Glossary of Data Terminology

25th percentile	The score at or below which 25 percent of students submitting test scores to an institution scored.

75th percentile	The score above which 25 percent of students submitting test scores to an institution scored.

Admitted student	Applicant who is offered official admission to a degree-granting program at Hampton University.

Bachelor’s degree	An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work.

Carnegie units	One year of study or the equivalent in secondary school subject.

Cohort	A specific group of students established for tracking purposes.

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 postsecondary degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award, irrespective of the activity’s unit of measurement.

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

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

Doctor’s degree	The highest award a student can earn for graduate study.

Doctor’s degree – Research/Scholarship	A Ph.D. or other doctor’s degree that requires advanced work beyond the master’s level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement.

Doctor’s degree – Professional Practice	A doctor’s degree that is conferred upon completion of a program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credential, or license required for professional practice. (Equals at least six full-time equivalent academic years.) Some of these degrees were formerly classified as first-professional.

Enrollment count	The number of individuals for whom instruction is provided in an educational program under the jurisdiction of a school or educational institution.

Entering students (undergraduate)	Students at the undergraduate level, both full-time and part-time, coming into the institution for the first time in the fall term (or the prior summer term who returned again in the fall). This includes all first-time undergraduate students, students transferring into the institution at the undergraduate level for the first time, and non-degree/certificate seeking undergraduates entering in the fall.

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.

First-time, first-year (freshman) student	A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level). Includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term.

First-year student	A student who has completed less than the equivalent of 1 full year of undergraduate work; that is less than 30 semester hours (in a 120-hour degree program).

Full-time student	Undergraduate – A student enrolled for 12 or more semester credits each term.

	Graduate – A student enrolled for 9 or more semester credits or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that is considered full time by the institution.

	Doctor’s degree – Professional practice – as defined by the institution.

Graduate student	A student who holds a bachelor’s degree or above and is taking courses at the post-baccalaureate level.

Headcount	Unduplicated head count for the total number of students by gender, race/ethnicity, and level (undergraduate, graduate, first-professional) enrolled throughout the reporting period.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)	The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)	The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), conducted by the NCES, began in 1986 and involves annual institution-level data collections.

Master’s degree	An award that requires the successful completion of a program of study of at least the full-time equivalent of 1 but not more than 2 academic years of work beyond the bachelor’s degree.

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.

Non-degree-seeking student	A student enrolled in courses for credit who is not recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or formal award.

Off-campus housing	Any housing facility that is occupied by students but is not owned or controlled by the educational institution.

On-campus housing	Any residence hall or housing facility owned or controlled by an institution within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the institution in direct support of or in a manner related to, the institution’s educational purposes.

Part-time student	Undergraduate – A student enrolled for either less than 12 semesters each term.

	Graduate – A student enrolled for less than 9 semester credits.

Post-master’s certificate	An award that requires completion of an organized program of study equivalent to 24 semester credit hours beyond the master’s degree, but does not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctor’s level.

Private institution	An educational institution controlled by a private individual(s) or by a nongovernmental agency, usually supported primarily by other than public funds, and operated by other than publicly elected or appointed officials. These institutions may be either for-profit or not-for-profit.

Program	A combination of courses and related activities organized for the attainment of broad educational objectives as described by the institution.

Retention Rate	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

Student counts	The number of individuals for whom instruction is provided in an educational program under the jurisdiction of a school or educational institution.

Student-to-faculty ratio	The ratio of FTE students to FTE instructional staff, i.e., students divided by staff.

Tuition and fees (published charges)	The amount of tuition and required fees covering a full academic year most frequently charged to students. These values represent what a typical student would be charged and may not be the same for all students at an institution. I

Unclassified student	A student taking courses creditable toward a degree or other formal award who cannot be classified by academic level. For example, this could include a transfer student whose earned credits have not been determined at the time of the fall report.

Undergraduate	A student enrolled in a 4- or 5-year bachelor’s degree program, an associate’s degree program, or a vocational or technical program below the baccalaureate.

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

Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2013-2014 Glossary (8/16/2013) Retrieved from (https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/VisGlossary.aspx).

