Institutional Research and Analytics

Data Governance

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Name Description Propose Modification
Out of state students Non-resident refers to students who do not live in the state of the public college.
SFA Student Financial Aid
In-district A public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State
In-state A student who is a legal resident of the state in which he/she attends school
D.C.M. Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine
D.C. Diploma of Chiropractic
D.P. Doctor of Podiatry
D.P.M. Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
D.V.M. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association
NAIA National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
NJCAA National Junior College Athletic Association
USCAA United States Collegiate Athletic Association
NCCAA National Christian College Athletic Association
ROTC Reserve Officers' Training Corps
GPA Grade Point Average
SAT Scholastic Assessment Test
ACT American College Testing
ABT Ability to Benefit Exam
WISC-III Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III
Dual credit Dual credit is the term given to courses in which high school students have the opportunity to earn both high school and college credits simultaneously
Credit for military training Postsecondary credit granted by institutions to military servicemen or veterans for experiences and training
Institutional Characteristics (IC) This annual component is the core of the IPEDS system is and is required of all currently operating Title IV postsecondary institutions in the United States and other areas. As the control file for the entire IPEDS system, IC constitutes the sampling frame for all other NCES surveys of postsecondary institutions. It also helps determine the specific IPEDS screens that are shown to each institution. This component collects the basic institutional data that are necessary to sort and analyze not only the IC DATA, but also all other IPEDS DATAs. IC data are collected for the academic year, which generally extends from September of one calendar year to June of the following year.
Yellow Ribbon Program A voluntary program through which participating public and private institutions can provide veterans and eligible beneficiaries additional institutional aid to cover the costs of tuition and fees at their institutions. The Yellow Ribbon Program is a supplementary program to the Post 9/11 GI Bill coverage of in-state tuition and fees. The Department of Veterans Affairs matches the institutional aid provided beyond the in-state tuition and fees, but to certain limit each year.
Department of Defense Voluntary Education Program Memorandum of Understanding A voluntary program that functions to expand and improve postsecondary opportunities for servicemembers worldwide. It is funded by the Department of Defense through a contract with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).
Credit for life experiences Credit earned by students for what they have learned through independent study, noncredit adult courses, work experience, portfolio demonstration, previous licensure or certification, or completion of other learning opportunities (military, government, or professional). Credit may also be awarded through a credit by examination program.
Study abroad Arrangement by which a student completes part of the college program studying in another country. Can be at a campus abroad or through a cooperative agreement with some other U.S. college or an institution of another country
Weekend/evening college A program that allows students to take a complete course of study and attend classes only on weekends or only in the evenings.
Teacher certification A program designed to prepare students to meet the requirements for certification as teachers in elementary, middle/junior high, and secondary schools.
Remedial services Instructional activities designed for students deficient in the general competencies necessary for a regular postsecondary curriculum and educational setting.
Employment services for current students Activities intended to assist students in obtaining part-time employment as a means of defraying part of the cost of their education.
Placement services for program completers Assistance for students in evaluating their career alternatives and in obtaining full-time employment upon leaving the institution.
Tuition guarantee A program where the institution guarantees, to entering first-time students, that tuition will not increase for the years they are enrolled. These guarantees are generally time-bound for four or five years.
Tuition payment plan A program that allows tuition to be paid in installments spread out over an agreed upon period of time, sometimes without interest or finance charges.
Prepaid tuition plan A program that allows students or their families to purchase college tuition or tuition credits for future years, at current prices.
distance education courses A course in which the instructional content is delivered exclusively via distance education. Requirements for coming to campus for orientation, testing, or academic support services do not exclude a course from being classified as distance education.
Distance education program A program for which all the required coursework for program completion is able to be completed via distance education courses.
Undergraduate A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college credits or postsecondary formal award earned before graduation from high school).
Graduate A student who holds a bachelor's degree or above and is taking courses at the postbaccalaureate level. These students may or may not be enrolled in graduate programs.
Disability services Programs designed to provide reasonable academic accommodations and support services to empower students who have disabilities to competitively pursue postsecondary education. May also include assistance to campus departments in providing access to services and programs in the most integrated setting possible.
Institutionally controlled housing Any residence hall or housing facility located on- or off-campus that is owned or controlled by an institution and used by the institution in direct support of or in a manner related to, the institution's educational purposes.
College Navigator A web tool accessed through http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator that provides selected IPEDS data to assist students, parents, high school counselors, and others obtain information about nearly 7,000 postsecondary institutions in the United States and other areas.
Student Financial Aid This data collection included questions regarding the total number of fulltime first-time degree/certificate-students receiving financial assistance for the previous year, the number of those students who received financial assistance by type of aid, and, for aid recipients, the average amounts.
housing capacity The maximum number of students for which an institution can provide residential facilities, whether on or off campus.
Application fee That amount of money that an institution charges for processing a student's application for admittance to the institution. This amount is not creditable toward tuition or required fees, nor is it refundable if the student is not admitted to the institution.
Academic year The period of time generally extending from September to June? usually equated to 2 semesters or trimesters, 3 quarters, or the period covered by a 4-1-4 calendar system.
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.
Credit hour A unit of measure representing the equivalent of an hour (50 minutes) of instruction per week over the entire term. It is applied toward the total number of credit hours needed for completing the requirements of a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.
Doctor's degree-professional practice A doctor's degree that is conferred upon completion of a program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credential, or license required for professional practice. The degree is awarded after a period of study such that the total time to the degree, including both pre-professional and professional preparation, equals at least six full-time equivalent academic years. Some of these degrees were formerly classified as firstprofessional and may include: Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.)? Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)? Law (J.D.)? Medicine (M.D.)? Optometry (O.D.)? Osteopathic Medicine (D.O)? Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)? Podiatry (D.P.M., Pod.D., D.P.)? or, Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), and others, as designated by the awarding institution.
Room charge The charges for an academic year for rooming accommodations for a typical student sharing a room with one other student.
Board charge Charges assessed students for an academic year for meals.
Data collection system The Web environment that is used to collect the IPEDS data.
In-district tuition The tuition charged by the institution to those students residing in the locality in which they attend school. This may be a lower rate than in-state tuition if offered by the institution.
In-state tuition The tuition charged by institutions to those students who meet the state's or institution's residency requirements.
Out-of-state tuition The tuition charged by institutions to those students who do not meet the institution's or state's residency requirements.
Books and supplies The average cost of books and supplies for a typical student for an entire academic year (or program). Does not include unusual costs for special groups of students (e.g., engineering or art majors), unless they constitute the majority of students at an institution.
Off-campus (with family) A living arrangement in which a student lives with the student's parents or legal guardians in any housing facility that is not owned or controlled by the educational institution.