Institutional Research and Assessment, Old Dominion University

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 GLOSSARY 

DEPARTMENT

Academic divisions below the college level (See “College”).  Departments exist in all colleges with the exception of the College of Health Sciences, where the major divisions are titled “Schools” rather than “Departments.” 

COLLEGE 

Academic divisions at Old Dominion University.  Colleges include: Arts and Letters, Business and Public Administration, Darden College of Education, Engineering and Technology, Health Sciences, and Sciences.

COURSE LEVEL 

Level of student at which a course is optimally aimed.  Courses are divided into foundation, lower, and upper division for undergraduate instruction, and first and advanced for graduate instruction.  The course number assigned to the course indicates course level.  

COURSE REGISTRATIONS  

A measure of enrollment that summarizes the total number of students registered in each class across all classes at the University.  A student’s enrollment is represented in the registration count for each course the student is taking.  “Course Registrations” are sometimes referred to as “Enrollments.” 

DEGREES CONFERRED 

The total number of degrees awarded during a fiscal year.  The University Factbook reports the number of degrees awarded during the August, December, and May graduation as a single year. 

ENROLLMENT 

See “Headcount”, “Student Credit Hours Generated”, “Full-Time Equivalent Students”, “Course Registrations 

FISCAL YEAR 

Fiscal year represents a 12-month period for which an institution/organization plans the use of its funds.  Old Dominion University's fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30.  

FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDENTS (FTES) 

A means of expressing student enrollment in full-time units.  In practice, students take a variety of credit hour loads—some full-time, some part-time.  Calculation of an FTE figure normalizes these loads and produces a student count which reflects the number of students who would be enrolled if all were taking exactly the same full-time credit load (15 hours for undergraduates, 12 hours for graduates).   A student-level FTE calculation puts total credit hours in units of full-time students by dividing total credit hours by the normal full-load as determined by the undergraduate or graduate status of students counted.  For example, if 150,000 hours of instruction are taught, undergraduate FTE would be 10,000 (150,000 / 15 = 10,000), regardless of the number of headcount students enrolled. A course-level FTE calculation is similar and would divide the credit hours by the level of the course instead of the student’s level. 

FULL-TIME/PART-TIME STATUS 

Status assigned to a student based on their credit hour load taken.  Undergraduate students taking 12 or more hours in a semester are considered full-time.  Graduate students taking nine (9) or more hours in a semester are considered part-time. 

HEADCOUNT 

Unduplicated count of students enrolled for one or more credits in an institution of higher learning. Most typically this measure is reported for the fall semester only, which the semester with the highest level of enrollment.  On occasion, an unduplicated headcount is calculated on an annual basis, summarizing enrollment of individual students across three semesters. 

IN-REGION/OUT-OF-REGION 

Place of residence of student.  In-Region includes Virginia's Planning Districts 20 and 21.  Planning District 20 consists of Isle of Wight County, Southampton County, Chesapeake, Franklin,

Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach.  Planning District 21 consists of James City County, York County, Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg.  All other locations are designated as Out-of-Region.  

IPEDS (INTEGRATED POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION DATA SYSTEM) REPORT 

Any of several reports required annually by the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of Management and Budget. These reports include counts of full- and part-time faculty and staff, faculty salaries, institutional characteristics, headcount enrollment, degrees conferred, graduation rates, financial statistics, financial aid, and library resources. 

ON- / OFF-CAMPUS HEADCOUNT 

According to the SCHEV definition, the unduplicated number of students enrolled for at least one on-campus course.   Off-campus campus headcount includes only those people taking exclusively off-campus courses. 

ON-CAMPUS AND OFF-CAMPUS INSTRUCTION 

Designation indicating location of instruction.  On-campus instruction occurs at the main campus in Norfolk.  Off-campus instruction occurs away from the main campus or received via distance education technology. 

REPORTS ON INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS (ROIE) 

The SCHEV Reports on Institutional Effectiveness (ROIE) are an accountability reporting system established in the year 2000.  This system of reporting utilizes both SCHEV and institutional data to describe the institutions and are intended to provide meaningful information on the academic quality and operational efficiency of Virginia’s public institutions of higher education.  The ROIE includes institutional mission, profile measures, system-wide measures, and institution-specific measures.  For more information see http://research.schev.edu/roie/. 

SCHEV 

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is the Commonwealth’s coordinating board for higher education institutions. Its mission, which is outlined in the Code of Virginia, is "to promote the development of an educationally and economically sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education" in Virginia.   More information can be found at http://www.schev.edu.  

SCHEV REPORT 

Any of several reports required annually by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).  These reports include data on admissions, headcount enrollment, course enrollment, enrollment projections, degrees awarded, financial aid, facilities, and tuition rates.  More information can be obtained about SCHEV reports at http://research.schev.edu.  

STUDENT CREDIT HOURS GENERATED  

A measure of enrollment and instructional productivity that summarizes all course hours taken by students across the University.   The number of students in each course is multiplied by the credit hours earned in the course then summed across the University.  

STUDENT LEVEL 

Designation indicating progress of an undergraduate or graduate student through a program of study.  Undergraduate students are considered freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, or lower level (freshmen and sophomores) and upper level (juniors and seniors).  Graduate students are designated first graduate (masters) or advanced (doctoral) graduate level.  Students who are not in degree programs or who cannot be classified by level are designated as “unclassified” undergraduate or graduate students. 

TELETECHNET 

TELETECHNET is Old Dominion University’s distance education initiative which encompasses instruction delivered both synchronously and asynchronously via satellite, internet, virtual classrooms, and other media. 

TERMINAL DEGREE 

The terminal degree is the highest obtainable degree within an area of academic study.  

UNCLASSIFIED STUDENT 

A student enrolled as a non-degree student in either an undergraduate or a graduate level.  These students are not eligible to elect a program and must reapply for admission to degree-seeking status to begin pursuing a degree.  Some programs limit the number of hours a student can take as a non-degree student before they apply for degree-seeking status.