Glossary of Terms

ACADEMIC YEAR (AY):

The grouping of time into academic quarters for purposes of conducting university activities. For most purposes e.g., faculty contracts, course scheduling, etc., it is considered Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. When Summer quarter is included, in the academic year as the following Fall Quarter. Example: Academic Year 2002-03 is Summer 2002, Fall 2002, Winter 2003 and Spring 2003.

ACTUAL:

Operations and transactions having taken place. Actual is a retrospective view.

AVERAGE CLASS SIZE (AVE CLASS SIZE):

It is a weighted statistic that depicts average number of enrollees per class meeting. The weighting includes number of hours per week the class meets (hours per day X days of the week). This statistic may be derived for instructional modes and/or course levels.

BUDGET:

A financial plan containing an estimate of proposed expenditures and revenues for a given period.

CAMPUS:

An organizational aggregation of departments into a major academic and administrative organizational unit located physically away from the main university e.g. Bothell or Tacoma Campus. Overall supervisory responsibility resides with the Chancellor. Emphasis is on academic and administrative functions rather than location and facilities.

CLASSROOMS:

General purpose classrooms, lecture halls, recitation rooms, seminar rooms, and other rooms used primarily for scheduled non-laboratory instruction.

CLASS SIZE:

The number of students enrolled in a class meeting as of the 10th instructional day of the quarter.

COLLEGE/SCHOOL:

An academic unit, as authorized and created by the Board of Regents, offering instruction and programs of study headed by a Dean. A College or School may be divided into departments. For the purposes of this definition, a College or School also includes individual UW Bothell and UW Tacoma programs, even though they are not headed by a Dean.

COURSE NUMBER:

Used in conjunction with a prefix name and quarter/year, it identifies a specific course. The first digit usually serves to identify subject matter level. Course numbers are usually grouped into the following categories:

• LOWER DIVISION: 100 - 299
• UPPER DIVISION: 300 - 499
• GRADUATE/PROFESSIONAL: 500+ OR 500 - 599, 600 - 800

NOTE: Course level is not to be confused with "student level" e.g., 100-level courses are sometimes called 'freshmen' courses when the latter term stands for student level.

CONTINUING STUDENT:

Any student who was registered at UW in the same enrollment status category during the immediate previous quarter ( Summer for Autumn or previous Spring excepted).

DESIGNATED OPERATING FUND (DOF):

A grouping of University budgets and cost centers supported by revenues over which the University has wide discretion as to use and application.

ENROLLMENT:

Registrants enrolled in courses offered by UW on the 10th instructional day of the quarter.

EXPENDITURE OBJECT CODES:

A representation of the nature of the good, commodity or service purchased, or expense incurred. Examples are personnel services, contractual services, equipment or travel. For more information on object codes, see http://www.washington.edu/admin/finacct/obcodes/

FACULTY:

persons paid for instructional, research and service activities.

• 9-MONTH FACULTY APPOINTMENT: Academic personnel who are employed by the university to serve any 9-month period of time (three periods of three months each). The three periods do not have to be consecutive but must be completed within the four quarters comprising a complete academic year. Note: Current practice considers the 9 month appointment to run from September 16 through June 15.
• 12-MONTH FACULTY APPOINTMENT: Academic personnel who are employed by the university to serve an 11-month period of time. They are paid salary over twelve months for their 11 months of service. Note: Current practice considers the appointment to run from July 1 through June 30.

FACULTY POSITIONS:

positions budgeted for the purpose of carrying out instruction, research and service activities.

FIELD STATION:

A physical location away from the main university campus where complimentary administrative and academic functions occur e.g., Chignik Lake-Alaska, Olympic Natural Resource Center-Forks, WA, Manastash Ridge Observatory-Ellensburg, WA, Archeology Field School-Montana, Rome Center-Italy, Regional Primate Research Center-Spokane, WA.

FISCAL YEAR (FY):

The annual period of time utilized for maintaining university financial records and reporting. It commences on July 1 and ends on June 30 the following year.

FULL TIME EQUIVALENT (FTE):

An index number where 1.00 represents what is acknowledged to be the equivalent of a standard load carried by a person who is devoting full time effort to those activities. A person who devotes full-time effort for 12 months for an annual period would sum to 1 FTE. Two persons who devote half-time effort each for 12 months would also sum to 1 FTE (0.5 + 0.5) for that annual period.

FULL-TIME STUDENT:

An undergraduate or professional student who is registered for 12 or more credits per quarter. The criteria for graduate students is registration for 9 or more credits per quarter. NOTE: The number of credit hours required to be considered a full-time student for admission and other enrollment status requirements is NOT the same as that utilized to determine full-time equivalency (See Student FTE-FTES).

FUND:

A fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash and other financial resources together with all related liabilities and residual balances and changes. Funds are segregated for the purpose of attaining certain objectives in accordance with special regulations, restrictions or limitations, e.g., fund for State Appropriations, UW Medical Center, etc.

GENERAL OPERATING FUND (GOF):

A grouping of University budgets and cost centers supported by revenues primarily provided or authorized by the state legislature (i.e. state appropriations and operating fees) to support the general University operations and instructional programs. The legislature may, at any time, specify restrictions on how these revenues may be expended, the purposes for which the expenditures are made and the expenditure amount.

GENERAL USE:

Spaces that are characterized by broader availability to faculty, staff, students, and the public than special use areas. Examples include assembly rooms, exhibition space, food facilities, lounges, merchandising facilities, recreational facilities, meeting rooms, and child/adult care areas.

