Data Dictionary

Arapahoe Community College. ACC is an open-door admissions institution, educating people from age 17 and older - with or without a high school diploma or General Education Development (GED) certificate. About 18,000 students attend ACC annually. ACC offers more than 100 degree and certificate programs. Most classes are held at the Littleton Campus, completed in 1974, on ACC’s 51-acre multi-building campus in Historic Downtown Littleton. (ACC)

The academic year for official reporting is defined as Summer, Fall, and Spring. The official definition does not match that used by some functional offices such as financial aid. Some of these offices define an academic year as Fall, Spring, and Summer. It is important to know about these two different definitions used, because you need to know which one is most appropriate to your reporting situation. All reports on the ACC IR website use the official definition of an academic year (summer, fall, spring) unless explicitly noted otherwise. Academic Year 2017 could be expressed as AY2017 or AY17. See also Fiscal Year and Financial Aid Year.

The BANNER code associated with an academic semester. It is associated with the calendar year that completes an academic year. It begins with the prior Summer, then includes the subsequent Fall and Spring (e.g. for 2017-10 is Summer 2016, 201720-Fall 2016 and 201730 is Spring 2017). The code designation in Banner for the three terms/Semesters is

Summer – 10
Fall – 20
Spring – 30

An instructional program leading toward a certificate or associate degree or resulting in credits that can be applied to one of these degrees.

Completion of a college program of study in fewer than the usual number of years, most often by attending summer sessions and carrying extra courses during the regular academic term (IPEDS).

ACT, previously known as the American College Testing program, measures educational development and readiness to pursue college-level coursework in English, mathematics, natural science, and social studies. Student performance does not reflect innate ability and is influenced by a student's educational preparedness.

The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or sub-cohort). For the Fall Enrollment component, it is the cohort for calculating retention rate; for the Graduation Rates component, this is the cohort from which graduation and transfer-out rates are calculated; and for the Outcome Measures component, these are the four cohorts (full-time, first-time; part-time-first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and part-time, non-first-time) for which outcomes rates are calculated at 6 and 8 years. (IPEDS)

The indicator denoting what criteria applied when a student was first admitted to the institution at this level of study. The values are:

• CE: Continuing Education Student
• R: Regular
• HS: High School Program Level
• S: Special
• U: Undetermined

The indicator denoting what criteria applied when a student was first admitted to the institution at this level of study. The values are

• CE: Continuing Education Student
• R: Regular
• HS: High School Program Level
• S: Special
• U: Undetermined

College credit assigned to a student based upon passing a standardized exam created by the College Board tied to an Advanced Placement curriculum and course the student took in high school. The passing test score required for college credit is determined by the academic department awarding the credit.

Offered status means that the student has aid available to them, but they have not yet made a choice to accept or decline the aid.

Accepted status means that the student has verified that they would like to receive the aid, but does not necessarily mean that it has been paid. Paid status means that the student has either received payment or the student's bursar account has been credited with the aid.

Declined or cancelled status means that either the student chose to pursue other financing strategies or a financial aid administrator cancelled aid in order to comply with federal or state regulations or college policies.

A financial aid package is aid offered to a student that may include any combination of scholarships, grants, work study, loans, and fee remissions from all sources (federal, state, institutional and private).

For the purposes of the IPEDS Student Financial Aid (SFA) component, aid received refers to financial aid that was awarded to, and accepted by, a student. This amount may differ from the aid amount that is disbursed to a student. For example, a student may accept aid that was awarded by the institution but then leave the institution prior to the aid being disbursed. In this case, because the student accepted the aid, the aid would be reported to IPEDS, even though it was NOT actually disbursed to the student.

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition (CCCS).

