Glossary of Terms, Abbreviations, and Acronyms

An abbreviation (acronym or initialism) is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase, usually using individual initial letters, as in ACC or FTIC. This list highlights some common terms and abbreviations used through the OIRA Site.

Glossary and Acronyms

Term or Acronym	Definition or Meaning	Related Link/Resource
12TH CLASS DAY DATA	data for fall or spring classes, as of the 12th class day of the 16-week session. (Official Reporting Date for the fall and spring semesters)
4TH CLASS DAY DATA (SECOND SUMMER SESSION)	data for all summer classes, as of the 4th day of class of the second summer session. (Official Reporting Date for the summer semester)
AA	Associate of Arts
AAS	Associate of Applied Science
AAT	Associate of Arts in Teaching
ABE	Adult Basic Education
ACADEMIC SUPPORT	includes expenses incurred to provide support services for the institution’s primary missions: instruction, research, and public service. It includes the following activities: the retention, preservation, and display of educational materials, such as libraries, museums, and galleries; the provision of services that directly assist the academic functions of the institution, such as demonstration schools associated with a department, school, or college of education; media such as audio-visual services and information technology; academic administration (including academic deans but not department chairpersons) and personnel providing administrative support and management direction to the primary missions; separately budgeted support for course and curriculum development. For institutions that currently charge some of the expenses—for example, computing support—directly to the various operating units of the institution, this category does not reflect such expenses.
ACADEMIC YEAR (AY)	begins the first day of the fall semester and ends the last day of the summer session of the following year. For example, Academic Year 2017 began September 1, 2016 and ended August 31, 2017.
ACC	Austin Community College	austincc.edu
ACC TAXING DISTRICT	taxing jurisdictions that contribute funding for the College through property taxes.
ADJUNCT FACULTY	non-staffing table personnel including part-time instructors who are employed on a term basis.
ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL	exempt staffing table personnel including executive vice presidents, vice presidents, associate vice presidents, provost, deans, and some directors.
ADULT BASIC EDUCATION (ABE)	courses designed primarily for students 16 years of age and older to improve basic skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
ADVANCED TECHNICAL CERTIFICATE (CT4)	a certificate that has a defined associate or baccalaureate degree as a prerequisite. The CT4 must consist of at least 16 SCH and no more than 45 SCH. It must be focused, clearly related to the prerequisite degree, and justifiable to meet industry or external agency requirements.
AMP	Academic Master Plan
ANNUAL HEADCOUNT	the number of students enrolled in one or more courses with each student counted only once for the year.
ARQIP	Administrator Response to Quality Improvement Plan
AS	Associate of Science
ASP	Academic Support Plan
ASSIGNABLE SQUARE FOOTAGE	the amount of space, within the interior walls of a room, that can be used for programs . Major room use categories are: classrooms, laboratories, offices, study areas, special use space, general use areas, support rooms, health care, residential, and unclassified space.
ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE (AAS)	awarded to students who successfully complete the prescribed courses in any of the occupational-technical programs and the requisite 15 semester credit hours taken from the approved general education course list.
ASSOCIATE OF ARTS (AA)	awarded to students who complete at least 60 semester credit hours, 42 of which must be taken from the core curriculum and eight semester credit hours of foreign language courses (all courses must be in the same foreign language).
ASSOCIATE OF ARTS IN TEACHING (AAT)	awarded to students who complete a degree aimed at those who wish to become certified teachers; includes the 42-semester credit hour core curriculum.
ASSOCIATE OF SCIENCE (AS)	awarded to students who complete at least 60 semester credit hours, 42 of which must be taken from the core curriculum, including six to eight semester credit hours of natural science courses.
