Data Methodology

Data Sources and Timing

Data Book totals are pulled from the operational data store (ODS) and reflect the end-of-term freeze for a given academic period to ensure consistency. The end-of-term freeze dates for academic periods are as follows:

The only exception to these freeze dates is the Credentials section, which was pulled from the ODS and reflects updated totals through August 18th. Since many colleges are still awarding credentials beyond the July 10th freeze, the later date coincides more closely with the colleges’ degree file reporting to the CDHE.

Course Pass Rate

Course pass rate is calculated by dividing the number of courses passed (any grade of A, B, C, S/A, S/B, S/C, S, P) by total number of registered courses (any student who received a grade, including W). Dropped courses, courses receiving a grade of ‘I’ for Incomplete, a grade of ‘AU’ for audit, or courses with no final grades are excluded from the calculation.

Enrollment by Course Delivery Methods

Duplicated headcount (seat count) is used to calculate course enrollment by course delivery method. Duplicated headcounts include each student for every course taken. Delivery methods in this document are predicated on the same classifications used in SURDS reporting to the CDHE.

Graduation Rates

Graduation rates are based on the IPEDS 150% graduation rate methodology. Graduation rate cohorts include first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students enrolled in the fall, or enrolled in the fall and first-time in summer directly preceding the fall term. The graduation rates are calculated by dividing the number of first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students who received a credential within three years by the total number of students in the cohort.

Headcount and FTE

All enrollment data was pulled from the operational data store (ODS) at the Colorado Community College System office. Populations used in calculating enrollment were pulled from freeze tables for consistency, and are reflective of the end-of-term freeze for a given academic term (outlined at the beginning of this document). FTE totals reflect all countable registered courses and their corresponding credits.

Undergraduate FTE reflects total credits divided by 30, and graduate FTE reflects total credits divided by 24. Headcounts include all enrolled students, including those registered in non-countable courses. Headcounts are unduplicated for each college, and may be displayed by year or term.

Instructor Credit Hours Taught by Employment Classification

Credit hours: Total credit hours referenced in the instructor section reflect the sum of credits each unique course section is worth. This is not indicative of student enrollment or registrations. CCC online courses are excluded from this calculation.

Generated credits: Generated credits are calculated by multiplying the number of students registered in a class by the number of credits the course is worth. CCC online courses are excluded from this calculation.

Median credits to degree: Cohorts used in calculating credits to degree include all graduates with an associate degree in an academic year. Reverse transfers are excluded. Students receiving more than one associate degree in a given academic year are unduplicated, with the earliest graduation term retained. Median credits to degree is the median number of credit hours earned upon completion of a degree.

Median time to degree: Cohorts used in calculating time to degree include all graduates earning an associate degree in an academic year. Reverse transfers are excluded. Students receiving more than one associate degree in a given academic year are unduplicated, with the earliest graduation term retained. One academic year is divided into two terms, with summer and fall semesters in one term (0.5) and spring in another (0.5). Median time to degree is the median number of academic years elapsed upon completion of a degree, excluding semesters when students were taking concurrent enrollment courses.

Military, Veteran, and Dependent

Veteran category, veteran type, military attributes (namely, ADM, MIL, MIL_DEP), military cohort, application question, and element 9 are used to identify military affiliated students.

Retention

Fall-to-Fall Cohort Retention is based on the CDHE and IPEDS method of calculation. Retention cohorts include students enrolled as new first-time students in the fall term, or registered in the fall and new first time in the summer directly preceding the fall term. Only degree-seeking students (declared in any academic program) are included in the cohort, and separate rates are calculated for full and part-time students.

Fall-to-Fall All Student Retention is inclusive of all students, regardless of program of study or population type. Similar to the cohort retention, separate rates are calculated for full and part-time students as well.

Students are considered retained if they enrolled in the following fall term, or were awarded a credential between the fall term of entry and the following summer term. For example: for the fall 2017 cohort, students registered in fall 2018 or attaining a credential by the end of summer 2018 are considered retained.

Transfers

For purposes of the data book, transfer cohorts include all non-high school students enrolled during an academic year, measured from the most recent term a student enrolled in that year. A student is considered a transfer if he/she enrolls at a four-year institution at any point after being enrolled at CCCS, up through spring of the following academic year.