Ability to Benefit
(ATB) Student: An institution may admit a mature student
30 years of age or having worked and supported themselves for 10
years or more that does not have a high school diploma. The ATB
student may be enrolled on probation with administration approval
for 4 courses or one semester of classes determined by the
institution. When student passes probation classes at collegiate
level the probation can be lifted and student officially enrolled in
a degree program.
Abroad: Any geographic location not included in the
aggregate United States.
Academic Program: Instructional program
of a professional or non-occupationally specific nature leading
toward an associate, bachelor, master, doctor or first-professional
degree or resulting in credits that can be applied to one of these
degrees.
Academic year: The period of time generally extending
from September to June; usually equated to two semesters or
trimesters, three quarters, or the period covered by a 4-1-4 plan.
Accrediting Agencies: An accrediting
agency establishes operating standards for educational or
professional institutions and programs. That agency determines the
extent to which the standards are met, and publicly announce their
findings. There are two types: 1. United States Department of
Education (USDE) approved accrediting agencies, and 2. private
accrediting agencies that are not required to have USDE approval.
Adaptive content: Digital instructional materials that
adjust difficulty based on user responses.
Adjunct Instruction: Instruction which
takes place at a geographic location in the aggregate United States
designated and approved by the administration of parent institution.
Adjunct International Instruction:
Instruction which takes place at a geographic location not included
in the aggregate United States designated and approved by the
administration of parent institution.
Administratively Equal Institution:
Separately organized, or independently administered site or campus
with its own full administration and records system within an
institutional system. This institution may report to a systems
office but does not report to any other institution.
Admission Test Scores: Scores on standardized admissions
tests or special admission tests.
Agent: means a person who is employed by
a college that is subject to licensing requirements or an
out-of-state college, and who solicits business for the college at
any place other than the legal place of business of the college.
The term does not include an entertainer at public event whose
objective is to improve public relations for a college, if the
entertainer does not accept the commitment of prospective students
to attend the college.
Associate Degree: An award that normally requires at
least two but fewer than four years of full-time equivalent college
work (Source: IPEDS).
Asynchronous: Communication that is separated by time
such as email or online discussion forums; it may be accessed from
multiple settings (on campus and/or out of institution buildings).
Bachelor Credit Freshman: A lower level
undergraduate student enrolled in a university parallel/college
transfer or baccalaureate degree program, generally one who has
completed no more than thirty semester credit hours. Remedial
students should be included if no separate category for remedial
students is provided.
Bachelor Credit Sophomore: A lower
undergraduate student enrolled in a university-parallel/college
transfer or baccalaureate degree program, generally one who has
completed more than thirty but no more than sixty semester credit
hours.
Bachelor Degree: An award that normally
requires at least four but not more than five years of full-time
equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor degrees
conferred in a five-year cooperative or work study plan or program.
A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and
employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows the
student to combine actual work experience with college studies. Also
includes bachelor degrees in which the normal four years of work is
completed in three years. (Source: IPEDS)
Blended learning: Combines online learning with other
modes of instructional delivery including onsite instruction; it
involves a shift in delivery to an online or computer-based
environment for at least a portion of the course with the goal of
improving learning, staffing, and/or facilities productivity.
Board: Room and Board for Campus housing
Board Charges: The charge for an academic
year for meals, for a specific number of days per week.
Branch Campus of an Out-of-State College:
Means any operation in a state of an administratively equal Branch
Campus of an Out-of-State college, university, seminary, or
institute when such operation offers one or more degree programs
that culminate in a degree being awarded in that state, and the
Branch Campus operation has its own president with majority
autonomy, administration, student services, library, faculty, and
academic facilities. The operation may also meet the following:
1. may or may not be incorporated as a domestic corporation in that
state or 2. may or may not be accredited by a U.S.D.E. recognized
accrediting agency, approved by that state.
Branch Operation: When referring to a
college chartered in a state, means any location away from the main
administrative campus in that state, at which location the college
offers courses carrying college credit.
