Data Glossary

State Reporting: The 12-month period from September 1 to August 31, reflecting the calendar year it ends. For example, September 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021, is Academic Year 2021. The year is divided into three semesters, i.e. Fall, Spring, and Summer. This is used in reporting for the State of Texas, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), and some internal institutional reports.  

Federal Reporting: The 12-month period from July 1 to June 31, reflecting the calendar year it ends. For example, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, is Academic Year 2021. The year is divided into three semesters, i.e. Fall, Spring, and Summer. This is used in reporting to the federal government, The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and some internal institutional reports.  

Age is calculated by subtracting the individual’s date of birth from the begin date of the reporting period. For fall, the begin date is September 1; for spring, it is January 1; for summer, it is June 1; and for applications, it is the date of the application.

Date that application was submitted. 

Sequential number assigned to a student's applications in the order they are received.  

The period of time running from January to December.

A geographic location where university courses are taught and where faculty and staff may work. This includes physcial sites like San Marcos, Round Rock, and Collin, as well as virtual or specialized learning environments such as Online, Accelerated Online, and Off-Campus locations that do not fall under an existing designated site. 

For purposes of Texas State reporting, the Campus designation for a student is tied to the student's program. 

A designation based on a student's citizenship status at time of application, i.e. US Citizen, Permanent Resident, and Non-Resident International.  

The CIP Code is used to identify subject matter content of courses and major area of concentration of students. It is a taxonomic coding scheme for secondary and postsecondary instructional programs. It is intended to facilitate the organization, collection, and reporting of program data using classifications that capture the majority of reportable data. The CIP is the accepted federal government statistical standard on instructional program classifications and is used in a variety of education information surveys and databases. It can be presented as 2, 4, or 6 digits.

At TXST, CIP codes are used in reporting to IPEDS, THECB, and other agencies. Texas adds a 2-digit suffix to the federal 6-digit code to identify instructional program specialties and a second two digits to identify the funding area. 

An organizational unit of the university comprised of academic departments and related offices, i.e. Applied Arts, Business, Education, etc.  

A subset of courses within a major that allows students to focus on a specific area of study, also known as an emphasis, option, specialization, or track. It is designed to provide depth in a subject matter and typically complements the core curriculum of the major.  

An object comprised of data elements, which could be logical or physical. 

An individual or team charged by the data owner to provide information asset services to data owners and data users.

A set of information describing and defining the contents, format, and structure of a database and the relationship among its elements.

Data domains refer to broad categories or areas of related data within an organization that share common characteristics or serve a specific purpose. These domains are used to group data based on its function, subject matter, and/or business use. This data often originates from different source systems. Examples of data domains are: Employee Data, Student Data, Financial Data, etc. 

Any defined unit of data.

The framework to manage university data effectively, efficiently, and ethically in support of the university's mission. 

Encompasses the people, processes, and technology required to create consistent and proper handling of data and understanding of information across the organization, ignoring the boundaries created by organizational structures. 

An individual responsible for the oversight of an information resource or data asset.

A data custodian responsible for planning, prescribing, and managing the sourcing , use, documentation, and maintenance of data assets. Functional data stewards are required to be knowledgeable regarding data assets in relation to business processes. Technical data stewards are expected to be knowledgeable about the underlying structure and administration of data assets. It is possible that a data steward could have both functional and technical knowledge.

The governance, management, and protection of an organization’s data assets that results in high-quality data that are easily accessible and reportable.

Data subdomains are more specific categories that fall under a broader data domain. These subdomains represent finer divisions of data that correspond to particular business processes or areas of activity within the broader domain. Examples of a subdomain within the Employee Data domain are: Benefits, Compensation, Professional Development, etc. 

An authorized user, as defined by UPPS No. 04.01.11, Risk Management of Information Resources, who access university data in performance of their assigned duties. A data user is expected to be familiar with and abide by all data governance and data security policies and procedures. 

An award conferred by a college, university, or other postsecondary education institution as official recognition for the successful completion of a program of studies, i.e. Bachelor of Arts in Education, Master of Science in Nursing, Doctor of Health Administration, Teacher’s Certification, Special Professional, etc.  

