UCM Data Dictionary

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Academic Year:
Begins fall semester and includes spring and summer semesters, generally August 1 -July 31. Example: Academic year 2024 is fall 2023, spring 2024, and summer 2024.

American College Test (ACT)
A test used to measure a student’s ability in math, verbal comprehension and problem solving. Students usually take this test during their junior or senior year of high school.

American Indian or Alaska Native:
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains culture identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Annual:
Beginning Fall 2023, Academic year is defined as Fall, Spring, Summer. Academic Year is used for Census Reports, the Fact Book, and other UCM publications.

Asian:
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent. This includes people from Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, India, and Vietnam.

Associate Degree:
An award that consists of a minimum 60 semester hours.

At-Risk Student:
First-generation students, Pell eligible, and/or are of any race other than White, Asian, International, or Unknown.

Bachelor Degree:
An award that consists of a minimum 120 semester hours.

Black or African American:
A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

Census Date:
The census date of the university represents a date in each semester when a “snapshot” of university data is reported.  Data reported at census represent the official enrollment for the semester. Census data are used in various surveys and national reports. Because census data represent a “snapshot” outlook on a precise date, they may differ from data collected on other dates. For Fall and Spring, census day is four weeks after the first day of class; Summer census day is the last day of the summer semester.

Cohort:
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 student during the fall or summer term of a given year.  

Completions:
This is an annual number of degrees and other formal awards (certificates) conferred. These data are reported by level (associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctor's, and first-professional).  Due to double majors or the ability to earn more than one certificate per student, completions do not represent headcounts.

Completion Rates:
Calculated by dividing “Successfully Completed Credit Hours” by “Attempted Credit Hours” (successful credit hours ÷ attempted credit hours = Completion Ratio) then multiply the result by 100 to obtain percentage (Completion Ratio x 100 = ____%).

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

Credit Course:
A course that, if successfully completed, can be applied toward the number of courses required for achieving a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award. 

Credit Hour:
A unit of measure representing the equivalent of 15 class sessions consisting of 50 minutes of instruction.  It is applied toward the total number of hours needed for completing the requirements of a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Declared Major:
Students who have declared their area of study and are enrolled in at least one course taken for credit anytime during the academic year.  Students with a double major are counted in each area but only counted once in university counts. Data are gathered each semester on Census Date.

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

Degree-Seeking Students:
Students enrolled in courses for credit who are recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or formal award.

Doctoral Degree:
Central cooperates with other institutions in offering Doctoral programs. The degree is confirmed by the other institution.

Double Major:
Students who have declared two areas of study. Students with a double major are counted in each area but only counted once in the college and university headcounts. Data are gathered each semester on census day.

Education Specialist:
A graduate student working on an academic degree in education beyond the master’s degree and before the doctorate degree.

Extended Campus/Distance Learning:
The Office of Extended Campus and Distance Learning is committed to providing coursework and degree programs at locations and times that meet the needs of students. Distance learning delivers a comprehensive selection of credit and noncredit courses, degrees and certificates via the Internet through I-TV, video teleconferencing, broadcast television, and other communication systems.

Faculty:
Persons whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of conducting instruction, research, or public service as a principal activity (or activities), and who hold academic titles of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, or the equivalent of any of these academic ranks. 

Fall:
First semester of the academic year.  August - December.

Financial Aid Award Year:
School year for which financial aid is used to fund a student's education. Generally, this is the 12-month period that begins on July 1 of one year and ends on June 30 of the following year.

First-Time Freshmen:
Students who enroll in college for the first time. First-time freshmen (FTF) are those who have earned no previous college credit hours, although those who earned college credits while in high school through dual credit are included.

Fiscal Year (FY):
The period of time utilized for maintaining university financial records. It commences on July 1  and ends June 30 the following year.

Freshmen:
Undergraduates who have earned fewer than 30 college semester credit hours.

Freshmen Retention Rate:
The percent of first-time freshmen who return for their sophomore year.

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Faculty:
For faculty, a workload of teaching 12 credit hours per semester is equivalent to 1 FTE.

