Data Glossary

The number of students admitted divided by number of students who applied.

APDB reports provide information in support of academic planning and administration. These reports present information related to enrollment, student-faculty ratios, class size, mode of instructions, and more organized by discipline, discipline category, and administrative structure. These reports are used locally to support such activities as the review and approval of newly proposed degree programs, as well as the continued evaluation of existing programs. They are also utilized by the Chancellor's Office to examine and assess the structure, workload and productivity of each campus's faculty in order to conduct its annual analysis of faculty utilization.

Refers to the cumulative GPA for courses taken within the university only.

Denotes all data collected on the campus's census day that has been approved by the Chancellor's Office. These are the official numbers for reports to the federal government, state agencies, and various national organizations. Census data is the result of a rigorous data checking, cleaning and error correction process. The most important census data submissions are the Enrollment Reporting System-Student (ERSS) and Academic Planning Database (APDB).

The date when official enrollment is taken for each campus in the CSU system. It is the close of the fourth week of each regular semester.

A cohort is a group of students with similar college experience (First-Time First Years, Undergraduate Transfers, and First-Time Classified Graduates) who matriculate together in the same semester. Cohort retention and graduation rates are the main measures of progress and success for each group as a whole.

Refers to students who had enrolled the previous semester and returned for the current term.

A number that follows the name of a specific subject (for example, English 101) that indicates the course structure, organization and degree of difficulty of that course. Lower division includes 100 and 200 level courses, upper division includes 300-500 level courses, graduate includes 600+ level courses.

Refers to the overall cumulative GPA a student has earned at the time the degree was awarded.

A coding system which classifies the current enrollment of a student and distinguishes between new, continuing, returning, and transitory students.

The Chancellor's Office uses this system to monitor the status of all students enrolled in state-supported programs. It is one of the sources for the student FTE count of each campus in the CSU system.

A statistical classification comprised of traditionally underrepresented racial or ethnic groups including Hispanic/Latinx, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.

CSU campuses are allowed to admit students who are not academically eligible for admission, but are considered disadvantaged. This category could also refer to students with special talents such as athletic or musical abilities.

Refers to faculty that teach in more than one department. Their FTES is divided among the departments based on course enrollment. Their FTEF is also divided based on the proportion of the WTU/15 in each department.

Refers to persons who participate in the Faculty Early Retirement Program.

This classification includes students who are the first in their family to attend college or to receive a college degree.

Persons employed 100% of the time. Also includes persons on leave.

The ratio of the total number of paid hours during a period (part time, full time, contracted) by the number of working hours in that period, Mondays through Fridays. One FTE is equivalent to one employee working full-time.

All full-time faculty members are counted as 1 FTEF. FTEF for part-time faculty, early Retirement Program members (FERP) and teaching assistants are calculated based on their particular HR contracts. This also includes faculty on sabbatical and/or those without a current teaching load.

The number of full-time equivalent staff employees.

FTES is calculated by dividing the sum of the Student Credit Units (SCU) by 15 for undergraduates and 12 for graduate students. The FTES is allocated to the department offering the course, regardless of the instructor's affiliation.

A graduate student taking 9 or more units is considered full-time.

An undergraduate student taking 12 or more units is considered full-time.

• A - F: Letter grade
• CR: Credit
• NC: No Credit
• I: Incomplete (student has to finish coursework in a specific timeframe; does not affect GPA)
• IC – Incomplete Charged (student did not finish coursework by the end of the specified timeframe; negatively affects GPA)
• WU - Withdrawal Unauthorized (negatively affects GPA)
• W – Withdrawal (does not affect GPA)

Other Codes:

• AU - Audit
• RD - Report Delayed (course instructor did not submit grades by grade deadline; temporary placeholder until grades are submitted, does not affect GPA)
• RP - Report in Progress (used for postbaccalaureate students)
• SP - Satisfactory Progress (used for postbaccalaureate students)

The graduation rate is the sum of the number of students who graduated within 2, 4, or 6 years divided by the number of students who originally entered at the same fall semester. College cohorts are based on the initial majors that students declared. Therefore, students who graduated from a major other than the one they initially declared are still credited to their initial major selection.

