Common Data Set 2022-2023
¨ All definitions related to the financial aid section appear at the end of the Definitions document.
¨ Items preceded by an asterisk (*) represent definitions agreed to among publishers which do not appear on the CDS document but
¨ Additional guidance for some terms, particularly those common with the IPEDS survey, may be found here:
https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/public/glossary
American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central
America) and maintaining tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Applicant (first-time, first year): An individual who has fulfilled the institution’s requirements to be considered for admission (including
payment or waiving of the application fee, if any) and who has been notified of one of the following actions: admission, nonadmission,
placement on waiting list, or application withdrawn (by applicant or institution).
Application fee: That amount of money that an institution charges for processing a student’s application for acceptance. This amount is
not creditable toward tuition and required fees, nor is it refundable if the student is not admitted to the institution.
Common Application: The standard application form distributed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals for a large
number of private colleges who are members of the Common Application Group.
*Community service program: Referral center for students wishing to perform volunteer work in the community or participate in
volunteer activities coordinated by academic departments.
Commuter: A student who lives off campus in housing that is not owned by, operated by, or affiliated with the college. This category
includes students who commute from home and students who have moved to the area to attend college.
Comprehensive transition and postsecondary program for students with intellectual disabilities: Programs designed to support
postsecondary students with intellectual disabilities obtain instruction in academic, career and technical, and independent living subjects
in preparation for employment.
Clock hour: A unit of measure that represents an hour of scheduled instruction given to students. Also referred to as contact hour.
Carnegie units: One year of study or the equivalent in a secondary school subject.
Certificate: See Postsecondary award, certificate, or diploma.
Class rank: The relative numerical position of a student in his or her graduating class, calculated by the high school on the basis of
grade-point average, whether weighted or unweighted.
College-preparatory program: Courses in academic subjects (English, history and social studies, foreign languages, mathematics,
science, and the arts) that stress preparation for college or university study.
*Career and placement services: A range of services, including (often) the following: coordination of visits of employers to campus;
aptitude and vocational testing; interest inventories, personal counseling; help in resume writing, interviewing, launching the job search;
listings for those students desiring employment and those seeking permanent positions; establishment of a permanent reference folder;
career resource materials.
Common Data Set Definitions
Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Board (charges): Assume average cost for 19 meals per week or the maximum meal plan.
Books and supplies (costs): Average cost of books and supplies. Do not include unusual costs for special groups of students (e.g.,
engineering or art majors), unless they constitute the majority of students at your institution.
Calendar system: The method by which an institution structures most of its courses for the academic year.
Campus Ministry: Religious student organizations (denominational or nondenominational) devoted to fostering religious life on college
campuses. May also refer to Campus Crusade for Christ, an interdenominational Christian organization.
Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Associate degree: An award that normally requires at least two but less than four years of full-time equivalent college work.
Bachelor’s degree: An award (baccalaureate or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Education) that normally requires at least four years but not more than five years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes
ALL bachelor’s degrees conferred in a five-year cooperative (work-study plan) program. (A cooperative plan provides for alternate class
attendance and employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their
college studies.) Also, it includes bachelor’s degrees in which the normal four years of work are completed in three years.
*Academic advisement: Plan under which each student is assigned to a faculty member or a trained adviser, who, through regular
meetings, helps the student plan and implement immediate and long-term academic and vocational goals.
Accelerated program: Completion of a college program of study in fewer than the usual number of years, most often by attending
summer sessions and carrying extra courses during the regular academic term.
Admitted student: Applicant who is offered admission to a degree-granting program at your institution.
*Adult student services: Admission assistance, support, orientation, and other services expressly for adults who have started college
for the first time, or who are re-entering after a lapse of a few years.
Definitions