IPEDS Glossary

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Term	Definition	Related Item
11/12 month salary contract/teaching period	The contracted teaching period of faculty employed for the entire year, usually for a period of 11 or 12 months. (Term used in the IPEDS HR survey component prior to 2012-13)
12-month enrollment (E12)	This annual component of IPEDS collects unduplicated student enrollment counts and instructional activity data for an entire 12-month period. These data were collected in the Enrollment component prior to the 2007 IPEDS data collection. Institutions report an unduplicated head count for the total number of students, by gender, attendance status (full-time, part-time), race/ethnicity, level (undergraduate, and graduate, including doctor's â€“ professional practice), first-time (entering), transfer-in, continuing/returning, and degree/certificate-seeking statuses, enrolled throughout the reporting period. Students included are those enrolled in any courses for credit leading to a degree or other recognized postsecondary credential, as well as those enrolled in courses that are part of a terminal vocational or occupational program. Institutions also report the total instructional activity for the same 12-month period for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Instructional activity data are reported in units of clock hours or credit hours. Starting with the 2023-24 data collection, institutions also report data on dual enrollment (i.e., the number of high school students enrolled at the postsecondary level).
12-month period	A 12-month period defined by an institution for reporting a full year of activity (All institutions must use the July 1 - June 30 reporting period). This time period should be consistent across all IPEDS data collections and from year-to-year.
25th percentile	The score at or below which 25 percent of students submitting test scores to an institution scored.
3/2 program	A program of study that normally requires the first 3 years of undergraduate study at one institution and the last 2 years of study at another institution in order to attain a bachelor's degree. These programs are predefined by the institutions and are normally offered when an institution is unable to grant a degree in a particular field or program of study. 22
4-1-4 (calendar system)	The 4-1-4 calendar usually consists of 4 courses taken for 4 months, 1 course taken for 1 month, and 4 courses taken for 4 months. There may be an additional summer session.
5-year program	A program offered by an institution that is defined in the catalog as requiring a student to take courses over a 5-year period in order to attain a bachelor's degree. These include, but are not limited to, 5-year cooperative programs which alternate class attendance with employment.
50th percentile (median)	The score at which 50 percent of students submitting test scores to an institution scored above and 50 percent scored below (i.e., midpoint of the test score distribution).
75th percentile	The score above which 25 percent of students submitting test scores to an institution scored.
9/10-month salary contract/teaching period	The contracted teaching period of faculty employed for 2 semesters, 3 quarters, 2 trimesters, 2 4-month sessions, or the equivalent. (Term used in the IPEDS HR survey component prior to 2012-13)
Abroad	Any geographic location not in the aggregate United States, which includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the other areas.
Academic Libraries (AL)	This annual component of IPEDS collects information on library collections, expenses, and services from degree-granting postsecondary institutions. Institutions with library expenses less than $100,000 annually report their collections and circulation or usage to IPEDS. Specific library collection items include physical and electronic/digital books, media, and databases (applicable to electronic only). Institutions with library expenses equal to or greater than $100,000 annually report both their collections and circulation or usage and details about their expenses to IPEDS. Detail expense categories include library salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials and services costs, and operations and maintenance costs.
Academic Library	An entity in a postsecondary institution that provides an organized collection of printed or other materials, or a combination thereof; a staff trained to provide and interpret such materials as required to meet the informational, cultural, recreational, or educational needs of the clientele; an established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the clientele; an established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the clientele; and the physical facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule. This definition includes libraries that are part of learning resource centers.
Academic program	An instructional program leading toward an associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctor's, or resulting in credits that can be applied to one of these degrees.
Academic Rank	A status designated by the institution according to the institution's policies. The IPEDS HR survey component includes the ranks of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, and Lecturer.
Academic support	A functional expense category that includes expenses of activities and services that support the institution's primary missions of instruction, research, and public service. It includes the retention, preservation, and display of educational materials (for example, libraries, museums, and galleries); organized activities that provide support services to the academic functions of the institution (such as a demonstration school associated with a college of education or veterinary and dental clinics if their primary purpose is to support the instructional program); media such as audiovisual services; academic administration (including academic deans but not department chairpersons); and formally organized and/or separately budgeted academic personnel development and course and curriculum development expenses. Also included are information technology expenses related to academic support activities; if an institution does not separately budget and expense information technology resources, the costs associated with the three primary programs will be applied to this function and the remainder to institutional support. Institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest, and depreciation.
