Data Dictionary

The Data Dictionary serves as the authoritative source for common data definitions. This dictionary was created with input from Academic Affairs, Finance & Administration, Student Affairs, and Advancement, Communication, and Strategic Initiatives.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Academic Program	An academic program is a coherent set of courses leading to a credential (degree, diploma, or certificate) awarded by the institution.
Academic Rank	Categorization of faculty positions, which include tenure/tenure-track and non-tenure-track positions. Tenured and tenure-track positions are usually classified as assistant professor, associate professor and professor; non-tenure-track positions are usually classified as instructor, clinical professor, professor of practice, coordinator, research professor, and adjunct teaching appointments.
Academic Unit	An academic unit is equivalent to a department, division, college, or school.
Academic Year	An academic year usually consists of summer, fall, and spring semesters (in that order). This is based upon federal government definitions. NOTE: in other cases, the academic year includes fall, spring, and summer semesters (in that order).
ACT Composite Score	The American College Test (ACT) composite score is an average score based on the four ACT assessment tests (English, Math, Reading, Science).
Admission Decision	Decision made in reference to a submitted application.
Admit Type	A code to provide Admissions additional flexibility in identifying subpopulations. NOTE: Used primarily by Admissions to identify subpopulations and for checklist/requirement management.
Admitted	The status of a student who has completed all requirements for admission to APSU and is eligible to attend. A student who has been admitted to a program (whether graduate or undergraduate) has completed all requirements for admission to the institution but has also completed additional requirements that are required to be admitted to certain programs. NOTE: Must use a subset of Latest_decision_Codes ==> not all codes indicate admitted.
Adult Learner	An undergraduate student aged 25 or older. NOTE: Defined by both the federal government and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, the Adult Learner may also be referred to as a "non-traditional" student.
Aid Year	Displays financial aid (academic) year for student.
Application Date	Date when original application material was entered in Banner.
Application Status	The status of the admission application. NOTE: This field does not automatically update from the checklist once it has been manually entered.
Applied	An individual is considered to have applied if an application exists in the Student Information System (Ellucian Banner).
Assistant Professor	Faculty who meet the following requirements: Earned doctorate from an accredited institution in the instructional discipline or related area (or Master’s degree in the instructional discipline when that Master’s degree is the recognized terminal degree in that instructional discipline); Master’s degree in the instructional discipline or related area plus 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) beyond the Master’s in that instructional discipline or related areas plus appropriate professional experience in the instructional discipline or related area; potential ability in instruction, public service, and research.
Associate Degree	An award that requires at least 60 credits usually completed in two years of full-time equivalent college work.
Associate Professor	Faculty who meet the following requirements: Earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree from an accredited institution in the instructional discipline or related area plus five years of appropriate professional experience in the instructional discipline or related area; documented ability in instruction, public service, and research.
Average Net Price	As defined by the federal government, Net Price is the amount that a first-time, full-time, degree-seeing student pays to attend an institution in a single academic year AFTER subtracting scholarships and grants the student receives. Scholarships and grants are forms of financial aid that a student does not have to pay back.
Award Paid Amount	Displays paid amount of a fund by term.
Baccalaureate Degree or Bachelor’s Degree	An award that requires 120 credits usually completed in at least four years of full-time equivalent college work.
Banner ID	APSU ID NOTE: This is also known as the A number.
Census Date (14th day)	The date at which the "snapshot" of enrollment is taken. NOTE: The census date is defined as the 14th day of all terms in the Fall and Spring; the 7th day for Summer terms. Note that this is a one-time snapshot based on who is enrolled on that date. There are 3 census dates in fall; one each for Fall I, full term, and Fall II. Official enrollment numbers are not available until after census date for Fall II.
Certificate Program	A certificate program is a credit bearing, standalone program. If a proposed certificate program is 24 credit hours or less in length at the undergraduate or graduate level, it requires APSU approval and notification to THEC. If a proposed certificate is more than 24 hours in length, submission and approval of the full THEC new program process (i.e., Letter of Notification, New Academic Program Proposal, etc.) is required.
CIP Code	Classification of Instructional Program code. Associated with courses and majors. Describes the general content or subject matter of a course or major. NOTE: Based on a coding system created by the National Center for Education Statistics, to standardize reporting of course and majors nationally. A CIP Code is assigned to both the course and the major.
Citizenship Status	Classifies a student/employee according to their legal citizenship status. NOTE: For reporting purposes, the classifications are one of the following: United States citizen, Foreign citizen with temporary U.S. residence, or Foreign citizen with permanent U.S. residence.