GRADE:

A university-recognized symbol signifying a student's performance level in a course. Only decimal-reported grades are used to derive cumulative grade points to calculate GPA.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA):

A calculated index number that signifies the student's academic performance during a quarter (term) or entire collegiate experience (cumulative). It is expressed on a decimal scale from 0.00 to 4.00. It is calculated via the following formula: GPA = Total Grade Points/Total Graded Credits Earned. Grade points are the product of course credit times grade earned in each UW residence course. Non-graded and deductible credits may/may not be excluded. Any decimal grades reported in the 0.10 to 0.69 range are converted to 0.00. "S" and "CR"grades do not enter into GPA calculation but do count as credits earned toward graduation. "NS" and "NC" grades are both excluded from GPA calculations and do not count as credits toward graduation. Extension course and credit-by-examination grades are also excluded from GPA.

GRANT & CONTRACT AWARDS:

Monetary amount awarded to the university by state/federal agencies, philanthropic organizations, private industries, and individuals to conduct specific research projects and training programs. Such awards are the result of competitive proposals developed by faculty members and are independent of funds received by the university through Legislative appropriations.

HEADCOUNT (HEAD):

An unduplicated count of enrolled students. Unless otherwise identified student headcount data represents actively enrolled persons in credit courses as of the 10th instructional day of each quarter.

LABORATORY:

Rooms characterized by special purpose equipment or a specific configuration that ties instructional or research activities to a particular discipline or a closely related group of disciplines.

NEW STUDENT:

Any student who has his/her enrollment status changed by the university is considered a 'New Student'.

NON RESIDENT STUDENT:

A student who does not qualify as a 'Resident Student' under provisions of Washington State Code RCW 28B.15.012 and 28B.15.013. In addition, they include (1) person receiving financial assistance from another state or governmental unit/agency, and (2) person who is not a citizen of the USA, holds a temporary resident status, or holds a 'Conditional Entrant' status with the INS.

OFFICE:

Rooms specifically assigned to various academic, administrative and service functions e.g., office and conference.

OTHER OPERATING FUNDS (OOF):

A grouping of University budgets and cost centers supported by revenues held by the University as trustee or agent for the benefit of others.

PART-TIME STUDENT:

Any undergraduate graduate or professional student who is registered for less than the minimum number of credits to be considered full-time.

PROGRAM:

Specific Programs are:

• Instruction: communication of knowledge to students and scholarly activity to maintain and expand the ability to provide effective instruction at the highest levels.
• Research: activities that promote scholarship and research as a means of advancing knowledge and understanding that are conducted with separately budgeted state and University funds.
• Public Service: non-instructional services of students, faculty and staff which make available to the community the unique resources of the University.
• Primary Support Services: administrative, operations and computing support and management of the University serving the instruction, research and public service programs generally at the School or College level.
• Libraries: maintenance of library collections, delivery of library services and access to the library collections, media and scholarly materials.
• Student Services: provision of numerous resources and services to students contributing to their intellectual, social and cultural development.
• Hospitals: operation of primary health care centers for the clinical training of health professionals.
• Institutional Support: top-level administrative policy making and management control activities.
• Plant Operations and Maintenance: maintenance, repair and services to buildings, grounds and utilities.

RESIDENT STUDENT:

A student who meets the requirements for this status as specified in Washington State Code RCW 28B.15.012 and 28B.15.0131. They include (1) a financially independent student who has established a permanent domicile in the state for purposes other than education at least 1 year prior to first registration, (2) a dependent child if one or both parents/guardian have had a permanent residence for 1 year, (3) a student who has spent 75% of the junior and senior high school years attending a school within the state, or (4) the student is a spouse/dependent of a person on active military duty stationed within the state.

RESTRICTED OPERATING FUND (ROF):

A grouping of University budgets and cost centers supported by revenues from sources that specify and restrict use of the revenues to an identified purpose, project or effort. The University has a duty to expend these revenues only for the specified and restricted purpose, project or effort.

RETURNING STUDENT:

A student who enrolls in the same category for the current term but, except for summer, was not in attendance during the immediate previous quarter.

STUDENT CREDIT HOURS (SCH):

A weighted statistic that represents the students being served by a particular course section. In fixed credit courses they are the product of the course credit hours times the course section enrollment e.g., 10 students in a 5 credit course section generate 50 SCH. For variable credit and Independent Study courses the credit taken by each enrollee in the section is determined and summed to obtain SCH.

STUDENT FTE (FTES):

An index number signifying the equivalent of a standard load carried by a student who is devoting full-time effort to learning. It is derived from student credit hours by dividing total term SCH by 15 for undergraduate students and 10 for graduate/professional students. NOTE: Full-Time Equivalency (FTES) is not the same as full-time student e.g., 3 undergraduate students who were each carrying a single 5-credit course would individually be a part time student but, collectively, would become one full-time equivalent student. Also for Financial Aid qualification and athletic competition purposes the divisors become 12 for undergraduates and 9 for graduate/professional students (See Full-Time Student).

STUDENT:

Any person who is officially enrolled in a course offered under the responsibility and authority of the university.

STUDENT CLASS:

(Within Admissions Status) An indication of the student's progress towards a degree (credit hours earned). It is determined from total credit hours up to, but not including, the 10th instructional day of the quarter and year of interest. A commonly used synonym phrase is "Class Standing." NOTE: Student Level should not be confused with Course Level (see Course Number). The student level categories are:

STUDY:

Space used primarily as study rooms, stacks, open-stack reading rooms, and library processing rooms.

TRANSFER STUDENT:

A student who enrolls in another post-secondary institution after high school and transfers credit to UW, Summer quarter excepted. Any hours earned at another college/university after first matriculation at UW would not be used to determine Transfer status. Applies to undergraduate students only.

Planning and Budgeting -
Office of Institutional Studies
factbook@u.washington.edu
Modified: September 8, 2003