057-1 Wyo. Code R. §§ 1-2 - Definitions - Community College Commission

(a) "Academic year" means a period of time that begins with the summer semester and ends with the spring semester in the following year. The year referred to is the calendar year in which the spring semester falls (AY19 means summer and fall semesters 2018 and spring semester 2019).

(b) "Accreditation" means the process by a national or regional organization to grant public recognition of a program or college, indicating that it meets established standards of quality, as determined through initial and periodic self-study and peer evaluation.

(c) "Administrative Computing System" (ACS) means the system that the Commission has purchased for the community colleges and itself, allowing for the following electronic processes to occur at each institution: student services, human resources, financial services, and data reporting.

(d) "Adult Education" (AE) means all instructional and instructional-related activities provided to anyone above the age of compulsory attendance as defined by W.S. 21-4-102, to assist adults in obtaining the knowledge and skills necessary for employment, self-sufficiency, parenting, and improved quality of life. This includes, but is not limited to, basic literacy, English literacy, citizenship and high school equivalency.

(e) "AICPA standards" means the generally accepted auditing standards promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

(f) "Annual report" means the report required by W.S. 9-2-1014(a).

(g) "Associate of Applied Science" (AAS) means a terminal, two-year degree designed for students planning to enter the workforce upon degree completion. This degree enables a completer to transfer to a baccalaureate of applied science degree program and includes occupation-specific technical coursework.

(h) "Associate of Arts" (AA) means a two-year degree designed for students majoring in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and related disciplines. This degree prepares the student for transfer to a baccalaureate degree program and includes substantial coursework in the humanities, social sciences, arts and liberal arts.

(j) "Associate of Science" (AS) means a two-year degree designed for students majoring in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, business and other related disciplines. This degree prepares the student for transfer to a baccalaureate degree program and includes substantial coursework in mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, business and/or other related disciplines.

(k) "Auxiliary enterprises" means those entities that furnish goods or services to students, faculty or staff and charge a fee directly related, although not necessarily equal, to the cost of goods or services. Colleges will strive to operate their auxiliary enterprises in a self-supporting manner.

(m) "Bachelor of Applied Science" (BAS) degree means a four year applied baccalaureate degree with an emphasis in advanced technical training and professional management skills.

(n) "Board of Cooperative Educational Services" (BOCES) means an entity as described in W.S. 21-20-101 through 111.

(o) "Capital Construction" means:

(i) Capital Improvements and Capital Assets

(A) Acquisition of land, or a legal interest in land, in conjunction with the construction of a structure.

(B) Acquisition of existing structures, or legal interests in structures, in conjunction with an approved construction project.

(ii) Pre-Construction

(A) Activities related to designing a structure, including planning; architectural design; authorizing, issuing, carrying or repaying interim or permanent financing; research; land use and environmental impact studies; energy analyses; life-cycle cost studies; acquisition of permits or licenses; printing and publishing legal notices; and other required services.

(B) Activities related to grounds development.

(iii) Construction

(A) Acquisition and assembly of required building materials.

(B) Acquisition and installation of machinery or equipment (mechanical systems), including utilities, cabling, wiring, racks and furnishings or materials that will become an integral part of a structure, and any instructional or scientific equipment.

(C) Purchase of services of contractors, architects, engineers, construction managers, and other consultants to manage and/or supervise the execution of a construction project.

(D) Procurement and placement of authorized Fixtures, Furniture and Equipment.

(E) Procurement and placement of authorized technology, computer, audio-visual and communication equipment and services.

(iv) Post-Construction

(A) Commissioning, grand opening, and issuance of certificate of occupancy.

(p) "Capital Renewal" means component or infrastructure projects that are necessary for maintenance and continued functionality of academic buildings that cannot be funded solely with major maintenance funds.

(q) "Census date" means the official date for reporting enrollment data and shall be the date immediately following the twelve percent (12%) completion date of the instructional period.

