Institutional Effectiveness & Research

Institutional Research Reporting Glossary

 

A-Z Index

Abroad
Any geographic location not in the aggregate United States, which includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the other areas. Source: IPEDS

Academic Advising
A meeting between a student and an advisor to discuss the student’s academic plan of study, course selections prior to registration, and/or career plans.

Academic Calendar
An official list of dates and deadlines found at the beginning of this Catalog and on the website for the Office of the Registrar. The academic calendar specifies the dates for semesters and terms, enrollment periods, examination periods, holidays, periods classes are not in session, and commencement.

Academic Career
The period during which a student is working at an institution toward completion of one or more degrees.

Academic Discipline
A subject area of study (e.g., English, marketing, psychology).

Academic Petition
An electronic form by which students request to be granted an academic exception because their extenuating circumstances prevent them from following established rules, policies, and procedures.

Academic Probation
A status resulting from unsatisfactory academic work; a warning that the student must improve academic performance or be dismissed after a specific period.

Academic Program
An instructional program leading toward an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctor’s, or first-professional degree or resulting in credits that can be applied to one of these degrees. Source: IPEDS

Academic Program Review
Academic program review is the process through which Northern Arizona University regularly reviews, evaluates, and establishes plans for all undergraduate and graduate programs. A program review consists of a self-study conducted by the faculty and program leadership, followed by a review by a team of external consultants and a member of the university faculty. Program reviews are generally conducted every seven years. Institutional Research and Analysis provides reports in support of the academic program review process.

Academic Unit
An organization under which courses and plans are grouped, in most cases a department.

Academic Year
The period generally extending from September to June; usually equated to 2 semesters or trimesters, 3 quarters, or the period covered by a 4-1-4 calendar system. Source: IPEDS

Academic Record
Official transcript.

Academic Standing
The scholastic standing of a student based on his/her grade point average (GPA).

Access
Ensuring equal opportunity for education, particularly for students from historically underrepresented populations and students with disabilities.

Accommodations
Disability Services counselors meet with qualified students to determine and provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations that support the student’s educational goals.

Accreditation
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). SACSCOC is the recognized accrediting body in the eleven U.S. Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) and in Latin America for those institutions of higher education that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees. Accreditation is certification that an institute of higher education meets a set of criteria established by SACSCOC.

ACT
A test published by American College Testing which measures a student’s aptitude in mathematical and verbal comprehension and problem solving. Many colleges and universities, require students to take this test and submit their test scores when they apply for admission.

Add/Drop
A designated time period at the beginning of each semester when a student may add or drop a course without penalty. At Rowan-Cabarrus, the Add/Drop period runs through the 6th business day of the Fall and Spring semesters and through the 2nd business day for Summer full and half terms.

Advanced Placement (AP)
Standardized courses administered by The College Board offered in high school, the completion of which may result in credit for some of the courses normally required for an undergraduate degree. Awarding of credit based on AP is granted to a student based on prior study or experience (usually indicated by the student’s performance on the AP examination).

Alumna/Alumnus (Alumni)
A female/male (group) who attended or graduated from a particular college or university.

Articulation Agreement
A written agreement listing courses at one educational institution that are equivalent to courses at another educational institution. Articulation agreements facilitate the smooth transition of students through the secondary, community college, and university educational systems.

Associate’s Degree
A degree traditionally awarded by community or junior colleges after two years of study, or completion of 60 to 64 credit hours.

Attempted Hours
The credits received from courses completed at Rowan-Cabarrus, regardless of grade earned, courses from which students withdrew (W or WE), and courses that were repeated (even if additional credit was not earned).

Audit
Enrolling in a course on an audit basis means the course will not count for credit or impact GPA. In some cases, the audit fee is less than the tuition rate. Registration for audit often requires the permission of the instructor.

Auditory learner
Learns through listening; these students learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through, and listening to what others have to say. Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances. Written information may have little meaning until it is heard. These learners often benefit from reading text aloud.

Accrediting Agencies
Organizations (or bodies) that establish operating standards for educational or professional institutions and programs, determine the extent to which the standards are met, and publicly announce their findings. Source: IPEDS

Active
Status of a student who has completed the admission process and can be made eligible to enroll in classes.

Adjunct Faculty
Non-tenure track faculty serving in a temporary or auxiliary capacity to teach specific courses on a course-by-course basis. Includes both faculty who are hired to teach an academic degree-credit course and those hired to teach a remedial, developmental, or ESL course; whether the latter three categories earn college credit is immaterial. Excludes regular part-time faculty (who, unlike adjuncts are not paid on a course-by-course basis), graduate assistants, full-time professional staff of the institution who may teach individual courses (such as a dean or academic advisor), and appointees who teach non-credit courses exclusively. Source: IPEDS

Adjusted Cohort
The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). For the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; for the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate. Source: IPEDS

Administrative Unit
The system or central office in a multi-campus environment. Source: IPEDS

Admissions (Students Admitted)
Applicants that have been granted an official offer to enroll in a postsecondary institution. Source: IPEDS

Admissions Test Scores
Scores on standardized admissions tests or special admissions tests. Source: IPEDS

Adult Basic Education
Courses designed primarily for students 16 years of age and older to improve basic skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic. These courses are not intended to be part of a program leading to a high school credential, nor are they part of any academic, occupational, or vocational program at the postsecondary level. Source: IPEDS

Applicant
An individual who has fulfilled the institution’s requirements to be considered for admission (including payment or waiving of the application fee, if any) and who has been notified of one of the following actions: admission, non- admission, placement on waiting list, or application withdrawn by applicant or institution. Source: IPEDS

Application Fee
That amount of money that an institution charges for processing a student’s application for admittance to the institution. This amount is not creditable toward tuition or required fees, nor is it refundable if the student is not admitted to the institution. Source: IPEDS

Asian (New Definition-Fall 2009 To Present)
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. Source: IPEDS

Asian/Pacific Islander (Old Definition- Prior To Fall 2009)
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and Pacific Islands. This includes people from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, American Samoa, India, and Vietnam. Source: IPEDS

Audit
Term used when a student elects to take a course but does not wish to receive credit for the course toward a degree or other formal award. Note: Since this activity is not credit bearing, it is not counted in the Enrollment survey when reporting Instructional Activity. The students are not counted as part the fall counts if they are exclusively auditing their classes. Source: IPEDS

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