See also “FTE.” The most common measure of enrollment is a simple count of students enrolled in classes (also called a headcount). Enrollment can also be measured as the number of full time equivalent (FTE) students based on how many credits they are taking. The FTE calculation is based on the sum of credits carried by all students enrolled in classes at a particular level, divided by the number of credits in a full-time load. Annualized FTE is calculated based on a full-time load over the course of a year. Full-Time status over the course of a year would equal 30 credits for students, so the calculation for annualized FTE is all credit hours divided by 30. This is the calculation used by the state of Colorado in determining funding for schools.

An individual who has applied to the institution. Some applications submitted are not complete and are often missing required information to make a decision. These students are still considered as applicants.

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, and Samoa (CCCS).

An award that normally requires at least two but less than four years of full-time equivalent college work. Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS), and Associate of General Studies (AGS) degrees are transfer-oriented awards, while Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees are considered professionally oriented, terminal awards. (CCCS)

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.

An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at least four years but not more than five years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes ALL bachelor’s degrees conferred in a five-year cooperative (work-study plan) program. (A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies.) Also, it includes bachelor’s degrees in which the normal four years of work are completed in three years.

Owned by Ellucian. It is a comprehensive computer information system designed specifically for higher education institutions. Users input data directly into Banner through transactions such as registering students or assigning grades. It contains information on courses, students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Components of the Banner system include student, financial aid, finance, human resources, and alumni.

A standard or point of reference against which gathered data may be compared or assessed.

A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa (except those of Hispanic origin). (CCCS)

The course campus is the location in which the instruction is delivered or offered. Below are some of the possible values

• ACN: CCCOnline course offered for ACC
• ACM: ACC Littleton campus
• AON: ACC online Camus
• AUC: ACC Parker Campus
• ACR: ACC Castle Rock Campus

The method by which an institution structures most of its courses for the academic year.

A range of services, including (often) the following: coordination of visits of employers to campus; aptitude and vocational testing; interest inventories, personal counseling; help in resume writing, interviewing, launching the job search; listings for those students desiring employment and those seeking permanent positions; establishment of a permanent reference folder; career resource materials.

Colorado Community College System comprises 13 community colleges (including ACC) and it has an oversight of the 13 community colleges.

The Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) was established by the Colorado legislature in 1965 to oversee higher education in Colorado. The CCHE has responsibilities that include but are not limited to the following: review and approve degree programs; establish the distribution formula for higher education funding; approve institutional capital construction requests; determine institutional roles and missions; and establish statewide enrollment policies and admissions standards.

The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) is the principal department of the Colorado State Government responsible for implementing the policies of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE), which oversees higher education in Colorado. You can access the CDHE website.

Census Date for Official Reporting in Institutional Research Reports Census date (add / drop date) usually occurs at 15% of the regular semester (15-week Fall / Spring semester and 10-week semester for summer semester).

Census date (add / drop date) usually occurs at 15% of the regular semester (15-week Fall / Spring semester and 10-week semester for summer semester).

At the end of 5 business days after the census date essential data pertaining to enrollment, schedule of classes and credit hours are captured for each academic period.

ACC IR calculates and produces official enrollment number for each academic period based on the census data for each academic period at the end of 10 business days after the census date.

Requires completion of a program that would be completed in at least one but less than two full-time equivalent academic years, or designed for completion at least 30 but less than 60 credit hours, or in at least 900 but less than 1,800 contact hours. (CCCS)

Requires completion of a program that would be completed in less than one academic year or less than 900 contact hours by a student enrolled full-time. (CCCS)

A six-digit code in the form xx.xxxx that identifies instructional program specialties within educational institutions. (IPEDS)

A taxonomic coding scheme for secondary and post-secondary instructional programs. It is intended to facilitate the organization, collection, and reporting of program data using classifications that capture the majority of reportable data. The CIP is the accepted federal government statistical standard on instructional program classifications and is used in a variety of education information surveys and databases. (IPEDS)

The CIP has been revised several times to keep up with changes in degree program offerings, with the most recent revision completed in 2010. A full copy of the current CIP is available online.