An organizational unit of the university comprised of faculty and staff grouped within a College offering academic programs and fields of study. Departments are assigned administrative unit IDs by the THECB.  

A status based on whether an applicant/student is registered for a course(s) as of the official census date. This status is typically seen as the last step for an admitted applicant.  

A 12-month period used for financial reporting and tax purposes. For Texas State, this period runs from September 1 to August 31.

An individual's first name, middle name (or initial), and last name.  

A department that represents and serves a particular subset of university data.

The rate at which a cohort of degree-seeking students graduate within a specified time period, usually represented with a percentage. For undergraduates, this includes first-time, full-time students who begin their studies in the Fall, as well as those who start in the Summer and continue full-time into the Fall semester. The Summer students do not need to be full-time in the Summer. This is not to be confused with the Graduation Ratio.  

The proportion of students who complete their degree program relative to the total number of students who were enrolled in that program within a specified timeframe. This is not to be confused with the Graduation Rate.  

Major is a subject-matter area in which a student may specialize by taking a specified number of courses as a part of the requirements for completion of a program of study. It is identified with a four-, six-, or eight-digit CIP code of the program in which the associated award is to be conferred. 

Describes how and when a particular set of data was collected and how the data are formatted, necessary for understanding how data are stored in data warehouses.

An organization entity of the university comprised of staff grouped within a Unit. 

The rate at which a cohort of students enrolled in a semester who persist to the following semester or year, usually represented by a percentage. This is not to be confused with the Retention Rate.  

A formal collection of courses designed to lead to a recognized educational credential, such as a certificate, associate's degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree, doctoral degree, or first-professional degree. These programs are accredited by recognized state and federal governing bodies such as the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (TEHCB) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

A classification based on a student's ethnicity, race, and US Residency/Visa status. Categories are used to describe groups to which individuals belong, identify with, or belong in the eyes of the community. The categories do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological origins. The designations are used to categorize U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and other eligible non-citizens.

Individuals are first asked to indicate their status as a citizen, permanent resident, or non-resident alien. Those who are not a US citizen or permanent resident are categorized as "International".

Next, individuals are asked to designate ethnicity as:

• Hispanic or Latino or
• Not Hispanic or Latino

Those indicating a Hispanic or Latino ethnicity are categorized as “Hispanic”.

Finally, individuals who have not been categorized as International or Hispanic are asked to indicate all races that apply among the following:

• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Asian
• Black or African American
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
• White

For reporting in the State of Texas, including to the Texas Higher Education Cooordinating Board (THECB), when only one race is selected, an individual is assigned to that group. Any combination including Black or African American are listed as Black or African American. Other combinations are classified as "Two or more races, non-Hispanic, non-Black".

For reporting at the federal level, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), when only one race is selected, an individual is assigned to that group. Any combination of races is classified as "Two or more races".

A status based on whether an applicant/student is registered for a course(s) prior to courses commencing and before census date.  

The rate at which a cohort of incoming, first-time, full-time students enrolled in a Fall semester who persist to the following Fall semester, usually represented by a percentage. This is not to be confused with the Persistence Rate.  

A semester is one of the academic periods during the academic year that consists of two main sessions (fall and spring) and a summer session. The fall and spring semesters include at least 15 weeks of instruction followed by one week for final examinations, making a total of 16 weeks. The summer semester is at least 5 ½ calendar weeks long, including registration, instruction, and final exams. The summer semester is divided into two sessions, i.e., Summer I and Summer II. 

An employee who affects, or would be affected by, data policy or procedural change. A stakeholder requests data, initiates requests for changes to university data, and identifies problems with university data that are impeding normal daily operations. They provide input or feedback that assists with the process of satisfying any change request.

Any employee with extensive knowledge of given functional, technical, reporting, or security-related data issues.

Numerical values assigned to academic terms. Includes the academic year and a nuumber code representing the semester i.e., 10 (Fall), 30 (Spring), and 50 (Summer). Term code should be used with part-of-term to further specify the session within a given term. 

The difference in years between the students first semester and the semester when the degree is awarded.  

An organizational entity of the university comprised of administrative offices, i.e., Enrollment Management, Human Resources, etc. 

Any data element stored or used in the management and operation of Texas State.