Cohort year:
The year that a cohort of students begins attending university.
Completer:
A student who recieves a degree,diploma,certificate,or other recognized postsecondary credential. In order to be considered a completer, the degree/award must actually be conferred.
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 recognized postsecondary credential, irrespective of the activity’s unit of measurement.
Credit course:
A course that, if successfully completed, can be applied toward the number of courses required for achieving a postsecondary degree, diploma, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary
credential, irrespective of the activity’s unit of measurement.
Credit hour:
A unit of measure representing the equivalent of an hour (50 minutes) of instruction per week over the entire term. It is applied toward the total number of credit hours needed for completing
the requirements of a degree, diploma, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential.
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/certificate-seeking students:
Students enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential. This includes students who
- Received any type of federal financial aid, regardless of what courses they took at any time;
- Received any state or locally based financial aid with an eligibility requirement that the student be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or transfer-seeking program; or obtained a student visa to study at a U.S. postsecondary institution
- High school students also enrolled in postsecondary courses for credit are not considered degree/certificate-seeking.
Endowment funds:
Funds whose principal is nonexpendable (true endowment) and that are intended to be invested to provide earnings for institutional use. Also includes term endowments and funds functioning
as endowment.
Endowment income:
Endowment income includes: (1) the unrestricted income of endowment and similar funds; (2) restricted income of endowment and similar funds to the extent expended for current operating
purposes, and (3) income from funds held in trust by others under irrevocable trusts. Excludes capital gains or losses unless the institution has adopted a spending formula by which it expends not only the yield but also a prudent portion of the
appreciation of the principal. Does not include gains spent for current operations, which are treated as transfers.
Endowment net assets:
Gross investments of endowment funds, term endowment funds, and funds functioning as endowment for the institution and any of its foundations and other affiliated organizations and
component units reduced by the value of endowment-related liabilities.
Faculty:
Persons identified by the institution as such and typically those whose initial assignments are made for the purpose of conducting instruction, research or public service as a principal activity
(or activities). They may hold academic rank titles of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer or the equivalent of any of those academic ranks. Faculty may also include the chancellor, deans, directors or the equivalent, as well as associate deans, assistant deans and executive officers of academic departments (chairpersons, heads or the equivalent) if their principal activity is instruction combined with research and/or public service. The designation as ‘faculty’ is separate from the activities to which they may be currently assigned. For example, a newly appointed president of an institution may also be appointed as a faculty member. Graduate, instruction, and research assistants are not included in this category.
First-time student (undergraduate):
A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted below) attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer session, and students who entered with advanced standing (college credits or recognized postsecondary credential earned before graduation from high school).
FTE staff:
The full-time-equivalent (FTE) of staff is calculated by summing the total number of full-time staffs from the Employees by Assigned Position (EAP) component and adding one-third of the total number of part-time staffs.
Full-time staff:
As defined by the institution. The type of appointment at the snapshot date determines whether an employee is full-time or part-time. The employee’s term of contract is not considered in making the determination of full- or part-time.
FTE of students:
The full-time equivalent (FTE) of students is a single value providing a meaningful combination of full-time and art-time students.
Graduate student:
A student who holds a bachelor’s degree or above and is taking courses at the postbaccalaureate level. These students may or may not be enrolled in graduate programs.
Graduation Rates:
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. Data are collected on the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150 percent of normal time to completion; the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part of the institution’s mission.
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-credit course:
A course or activity having no credit applicable toward a degree, diploma, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential.
Non-degree-seeking student:
A student enrolled in courses for credit who is not recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or recognized postsecondary credential.
Part-time staff:
As determined by the institution. The type of appointment at the snapshot date determines whether an employee is full-time or part-time. The employee’s term of contract is not considered in making the determination of full- or part-time. Casual employees (hired on an ad-hoc basis or occasional basis to meet short-term needs) and students in the College Work-Study Program (CWS) are not considered part-time staff.
Part-time student:
(Undergraduate) A student enrolled for either less than 12 semester or quarter credits, or less than 24 clock hours a week each term. (Graduate) A student enrolled for less than 9 semester or quarter credits.
Program:
A combination of courses and related activities organized for the attainment of broad educational objectives as described by the institution.
Resident alien:
A person who is not a citizen or national of Kenya but 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. A Temporary Resident Card or an Arrival-Departure Record with a notation that conveys legal immigrant status.
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. 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. Student Class (for undergraduates, KCAU Definition)
- Freshman: Any student who has earned 0-23 credit hours by census day of the specified term
- Second Year: Any student who has earned 24-54 credit hours by census day of the specified term.
- Third Year: Any student who has earned 55-89 credit hours by census day of the specified term.
- Fourth Year: Any student who has earned 90 or more credit hours by census day of the specified term.
Student-to-faculty ratio:
The ratio of FTE students to FTE instructional staff, i.e., students divided by staff.
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.
