Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

The period of time generally extending from September to June; usually equated to 2 semesters.

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and Pacific Islands. This includes people from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, American Samoa, India, and Vietnam.

An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year cooperative (work-study) program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years.

A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

The method by which an institution structures most of its courses for the academic year.

A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.

A classification of whether an institution is operated by publicly elected or appointed officials (public control) or by privately elected or appointed officials and derives its major source of funds from private sources (private control).

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 recognized postsecondary credential.

An award conferred by a college, university, or other postsecondary education institution as official recognition for the successful completion of a program of studies.

A doctor's degree that does not meet the definition of a doctor's degree - research/scholarship or a 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 first-professional 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.

A Ph.D. or other doctor's degree that requires advanced work beyond the master's level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement. Some examples of this type of degree may include Ed.D., D.M.A., D.B.A., D.Sc., D.A., or D.M., and others, as designated by the awarding institution.

The group of students entering in the fall term established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component, this includes all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the fall term of a given year. 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 recognized postsecondary credential earned before graduation from high school).

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 recognized postsecondary credential earned before graduation from high school).

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution.
• Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the institution.

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.

A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

A classification that indicates whether a private not-for-profit institution is associated with a religious group or denomination. Private not-for-profit institutions may be either independent or religiously affiliated.

The estimated amount of time (and money) required to respond to a survey. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for IPEDS is 1850-0582. The time required to complete the Fall information collection is estimated to vary from 1.5 hours to 3.8 hours per response, with an average of 3.2 hours, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather and maintain the data needed, and complete and review the information collected. Similarly, the time required to complete the Winter information collection is estimated to vary from 3.5 hours to 15.5 hours, with an average of 12.1 hours; and the time required to complete the Spring information collection is estimated to vary from 8.0 hours to 18.5 hours, with an average of 12.1 hours.

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), conducted by the NCES, began in 1986 and involves annual institution-level data collections. All postsecondary institutions that have a Program Participation Agreement with the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education (throughout IPEDS referred to as "Title IV") are required to report data using a web-based data collection system. IPEDS currently consists of the following components: Institutional Characteristics (IC); 12-month Enrollment (E12); Completions (C); Admissions (ADM); Student Financial Aid (SFA); Human Resources (HR) composed of Employees by Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries; Fall Enrollment (EF); Graduation Rates (GR); Outcome Measures (OM); Finance (F); and Academic Libraries (AL).

Information collected in the Institutional Characteristics Header component which indicates all applicable levels for all credit programs offered at an institution. Award levels are identified on the basis of recognition for their completion, duration, or a combination thereof. Degree-designated award levels indicate those degree levels for which the institution is authorized to offer recognized postsecondary credentials. Length of study is the equivalent of the number of full-time academic years. For example, at least 1 but less than 2 years refers to the number of credits or the course load that would normally be completed by a full-time student attending within the stated time period.

An award that requires the successful completion of a program of study of at least the full-time equivalent of 1 but not more than 2 academic years of work beyond the bachelor's degree.

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for either less than 12 semester or quarter credits, or less than 24 clock hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for less than 9 semester or quarter credits.

An award that requires completion of an organized program beyond the master's degree, but does not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctor's level.

An award that requires completion of an organized program of study beyond the bachelor's. It is designed for persons who have completed a baccalaureate degree, but does not meet the requirements of a master's degree.

NOTE: Even though Teacher Preparation certificate programs may require a bachelor's degree for admission, they are considered sub-baccalaureate undergraduate programs, and students in those programs are undergraduate students.

An educational institution controlled by a private individual(s) or by a nongovernmental agency, usually supported primarily by other public funds, and operated by other than publicly elected or appointed officials. These institutions may be either for-profit or not-for-profit.

A private institution in which the individual(s) or agency in control receives no compensation, other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of risk. These include both independent not-for-profit schools and those affiliated with a religious organization.

A combination of courses and related activities organized for the attainment of broad educational objectives as described by the institution.

Programs designed to be completed in at least 8 semesters or 12 quarters to obtain a degree, diploma, or other recognized postsecondary credential. Includes programs resulting in all bachelor's degrees and other baccalaureate level or equivalent degrees, as well as 5-year cooperative programs, and those programs in which the normal 4 years of work are designed to be completed in 3 years.

The category used to report students or employees whose race and ethnicity are not known.

Categories developed in 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are used to describe groups to which individuals belong, identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community. The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological origins. The designations are used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

Individuals are asked to first designate ethnicity as:

• Hispanic or Latino or
• Not Hispanic or Latino

Second, individuals are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:

• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Asian
• Black or African American
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
• White

A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States but who has been admitted as a legal immigrant for the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who holds either an alien registration card (Form I-551 or I-151), a Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688), or an Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) with a notation that conveys legal immigrant status such as Section 207 Refugee, Section 208 Asylee, Conditional Entrant Parolee or Cuban-Haitian).

A calendar system that consists of two sessions called semesters during the academic year with about 15 weeks for each semester of instruction. There may be an additional summer session.

An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs).

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program.

These data were collected in the Enrollment component prior to the 2007 IPEDS collection. Data are collected for the entire 12-month academic year, while enrollment data collected in the Fall Enrollment component are fall data. Institutions report an unduplicated head count for the total number of students by gender, attendance status (full-time, part-time), race/ethnicity, and level (undergraduate, graduate, first-professional) enrolled throughout the reporting period. Students included are those enrolled in any courses leading to a degree or other recognized postsecondary credential, as well as those enrolled in courses that are part of a terminal vocational or occupational program. Institutions also report the total instructional activity for the same 12-month period for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Instructional activity data are reported in units of clock hours or credit hours.

A 12-month period defined by an institution for reporting a full year of activity (usually either July 1 through June 30 or September 1 through August 31). This time period should be consistent across all IPEDS data collections and from year-to-year.

The 4-1-4 calendar usually consists of 4 courses taken for 4 months, 1 course taken for 1 month, and 4 courses taken for 4 months. There may be an additional summer session.

Term used when a student elects to take a course, but does not wish to receive credit toward a degree or other recognized postsecondary credential.

An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year cooperative (work-study) program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years.

The number of FTE students is calculated based on the credit and/or contact hours reported by the institution on the IPEDS 12-month enrollment (E12) component and the institution's calendar system, as reported on the IC Header component. The following table indicates the level of instructional activity used to convert the credit and/or contact hours reported to an indicator of full-time equivalents (FTE students):

Quarter calendar system

• Enrollment level (One FTE over 12-month period) -Undergraduate 45 credit hours, 900 contact hours -Graduate 36 credit hours

Semester/trimester/4-1-4 plan/other calendar system

• Enrollment level (one FTE over 12-month period) -Undergraduate 30 credit hours, 900 contact hours -Graduate 24 credit hours

For institutions with continuous enrollment programs, FTE is determined by dividing the number of contact hours attempted by 900.

The total 12-month FTE is generated by summing the estimated or reported undergraduate FTE and the estimated or reported graduate FTE and reported Doctor's Professional Practice FTE.

The method by which an institution structures most of its courses for the academic year.

The year that a cohort of students begins attending college.

A student who is not new to the institution in the fall, but instead is continuing his or her studies at the institution (i.e., not first-time and not transfer-in).

A calendar system classification that is used by institutions that allow students to enroll/start classes at any time during the year. For example, a cosmetology school or a word processing school might allow students to enroll and begin studies at various times, with no requirement that classes begin on a certain date.

Recognition of attendance or performance in an instructional activity (course or program) that can be applied by a recipient toward the requirements for a postsecondary degree, diploma, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential, irrespective of the activity's unit of measurement.

A course that, if successfully completed, can be applied toward the number of courses required for achieving a postsecondary degree, diploma, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential, irrespective of the activity's unit of measurement.

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 recognized postsecondary credential.

The provision of coursework to students which can be measured in terms of credit hours.

Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential. This includes students who:

• received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
• received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or transfer-seeking program; or
• obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution

High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.

A calendar system classification that is used by institutions that have occupational/vocational programs of varying lengths. These schools may enroll students at specific times depending on the program desired. For example, a school might offer a 2-month program in January, March, May, September, and November; and a 3-month program in January, April, and October.

Education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously.

Technologies used for instruction may include the following: Internet; one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcasts, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband liens, fiber optics, satellite or wireless communication devices; audio conferencing; and video cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, if the cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs are used in a course in conjunction with the technologies listed above.

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.

A program for which all the required coursework for program completion is able to be completed via distance education courses.

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 first-professional 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.PM., Pod.D., D.P.); or, Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), and others, as designated by the awarded institution.

Refers to students who enroll in college courses offered by an institution of higher education while enrolled in high school or seeking a recognized equivalent. Student performance is recorded on a college transcript and postsecondary credit is awarded for a passing grade in the course.

