Home » About MHCC » Research and Planning » Enrollment Information » Definitions and Explanation of Enrollment Variables

Definitions and Explanation of Enrollment Variables

Enrollment reports can be produced at any time during or after a specified term. There are three reporting periods driven by internal and external requirements. The 2nd week report is used for trend analysis, projecting total term enrollment, as well as to identify and correct errors. The internal significance of the 4th week report is the increasing number of short-term and non-standard term length courses, the implications of which are discussed further below. The final or end-of-term report is ordered at the end of the first week of the subsequent term, and its major significance is that it is the basis for state reimbursement.

The CARS system generates detail reports in two versions, one sorted by instructor/division, and one by course/division. In addition, a summary report is prepared by this office based on course/division. The data is summarized by program/discipline with comparisons to the same previous term (Fall 4th week 1995 compared to Fall 4th week 1994). In addition, a separate report is prepared for state reimbursement which is sorted by type of instruction (lower division, vocational preparatory, etc.). This office cross checks the course/division and reimbursement reports as one means of verifying the accuracy of both reports. The key variables for both the detail and summary quarterly reports are as follows:

SFTE - Student Full-Time Equivalent. This figure represents total enrollment based on a standard definition of full-time. Beginning in 1995-96, all state reimbursement for FTE was changed to a clock hour basis (student contact hours) with 510 hours equal to 1 FTE. This equates to a student enrolled for 15 lecture credits per term for three terms: 15 hours a week times 34 weeks = 510 (12 weeks in fall and 11 weeks in winter and spring terms). However, clock hours will often exceed credits since students are given variable credit for lab and clinical hours. For example, students are often given one credit for every two hours of lab time (the actual ratio of clock hours to credit varies by curriculum). To illustrate, lets take a student enrolled for 16 credits per term in which one 4 credit course includes 3 credits for lecture time and 1 credit for 2 hours of lab per week. In this case, the student is accumulating 17 hours per week for 34 weeks for a total of 578 hours or 1.13 FTE. If calculated just on credits, the student would have 16 hours a week for 34 weeks for a total of 544 hours or 1.07 FTE.

The definition of a SFTE is the easy part. In reality there are three forms of SFTE: current, 4th week, and that used for reimbursement purposes (adjusted 4th week). Current SFTE is that reported at 2nd week and is based on enrollment at any given point in time (includes adds, excludes drops). 4th week SFTE is based on enrollment on the 4th week date of the particular course, not the 4th week term date. Standard term length courses will have the same 4th week date, but any non-standard course will have its own 4th week date. Reimbursable SFTE is based on 4th week enrollment plus any students that add after the 4th week. Of course, there are additional factors, such as type of student and type of course that determine eligibility for reimbursement, but that discussion will be saved for a later time.

IFTE - Instructor Full-Time Equivalent. This figure is derived from instructor workload, the criteria for which are defined in the faculty contract. A typical example is a 3 credit lecture course, with 15 lecture credits equal to 1 term IFTE and 45 lecture credits equal to 1 annual IFTE. Of course, load rating varies with the type of instruction, enrollment, etc. In the case of individualized instruction, such as Cooperative Work Experience, the load is determined by the 4th week enrollment. "Overrides" are used in cases where the instructor needs to be "on the floor" for a specified number of hours (Cosmetology, Developmental Ed, Self-Paced, etc.), with the typical case being that the course derived load is set to 1 IFTE.

SIR - Student Instructor Ratio. This measure is equal to the SFTE divided by the IFTE. Although the overall institutional goal is an SIR of 25:1, type of instruction has a major impact on this ratio resulting in considerable variance across programs and disciplines. Program accreditation requirements, laboratory space, and instructional effectiveness requirements are some of the major factors that influence SIR.

SECT -Sections. Unlike a rose, a section is not necessarily a section. The section count is based on the concept of a traditional standard lecture course. One major exclusion from the section count is individualized courses (all "headcount loaded" courses) such as Cooperative Work Experience. A "cross listing" is yet another example, such as a single course broken into three sections to accommodate beginning, intermediate, and an advance PE activity.

HDCT - Headcount. This is simply the course enrollment and is subject to the variations described above with regard to SFTE. On the summary report, HDCT is duplicated. Most student profile data is based on unduplicated headcount and is reported in such documents as the college Fact Book.

AVSS - Average Section Size. This ratio is computed as HDCT divided by the number of sections. AVSS will often vary with SIR and for many of the same reasons as describe above. Significant differences between SIR and AVSS do occur because of load assignments and valid section counts.

In addition to the quarterly reports, this office produces an annual summary (again at he program / discipline level) and trend line reports.