CCCS Internal Glossary of terms
Academic Year: The academic year starts with the summer semester and ends with the following spring semester. Academic years are named for the calendar year of the spring semester.
Age Groups: Age is calculated using IPEDS methodology. In summer and fall semesters, age is calculated from September 15th of the current academic year. In spring semesters, age is calculated from February 15th of the current academic year. Percentages are based on reported data. A small number of students did not report a birth date.
American Indian or Alaska Native: 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. The term “Native American or Alaskan Native” is also used in this document.
Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Associate Degree: An award that normally requires at least two but less than four years of full- time equivalent college work. Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS), and Associate of General Studies (AGS) degrees are transfer-oriented awards, while Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees are considered professionally oriented, terminal awards.
Adjunct Instructors: Non-tenure track instructional staff serving in a temporary or auxiliary capacity to teach specific courses on a course-by-course basis.
Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Career and Technical Education: An educational program that specializes in the skilled trades, applied sciences, modern technologies, and career preparation. CTE was previously referred to as vocational education. Certificate (at least one but less than two academic years): Requires completion of a program that would be completed in at least one but less than two full-time equivalent academic years, or designed for completion at least 30 but less than 60 credit hours, or in at least 900 but less than 1,800 contact hours. In this report, these certificates are referred to as two-year certificates.
Certificate (Less Than One Year): Requires completion of a program that would be completed in less than one academic year or less than 900 contact hours by a student enrolled full time. In this report, these certificates are referred to as one-year certificates.
Continuing: A student who was enrolled previously at the institution at the current level (e.g., undergraduate or graduate), including readmitted students, but excluding students considered new transfers, high school students, summer only students, or study abroad only students.
Degree Level: The level of degree/diploma/certificate conferred by the institution upon the student for the successful completion of a program.
Degree-seeking Students: Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other formal award. High school students are not considered degree seeking.
Degree with Designation: Specific academic programs at the AA and AS degree levels that result in transfer of credits to public four-year institutions and student enrollment at such institutions with junior status, as long as course requirements are met.
Delivery Methods: Refers to the type of course delivery and is based off the SURDS Reported Categories.
Face-to-Face Course (FTF): A course in which all instruction is face to face in a classroom setting. These courses are also known as a “traditional” or “classroom” courses.
Financial-Aid Year: Consists of the fall of one calendar year, and spring and summer of the succeeding calendar year.
First Generation: For purposes of this report, a student whose parents have not completed a bachelor’s degree.
First-Time: Generally, a student attending undergraduate post-secondary education for the first time after high school, including students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term. For purposes of this document, a student who is so reported to the Colorado Department of Higher Education in SURDS enrollment files. FTE or Full-Time Equivalent: A mechanism to measure academic enrollment activity consistently, given the differences between full and part-time students. Thirty credit hours equal one FTE student for an undergraduate student and twenty-four credit hours for a graduate student.
Full-Time Student: In spring and fall semesters, an undergraduate student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits or a graduate student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits. In summer semesters, an undergraduate student enrolled for 6 or more semester credits or a graduate student enrolled for 6 or more semester credits.
Graduation Rate: A federal IPEDS statistic that measures the percent of full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in a particular year (cohort) who complete their program within 150 percent of normal time to completion or who transfer to other institutions if transfer is part of the institution’s mission. Data are collected and graduation rates calculated by race/ethnicity and gender, in addition to total students in the cohort.
Headcount: Unduplicated count of enrolled students.
Hispanic: A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
Hybrid Learning: Hybrid learning refers to the practice of using both online and in person learning experiences Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS): IPEDS is a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). IPEDS gathers information from every college, university, and technical and vocational institution that participates in federal student financial aid programs.
Military Students: Military Status is derived from a combination of student attributes, veteran status, and the student application. In the course of an academic year, a student could be in multiple categories; for example, an active member of the military in one semester and a veteran in another. The hierarchical order in this chart gives precedence to active military, then to veterans, and finally to dependents.
Native American or Alaska Native: Used interchangeably in this document with American Indian or Alaska Native, the definition of which is 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.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
Non-degree Seeking: A student enrolled in courses for credit who is not pursuing a formal degree or award.
Non-resident Alien (International): 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.
Online Course: A course in which the instructional content is delivered exclusively online, except for campus activities like orientation, testing, or academic support services.
Part-time Student: In spring and fall semesters, an undergraduate student enrolled for less than 12 semester credits or a graduate student enrolled for less than 9 semester credits. In summer semesters, an undergraduate student enrolled for less than 6 semester credits or a graduate student enrolled for less than 6 semester credits.
Pell Eligible: A measurement of ability to pay for higher education; students who are least able to afford to pay for college are “Pell eligible.” A student must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for a determination of eligibility. Thus, not all students are evaluated to determine whether they meet the Pell eligibility standard; however, Pell eligibility is the most common proxy for low income when assessing student outcomes by socioeconomic status.
Private Fundraising: Revenue or revenue commitments from individual or corporate donors or foundations for scholarships, key programmatic initiatives, professional development, and improvements to facilities, technology, and learning environments.
Public Fundraising: Revenue from federal, state, and municipal government sources that is outside normal realm of government funding for colleges. Federal grants are an example of public fundraising as is the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI).
Race/Ethnicity: The group(s) to which an individual belongs, identifies with, or belongs in the eyes of the community. Individuals are asked first to designate ethnicity as either Hispanic/Latino or not Hispanic/Latino and then to indicate all races that apply among American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White.
Registration Status: The student’s status at the reporting institution.
Stafford Loan – Subsidized: The Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford loan is offered to undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need. The interest on subsidized loans is paid by the federal government while the student is in school and during authorized deferment.
Stafford Loan – Unsubsidized: The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan is offered to both undergraduate and graduate students; there is no requirement to demonstrate financial need. Students are responsible for all of the interest that accrues while the student is enrolled in school.
Student of Color: A student who reported a race/ethnicity as Asian, Black or African American, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or American Indian or Alaska Native or who reported multiple races. Non-resident aliens are excluded from this category regardless of race/ethnicity.
Student Grants: Money awarded to student to assist in paying school costs. Student does not have to pay that money back.
Student Level: The level – graduate or undergraduate – at which a student is classified during the term being reported, based upon the total credits obtained toward completion of a degree/certificate program.
Student Unit Record Data System (SURDS): Information gathered from every state institution by Colorado Dept. of Higher Education (CDHE) each year. The data collection year begins with the summer term and ends with spring, the following calendar year. The Department collects data throughout the year, depending the type of data.
Transfer in: A student for whom this term is the student’s first term at the institution at the current level, where level is undergraduate or graduate, and the student is known to have previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level after high school.
Unknown Degree-Seeking Type: Includes students who have self-reported either a Non-Degree Seeking Degree, an Undeclared Degree, or their degree field is Unknown.
White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East (except those of Hispanic origin).
Work Study (Federal and State): Jobs for students to help them earn money to pay for college while in school that are either federally or state funded.