Data entered to Banner based upon Country of Citizenship or legal citizenship, below are some of the common possible values are:

• AS: Asylee or Refugee,
• Y: US Citizen,
• PR: Permanent Resident
• F1/F2: International student

The relative numerical position of a student in his or her graduating class, calculated by the high school on the basis of grade-point average, whether weighted or unweighted.

Software from the company Ellucian that allows users to pull data that is stored in the Banner information system and write analytical and descriptive reports with that data.

A cohort is a group of students having a common factor (class membership, age, or enrollment status or etc). Several Cohorts are used in ACC for example

• Fall 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 students during the fall term of a given year. For the Outcome Measures component, all degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students who enter an institution during the fall term of a given year must be placed in one of four cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and part-time, non-first-time. (IPEDS)
• Full-year cohort: The group of students entering at any time during the 12-month period September 1 through August 31 that is established for tracking and reporting Graduation Rate (GR) and Outcome Measures (OM) data for institutions that primarily offer occupational programs of varying lengths. Students must be full-time and first-time to be considered in the cohort. For OM component, undergraduate students must enter in one of four cohorts: fulltime, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and part-time, non-first-time. (IPEDS)
• Initial cohort: A specific group of individuals established for tracking purposes. For the Graduation Rates (GR) and Outcome Measures (OM) components of IPEDS, the initial cohort is defined as the enrollment count before removing revisions and exclusions of all degree/certificate-seeking students who enter in either (1) the fall term of a given academic year, or (2) between September 1st and August 31st of the following year. For the GR component of IPEDS, the initial cohort is only for full-time, first-time students. For OM, all undergraduates are placed in one of four initial cohorts: full-time, first-time; part-time, first-time; full-time, non-first-time; and part time, non-first time.(IPEDS)
• ACC uses the following cohort
  • Concurrent Enrollment:
    • CEHS – Concurrent Enrollment students taking courses at the high school
    • CECA – Concurrent Enrollment students taking courses at ACC
  • Transfer Promise
  • FTFT (Full-Time First Time) Cohort

The Common Data Set (CDS) is a set of clearly-defined data items developed through collaboration of publishers and higher education. These items are used to share standard information about a college or university. Information covers data on admissions, enrollment, retention, classes, activities, policies and costs.

The group of peer institutions used for comparison purposes within the IPEDS Peer Analysis System (PAS). Comparison groups may be identified by the analyst by name or UnitID, they may be built by using characteristics (variables) from the IPEDS data, or they may be automatically generated by the system. Also referred to as a peer group. (IPEDS)

A student who receives a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award. In order to be considered a completer, the degree / award must actually be conferred. (IPEDS)

Students who completed their program within 150% of the normal (or expected) time for completion. (IPEDS)

Successful graduation with a degree or certificate from an approved program.

This annual component of IPEDS collects number of degrees and other formal awards (certificates) conferred. These data are reported by level (associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctor's), as well as by length of program for some. Both are reported by race / ethnicity and gender of recipient, and the field of study, using the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code. Institutions report all degrees and other awards conferred during an entire academic year, from July 1 of one calendar year through June 30 of the following year. Completions data by race / ethnicity at the 2-digit CIP level became an annual collection in 1990; since the 1995 collection, race / ethnicity is collected at the 6-digit CIP level. In 2001, IPEDS began collecting completers of double majors by level, 6-digit CIP code, and by race / ethnicity and gender of recipient. (IPEDS)

This represents the percentage of students who completed. It is calculated as the number of students reaching completion (“completers”) divided by the number of students enrolled in the program (“enrolled”), multiplied by 100.

A program through which high school students may enroll in college courses while still enrolled in high school.

The Colorado Department of Higher Education defines one "contact hour" as a programmed class period lasting no fewer than 50 minutes and no more than 60 minutes.

A student who was enrolled previously at the institution at the current level, including readmitted students, but excluding students considered new transfers, HS concurrent students, summer only students, or study abroad only students (CCCS).