Census Date: A census date is a day when
a specified count is made: In this application, it is the time
during an academic term when a count of enrolled students is made
for reporting. By definition, a census date must be arbitrary to
some extent and must reflect the anticipated use of the statistics
resulting from its application.
Centre of an Out-of-State College - Any
operation in any state by an out-of-state college or university
whose articles of incorporation are not as a domestic corporation in
that state, when such operation includes offering one or more
courses or educational programs in that state which carry college
credit that may be applied toward a degree, whether the degree
itself is awarded in that state or elsewhere.
Certificate: A formal award certifying
the satisfactory completion of a postsecondary education program.
(Source: IPEDS)
Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS):
An award that normally requires 24 credit hours beyond a
master's program and does not require a dissertation. (IPEDS: Post
Master's certificate). The same institutional requirements may
result in a specialist degree where a degree rather than a
certificate is awarded. In the SCHEV integrated data base, students
in certificate of advanced graduate study and specialist degree
program are coded as having program levels of post-master.
Certificate of Exemption or License:
means a document issued by an agency to an independent college,
signifying that the college has demonstrated that it meets the
statutorily prescribed criteria.
Certification Agencies: A certification agency that
establishes operating standards for educational or professional
institutions and programs. That agency determines the extent to
which the standards are met, and publicly announces their findings.
For faith based institutions that do not take government funds in
the USA, excluding: 1. VA benefits in the USA and 2. Institutions
with U.S.D.E. recognized accreditation.
Certification with the Council of Private Colleges of America,
Inc.: includes quality peer review, certification visits,
and verifying data, to CPCA standards for educational or
professional institutions and programs which are similar to
accreditation. For faith based institutions that do not take
government funds in the USA, excluding: 1. VA benefits in the USA
and 2. Institutions with U.S.D.E. recognized accreditation.
Chief Administrator: The principal administrative
official responsible for the direction of all affairs and operations
of a postsecondary educational institution or that component of an
organization that conducts postsecondary education and may report to
a governing board.
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP)
Code: Six-digit code that classifies instructional program.
The purpose of the Classification of Instructional
Programs (CIP) is to provide a taxonomic scheme that will support
the accurate tracking, assessment, and reporting of fields of study
and program completions activity. CIP was originally developed by
the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES) in 1980, with revisions occurring in 1985 and
1990. The 2000 edition (CIP-2000) is the third revision of the
taxonomy and presents an updated taxonomy of instructional program
classifications and descriptions.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/cip2000/.
Classification of Students
Freshman - A student enrolled in first year of college study
(1-30 semester credits).
Sophomore - A student enrolled in second year of college study
(31-60 semester credits).
Junior - A student enrolled in third year of college study (61-90
credits).
Senior - A student enrolled in fourth year of college study (91-120
semester credits).
Master - A student enrolled in graduate courses(s) after receiving a
bachelor degree working toward a master or specialist degree.
Doctor - A student enrolled in graduate course(s) after receiving a
master or specialist degree working toward a doctor degree.
Unclassified - A special student enrolled taking courses for credit
but not identified in one of the above classifications.
College: Any educational entity which
confers or offers to confer a degree or which furnishes or offers to
furnish instruction leading toward, or prerequisite to, college
credit or a degree beyond the secondary level. The term includes
any independent college chartered in this state and any centre or
branch campus of an out-of-state college.
Contact Hour: A unit of measure that represents an hour
(50 minutes) of scheduled instruction given to students. In class
contact hours with professor includes at an administration approved
class session, live streaming, via Skype or similar live professor
instruction.
Continuing Education Units (CEU's): A statistic which
represents ten contact hours of participation in an organized
educational experience under responsible sponsorship, under capable
direction, and qualified instruction. A decimal fraction of a unit
may be awarded for an offering of shorter duration.
Correspondence: Method of instruction
with students receiving structured units of information and
accompanying material completely through the mail.
Council of Private Colleges of America: An agency
which represents its private, faith based
educational institutions before any individual, private or
government educational organization. The CPCA is an educational
association that provides experienced, educational, quality peer
review of the following: faculty, academic curriculum, course
development, web site, distance learning processes, campus
operations, catalogs, brochures, advertisements, application forms,
financial information, and student records and transcripts. CPCA
requires affirmation of compliance with the academic excellence
standards of the CPCA patterned after our early historical U.S
educational institutions of higher learning. CPCA standards equal or
exceed the minimum standards of many State Departments of Education.
