Definitions

20th Day. The 20th day of classes when official enrollment counts are taken, known as the census date.

AAU. Association of American Universities. The University of Kansas is a member of this prestigious group of leading private and public research universities in the U.S. and Canada.

AAUDE. Association of American Universities Data Exchange organization.

ACT. American College Testing Program, admissions test accepted by KU.

Academic Year (AY). Fall and following spring semesters. In some cases AY may include fall, spring, and summer.

Assignable Square Feet (ASF). The sum of all areas on all floors of a building assigned to, or available for assignment to, an occupant or specific use. Areas defined as building service (custodial, restrooms, etc.), circulation (public corridors, elevators, stairs), mechanical, and structural are excluded.

Attrition. First-time full-time freshmen students who are not enrolled for subsequent fall terms relative to their initial fall semester at KU. The non-enrollment may be a result of dropping out, transferring to another institution, or delaying degree completion for various reasons. Enrollment status is as of the 20th day of classes. Full-time status is based on enrollment of 12 or more hours during the initial semester.

Auxiliary. An auxiliary enterprise furnishes a service directly or indirectly to students, faculty, or staff, and charges a fee related to, but not necessarily equal to, the cost of services. Auxiliary funds include health service, housing system revenue, and parking fees.

CIP. Classification of Instructional Programs. CIP is a taxonomy for instructional programs. It is used in all National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) surveys and is the accepted government standard for education information surveys.

Classified Personnel. Classified employees are subject to the State of Kansas Civil Service Program. July 3, 2005 KU’s Classified employees were moved to a new employee category - University Support Staff.

First-time Freshmen. Includes students from the following categories: an entering freshman who has never attended any college; students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term; and students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from high school).

First Generation. Includes undergraduates with a first generation recruitment category or with parent education at high school or middle school levels on the FAFSA.

Fiscal Year (FY). July 1 through June 30 of the following year. For academic purposes FY includes summer, fall, and spring.

FTE Faculty and Staff. FTE (full‑time equivalent) reflects the percent of time appointed to a position in the university. For example, 100% payroll appointment equals 1.0 FTE. 50% payroll appointment equals .5 FTE.

FTE Students. FTE (full-time equivalent) is calculated by dividing total enrolled hours by 15 for undergraduates, 12 for doctoral professional students, and 9 for other graduate students. For students in the MED career, including MD, visiting MD, and medical residents, FTE is calculated as 1.0. Most KU reports use this definition, which differs slightly from FTE definitions used by the Kansas Board of Reports and by IPEDS. 

Full‑time/Part‑time Students. Undergraduate students who take 12 or more credit hours are full time. Graduate students taking 9 or more credit hours or involved in thesis or dissertation preparation, and professional students taking 12 or more credit hours are full time. This is the definition used in reporting information to the U.S. Department of Education.

General Fees. Tuition (fund 099) and program specific per credit hour course fees collected from students. Required campus fees are restricted use and not included under General Fees.

General Use. General Use refers to university funding sources and includes state appropriations, student tuition, program specific course fees, and interest.

Gross Square Feet (GSF). The sum of all areas on all floors of a building included within the outside faces of its exterior walls. Light wells, or portions of upper floors eliminated by rooms or lobbies that rise above single-floor ceiling height are excluded.

Head Count. Count of individuals (e.g., students, staff, faculty).

IPEDS. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems. IPEDS is a group of web based surveys designed to collect data from all primary providers of postsecondary education. IPEDS is a major component of the postsecondary education data collection program in the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Legacy. Students have had at least one parent, step-parent, legal guardian, grandparent, step-grandparent, great-grandparent, or step-great-grandparent who graduated from KU with a bachelor’s, master’s, professional, or doctoral degree.

Midwest Comparison Group. Includes public members of the original Big Twelve athletic conference.

Minority. Domestic individuals who self-report their race/ethnicity as American Indian, Asian, Black, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or Hispanic, as well as those who report two or more races. Minority counts include only United States citizens and permanent residents. Individuals classified as temporary aliens are considered international.

NCES. National Center for Education Statistics, division of U.S. Department of Education.

Other Operating Expenditures (OOE). Expenditures for supplies, books, equipment; includes all operating nonsalary‑related expenditures.

Restricted Use. Restricted current funds are those available for financing operations but the use is dependent upon the conditions under which the funds were received. For example, federal grant funds are restricted and are expended only for the purpose for which they were awarded. The campus fee is another example of restricted use funds.

Retention. First-time full-time freshmen students who continue to be enrolled for subsequent fall terms relative to their initial fall semester at KU. Enrollment status is as of the 20th day of classes. Full-time status is based on enrollment of 12 or more hours during the initial semester.

SAT. Scholastic Aptitude Test, admissions test accepted by KU.

Service Clearing. A service department provides a specific type of service to various institutional departments rather than to individuals and is supported by internal charges to the user department's operating budget. At KU, the usage of the service clearing fund is limited by state statute and Board of Regents authorization. Departments which may use the service clearing fund include the university motor pool, computer service, and telecommunications.

State General Fund. State appropriations.

Tuition. General fees (fund 099) collected from students. Does not include course fees.

Unclassified Personnel. University employees who are not subject to the State of Kansas Civil Service Program.

Underrepresented minority. Individuals self-reporting their race/ethnicity as American Indian, Black, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or Hispanic. Whenever possible, underrepresented minority counts also include those self-reporting two or more races, if one of those races is American Indian, Black, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or Hispanic. Underrepresented minority counts include only United States citizens and permanent residents. Individuals classified as temporary aliens are considered international.

University Support Staff. July 3, 2005 employees in the Classified Service were moved to this new category. The main differences between Classified and USS are a) pay rates are no longer linked to a matrix; and b) part of the salary increases will be merit-based.