A completion of a course by student with a final grade of A, B, C, D, P or S.

Percentage of students who receive a passing / satisfactory grade in a course. It is calculated as the number of students who received a passing / satisfactory grade in a course divided by the number of students enrolled in the course, multiplied by 100.

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.

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.

A unit of measure representing an hour (50 minutes) of instruction over a 15-week period in a semester or trimester system or a 10-week period in a quarter system. It is applied toward the total number of hours needed for completing the requirements of a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award. (See also Semester Hour)

A system whereby students enrolled at one institution may take courses at another institution without having to apply to the second institution.

Stands for “Career Technical Education.” This is defined as programs or degrees that are meant to lead to a job after program completion.

Failure to repay a loan according to the terms agreed to in the promissory note. For most federal student loans, you will default if you have not made a payment in more than 270 days. You may experience serious legal consequences if you default.

The percentage of borrowers who fail to repay their loans according to the terms of their promissory notes.

An award conferred by a college, university, or other post-secondary education institution as official recognition for the successful completion of a program of studies.

The level of degree/diploma/certificate conferred by the institution upon the student for the successful completion of a program.

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

Specific academic programs at the AA and AS degree levels that result in transfer of credits to public four-year institutions and student enrollment at such institutions with junior status, as long as course requirements are met. (CCCS)

Defined by the instruction mode of section taught, the values are:

• CE: Continuing Ed
• CO: CCC Online
• CT: Career Technical Course
• HY: Hybrid
• ON: Online
• SP: Self-Paced
• TR: Traditional

Instructional courses (mainly in reading, writing and mathematical skill) designed for students deficient in the general competencies necessary for a regular post-secondary curriculum and educational setting.

A formal document certifying the successful completion of a prescribed program of studies.

An option for earning course credit at off-campus locations via cable television, internet, satellite classes, videotapes, correspondence courses, or other means.

Program in which students may complete two undergraduate programs of study simultaneously.

A program through which high school students are enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses, taught at their high school, that fulfill high school graduation requirements and may earn the student college credits. (IPEDS)

A program through which high school students may enroll in college courses while still enrolled in high school.

It is the central repository of CCCS's electronically stored institutional data. EDW is designed to work with the Operational Data Store (ODS) in order to provide event-based processing to capture point-in-time information for trend analysis and historical reporting enabling ACC to proactively plan business activities.

The ODS is the central data repository of CCCS. Data from Banner is loaded into ODS on a nightly basis, then organized into business views to simplify reporting.

English as a Second Language is a method of helping students who do not speak English to acquire it quickly. ESL differs from bilingual education in that there is no use of the student’s native language. Whereas bilingual education uses the student’s native language as a bridge to help the student transition into English, or even helps the student to become fluent (bilingual) in both their native language and English, ESL’s goal is to teach English language only. School districts often favor ESL over bilingual education because it is less expensive (bilingual teachers and teaching materials are difficult to find and are costly), even though research points to more benefits of helping students to become bilingual. CDHE

A person is considered enrolled at the institution when that person has the Banner Registration record for the academic period.

Reported by the school the student attended, indicates whether the student is (or was) full-time, three-quarter time, half-time, less than half-time, withdrawn, graduated, etc.

The free application used to apply for federal student aid, such as federal grants, loans, and work-study.

This annual component of IPEDS collects data on the number of students enrolled in the fall at post-secondary institutions. Students reported are those enrolled in courses creditable toward a degree or other formal award; students enrolled in courses that are part of a vocational or occupational program, including those enrolled in off-campus or extension centers; and high school students taking regular college courses for credit. Institutions report annually the number of full- and part-time students, by gender, race/ethnicity, and level (undergraduate, graduate, first-professional); the total number of undergraduate entering students (first-time, full-and part-time students, transfer-ins, and non-degree students); and retention rates. In even-numbered years, data are collected for state of residence of first-time students and for the number of those students who graduated from high school or received high school equivalent certificates in the past 12 months. Also in even numbered years, 4-year institutions are required to provide enrollment data by gender, race/ethnicity, and level for selected fields of study. In odd-numbered years, data are collected for enrollment by age category by student level and gender.