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Graduate Student:
All the credit hours taken by graduate students, divided by 9 per semester (fall and spring), 6 per summer, or 24 per academic year is equivalent to 1 FTE.

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Undergraduate:
All the credit hours taken by undergraduate students, divided by 12 per semester (fall and spring), 6 per summer, or 30 per academic year is equivalent to 1 FTE.

Full-Time Instructional Faculty:
Individuals are included or excluded based on the instructions for reporting to government agencies, i.e., IPEDS.

Full-Time Student:
Generally classified as an undergraduate student taking 12 hours or more in the fall or spring, 9 hours or more in the summer; or a graduate student taking 9 hours or more in the fall or spring, 6 hours or more in the summer.

Geographic Origin:
The state and county in which a student resides at the time of first admission to the institution. Major classifications are the following:

In-State :		Students legally domiciled in the state of Missouri at the time of first admission.
Out-of-State :		Students legally domiciled in a state other than Missouri at the time of first admission. (Foreign students are included in the out-of-state count as non-resident alien.)

Graduate Certificate:
A stand-alone graduate level award that consists of 9-15 semester hours.

Graduate Student:
A student who holds a bachelor’s or first-professional degree, or equivalent, and is taking courses at the post- baccalaureate level. 

Graduation Rate:
Refers to the percentage of the student population—usually, but not always, referring to first-time, full-time students—who graduate in a given time frame. To calculate graduation rate, take the total number of students who graduate divided by the number of entering students.

Entering students :		Number of students who first entered the university/program during a 12- month period.
Graduated students :		Of entering students, the number who graduated (within 100%, 150%, 200% times normative duration)
Graduation Rate :		Graduated students ÷ Entering students

Headcount:
Refers to the unduplicated count of students enrolled for one or more classes during the time period stated. Unduplicated means that a student is only counted once regardless of the number of classes taken, the number of sites at which the classes are located, or the number of terms enrolled. Unduplicated headcount is the most frequently used term for reporting student data.

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

Instructional Faculty:
Members of the instructional or research staff whose major regular assignment is instruction, including those with released time for research.

Junior:
An undergraduate student who has earned at least 60 but fewer than 90 semester credit hours.

Major:
A concentration of related courses generally consisting of 30 to 50 semester hours of credit. A student may have more than one major.

Military, Active Duty (MLAD):
Students that are enlisted in the U.S. military and currently serving on Active Duty.

Military, Affiliated:
Students that are Active Duty, National Guard, Reservists, Veterans, or their dependent(s) (spouse/child).

Military Branch:
The area of the U.S. Armed Forces the student is associated with; Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, Space Force.

Military, Dependent (MLDP):
Students that are the spouse or child of an Active Duty, National Guard, Reservist, or Veteran member.

Military, National Guard  (MLNG):
Students currently fulfilling their National Guard responsibilities. Not currently serving on active duty.

Military, Reservists (MLRV):
Students currently fulfilling their Reserve responsibilities. Not currently serving on active duty.

Military, Veteran (MLVT):
Students that meet the definition provided by various agencies or are not serving in another capacity.

Minor:
A secondary field of specialized study. UCM minors range from 12-34 credit hours. 

Minority:
Students who are Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, or of two or more races.

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 recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or formal award.

Non-Resident Alien:
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.

On-Schedule Enrollment:
Enrollment as of the official census date for each semester for full 16 week and first 8 week courses (fall/spring).

Off-Schedule Enrollment:
Enrollment not included in on-schedule report for each semester (second 8 week courses fall/spring).

Part-time Student:
An undergraduate student enrolled with fewer than 12 credit hours in a fall or spring semester or a graduate student enrolled in fewer than 9 hours.  Undergraduate students in less than 9 credit hours or graduate students in fewer than 6 hours for summer semester.

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.  This may be measured term-to-term or year-to-year.

Public Institution:
An educational institution with  programs and activities operated by publicly elected or appointed school officials and supported primarily by public funds.

Race/Ethnicity:
Categories used to describe groups to which individuals belong or identify with. The categories for self-reporting race/ethnicity are: Hispanic (regardless of race); and for non-Hispanics: American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; White; Two or more races.