Academic year	The period of time 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.
Accelerated programs	Completion of a college program of study in fewer than the usual number of years, most often by attending summer session and carrying extra courses during the full academic term.
Access rights	Access rights may be acquired by the library itself, by a consortium and/or through external funding. Acquisition is to be understood as deliberately selecting a document, securing access rights and including it in the OPAC (online public access catalog) or other databases of the library. Interlibrary lending and document delivery are excluded.
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.
Accrediting bodies	See accrediting agencies	Accrediting agencies
Accumulated depreciation	The total depreciation charged as expenses as of the reporting date (in the current year and in prior years) on the capital assets of the institution. FASB Statement No. 117 and GASB Statement No. 34 require that accumulated depreciation to date be recognized.
ACT	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.
Additions to permanent endowments	Gifts or grants received by a GASB institution that are restricted to a permanent endowment (institutions often have endowment funds that are classified as permanent endowments). Funds must be held in perpetuity with only the income generally available for use.
Additions to physical plant assets	Land, buildings, improvements other than buildings, equipment, and library books that are added during the fiscal year through purchases, by gifts-in-kind from donors, and from other additions; excludes construction in progress.
Adjunct instructional staff	Non-tenure track instructional staff serving in a temporary or auxiliary capacity to teach specific courses on a course-by-course basis. Includes both instructional staff who are hired to teach an academic degree-credit course and those hired to teach a developmental or ESL course; whether the latter three categories earn college credit is immaterial. Excludes regular part-time instructional staff (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 noncredit courses exclusively.
Adjusted cohort	The result of removing any allowable exclusions from a cohort (or subcohort). 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 (first-time, full-time; first-time, part-time; non-first-time, full-time; or non-first-time, part-time) for which outcomes rates are calculated at 4, 6, and 8 years.
Adjustments to beginning net assets	Unusual and infrequent adjustments to assets that are not recorded as current year revenues, expenses, gains, or losses. This includes adjustments for retroactive applications of changes in accounting principles and prior period adjustments.
Adjustments to beginning net position	Unusual and infrequent adjustments to assets that are not recorded as current year revenues, expenses, gains, or losses. This includes adjustments for retroactive applications of changes in accounting principles and prior period adjustments.
Administrative unit	The system or central office in a multi-campus environment.
Admissions (ADM)	This annual component is required of all currently operating Title IV postsecondary institutions in the United States and other areas that do not have an open admissions policy. Eligibility for Admissions is determined using a screening question in the Institutional Characteristics component and open admissions institutions will not see the component. Admissions data are collected for the current fall reporting period. Data are collected on admissions requirements, the number of applicants, admitted students, the number of admitted students that subsequently enrolled, and percentiles for ACT and SAT test scores. The number of applicants, admitted, and enrolled students is disaggregated by gender; enrolled students are further disaggregated by part-time and full-time status.Prior to the 2014-15 data collection cycle, Admissions was part of the Institutional Characteristics components. In 2014-15, it became part of the Winter data collection.
Admissions test scores	Scores on standardized admissions tests or special admissions tests.
Admitted students	Applicants that have been granted an official offer to enroll in a postsecondary institution.
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.
Advanced placement (AP) courses	College-level courses taught in high school. Students may take an examination at the completion of the course; acceptable scores allow students to earn college credit toward a degree, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential.
Affiliated organizations	Legally separate organizations that are affiliated or associated with a primary GASB institution. These organizations are created for the primary purpose of assisting a primary institution to accomplish its mission but are not subject to the institution's organizational or procedural oversight. Fund-raising foundations, athletic associations, alumni associations, and research foundations are some examples of affiliated organizations. Depending on the organizational structure and other factors, some affiliated organizations may be considered component units and thus their financial activity must be reported separately by the primary institution.
AICPA	The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