A federal grant for undergraduate students with financial need.

A federal student loan, made by the recipient's school, for undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate financial need.

Financial aid from the federal government to help you pay for education expenses at an eligible college or career school. Grants, loans and work-study are types of federal student aid. You must complete the FAFSA to apply for this aid.

An identifier that the U.S. Department of Education assigns to each college or career school that participates in the federal student aid programs. In order to send your FAFSA information to a school, you must list the school's Federal School Code on your application. A list of Federal School Codes is available at www.fafsa.gov.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, view federal website. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. View FERPA brochure. CDHE

Federal Work Study, grants, loans to students (government and/or private), assistantships, scholarships, fellowships, tuition waivers, tuition discounts, employer aid (tuition reimbursement) and other monies (other than from relatives/friends) provided to students to meet expenses. This excludes loans to parents.

Any applicant who submits any one of the institutionally required financial aid applications / forms, such as the FAFSA.

In postsecondary institutions, financial aid funding is allocated on a semester or quarterly basis as dictated by the yearly academic calendar.

As determined by ACC using the federal methodology and/or institution's own standards.

If neither parent has a college degree, then you are considered to be a first-generation college student, which could help you qualify for additional aid programs. [Source: FAFSA.ed.gov]

A student attending post-secondary education for the first time after high school at the level enrolled, where level means undergraduate or graduate. (CCCS)

A student attending any post-secondary institution for the first time at undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended a postsecondary institution for the first time at undergraduate level in the prior summer term. Also includes students who entered with advanced standing (college credit earned before graduation from high school).

A first-year undergraduate student.

Full-time Equivalent; a way to measure a student's academic enrollment activity at an educational institution. An FTE of 1.0 means that the student is equivalent to full-time enrollment (30 credits completed in academic year); An FTE of 0.5 means that a student is equivalent to half-time (15 credits completed in academic year); This differs from headcount because the calculation is based on credits, not a count of "students-in-seats." (CDHE)

ACC FTE calculation = All countable credit hours/30 credits

A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits.

General Educational Development; It is sometimes referred to as "General Equivalency Diploma," "General Education(al) Diploma" or "high school equivalency." It is a battery of tests that, when passed, certifies the student has high school academic skills. The GED test is a test of equivalency for the high school diploma. CDHE

The sum of grade points a student has earned in secondary school divided by the number of courses taken. The most common system of assigning numbers to grades counts four points for an A, three points for a B, two points for a C, one point for a D, and no points for an F. Unweighted GPA’s assign the same weight to each course. Weighting gives students additional points for their grades in advanced or honors courses.

The rate required for disclosure and/or reporting purposes under Student Right-to-Know Act. This rate is calculated as the total number of completers within 150% of normal time divided by the revised adjusted cohort. (IPEDS)

Financial aid, often based on financial need that does not need to be repaid (unless, for example, you withdraw from school and owe a refund).

GT PATHWAYS applies to all Colorado public institutions of higher education, and there are more than 900 lower-division general education courses in 20 subject areas approved for guaranteed transfer. Courses are approved at least twice per academic and calendar year and apply the next semester immediately following their approval. CDHE

The sum of students enrolled for credit with each student counted only once during the reporting period, regardless of when the student enrolled. (IPEDS)

Head count in ACC = unduplicated count of all registered students (into countable class)

For high school graduates, the identification of the high school from which they graduated, using the code assigned by the college entrance Examination board (ceeb);

• high schools that are not in the system a value XXXX is entered,
• home school has a value of XXXX ,
• GED has a value of XXX

A document certifying the successful completion of a prescribed secondary school program of studies, or the attainment of satisfactory scores on the Tests of General Educational Development (GED), or another state-specified examination.

