Data Glossary
| wdt_ID | Sort by Alphabet | Glossary Term | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Academic Program | A program of study leading to a certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree. |
| 2 | A | Academic Year | Consecutive summer, fall, and spring semesters. For example: AY 22-23 refers to the Summer 2022 to Spring 2023 semesters. |
| 3 | B | Bachelor’s Degree | An award that requires 32 units (at Clark University 1 unit is generally 4 semester credit hours) usually completed in four years. |
| 4 | B | Black/African American, non-Hispanic | A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa (except those of Hispanic origin). |
| 5 | C | Census Date (Freeze Date) | Date on which official enrollment and financial data are extracted from the student information system. This generally occurs the Thursday after add/drop deadline. Faculty and staff data are extracted as part of the Human Resources extract the day prior to the final payroll each October. Official factbooks and external reporting to IPEDS and other publications draw upon census data. |
| 6 | A | Acceptance Rate | The percent of applicants who were admitted to Clark. (i.e., number of admitted students divided by total applications). |
| 7 | A | Accreditation | Accreditation is a voluntary process of higher education oversight that serves to assure the public of the institution’s quality and to promote continuous institutional improvement. In Massachusetts, the organization that oversees the accreditation process is the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Clark is accredited by NECHE. In addition, other programs like the School of Management (SOM) is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). |
| 8 | A | Admitted (Accepted) | Applicant who is offered admission to a degree/certificate-granting program. |
| 9 | A | Advanced Placement (AP) Courses | College-level courses taught in high school. Students may take an examination at the completion of the course; some colleges accept certain scores as college credit or advanced standing. Clark accepts scores of 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement exams in exchange for academic credit. |
| 10 | A | ALANA | An acronym referring to American Indian/Alaska Natives, Asians, Black/African Americans, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic/Latinos. Clark formerly used this acronym before more frequently using the terminology BIPOC. |
| 11 | A | 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 recognition. |
| 12 | A | Applicant | An individual who has submitted an application for admission to a Clark program. |
| 13 | A | Application Fee | The amount of money that an institution charges for processing a student’s application. This amount is not creditable toward tuition and required fees, nor is it refundable if the student is not admitted to the institution. Clark University does not have an application fee. |
| 14 | A | Asian (current definition) | 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. |
| 15 | A | Asian or Pacific Islander (old definition) | A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or Pacific Islands. This includes people from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, American Samoa, India, and Vietnam. |
| 16 | B | BIPOC | An acronym used to refer to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. At Clark, this typically is used in the context of individuals who are US citizens or permanent residents. |
| 17 | B | Books and Supplies (costs) | Average cost of books and supplies. |
| 18 | C | Certificate | Recognition of successful completion of a focused collection of courses in a given discipline or set of related disciplines. Certificate programs vary in length and can be completed concurrently with or separately from a degree program. |
| 19 | C | Class (Student) Level | Academic level of an enrolled undergraduate student based on accumulated credit hours, at Clark 4 credit hours account for 1 unit. First-year = 0 to 7.99 accumulated units, Sophomore = 8 to 15.99 accumulated units, Junior = 16 to 23.99 accumulated units, Senior = 24 or more accumulated units. |
| 20 | C | Class Rank | See High School Rank. |
| 21 | C | Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) Code | A taxonomic coding scheme for secondary and post-secondary instructional programs, developed by the United States Department of Education. It is a six-digit code in the form xx.xxxx that identifies program specialties within educational institutions. |
| 22 | C | Cohort | A specific group of students established for tracking purposes, such as first-time first-year students or transfer students entering in a specific semester, or doctoral students entering in a specific academic year. For graduation and retention rate reporting, persons may be removed from a cohort if they left the institution for one of the following reasons: death or total and permanent disability; service in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); service with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; or service on official church missions. |
| 23 | C | Common Data Set (CDS) | A product of the Common Data Set Initiative to provide accurate and timely data to students and their families. It is a detailed report covering university-wide information and data are presented in the same common format for most institutions of higher education to facilitate comparisons among them. |
| 24 | C | Commuter | A student who lives off campus in housing that is not owned by, operated by, or affiliated with the university. |
| 25 | C | Course Level | Level of a course based on the catalog number. Undergraduate level typically includes courses numbered 000 to 299, graduate students numbered 300 and above. |
| 26 | C | Credit | A unit representing one credit hour (1 credit = 1 credit hour) of successfully completed work. It is applied toward the total number of credits needed for completing the requirements of a degree or certificate. At Clark 4 credits = 1 unit. |
| 27 | C | Credit hour | A unit of measure representing an hour (50 minutes) or equivalent of instruction over a 15-week period in a semester. It is applied toward the total number of hours needed for completing the requirements of a degree or certificate. At Clark 4 credit hours = 1 unit. |