AICPA College and University Audit Guide Model	A financial reporting model defined by AICPA. The audit guide contains the primary standards for financial reports of public colleges and universities prior to the effective date of GASB Statements 34 and 35. Standards of this Guide were permitted as one alternative by GASB Statement No. 15 for public institutions.
Aid received	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.
All other sports combined	Any sport not specified separately in the collection of Graduation Rates (GRS) data. This includes sports such as golf, tennis, lacrosse or field hockey where teams participate in intercollegiate athletics competition. It does not include cheerleading or dance teams even though the institution might award aid to students participating in these activities under the auspices of the athletic department.
Allowable costs	Except in the case of correspondence and incarcerated students, allowable costs for the cost of attendance typically include: Tuition and fees; Food and housing; Books, materials, supplies, and equipment, which may include the rental or purchase of a personal computer; Transportation, which may include, but is not limited to, vehicle maintenance and/or travel costs between campus, residences, and the studentâ€™s place of work; and Miscellaneous expenses, which may include other costs and allowances under the law and/or as determined by the institution for a student attending at least half-time such as an allowance for: Dependent care; Study abroad expenses; Disability-related expenses; Cooperative education costs; Professional licensure, certification, or first professional credential costs; and Federal student loan fees. Note: Other restrictions and limitations may apply to the cost components and allowances, especially for less-than-full-time, correspondence, and incarcerated students.	Cost of attendance (COA) [for IPEDS reporting purposes],Average cost of attendance,Total cost of attendance
Allowances	That part of a scholarship or fellowship that is used to pay institutional charges such as tuition and fees or food and housing charges.
American Indian or Alaska Native	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.
American Indian or Alaska Native (old definition)	A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.
Annual contract or employment agreement	An annually-renewable contract or employment agreement that is in effect for a stated annual period within one year of execution, and may be equal to a period of 365 days, or a standard academic year, or the equivalent. Does not include contracts for partial year periods such as a single semester, quarter, term, block, or course.
Annuity and life income funds	Funds carrying a stipulation that the institution make payments to one or more specific beneficiaries.
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, nonadmission, placement on waiting list, or application withdrawn by applicant or institution.
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.
Archivists, Curators, and Museum Technicians	An occupational category based on the broad occupation in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual called 'Archivists, Curators, and Museum Technicians' (SOC code 25-4010). For detailed information, refer to the following website: https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#25-0000.
Asian	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.
Asian/Pacific Islander (old definition)	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.
Assets	Physical items (tangible) or rights (intangible) that have value and that are owned by the institution. Assets are useful to the institution because they are a source of future services or because they can be used to secure future benefits.	Current assets,Noncurrent assets,Fixed assets
Associate's Colleges (Carnegie)	An institutional classification developed by the Andrew W. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Associate's Colleges offer associate's degree and certificate programs but, with few exceptions, award no baccalaureate degrees . This group includes institutions where, during the period studied, bachelor's degrees represented less than 10 percent of all undergraduate awards.	Carnegie Classification
Associate's degree	An award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work.
At-will contract or employment agreement	A contract or agreement that can be terminated by the employer or employee at any time, for any or no reason.
Attendance status	A classification of studentsâ€™ enrollment based on the number of credit or clock hours in which they are enrolled, either full-time or part-time.	Full-time student,Part-time student
Audiovisual Materials	Materials that are displayed by visual projection or magnification, or through sound reproduction, or both, including sound recordings, motion pictures and video recordings, and graphic materials. Also included in this category are special visual materials such as three-dimensional artifacts and realia, and web-based audiovisual resources. This includes audio documents such as records, tapes, cassettes, audio compact discs, files of digital audio recordings; visual documents such as slides, transparencies, and combined audiovisual documents such as motion pictures, video recordings, etc. Microforms are excluded.
Audit opinion	An audit, performed by external (or outside) auditors, that usually consists of a one-page 'opinion' letter on the general-purpose financial statements. The 'opinion' paragraph of the letter usually states that 'In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position as of (date) and the results of operations for the year then ended, in conformity with accounting standards generally accepted in the United States.' If the auditor cannot state completely the substance of the previous 'opinion' sentence, then the auditor will add a phrase such as '...except for...' and state the basis for the exception. When the auditor includes exceptions to the opinion, the opinion is considered to be a 'qualified opinion;' when no such exceptions are included, the opinion is considered to be an 'unqualified opinion.'