An indication that a student self-identifies as being Hispanic or Latino

0 = not reported by student

1 = yes, a student identifies as being Hispanic or Latino.

Aggregate dollar amount borrowed through any loan program (federal, state, subsidized, unsubsidized, private, etc.; excluding parent loans) while the student was enrolled at an institution. Student loans co-signed by a parent are assumed to be the responsibility of the student and should be included.

Academic work chosen or designed by the student with the approval of the department concerned, under an instructor’s supervision, and usually undertaken outside of the regular classroom structure.

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), conducted by the NCES, began in 1986 and involves annual institution-level data collections. All postsecondary institutions that have a Program Participation Agreement with the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), U.S. Department of Education (throughout IPEDS referred to as "Title IV") are required to report data using a web-based data collection system. IPEDS currently consists of the following components: Institutional Characteristics (IC); 12-month Enrollment (E12); Completions (C); Admissions (ADM); Student Financial Aid (SFA); Human Resources (HR) composed of Employees by Assigned Position, Fall Staff, and Salaries; Fall Enrollment (EF); Graduation Rates (GR); Outcome Measures (OM); Finance (F); and Academic Libraries (AL).

The Colorado Department of Higher Education submits aggregated data on public institutions to IPEDS. Website

Endowed scholarships, annual gifts and tuition funded grants for which the institution determines the recipient.

A student who is admitted to ACC with a visa type of F1, F2.

Any short-term, supervised work experience usually related to a student’s major field, for which the student earns academic credit. The work can be full- or part-time, on- or off-campus, paid or unpaid.

Center offering assistance through tutors, workshops, computer programs, or audiovisual equipment in reading, writing, math, and skills such as taking notes, managing time, taking tests. (TRiO)

A binding legal document that you must sign when you get a federal student loan. The MPN can be used to make one or more loans for one or more academic years (up to 10 years). It lists the terms and conditions under which you agree to repay the loan and explains your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. It’s important to read and save your MPN because you’ll need to refer to it later when you begin repaying your loan or at other times when you need information about provisions of the loan, such as deferments or forbearances.

Based on a student's skill or ability. Example: A merit-based scholarship might be awarded based on a student's high grades.

A student who reports as Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, or Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or who reports multiple races as long as the student is not a non-resident alien. It does not include unknown, white, or non-resident alien students.

This feature, available at StudentAid.gov/login, provides access to information on federal grants and loans as stored in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS®). My Federal Student Aid contains information on how much aid you've received, your enrollment status, and your loan servicer(s). You can access My Federal Student Aid using your FSA ID. 

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

Based on a student's financial need. Example: A need-based grant might be awarded based on a student's low income.

College-funded or college-administered award from institutional, state, federal, or other sources for which a student must have financial need to qualify. This includes both institutional and non-institutional student aid (grants, jobs, and loans).

Scholarships and grants from institutional, state, federal, or other sources for which a student must have financial need to qualify.

Loans and jobs from institutional, state, federal, or other sources for which a student must demonstrate financial need to qualify.

Enrolled in courses but does not have intentions of pursuing a formal degree or award.

Scholarships and grants, gifts, or merit-based aid from institutional, state, federal, or other sources awarded solely on the basis of academic achievement, merit, or any other non-need-based reason.

Loans and jobs from institutional, state, or other sources for which a student need not demonstrate financial need to qualify.

A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.

Admission policy under which virtually all secondary school graduates or students with GED equivalency diplomas are admitted without regard to academic record, test scores, or other qualifications.

ODS is Banner's data warehouse product. It is the process of organizing and archiving historical operational data in a manner that it can be retrieved to create reports. The data assist decision-makers in increasing administrative efficiencies and expanding data access.