ATD	Achieving the Dream	achievingthedream.org
AUXILIARY	exists to furnish goods or services to students, faculty, staff, other institutional departments, or incidentally to the general public, and charges a fee directly related to, although not necessarily equal to, the cost of the goods or services. The distinguishing characteristic of an auxiliary enterprise is that it is managed to operate as a self-supporting activity. Over time, the revenues will equal or exceed the expenses, although in any individual year there may be a deficit or a surplus. Examples are residence halls, food services, intercollegiate athletics (only if essentially self-supporting), college stores, faculty clubs, parking, and faculty housing. Student health services, when operated as an auxiliary enterprise, also are included. Hospitals, although they may serve students, faculty, or staff, are classified separately because of their financial significance. The auxiliary enterprise category includes all expenses relating to the operation of auxiliary enterprises, including expenses for operation and maintenance of plant, depreciation (if allocated to functional expense categories) and administration. Also included are other direct and indirect costs, whether charged directly as expenses or allocated as a proportionate share of costs of other departments or units. To ensure that data regarding individual auxiliary enterprises are complete and adequate for management decisions, cost data should be prepared using full costing methods. Full costing means that the costs attributed to each enterprise includes a portion of indirect costs related to that enterprise, as well as the costs directly attributable to its operation.
AVP	Associate Vice President
AWARD	is any combination of courses and/or requirements leading to a degree or certificate.
AY	Academic Year
BOT	Board of Trustees
BUILDING GROSS SQUARE FOOTAGE	the sum of all square feet of floor areas within the outside faces of a building’s exterior walls.
CBM	Coordinating Board
CBM###	Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Report ###
CCC	Core Curriculum Completer.
CE	Continuing Education
CENTERS	non-campus locations that are staffed, have regular posted hours, and offer credit courses on a regular basis (every semester).
CERTIFICATE	awarded to students who complete one of the approved certificate programs.
CG	Cluster Group
CH	Contact Hours
CICG	Credit Instruction Cluster Group
CIP	CLASSIFICATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS (IPEDS)	nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/cip2000/
CISD	Consolidated Independent School District
CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL	non-exemptstaffing table personnel including administrative assistants, building attendants, clerks, library assistants, technical staff assistants, some technicians, etc.
CONTACT HOUR	an instructional unit of time in which a student has contact with an instructor; includes lecture and/or laboratory time.
CONTINUING EDUCATION	non-credit courses and programs, often in adult workforce or avocational areas.
CORE CURRICULUM	consists of 42 credits that will automatically transfer to all Texas public colleges and universities. If a student satisfies all component areas, that block of courses must be substituted for the receiving institution’s core curriculum.
CORE CURRICULUM COMPLETER (CCC)	a student that successfully completes the core curriculum.
COURSE ENROLLMENT	the number of students registered for a course.
CREDIT TEACHING FACULTY	faculty who teach college credit courses; includes staffing table full-time and non-staffing table adjunct faculty.
CT1	Level 1 Certificate.
CT2	Level 2 Certificate.
CT3	Enhanced Skills Certificate.
CT4	Advanced Technical Certificate.
CTG	Closing The Gaps (THECB)	highered.texas.gov
CTS	Corporate Training Solutions
CYP	Cypress Creek Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
DAY AND EVENING STUDENTS	students enrolled both in courses that begin before 5:30 P.M. and those that begin after 5:30 P.M.
DAY ONLY STUDENTS	students enrolled only in courses that begin before 5:30 P.M.
DCIL	Dual Credit Independent Learners
DEBT SERVICE	interest and matured principal related to outstanding debt obligations - may be either the cash outlay needed or the amount accrued for meeting such payment during any accounting period.
DEGREE	an award given as official recognition for the successful completion of a program of studies.
DEPRECIATION	should be calculated in accordance with the institution’s capitalization and depreciation policies. Depreciation expense is considered both a functional and natural expense category. In addition, when functional expenses are reported in the Statement of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Net Assets (SRECNA), depreciation expense can be allocated to other functions such as instruction, research and student services, or allocated only to plant operation and maintenance expenses, or reported separately. When depreciation expense is reported as a functional expense, depreciation for all activities (educational and general, auxiliary enterprises, and hospitals) may be combined and reported as one amount in the SRECNA. Alternatively, it may be segregated between these activities if the SRECNA has separate columns or other means to delineate expenses between these activities. The allocation methodology may be either a simple or complex one such as a multiple allocation approach. Generally, depreciation expense for buildings may be allocated based on the usage of the buildings. This is accomplished by a periodic inventory of the usage of the space in each building. Depreciation expense on equipment may be allocated to other functions based upon the location of the equipment and the use of that space. This is also accomplished through a periodic inventory of the equipment.