Audit/auditing (a class)	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 recognized postsecondary credential.
Auxiliary enterprises expenses	Expenses for essentially self-supporting operations of the institution that exist to furnish a service to students, faculty, or staff, and that charge a fee that is directly related to, although not necessarily equal to, the cost of the service. Examples are residence halls, food services, student health services, intercollegiate athletics (only if essentially self-supporting), college unions, college stores, faculty and staff parking, and faculty housing. Institutions include actual or allocated costs for operation and maintenance of plant, interest and depreciation.
Auxiliary enterprises revenues	Revenues generated by or collected from the auxiliary enterprise operations of the institution that exist to furnish a service to students, faculty, or staff, and that charge a fee that is directly related to, although not necessarily equal to, the cost of the service. Auxiliary enterprises are managed as essentially self-supporting activities. Examples are residence halls, food services, student health services, intercollegiate athletics, college unions, college stores, and movie theaters.
Average cost of attendance	The average of the actual or average allowable costs as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, used to determine a studentâ€™s eligibility for Title IV and other financial aid programs. The average may be based on all students or different categories of students such as undergraduates or graduates. Other student categories may include enrollment status, academic program, or residency. For IPEDS reporting purposes, cost of attendance is only reported for full-time, first-time students.	Cost of attendance (COA) [for IPEDS reporting purposes],Allowable costs,Total cost of attendance
Average Net price (ANP)	The Higher Education Act, as amended (2008), defines institutional net price as 'the average yearly price actually charged to first-time, full-time undergraduate students receiving student aid at an institution of higher education after deducting such aid.' In IPEDS, average institutional net price is generated by subtracting the average amount of federal, state/local government, or institutional grant and scholarship aid from the total cost of attendance. Total cost of attendance is the sum of published tuition and required fees (lower of in-district or in-state for public institutions), books and supplies, and the weighted average for food and housing and other expenses.	Total cost of attendance
Avocational programs	Instructional programs in personal interest and leisure categories whose expressed intent is not to produce postsecondary credits, nor to lead to a recognized postsecondary credential or an academic degree, nor result in occupationally specific skills.
Baccalaureate Colleges - General (Carnegie)	An institutional classification developed by the Andrew W. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Baccalaureate Colleges - General are primarily undergraduate colleges with major emphasis on baccalaureate programs. During the period studied, they awarded less than half of their baccalaureate degrees in liberal arts fields.	Carnegie Classification
Baccalaureate Colleges - Liberal Arts (Carnegie)	An institutional classification developed by the Andrew W. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Baccalaureate Colleges - Liberal Arts are primarily undergraduate colleges with major emphasis on baccalaureate programs. During the period studied, they awarded at least half of their baccalaureate degrees in liberal arts fields.	Carnegie Classification
Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges (Carnegie)	An institutional classification developed by the Andrew W. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges are undergraduate colleges where the majority of conferrals are below the baccalaureate level (associate's degrees and certificates). During the period studied, bachelor's degrees accounted for at least ten percent of undergraduate awards.	Carnegie Classification
Bachelor's degree	An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education) that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5-year cooperative (work-study) 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 includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years.
Bachelor's or equivalent degree-seeking subcohort	In the GR component of IPEDS, a cohort of students who were seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree upon entry.
Balance owed on principal	Outstanding balance owed on indebtedness principal (at the beginning/end of the year) as shown in the liability section of the balance sheet.
Balance sheet	An official financial statement that lists a postsecondary institution's assets and liabilities as of a specified date.
Basic Principles for Income Tax Accounting	The following basic principles are applied in accounting for income taxes at the date of the financial statements: a) A current tax liability or asset is recognized for the estimated taxes payable or refundable on tax returns for the current year. b) A deferred tax liability or asset is recognized for the estimated future tax effects attributable to temporary differences and carry forwards. c) The measurement of current and deferred tax liabilities and assets is based on provisions of the enacted tax law; the effects of future changes in tax laws or rates are not anticipated. d) The measurement of deferred tax assets is reduced, if necessary, by the amount of any tax benefits that, based on available evidence, are not expected to be realized.
Bibliographic utilities, networks and consortia	Services provided by national, regional, and local bibliographic utilities networks, and consortia.
