This Glossary of Terms features words commonly used in the field of Institutional Research, as well as terminology used in reports developed by the Office of Planning & Institutional Research. If there is a definition you feel we have missed or something you think we could explain a little bit better, please email us at ir@nku.edu.
For a list of terms and definitions used by our state and federal reporting agencies visit the links below:
A Cohort - First-time, full-time, associate's degree-seeking students. Starting in Fall 2012, this figure includes students who are in the Pathfinders program.
Academic Honors - Students may receive honors based on academic performance when degrees are awarded. The following academic honors are denoted: Cum Laude, Distinction, High Distinction, Magna Cum Laude, and Summa Cum Laude. All other awards are denoted as "no academic honors."
Academic Rank - Faculty academic rank includes: Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Lecturer, Lecturer II, and Senior Lecturer. Part-time faculty who do not have academic rank are coded as "part-time faculty."
Academic Semester - From IPEDS Glossary: 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. Note: the standard term length range is defined by the Office of Postsecondary Education. More information can be found at the Federal Student Aid website.
Academic Year - The period of time generally extending from September to June; usually equated to 2 semesters, and an additional summer session.
AOL - Accelerated Online major offered in conjuction with Academic Partnerships.
Award Conferred - Awards are reported by the specific degree or certificate type, such as AA, AAS, BA, BFA, BM, BS, BSN, BSW, EdD, DNP, JD, MA, MAT, MBA, MPA, MS, MSN, MSW, as well as various certificates.
Award Level - Awards are classified as undergraduate, graduate, or law.
Award Type - Students are reported according to the level and type of award received, as defined by CPE. These include: associate degree; baccalaureate degree; master's degree; education specialist; doctoral degree (DNP and EdD); Law (JD); three levels of undergraduate certificates; graduate certificate; CPE-designated institutionally-defined certificates; post-baccalaureate certificate; and post-master's certificate.
Awards - A general term that refers to all degrees and certificates awarded to students.
Chair - Faculty who serve as chair of a department or as director of a school.
CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) - A taxonomic scheme that supports the accurate tracking, assessment, and reporting of fields of study and program completion activity.
County of Origin - Students from KY, OH, and IN are denoted by county of origin; all others are noted as "unknown." Should be used in combination with State-of-Origin, because there are several counties with identical names in the three states.
Course Abbreviation - The three-letter abbreviation for courses describing the department or subject area of the course.
Course Number - The three-digit number for each course that distinguishes developmental, freshmen, sophomore, junior/senior, and graduate level courses.
Course Section Number - The section number assigned to each course.
CPE (Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education) - The Council on Postsecondary Education coordinates change and improvement in Kentucky’s postsecondary education system as directed by the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997.
Faculty Contract Type - Faculty contracts are either 9-month, 12-month, or one semester.
Faculty Tenure Status - Faculty tenure status includes: tenured; non-tenured on track; three levels of non-tenure track renewable; three levels of non-tenure-track temporary; and non-tenure-track part-time. The multiple levels of NTTR and NTTT are differentiated by the length of the contract.
First Generation Student - Students are flagged as 'first generation' if they have indicated on their admission application form that the highest education level of their parents is none, HS diploma, or associate's degree (i.e., neither parent's educational level is bachelor's degree or higher). This follows the federal TRIO definition. NKU began gathering this information on the freshman application form for the fall of 2012.
First Time Student - Students who have graduated from high school and have not previously earned credits in the degree level for which they are enrolled -- unless the credits were earned before graduation from high school -- are counted as a First-time student. A student will be reported as a first-time student in only one term. This variable includes the B-cohort; the A-cohort; first-time, full-time non-degree-seeking undergraduate students; and first-time, part-time undergraduate students (degree-seeking and non-degree-seeking). In addition, first-time graduate level students are flagged the first semester in which they are enrolled as a graduate students with no previous graduate level work.
First Time Transfer - A student with prior college work from another institution is counted as a first-time transfer student during their first semester enrolled at NKU. A first-time graduate student is not counted as a transfer from his/her undergraduate institution.
FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) - A single value providing a meaningful combination of full-time and part-time students or faculty.
Full-time or Part-time Student - Undergraduate students are counted as full-time when they are enrolled in 12 credit hours or more, graduate students are counted as full-time when they are enrolled in nine credit hours or more, and law students are counted as full-time when they are enrolled for 12 hours or more.
KPEDS (Kentucky Postsecondary Education Data System) - The central repository for data about Kentucky’s postsecondary institutions and their students. Data are provided by each public and participating not for profit institution on a scheduled basis with consistent definitions and in a prescribed format.
KYAE (Kentucky Adult Education) - Kentucky’s statewide initiative to improve the educational status of adult Kentuckians who lack a high school diploma, function at low levels of literacy or want to learn English.
KYSTATS (Kentucky Center for Statistics) - A state agency that collects and links data to evaluate education and workforce efforts in the Commonwealth. This includes developing reports and providing statistical data about these efforts so policy makers, agencies, and the general public can make better informed decisions. This includes maintaining the Kentucky Longitudinal Data System (KLDS), a statewide longitudinal data system, as well as responding to requests for data and information, and providing reports on a number of topical areas including feedback about the performance of high school graduates after they go to college, developing the Kentucky County Profiles, and information about the outcome of teacher preparation, college, adult education, and other programs.