| 28 | C | Cumulative GPA | The grade point average calculated on all credit-bearing work attempted at the institution. |
| 29 | D | Degree | An award conferred by a college, university, or other postsecondary education institution as official recognition for the successful completion of a program of study. |
| 30 | D | Degree-Seeking Student | Student enrolled in courses for credit who is recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or formal award. |
| 31 | D | Distance or Online Education | An option for earning course credit on-line or at off-campus locations. In some graduate-level programs, students may take fully online programs or some of their courses online. |
| 32 | D | Doctor’s Degree-Research/Scholarship | A Ph.D. or other doctor's degree (Ed.D.) 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. |
| 34 | D | Double Major | A program in which students may complete two undergraduate programs of study simultaneously. Students pursuing a double major fulfill the course requirements for both majors, and graduate with a minimum of 32 units total. At graduation, a double major earns a single degree in the primary major, but both the primary and secondary major are recorded on the transcript. |
| 35 | E | Early Action Plan | An admission plan that allows students to apply and be notified of an admission decision well in advance of the regular notification dates. If admitted, the candidate is not committed to enroll; the student may reply to the offer under the college’s regular reply policy. |
| 36 | E | Enrolled | Registered in at least one credit-bearing course at time of semester census date. |
| 37 | E | Exchange Student Program | Any arrangement between a student and a college that permits study for a semester or more at another college in the United States or abroad without extending the amount of time required for a degree. |
| 38 | F | FAFSA | The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the form used by the U.S. Department of Education and almost all colleges and universities to determine eligibility for federal, state, and college-sponsored financial aid. |
| 39 | F | Financial Aid | Grants, loans, assistantships, scholarships, fellowships, tuition waivers, tuition discounts, veteran's benefits, employer aid (tuition reimbursement) and other monies (other than from relatives/friends) provided to students to meet expenses. |
| 40 | F | First-Time First-Year (FTFY) | Students attending any college for the first time, including those with Advanced Placement credit and those who have earned college credits prior to high school graduation and/or during summer session between high school and college matriculation. |
| 41 | F | Fiscal Year | Funding year that includes June 1 through May 30. For example: FY 2023 refers to the fiscal year from June 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023. |
| 42 | F | Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Student | At Clark: Undergraduate FTE = 3 or more units. Graduate = 3 or more units. |
| 43 | F | Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Faculty | Each full-time faculty member is counted as one FTE. Following IPEDS methodology, part-time faculty are counted as 1/3 FTE. |
| 44 | F | Full-Time Faculty/Staff | Faculty/staff employed 100% time; those on unpaid leave are excluded. |
| 45 | F | Full-Time Student | Undergraduates: Students registered for 3 or more units; Graduate Students: Students registered for 3 or more units. |
| 46 | G | General Education Courses | Courses designed to introduce students to the fundamental knowledge, skills and values essential to the study of academic disciplines. At Clark this is known as the Program of Liberal Studies See https://www.clarku.edu/academics/undergraduate-curriculum/program-of-liberal-studies/ for more information about the Program of Liberal Studies. |
| 47 | G | Grade-Point Average (GPA) | The sum of grade points a student has earned divided by the number of courses or credits taken. |
| 48 | G | Graduate Student | A student who holds a bachelor’s or equivalent, and is taking courses at the postbaccalaureate level. |
| 49 | H | Headcount Student Majors | The actual count of individual students who have declared a certain major. |
| 50 | H | High School Rank | 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. A percentile scale with zero representing the top of a class and 99 the bottom. |
| 51 | H | Hispanic or Latino | A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. |
| 52 | I | Independent study | Academic work chosen or designed by the student under an instructor’s supervision, and usually undertaken outside of the regular classroom structure. |
| 53 | I | Instructional Faculty | Faculty whose primary responsibility is instruction; includes department heads and faculty who are on sabbatical or have release time for research; excludes faculty on leave without pay. |
| 54 | I | International Student (Non-resident) | 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. |
| 55 | I | IPEDS | The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). IPEDS gathers information from every college, university, and technical and vocational institution that participates in the federal student financial aid programs. Institutions that participate in federal student aid programs are required to report data on enrollments, program completions, graduation rates, faculty and staff, finances, institutional prices, and student financial aid, as per the amended Higher Education Act of 1965. |
| 56 | M | Master's Degree | An award that requires the successful completion of a program of study of generally one or two full-time equivalent academic years of work beyond the bachelor's degree. |
| 57 | M | Matriculated | Enrolled in a degree program. |
| 58 | M | Minor | A program in a coherent set of courses in a particular discipline, department or program designed for students to attain some competence in a second area of study without fulfilling the full range of requirements of the major. At Clark these require a minimum of six courses. |