Black or African American	A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Black, non-Hispanic (old definition)	A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa (except those of Hispanic origin).
Book value	The dollar value of the physical asset at the time of construction or purchase of that asset, or, if the asset is a gift, the market value of the asset at the time of the gift. It may also be the difference between the balance of a physical plant asset account and its related accumulated depreciation account.
Books	Books are non-serial printed publications, including music, that have hard or soft covers or are in loose-leaf format.
Books and supplies	The average cost of books, course materials, supplies, and equipment for a typical student for an entire academic year (or program). Does not include unusual costs for special groups of students (e.g., engineering or art majors), unless they constitute the majority of students at an institution.
Branch and independent libraries	Auxiliary library service outlets with quarters separate from the central library that houses the basic collection. The central library administers the branches. Libraries on branch campuses that have separate NCES identification numbers are reported as separate libraries.
Branch institution	A campus or site of an educational institution that is not temporary, is located in a community beyond a reasonable commuting distance from its parent institution, and offers full programs of study, not just courses.
Buildings	Capital assets built or acquired for occupancy and use by the entity. These are structures such as classrooms, research facilities, administrative offices, and storage. Includes built-in fixtures and equipment that are essentially part of the permanent structure. Buildings held for the production of revenue are classified as investments.
Business and Financial Operations Occupations	An occupational category based on the major group in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual called 'Business and Financial Operations Occupations.' For detailed information refer to the following website: https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm#13-0000.
Business-type activities	Activities for which fees are charged to external parties for goods or services. GASB Statement 34 specifies the reporting format to be used by this type of governmental entity.
Cafeteria plan	An insurance plan that gives an employee the option of selecting a combination of health care and insurance benefits (e.g. hospital, medical, surgical, dental care, and group life insurance).
Calculated value (CV)	Calculated value (CV) is used to designate fields that are generated (or calculated) based on data provided on other lines within the same part of a survey component. For example, a 'balance' line or 'other (detail)' line will be calculated as the difference between the total line and the sum of the remaining detail.
Calculation of FTE students (using fall student headcounts)	The number of FTE students is calculated based on fall student headcounts as reported by the institution on the IPEDS Enrollment (EF) component (Part A). The full-time equivalent (headcount) of the institution's part-time enrollment is estimated by multiplying the factors noted below times the part-time headcount. These are then added to the full-time enrollment headcounts to obtain an FTE for all students enrolled in the fall. This formula is used to produce an FTE that is used annually in the Digest of Education Statistics. Part-time undergraduate enrollment Public 4-year (.403543) Private (not-for-profit and for-profit) 4-year (.392857) Public 2-year and <2-year (.335737) All other institutions (.397058) Part-time graduate enrollment Public 4-year (.361702) Private (not-for-profit and for-profit) 4-year (.382059)
Calculation of FTE students (using instructional activity)	The number of FTE students is calculated based on the credit and/or clock hours reported by the institution on the IPEDS 12-month enrollment (E12) component and the institution's calendar system, as reported on the IC component. The following table indicates the level of instructional activity used to convert the credit and/or clock hours reported to an indicator of full-time equivalents (FTE students): Quarter calendar system Enrollment level (One FTE over 12-month period) Undergraduate 45 credit hours, 900 clock hours Graduate 36 credit hours Semester/trimester/4-1-4 plan/other calendar system Enrollment level (one FTE over 12-month period) Undergraduate 30 credit hours 900 clock hours Graduate 24 credit hours For institutions with continuous enrollment programs, FTE is determined by dividing the number of clock hours attempted by 900. The total 12-month FTE is generated by summing the estimated or reported undergraduate FTE and the estimated or reported graduate FTE and reported Doctor's Professional Practice FTE.
Calendar system	The method by which an institution structures most of its courses for the academic year.
Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE)	A standardized test designed to determine an applicant's ability to benefit from instruction in English.	English Proficiency Test
Capital appropriations	Nonoperating revenues appropriated to a GASB institution by a government with the requirement that the funds be used primarily to acquire, construct, or improve capital assets, including buildings, land, equipment, and similar capital assets.
Capital assets	Tangible or intangible assets that are capitalized under an institution's capitalization policy; some of these assets are subject to depreciation and some are not. These assets consist of land and land improvements, buildings, building improvements, machinery, equipment, infrastructure, and all other assets that are used in operations and that have initial useful lives extending beyond one year. Capital assets also include collections of works of art and historical treasure and library collections; however under certain conditions such collections may not be capitalized. They also include property acquired under capital leases and intangible assets such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, goodwill, and software. Excluded are assets that are part of endowment funds or other capital fund investments in real estate.