DFW	Drop Fail Withdrawl
DIR	see Direct Study Course.
DIRECT STUDY (DIR) COURSE	students spend time at a social service, health, or government institution or other sites as a major part of their coursework; also have meetings on campus.
DISTANCE LEARNING	includes non-traditional courses offered through Directed Studies, Hybrid courses, Instructional Television, Online, and Print-Based courses.
DISTANCE LEARNING WITH CAMPUS REQUIREMENT	course instruction is online. Tests are taken in the Instructional Testing Centers on campus. Distance Testing is not allowed. Students need to be aware of the on-campus testing requirement when registering.
DISTANCE TESTING	most distance learning courses, including online classes, require you to take at least one proctored exam. If you live outside the Austin area or cannot travel to an ACC Testing Center, you may be able to have exams proctored at another location through the Distance Testing program. Note: Distance Testing is not allowed for DLC courses.
DLC	see Distance Learning with Campus Requirement.
DOE	Department of Education	ed.gov
DR	Data Request
DUAL CREDIT	college courses that may count for both high school and college credit upon successful completion.
DUPLICATED HEADCOUNT	occurs when a student is counted more than one time because they are enrolled in more than one course. For example, a student who attends several courses at one location and one or more courses at a second location is counted twice, once at each location.
DUPLICATED RACE/ETHNICITY	students may be counted in more than one category based on their Race/Ethnicity selection with one exception: if students selected “Non-Resident Alien,” they were counted only as “Non-Resident Alien” (regardless of whether they selected an additional race/ethnicity).
EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL (ECHS)	blends high school and college in a rigorous yet supportive program, compressing the time it takes to complete a high school diploma and the first two years of college.
EARLY COLLEGE START (ECS)	high school students that are taking college courses that may count for both high school and college credit upon successful completion.
ECHS	see Early College High School.
ECS	see Early College Start.
EGN	Elgin Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
ENHANCED SKILLS CERTIFICATE (CT3)	any certificate for which a student must meet certain eligibility requirements prior to entry into the program. A CT2 program may consist of between 30 SCH and 51 SCH. Students enrolling in these programs are subject to the TSI requirements and may be subject to other eligibility requirements as determined by the institution.
ENROLLMENT	see Course Enrollment.
EOT	End of Term
ERP	Enterprise Resource Planning
ESL	English as Second Language
EVC	Eastview Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
EVENING ONLY STUDENTS	students enrolled only in courses that begin after 5:30 P.M.
EVP	Executive Vice President
FAFSA	Free Application for Federal Student Aid	studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid
FASB	Financial Accounting Standards Board	fasb.org
FDE	First Day Extract
FICE CODE	Federal Interagency Committee on Education Code (IPEDS)
FIELD OF STUDY (FOS)	facilitates transferability of lower-division academic courses among Texas public colleges and universities.
FINANCIAL AID	grants, loans, assistantships, scholarships, fellowships, tuition waivers, tuition discounts, veteran’s benefits, employer aid (tuition reimbursement) and other monies (other than relatives/friends) provided to students to meet expenses. This includes subsidized and unsubsidized loans made directly to students.
FIRST-TIME-IN-COLLEGE STUDENT (FTIC)	a student who has never attended college or any other postsecondary institution. Students are not reported as first-time-in-college until they have completed their high school work.
FISCAL YEAR (FY)	an accounting period for 12 months that begins on September 1 and continues through August 31 of the following year.
FOS	see Field of Study.