| 59 | N | Need-Based Financial Aid | Aid in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and student employment awarded to students on the basis of demonstrated financial need. |
| 61 | N | Non-Matriculated | Not enrolled in a degree program. |
| 62 | N | Non-Need Based Financial Aid | Aid in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and student employment not based on demonstrated financial need. |
| 63 | O | Online course | A course where most or all of the content is delivered in an online modality, whether synchronously or asynchronously |
| 64 | O | Online program | An academic program where 50% or more of the coursework can be completed online. However, when reporting to external agencies, the definition varies across different reporting agencies. |
| 65 | O | Out-of-state Tuition & Fees | The tuition and fees charged by institutions to those students who do not meet the institution’s or state’s residency requirements. |
| 66 | P | Part-Time Student | Undergraduates: Students registered for 2.75 or fewer units at the census date; Graduate Students: Students registered for 2.75 or fewer units at the census date. At Clark split farther into three-quarter time (1.75 to 2.75 units), half-time (1.50 units), and less than half-time (0.25 to 1.25 units). |
| 67 | P | Prerequisite | A course students must complete before taking a more advanced course in the discipline. |
| 68 | P | Program Fee (PF) | A fee charged to graduate students to remain matriculated while not enrolled in courses. |
| 69 | R | Race/Ethnicity | Category used to describe groups to which individuals self-identify. A person may be counted in more than one group. |
| 70 | R | Required Fees | Fixed sum charged to students for items not covered by tuition and required of a large proportion of all students. It does not include application fees or optional fees such as lab fees or parking fees. At Clark all students must pay a student activity and programing fee and a health and wellness fee. New students must also pay an orientation fee. |
| 71 | R | Residency | For master’s degrees: an academic year (generally eight course units) of study in residence is a minimum requirement for a master’s degree. Individual departments or programs may require longer periods of residency. For PhD degrees: the minimum requirement is one year of full-time study (generally eight course units) beyond the M.A. If the master of arts or master of science has been earned at Clark, this requirement is in addition to the residence requirement for that degree. For credit bearing graduate (CBG) certificate programs: residency requirements are defined by 2 Clark units for CBG certificates requiring 3 units, 3 Clark units for CBG certificates requiring 4 or 5 units, and 4 Clark units for CBG certificates requiring 6 units. |
| 72 | R | Retention (Persistence) Rate | A measure of the rate at which students persist in their educational program, expressed as a percentage. This generally represents the percentage of first-time first-year students in a given cohort who enrolled from fall semester to fall semester. |
| 73 | S | Student Credit Hours (SCH) | See Credit Hours. |
| 74 | S | Student Majors | A student with a declared major within the school or college. At the undergraduate level, data reported represent a duplicated count of student majors (primary and secondary majors). Full time equivalent student majors are distributed proportionally across major programs. |
| 75 | S | Student/Faculty Ratio | The ratio of full-time students to full-time instructional staff. For external reporting purposes, this is often calculated based on undergraduate student headcount. |
| 76 | S | Staff | All employees with non-faculty appointments. |
| 77 | S | Student Level/Class | An indication of a student’s progress toward a degree. At the undergraduate-level, this is first-year, sophomore, junior, or senior. |
| 78 | T | Transfer Student | A student who earned 12 or more credits at another higher education institution prior to enrolling at Clark University. |
| 79 | T | Tuition | Amount of money charged to students for instructional services. Tuition may be charged per term, per course, or per credit depending on student level. |
| 80 | U | Undeclared | An undergraduate student who has not declared a major. |
| 81 | U | Undergraduate Student | A student enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program. |
| 82 | Y | Yield | The percent of admitted students who enrolled. |
| 83 | Academic Affiliation | Academic affiliation refers to different schools part of Clark University such as Undergraduate Day School, School of Management, and School of Professional Studies. | |
| 84 | Academic Level | Academic level indicates the educational stage or degree program in which a student is enrolled, such as freshman, sophomore, and beyond. | |
| 85 | Academic Level BOT Code | Code representing the beginning of term academic level for a student. | |
| 86 | Academic Standing | Academic standing refers to the formal evaluation of a student's academic performance and progress within the institution. It reflects the student's standing in terms of meeting the academic requirements and standards set by the university. Academic standing is typically determined based on factors such as grades, course completion, and adherence to academic policies. | |
| 87 | ACE | Advancing Clark Excellence (ACE) is a support program aimed to support first generation and domestic students of color as well as other interested students. The program provides resources for students throughout their college career. Students apply to join as incoming first-years. | |
| 88 | Active Credit Registered (Active Registered Credits) | The total number of credits for which a student is currently registered and actively pursing in all terms. | |
| 89 | Active Registered in Term | The number of credits or units for which a student is currently registered in the specific active term. | |
| 90 | Active Registered Unit Bands | The range of credit units for which a student is actively registered. | |
| 91 | Admit Term | The term or semester in which a student is admitted to the academic program or to Clark (e.g., Fall 2023) | |
