UNCA Student Data Glossary
Welcome to the UNCA Data Glossary. This glossary provides definitions and standards for terminology used in IREP-produced reports. This glossary can be compared to the SDM and HRDM data glossaries provided by System Office, here:
SDM Data Dictionary: https://uncdm.northcarolina.edu/sdm/dictionary.php
HRDM Data Dictionary: https://uncdm.northcarolina.edu/uncdm/hrdm_dictionary.php
In some cases, the same word may be defined differently by separate organizations. For instance, the federal IPEDS reporting system defines student gender as either “male” or “female”, whereas UNCA allows students to self-select additional gender options. In such cases, the organizational-affiliation of the word is provided in its name, in order to differentiate it from other definitions of the same word, e.g. “Gender (IPEDS)” versus “Gender (UNCA)”. Another example is race/ethnicity, which is tallied differently by IPEDS (read more: https://irep.unca.edu/student-data-glossary-race-ethnicity/).
Please send questions or concerns about definitions in this glossary to irep@unca.edu.
Academic Year (IREP): Academic year (AY) is defined as starting July of one year and ending June of the next. In most reports, the summer term is treated as the leading term. For example, the 2020-21 academic year (sometimes abbreviated as “Academic Year 2020”) would typically include the summer 2020, fall 2020, and spring 2021 semester.
Asian (IPEDS): Asian students are US citizens or permanent legal residents who self-identify as a non-Hispanic person with an Asian racial identity, this being 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” (US Office of Management & Budget, 1997).
Black (IPEDS): Black students are US citizens or permanent legal residents who self-identify as a non-Hispanic person with a Black or African American racial identity, this being a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa” (US Office of Management & Budget, 1997).
BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color): defined by UNC IR as anyone inclusive of anyone identifying as Black or African American, Native American or Alaska Native, Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or two or more races.
Class (UNCA): Freshmen have earned fewer than 30 overall credit hours prior to the current term; Sophomores fewer than 60, Juniors fewer than 90, and Seniors at least 90.
Continuing Students: Continuing students were enrolled at UNCA in the prior regular (fall or spring) term at UNCA.
Degree-Seeking Students: Degree-seeking students are pursuing a first or additional Bachelor’s degree granted by UNCA. Visiting students (including international exchange students) who are pursuing degrees at their home institutions are not included in this count.
Extension Credit: students are those enrolled at UNCA in the current term receiving only instruction offered by a UNCA affiliated group or organization to non-traditional groups of students (usually not on the main UNCA campus). This instruction is sometimes referred to as “distance education” instruction in the UNC system. Students receiving both regular (see note 1) and distance education instruction are classified as regular students rather than as extension students.
Extension Credit Students: Students who are enrolled exclusively in non-resident credit courses. These students are not counted as Resident Credit Students.
First-time Admits: First-time Admits are students enrolled in the current term and in pursuit of a Bachelor’s degree without prior enrollment at any institution of higher education. This category includes students who were dual enrolled at a community college while still enrolled in high school (e.g., Early College). These are sometimes referred to as “First-time Freshmen” or “High School Admits”.
First Generation (also called Known First Generation) students: students for whom at least one parent’s educational history is known and whose parent(s) never attained a 4-year college degree. Students who do not disclose parental education information are neither classified as “known first-generation” nor are they classified as “known not first-generation”; their status is considered to be unknown. Therefore, the proportion of first-generation students is relative only to the total number of students for whom parental education is known.
Full-time Equivalent (FTE): The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students is the sum of the ratio of actual to full-time credit hours attempted that term by each student in the population, with a maximum of 1 FTE per student. A full-time term load for an undergraduate student is 12 or more credit hours; and a full-time term load for graduate students is 9 or more credit hours.
Full-time Students: Full-time students are those attempting 12 or more undergraduate credit hours or 9 or more graduate credit hours in the current term.
Graduation (including Rates): the completion of a student’s degree pathway and the award of a degree credential.