• Includes: All postsecondary courses, independent of course delivery mode, course location, course instructor, whether secondary credit is also offered, and whether the student enrolls through a formal state/local program or enrolls outside a formal state/local program.
• Excludes: Credit-by-exam models such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate in which the student is not enrolled in a postsecondary institution.

Credit can be measured in units such as clock hours or credit hours. Credit is the recognition of attendance or performance in an instructional activity (course or program) that can be applied by a recipient toward the requirements for a postsecondary degree, diploma, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential, irrespective of the activity's unit of measurement.

Students at the undergraduate level, both full-time and part-time, coming into the institution for the first time in the fall term (or the prior summer term who returned again in the fall). This includes all first-time undergraduate students, students transferring into the institution at the undergraduate level for the first time, and non-degree/non-certificate-seeking undergraduates entering in the fall.

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 recognized postsecondary credential earned before graduation from high school).

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more clock hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution.
• Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the institution.

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.

A document certifying the successful completion of a prescribed secondary school program of studies, or any of the following:

• recognized attainment of satisfactory scores on the GED or another state-authorized examination
• recognized completion of homeschooling at the secondary level as defined by state law
• completion of secondary school education in a homeschool setting which qualifies for an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements under state law, if state law does not require a homeschooled student to receive credential for their education.

The total number of credit and clock hours all students are engaged in during the specified period.

A student enrolled in courses for credit who is not recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or recognized postsecondary credential.

A student who has prior postsecondary experience before attending the reporting IPEDS institution. This cohort of students may closely reflect the transfer-in (non-first-time entering) enrollment from Fall Enrollment (EF), 12-month Enrollment (E12) and Outcome Measures (OM) components.

A course or activity having no credit applicable toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential.

Category used to describe "non-traditional" calendar systems at 4-year and 2-year degree-granting institutions. These can include schools that offer primarily on-line courses or "one course at a time."

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for either less than 12 semester or quarter credits, or less than 24 clock hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for less than 9 semester or quarter credits.

A calendar system in which the academic year consists of 3 sessions called quarters of about 12 weeks each. The range may be from 10 to 15 weeks as defined by the institution. There may be an additional quarter in the summer.

A recognized postsecondary credential includes any credential that is received after completion of a program that is eligible for Title IV federal student aid or that is awarded in recognition of an individual's attainment of measurable technical or industry/occupational skills necessary to obtain employment or advance within an industry/occupation. These technical or industry/occupational skills generally are based on standards developed or endorsed by employers or industry associations.

Instructional courses designed for students deficient in the general competencies necessary for a regular postsecondary curriculum and educational setting.

A calendar system that consists of two sessions called semesters during the academic year with about 15 weeks for each semester of instruction. There may be an additional summer session.

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.

A summer session is shorter than a regular session and is not considered part of the academic year. It is not the third term of an institution operating on a trimester system or the fourth term of an institution operating on a quarter calendar system. The institution may have two or more sessions occurring in the summer months. Some schools, such as vocational and beauty schools, have year-round classes with no separate summer session.

An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs).

A student entering the reporting institution for the first time but known to have previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level (e.g., undergraduate, graduate). This includes new students enrolled in the fall term who transferred into the reporting institution the prior summer term. The student may transfer with or without credit. For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-in students upon entering an institution from another institution within the same coordinated system.

A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program, an associate's degree program, or a vocational or technical program below the baccalaureate.

The sum of students enrolled for credit with each student counted only once during the reporting period, regardless of when the student enrolled.

This annual component of IPEDS collects information on library collections, expenses, and services from degree-granting postsecondary institutions. Institutions with library expenses less than $100,000 annually report their collections and circulation or usage to IPEDS. Specific library collection items include physical and electronic/digital books, media, and databases (applicable to electronic only). Institutions with library expenses equal to or greater than $100,000 annually report both their collections and circulation or usage and details about their expenses to IPEDS. Detail expense categories include library salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials and service costs, and operations and maintenance costs.

An entity in a postsecondary institution that provides an organized collection of printed or other materials, or a combination thereof; a staff trained to provide and interpret such materials as required to meet the informational, cultural, recreational, or educational needs of the clientele; an established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the clientele; an established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the clientele; and the physical facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule. This definition includes libraries that are part of learning resource centers.

Access rights may be acquired by the library itself, by a consortium and/or through external funding. Acquisition is to be understood as deliberately selecting a document, securing access rights and including it in the OPAC (online public access catalog) or other databases of the library. Interlibrary lending and document delivery are excluded.

Materials that are displayed by visual projection or magnification, or through sound reproduction, or both, including sound recordings, motion pictures and video recordings, and graphic materials. Also included in this category are special visual materials such as three-dimensional artifacts and realia, and web-based audiovisual resources. This includes audio documents such as records, tapes, cassettes, audio compact discs, files of digital audio recordings; visual documents such as slides, transparencies, and combined audiovisual documents such as motion pictures, video recordings, etc. Microforms are excluded.

Services provided by national, regional, and local bibliographic utilities networks, and consortia.

Books are non-serial printed publications, including music, that have hard or soft covers or are in loose-leaf format.

Auxiliary library service outlets with quarters separate from the central library that houses the basic collection. The central library administers the branches. Libraries on branch campuses that have separate NCES identification numbers are reported as separate libraries.

Materials representing in whole or in part of the earth or any celestial body at any scale (e.g., maps and charts).

These include expenses from the library budget for computer hardware and software used to support library operations, whether purchased or leased, mainframe or microcomputer. Expenses for maintenance and the expense to run information services when it cannot be separated from the price of the product are also included in this category.

Collection of electronically stored data or unit records (facts, bibliographic data, and texts) with a common user interface and software for the retrieval and manipulation of the data. The data or records are usually collected with a particular intent and relate to a defined topic. Each database is counted individually even if access to several databases is supported through the same vendor interface.

A discovery system product consists of an interface directed toward the users of a library to find materials in its collections and subsequently to gain access to items of interest through the appropriate mechanisms. Discovery systems tend to be independent from the specific applications that libraries implement to manage resources, such as integrated library systems, library services platforms, repository platforms, or electronic resource management systems. In most cases they provide access to multiple types of materials, independently of the management platform involved. Discovery systems provide an interface with search and retrieval capabilities, often with features such as relevancy-based ordering of search results, facets presented that can be selected to narrow results according to specific categories, contributors, or date ranges, and tools to identify related materials or to refine serach queries. Examples of discovery systems can be found at http://librarytechnology.org/discovery/.

E-books are digital documents (including those digitized by the library), licensed or not, where searchable text is prevalent, and which can be seen in analogy to a printed book (monograph). E-books are loaned to users on portable devices (e-book readers) or by transmitting the contents to the user's personal computer for a limited time.

E-media materials are media materials that are in digital format and are available for download or streaming. Include digital graphic materials.

An e-serial is a publication issued in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations, is intended to be continued indefinitely, and is published in digital form to be displayed on a computer screen in any medium. This definition includes digital and digitized periodicals, newspapers, and annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.); the journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc. of societies; and numbered monographic series.

Cash contributions in the form of supplementary or deferred compensation other than salary. Excludes the employee's contribution. Employee fringe benefits include retirement plans, social security taxes, medical/dental plans, guaranteed disability income protection plans, tuition plans, housing plans, unemployment compensation plans, group life insurance plans, worker's compensation plans, pension, and other benefits in-kind with cash options.

Opaque (e.g., two-dimensional) art originals and reproductions, charts, photographs or materials intended to be projected or viewed without sound, e.g., filmstrips, transparencies, photographs, posters, pictures, radiographs, slides, and collections of such materials. [NISO Z39.7-2013, section 4.6]

Interlibrary loan is the process by which a library requests material from, or supplies material to, another library where "material" includes books, audiovisual materials, and other returnable items as well as copies of journal articles, book chapters, excerpts, and other non-returnable items.

Comprised of documents held locally and remote resources for which permanent or temporary access rights have been acquired. Access rights may be acquired by the library itself, by a consortium and/or through external funding. Acquisition is to be understood as securing access rights and including it in the library catalog, other library databases or discovery systems.

A library consortium is any local, statewide, regional, or interstate cooperative association of libraries that provides for the systematic and effective coordination of the resources of schools, public, academic, and special libraries and information centers, for improving services to the clientele of such libraries. (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Sect. 54.500)

Funds expended by the library (regardless of when received) from its regular budget and from all other sources; e.g., research grants, special projects, gifts and endowments, and fees for services.

Titles of all library materials that include audio visual materials, cartographic materials, graphic materials, and three-dimensional artefacts and realia.

Microforms are photographic reproductions of textual, tabular, or graphic material reduced in size so that they can be used only with magnification. Examples of microforms are roll microfilm, aperture cards, microfiche, ultrafiche, and reproductions on opaque material.

Materials that the library does not expect to have returned. Examples of non-returnables include photocopies or facsimiles, fiche-to-fiche copies, print copies from microfilm, electronic full-text documents, and gratis print copies of unpublished reports and/or departmental working papers.