Common Data Set (CDS)	Standardized method of compiling and reporting of information by academic institutions. Information presented in the CDS includes: enrollments and degrees conferred, profile of first-year students, statistics and policies on transfers, academic offerings and policies, student life, annual expenses, financial aid, faculty, and class sizes.
Concentration	An approved grouping of courses that provides a focus to the students’ time and course selection in a specific area of their major. A concentration is included on a student’s transcript.
Conditional Admit	(Now listed as Opportunity Admit) Students who do not meet full admission requirements but have met the THEC high school unit requirement and who have achieved an ACT composite of 19 or a high school cumulative GPA of 2.75; or who have ACT sub scores in mathematics and English of 18 or below; or SAT sub scores of 460 or less in Critical Reading and Math.
Contiguous Counties	A person whose domicile is in a county of another state lying immediately adjacent to Montgomery County, or whose place of residence is within thirty (30) miles of Austin Peay State University shall be classified out-of-state but shall not be required to pay out-of-state tuition. NOTE: Currently, the contiguous counties for APSU include the Kentucky counties of Allen, Calloway, Christian, Logan, Simpson, Todd, and Trigg.
Cost of Attendance/Student Budgets for Financial Aid	Used for financial aid purposes. A budget developed for students based on cost of attendance components, hours enrolled, length of semester, cost of program and other factors.
Course Level	Level of a course based on the bulletin number. Lower division courses are numbered 0900 to 2999, Upper division courses are numbered 3000 to 4999, and Graduate courses are numbered 5000 and above.
Cross-Listed Course	A course with the same subject matter and is taught by two distinct departments and is able to fulfill a major, minor, or program requirement. NOTE: This term should not be confused with dual listed courses in which the courses are offered at different levels within the same department (i.e. undergraduate and graduate).
Degree	A qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a program of study. NOTE: Degrees include the associate, baccalaureate, master's, education specialist, and Ed.D.
Degree per FTE	The total number of Associate and Bachelor level degrees in an academic year per 100 student FTE.
Degree Seeking Student	A student who is enrolled in a degree-granting program. NOTE: Used in reporting to IPEDS.
Distance Education	Distance education occurs when there is a physical separation of the teacher and learner and when communication and instruction take place through, or are supported by, any technological means such as telephone, radio, television, computers, satellite delivery, interactive video, or any combination of present and future telecommunication technologies (TBR Policy 2:05:00:00).
Doctoral Candidate	A graduate student who has 1) successfully completed all of the coursework for a doctoral degree, 2) has completed all required examinations, and 3) is preparing to work on the dissertation.
Doctorate Degree	A Ph.D. or other research/scholarship 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.
Double Degree	A student seeking two degrees. A double degree requires completion of all major requirements for both degrees and meets the minor requirements as well. A total of 150 hours is required of which 60 are upper division hours.
Double Major	A student seeking two majors under the same degree program. A double major requires completing a minimum of 120 hours, of which 33 are upper division hours and the hours for both majors. If a minor is required, the double major would take its place. One degree is awarded and the second major is notated on the transcript.
Dual Enrollment	A program that allows high school students to enroll in college-level courses offered by a post-secondary institution and simultaneously earn credit toward high school graduation and a postsecondary degree or certificate.
Dual Listed Course	A course that covers the same content but is offered at both the undergraduate and graduate level. NOTE: This term should not be confused with cross-listed courses in which the course has a different departmental indicator.
Enrolled	A student is considered "enrolled" when the student is registered and has confirmed classes.
Ethnicity	Hispanic or Latino or Spanish origin is defined as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
Faculty	The term "faculty" shall be limited to regular, full-time personnel at the University whose regular assignments include instruction, research, and/or public service as a principal activity, and who hold academic rank as professor, associate professor, assistant professor or instructor, senior instructor, or master instructor. The term "faculty" shall not, for the purposes of this statement include members of the University’s instructional personnel defined as "adjunct faculty," part-time teachers, post-doctoral fellows, visiting lecturers, and graduate assistants. If not otherwise included within the above definition of "faculty," the term "faculty" may include, provided they hold academic rank, academic department or division chairpersons or directors, academic deans, academic vice presidents, presidents, and directors, who have direct line authority over faculty as here in above described, and associates or assistants for the above positions. In addition, the term "faculty" may include persons previously designated as members of the faculty who are assigned to other positions at the University.
First-Time Freshman	An individual who is enrolled at a post-secondary school after graduation from high school or the awarding of a GED. NOTE: The first-time freshmen cohort is determined by taking first time students starting in the summer and continue in the fall term plus first time students starting in the fall.