(r) "CIP code" means the National Center for Education Statistics' Classification of Instructional Programs.

(s) "Class" means a specific college course section which is identified by the time, place, faculty member, and/or modality of the college course offered for student enrollment.

(t) "Concurrent enrollment course" means a college course taught by high school faculty who have been approved as community college adjunct faculty and who are teaching said course as part of their duties as a school district employee. As such, these college courses simultaneously satisfy high school graduation requirements. These courses have been approved by the community college as having equivalent course content, learning objectives and work assignments as an existing college course. Course content and learning objectives are equivalent to the related community college course as determined and defined by community college faculty.

(u) "Cost of attendance" means an estimate of the student's educational expenses for the period of enrollment and includes tuition and fees, room and board, books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and if applicable, dependant care and costs related to disability.

(w) "Credit completion" means a credit hour, weighted by the applicable level of instruction, and earned with a grade of C or better, or more specifically, a grade of A, B, C, S or P. Credit hours with grades of D, F, U and W, as well as credit hours designated as incomplete are not considered completed credit hours. This definition of credit completion is consistent with the National Community College Benchmark Project's definition of enrollee success.

(y) "Credit certificate" means recognition by the community college district that a student has completed a coherent list of academic or career technical education credit courses, which is less than the requirement for an associate degree.

(z) "Credit courses" means those courses that recognize the attendance and/or performance in an instructional activity (course or program) that can be applied by a student to requirements for a degree, diploma, or certificate.

(aa) "Credit hour" (consistent with current federal regulations) means an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally-established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:

(i) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or

(ii) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in (i) above for other activities as established by an institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

(bb) "Current annual weighted credit hours" means one-half of the current biennial weighted credit hours.

(cc) "Current biennial weighted credit hours" means the sum of the weighted credit hours for the two most recent academic years completed before preparation of the biennium budget request.

(dd) "Current period system-wide credit-hour revenue" means the quotient of dividing the variable costs portion of the system-wide annual base funding amount by the current annual system-wide weighted credit hours.

(ee) "Degree" means recognition by the community college district that a student has completed a defined academic or career technical education program of study.

(ff) "Discontinued program" means an instructional program that a community college has officially closed to new students and is unable to offer again until the Commission reapproves it.

(gg) "Distance learning" means the student and faculty member are separated by time or space.

(hh) "Dual enrollment credit" means credit given to qualified high school students who complete college level courses for which the community college hires and pays the instructor and in which the school district agrees to allow high school graduation credit.

(jj) "Duplicated headcount" means that within a survey or polling exercise of numerous programs or courses, a student may be counted more than once. See also "Unduplicated headcount."

(kk) "FAFSA" means Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

(mm) "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act" (FERPA), (20 U.S.C. 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99 and any future amendments) means the federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

(nn) "Federal financial assistance" means aid provided to students by the federal government in the form of grants, loans, or work-study programs.

(oo) "Fees" means the amount charged by an individual college to cover costs including, but not limited to, specific courses and/or programs and general services. The fee assessments must be approved by the respective college prior to being published and charged.

(pp) "Financial aid officer" means the employee of the University of Wyoming or of the community colleges designated as such.

(qq) "Financial institution" means any banking corporation or institution engaged primarily in lending or investing funds and authorized to do business in the state.

(rr) "High School Equivalency" means attainment of the knowledge and skills or level of academic proficiency comparable to that which would be attained in a high school program of study and yields significantly the same outcome or capability.

(ss) "Hybrid course" means a course which integrates distance learning and face-to-face modes to provide student access to instruction and learning.

(tt) "Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System" (IPEDS) means the web-based data collection system used for annual institution-level data collections, as required by the U.S. Department of Education.

(uu) "Level four class" means the same as the definition of "distance education class" found in W.S. 21-18-102(xvii). Level one, two and three classes are reassigned to level four by recognition of specific instructional modalities identified by schedule types in the administrative computing system.