Ongoing commitments in all formats, including duplicates, for all outlets. This includes serials and any other items committed to annually, as well as annual e-platform or access fees. Serials are publications issued in successive parts, usually at regular intervals, and, as a rule, intended to be continued indefinitely. Print-based serial subscriptions include periodicals, newspapers, annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.), memoirs, proceedings, and transactions of societies. Include the costs of electronic serials bought in aggregations and serial packages. Include abstracting and indexing services and any database that requires an annual subscription fee. Do not include subscription fees if they are part of an annual consortium fee. Government documents received serially are included if they are accessible through the library's catalog.

Activities associated with maintaining library and archival materials for use in their original form or some other usable way. Examples include rebinding, de-acidification, restoration, lamination, materials conservation and digitization.

Materials that the library expects to have returned. Examples of returnables include books, dissertations and theses, microfilm reels, sound recordings, and audiovisual material.

Amounts paid as compensation for services to all employees - faculty, staff, part-time, full-time, regular employees, and student employees. This includes regular or periodic payment to a person for the regular or periodic performance of work or a service and payment to a person for more sporadic performance of work or a service (overtime, extra compensation, summer compensation, bonuses, sick or annual leave, etc.).

A serial is a publication in any medium issued in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations and intended to be continued indefinitely. This definition includes periodicals, newspapers, and annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.); the journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc. of societies; and numbered monographic series.

Previous issues of serial titles that libraries buy back (such as back issues of magazines).

Publications issued in successive parts, usually at regular intervals, and, as a rule, intended to be continued indefinitely. Serial subscriptions include periodicals, newspapers, annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.), memoirs, proceedings, and transactions of societies.

Titles of serials collected.

Use the ANSIS/NISO Z39.7-2004 definition for title as follows: The designation of a separate bibliographic whole, whether issued in one or several parts. A book or serial title may be distinguished from other such titles by its unique International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). This definition applies equally to print, electronic, audiovisual, and other library materials. For unpublished works, the term is used to designate a manuscript collection or an archival record series. Two subscriptions to Science magazine, for example, are counted as one title.

ACT, previously known as the American College Testing program, measures educational development and readiness to pursue college-level coursework in English, mathematics, natural science, and social studies. Student performance does not reflect innate ability and is influenced by a student's educational preparedness.

This annual component is required of all currently operating Title IV postsecondary institutions in the United States and other areas that do not have an open admissions policy. Eligibility for Admissions is determined using a screening question in the Institutional Characteristics Header component and open admissions institutions will not see the component. Admissions data are collected for the current fall reporting period. Data are collected on admissions requirements, the number of applicants, admitted students, the number of admitted students that subsequently enrolled, and percentiles for ACT and SAT test scores. The number of applicants, admitted, and enrolled students is disaggregated by gender; enrolled students are further disaggregated by part-time and full-time status. Prior to the 2014-15 data collection cycle, Admissions was part of the Institutional Characteristics components. In 2014-15, it became part of the Winter data collection.

Scores on standardized admissions tests or special admissions tests.

Applicants that have been granted an official offer to enroll in a postsecondary institution.

An individual who has fulfilled the institution's requirements to be considered for admission (including payment or waiving of the application fee, if any) and who has been notified of one of the following actions: admission, nonadmission, placement on waiting list, or application withdrawn by applicant or institution.

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 recognized postsecondary credential earned before graduation from high school).

Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more clock hours a week each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution. Doctor's degree - Professional practice: as defined by the institution.

Undergraduate: A student enrolled for either less than 12 semester or quarter credits, or less than 24 clock hours a week each term. Graduate: A student enrolled for less than 9 semester or quarter credits.

Previously known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, this is an examination administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and used to predict the facility with which an individual will progress in learning college-level academic subjects.

The standardized test designed to determine an applicant's ability to benefit from instruction in English.

An award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work.

An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year cooperative (work-study) program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years.

A recognized postsecondary credential that is conferred upon the satisfactory completion of a postsecondary education program.

A six-digit (xx.xxxx) taxonomic coding scheme for secondary and postsecondary instructional programs. It is intended to facilitate the organization, collection, and reporting of program data using classifications that capture the majority of reportable data. The CIP is the accepted federal government statistical standard on instructional program classifications and is used in a variety of education information surveys and databases.

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 recognized postsecondary credential.

An official document certifying the successful completion of a prescribed program of studies.

Education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously. Technologies used for instruction may include the following: Internet; one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcasts, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite or wireless communication devices; audio conferencing; and video cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, if the cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs are used in a course in conjunction with the technologies listed above.

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.

A program for which all the required coursework for program completion is able to be completed via distance education courses.

A doctor's degree that does not meet the definition of a doctor's degree - research/scholarship or a 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 first-professional 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.

A Ph.D. or other doctor's degree that requires advanced work beyond the master's level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement. Some examples of this type of degree may include Ed.D., D.M.A., D.B.A., D.Sc., D.A., or D.M., and others, as designated by the awarding institution.

An award that requires the successful completion of a program of study of at least the full-time equivalent of 1 but not more than 2 academic years of work beyond the bachelor's degree. Some of these degrees, such as those in Theology (M.Div., M.H.L./Rav) that were formerly classified as "first-professional", may require more than two full-time equivalent academic years of work.

An award that requires completion of an organized program beyond the master's degree, but does not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctor's level.

An award that requires completion of an organized program of study beyond the bachelor's. It is designed for persons who have completed a baccalaureate degree, but does not meet the requirements of a master's degree.

NOTE: Even though Teacher Preparation certificate programs may require a bachelor's degree for admission, they are considered sub-baccalaureate undergraduate programs, and students in these programs are undergraduate students.

A recognized postsecondary credential includes any credential that is received after completion of a program that is eligible for Title IV federal student aid or that is awarded in recognition of an individual's attainment of measurable technical or industry/occupational skills necessary to obtain employment or advance within an industry/occupation. These technical or industry/occupational skills generally are based on standards developed or endorsed by employers or industry associations.

The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate; for the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; and for the Outcome Measures component, these are the four cohorts (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time) for which outcomes rates are calculated at 4, 6, and 8 years.

Term used when a student elects to take a course, but does not wish to receive credit for the course toward a degree or other recognized postsecondary credential.

An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year cooperative (work-study) program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years.

A campus or site of an educational institution that is not temporary, is located in a community beyond a reasonable commuting distance from its parent institution, and offers full programs of study, not just courses.

A six-digit (xx.xxxx) taxonomic coding scheme for secondary and postsecondary instructional programs. It is intended to facilitate the organization, collection, and reporting of program data using classifications that capture the majority of reportable data. The CIP is the accepted federal government statistical standard on instructional program classifications and is used in a variety of education information surveys and databases.

A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.

The year that a cohort of students begins attending college.

A student who is not new to the institution in the fall, but instead is continuing his or her studies at the institution (i.e., not first-time and not transfer-in).

Recognition of attendance or performance in an instructional activity (course or program) that can be applied by a recipient toward the requirements for a postsecondary degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award, irrespective of the activity's unit of measurement.

A course that, if successfully completed, can be applied toward the number of courses required for achieving a postsecondary degree, diploma, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential, irrespective of the activity's unit of measurement.

Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other formal award. This includes students who:

• received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
• received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or transfer-seeking program; or
• obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution

High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.

Education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously. Technologies used for instruction may include the following: Internet; one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcasts, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite or wireless communication devices; audio conferencing; and video cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, if the cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs are used in a course in conjunction with the technologies listed above.

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.

A program for which all the required coursework for program completion is able to be completed via distance education courses.

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 first-professional 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.

A program through which high school students are enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses, taught at their high school, that fulfill high school graduation requirements and may earn the student college credits.

A program through which high school students may enroll in college courses while still enrolled in high school. Students are not required to apply for admission to the college in order to participate.

Students at the undergraduate level, both full-time and part-time, coming into the institution for the first time in the fall term (or the prior summer term who returned again in the fall). This includes first-time undergraduate students, students transferring into the institution at the undergraduate level for the first time, and non-degree/non-certificate-seeking undergraduates entering in the fall.

Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation Rates, Outcome Measures, and Fall Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution for one of the following reasons: death or total and permanent disability; service in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.

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).

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution.
• Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the institution.

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.

A document certifying the successful completion of a prescribed secondary school program of studies, or any of the following:

• recognized attainment of satisfactory scores on the GED or another state-authorized examination
• recognized completion of homeschooling at the secondary level as defined by state law
• completion of secondary school education in a homeschool setting which qualifies for an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements under state law, if state law does not require a homeschooled student to receive credential for their education.

A student enrolled in courses for credit who is not recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or recognized postsecondary credential.