FTACC	First Time at ACC
FTIC	First Time in College
FTP	File Transfer Protocol
FTSE	Full Time Student Equivalent
FULL-TIME (FACULTY)	staffing table personnel with faculty status including counselors, librarians, and teaching faculty.
FULL-TIME (STUDENT)	all Full-Time enrollment status for a semester, including summer, is based on 12 or more semester credit hours (SCH). Under federal Financial Aid guidelines, a student is considered full-time if they are enrolled for at least 75% of the normal full-time credit hour load. For institutions operating on a semester calendar, the normal full-time load is 15 semester credit hours for the fall or spring semester.
FULL-TIME STUDENT EQUIVALENT (FTSE)	the total semester credit hours divided by 15, which is considered to be a full-time course load.
FY	Fiscal Year
FYSE	First Year Seminar
GASB	Government Accounting Standards Board	gasb.org
GED	General Education Development
GED GRADUATE	a student who successfully passed the General Education Development (GED) exam.
GENERAL EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT (GED)	an exam for students whose high school education was interrupted.
GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD (GASB)	establishes accounting standards for local and state entities including governmental colleges and universities.
GPA	Grade Point Average
HBC	Highland Business Center
HEGIS	(IPEDS) - The Higher Education General Information Survey
HLC	Highland Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
HR	Human Resources
HTML	Hyper Text Markup Language
HYBRID (HYD) COURSE	students complet most coursework online with some mandatory clasroom/lab meetings scheduled.
HYS	Hays Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
IN-DISTRICT	students who live within ACC’s tax-paying districts and pay taxes in support of the college and receive lower in-district tuition rates. Students who live or own property within the City of Austin or the Austin, Del Valle, Elgin, Hays, Leander, Manor, or Round Rock Independent School Districts, as well as portions of Eanes and Pflugerville Independent School Districts are considered in-district students.
INACTIVE PROGRAM	is a program that is no longer offered.
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT (ISD)	is a type of school district for primary and secondary education, which operates as an entity that is independent and separate from any municipality, county, or state. The administrative leadership of such districts is selected from within the district itself and has no direct responsibility to any other governmental authority. This independence normally also implies that the district has its own taxing authority that is outside of the direct control of other governmental entities.
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT	includes expenses for central, executive-level activities concerned with management and long-range planning for the entire institution, such as the governing board, planning and programming operations, and legal services; fiscal operations, including the investment office; administrative information technology (when not accounted for in other categories); space management; employee personnel and records; logistical activities that provide procurement, storerooms, printing; transportation services to the institution; support services to faculty and staff that are not operated as auxiliary enterprises; and activities concerned with community and alumni relations, including development and fund raising. Appropriate allocations of institutional support should be made to auxiliary enterprises, hospitals, and any other activities not directly related to the primary programs—instruction, research, or public service—or their related support categories.
INSTRUCTION	includes expenses for all activities that are part of an institution’s instruction program. Expenses for credit and noncredit courses; academic, vocational, and technical instruction; remedial and tutorial instruction; and regular, special, and extension sessions should be included. Expenses for departmental research and public service that are not separately budgeted should be included in this classification. This category excludes expenses for those academic personnel whose primary activity is administration—for example, academic deans.
INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION (ITV)	using recorded video programs shown on cable TV.
INTERNATIONAL	is a student or exchange visitor in the United States with F, M, or J non-immigrant status.
IPC	Institutional Plannning Council
IPEDS	Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System	nces.ed.gov/ipeds
IPR	Instructional Program Review
IPRS	Instructional Program Review Summary
IR	Institutional Research
IRB	Institutional Review Board
ISD	Independent School District
ITV	see Instructional Television.
LEVEL 1 CERTIFICATE (CT1)	can be completed by a student in one calendar year or less. It must consist of at least 15 SCH and no more than 42 SCH. Level one certificate programs are exempt from TSI requirements, but certificate programs may perform local assessment and remediation of students, provided that these activities do not exclude the student from enrollment in the certificate program.