First-Time College Student	A student who has not been previously enrolled for coursework creditable toward a bachelor’s or associate’s degree or certificate in any college, university, or technical institute since they graduated from high school, but who is now enrolled for coursework creditable toward such a degree. A first-time college student may be a full-time or part-time student.
First-Time, Full-Time, Degree-Seeking Freshman (Freshman Cohort)	A student who has never attended college and who is seeking a college degree. This designator is defined by the federal government and is the method by which the Freshman Cohort is selected and tracked. NOTE: With dual enrollment now prevalent, the federal government allows students to be counted in the cohort who previously completed college credit so long as the college credit that was completed occurred before high school graduation.
Freshman	A student classification of undergraduate students with 0-29 earned semester hours.
FTE – Full time equivalent	A unit of measurement that standardizes the number of students with the credit hours (SCH) taken. The purpose of this unit is to transform part-time students to full-time equivalents. FTE is also used to determine full-time staff and faculty equivalents. NOTE: Depending on the requestor (i.e. federal, state, license provider) FTE is calculated various ways. The most frequent include: (Total UG SCH/12)+(Total GR SCH/9); (Total UG SCH/15)+(Total GR SCH/12); Total Full-Time Staff + (Total Part-Time Staff/3).
Full-Time Student	Full-time enrollment is calculated using the following IPEDS definitions. Undergraduates: Students who are taking 12 or more credit hours in a semester. Graduates: Students who are taking 9 or more credit hours in a semester. APSU defines a full-time graduate student as being enrolled in 6 or more credit hours per semester NOTE: This number is calculated by summing all hours at all locations per semester.
General Education Courses	Courses designed to introduce students to the fundamental knowledge, skills and values essential to the study of academic disciplines.
GPA, Cumulative	The grade point average calculated on all credit-bearing work attempted at the institution. A calculated field that takes the total quality points earned and divides by the GPA hours.
GPA, Term	The grade point average calculated on all credit-bearing work attempted at the institution for a given semester or term. A calculated field that takes the total quality points earned and divides by the GPA hours.
GPA Hours	The hours that count in the calculation of a GPA. The sum is the denominator in the calculation of the GPA. Does not include transfer hours, hours taken in audit status, credit/no credit status. NOTE: Does not include all hours that a student is enrolled in for the term. Specifically excludes hours taken in audit and credit/no credit courses. Also does not include hours transferred into APSU. Does not include hours where the grade does not calculate into the GPA (e.g. Incompletes, progress).
Grade Points	The points assigned to the grade multiplied by the number of hours for the course. The sum of grade points is the numerator in the calculation of the GPA.
Graduate Level	A student who has applied, or is admitted or enrolled in a post-baccalaureate program.
Graduate Status	An individual who has graduated from APSU with a transcripted degree or certificate.
Graduate Special	A student who is (1) non-degree seeking, holding a bachelor’s or higher degree, and taking courses for graduate credit only; or (2) non-degree seeking, holding a bachelor’s or higher degree, and taking courses for both graduate and undergraduate credit; or (3) holding a bachelor’s degree or higher, and seeking a Graduate Certificate.
Graduation Date	Date a degree is officially conferred to a graduating student. Usually it is the last day of the semester. APSU confers degrees three times a year: at the end of fall, spring, and summer.
Graduation Rate	First-time, full-time, degree-seeking fall freshmen and summer first-time freshmen (Freshman Cohort) who graduate. The federal government 4-year (100%), 6-year (150%), and 8-year (200%) rates. NOTE: It should be noted that, in calculating graduation rate, only the freshman cohort is used and transfer or part-time students cannot be used.
High School Class Size	The size of the student's high school graduating class. Used in calculation of rank in class.
High School GPA	The High School Grade Point Average a student earned from high school.
High School Percentile	The percentile of the rank in the high school class
High School Rank in Class	The standing of the student in relationship to their graduating high school class.
Hybrid	A hybrid program combines two or more of the program types (e.g., classroom and via the online learning management system) that reduce the amount of scheduled class meetings a student must attend. A course is considered a hybrid course if 30% or more of the student learning outcomes are obtained through the online portion of the course. The online-delivered components include teaching and learning activities that are tied to student learning outcomes.
International Student	A student who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. May be on a student visa or on another type of visa. NOTE: For THEC and IPEDS reporting an international student is considered a non-resident alien and is reported as such under race (in the new race/ethnic codes required to be reported in 2010 is reported as a race code). This means that non-resident aliens are classified this way regardless of their race and/or ethnicity.
IPEDS	The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, often abbreviated IPEDS, is the core postsecondary education data collection program for the National Center for Education Statistics, a part of the United States government. IPEDS has the mandated goal of collecting standardized data from all institutions of higher education that receive federal student financial assistance authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(17)).
