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Glossary of Terms

Academic Year - Three consecutive terms starting in Summer and progressing to Fall and finishing in Spring.

At-Risk Student - A student who is enrolled in basic skills course, on academic probation, or does not have an education plan

Basic Skills Course - Basic skills are foundational reading, writing, and mathematics courses.  These courses have course numbers that are less than 070

Capacity - aka "Cap" the number of seats made available for registration

College Level Course - A course whose number is greater than 099

Curriculum Cap - Maximum course capacity determined by subject pedagogy 

Scheduled Cap - The total number of classroom seats available to be occupied by students in the given term

Cohort - A selected population established for tracking purposes

Developmental Education Course - A course whose course number is greater than 069 and less than 100

Distance Education - (DE) means instruction in which the instructor and student are separated by distance and interact through the assistance of communication technology

Face-to-Face - Traditional classroom instruction. 51% or more of course delivery is done with the student and instructor in the same location

Fill Rate - The number of enrollments as a percentage of scheduled capacity

FTEF - Full-time Equivalent Faculty refers to the load factor associated with each section assignment

FTES - (Full Time Equivalent Student) 1 FTES =  525 contact hours 

Headcount - A distinct count of student population where each student is counted only once

Hybrid Course - A course that uses both communication technology similar to DE and face-to-face classroom instruction

Institutional Average - The current average level for a measure at the institution 

Institutional Set Standards - The minimum level for a measure at the institution 

Online Course - Course delivery is within guidelines of DE and 100% instruction in which the instructor and student are separated by distance and interact through the assistance of communication technology

Persistence Rate - The ratio of students who continue enrollment from one term to another. Persistence is often confused with retention, which refers to maintaining enrollment within the term 

Population - The collection of all individuals or items in a statistical study

Retention Rate - The ratio of students enrolled at census who remain in a section to the end of the term  

Success Rate - The ratio of students enrolled at census who receive a passing grade.

Waitlist - The number of students who are waiting to enroll in a section. 

Withdraw Rate - The ratio of students enrolled at census who withdraw from the class.