LEVEL 2 CERTIFICATE (CT2)	any certificate for which a student must meet certain eligibility requirements prior to entry into the program. A CT2 program may consist of between 30 SCH and 51 SCH. Students enrolling in these programs are subject to the TSI requirements and may be subject to other eligibility requirements as determined by the institution.
MIP	Mini Improvement Plan
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding
MSA	Marketable Skills Award
MSA	Metropolitan Statistical Area
MTD	Mid Term Date. For Fall and Spring terms, this date refers to the last add/drop period of the 2nd 8-weeks session. For Summer term, this date refers to the last add/drop period of the 2nd 5.5-weeks session.
NAICS	North American Industry Classification System	naics.com
NCBO	Non-Course Based Option
NCCBP	National Community College Benchmark Project	nccbp.org
NCES	The National Center for Education Statistics
NON-RESIDENT ALIEN	is self-reported race/ethnicity category for a student who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and who is in this country on a temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.
NRG	Northridge Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
OCCUPATIONAL SKILLS ACHIEVEMENT (MSA)	a sequence of credit courses totaling 9-14 semester credit hours or workforce continuing education courses totaling 144-359 contact hours.
ODS	Operational Data Store
OFFICIAL REPORTING DATES	Fall/Spring: 12th Class Day - Summer: 4th Class Day (Second summer session)
OIRA	Office of Institutional Research and Analytics
ONL	Online Course.
ONLINE (ONL) COURSE	students complete coursework online and are required to take proctored exams in an ACC Testing Center or at an approved Distance Testing site.
ORD	Official Reporting Date
OUT-OF-DISTRICT	a student who is a Texas resident but lives outside the ACC taxing district. An additional per credit hour out-of-district fee is charged to out-of-district students.
OUT-OF-STATE	a student who has not been a Texas resident for at least one year.
PART-TIME (STUDENT)	all Part-Time enrollment status for a semester, including summer, is based on less than 12 credit hours (SCH).
PARTICIPANT	a student who completes all required baseline assessments and 12 instructional contact hours in the Adult Basic Education (ABE), General Education Development (GED), or English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) program.
PGM	Program of Study.
PIN	Pinnacle Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
PLANT OPERATIONS	includes all expenses for the administration, supervision, operation, maintenance, preservation, and protection of the institution’s physical plant. They include expenses normally incurred for such items as janitorial and utility services; repairs and ordinary or normal alterations of buildings, furniture, and equipment; care of grounds; maintenance and operation of buildings and other plant facilities; security; earthquake and disaster preparedness; safety; hazardous waste disposal; property, liability, and all other insurance relating to property; space and capital leasing; facility planning and management; and central receiving. It does not include interest expense on capital-related debt. This category may be allocated to the other functional categories based on an acceptable allocation methodology such as square footage of buildings.
PRINT-BASED (PRN) COURSE	students use textbooks and study guides.
PRN	see Print-based Course.
PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL PERSONNEL	exempt staffing table personnel including analysts, some coordinators, managers, some specialists, staff interpreters, and supervisors.
PROGRAM OF STUDY (PGM)	represents the program area and is not an award.
PSF	Program Status Form
PUBLIC SERVICE	includes expenses for activities established primarily to provide non-instructional services beneficial to individuals and groups external to the institution. These activities include community service programs (excluding instructional activities) and cooperative extension services. Included in this category are conferences, institutes, general advisory services, reference bureaus, radio and television, consulting, and similar non-instructional services to particular sectors of the community.