For faith based institutions that do not take government
funds in the USA, excluding: 1. VA benefits in the USA and 2.
Institutions with U.S.D.E. recognized accreditation.
Counselling Service: Activities designed to assist
students in making plans and decisions related to their education,
career, or personal development.
Credit: Recognition of attendance and/or performance in
an instructional activity (course or program) that can be applied by
a recipient to requirements for a degree, diploma, certificate, or
other formal award at a given institution.
Credit Hour: A unit of measure that represents an hour of
instruction (50 minutes) that can be applied to the total number of
hours needed for completing the requirements of a degree, diploma,
certificate, or other formal award. (Source: IPEDS).
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Degree:
An award conferred by a college, university, or other
postsecondary educational institution as official recognition for
the successful completion of a program of studies. (Source: IPEDS). Any credential awarded which is generally taken
to signify satisfactory completion of the requirements of an
academic, educational, or professional program of study beyond the
level of a specialized associate degree or any honorary credential
conferred for meritorious recognition.
Digital learning: Any type of learning that is
facilitated by technology.
Distance Learning: Method of instruction
designed for students who live at a distance from the teaching
institution. Instructional materials are provided to the student
through various modalities with structured units of information,
assigned exercises for practice, and examinations to measure
achievement, which in turn are submitted to the teaching institution
for evaluation. The academic year for distance learning can be
continuous throughout the calendar year.
Fair Consumer Practices: Means honesty,
fairness, and complete disclosure to students in the areas of
recruitment, admissions, student financial assistance, obligations
to repay student loans, placement assistance and job placement
rates, advertising, refund policies, the meaning and recognition of
different types of accreditation, and the transferability and
recognition of the college’s credits to other colleges or employers.
Faith Based Institution:
An educational institution whose instruction is based
on a Supreme Being that is the Creator of the universe that
established doctrinal tenets in the Holy Bible which provides
wisdom, understanding, and direction for our daily living with
assurance of a life hereafter. As stated by Martin Luther the
reformer, the “Sola Scriptura” principle for living.
Fifth-Year Undergraduate: A student in
the fifth year of a five-year bachelor's degree program.
First Professional Student: A student
enrolled in any of the following degree programs:
Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.); Medicine (M.D.); Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.);
Law (L.L.B. or J.D.); Pharmacy (Pharm. D.); Theology (M.Div. or
M.H.L. or B.D.)
First-Time Freshman: An entering freshman, including the
following, who has never attended any college,:
1. A student enrolled in the fall term who is attending college for
the first time in the fall term or who attended for the first time
in the prior summer term.
2. A student who entered with advanced standing due to college
credits earned before graduation from high school, regardless of the
number of credits earned.
3. A remedial student enrolled for the first-time.
First-Year Graduate Student: A student
enrolled in a master degree program, regardless of the number of
graduate credit hours completed; or a doctoral, specialist, or
certificate of advanced graduate study student who has not completed
more than thirty credit hours of graduate studies.
Florida Council of Private Colleges:
An agency which
represents its private, faith based educational institutions before
any individual, private or government educational organization. The
FCPC is an educational association that provides its members with
experienced, educational, quality peer review. FCPC requires
affirmation of compliance with the academic excellence standards of
the FCPC patterned after our early historical U.S educational
institutions of higher learning. FCPC standards equal or exceed the
minimum standards of the State of Florida and many State Departments
of Education. For faith based institutions that do not take
government funds in the Florida, excluding: 1. VA benefits in the
USA and 2. Institutions with U.S.D.E. recognized accreditation.For verification of all FCPC standards go to
www.fcpc-edu.org.
Four-One-Four Plan: The 4-1-4 calendar consists of 4
courses taken for four months, 1 course taken for one month, and 4
courses taken for four months. There may be an additional summer
session.