Retained Rate:
To calculate the retained rate, start with the number of students enrolled during a given 12-month period (Fall, Spring, Summer), which is the Unduplicated 12-Month Headcount. Subtract the number of students who withdrew from the university during that 12-month period to get the number of retained students. The number of retained students divided by the number of all enrolled students is the retained rate.

All students :		Unduplicated 12-Month Headcount (students enrolled during a 12- month period)
Retained students :		All students – students who withdrew
Retained Rate :		Retained students ÷ All students

Retention:
A measure of the rate at which students persist in their educational program. This is identified as an cohort of first-time bachelors/certificate degree-seeking undergraduates that enter the institution for the first time during the previous summer and fall who are again enrolled in the following fall semester.  Cohorts are identified based on the year of entry.  Example:  2023 Cohort - Students entering summer 2023 or fall 2023 are defined as a cohort.  These students are considered to be retained if enrolled in the fall 2024 semester.  

Retention Rates:
Retention expressed as a percentage of students in a cohort that enroll in subsequent fall semesters (fall to fall).  First time students from last fall that return for the current fall term are considered retained.  Cohort students who graduate are accounted for by adding them to the retained cohort count.   This total is divided by the count of those in the original cohort from the prior fall.  Example:  Fall 2022 Cohort size of 20 students, 1 graduated Spring 2023, 5 did not return for Fall 2023.  This yields 15 returning students, plus 1 graduate, for an adjusted cohort count of 16.  Therefore, the retention rate is 80.00% (16/20).

Cohort size :		Unduplicated Headcount (students enrolled for the first time in the prior summer and fall)
Retained students :		All students in cohort minus  cohort students who withdrew/did not return for the current fall semester plus those that graduated
Retention Rate :		Retained students divided by Cohort Size

Senior:
An undergraduate student who has accumulated at least 90 semester credit hours.

Sophomore:
An undergraduate student who has accumulated at least 30 semester hours of credit, but fewer than 60 semester credit hours.

Summer:

Third semester of the academic year. May through August.

Spring:

Second semester of the academic year.  January through May.

Student Credit Hour Generated:
A unit of measure that represents a student engaged in an activity for which one hour of credit is granted upon successful completion.

Face to Face :		Credit hours generated in classes with a course type of Lecture or Lab.
Hybrid :		Credit hours generated in classes with a course type of Hybrid are 50-99% Online (2011 and beyond) or Predominantly Online (prior to 2011).
Online :		Credit hours generated in classes with a course type of Online. These courses are 100% online.
Other :		Credit hours generated in classes with a course type other than Face to Face, Online or Hybrid. Includes Study Abroad, Teacher Quality Improvement, Contract, Dale Carnegie Course, Doctorate, Dual Credit (High School), Entrepreneurial, Intensive English, Independent Study, Internship, Interactive Television, Limited Cost, MBA, Med Tech, Military Contract, Music Lesson, New Teacher Institute, Practicum, Student Teaching, Technology Education Advancement Program and TRIO.

Student to Faculty Ratio:
The total full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment of students divided by the total full-time equivalent (FTE) of instructional faculty.

Tenure:

Generally, a tenured appointment is an appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency and program discontinuation.

Terminal Degree:
A faculty degree that is generally accepted as the highest academic degree in a faculty’s field of study.

Transfer Student:
A student entering UCM for the first time but known to have previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level (e.g., undergraduate, graduate). The student may transfer with or without credit. 

Tuition:
Amount of money charged to students for instructional services. Tuition may be charged on a per-credit basis.

In-State Student or Resident :		Tuition rate charged to in-state or resident students.
Out-of-State or Nonresident :		Tuition rate charged to out-of-state or nonresident students.
Mandatory Fees :		The charges assessed to students for certain items in addition to tuition. Such fees include rates for transportation/parking, technology, student activities and other designated required fees.

Two or more races, non-Hispanic:
A person who has marked two or more ethnic categories.

Undergraduate Certificate:
A stand-alone undergraduate level award that consists of  12-30 semester hours.

Undergraduate Student:
A student taking courses at the baccalaureate level.

Underrepresented Student:
First-generation college students, students from low-income backgrounds, and/or minority students.