QIP	Quality Improvement Plan
RFP	Request for Proposal
RGC	Rio Grande Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
RRC	Round Rock Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
RVS	Riverside Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
SAC	South Austin Campus	austincc.edu/campuses
SACS	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools	sacscoc.org
SACSCOC	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	sacscoc.org
SAP	Satisfactory Academic Progress
SAP	Standards of Academic Progress (Financial Aid)
SAS	Statistical Analysis System	sas.com
SCH	Semester Credit Hour
SCHOLARSHIPS	generally, public institutions report tuition discounts and allowances and scholarships as reductions of tuition and fees revenues. Institutional resources provided in excess of amounts owed by the students, and refunded to students, should be recorded as expenses. NACUBO Advisory Report 2000-5 sets forth and illustrates the appropriate accounting and reporting or various types of tuition discounts and scholarships. The scholarships and fellowships category includes expenses for scholarships and fellowships—from restricted or unrestricted funds—in the form of grants to students, resulting from selection by the institution or from an entitlement program. The category also includes trainee stipends, prizes, and awards. Trainee stipends awarded to individuals who are not enrolled in formal course work should be charged to instruction, research, or public service. Recipients of grants are not required to perform service to the institution as consideration for the grant, nor are they expected to repay the amount of the grant to the funding source. When services are required in exchange for financial assistance, as in the College Work-Study program, charges should be classified as expenses of the department or organizational unit to which the service is rendered. Aid to students in the form of tuition or fee remissions also should be included in this category. However, remission of tuition or fees granted because of faculty or staff status, or family relationship of students to faculty or staff, should be recorded as staff benefits expenses in the appropriate functional expense category.
SEMESTER CREDIT HOUR (SCH)	a unit of measure of instruction consisting of 60 minutes of which 50 minutes must be direct instruction. For example, PSYC-2301 meets for three hours a week and is worth three semester credit hours.
SERVICE AREA	the territory in which the College provides services.
SITE-BASED INSTRUCTION	includes credit classes staffed by ACC but offered at locations not owned by ACC.
SOC	Standard Occupational Classification	bls.gov/soc
SQL	Structured Query Language
SSI	Student Satistfaction Inventory - Noel-Levitz Survey
SSI	Student Success Initiative
SSR	Support Services Review
STAFFING TABLE PERSONNEL	personnel in an annually budgeted position including full-time faculty, non-exempt (Classified), and exempt (Professional-Technical) employees who are eligible for benefits. Hourly and adjunct faculty are not included as staffing table employees.
STEM	Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
STUDENT HEADCOUNT	the number of students enrolled in one or more courses. This number may be duplicated or unduplicated.
STUDENT SERVICES	includes expenses incurred for offices of admissions and the registrar and activities with the primary purpose of contributing to students’ emotional and physical well-being and intellectual, cultural, and social development outside the context of the formal instruction program. It includes expenses for student activities, cultural events, student newspapers, intramural athletics, student organizations, intercollegiate athletics (if the program is not operated as an auxiliary enterprise), counseling and career guidance (excluding informal academic counseling by the faculty), student aid administration, and student health service (if not operated as an auxiliary enterprise).
SUNSET PROGRAM	A program that is no longer active, but students already in the pipeline may be allowed to complete the degree plan.
SVC	Service Center
SWOT	Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
TACC	Texas Association of Community Colleges	tacc.org
TAIR	Texas Association of Institutional Research	texas-air.org
TEA	Texas Education Agency	tea.texas.gov
TEC	Texas Education Code	statutes.legis.state.tx.us/?link=ed
TEMPORARY FULL-TIME FACULTY	adjunct faculty who teach a full-time load on a temporary basis and receive benefits.
TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD (THECB)	a statutory 15-member board appointed by the Governor. It is responsible for statewide planning and policy-making to assure quality and efficiency in Texas higher education. The Board’s primary areas of responsibility are financial planning, senior colleges and universities, community colleges and continuing education, health affairs, student services, and campus planning.
TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION (TWC)	evaluates and provides partial funding for the Adult Education Program.
THECB	Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board	thecb.state.tx.us
TIPS	The Informational Portal System	austincc.edu/tips
TSI	Texas Success Initiative	austincc.edu/admissions/tsi-assessment
TUITION	amount of money charged to students for instructional services.
TWC	Texas Workforce Commission	twc.state.tx.us
U-LEAD	Unit-Level Effectiveness Assessment Documentation
UNDUPLICATED HEADCOUNT	the sum of students enrolled in credit courses with each student counted only once during the reporting period.