Freshman: An institutionally determined academic level
typically based on the number of course credit hours a student has
completed; the term generally indicates a student in the first year
of a bachelor degree or occupational or technical program. Remedial
students should be included if no separate category for remedial
students is provided. In cases where first-time freshmen have earned
sufficient credits before enrolment to be classified other than
freshmen, guideline #2 of First-time freshman (see above) will
prevail.
Full-Time Equivalent Day Students: The number of FTE
students generated by classes with a beginning time between and
including the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 5:59 p.m.
Full-time Equivalent Evening Students: The number of FTE
students generated with a beginning time between and including the
hours of 6:00 p.m. to 6:59 a.m.
Full-Time Equivalent Student (FTE): A statistic derived
from the student-credit hour’s productivity of an institution. The
number of FTE students in the fall term is obtained by dividing the
total number of undergraduate, first professional, and graduate
credit-hours per term by 15, 15, and 12 respectively. The number of
FTE students in summer on-campus, annual off-campus, and regular
session is obtained by dividing the total number of undergraduate,
first professional, and graduate credit hours per session by 30, 30,
and 24 respectively.
Full-time online institutions:
Also called cyber or virtual institutions, work with students who
are enrolled primarily (often only) in the online courses.
Full-Time Student: An undergraduate or
first professional student enrolled for twelve or more credit hours
in a semester or quarter, or a graduate student enrolled for nine or
more credit hours in a semester or quarter. A semester credit hour
is equivalent to 750 clock minutes of instruction; a quarter credit
hours, to 500 clock minutes of instruction. The hours of instruction
must be spread over no more than sixteen weeks.
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General
Education Or Liberal Arts Courses: Those courses
designed to place emphasis on cognitive development rather than on
vocational objective, and may include courses such as English,
history, philosophy, literature, religion, art, music, sociology,
foreign languages, humanities, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and
psychology, when such courses are not specifically designed to
contribute toward a non-academic program. For example, English
Composition is considered a general education or liberal arts
course, but Business English is not.
Graduate Student: A student enrolled in a
master certificate of advanced graduate study, specialist, or doctor
program, not including candidates for first professional degrees. An
unclassified student whose enrolment in classes at the graduate
level constitutes more than half of course load is also considered a
graduate student.
Headcount Student: A student enrolled for
more than zero credit hours in courses offered for degree or
certificate credit or a student who meets the criteria for
classification as a remedial student.
Hearing Impaired: Any person whose
hearing loss is sufficiently severe to adversely affect their
educational performance.
High School Diploma or Recognized Equivalent:
A document certifying the successful completion of a prescribed
secondary school program of studies, or the attainment of
satisfactory scores on the Tests of General Educational Development
(GED) or another state specified examination.
Home Study: Method of instruction
designed for students who live at a distance from the teaching
institution. Instructional materials are provided to the student
through various media with structured units of information, assigned
exercises for practice, and examinations to measure achievement,
which in turn are submitted to the teaching institution for
evaluation. These courses are included in Distance Learning
modalities.
Hybrid Learning: Often used synonymously with blended
learning; typically refers to blending multiple modes of learning -
combining online and on campus pedagogies and materials within the
same class.
In-State Student: A student who is a
legal resident of the state in which they attend school.
Institute: Any educational entity which
confers or offers to confer a degree or which furnishes or offers to
furnish instruction leading toward, or prerequisite to, academic
credit or a degree beyond the secondary level. The term includes
any independent institute chartered in a specific state and any
centre or branch campus of an out-of-state institute.
Institutional System: Two or more
institutions of higher education under the control or supervision of
a single administrative body.
Instructional Faculty: Members of the
Instruction/Research Staff whose primary assignment is instruction
including those with release time for research.
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Learning Management
System (LMS): Includes content management, communication
tools, instructional tools, grade book and assessment features.
License: A regular license
or temporary license, as provided by rule.
Local Educational Agency (LEA): A public
board of education or other public authority legally constituted
within a State for either administrative control of or direction of,
or to perform service functions for, public elementary or secondary
schools in, (1) a city, county, township, school district, or other
political subdivision of a State; (2) such combination of school
districts or counties a State recognizes as an administrative agency
for its public elementary or secondary schools; (3) any other public
institution or agency that has administrative control and direction
of a public elementary or secondary school; and (4) any other public
institution or agency that has administrative control and direction
of a vocational education program.
