Chapter 2 | Higher Education in Science and Engineering

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Glossary


Definitions

Credit mobility: Temporary tertiary education within the framework of enrollment in a tertiary education program at a home institution (usually) for the purpose of gaining academic credit (i.e., credit that will be recognized in that home institution). It is mostly used for study, but it can also take other forms, such as traineeships.

Degree mobility: The physical crossing of a national border to enroll in a degree program at the tertiary level in the country of destination. The degree program would require the students’ presence for the majority of courses taught.

European Union (EU): The EU comprises 28 member nations: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Unless otherwise noted, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data on the EU include all 28 nations.

First university degree: A terminal undergraduate degree program; these degrees are classified as “level 6” or “level 7” in the 2011 International Standard Classification of Education, which was developed by UNESCO. Individual countries use different names for the first university degree (e.g., corso di Laurea in Italy, diplom in Germany, licence in France, and bachelor’s degree in the United States and in Asian countries).

Internationally mobile students: Students who have crossed a national or territorial border for purposes of education and are now enrolled outside their countries of origin. This term refers to degree mobility in data collected by UNESCO/UIS, OECD, and Eurostat and excludes students who travel for credit mobility.

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC): An online course made available over the Internet without charge to an unlimited number of people.

Natural sciences: Include agricultural; biological; computer; earth, atmospheric, and ocean; and physical sciences and mathematics.

Net tuition revenue: Total revenue from tuition and fees (including grant and loan aid students use to pay tuition); excludes institutional student aid that is applied to tuition and fees.

Science and engineering fields: Degree award data from the Department of Education cover degrees in the following science and engineering fields: astronomy, chemistry, physics, atmospheric sciences, earth sciences, ocean sciences, mathematics and statistics, computer sciences, agricultural sciences, biological sciences, psychology, social sciences, and engineering. At the doctoral level, the medical and health sciences are included under science and engineering because these data correspond to the doctor’s-research/scholarship degree level which are research-focused degrees.

Underrepresented minorities: Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians and Alaska Natives are considered to be underrepresented minorities in S&E.

Key to Acronyms and Abbreviations

ARRA: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

BPS: Beginning Postsecondary Students

C-BERT: Cross-Border Education Research Team

DOD: Department of Defense

EACEA: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency

EU: European Union

FTE: full-time equivalent

GAO: U.S. Government Accountability Office

GDP: gross domestic product

GSS: Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

HBCU: historically black college or university

HHE: high Hispanic enrollment

HSI: Hispanic-serving institution

IIE: Institute of International Education

IPEDS: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

ISCED: International Standard Classification of Education

ISCED-F: ISCED Fields of Education and Training

MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MOOC: massive open online course

MSI: minority-serving institution

NCES: National Center for Education Statistics

NCSES: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

NIH: National Institutes of Health

NPSAS: National Postsecondary Student Aid Study

NSB: National Science Board

NSCG: National Survey of College Graduates

NSF: National Science Foundation

OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OPT: optional practical training

PSM: Professional Science Master’s

R&D: research and development

RA: research assistantship

S&E: science and engineering

SEVIS: Student and Exchange Visitor Information System

STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

TA: teaching assistantship

TCU: tribal college or university

UIS: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

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