PACE - Program for Adult Centered Education (PACE).
Payment Type (CPE) - The student's official residency status, as determined by the Council on Postsecondary Education: in-state; out-of-state reciprocity (with tuition waiver); out-of-state (without tuition waiver); out-of-state; out-of-state international and national exchange students; and undetermined residency.
Payment Type (NKU) - The 'CPE payment type' is further delineated with NKU payment types for Indiana rate, Ohio reciprocity, and the metro rate.
Persistence (CPE) Persistence rate is a statewide indicator that examines the percentage of first-time, credential-seeking students enrolled in a public or independent postsecondary institution in the summer or fall who are still enrolled the following fall at any in-state postsecondary institution. The persistence rate provides a more complete understanding of whether students are still enrolled in postsecondary education than the retention rate, which only examines whether students are still enrolled at their native institution.
Persistence (NKU) - Looks at proportion of students expected to continue enrolling from one term to the next, and tracks how many persisted to the next term. Persistence focuses on degree-seeking students who have not yet graduated.
Race/Ethnicity - A combination of race and ethnicity. Students who are Hispanic/Latino are counted first, regardless of race. Then, race categories are applied: American Indian/Alaskan Native; Asian; Black/African American; Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander; White; Two or more races; Nonresident Alien; Unknown. Foreign students who are not a citizen of the U.S. and who are in the country on a visa or temporary basis are reported as International (formerly: Nonresident Aliens). Students who self-identify as more than one race are reported in Two or More Races.
Race/Ethnicity (URM) - Underrepresented minorities, which include: Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and students of two or more races.
Retention - 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.
School-Based Scholars - School-Based Scholars is NKU's dual-enrollment program that offers eligible high school students the opportunity to take college classes for dual credit at a reduced tuition rate.
Staff Job EEO code - Staff were previously reported to federal and state agencies according to a primary functional/occupational category defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): Executive/administration/managerial; other professionals; technical and paraprofessionals; clerical and secretarial; skilled crafts; service/maintenance; and graduate assistants (part-time category). This classification system was replaced in 2012 by the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) for all federal reporting. NKU has continued coding employees according to the previous EEO categories for internal purposes.
Staff SOC Code - Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system designed by the U.S. Department of Labor. Used to classify staff.
SOC 2-digit - Staff are reported under one of the 23 major occupational categories of the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system designed by the U.S. Department of Labor. This is the federally required reporting system for employee reports.
SOC 4-digit - Staff are reported under one of the 97 minor (4-digit level) occupational categories of the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system designed by the U.S. Department of Labor.
SOC 6-digit - Staff are reported under one of the 461 broad occupations (6-digit level) of the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system designed by the U.S. Department of Labor.
STEM (NKU) - Majors and courses that are in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This original defintion of STEM is used by National Science Foundation (NSF) for grant reporting.
STEM+H (CPE) - Majors and courses that are in a CPE-designated Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, or Health field. CPE has defined STEM+H programs by CIP codes and is including all 51 CIP codes for Healthcare programs.
Student Classification - Classification is based on student level, program, and earned credit hours. Classifications include: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, high school, non-degree, auditor, post-baccalaureate-nondegree, post-baccalaureate degree-seeking, post-baccalaureate certificate, master's, specialist, graduate-non-degree, post-master's certificate, doctor's degree, and law degree.
Student First Major - The student's first declared major, reported as of the census date for the semester. For students with multiple majors, Institutional Research reports the student's first and second majors.
Student Level - Students are grouped as undergraduates, graduate students, and law students.
Student Low Income - Students are designated as 'low income' if they have received a federal Pell grant. The Pell grant is available for undergraduate students who demonstrate a financial need and meet all qualifications for Pell eligibility.
Student Second Major - The student's second declared major, reported as of the census date for the semester. For students with multiple majors, Institutional Research reports the student's first and second majors.
Years to Degree - Measure that shows the average number of years taken to earn the degree or certificate. The calculation starts from the first year that the student entered NKU at the undergraduate or graduate level, and counts the years to the earning of the award. The years spent at transfer institutions prior to enrolling at NKU are not included in this calculation.
Years to Degree - Exclude Stopout - Measure that shows the average number of years taken to earn the degree or certificate, excluding any student who was a stopout (not enrolled) for a period of two years or more. This measures follows CPE's definition used in Program Review. The calculation starts from the first year that the student entered NKU at the undergraduate or graduate level, and counts the years to the earning of the award, excluding the students who had a break of two or more years in their enrollment pattern. The years spent at transfer institutions prior to enrolling at NKU are not included in this calculation.
Young Scholars Academy (YSA) - The Young Scholars Academy is a selective partnership between the Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services, Northern Kentucky University, and partner school districts. A limited number of scholars are selected to take a full-time college course load on NKU’s campus for their final two years of high school. By the end of the program, most students will have approximately 60 college credit hours.