The institution of learning attended by the student immediately prior to enrolling in Sonoma State University.

An element that specifies the portion of a faculty appointment supported by instructional funds. For example, a faculty member with a full-time teaching appointment would have an IFF of 1.0

Defines the administrative work assigned and the term of appointment, such as Department Chairs, Associate or Assistant Department Chairs, Athletic Directors, Deans, Associate and Assistant Deans.

This incorporates only those faculty members with in-classroom workloads, including supervisory teaching, and/or instructors who are administrators or staff. The FTE for Full-time faculty is calculated as WTU/12. The FTE for part-time, FERP, and teaching assistants are calculated as WTU/15. These FTEF are allocated to the department offering the course, regardless of the instructor's affiliation.

A system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). IPEDS consists of twelve interrelated survey components that are collected over three collection periods (fall, winter, and spring). The completion of all IPEDS surveys is mandatory for all institutions that participate in, or are applicants for participation in, any federal financial assistance program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. The IPEDS program department of NCES was created in 1992 and began collecting data in 1993.

A student with Residence Status "N" (another state or U.S. possession) or "F" (foreign country).

A student 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.

Indicates the share of a faculty appointment that is supported by state budget funding, including the full appointment fraction (1.0) of a person who is teaching one or more sections and is being paid from state funds budgeted to accounts other than instruction or instructional administration, and reimbursed faculty time. For example, a librarian, administrator, or computer center professional who teaches a course that is funded from the total state support budget would have his/her full appointment time recorded as Other Support Fraction (OSF).

Faculty who are tenured or on tenure track.

The proportion of students from an entering cohort who are enrolled in a subsequent term or year, or have earned a degree. It is the sum of the retention and graduation rate.

A student who holds a bachelor’s or equivalent degree, is at a graduate student level, and is seeking a postbaccalaureate credential or certificate.

A student who meets all the stated academic requirements for admission to the University.

The proportion of students from an entering cohort who continue to be enrolled in a subsequent term or year. 

A tracking rate which is the sum of those continuing as undergraduates plus those who earned a degree during a defined period within their original majors.

Refers to students who had enrolled previously, left for more than one term, and were then readmitted.

FTES is credited to the college/department which offers the courses. A student’s FTE is credited to the English Department if that student took English 101 in a semester (regardless of the student’s major).

Identifies the total number of earned course credit units for all students enrolled in a given section.

Student-Faculty Ratio is FTES divided by Instructional FTEF.

Refers to the courses taught by more than one faculty. The FTES of the courses is divided among the instructors.

Faculty who are not on tenure track or in FERP program even if their total contract time or instructional WTU may be equal to 1.0 FTEF.

Refers to the GPA a student has earned at the conclusion of a semester.

The total length of time it takes a student, from his/her first day of class, to receive a degree. For CSU analysis purposes, total time to degree (TTD) is a measure of the time lapse between matriculations to degree completion.

A student entering Sonoma State for the first time but known to have previously attended a postsecondary institution at the same level (e.g., undergraduate, graduate).

Students primarily enrolled at another educational institution (often a high school) but have permission to take courses for credit at Sonoma State.

WTU is a measure of faculty workload. For example, a lecture class that meets three hours per week generates 3 WTU. A CS Number is generated in the APDB file and used to define the type of courses.

For non-supervision segment (CS Number 01 thru 21), WTU is computed as the product of Course Credit Units and a "K factor," obtained as follows:

For a "supervision" resource segment (CS Number 23, 24, 25, 36, & 48), WTU is computed as enrollment times with an adjusting factor, obtained as follows:

Equals number of students enrolled divided by number admitted.