A student who has prior postsecondary experience before attending the reporting IPEDS institution. This cohort of students may closely reflect the transfer-in enrollment from Fall Enrollment (EF) component.

A course or activity having no credit applicable toward adegree, diploma, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential.

The date (in the fall) on which an institution must report Fall enrollment data to either the state, its board of trustees or governing board, or some other external governing body.

UMHB official fall reporting date is 8th class day.

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for either less than 12 semester or quarter credits, or less than 24 clock hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for less than 9 semester or quarter credits.

Any credential that is eligible for Title IV federal student aid or that is awarded in recognition of an individual's attainment of measurable technical or industry/occupational skills necessary to obtain employment or advance within an industry/occupation. These technical or industry/occupational skills generally are based on standards developed or endorsed by employers or industry associations.

Instructional courses designed for students deficient in the general competencies necessary for a regular postsecondary curriculum and educational setting.

A person's permanent address determined by such evidence as a driver's license or voter registration. For entering freshmen, residence may be the legal residence of a parent or guardian.

A measure of the rate at which students persist in their educational program at an institution, expressed as a percentage. For four-year institutions, this is the percentage of first-time bachelors (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates from the previous fall who are again enrolled in the current fall. For all other institutions this is the percentage of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students from the previous fall who either re-enrolled or successfully completed their program by the current fall.

A person's permanent address as determined by such evidence as a driver's license or voter registration. For entering freshmen, state of residence may be the legal state of residence of a parent or guardian.

Status used when the reporting institution is unable to determine from existing records the home state or residence of the student.

The ratio of FTE students to FTE instructional staff, i.e., students divided by staff.

Students enrolled in "stand-alone" graduate or professional programs and instructional staff teaching in these programs are excluded from both full-time and part-time counts.

"Stand-alone" graduate or professional programs are those programs such as medicine, law, veterinary, dentistry, social work, or public health, in which faculty teach virtually only graduate-level students (also referred to as "independent" programs).

Each FTE value is equal to the number of full-time students/staff plsu 1/3 the number of part-time students/staff.

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.

A summer session is shorter than a regular session and is not considered part of the academic year. It is not the third term of an institution operating on a trimester system or the fourth term of an institution operating on a quarter calendar system. The institution may have two or more sessions occurring in the summer months. Some schools, such as vocational and beauty schools, have year-round classes with no separate summer session.

A student entering the reporting institution for the first time but known to have previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same time (e.g., undergraduate, graduate). This includes new students enrolled in the fall term who transferred into the reporting institution the prior summer term. The student may transfer with or without credit. For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-in students upon entering an institution from another institution within the same coordinated system.

A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program, an associate's degree program, or a vocational or technical program below the baccalaureate.

A functional expenses category that includes expenses of activities and services that support the institution's primary missions of instruction, research, and public service. It includes the retention, preservation, and display of educational materials (for example, libraries, museums, and galleries); organized activities that provide support services to the academic functions of the institution (such as a demonstration school associated with a college of education or veterinary and dental clinics if their primary purpose is to support the instructional program); media such as audiovisual services; academic administration (including academic deans but not department chairpersons); and formally organized and separately budgeted academic personnel development and course and curriculum development expenses. Also included are information technology expenses related to academic support activities; if an institution does not separately budget and expense information technology resources, the costs associated with the three primary programs will be applied to this function and the remainder to institutional support. Institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation.

The total depreciation charged as expenses as of the reporting date (in the current year and in prior years) on the capital assets of the institution. FASB Statement No. 117 requires that accumulated depreciation to date be recognized.

Unusual and infrequent adjustments to assets that are not recorded as current year revenues, expenses, gaines, or losses. This includes adjustments for retroactive applications of changes in accounting principles and prior period adjustments.

The system or central office in a multi-campus environment.

That part of a scholarship or fellowship that is used to pay institutional charges such as tuition and fees or room and board charges.

Physical items (tangible) or rights (intangible) that have value and that are owned by the institution. Assets are useful to the institution because they are a source of future services or because they can be used to secure future benefits.

An audit, performed by external (or outside) auditors, that usually consists of a one-page "opinion" letter on the general-purpose financial statements. The "opinion" paragraph of the letter usually states that "in our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position as of (date) and the results of operations for the year then ended, in conformity with accounting standards generally accepted in the United States." If the auditor cannot state completely the substance of the previous "opinion" sentence, then the auditor will add a phrase such as "...except for..." and state the basis for the exception. When the auditor includes exceptions to the opinion, the opinion is considered to be a "qualified opinion," when no such exceptions are included, the opinion is considered to be an "unqualified opinion."

Expenses for essentially self-supporting operations of the institution that exist to furnish a service to students, faculty, or staff, and that charge a fee that is directly related to, although not necessarily equal to, the cost of the service. Examples are residence halls, food services, student health services, intercollegiate athletics (only if essentially self-supporting), college unions, college stores, faculty and staff parking, and faculty housing. Institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest and depreciation.

Revenues generated by or collected from the auxiliary enterprise operations of the institution that exist to furnish a service to students, faculty, or staff, and that charge a fee that is directly related to, although not necessarily equal to, the cost of the service. Auxiliary enterprises are managed as essentially self-supporting activities. Examples are residence halls, food services, student health services, intercollegiate athletics, college unions, college stores, and movie theaters.

The dollar value of the physical asset at the time of construction or purchase of that asset, or, if the asset is a gift, the market value of the asset at the time of the gift. It may also be the difference between the balance of a physical plant asset account and its related accumulated depreciation account.

Capital assets built or acquired for occupancy and use by the entity. These are structures such as classrooms, research facilities, administrative offices, and storage. Includes built-in fixtures and equipment that are essentially part of the permanent structure. Buildings held for the production of revenue are classified as investments.

The cost of acquiring plant assets, adding to plant assets, and adding utility to plant assets for more than one accounting period.

A term used to describe the net amount of revenues, expenses, gains, and losses for the reporting period. This appears on the Statement of of Activities for FASB organizations.

Revenues from non-consolidated affiliated entities, such as fund raising foundations, booster clubs, other institutionally-related foundations, and similar organizations created to support the institution or organizational units of the institution. General purpose financial statements for FASB institutions include a separate line for these revenues.

The allocation or distribution of the cost of capital assets, less any salvage value, to expenses over the estimated useful life of the asset in a systematic and rational manner. Depreciation for the year is the amount of the allocation or distribution for the year involved.

That part of a scholarship or fellowship that is used to pay institutional charges such as tuition and fees or room and board charges.

Gross investments of endowment funds, term endowment funds, and funds functioning as endowment for the institution and any of its foundations and other affiliated organizations.

Funds whose principal is nonexpendable (true endowment) and that are intended to be invested to provide earnings for institutional use. Also includes term endowments and funds functioning as endowment.

The outflow or other using up of assets or incurrence of liabilities (or a combination of both) from delivering or producing goods, rendering services, or carrying out other activities that constitute the institution's ongoing major or central operations or in generating revenues. Alternatively, expenses may be thought of as the costs of goods and services used to produce the educational services provided by the institution. Expenses result in a reduction of net assets.

Transfers of money or property from the Federal government to the education institution without a requirement to receive anything in return. These grants may take the form of grants to the institutions to undertake research or they may be in the form of student financial aid.

A part-time work program awarding on- or off-campus jobs to students who demonstrate financial need. FWS positions are primarily funded by the government, but are also partially funded by the institution. FWS is awarded to eligible students by the college as part of the student's financial aid package. The maximum FWS award is based on the student's financial need, the number of hours the student is able to work, and the amount of FWS funding available at the institution. This is a type of Title IV Aid, but is not considered grant aid to students.

These are grants-in-aid and trainee stipends to graduate students. Fellowships do not include funds for which services to the institution must be rendered, such as payments for teaching, or loans.

Cash contributions in the form of supplementary or deferred compensation other than salary. Excludes the employee's contribution. Employee fringe benefits include retirement plans, social security taxes, medical/dental plans, guaranteed disability income protection plans, tuition plans, housing plans, unemployment compensation plans, group life insurance plans, worker's compensation plans, pension, and other benefits in-kind with cash options.

A functional expense classification is a method of grouping expenses according to the purpose for which the costs are incurred. The classifications tell why an expense was incurred rather than what was purchased.

Revenues received by an institution through acts of a legislative body, except grants and contracts. These funds are for meeting current operating expenses and not for specific projects or programs. The most common example is a state's general appropriation. Appropriations primarily to fund capital assets are classified as capital appropriations.

Revenues from governmental agencies and nongovernmental parties that are for specific research projects, other types of programs, or for general institutional operations (if not government appropriations). Examples are research projects, training programs, student financial assistance, and similar activities for which amounts are received or expenses are reimbursable under the terms of a grant or contract, including amounts to cover both direct and indirect expenses. Includes Pell Grants and reimbursement for costs of administering federal financial aid programs. Grants and contracts should be classified to identify the governmental level - federal, state, or local - funding the grant or contract to the institution; grants and contracts from other sources are classified as nongovernmental grants and contracts.