Hispanic U.S. Residents (IPEDS): Hispanic U.S. Residents include students who are US citizens or permanent legal residents and who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino, this being a person “of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race” (US Office of Management & Budget, 1997). International students are not included in this count.
Liberal Arts & Sciences Majors: Includes: Anthropology, Art, Art History, Atmospheric Science, Biology, Chemistry, Classics, Drama, Economics, Education, English, Environmental Studies, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Jazz and Contemporary Music, Languages & Literatures, Mathematics, MLAS, Music, Music Technology, New Media, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, and Women Gender & Sexuality Studies. Excludes: Accounting, Management, Computer Science, Mass Communication, Engineering, and Health & Wellness Promotion.
Native American (IPEDS): Native American students are US citizens or permanent legal residents who self-identify as a non-Hispanic person with an American Indian or Alaska Native racial identity, this being 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” (US Office of Management & Budget, 1997).
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders (IPEDS): Pacific Islanders are US citizens or permanent legal residents who self-identify as a non-Hispanic person with a Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander racial identity, this being a person “having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands” (US Office of Management & Budget, 1997).
New Students: New students are enrolled in a new capacity at UNCA in the current term. A student who was previously enrolled at UNCA in one capacity (e.g, as an undergraduate student seeking her first bachelor’s degree) may be newly enrolled at UNCA in another capacity (e.g., as a graduate student).
Part-time Students: Part-time students are those attempting 12 or fewer undergraduate credit hours or 9 or fewer graduate credit hours in the current term.
Persistence (including Rates): the completion of a student’s degree pathway and the award of a degree credential OR the return of a student to the same institution, seeking the same degree credential.
Race/Ethnicity (Disaggregated): Every student who self-identified in the category, including those who self-identified in more than one.
Regular Credit: students enrolled at UNCA in the current term receiving regular instruction offered by UNCA faculty to the traditional student population (usually on the main UNCA campus). This instruction is sometimes referred to as “resident credit” instruction in the UNC system.
Resident Credit Students: Students who are enrolled in any courses which award resident credit. These students are not counted as Extension Credit Students, even if they enroll in extension credit courses.
Retention (including Rates): the return of a student to the same institution, seeking the same degree credential. A student is considered not retained if they either do not return to the institution or do not return to the same degree pathway.
Returning Students: Returning students are studying at UNCA in the current term after an interruption of one or more regular (fall or spring) terms.
SAT Equivalent Score: The SAT equivalent score is the higher score between a student’s SAT score and equivalent ACT score. ACT scores are converted to an SAT equivalent using the College Board’s concordance tables.
Sex (IPEDS): In accordance with federal IPEDS reporting requirements, students are classified as either male or female based on either self-identification during the application process or semi-randomized assignment.
STEM Majors: Includes: Atmospheric Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Mathematics, and Physics. Excludes: Anthropology, Art, Art History, Classics, Drama, Economics, Education, English, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Jazz and Contemporary Music, Languages & Literatures, MLAS, Music, Music Technology, New Media, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, and Women Gender & Sexuality Studies. Excludes: Accounting, Management, Mass Communication, and Health & Wellness Promotion.
Students of color: defined by the UNC System as anyone identifying as Native American or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic, or two or more races.
Transfer Admits: Transfer Admits are students enrolled in the current term and in pursuit of a first Bachelor’s degree who have prior enrollment at any other institution of higher education.
Two or More Races (IPEDS): Two or more races students are US citizens or permanent legal residents who self-identify as a non-Hispanic person belonging to two or more of the five main racial groups recognized by IPEDS (above). These students are sometimes referred to as “multi-racial” students.
Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Groups: defined by the UNC System as anyone identifying as Native American or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic, or two or more races.
White (IPEDS): White students are US citizens or permanent legal residents who self-identify as a non-Hispanic person with a White racial identity, this being a person “having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa” (US Office of Management & Budget, 1997).