ✔ Student State
    ✔ Student ZIP Code
    ✔ 6th Semester Cumulative Unweighted GPA
    ✔ 6th Semester Class Rank (if applicable)
    ✔ 6th Semester Weighted GPA (if applicable)
    Optional Student-Level Fields

    These fields should be provided if available or applicable to the student.
    ✔ Student ID
    ✔ Student Address 2
    ✔ Student Middle Initial
    ✔ Student Transfer Out Date
    ✔ Transfer Out High School Code
    ✔ Disqualification Codes for SSP
    Early Graduate Fields (if applicable and used ONLY for SSP)
    ✔ 4th Semester Class Size
    ✔ 4th Semester Class Rank

Refer to the User Guide for High School Programs for further details.

Internal Monitoring and Technical Support

To ensure full participation in the high school data collection process and timely submission of required data, ISAC will monitor participation and provide support to high schools throughout the collection period.

  • ISAC will maintain and utilize a master list of all public and private high schools to establish the full universe of schools expected to participate in the data collection process. This list will be used to:
    • Track which schools have submitted required data files
    • Identify schools that have not submitted data by the July 1 deadline
    • Support outreach and follow-up efforts
  • ISAC Partner Services staff will provide technical assistance and guidance to high schools as needed during the data collection period and through the grace period. Direct any questions pertaining to the template, data uploads, GAP Access, corrections, etc. to this team at [email protected].