| 92 | Admit Term Code | The code representing the specific term in which a student is admitted. In the case of students admitted in Fall 2023, the term code would be represented as 202309. | |
| 93 | Applicant Student Type | The category or classification that defines the type of student applying to the institution (e.g., first time first year, transfer). | |
| 94 | Citizenship | The country to which a student holds the position or status of being a citizen. | |
| 95 | Connections | A five-day social justice and leadership themed program designed specifically for students of color, but open to all incoming first year and transfer students. | |
| 96 | Course Department | The department offering a course. | |
| 97 | Course Discipline | The specific field or subject area of a course. | |
| 98 | Course Name | The official name or title of an academic course. | |
| 99 | Cumulative Units | The total number of units a student has gained from credit-bearing work at a given institution. | |
| 100 | Degree Type | The category or classification of a specific academic degree conferred by the college. | |
| 101 | Dual Major | A program in which students may complete two degrees simultaneously. Students wishing to earn two degrees, each in a different degree program, must complete all of the major and college requirements for both degrees | |
| 102 | Early Decision Plan | An admission plan that allows students to apply and be notified of an admission decision well in advance of the regular notification dates. If admitted, the candidate is committed to enroll at the institution, it is binding commitment. | |
| 103 | Entering Type | The category or classification that defines the type of entrance or enrollment for a student, indicating the method or circumstance of their entry into the academic system (e.g., first time first year, transfer). | |
| 104 | First-Generation College-Going | First generation college students include any individuals where neither of their parents attained a college degree. | |
| 105 | First Year Intensive (FYI) | Required courses taken by first-year and transfer students in their first semester which are designed to help start their Clark career by developing close relationships with a professor and peers with similar interests. | |
| 106 | Freeze Type | If data is frozen it has been taken at a specific point in time. Live data is the opposite. | |
| 107 | Melt | The term referring to the phenomenon of students who confirm their intention to enroll but subsequently do not attend or withdrawal before the start of the academic term. | |
| 108 | Next Term Year | The academic year corresponding to the upcoming academic term. | |
| 109 | Next Term Credit Reg | The registration status or process for credits in the next term. | |
| 110 | Pell Eligibility/Pell Eligible | Indicated whether a student is eligible for Pell Grants, a need-based federal aid program. | |
| 111 | Persistence | The continuity or sustained enrollment of a student from one term to the next. | |
| 112 | Problems of Practice (POP) | Offered courses, often project-based, which include internship-like experiences that occur in an academic context. They provide students with the knowledge and skills that are found in the work world. | |
| 113 | Program of Liberal Studies (PLS) | Required courses for all Clark undergraduate students. There are 8 areas of study, 1 class needs to be taken in each. There are six perspectives courses designed to introduce you to different ways of thinking, learning, and knowing, they are all in different disciplines and these must be taken in different academic departments. The perspectives are Aesthetic, Global, Historical, Language and Culture, Natural Scientific, and Values. There are two critical thinking courses designed to build critical thinking skills, one Verbal Expression course and one Formal Analysis course. | |
| 114 | Primary State | For domestic students, the state in which a student has primary residence. | |
| 115 | Registration Status | The current status of a student’s registration for the specified term (e.g., enrolled, withdrawn). | |
| 116 | Registered Units | The total number of academic units for which a student is currently registered in the term. | |
| 117 | Retention | Typically, an individual is considered retained if the individual demonstrates continued enrollment over a specified period. | |
| 118 | Round | Different periods in which prospective students apply for colleges, with different deadlines and stipulations associated with them. The four most common application periods include early decision, early action, regular decision, and rolling admission. | |
| 119 | Scholarship Category | The classification or type of scholarship awarded to a student based on criteria such as merit, need, or accomplishments. | |
| 120 | Section Gradable Indicator | An indicator specifying whether a particular section of a course is gradable or not. | |
| 121 | Sex | The biological or identified gender of a student. | |
| 122 | Student Campus | The specific campus or school where a student is affiliated or enrolled. | |
| 123 | Student Term | The specific academic term or semester during which a student is enrolled. | |
| 124 | Student Status | The current status of a student indicating their standing or situation within the university (e.g., enrolled, graduated). | |
| 125 | Term | The specific academic term or semester during which certain events or data are associated. | |
| 126 | Term Code | The code or identifier representing a specific academic term. | |
| 127 | Transcript Requested | An indicator specifying whether a student has requested their academic transcript, and if so, how many. | |
| 128 | Writing Placement Test | A placement test taken by incoming Clark University student to determine which Verbal Expression courses they are permitted to take. |
Contact Information
Strategic Analytics and Institutional Research
Office Location
Shaich Family Alumni and Student Engagement Center (ASEC)
Rooms 421-427
939 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01610
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Thursday’s from 9 – 10 a.m.
Please contact us to book a meeting during the office hours.