This glossary provides definitions of the terminology used in the OIEP dashboards and reports. For questions, please contact us at [email protected].
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Admit Age Group | Age when student was first admitted into a degree seeking program. |
| Asynchronous Remote Instruction | Online instruction that does not require the instructor and students to meet at the same time. |
| Attrition Rate | Percentage of new students, by cohort, who are no longer enrolled and have not graduated from George Mason University by the end of subsequent academic year(s). This rate is the opposite of retention rate. |
| Career Outcomes Rate | Percentage of undergraduates who obtain employment and/or pursue further education. |
| Census Date | The date when the number of students enrolled in each class and section is counted. For semester terms, the census date shall be no sooner than the end of the fourteenth calendar day from the beginning of the term. (SCHEV) |
| Class Level | Designation of a student as freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, certificates, extended studies, law, masters, or doctoral based on program enrollment and number of credits completed. |
| Contact Hour | A unit of measure that represents an hour of scheduled instruction given to students. Also referred to as clock hours. (SCHEV) |
| Contract Hours | Hours for contract courses, which are offered through a documented agreement between George Mason University and a public school division or another agency. |
| Credit Hours |
In accordance with 34 CFR 600.2 as amended, the University defines a “clock hour” as a period of time consisting of: i. a synchronous or asynchronous class, lecture, or recitation where there is opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students; or ii. an asynchronous learning activity involving academic engagement in which the student interacts with technology that can monitor and document the amount of time that the student participates in the activity. Please refer to University Policy Number 3011 for a complete overview of credit hours. |
| Degree | An award conferred by George Mason University as official recognition for the successful completion of a program of studies. (SCHEV) |
| Degree Level | Designation of a student as undergraduate, graduate or first professional. |
| Degree-Seeking Student | Student enrolled in courses for credit who is recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or formal award. (SCHEV) |
| DFW | Final student grades of ‘D’, ‘F’ or withdrawal. |
| Employee Category | The current employment classification, as defined by Human Resources, for an employee. |
| Extended Studies | Non-degree seeking students. |
| First-Generation | A person who indicated that their parent(s) have not completed a bachelor’s degree. There are two data sources: FASFA and admission forms. |
| First-Time Freshmen | A student 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. Also includes students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from high school). (SCHEV) Other descriptors: first-time, first year student, first-time in college (FTIC) |
| First Professional Student |
A student enrolled in any Law programs (e.g., LLM, JM, JD). (SCHEV) For reporting purposes, JD students are considered first professional, while LLM and JM students are considered master’s students. |
| Freshmen | 0-29 credits completed. The term generally indicates a student is in the first year of a bachelor’s degree or occupational or technical program. (SCHEV) |
| Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) | Term FTE for Fall and Spring is obtained by dividing the total credit hours of undergraduate, first professional (law), and graduate students by 15, 15 and 12 respectively. Term FTE for Summer is obtained by dividing the total credit hours of undergraduate, first professional (law), and graduate students by 30, 30 and 24 respectively. |
| Full-Time Employee | One who works 40 hours per week for 12 months per year. (VA Dept HR – Policy No 2.20) |
| Full-Time Student |
Undergraduate: A student enrolled for 12 or more credit hours in a semester. (SCHEV) Graduate: This classification may be based on credit enrollment or an official time status override in accordance with Academic Policy 6.2. and is determined by the Office of the University Registrar (OUR). |
| Graduate | A student who obtains a degree. Students with multiple degrees are counted once at the university level. Students with multiple degrees within a college are counted once. |
| Graduate Student | A student who holds a bachelor’s or first professional degree, or equivalent, and is taking courses at the post-baccalaureate level. A student enrolled in a master’s, certificate of advanced graduate study, specialist, or doctoral program, not including candidates for first professional degrees. (SCHEV) |
| Headcount Student | A student enrolled for more than zero credit hours in courses offered for degree or certificate credit. (SCHEV) |
| Hybrid | Classes that combine in-person instruction with online instruction. |
| In-State Student | A student whose domicile is the Commonwealth of Virginia. (SCHEV) |
| IPEDS | Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System |
| Junior | 60-89 credits completed. The term generally indicates a student in the third year of a bachelor’s program. (SCHEV) |