Junior	A student classification of undergraduate students with 60-89 earned hours.
Location	Identifies the location where student contact hours are generated. NOTE: Off campus location codes are provided by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Approval for an off-campus location is obtained by submitting an off-campus location approval form through Academic Affairs. Site/Location are used interchangeably.
Low Income Student	Pell eligible student.
Major	A major indicates a degree awarding program at the Associates or Bachelors level. Majors consist of a 30 semester credit hours (SCH) minimum with a maximum of 60 SCH.
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.
Military-Related	Someone who has identified some connection to the military - receiving benefits, awarded discounts, self-identified with attribute.
Minor	A minor indicates a degree awarding program at the Associate or Bachelor degree level. A minor requires approval from the Provost and does not require THEC approval.
Need-Based Assistance	Financial aid based on the federal regulations defined in Title IV. The definition of need-based includes all assistance defined by federal regulations as being for need-based recipients.
Need-based Aid	College-funded or college-administered award from institutional, state, federal, or other sources for which a student must have financial need to qualify. This includes both institutional and non-institutional student aid (grants, jobs, and loans).
New Freshman	A student with less than 30 earned semester credit hours attending APSU for the first time.
Non-Degree Graduate	A student taking graduate course(s) without a declared major.
Non-Degree Undergraduate	A student without an Associate or baccalaureate degree taking undergraduate course(s) without intending to complete more than 15 hours.
Non-Need Based Assistance	Financial assistance from sources other than Title IV. Assistance from academic scholarships, and scholarships from private sources, to name a few, are included.
Online Course	A course where most or all of the content is delivered online.
Online Program	All course content is delivered completely online. While online courses may require proctored exams, students should never be required to report to campus or other physical locations. If proctored exams are required, faculty must use virtual proctoring which is provided by the Distance Education department.
Opportunity Admit	(Formerly Conditional Admit) Students who do not meet full admission requirements but have met the THEC high school unit requirement and who have achieved an ACT composite of 19 or a high school cumulative GPA of 2.75; or who have ACT sub scores in mathematics and English of 18 or below; or SAT sub scores of 460 or less in Critical Reading and Math.
Part of Term	Subpart of a term (e.g., A=First 8-week classes, B=2nd 8-week classes, as part of Fall Term). NOTE: A and B are codes are not the only ones used to identify different parts-of-term. There is also a part-of-term that identifies the whole term.
Part-Time Student	Part-time enrollment is calculated using the following IPEDS definitions. Undergraduates: Students who are taking less than 12 semester credit hours in a semester. Graduates: Students who are taking less than 9 semester credit hours in a semester. APSU defines a part-time graduate student as being enrolled in less than 6 credit hours per semester. NOTE: This number is calculated by summing all hours at all locations per semester.
Persistence	The number or percentage of students moving from the second year to the third, the third year to the fourth, etc. NOTE: This term should not be confused with Retention which specifically addresses freshman cohort students who returned to the institution for the second year.
Post Baccalaureate Certificate	An award that requires completion of an organized program of study beyond the bachelor's. It is designed for persons who have completed a baccalaureate degree, but it does not meet the requirements of a master's degree.
Post-Master's Certificate	An award that requires completion of an organized program beyond the master's degree, but it does not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.
Professor	Faculty who meet the following requirements: Earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree from an accredited institution in the instructional discipline or related areas plus ten years appropriate professional experience in the instructional discipline or related area; documented ability in instruction, public service, and research; documented evidence of a substantial quality of professional productivity, and state, regional or national recognition in the academic discipline.
Progression	The number of undergraduate students reaching 30, 60, or 90 credit hours at universities; prior to 2015 the number of undergraduate students reaching 24, 48, or 72 credit hours.
Quality Points	The cumulative points used to calculate a student's GPA. Only classes receiving grades A, B, C, D, or F are used in the calculation: A = 4 points, B = 3 points, C = 2 points, D = 1 point, F = 0 points.
Race	Race is broken out separately from Ethnicity. Indicates a student’s racial origin. The code is designed to provide information in the form the U. S. federal government requires. NOTE: Includes American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, White, Two or more races, or unknown.
Readmit	Readmitted students have a prior enrollment history at APSU but have not been enrolled within the academic year as to qualify as a "continuing" student, and thus have had to complete a readmission application. Students re-enter in the same status as when last enrolled at APSU. NOTE: Readmit applies to all levels.
Residency/Resident	The legal resident status of the student for the semester. For reporting purposes, a student will be either In State or Out of State. NOTE: Students who live in some bordering Kentucky counties are labeled as Contiguous and pay in-state tuition. I and O are used to charge different tuition to a student who lives out of district.