Local government grants include scholarships or gift-aid awarded directly to the student.

Grant monies provided by the state such as Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships (LEAP) (formerly SSIG's); merit scholarships provided by the state; and tuition and fee waivers for which the institution was reimbursed by a state agency.

Expenses associated with a hospital operated by the postsecondary institution (but not as a component unit) and reported as a part of the institution. This classification includes nursing expenses, other professional services, general services, administrative services, and fiscal services. Also included are information technology expenses, actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest and depreciation related to hospital capital assets.

Revenues generated by a hospital operated by the postsecondary institution. Includes gifts, grants, appropriations, research revenues, endowment income, and revenues of health clinics that are part of the hospital unless such clinics are part of the student health services program. Sales and service revenues are included net of patient contractual allowances. Revenues associated with the medical school are included elsewhere. Also includes all amounts appropriated by governments (federal, state, local) for the operation of hospitals.

Expenses associated with operations that are independent of or unrelated to the primary missions of the institution (i.e., instruction, research, public service) although they may contribute indirectly to the enhancement of these programs. This category is generally limited to expenses of a major federally funded research and development center. Also includes information technology expenses, actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation related to the independent operations. Expenses of operations owned and managed as investments of the institution's endowment funds are excluded.

Revenues associated with operations independent of or unrelated to the primary missions of the institution (i.e., instruction, research, public service) although they may contribute indirectly to the enhancement of these programs. Generally includes only those revenues associated with major federally funded research and development centers. Net profit (or loss) from operations owned and managed as investments of the institution's endowment funds is excluded.

Scholarships and fellowships awarded to students from institutional resources that are restricted to student aid. Private institutions generally report these grants as allowances. If control over these resources passes to the student, the amount is reported as an expense.

Scholarships and fellowships awarded to students from unrestricted institutional resources. Private institutions generally report these grants as allowances. If control over these resources passes to the student, the amount is reported as an expense.

A functional expense category that includes expenses for the day-to-day operational support of the institution. Includes expenses for general administrative services, central executive-level activities concerned with management and long range planning, legal and fiscal operations, space management, employee personnel and records, logistical services such as purchasing and printing, and public relations and development. Also includes information technology expenses related to institutional support activities. If an institution does not separately budget and expense information technology resources, the IT costs associated with student services and operation and maintenance of plant will also be applied to this function.

A functional expense category that includes expenses of the colleges, schools, departments, and other instructional divisions of the institution and expenses for departmental research and public service that are not separately budgeted. Includes general academic instruction, occupational and vocational instruction, community education, preparatory and adult basic education, and regular, special, and extension sessions. Also includes expenses for both credit and non-credit activities. Excludes expenses for academic administration where the primary function is administration (e.g., academic deans). Information technology expenses related to instructional activities if the institution separately budgets and expenses information technology resources are included (otherwise these expenses are included in academic support). Institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation.

Assets consisting of nonmaterial rights and benefits of an institution, such as patents, copyrights, trademarks and goodwill.

The price paid (or received) for the use of money over a period of time. Interest income is one component of investment income. Interest paid by the institution is interest expense.

Income from assets including dividends, interest earnings, royalties, rent, gains (losses), etc.

Capital assets consisting of land and improvements such as athletic fields, golf courses, or lakes. Land is nondepreciable; some land improvements are depreciable and some are nondepreciable.

Debts and obligations of the institution owed to outsiders or claims or rights, expressed in monetary terms, of an institution's creditors.

An organized collection of printed, microform, and audiovisual materials which (a) is administered as one or more units, (b) is located in one or more designated places, and (c) makes printed, microform, and audiovisual materials as well as necessary equipment and services of a staff accessible to students and to faculty. Includes units meeting the above definition which are part of a learning resource center.

Revenues from local government agencies that are for training programs and similar activities for which amounts are received or expenditures are reimbursable under the terms of a local government grant or contract. These amounts can be treated as an allowance, an agency transaction, or as a student aid expense in the institution's General Purpose Financial Statements (GPFS) and are reported differently depending on their treatment. Generally, however, private institutions report these grants as allowances when applied to the student's account and as local grant revenues when received.

Money or capital invested for purposes of receiving a profitable return over a period of time of more than one year. Long-term investments should be distinguished from temporary investments based on the intention of the organization regarding the terms of the investment rather than the nature of the investment itself. Includes 1) cash held until appropriate investments are identified; 2) repurchase agreements and other money market media; 3) equity securities and mutual fund investments; 4) debt securities; 5) real estate held for income production; 6) beneficial interest in trusts; and 7) other.

The value of a good as determined in the market at a specific point in time or what individuals in the market for the good are willing to pay to obtain the good at a given point in time.

A natural expense classification is a method of grouping expenses according to the type of costs that are incurred. The classifications tell what was purchased rather than why an expense was incurred. (NACUBO FARM section 700)

The excess of assets over liabilities or the residual interest in the institution's assets remaining after liabilities are deducted. The change in net assets results from revenues, gains, expenses, and losses. FASB institutions classify net assets into three categories: permanently restricted, temporarily restricted, and unrestricted.

The portion of scholarships and fellowships granted by an institution that exceeds the amount applied to institutional charges such as tuition and fees or room and board. The amount reported as expense excludes allowances.

An expense category that includes expenses for operations established to provide service and maintenance related to campus grounds and facilities used for educational and general purposes. Specific expenses include: janitorial and utility services; repairs and ordinary or normal alterations of buildings, furniture, and equipment; care of grounds; maintenance and operation of buildings and other plant facilities; security; earthquake and disaster preparedness; safety; hazardous waste disposal; property, liability, and all other insurance relating to property; space and capital leasing; facility planning and management; and central receiving. This expense does include amounts charged to auxiliary enterprises, hospitals, and independent operations. Also includes information technology expenses related to operation and maintenance of plant activities if the institution separately budgets and expenses information technology resources (otherwise these expenses are included in institutional support).

Federal monies awarded to the institution under federal government student aid programs, such as the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), DHHS training grants (aid portion only), the Leveraging Education Assistance Partnership (LEAP) program, and other federal student aid programs. Pell Grants are not included in this classification. Note: if the federal government selects the student recipients and simply transmits the funds to the institution for disbursement to the student, the amounts are not considered as revenues and subsequently there are no discounts and allowances or scholarships and fellowships expenses. If the funds are made available to the institution for selection of student recipients, then the amounts received are considered as nonoperating revenues and subsequently as discounts and allowances or scholarships and fellowships expenses.

The sum of operating and nonoperating expenses not classified as salaries and wages, benefits, operation and maintenance of plant, interest, or depreciation. Prior to fiscal year 2016, this value included operation and maintenance of plant expenses. This category can include bad debts, income taxes, changes in value in split interest agreements, or changes in environmental liability obligations.

Changes that occur infrequently rather than on a regular basis, but still affect the net assets of the institution. Included in this category are: actuarial gain or (loss) on split interest agreements; gain or (loss) on sale of plant assets; other gain or (loss); discontinued operations; extraordinary gain or (loss); and cumulative effect of change(s) in accounting principle.

(Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Part A, Subpart I, as amended.) Provides grant assistance to eligible undergraduate postsecondary students with demonstrated financial need to help meet education expenses.

Funds held by an institution that must be held in perpetuity with only the income available for use. Endowments are usually the result of a gift or grant received that is required to be held in perpetuity by the donor or granting agency.

Net assets of FASB institutions that must be maintained in perpetuity. Permanently restricted net assets increase when institutions receive contributions for which donor-imposed restrictions limiting the institution's use of an asset or its economic benefits neither expire with the passage of time nor can be removed by the organization's meeting certain requirements. Donor-imposed restrictions on the use of the investment income on the assets may also change the amount of such net assets. Permanent endowment funds are the most common example.

These assets consist of land, buildings, improvements, equipment, and library books. Excluded are assets that are part of endowment or other capital fund investments in real estate. Construction in progress is excluded from this total unit completed.

Debt incurred in financing the institution's capital assets, including bonds, mortgages, notes, capital leases, and any other outstanding debt that was incurred to acquire, construct, or improve capital assets such as land, buildings, and improvements other than buildings, equipment, and library books. Excludes indebtedness that is part of endowment or other capital fund investments in real estate. Also excludes construction in progress.

Revenues from private (non-governmental) entities including revenues received from gift or contribution nonexchange transactions (including contributed services) except those from affiliated entities. Includes bequests, promises to give (pledges), gifts from an affiliated organization or a component unit not blended or consolidated, and income from funds held in irrevocable trusts or distributable at the direction of the trustees of the trusts. Includes any contributed services recognized (recorded) by the institution.