UNDUPLICATED RACE/ETHNICITY	students were counted in only one category based on their Race/Ethnicity selection. “Two or more” includes non-Hispanic students that selected more than one race category.
VCT	Virtual College of Texas	digitex.org
VFA	Voluntary Framework of Accountability
WDC	Workforce Development Center
Persistence rate	Persistence rate is the percentage of students enrolled in a given term by Official Reporting Date (ORD) who returned or graduated in a subsequent term by ORD. Fall-to-fall persistence is the percentage of students enrolled in a given fall term who returned or graduated the following fall term. Fall-to-spring persistence is the percentage of students in a given fall term who returned or graduated the following spring term. Persistence can be measured overall or for specific student groups (e.g., all undergraduate credit students, first-time-in-college credit students, etc.).
North Star Completion Rate	ACC's North Star is our Theory of Change goal to reach a 70% 3-year completion rate by 2030. For this goal, completion includes full-time and part-time first-time-in-college (FTIC) Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) cohort students graduating (i.e., completing an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or credit certificate), completion of other awards (i.e., Continuing Education certificate, institutional award, or occupational skills award), and transfer to a 2-/4-year institution within 3 years. For simplicity, 3 years (i.e., 150% of the intended completion time for a 2-year degree) is used across the board as most of our graduates earn associate degrees or shorter. Students who meet multiple completion criteria are counted once in the following priority order: graduation, other completion, transfer.
Key Performance Indicator (KPI)	a measurable indicator of progress aligned with an initiative or goal
Institutional Award	Internally defined Continuing Education programs that may not lead to graduation, used primarily for reporting.
Institutional Credential Leading to Licensure or Certification (ICLC)	This is a term defined by community college finance administrative rules for outcomes based funding (House Bill 8). An ICLC is an institutional award, with 80 or 144 contact hours for high-demand or other fields, respectively, that prepares a student to complete a license or credential exam.
Occupational Skills Achievement (OSA) Award	a credit program of 9-14 semester credit hours or a workforce continuing education program of 144-359 contact hours. These awards meet the minimum standard for program length specified in the federal Workforce Investment Act, but are too short to qualify as certificate programs on the Coordinating Board program inventory.
Direct-to-College (DTC)	Students who graduate from high school and enroll in a Texas college or university the following long semester (e.g., graduate in spring, enroll in fall).
Low Income (3-factor)	Students identified as low-income in this OIRA index meet at least one of the following items: (1) self-reported household income data from ACC applications within the most recent five years of the student's enrollment with low income defined as <$30K annually (criteria changed from <$25K as of fall 23), (2) THECB economic disadvantage flag, (3), Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Unemployment Insurance (UI) Wage data shows student’s full-time equivalent annual wage as of the four quarters before the student’s first enrollment at ACC (or five years ago, whichever is more recent) compared to 200% Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) for single households or 0 income (<$26K).
AGS Staff	AGS (Academic Guidance Services) Staff includes all staff working in academic advising, including Area of Study (AOS) Advisors, Success Coaches, and all other advisor types.
Credential of Value	This term is defined by community college finance administrative rules for outcomes-based funding (House Bill 8). Credentials of value are any credential for which the typical graduate earns cumulative wages greater than the median cumulative earnings of a typical high school graduate and recoups the net cost of attendance within ten years of earning the credential.
High-Demand Field	This is a term defined by community college finance administrative rules for outcomes based funding (House Bill 8). High-demand fields are identified by labor market data as occupations where large numbers of employees are estimated to be needed. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) identifies both a state and regional list of high-demand fields for which colleges receive additional HB 8 funding beyond the standard Credential of Value levels.
Federal Poverty Guidelines	The federal poverty guidelines (FPG), issued annually by the Department of Health and Human Services, are based on federal poverty thresholds and used for administrative purposes (e.g., determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs)	aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines