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This website publishes administrative rules on their effective dates, as designated by the adopting state agencies, colleges, and universities.

Rule 3333-1-02 | Definition of headcount enrollment and full-time equivalent enrollment, and requirements for higher education data reporting.

 

(A) Authority

This rule is adopted under authority conferred upon the chancellor of higher education by section 3333.04 of the Revised Code.

(B) Definitions

For purposes of this rule:

(1) "Enrolled student" means a student who takes coursework or participates in instructional activities offered by an institution. Such courses and activities must be under the direct academic control or approval of the institution, and delivered through the use of institutional resources. The chancellor may adopt guidelines that allow institutions to consider certain students as enrolled students in specific instances where courses are not delivered through the use of institutional resources.

(2) "Institution" means a state institution of higher education as defined by section 3345.011 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Credit instruction" means academic instruction in the context of a course or activity leading to the award of credit by a regionally or nationally accredited institution of higher education. Such credit is generally acknowledged as applicable toward the attainment of a degree or certification.

(4) "Developmental course" means a course which is below college level and cannot be applied toward the requirements for a certificate or degree program.

(5) "General studies course" means a course of credit instruction which is general, introductory, or core in nature. Courses which satisfy distributive requirements, the set of courses which provide students with a broad knowledge base, generally in the humanities, mathematics, natural sciences and social sciences, for a credit-bearing certificate, associate degree, or baccalaureate degree are considered to be general studies level courses.

(6) "Technical education course" means a course of credit instruction which is part of a credit-bearing certificate or associate degree program of technical education and is within the technical portion of a curriculum as defined by program approval standards established by the chancellor. Courses which are "basic" and "non-technical" within those standards are considered general studies level courses.

(7) "Baccalaureate course" means a course of credit instruction which is specialized within a discipline for the baccalaureate degree. The course is considered specialized when a specific set of knowledge or skills is required prior to enrollment. Typically these courses are reserved for students majoring in the field. Specialized courses designed to serve a related discipline are also considered baccalaureate courses.

(8) "Master's course" means a course of credit instruction which is designed for graduate instruction and is not specifically designed as a doctoral course. Courses which represent the graduate level component of advanced undergraduate courses (where a specific designation has been made that the course is creditable toward a graduate degree) are considered master's level courses, as is the master's level component of a graduate course designed to serve both this level and the doctoral level.

(9) "Doctoral course" means a course of credit instruction which is specifically designed for the instruction of students enrolled in programs of study in which enrollment is normally available only to students who have progressed beyond the level of at least a bachelor's degree, and which typically results in the attainment of a doctoral degree. The doctoral level component of a graduate course designed to serve both the doctoral level and the master's level is considered a doctoral level course.

(10) "Professional course" means a course of credit instruction which is part of a program of study leading to the first professional degree. Fields of professional study may include, but are not limited to, law, dentistry, medicine, veterinary medicine, optometry, osteopathy, and pharmacy.

(11) "Non-credit instruction" means instruction in the context of a course or activity for which a learner does not earn any academic credit.

(12) "Contract and grant funded course" means a course or course section that is offered pursuant to a grant or contract from a sponsor such as a government entity, school district, or private enterprise where the intent of the grant or contract is to compensate the college or university for some or all of the costs of delivering the instruction to enrolled students.

(13) "Semester credit hour" means a minimum of seven hundred fifty minutes of formalized instruction that typically requires students to work at out-of-class assignments an average of twice the amount of time as the amount of formalized instruction (one thousand five hundred minutes), or credit earned through competency-based education. It is acknowledged that formalized instruction may take place in a variety of modes.

While awarding semester credit hours typically occurs for instruction delivered in accordance with an institution's standard semester calendar, it may also occur for instruction that may not follow the typical pattern of an institution's standard semester calendar as long as the criteria for awarding such credit is met.

Credit hours may be calculated differently for certain types of instructional activities, including but not limited to: laboratory instruction, clinical laboratory instruction, directed practice experience, practicum experience, cooperative work experience, field experience, observation experience, seminar, miscellaneous and studio experience. The chancellor may adopt guidelines to specify these calculations.

(14) "Quarter credit hour" means a minimum of five hundred minutes of formalized instruction for an academic quarter that typically requires students to work at out-of-class assignments an average of twice the amount of time as the amount of formalized instruction (one thousand minutes).

While awarding quarter credit hours typically occurs for instruction delivered in accordance with an institution's standard quarter calendar, it may also occur for instruction that may not follow the typical pattern of an institution's standard quarter calendar as long as the criteria for awarding such credit is met.

(15) "Formalized instruction" means instruction for which the instructor, or instructors in a disaggregated faculty model, bears the primary responsibility for delivery, acknowledging that the delivery may take place in a variety of modes.

(16) "Student credit-hour enrollment" generally means the number of student credit hours of course registration for each quarter, semester, or term as of the end of business on the fifteenth calendar day of classes reflecting all withdrawals or changes of registration as of the end of business on that date and subsequently approved by that office. Students enrolled in courses offered on a flexible schedule may be included if student registration is completed by the end of business as of twenty per cent of the time taken to complete the course. The chancellor may prescribe the manner by which student credit hour enrollment is to be reported with regard to courses meeting fewer than seven consecutive days, and with regard to programs operated on a calendar which is different from the regular institutional calendar, and with regard to programs offered using a competency-based education approach.

(17) "Week of instructional time" means for purposes of the definition of academic semester, academic quarter and academic year, a week of instructional time is any period of seven consecutive days in which at least one day of regularly scheduled instruction, examination, or (after the last day of classes) at least one scheduled day of examinations occurs.

(18) "Academic year" means a period of time that is at least thirty weeks in length counting periods of time (terms) that begin on the first day of classes and end on the last day of classes or examinations. The thirty weeks are to be measured exclusive of compressed terms (e.g., summer term).

(19) "Full-time-equivalent enrollment" means the measure of enrollment determined by dividing total student credit hour enrollment for an entire academic year by thirty for institutions using a semester calendar and by forty-five for institutions using a quarter calendar.

For purposes of computing the full-time equivalent enrollment at the master's doctoral and professional levels, only students who have been admitted as master's, doctoral, or professional students and who have earned a bachelor's degree will be included.

(20) "Full-time-equivalent student in medical programs" means the headcount of students enrolled for the degrees doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, doctor of veterinary medicine, and doctor of dental surgery.

(21) "Academic quarter" means a period of time that consists of no fewer than ten calendar weeks and no more than eleven calendar weeks of instructional time. The inclusion of breaks or holidays within any particular quarter is at the discretion of the institution so long as the institution is in compliance with the criteria that defines a week of instructional time, and is in compliance with the criteria for awarding quarter credit hours.

(22) "Academic semester" means a period of time that consists of no fewer than fifteen calendar weeks and no more than seventeen calendar weeks of instructional time. The inclusion of breaks or holidays within any particular semester is at the discretion of the institution so long as the institution is in compliance with the criteria for awarding semester credit hours.

(23) "Flexibly scheduled course" means a course section not meeting during the institution's regular academic term as well as a course section meeting during the regular academic term offered in a substantially different manner than a fixed number of meeting times per week for all weeks of the term.

(24) "Headcount enrollment" means a count of enrolled students in which each student, regardless of their level of instructional activity, counts as one student.

(25) "For audit purposes" describes enrollment by a student in a course section for which the student elects not to be awarded credit.

(26) "Competency-based education", or CBE, means a pedagogical approach in which academic credit is awarded based on competencies achieved rather than instructional time. Competency-based education does not include credit awarded for prior learning assessments, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate exams, or other similar activities.

(27) "Disaggregated instructor model" means a model in which the instructional responsibilities for the course are divided among a number of instructors, each performing specific tasks essential to instruction (e.g., curriculum design, content instruction, student assessment).

(C) Higher education data reporting

(1) In accordance with the provisions of law, including, but not limited to, sections 3333.04 and 3333.07 of the Revised Code, requiring each institution to submit such information as is necessary in order to determine the appropriate subsidy payments, and for purposes of computing full-time-equivalent enrollment, each institution is to prepare and submit data files to the chancellor which accurately reflect student enrollments during the periods reported and the specific location of the instructional offering.

(2) Each institution is to submit such additional data to the chancellor as the chancellor may determine to be necessary in order to report on higher education outcomes and guide program development and assessment, strategic planning, and budget development and implementation.

(3) The staff of the chancellor may review the data submitted by institutions for consistency and accuracy. Such review may include audits that compare selected data supplied through file submissions to source data provided by institutions. If the results of these reviews indicate that institutional data are inaccurate, the chancellor may direct that the data be corrected and may further direct that any payment made to the institution relying on such data be recomputed.

(D) Reporting of student characteristics

In the enrollment files submitted each term, each institution shall report for each enrolled student, in the manner prescribed by the chancellor, characteristics specified by the chancellor. In addition to reporting such characteristics, each institution will specifically indicate and identify the following:

(1) Male students who have failed to meet selective registration requirements set forth in section 3345.32 of the Revised Code and rule 3333-1-19 of the Administrative Code, and who do not qualify for exemption of the registration requirement.

(2) Students who have not paid fees for a prior term by the fifteenth day of the present term, and students who have not paid fees for the present term, without an exception as determined by the chancellor's staff. Those exemptions may apply to:

(a) Instances in which the student's financial aid and/or third party payment for the present term is in progress (examples could include state or federal government grants or employer or union tuition reimbursements).

(b) Instances in which the student signed a note agreeing to pay all instructional fees according to the policies of the college or university for the present term.

(3) The residency status of each student. In determining whether or not an enrolled student is an Ohio resident for purposes of the payment of state subsidy, each state-assisted institution will rely on rule 3333-1-10 of the Administrative Code.

(4) Graduate students who, by the preceding term, have earned more than two hundred sixty quarter or one hundred seventy-four semester credit hours. For the purpose of calculating these credit hour values, a student should be credited with fifty-one quarter or thirty-four semester credit hours if that student has already earned a master's degree from another institution. Professional level credit hours are not included in this calculation.

(5) Medical students whose studies in professional level medical instruction will exceed thirteen quarters or nine semesters (four academic years and one summer) because the student was required by the institution to repeat a portion of the curriculum.

(6) Students who have earned more than one hundred thirty-five quarter hours or ninety semester hours of course credit while seeking a doctorate of audiology, physical therapy or occupational therapy.

(E) Reporting of course characteristics

In the course characteristics files submitted each term, each institution will specifically indicate and identify, in the manner prescribed by the chancellor, the following:

(1) The course level for each course as prescribed by guidelines issued by the chancellor. The course level will be one of the following:

(a) Developmental course.

(b) General studies course.

(c) Technical education course.

(d) Baccalaureate course.

(e) Master's course.

(f) Doctoral course.

(g) Professional course.

(2) Whether the course is a course of credit instruction or of non-credit instruction.

(3) Whether the course is eligible or not eligible for state support.

(F) Reporting of student course enrollment characteristics

In the student course enrollment files submitted each term, each institution will report the students enrolled in each course, in the manner prescribed by the chancellor. Additionally each institution will specifically indicate and identify the following:

(1) Course enrollments by students for audit purposes only.

(2) Student course outcomes in a manner prescribed by the chancellor.

Last updated January 17, 2024 at 8:38 AM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 3333.04
Amplifies: 3333.04
Five Year Review Date: 1/13/2029
Prior Effective Dates: 7/1/1976, 7/28/1977, 6/3/1978, 11/2/1978, 5/3/1979, 5/3/1981, 2/27/1984, 3/26/1987, 6/15/1992, 11/19/2010, 2/1/2018