Revenues from private donors for which no legal consideration is involved and from private contracts for specific goods and services provided to the funder as stipulation for receipt of the funds. Includes only those gifts, grants, and contracts that are directly related to instruction, research, public service, or other institutional purposes. Includes monies received as a result of gifts, grants, or contracts from a foreign government. Also includes the estimated dollar amount of contributed services.

Revenues from private (non-governmental) entities that are for specific research projects, other types of programs, or for general institutional operations (if not government appropriations). Examples are research projects, training programs, and similar activities for which amounts are received or expenses are reimbursable under the terms of a grant or contract, including amounts to cover both direct and indirect expenses.

A functional expense category that includes expenses for activities established primarily to provide noninstructional services beneficial to individuals and groups external to the institution. Examples are conferences, institutes, general advisory service, reference bureaus, and similar services provided to particular sectors of the community. This function includes expenses for community services, cooperative extension services, and public broadcasting services. Also includes information technology expenses related to the public service activities if the institution separately budgets and expenses information technology resources (otherwise these expenses are included in academic support). Institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation.

Funds established by the governing board to function like an endowment fund but which may be totally expended at any time at the discretion of the governing board. These funds represent nonmandatory transfers from the current fund rather than a direct addition to the endowment fund, as occurs for the true endowment categories.

A functional expense category that includes expenses for activities specifically organized to produce research outcomes and commissioned by an agency either external to the institution or separately budgeted by an organizational unit within the institution. The category includes institutes and research centers, and individual and project research. This function does not include nonresearch sponsored programs (e.g., training programs). Also included are information technology expenses related to research activities if the institution separately budgets and expenses information technology resources (otherwise these expenses are included in academic support.) Institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation.

Assets held by the institution upon which restrictions have been placed by donors. These restrictions may be temporary or permanent. They restrict the institution in its use of the assets and/or the period of time for which the restriction applies.

The inflow of resources or other enhancement of net assets (or fund balance) of an institution or settlements of its liabilities (or a combination of both) from delivering or producing goods, rendering services, or other activities that constitute the institution's ongoing major or central operations. Includes revenues from fees and charges, appropriations, auxiliary enterprises, and contributions and other nonexchange transactions. Revenues are reported net of discounts and allowances (that is, the revenue reported is reduced by the amount of discounts and allowances) for FASB institutions.

Amounts paid as compensation for services to all employees - faculty, staff, part-time, full-time, regular employees, and student employees. This includes regular or periodic payment to a person for the regular or periodic performance of work or a service and payment to a person for more sporadic performance of work or a service (overtime, extra compensation, summer compensation, bonuses, sick or annual leave, etc.).

Revenues from the sales of goods or services that are incidental to the conduct of instruction, research or public service. Examples include film rentals, sales of scientific and literary publications, testing services, university presses, dairy products, machine shop products, data processing services, cosmetology services, and sales of handcrafts prepared in classes.

Outright grants-in-aid, trainee stipends, tuition and fee waivers, and prizes awarded to students by the institution, including Pell grants. Awards to undergraduate students are most commonly referred to as "scholarships" and those to graduate students as "fellowships." These awards do not require the performance of services while a student (such as teaching) or subsequently as a result of the scholarship or fellowship. The term does not include loans to students (subject to repayment), College Work-Study Program (CWS), or awards granted to a parent of a student because of the parent's faculty or staff status. Also not included are awards to students where the selection of the student recipient is not made by the institution.

State and local monies awarded to the institution under state and local student aid programs, including the state portion of State Student Incentives Grants (SSIG).

A sum of money or property bestowed on a postsecondary institution by a state government.

A functional expense category that includes expenses for admissions, registrar activities, and activities whose primary purpose is to contribute to students emotional and physical well-being and to their intellectual, cultural, and social development outside the context of the formal instructional program. Examples include student activities, cultural events, student newspapers, intramural athletics, student organizations, supplemental instruction outside the normal administration, and student records. Intercollegiate athletics and student health services may also be included except when operated as self-supporting auxiliary enterprises. Also may include information technology expenses related to student service activities if the institution separately budgets and expenses information technology resources (otherwise these expenses are included in institutional support.) Institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation.

The amount of tuition and required fees covering a full academic year most frequently charged to students. These values represent what a typical student would be charged and may not be the same for all students at an institution. If tuition is charged on a per-credit-hour basis, the average full-time credit hour load for an entire academic year is used to estimate average tuition. Required fees include all fixed sum charges that are required of such a large proportion of all students that the student who does not pay the charges is an exception.

The net assets of FASB institutions that do not fit the definition of other categories of net assets. These are net assets held by the institution upon which no restrictions have been placed by the donor or other party external to the institution.

The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate; for the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; and for the Outcome Measures component, these are the four cohorts (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time) for which outcome rates are calculated at 4, 6, and 8 years.

An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year cooperative (work-study) program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years.

In the GR component of IPEDS, a cohort of students who were seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree upon entry.

A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.

The year that a cohort of students begins attending college.

Students who completed their program within 150% of the normal (or expected) time for completion.

Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential. This includes students who:

• received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
• received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or transfer-seeking program; or
• obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution

High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.

Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation Rates, Outcome Measures, and Fall Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution for one of the following reasons: death or total and permanent disability; service in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.

The group of students entering in the fall term established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates component, this includes all students who enter an institution as full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students during the fall term of a given year. 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 recognized postsecondary credential earned before graduation from high school).

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).

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution.
• Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the institution.

This is a group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period for tracking and reporting. For Outcome Measures (OM) component, all degree-granting institutions report on a full-year cohort from July 1 through June 30. Students are reported once in one of the four OM cohorts: first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time.

The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the revised adjusted cohort.

This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150 percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part of the institution's mission. Prior to 2007, institutions who offered athletically-related student aid were asked to report, by sport, the number of students receiving aid and whether they completed with 150 percent of normal time to completion. Now, these institutions only need to report a URL where the athletic data is located on their website, when available. GR automatically generates worksheets that calculate rates, including average rates over 4 years.

A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates (GR) and Outcome Measures (OM) components of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as the enrollment count before removing revisions and exclusions of all degree/certificate-seeking students who enter in either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2) between September 1st and August 31st of the following year. For the GR component of IPEDS, the initial cohort is only for full-time, first-time students. For OM, all undergraduates are placed in one of four initial cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and part-time, non-first-time.

The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution's catalog. This is typically 4 years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a standard term-based institution.

A subset of students belonging to a GR cohort who were seeking a degree or certificate other than bachelor's degree upon entry.

Initial cohort after revisions are made. Cohorts may be revised if an institution discovers that incorrect data were reported in an earlier year.

Also known as the "Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act" (P.L. 101-542), which was passed by Congress November 9, 1990. Title I, Section 103, requires institutions eligible for Title IV funding to calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or degree-seeking, full-time students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates to all students and prospective students. Further, Section 104 requires each institution that participates in any Title IV program and is attended by students receiving athletically-related student aid to submit a report to the Secretary of Education annually. This report is to contain, among other things, graduation/completion rates of all students as well as students receiving athletically-related student aid by race/ethnicity and gender and by sport, and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years. These data are also required to be disclosed to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes when the institution offers athletically-related student aid. The Graduation Rates component of IPEDS was developed specifically to help institutions respond to these requirements. See Graduation Rates for the current description of data collected.

A predefined subset of the initial cohort or the revised cohort established for tracking purposes. Degree/certificate-seeking students in the bachelor's degree-seeking group in the Graduation Rates (GR) component and Pell-Grant, non-first-time, part-time students in the Outcome Measures (OM) component are examples of subcohorts.

A student entering the reporting institution for the first time but known to have previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level (e.g., undergraduate, graduate). This includes new students enrolled in the fall term who transferred into the reporting institution the prior summer term. The student may transfer with or without credit. For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-in students upon entering an institution from another institution within the same coordinated system.

Total number of students who are known to have transferred out of the reporting institution within 150% of normal time to completion divided by the adjusted cohort.

A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution. For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-out students when leaving an institution to enroll into another institution within the same coordinated system.

A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program.

A status designated by the institution according to the institution's policies. The IPEDS HR survey includes the ranks of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, and Lecturer.

Non-tenure track instructional staff serving in a temporary or auxiliary capacity to teach specific courses on a course-by-course basis. Includes both instructional staff who are hired to teach an academic degree-credit course and those hired to teach a remedial, developmental, or ESL course; whether the latter three categories earn college credit is immaterial. Excludes regular part-time instructional staff (who, unlike adjuncts are not paid on a course-by-course basis), graduate assistants, full-time professional staff of the institution who may teach individual courses (such as a dean or academic advisor), and appointees who teach non-credit courses exclusively.

An annually-renewable contract or employment agreement that is in effect for a stated annual period within one year of execution, and may be equal to a period of 365 days, or a standard academic year, or the equivalent. Does not include contracts for partial year periods such as a single semester, quarter, term, block, or course.