(ww) "Long-term program" means programs that are anticipated to be continually offered. These long-term programs have gone through rigorous multi-level approval processes.

(yy) "Management Information System" (MIS) means an organized method of providing information related to past, present, and projected operations. MIS supports the planning and operational functions of an organization by furnishing uniform, timely information to assist in the decision-making process.

(zz) "National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) standards" means the generally accepted accounting standards promulgated by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and adopted by the community colleges.

(aaa) "Non-credit course" means all courses that are not defined as a credit course.

(bbb) "Official Custodian" of public records for the Commission means the executive director.

(ccc) "One-year certificate" means a credit certificate that requires 24 or more semester credit hours to complete.

(ddd) "Optional Mills" means a board-approved levy of up to one (1) additional mill for the regular support and operation of the college permitted by W.S. 21-18-303(b), a voter-approved levy of up to five (5) mills for specific purpose expenditures permitted by W.S. 21-18-311(f), or a board-approved levy of up to one-half (1/2) mill to maintain programs offered by a participating Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) permitted by W.S. 21-20-109(a).

(eee) "Persistence" means a student has enrolled for a subsequent term in any institution that leads to graduation.

(fff) "Pilot programs" means programs that have an abbreviated implementation process to meet the immediate educational needs of the community, business sector, or academic mission of the college.

(ggg) "Program" means an ordered sequence of instructional coursework that upon completion leads to a community college district conferring an associate degree, conferring a credit certificate, or granting any non-credit title.

(hhh) "Program completion" means a degree, one-year certificate, transfer preparation certificate, short-term certificate, or special need certificate awarded to a student during an academic year. Certificates eligible to be counted as program completions shall be established by the Academic Affairs Council, and subordinate awards made by an institution to the same student in the same academic year shall not be counted as program completions. Degree completions shall have a weighting factor of 2.0. Eligible certificate completions of 24 credit hours or more shall have a weighting factor of 1.75. Eligible certificate completions of less than 24 hours shall have a weighting factor of 1.5.

(jjj) "Retention" means a student has enrolled for a subsequent term at the same institution as the previous term.

(kkk) "Short-term certificate" means a credit certificate that requires less than 24 semester credit hours to complete.

(mmm) "Special need certificate" means a credit certificate that prepares students needing either a unique skill set or the ability to serve a unique community need.

(nnn) "Total and permanent disability" means the inability to work and earn money because of an injury or illness that is expected to continue indefinitely or result in death.

(ooo) "Transfer preparation certificate" means a credit certificate comprised of 24 or more semester credit hours sanctioned to transfer as a block of courses to a specific higher education institution by an articulation agreement with a Wyoming community college.

(ppp) "Tuition" means the rate established by the Commission to be charged by a college for enrollment in credit courses.

(qqq) "Tuition cap" means a policy to limit the number of credits for which tuition is assessed within a given semester.

(rrr) "Unduplicated headcount" means that within a survey or polling exercise of numerous programs and/or courses, a student shall be counted only once. See "Duplicated headcount."

(sss) "Unmet need" means the student's total cost of attendance minus the expected family contribution (as determined by the FAFSA process) and all aid available to the student including grants, work study programs, scholarships, or any other public or private financial aid provided to the student.

(ttt) "Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education" (WICHE) is a regional, nonprofit organization. Membership includes 15 western states that work to improve access to higher education and ensure student success.

(uuu) "Western Undergraduate Exchange" (WUE) is a regional tuition-reciprocity agreement that enables students from WICHE states to enroll in participating two- and four-year public institutions at 150 percent of the enrolling institution's resident tuition rate.

Notes

057-1 Wyo. Code R. §§ 1-2

Amended, Eff. 12/14/2015. Amended, Eff. 11/29/2016. Amended, Eff. 11/21/2017. Amended, Eff. 8/7/2020. Amended, Eff. 4/25/2023. Amended, Eff. 12/6/2023.