Glossary of Terms

A unit of measure applicable to an academic year and typically derived from attempted CREDIT
HOURS in Term Section. SUNY obtains these student credit hours from the SIRIS TERM SECTION submission. Currently, the standard AAFTE calculations used by System Administration refer to state-supported AAFTE and are based on activity reported in SIRIS to be state-supported.

Generally speaking, one AAFTE workload is equivalent to 30 student credit hours in
undergraduate courses or 24 student credit hours in graduate courses.

A unit of measure applicable to a semester and typically derived from student CREDIT HOURS. SUNY obtains these student credit hours from the SIRIS TERM SECTION submission. SUNY uses state-supported credit hours to calculate FTE:

• UG FTE: UG state-supported credit hours/15
• GRADUATE FTE: Grad state-supported credit hours/12
• FULL-TIME STUDENT:
  •  For headcount reporting purposes:
    • Full-time undergraduate - an UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT who is enrolled for 12 or more CREDIT HOURS
    • Full-time graduate - a GRADUATE STUDENT who is enrolled for 9 or more CREDIT HOURS
  • For tuition purposes:
    • Full-time undergraduate - an UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT who is enrolled for 12 or more CREDIT HOURS
    • Full-time graduate - a GRADUATE STUDENT who is enrolled for 12 or more CREDIT HOURS

 

The percentage of students from an entering COHORT who graduate within a specific time frame at the reporting institution. For example, a transferred in full-time COHORT of STUDENTS IN A BACHELOR’S DEGREE PROGRAM would typically be assessed at 100%, 150%, more than 150% of program length.

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. The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, requires that institutions that participate in federal student aid programs report data on enrollments, program completions, graduation rates, faculty and staff, finances, institutional prices, and student financial aid. These data are made available to students and parents through the College Navigator college search Web site and to researchers and others through the IPEDS Data Center.

A national database that lenders, loan service providers, guaranty agencies, schools, and students can access to verify student enrollment and degree information. SUNY System Administration utilizes this data for tracking transfers to non-SUNY institutions and for EDUCATION OUTCOMES (EO) reporting.

• For headcount reporting purposes:
  • Part-time undergraduate - an UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT who is enrolled for less than 12 CREDIT HOURS
  • Part-time graduate - a GRADUATE STUDENT who is enrolled for less than 9 CREDIT HOURS.
• For tuition purposes:
  • All students (UNDERGRADUATE or GRADUATE) who are enrolled for less than 12 CREDIT HOURS

The percentage of students from an entering COHORT who continue to be enrolled at a specific point in time at the reporting institution. For example, a first-time Medical Student, full-time, in a Medical Degree program would typically be assessed at 100%, 150%, more than 150% of program length.

First administered in academic year 2016-17, this is a campus climate assessment mandated by SUNY Board of Trustees resolution (October 2, 2014) and by NYS Education Law Article 129-B (applicable section effective July 2016). The survey is administered by all SUNY campuses every other year to both students and employees.

SUNY Institutional Research Information System (incl. Early Student, EOT Student, Course, Term Section, Degree, Financial Aid, Student Revenue)

A national project established to allow post-secondary institutions to more fully account for the outcomes achieved by all incoming students. SAM tracks cohorts defined by both full and part time status, and for incoming transfers as well as first-time students. SAM also accounts for degree completion at both the initial institution as well as subsequent institutions attended.
See https://studentachievementmeasure.org for more information.

A SUNY Upstate administered survey that measures student attitudes and opinions on significant aspects of the collegiate experiences (e.g. academic, student life, facilities, services). Typically administered every other year during the spring semester.

A ratio calculated by dividing the full-time equivalent student workload by the full-time equivalent faculty. i.e. FTE STUDENT WORKLOAD / FTE FACULTY

Class is determined based on Academic Level combined with number of credit hours.

 

Level Code	From Credit Hours	To Credit Hours	Class Code	Description
GD	0	999.99	GD	Graduate
PR	0	35	GS	Medicine Gross Anatomy
PR	0	75.999	M1	1st Year Medical
PR	1	135	M2	2nd Year Medical
PR	26	200	M3	3rd Year Medical
PR	26	999.99	M4	4th Year Medical
UG	60	86	JR	Junior
UG	86.01	999.99	SR	Senior

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) collects information from first-year and senior students about the characteristics and quality of their undergraduate experience. Colleges and universities in the United States have used it to measure the extent to which students engage in effective educational practices that are empirically linked with learning, personal development, and other desired outcomes such as persistence, satisfaction, and graduation. NSSE data are used by faculty, administrators, researchers, and others for institutional improvement, public reporting, and related purposes. (http://nsse.indiana.edu/html/Nsse_overview_2018.cfm)