Definition of Terms

Definitions of Terms Pertaining to Students and Faculty

Students

Full-time

Undergraduate: 12 credit hours or more per semester (Fall of Spring)
Graduate: (Masters and Ph.D.): 8 credit hours or more per semester (Fall or Spring)
Law: 10 credit hours or more per semester (Fall or Spring)

Part-time

Enrolled in fewer than the number of hours defining full-time students at each level.

Full-time equivalent (FTE) students

Undergraduate: Headcount FT students + (credit hours PT students/12)
Graduate/Ph.D.: Headcount FT students + (credit hours PT students/8)
Law: Headcount FT students + (credit hours PT students/10)
Total: FTE Undergraduate + FTE Graduate/Ph.D. + FTE Law

Class levels

Freshman = 30 or fewer credit hours; Sophomore = 31-60 credit hours; Junior = 61-90 credit hours; Senior = more than 90 credit hours; Post-Baccalaureate = students with bachelor's degree enrolled for additional coursework.

First-time first year student

In addition to above, enrolled at St. Mary's with no prior credits at other institutions except for summer session prior to first enrollment at St. Mary's.

Transfer student

Enrolled at St. Mary's with credit hours from other higher educational institution in semester(s) other than summer prior to first semester enrolled at St. Mary's.

Regular Admissions

Students admitted to university without requiring any special program or enrollment restrictions designed to improve basic college level skills.

Graduation, Persistence, and Attrition

Graduation: Graduated some time within period indicated
Persistence: Student still enrolled at end of time indicated
Attrition: Student not graduated nor enrolled at end of time indicated; includes transfers to other institutions.

Retention

Refers specifically to one-year retention rate of full-time, first year student, i.e., students who first enrolled in a given fall semester were also enrolled in the following fall semester are considered retained.

Faculty

Full-time faculty

Faculty on 9- or 12-month contract to teach FT faculty load; includes both tenure-track & non-tenure track.
Tenure-track: Full-time faculty hired under contract and ultimately eligible for tenure.
Non-tenure track: Full-time faculty under contract but not ultimately eligible for tenure.

Part-time faculty

Faculty hired on course-by-course basis, no annual contract.