Capital grants and gifts	Revenues of a GASB institution, other than capital appropriations, where a funding source external to the institution specifies that they be used primarily to acquire, construct, or improve capital assets. Includes gifts designated for a capital project.
Capital leases	Capital assets acquired under lease arrangement, as provided in FASB Statement No. 13 (applicable to both FASB and GASB institutions). These are leases where the institution in substance acquires the capital asset or the right to use it for most or all of its economic life through a lease arrangement. FASB standards require institutions to recognize such assets in their financial statements and also to recognize the lease payment obligations as liabilities. The lease is basically considered a form of financing used to acquire the capital asset.
Capital outlay	The cost of acquiring plant assets, adding to plant assets, and adding utility to plant assets for more than one accounting period.
Capitalize	To place in service as a long-term asset. These assets are expected to be used by the institution for a period in excess of one year (e.g., land, buildings or patents).
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act	The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-332) was signed into law on October 31, 1998 and became effective on July 1, 1999. Its purpose is to improve vocational and technical education programs. The primary focus is to develop challenging academic standards and promote the development of activities that integrate academic and vocational and technical instruction. The Act also outlines various opportunities for states and local areas to integrate vocational education and workforce investment systems. However, new and strict barriers are placed on linkages between vocational education and School-to-Work programs.
Carnegie Classification	An institutional classification coding structure developed by the Andrew W. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The 2000 Carnegie Classification categorizes selected institutions as: Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive Doctoral/Research Universities-Intensive Master's Colleges and Universities I Master's Colleges and Universities II Baccalaureate Colleges-Liberal Arts Baccalaureate Colleges-General Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges Associate's Colleges Specialized Institutions: Theological seminaries and other specialized faith-related institutions Medical schools and medical centers Other separate health profession schools Schools of engineering and technology Schools of business and management Schools of art, music, and design Schools of law Teachers colleges Other specialized institutions Tribal Colleges and Universities
Carnegie Classification 2005: Basic classification	The Basic Classification is an update of the traditional classification framework developed by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education in 1970 to support its research program, and later published in 1973 for use by other researchers. Although this classification has undergone many changes over the years, the current release involves some significant changes from previous editions. For a complete description and technical details visit the Carnegie Foundation Website at http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/classifications
Carnegie Classification 2005: Enrollment profile classification	This classification describes the overall student population, by grouping institutions according to the mix of students enrolled at the undergraduate and graduate/professional levels. Exclusively undergraduate institutions are further broken down by level (two-year and four-year). For institutions with both undergraduate and graduate/professional students, institutions are grouped according to the distribution of full-time equivalent students across the two levels, giving an approximate measure of the student population's 'center of gravity.' As a result, it reflects important differences with respect to educational mission as well as institutional climate and culture-differences that can have implications for infrastructure, services, and resource allocation. For a complete description and technical details visit the Carnegie Foundation Website at http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/classifications
Carnegie Classification 2005: Graduate instructional program	As a companion to the Undergraduate Instructional Program classification, this classification examines the nature of graduate education, with a special focus on the mix of graduate programs. In this classification, a single graduate-level degree qualifies an institution for inclusion.The classification is based on the level of graduate degrees awarded master's/professional or doctoral), the number of fields represented by the degrees awarded, and the mix or concentration of degrees by broad disciplinary domain. The classification has two parts: one for institutions that do not award the doctorate, and one for doctoral-level institutions (based on the record of degree conferrals, not program offerings). Within each group, institutions are then classified with respect to the breadth of graduate offerings and the concentration of degrees in certain fields or combinations of fields. For a complete description and technical details visit the Carnegie Foundation Website at http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/classifications

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Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2024-2025 Glossary
Retrieved from IPEDS Data Collection System.