Local Resident: A student who is a legal
resident of the locality in which they attend school.
Master Degree: An award that requires the
successful completion of a program of study of at least the
full-time equivalent of one but not more than two academic years of
work beyond the bachelor's degree. (Source: IPEDS)
Military Installations: One or more
buildings or sites owned or operated by the U.S. Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marines, or Coast Guard, including Reserves and National
Guard.
Mobility Impaired: Any person who must
use a standard manual or electric wheelchair or other assistive
device to move from place to place or any person who otherwise finds
stairs and other similar physical features impediments to movements.
Multi-institution System: An institution
that has either: (1) two or more sites or campuses responsible to
one administration which may or may not be located on one of the
sites or campuses, or (2) a primary site or main campus with one or
more branches attached to it.
Non-credit Courses: A
course or activity having no credit applicable toward a formal
award, certificate, or degree.
Non-Degree-Seeking Undergraduate Student:
A student whose enrolment in undergraduate level courses for credit
constitutes half or more of his/her course load and who is not
recognized by the institution as accepted into a degree or formal
award program that cannot be classified by academic level.
Occupational Technical Freshman: A lower
level undergraduate student enrolled in a post-secondary
certificate, diploma, or associate degree program which prepares for
immediate employment, generally one who has completed no more than
thirty semester credit hours. Remedial students should be included
if no separate category for remedial students is provided.
Occupational Technical/Program: A
post-secondary certificate, diploma, or associate degree program
which prepares for immediate employment.
Occupation/Technical Sophomore: A lower
level undergraduate student enrolled in a post-secondary
certificate, diploma, or associate degree program which prepares for
immediate employment, generally one who has completed more than
thirty but no more than sixty semester credit hours.
Occupational/Technical Student: A lower
level undergraduate student enrolled in a post-secondary
certificate, diploma, or associate degree program which prepares for
immediate employment.
Off-Campus Branches - An Off-Campus Branch is any physical
location which is geographically separate from the main campus and
which has a director, coordinator, or facilitator and at which
classes are offered. They can be in the following three areas for
purposes of this data collection: a. In state Off-Campus
Branches,
b. U.S.A. Off-Campus Branches (excluding home state),
c. International Off-Campus Branches (excluding U.S.A.).
Off-Campus Facility: A facility located
some distance away from the educational institution which operates
it.
Off-Campus Student: A student enrolled
for more than zero credit hours of off-campus instruction who is not
enrolled for any credit hours of on-campus instruction.
On-Campus Student: A student enrolled for
more than zero credit hours of on-campus instruction. Include any
student who is enrolled for both on and off-campus instruction.
Online learning: Instruction via a
web-based educational delivery system that includes software to
provide a structured learning environment. It can be an
instructor-led education that takes place over the Internet, with
the teacher and student separated geographically (also cyber
learning, e-learning, distance learning).
Open education resources (OER): Freely
available instructional materials that can be redistributed.
Out-of State Student: A student who is
not a legal resident of the State in which they attend school.
Parent Institution: The parent
institution in a multi-institutional system is the main unit through
which all the institutions, branches, and programs are linked as a
unit.
Part-Time Student: An undergraduate or
first professional student enrolled for fewer than twelve credit
hours in a semester or quarter, or a graduate student enrolled for
fewer than nine credit hours in a semester or quarter. A semester
credit hour is equivalent to 750 clock minutes of instruction; a
quarter credit hours, to 500 clock minutes of instruction. The hours
of instruction must be spread over no more than sixteen weeks.
Placement Service For Program Completers:
Assistance for students in evaluating their career alternatives as
well as in obtaining full-time employment upon leaving the
institution.
Post Baccalaureate Certificate: Requires
completion of an organized program of study requiring 30 credit
hours beyond the bachelor designed for persons who have completed a
baccalaureate degree, but which does not meet the requirements of
academic degrees carrying the title of master.