An occupational category based on the broad occupation in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual called "Archivists, Curators, and Museum Technicians" (SOC code 25-4010). For detailed information, refer to the following website: https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#25-0000.

An occupational category based on the major group in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual called "Business and Financial Operations Occupations." For detailed information refer to the following website: https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#13-0000.

Persons who are hired to work during peak times such as those that help at registration time or those that work in the bookstore for a day or two at the start of a session.

An occupational category based on the following three major groups in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual: 1) Community and Social Service Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#21-0000); 2) Legal Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#23-0000); and 3) Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#27-0000).

An occupational category based on the following three major groups in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual: 1) Computer and Mathematical Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#15-0000); 2) Architecture and Engineering Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#17-0000); and 3) Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#19-0000).

A status designated by the institution according to the institution's policies. "Faculty" may include staff with academic appointments (instruction, research, public service) and other staff members who are appointed as faculty members. The designation "faculty" is separate from the activities to which the staff members are currently assigned. For example, a president, provost, or librarian may also be appointed as a faculty member. For IPEDS reporting, graduate assistants do not have faculty status.

As defined by the institution. The type of appointment at the snapshot date determines whether an employee is full-time or part-time. The employee's term of contract is not considered in making the determination of full- or part-time.

Graduate assistants not included in the graduate assistant teaching or research sections.

Graduate assistants whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of conducting research.

Graduate assistants who assist faculty or other instructional staff in postsecondary institutions by performing teaching or teaching related duties, such as teaching lower level courses, developing teaching materials, preparing and giving examinations, and grading examinations or papers.

An occupational category based on the major group in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual called "Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations." For detailed information refer to the following website: https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#29-0000.

A contract or employment agreement that has an indefinite duration (continuing, at-will).

An occupational category used to classify persons for whom it is not possible to differentiate between instruction or teaching, research, and public service because each of these functions is an integral component of his/her regular assignment. Regardless of title, academic rank, or tenure status, these employees formally spend the majority of their time providing instruction, research, and/or public service.

An occupational category that is comprised of staff who are either: 1) Primarily Instruction or 2) Instruction combined with research and/or public service. The intent of the Instructional Staff category is to include all individuals whose primary occupation includes instruction at the institution.

A contract or employment agreement that is in effect for a partial year period of less than 365 days, or less than a standard academic year or the equivalent. Includes contacts for partial year periods such as single semester, quarter, term, block, or course.

An occupational category based on the broad occupation in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual called "Librarians and Media Collection Specialists" (SOC code 25-4020). For detailed information, refer to the following website: https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#25-0000.

An occupational category consisting of the following:

1. Archivists, Curators, and Museum Technicians
2. Librarians and Media Collections Specialists
3. Library Technicians
4. Student and Academic Affairs and Other Education Services Occupations

An occupational category based on the broad occupation in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual called "Library Technicians" (SOC code 25-4030). For detailed information, refer to the following website: https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#25-0000.

Management function should include those staff whose job it is to plan, direct, or coordinate policies, programs, and may include some supervision of other workers. In addition, Postsecondary Deans should be classified in this category as well, even though they perform similar activities to the workers that they supervise. For additional guidance please refer to the Crosswalk for the IPEDS Human Resources Occupational Functions.

Staff employed by or staff working in the medical school (Doctor of Medicine [M.D.] and/or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine [D.O.]) component of a postsecondary institution or in a free standing medical school. Does not include staff employed by or employees working strictly in a hospital associated with a medical school or those who work in health or allied health schools or departments such as dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing or dental hygiene unless the health or allied health schools or departments are affiliated with (housed in or under the authority of) the medical school.

A contract or employment agreement that is in effect for more than one year (e.g., more than 365 days). The renewal period of a multi-year contract is not on an annual basis (e.g., a 5-year multi-year contract is renewed every 5 years NOT annually).

An occupational category based on the following three major groups in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual: 1) Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#45-0000); 2) Construction and Extraction Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#47-0000); and 3) Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#49-0000).

Persons who were hired for full-time permanent employment either for the first time (new to the institution) or after a break in service between November 1, 2018 and October 31, 2019. Does not include persons who have returned from sabbatical leave OR full-time Postsecondary Staff who are working less-than-9-month contracts.

See Institution's staff (not in medical schools).

Personnel positions that are considered non-tenure earning positions.

An occupational category based on the major group in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual called "Office and Administrative Support Occupations." For detailed information refer to the following website: https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#43-0000.

As determined by the institution. The type of appointment at the snapshot date determines whether an employee is full-time or part-time. The employee's term of contract is not considered in making the determination of full- or part-time. Casual employees (hired on an ad-hoc basis or occasional basis to meet short-term needs) and students in the College Work-Study Program (CWS) are not considered part-time staff.

An occupational category in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual with the SOC code 25-1000. This category is not an IPEDS reporting category.

An occupational category used to classify persons whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of providing instruction or teaching. Regardless of title, academic rank, or tenure status, these employees formally spend the majority of their time providing instruction or teaching.

An occupational category based on the following two major groups in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual: 1) Production Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#51 -0000) and 2) Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#53-0000).

An occupational category used to classify persons whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of carrying out public service activities such as agricultural extension services, clinical services, or continuing education. Regardless of title, academic rank, or tenure status, these employees formally spend the majority of their time carrying out public service activities. (This category includes employees with a public service assignment regardless of the location of the assignment (e.g., in the field rather than on campus)). (This category was called Primarily public service prior to 2012-13.)

An occupational category used to classify persons whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of conducting research. Regardless of title, academic rank, or tenure status, these employees formally spend the majority of their time conducting research. (This category was called Primarily research prior to 2012-13.)

An occupational category based on the major group in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual called "Sales and Related Occupations." For detailed information refer to the following website: https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#41-0000.

An occupational category based on the following five major groups in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual: 1) Healthcare Support Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#31-0000); 2) Protective Service Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#33-0000); 3) Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#35-0000); 4) Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#37-0000); and 5) Personal Care and Service Occupations (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#39-0000).

An occupational category based on the following three minor groups in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual: 1) Pre-school, Primary, Secondary, and Special Education School Teachers (SOC code 25-2000) (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#25-0000); 2) Other Teachers and Instructors (SOC code 25-3000) (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#25-0000); and 3) Other Education Instruction and Library Occupations (SOC code 25-9000) (https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#25-0000).

Status of a personnel position with respect to permanence of the position.

Personnel position that lead to consideration for tenure.

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.

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.

Charges assessed students for an academic year for meals.

The method for providing meals to students during an academic year. Plans may include a specific charge for a specified number of meals per week or a specified amount against which students may charge their meals.

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.

The amount of tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses that a full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking student can expect to pay to go to college for an academic year. Costs reported by the institutions are those amounts used by the financial aid office to determine a student's financial need.

Activities designed to assist students in making plans and decisions related to their education, career, or personal development.

Postsecondary credit granted by institutions to military servicemen or veterans for experiences and training gained while in the service.

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 recognized postsecondary credential.

Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential. This includes students who:

• received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
• received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or transfer-seeking program; or
• obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution

High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.

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).

Programs designed to provide reasonable academic accomodations 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.

Education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously.

Technologies used for instruction may include the following: Internet, one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcasts, closed circuit, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite or wireless communication devices; audio conferencing; and video cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, if the cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs are used in a course in conjunction with the technologies listed above.

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.

A program for which all the required coursework for program completion is able to be completed via distance education courses.

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 first-professional 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.PM., Pod.D., D.P.); or, Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), and others, as designated by the awarded institution.

Refers to students who enroll in college courses offered by an institution of higher education while enrolled in high school or seeking a recognized equivalent. Student performance is recorded on a college transcript and postsecondary credit is awarded for a passing grade in the course.

• Includes: All postsecondary courses, independent of course delivery mode, course location, course instructor, whether secondary credit is also offered, and whether the student enrolls through a formal state/local program or enrolls outside a formal state/local program.
• Excludes: Credit-by-exam models such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate in which the student is not enrolled in a postsecondary institution.

Activities intended to assist students in obtaining part-time employment as a means of defraying part of the cost of their education.

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 recognized postsecondary credential earned before graduation from high school).

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution.
• Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the institution.

An entity that ensures on behalf of the public the performance of an institution or a group of institutions. Responsibilities of the board may include appointing, supporting, and monitoring the president of the institution; reviewing educational and public service programs; insisting on strategic planning; and, ensuring good management and adequate resources.

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.

The maximum number of students for which an institution can provide residential facilities, whether on or off campus.

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.

An organized collection of printed, microform, and audiovisual materials which (a) is administered as one or more units, (b) is located in one or more designated places, and (c) makes printed, microform, and audiovisual materials as well as necessary equipment and services of a staff accessible to students and to faculty. Includes units meeting the above definition which are part of a learning resource center.