| Korea Campus |
For enrollment dashboards: campus designation for students taking credit hours at the Korea campus. For retention and degree dashboards: campus designation for students who matriculated to Mason Korea. |
| Mason Online Campus | For degree dashboard: campus designation for students who matriculated to a Mason Online program |
| Minority | By race/ethnicity, a student who identifies with any one of the following: American Indian Asian Black Hispanic Pacific Islander Two or More |
| New Student | In new vs return status, a new student includes the following: Law Year 1 (full-time and part-time), transfer, and first-time students. |
| Nonresident 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. (SCHEV) Nonresident alien (NRA) is not included in any of the racial/ethnic categories described under Minority, Underrepresented Minority, or Underrepresented Student. |
| Other Freshmen | Returning or transfer students who have completed fewer than 30 credits. |
| Out-of-State Student | A student whose domicile is not the Commonwealth of Virginia. (SCHEV) |
| Part-Time Employee | One who works 20-29 hours per week for 12 months per year, or less than 40 hours per week and at least 1040 hours per year but no more than 1500 hours for 9, 10, or 11 consecutive months per year. (VA Dept HR – Policy No 2.20) |
| Part-Time Student |
Undergraduate: A student enrolled in fewer than 12 credits per semester. (SCHEV) Graduate: This classification may be based on credit enrollment or an official time status override in accordance with Academic Policy 6.2. and is determined by the Office of the University Registrar (OUR). |
| Pell Student | Of those who completed the FAFSA, students who received Pell during the aid year. Students who are Pell eligible and receive a direct subsidized loan are categorized as Pell Eligible. They are not categorized under Direct Subsidized Loan. |
| Race/Ethnicity | Self-reported race/ethnic identification as reported in a student’s college application. |
| Regular Session | On-campus fall and spring terms. (SCHEV) |
| Response Rate | The percentage of individuals who respond to a survey, calculated as the number of respondents divided by the number of individuals who received an invitation to participate in a survey. |
| Retention Rate | Percentage of new students, by cohort, who enrolled as of census their first fall term and returned to George Mason University the subsequent fall term(s). |
| Return Student | In new vs return status, a student who previously enrolled at George Mason University and re-enrolled. Return students include all who are not new to the university. |
| Senior | 90 or more credits completed. The term generally indicates a student in the fourth year of a bachelor’s program. (SCHEV) |
| Sophomore | 30-59 credits completed. The term generally indicates a student in the second year of a bachelor’s degree. (SCHEV) |
| STEM | Science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees as defined by SCHEV. |
| Student Type | Designation of student as continuing; first-time, first-year; or transfer at the time of their first term at GMU. Continuing refers to students who re-enroll. See Transfer student for a definition for “transfer.” |
| Synchronous Remote instruction | Online instruction that requires the instructor and students to meet at the same time. |
| Traditional Hours | Hours for regular courses offered to George Mason University students. |
| Transfer Student | A student entering the institution for the first time but known to have previously attended a post-secondary institution at the same level (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, first professional). The student may transfer with or without credit. (SCHEV/IPEDS) |
| Tuition Domicile | To qualify for in-state tuition based on domicile, a student or in the case of a dependent student, their parent, spouse or legal guardian must demonstrate through clear and convincing evidence that they have been domiciled in Virginia for at least 12 continuous months immediately prior to the first day of classes. Exceptions may include high school completion, military and other conditions. For a complete detail of tuition domicile determination, visit the Office of the University Registrar. |
| Two or More | Two or more race/ethnicities. This designation includes two categories: White-Asian (Non-URM) and other Two-or-more races (URM). |
| Undergraduate Student | A student enrolled in a four- or five-year bachelor’s degree program, an associate degree program, or a vocational or technical program below the baccalaureate. (SCHEV) |
| Underrepresented Student |
A student meeting any one of these conditions is counted only once as being from an “underrepresented” population:
|
| Underrepresented Minorities (URM) | A student who identifies with any one of the following: American Indian Black Hispanic Pacific Islander |
| US Campuses |
For enrollment dashboards: campus designation for students taking credit hours at any US campus, online, or with no hours. Korea cohort students taking classes at a US campus are also included in this designation. For retention and degree dashboards: campus designation for students who matriculated to the GMU campus. This does not include students of online programs or Korea cohort students taking classes at a US campus. |