Post-master Certificate: Requires
completion of an organized program of study of 60 credit hours or
more beyond the master degree, but does not meet the requirements of
academic degrees at the doctor level.
Postsecondary Certificate, Award or Diploma (less
than one academic year): Requires the completion of a
program that would be completed in less than one academic year (2
semesters or 3 quarters) or less than 900 contact hours by a student
enrolled full-time.
Postsecondary Certificate, Award or Diploma I (at
least one but less than two academic years): Requires
completion of an organized program of study at the postsecondary
level of instruction of at least one but less than two full-time
equivalent academic years, or designed for completion in at least 30
but less than 60 credit hours, or in at least 900 but less than
1,800 contact hours.
Postsecondary Certificate, Award or Diploma II
(at least two but less than four academic years): Requires
completion of an organized program of study at the postsecondary
level of instruction of at least two but less than four full-time
equivalent academic years, or designed for completion in at least 60
but less than 120 credit hours, or in at least 1,800 but less than
3,600 contact hours.
Postsecondary Education: The provision of
a formal instructional program whose curriculum is designed
primarily for students who have completed the requirements for a
high school diploma or its equivalent. This includes programs whose
purpose is academic, vocational, and continuing professional
education, and excludes a vocational and adult basic education
programs.
Predominant Calendar System: The method
by which an institution structures most of its courses for the
calendar year.
Private For-Profit Organization: An
organization licensed to operate which is subject to the federal and
state tax codes.
Private Non-Profit Organization: A
religious, educational, or benevolent organization authorized to
operate in a state which is recognized as non-profit under the
appropriate state and/or U.S. statutes. This status is normally
determined by legal procedure and Internal Revenue policy.
Program: A combination of courses and
related activities organized for the attainment of broad educational
objectives described by the institution: (Source: IPEDS).
Program With No Formal Award: Any
formally organized program with stated occupational objectives and
well defined completion requirements that does not lead to a formal
award.
Quarter
Calendar System:
An academic year consisting of 3 sessions called quarters of
about 12 weeks each. The range may be from 10 to 15 weeks. There
may be an additional quarter in the summer.
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Re-Admitted Student: Any student whose
return to an institution requires action by an admission office.
Regular Session: On campus fall and
spring terms.
Remedial Course Level: Course work in
preparation for lower level courses. Remedial courses are limited to
English Composition, Reading, Mathematics, and English as a Second
Language. Although such courses are not usually offered for degree
credit, the credit hours taken in remedial work may be considered as
degree seeking for funding and reporting. Budgetary guidelines
restrict these courses to HEGIS disciplines beginning with 15 and
17.
Remedial Student: A student who is
enrolled only in remedial courses and who does not have any college
credit that can be used to determine another student level.
Residence: A person's permanent address
as determined by such evidence as a driver license or voter
registration. For entering freshmen, residence may be legal
residence of a parent or guardian.
Residency Requirements: Policies or laws
requiring habitation in a particular place for a specified period of
time.
Resident Alien: A person who is not a
citizen or national of the United States and who has been lawfully
admitted for permanent residence (and who holds alien registration
receipt cards Form 1-551/155). (Source: IPEDS).
Required Fees: Fixed sum charged to
students for items not covered by tuition and required of such a
large proportion of all students that the student who does not pay
the charge is an exception. These are non-refundable.
Room Charges: The charge for an academic
year for rooming accommodations of a typical student sharing a room
with other students.
Seminary: Any educational entity which
confers or offers to confer a degree or which furnishes or offers to
furnish instruction leading toward, or prerequisite to, academic
credit or a degree beyond the secondary level. The term includes
any independent seminary chartered in a specific state and any
centre or branch campus of an out-of-state seminary.
Senior: An institutionally determined
academic level typically based on the number of course credit hours
a student has completed; the term generally indicates a student in
the fourth year of a bachelor program.
Simultaneous-Enrolled: A student who is
enrolled at two or more post-secondary institutions during the same
term.
Single Institution: A postsecondary
institution that operates independently from other institutions.
The institution may offer instruction at more than one geographic
site, but all administration and governance and record keeping are
at one site.