The Higher Education Act, as amended (2008), defines institutional net price as "the average yearly price actually charged to first-time, full-time undergraduate students receiving student aid at an institution of higher education after deducting such aid." In IPEDS, average institutional net price is generated by subtracting the average amount of federal, state/local government, or institutional grant and scholarship aid from the total cost of attendance. Total cost of attendance is the sum of published tuition and required fees (lower of in-district or in-state for public institutions), books and supplies, and the weighted average for room and board and other expenses. Cost of attendance data are collected in the Institutional Characteristics (IC) component of IPEDS, and financial aid data are collected in the Student Financial Aid (SFA) component of IPEDS.

A living arrangement in which a student does not live with the student's parents or legal guardians in any housing facility that is not owned or controlled by the educational institution.

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.

Any housing facility that is occupied by students but is not owned or controlled by the educational institution.

Any residence hall or housing facility owned or controlled by an institution within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the institution in direct support of or in a manner related to, the institution's educational purposes.

The amount of money (estimated by the financial aid office) needed by a student to cover expenses such as laundry, transportation, and entertainment.

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for either less than 12 semester or quarter credits, or less than 24 clock hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for less than 9 semester or quarter credits.

Assistance for students in evaluating their career alternatives and in obtaining full-time employment upon leaving the institution.

A federal education benefit program for veterans, who served on active duty after September 10, 2001. This Department of Veteran Affairs benefit provides up to 36 months of education benefits at an approved institution for the following college costs: tuition and fees, books and supplies, and housing. The tuition and fees payment, which is the cost for an in-state student attending a public institution, is made directly to the postsecondary institution whereas payments for books and supplies and housing are sent directly to the student.

An institution which has as its sole purpose or one of its primary missions, the provision of postsecondary education.

A program that allows students or their families to purchase college tuition or tuition credits for future years, at current prices.

A combination of courses and related activities organized for the attainment of broad educational objectives as described by the institution.

A recognized postsecondary credential includes any credential that is received after completion of a program that is eligible for Title IV federal student aid or that is awarded in recognition of an individual's attainment of measurable technical or industry/occupational skills necessary to obtain employment or advance within an industry/occupation. These technical or industry/occupational skills generally are based on standards developed or endorsed by employers or industry associations.

Instructional activities designed for students deficient in the general competencies necessary for a regular postsecondary curriculum and educational setting.

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.

The charges for an academic year for rooming accomodations for a typical student sharing a room with one other student.

A membership group of over 1,700 institutions that functions to expand and improve voluntary 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).

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.

A program designed to prepare students to meet the requirements for certification as teachers in elementary, middle/junior high, and secondary schools.

An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs).

The amount of money charged to students for instructional services. Tuition may be charged per term, per course, or per credit.

The amount of tuition and required fees covering a full academic year most frequently charged to students. These values represent what a typical student would be charged and may not be the same for all students at an institution. If tuition is charged on a per-credit-hour basis, the average full-time credit hour load for an entire academic year is used to estimate average tuition. Required fees include all fixed sum charges that are required of such a large proportion of all students that the student who does not pay the charges is an exception.

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.

A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree 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 up to a certain limit each year.

The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate; for the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; and for the Outcome Measures component, these are the four cohorts (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time) for which outcome rates are calculated at 4, 6, and 8 years.

An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year cooperative (work-study) program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years.

Calculated value (CV) is used to designate fields that are generated (or calculated) based on data provided on other lines within the same part of a survey component. For example, a "balance" line or "other (detail)" line will be calculated as the difference between the total line and the sum of the remaining detail.

A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.

The year that a cohort of students begins attending college.

An award conferred by a college, university, or other postsecondary education institution as official recognition for the successful completion of a program of studies.

Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential. This includes students who:

• received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
• received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or transfer-seeking program; or
• obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution.

High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.

Those students who may be removed (deleted) from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation Rates, Outcome Measures, and Fall Enrollment retention rate reporting, students may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution for one of the following reasons: death or total and permanent disability; service in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions.

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).

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution.
• Doctor's degree - Professional practice - as defined by the institution.

This is a group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period for tracking and reporting. For Outcome Measures (OM) component, all degree-granting institutions report on a full-year cohort from July 1 through June 30. Students are reported once in one of the four OM cohorts: first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time.

This annual component aims to improve the collection of student progression and completion data on a more diverse group of undergraduate students at degree-granting institutions. Award and enrollment statuses are collected on four cohorts (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-first-time, full-time; and non-first-time, part-time) and on eight subcohorts (based on Pell Grant recipient status) of degree/certificate-seeking students at three points of time (four-, six-, and eight-years after entering the institution).

• Undergraduate: A student enrolled for either less than 12 semester or quarter credits, or less than 24 clock hours a week each term.
• Graduate: A student enrolled for less than 9 semester or quarter credits.

(Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Part A, Subpart I, as amended.) Provides grant assistance to eligible undergraduate postsecondary students with demonstrated financial need to help meet education expenses.

A predefined subset of the initial cohort or the revised cohort established for tracking purposes. Degree/certificate-seeking students in the bachelor's degree-seeking group in the Graduation Rates (GR) component and Pell-Grant, non-first-time, part-time students in the Outcome Measures (OM) component are examples of subcohorts.

A student entering the reporting institution for the first time but known to have previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level (e.g., undergraduate, graduate). This includes new students enrolled in the fall term who transferred into the reporting institution the prior summer term. The student may transfer with or without credit. For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-in students upon entering an institution from another institution within the same coordinated system.

A student that leaves the reporting institution and enrolls at another institution. For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-out students when leaving an institution to enroll into another institution within the same coordinated system.

A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree program.

The year that a cohort of students begins attending college.

The amount of tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses that a full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking student can expect to pay to go to college for an academic year. Costs reported by the institutions are those amounts used by the financial aid office to determine a student's financial need.

Grants provided by federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education, including Title IV Pell Grants and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG). Also includes need-based and merit-based educational assistance funds and training vouchers provided from other federal agencies and/or federally sponsored educational benefits programs. (Used for reporting on the Student Financial Aid component.)

Federal Work Study, grants, loans to students (government and/or private), assistantships, scholarships, fellowships, tuition waivers, tuition discounts, employer aid (tuition reimbursement) and other monies (other than from relatives/friends) provided to students to meet expenses. This excludes loans to parents.

Scholarships and fellowships granted and funded by the institution and/or individual departments within the institution, (i.e., instruction, research, public service) that may contribute indirectly to the enhancement of these programs. Includes scholarships targeted to certain individuals (e.g., based on state of residence, major field of study, athletic team participation) for which the institution designates the recipient.

Any monies that must be repaid to the lending institution for which the student is the designated borrower. Includes all Title IV subsidized and unsubsidized loans and all institutionally and privately sponsored loans. Does not include PLUS and other loans made directly to parents.

A program that funds up to 100% of an eligible servicemember's college tuition and course-specific fees. Available only to eligible servicemembers who are currently in active service as long as criteria limits are not exceeded and students are enrolled off-duty in an U.S. Department of Education accredited post-secondary institution. This military benefit is paid directly to the postsecondary institution by the individual's Armed service.

The Higher Education Act, as amended (2008), defines institutional net price as "the average yearly price actually charged to first-time, full-time undergraduate students receiving student aid at an institution of higher education after deducting such aid." In IPEDS, average institutional net price is generated by subtracting the average amount of federal, state/local government, or institutional grant and scholarship aid from the total cost of attendance. Total cost of attendance is the sum of published tuition and required fees, books and supplies, and the weighted average for room and board and other expenses. Cost of attendance data are collected in the Institutional Characteristics (IC) component of IPEDS, and financial aid data are collected in the Student Financial Aid (SFA) component of IPEDS.

A living arrangement in which a student does not live with the student's parents or legal guardians in any housing facility that is not owned or controlled by the educational institution.

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.

Any residence hall or housing facility owned or controlled by an institution within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the institution in direct support of or in a manner related to, the institution's educational purposes.

A federal education benefit program for veterans, who served on active duty after September 10, 2001. This Department of Veteran Affairs provides up to 36 months of education benefits at an approved institution for the following college costs: tuition and fees, books and supplies, and housing. The tuition and fees payment, which is the cost for an in-state student attending a public institution, is made directly to the postsecondary institution whereas payments for books and supplies and housing are sent directly to the student.

Grants-in-aid, trainee stipends, tuition and required fees waivers, prizes or other monetary awards given to undergraduate students.

Grant monies provided by the state such as Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships (LEAP); merit scholarships provided by the state; and tuition and fee waivers for which the institution was reimbursed by a state agency. Local government grants include scholarships or gift-aid awarded directly to the student.

A program through which any unused Post 9/11 GI Bill may be transferred to a spouse or dependent(s) as long as servicemembers or veterans meet the additional Department of Veterans Affairs criteria. Only Department of Defense (DoD) can approve transfer of benefits requests.

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 up to a certain limit each year.