Data Glossary
The list below includes simplified definitions of terms commonly used in ODSA reports and dashboards. If you need clarification about a term not included in the glossary, or if you require a more technical definition than the one provided, please contact us at lsudata@lsu.edu.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Academic College | The academic unit that offers academic degree programs; administered by deans or directors and staffed by faculty members |
| Academic Term | A designated period of time during which an educational institution holds classes and conducts other academic activities. It represents a discrete unit of academic progress and scheduling within the academic year. |
| Admitted | Applicants that have been granted an official offer to enroll in a postsecondary institution |
| Applied | An individual who has fulfilled the institution's requirements to be considered for admission but has not necessarily been admitted or enrolled |
| Calendar Year | A period of a year beginning and ending with the dates that are conventionally accepted as marking the beginning and end of a numbered year (January 1 to December 31) |
| Census Date | Date within an academic term at which the "snapshot" of enrollment and student credit hours (SCHs) is taken |
| CIP Code | A six-digit code in the format xx.xxxx that identifies instructional program specialties within educational institutions |
| Completer | A student who receives a degree or certificate |
| Concentration | An alternative track of courses within a major |
| Continuing Student | A degree/certificate-seeking student who is not new to the institution, but instead is continuing their studies at the institution |
| Current Enrollment Status | Classification of students as new, continuing, or reentry |
| Curriculum College | The academic college that offers a student's program of study |
| Degrees Awarded | Count of an award conferred as official recognition for the successful completion of a program of study |
| Degree-seeking student | A student enrolled in courses for credit who are seeking a degree, certificate, or other recognized postsecondary credential |
| Doctorate | The highest award that can be earned in graduate study |
| Dual Enrollment | The enrollment of a high school student in a college course for which dual credit (both college and high school credit) is attempted, and is recorded on the student’s secondary record and on the student’s postsecondary academic record |
| Enrolled (New Student) | New students who were enrolled for the first time on the census date |
| Fee Residency | Indicates the student's residency status for fee purposes (in-state, out-of-state) |
| First-Time Student | A student who has no prior postsecondary experience attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level |
| Freshman | An undergraduate student with fewer than 30 semester hours of credit earned |
| Gender | A person's sense of themselves as female, male, or another identity as captured in the term's census date snapshot |
| Geographic Origin | The location associated with an individual’s permanent place of residence |
| Grade Point Average (GPA) | A measure of scholastic performance defined as the ratio of quality points earned to semester hours attempted |
| Graduate Student | A student who has earned a bachelor’s degree and is pursuing additional education in a specific field at the Master’s or Doctoral level |
| Graduation Rate | Calculated as the total number of completers within 150% normal time divided by the cohort. |
| Intersession | A three-week period of instructional activity between the fall and spring semester |
| Junior | An undergraduate student with at least 60, but fewer than 90, semester credit hours earned |
| Major/Program | That part of a degree program consisting of a specified group of courses in a particular discipline or field. The name of the major is usually consistent with the degree subject area. |
| Master's | An award that requires the successful completion of a program of study with at least the full-time equivalent of one but not more than two academic years of work beyond a bachelor's degree |
| Non-degree seeking student | A student enrolled in courses for credit who is not recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or recognized postsecondary credential |
| Professional | A program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credential, or license required for professional practice. At LSU, this classification includes the Juris Doctor and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. |
| Quality Points | Numerical value assigned to each letter grade from "A+" to "F" when given as the final grade in a course; provides a basis for quantitative determination of a grade point average. |
| Race/Ethnicity | A mandated classification from the U.S. Department of Education for collection and reporting information related to an individual's racial and ethnic identity |
| Reentry Student | A student enrolling after they have been out of the University for at least one regular semester |
| Retention Rate | The rate at which students persist in their educational program, expressed as a percentage. At LSU, this is the percentage of first-time bachelor's degree-seeking undergraduates from the previous fall who are again enrolled in the current fall. |
| Semester | The span of weeks that comprise either the fall, spring, or summer semesters |
| Senior | An undergraduate student with 90 or more semester credit hours earned |
| Sophomore | An undergraduate student with at least 30, but fewer than 60, semester hours of credit earned |
| Student Credit Hours (SCHs) | A unit of measure representing the equivalent of an hour of instruction per week over the entire term. It is applied toward the total number of credit hours needed for completing the requirements of a degree. |
| Student Level | A classification that identifies a student's current academic program type and progression within the institution. It categorizes students based on their program enrollment (Undergraduate, Graduate, Professional, or Dual Enrolled)) and further specifies their year or program specialization where applicable. |
| Time to Degree | A calculation based on the time elapsed between the census date of the original program term and the first day of the commencement month |
| Transfer Student | An undergraduate student entering the reporting institution for the first time but known to have previously enrolled at a different postsecondary institution (not as a high school student) |
| Unit | Any administrative or academic entity within the university |
| University College-Center for Advising & Counseling (UCAC) | Enrolls students who have attempted 30-plus hours of college credit and who have not yet met the admission requirements for one of the University's degree-granting senior colleges |
| University College-Center for Freshman Year (UCFY) | The division in University College that enrolls students with fewer than 30 hours of attempted credit and who have not yet been admitted to a senior college. Undecided, pre-nursing, and some allied health majors may remain in UCFY for 45 attempted hours. |
| Year Classification | The level of the student as determined by the number of semester hours earned |
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