Glossary
Updated Sept. 9, 2025
Accepted/Admitted Student
An accepted/admitted student is an applicant who has been accepted into a program of study.
Active Student
An active student is a student who has an active program of study in Workday. An active student may or may not be enrolled.
Applicant
An applicant is 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has been notified of one of the following actions: admission, non-admission, placement on waiting list, or application withdrawn by applicant or institution (as defined by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System).
Arkansas Division of Higher Education
The Arkansas Division of Higher Education serves as the administrative staff for the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board
The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board is comprised of 12 members who are appointed by the governor. The board is charged by law to coordinate higher education in Arkansas.
Bachelor’s Degree
The bachelor’s degree will be awarded to students upon successful completion of a program that requires a minimum of 120 undergraduate semester credit hours, including the 35-semester hour state minimum general education core (Appendix C), a minimum of 40 semester hours of upper-level courses, and a minimum of 30 semester hours (including 20 semester hours of upper-level courses) in the major field of study. (From Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board Policy 5.11)
Calendar Year
A calendar year is a period of time from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.
Census Date
The census date is the date that enrollment information is captured for reporting purposes each term. For UAMS, this is also referred to as the eleventh-day headcount in fall and spring and the fifth-day headcount in the summer.
CIP Code
The CIP code, or Classification of Instructional Programs code, is a six-digit code in the form xx.xxxx that identifies instructional program specialties within educational institutions. Example: 51.1201 is for Medicine.
Completion Rate
The completion rate is the cumulative number of students in a given cohort graduating from a specified time period in a specified academic plan (as defined by UAMS). The formula is: Cumulative Number of Students Graduating / Number of Students in Cohort = Completion Rate.
Completion Term
The completion term is the term that a student completes their degree.
Confer Date
The confer date is the official date that degrees are conferred for each term/semester.
Credit Hour
A credit hour is the unit of measuring educational credit, usually based on the number of classroom hours per week throughout a term as described in Academic Affairs policy 2.1.5.
Degree
A degree is an award conferred by a college, university, or other postsecondary education institution as official recognition for the successful completion of a program of studies (as defined by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System).
Degree-Seeking Student
A degree-seeking student is a student who is enrolled in an academic Program of Study that leads to a certificate or degree.
Distance Education
Distance education is education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously (as defined by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System).
Distance Education Course
A distance education course is a course in which the instructional content is delivered exclusively via distance education. Requirements for coming to campus for orientation, testing, or academic support services do not exclude a course from being classified as distance education (as defined by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System).
Distance Education Program
A distance education program is a program for which all the required coursework for program completion is able to be completed via distance education courses (as defined by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System).
Doctoral Degree
The doctoral degree will be awarded to students who complete a minimum of 72 graduate semester credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. The program of study includes 42 graduate-only semester hours beyond the master’s degree. (From Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board Policy 5.11)
Ethnicity and Race
Regarding ethnicity and race, during the application process, applicants are asked for the ethnicity and race to which they belong or identify with. Completion is optional.
First, applicants or student can select their Ethnicity (select one):
- Hispanic or Latino
- Not Hispanic or Latino
Second, applicants or students are asked to indicate all races that apply to them among the following categories:
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- White
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), a student may, at any time after matriculation, place a data restriction on their student records to restrict access to biographical data from appearing in specific data reports as defined in Academic Affairs Policy 2.1.2. The restriction can be removed at any time.
First-Professional Degree
The first-professional degree (law, pharmacy, medicine, health-related professions) will be awarded to students upon successful completion of a program that meets all of these criteria: at least 60 semester credit hours of undergraduate coursework before entering the program, a minimum of 72 semester credit hours beyond the 60-semester hour entrance requirement, and completion of academic requirements to begin practice in the profession. (From Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board Policy 5.11)
Fiscal Year
A fiscal year is a period of time defined by July 1 to June 30 of each year. Example: July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019, is fiscal year 2019 (FY19).
Graduate Certificate
The graduate certificate or endorsement is a 12-21 semester-hour program that includes a focused collection of courses, which, when completed, affords the student a record of coherent academic accomplishment in a given discipline or set of related disciplines. (From Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board Policy 5.11)
Higher Learning Commission
The Higher Learning Commission is a regional accreditor that accredits UAMS and degree-granting postsecondary educational institutions in 19 states.
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System is a system managed by the National Center for Education Statistics, which involves institution-level data collections from postsecondary institutions that receive Title IV (financial aid) funds.
Master’s Degree
The master’s degree will be awarded to students who complete a minimum of 30 semester credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree that includes 50 percent graduate-only semester hours in the field of study. (From Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board Policy 5.11)
National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements
The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) helps establish state-level reciprocity agreements among states that offer distance education.
Non-Degree-Seeking Student
A non-degree-seeking student is a student who is enrolled in courses and is not active in a program that leads to a certificate or degree (as defined by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System).
Nonresident Alien
A nonresident alien is a person 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.
Residency
Residency status for tuition purposes is defined by Academic Affairs policy 3.2.1.
Retention Rate
The retention rate is the percentage of a cohort of students returning and enrolling to continue their education at UAMS from a specific time period to a specified time period (as defined by UAMS). The formula is: Number of Students Retained / Number of Students in Cohort = Retention Rate.
Southern Regional Education Board
The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit organization that works with 16 states to improve public education.
Student ID Number
The student ID number is assigned when students apply, and the same number is kept if the student is accepted and enrolls. This number does not change.
Student Semester Credit Hours
Student semester credit hours are the sum of the number of students enrolled in each course multiplied by the credit hours awarded per student in each course.
Success Rate
A success rate is a student’s completion of an academic plan or continuous active enrollment, attempting to complete their academic plan. The rate is expressed as a percent (as defined by UAMS). The formula is: Sum of Maximum of Retained Students and Graduated Students / Number of Cohort Students = Success Rate.
Transfer Credit
Transfer credit refers to any educational course credit from another regionally accredited college or university that is accepted and posted to the UAMS student record and that will be applied toward the completion of a UAMS degree as described in Academic Affairs policy 2.2.8.