A student enrolled for fewer than 12 credits per term, or enrolled for 7 or fewer credits for Summer term.

Percent/number of term unduplicated students who return to ACC college or online program the following term for example a student registered for class in Fall 2015( 201620) and Spring 2016 (201630) will be counted in the persistence calculation Since Summer is an optional semester registration for Summer term may not be included in the persistence calculation.

The binding legal document that you must sign when you get a federal student loan. It lists the terms and conditions under which you agree to repay the loan and explains your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. It’s important to read and save this document because you’ll need to refer to it later when you begin repaying your loan or at other times when you need information about provisions of the loan, such as deferments or forbearances.

The group to which an individual appears to belong, identifies with, or is regarded in the community as belonging.

Race/ethnicity reports are based on self-reported information provided at the time a person enters the ACC, either as a student or an employee. Per federal reporting guidelines, each person is asked two questions. The first asks whether or not the individual self-identifies as being Hispanic (Y/N). The second asks the individual to choose as many racial categories as they personally feel appropriately describes them.

Unless explicitly noted, race/ethnicity on IR reports is based on IPEDS guidelines for assigning a single race/ethnicity category based on a person's answer to those two questions plus their citizenship status.

The decision tree for assigning the categories is as follows:

• if the person has nonresident alien status regarding citizenship, they are reported as "Nonresident Alien" (sometimes labeled in IR reports as "International");
• if the person indicates they are Hispanic, they are reported as "Hispanic";
• if the person selects more than one race, they are reported as "Two or More Races";
• if the person does not choose any race, they are reported as "Not Reported";
• otherwise, the person is reported in the single race category they chose, whether it be "American Indian/Alaska Native", "Asian", "Black/African American", "Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander", or "White".
• This definition is consistent with federal and state requirements, as well as nationally accepted reporting definitions.

Category used to classify students or employees whose race/ethnicity is not known and whom ACC is unable to place in one of the specified racial/ethnic categories.

Has a value of Y (Yes) or N (No), it identifies whether a student has registration in the academic period for at least one student course (this may include audit and non-countable course)

The student’s registration status at ACC. There are few registration status that the student can have here at ACC for example EL: eligible to register, IL: ineligible to register, TW: Total withdrawal

Instructional courses designed for students deficient in the general competencies necessary for a regular post-secondary curriculum and educational setting. In ACC, all remedial courses have course number less than 100.

A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who has been admitted as a legal immigrant for the purpose of obtaining permanent resident alien status (and who holds either an alien registration card [Form I-551 or I-151], a Temporary Resident Card [Form I-688], or an Arrival-Departure Record [Form I-94] with a notation that conveys legal immigrant status, such as Section 207 Refugee, Section 208 Asylee, Conditional Entrant Parolee or Cuban-Haitian).

Refers to a student's persistence at ACC calculated at a fall semester at census to the next fall semester at census that is of students enrolled in a particular fall semester how many are still enrolled the subsequent fall semester.

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. For all other institutions this is the percentage of first-time degree/certificate-seeking students from the previous fall who either re-enrolled or successfully completed their program by the current fall.

Previously known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, this is an examination administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and used to predict the facility with which an individual will progress in learning college level academic subjects. (IPEDS)

State Assigned Student Identification; Number assigned by the Colorado Department of Education to students enrolled in public primary and secondary education using the Record Integration Tracking System (RITS). Originally Colorado legislation (22-7-603.5) required longitudinal analysis of the CSAP test. The statute requires that "data elements collected and provided by the department, school districts, and individual public schools shall be compatible." Tracking student scores over time and across district lines requires a SASID. CDHE

A school’s standards for satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate offered by that institution. Check with your school to find out its standards.

Money awarded to students based on academic or other achievements to help pay for education expenses. Scholarships generally do not have to be repaid. (Dept of Ed)

A calendar system in ACC that consists of two semesters during the academic year with about 15 weeks for each semester of instruction (spring and Fall) time and an additional summer session with about 10 weeks of instruction time.