Retention Rate	A retention rate is the percent of the Freshman Cohort returning for their second year at the institution. The cohort consists of the number of students entering APSU as full-time, first-time, degree-seeking undergraduates (See First-Time, Full-Time, Degree-Seeking Students). NOTE: The number/percent of students who return to the third and fourth year is referred to as Persistence.
Returning/Continuing	Continuing students are students who have previously attended the institution for at least one term in the previous academic year. When a new student is admitted (or readmitted) they are considered 'new' for one term. After the student has completed a term, they are updated in the Student Information System to reflect a student type of C - continuing.
Reverse Transfer	Students who transfer from a community college to a 4-year institution prior to receiving an Associate’s degree have the option to be awarded that degree once they meet the all the course requirements. Eligible transfer students are notified each semester. Students must opt-in once contacted to be eligible to receive the degree from the community college they transferred from. Students who opt-in but do not meet all the course requirements are informed of the courses they lack and are contacted each following semester until the requirements are met and a degree can be awarded.
SAT Combined	Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is a test designed to test students' knowledge of subjects that are necessary for college success: reading, writing, and mathematics. The SAT assesses the critical thinking skills students need for academic success in college. The combined score is determined by adding the score received on the SAT Verbal (Critical Reading) and the SAT Mathematics.
Senior	A student classification of undergraduate students with 90 or more earned semester credit hours. NOTE: Classification for undergraduates is calculated using earned hours.
Sophomore	A student classification of undergraduate students with 30-59 earned semester credit hours. NOTE: Classification for undergraduates is calculated using earned hours.
Special Undergraduate	This is a student who is (1) non-degree seeking and holds no degree or certificate; or (2) non-degree seeking, holding any level degree, but taking only courses for undergraduate credit; or (3) non-degree seeking, holding no bachelor’s degree, and taking courses for both graduate and undergraduate credit. Dual enrolled students are classified as Special Undergraduates.
Student Credit Hours	The unit of measurement representing an hour of instruction for a single student per week over a semester. NOTE: SCH for a student is calculated by summing course credits per student per term. The course SCH is calculated by summing course credits across course, section number, and term times the total number of students. Student SCH is used in the calculation of FTE.
Student Level	If a student is working toward a degree, the individual is classified according to the level or progress within that program. If a student is not working toward a degree, the student is classified according to the degree level he or she has already attained, or as a continuing student. Progress is based on earned hours. NOTE: Student level includes freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate, undergraduate special, graduate special.

Term	APSU has 8 unique terms in a given year: Fall I, Fall, Fall II, Spring I, Spring, Spring II, Summer III, and Summer. There are additional sessions within these terms but are not identified by a separate code. These are parts-of-terms. For example, Wintermester, Maymester, Summer I, Summer II, etc. TERM: First four digits equal term year fall within; fifth digit equals the month the term begins; sixth digit is wildcard and for APSU identifies Clarksville Campus (4) or The Center at Fort Campbell (1 and 7). NOTE: The APSU Center at Fort Campbell is considered an off-campus center offering degree programs and courses with an administrative presence. It is not considered a separate branch campus with its own students. Enrollment for FCC is determined by registration for classes in the FCC terms, for example 201481, 201487, 201511, 201517, 201557.
Title IV Aid	Includes financial aid awards such as federal student loans, federal grants, federal work study, TEACH grant, etc.
Transfer Student	A student who moves from one institution to another from which credit from the previous institution is accepted toward the degree or certificate in progress by the student at the current institution.
Transient Student	A transient or term special student is one who is regularly enrolled and in good standing at an institution other than APSU and who is taking a course(s) at APSU which he/she intends to transfer to his regular institution.
Tuition and Fees	The amount of tuition and required fees covering a full academic year most frequently charged to students. These values represent what a typical student would be charged and may not be the same for all students at an institution. If tuition is charged on a per-credit-hour basis, the average full-time credit hour load for an entire academic year is used to estimate average tuition. Required fees include all fixed sum charges that are required of such a large proportion of all students that the student who does not pay the charges is an exception.
Veteran Status	A student’s veteran status is calculated from these six separate veteran elements, in hierarchical order: (1) Veteran’s Bursar/Financial Aid (2) Veteran’s Benefits (3) Veteran’s Residency (4) Federal Student Financial Aid application (5) Student Application (6) PLA Military Credit. If one of the fields (reviewed in the hierarchy listed above) indicates the active duty or veteran’s status, the student is coded as a veteran.
Yield	The percent of admitted students who enrolled.