See Credit Hour

A summary of the information you submitted on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You receive this report (often called the SAR) via email a few days after your FAFSA has been processed or by mail within 7-10 days if you did not provide an email address. If there are no corrections or additional information you must provide, the SAR will contain your EFC, which is the number that's used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid.

The ratio of FTE students to FTE instructional staff, i.e., students divided by staff. Students enrolled in "stand-alone" graduate or professional programs and instructional staff teaching in these programs are excluded from both full-time and part-time counts. "Stand-alone" graduate or professional programs are those programs such as medicine, law, veterinary, dentistry, social work, or public health, in which faculty teach virtually only graduate-level students (also referred to as "independent" programs). Each FTE value is equal to the number of full-time students/staff plus 1/3 the number of part-time students/staff. (IPEDS)

Also known as the "Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act" (P.L. 101-542), which was passed by Congress November 9, 1990. Title I, Section 103, requires institutions eligible for Title IV funding to calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate- or degree-seeking, full-time students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates to all students and prospective students. Further, Section 104 requires each institution that participates in any Title IV program and is attended by students receiving athletically-related student aid to submit a report to the Secretary of Education annually. This report is to contain, among other things, graduation/completion rates of all students as well as students receiving athletically-related student aid by race/ethnicity and gender and by sport, and the average completion or graduation rate for the four most recent years. These data are also required to be disclosed to parents, coaches, and potential student athletes when the institution offers athletically-related student aid. The Graduation Rates component of IPEDS was developed specifically to help institutions respond to these requirements. See Graduation Rates for the current description of data collected.(IPEDS)

A functional expense category that includes expenses for admissions, registrar activities, and activities whose primary purpose is to contribute to students emotional and physical well-being and to their intellectual, cultural, and social development outside the context of the formal instructional program. (IPEDS)

Any arrangement by which a student completes part of the college program studying in another country. Can be at a campus abroad or through a cooperative agreement with some other U.S. college or an institution of another country. IPEDS

A loan based on financial need for which the federal government pays the interest that accrues while the borrower is in an in-school, grace, or deferment status. For Direct Subsidized Loans first disbursed between July 1, 2012, and July 1, 2014, the borrower will be responsible for paying any interest that accrues during the grace period. If the interest is not paid during the grace period, the interest will be added to the loan’s principal balance.

A completion of a course by student with a grade of A, B, C, D, P or S.

Student Unit Record Data System. SURDS files are the official source of data for public postsecondary education in Colorado. The data collected from Colorado institutions includes Enrollment, Undergraduate Applicant, Degrees Awarded, Financial Aid, Remediation, Teacher Education and Verification of Lawful Presence. (CDHE) 

An individual who has fulfilled the institution’s requirements to be considered for admission and who has previously attended another college or university and earned college-level credit.

A student for whom this term is the student’s first term at the institution at the current level, where level is undergraduate or graduate, and the student is known to have previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level after high school. CCCS

Amount of money charged to students for instructional services. Tuition may be charged per term, per course, or per credit. IPEDS

May range from one-on-one tutoring in specific subjects to tutoring in an area such as math, reading, or writing. Most tutors are college students; at some colleges, they are specially trained and certified.

A loan for which the borrower is fully responsible for paying the interest regardless of the loan status. Interest on unsubsidized loans accrues from the date of disbursement and continues throughout the life of the loan.

A veteran student is a former member of the Armed Forces of the United States (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard) who served on active duty and was discharged under conditions, which were other than dishonorable.

List of students who meet the requirements to enter a course but due to limits are not permitted to register. Typically they will only be offered a place in the course if space becomes available prior to the first day of classes.

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

A federal student aid program that provides part-time employment while you are enrolled in school to help pay your education expenses.

Federal and state work study aid, and any employment packaged by your institution in financial aid awards.