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The University of New Mexico
  • Academic Year vs Fiscal Year vs Calendar Year
    • Academic year: Begins with the Summer term of one year and ends with the Spring term of the following year (e.g., Summer 2018-Spring 2019 is Academic Year 2018-19)
    • Fiscal year: A fiscal year runs July 1 of one year to June 30 of the following year (e.g., July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019 is Fiscal Year 2019)
    • Calendar year: The commonly known year that runs January 1-December 31

    Pertains to what population of students: All
  • Adjunct Faculty
    Identifies a scholar whose primary place of employment is not UNM or whose primary employment within the University is not in a faculty capacity. An Adjunct Professor is an expert in a special field appointed to give instruction on a part-time or discontinuous basis.
    Pertains to what population: Instructional Staff.
  • Award Category
    Award category refers to the type of award a student receives following completion of their academic program. The programs offered at UNM include:
    • Post-secondary certificate: a vocational award completed after earning a high school diploma or equivalent. Some post-secondary certificate are completed in less than one year; others are completed in more than one year but less than two years.
    • Associate's degree: generally earned after two years at the undergraduate level.
    • Bachelor's degree: generally completed in four years at the undergraduate level and include roughly 120 credit hours of coursework. To enroll in a bachelor's degree program, students need at least a high school diploma or equivalent.
    • Master's degree: generally completed after receipt of a bachelor's degree. While master's programs typically last two years, students can complete accelerated degrees in as few as 12 months.
    • Post-master's degree: allows professionals who currently hold a master's degree to efficiently advance their skills, knowledge, and industry expertise. Unlike degree programs, which are broad in focus, certificate programs concentrate on developing skills and competencies relevant to a particular career specialty. These are usually earned in one year or less.
    • Doctoral degree: the highest earned academic degree in U.S postsecondary education. Doctoral degrees typically take four or more years to complete, and the number of credits required for completion may vary depending on the program.
    • First-professional degree: a graduate-level degree completed after a baccalaurate degree (or its equivalent) in a profession such as Law, Medicine, or Pharmacy that leads to a terminal credential in these fields and the corresponding licensure to practice in that field.


    Degree counts by award category, campus, year and demographics can be found in the Degrees Awarded dashboard.
    Pertains to what population of students: Degree-seeking students.
  • Campus
    For the purposes of IPEDS reporting, there are five campuses in the UNM system: Albuquerque, Taos, Valencia, Gallup and Los Alamos. However, NMHED considers the Doctor of Medicine program in the HSC to be a separate campus.
    Enrollment by campus can be found in the Official Enrollment Report here.
    Pertains to what population of students: All
  • Demographics
    Information about a person, such as ethnicity, gender, address, nationality, etc.
    Pertains to what population of students: All
  • Directory Information
    The University, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, has designated categories of information about students as “directory information,” which is public unless a student asks to have all of it withheld. These categories are:
    • Name
    • Major field of study
    • Enrollment status (full-time, 3/4-time, half-time, less-than-half-time)
    • Dates of attendance (matriculation and withdrawal dates)
    • Degrees and awards received (type of degree and date granted)
    • Participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and weight and height of members of athletic teams

    A student wishing to keep confidential the “directory information” listed above must file a written request with the Office of the Registrar. This request may be submitted in person, by mail, or by fax. Once a confidential privacy flag has been placed on a student’s record the directory/public information will not be released to individuals, companies, or third-party entities outside the University of New Mexico. The confidential privacy flag will not automatically be removed upon graduation from the University of New Mexico. If you have requested a confidential privacy flag, your name will not appear in the University of New Mexico Commencement Program.
    The removal of the confidential privacy flag may be requested in person and in writing by fax or mail. The address is:

    Records & Registration,
    MSC11 6325
    1 University of New Mexico
    Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
    Fax: (505) 277-6809

    The following information is needed to process the request by fax or mail: Student name, social security number, and signature.
    Pertains to what population of students: All
  • Employee Class
    Employee class refers to a group of similarly situated employees at the university whose positions have been designated, either by the monthly basis of employment, tenure status, exemption status, or professional title. The employee class groups at the University of New Mexico are as follows:
    • 9 Month Faculty (F9)
    • 12 Month Faculty (FY)
    • Executive Faculty (FE)
    • Post Doctoral and Fellows (FP)
    • Temporary Faculty (FT)
    • Graduate Student Bi-Weekly (GB)
    • Graduate Student Monthly (GM)
    • Medical Other - Locum Tenen (MO)
    • Working Retiree (NB)
    • Resident Physicians (RP)
    • Contract Staff (SC)
    • Exempt Temporary Staff (SD)
    • Exempt Staff (SE)
    • Non-Exempt Staff (SN)
    • On Call Staff (SO)
    • Police Bargaining Unit (SP)
    • Temporary Staff Bi-Weekly (ST)
    • USUNM Bargaining Unit (SU)
    • CWA Bargaining Unit (SW)
    • Teaching Non-Credit (TN)
    • University Students Bi-weekly (UB)
    • University Students Monthly (UM)

    Pertains to what population: Faculty, staff and student employees
  • Enrolled vs. Registered
    Active students are both enrolled AND registered in any given semester. Enrolled refers to a student's admissions status: A student has accepted the admissions offer and declared the intent to matriculate at UNM. Registered refers to a student's active course load: A student has registered for at least one course in that semester. Both are needed to determine students who are active. Looking only at students who are enrolled will represent an overcount of students, as some may be enrolled in a program but observing a leave of absence or otherwise taking time off from courses.
    Pertains to what population of students: All
  • Ethnicity
    A student's self-reported ethnicity based on U.S. Federal categories established in 2010; These categories include: Hispanic, American Indian, Asian, African-American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, White, Two or More Races, Ethnicity Unknown, and Non-Resident Alien. See the NCES guidelines for ethnicity reporting here.
    Students who are categorized as Hispanic may have reported themselves to be Hispanic and some other race, but Hispanic ethnicity trumps all others. The Two or More Races category encompasses students who report two or more ethnicities other than Hispanic.
    At UNM, we typically use "International" rather than "Non-Resident Alien," as the word 'alien' can be problematic (see some resources here and here).
    The Non-Resident Alien/International category includes all students who are not US Citizens or Permanent Residents (i.e., green card holders).
    Enrollment by student ethnicity can be found by semester and campus location in the Official Enrollment Report here.
    Pertains to what population of students: All
  • Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
    Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is an index number used to determine eligibility for federal student financial aid. This number results from the financial information provided in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. EFC is calculated according to a formula established by law and considers a family’s taxed and untaxed income, assets, and benefits (such as unemployment or Social Security). EFC is used to determine federal aid eligibility and financial aid award. The EFC formula guide shows exactly how an EFC is calculated.
    Pertains to what population of students: All
  • Faculty
    Categories:
    • Executive Faculty
    • Adjunct Faculty
    • Visiting Faculty
    • Tenured
    • Tenure-track

    Official Faculty Counts by year, campus, gender, ethnicity, etc. can be found here.
    Pertains to what population: Instructional Faculty.
  • Federal Pell Grant
    Federal Pell Grants, in short, are “federal grants for undergraduate students with financial need.” They do not need to be repaid (except in rare circumstances) and are typically awarded only to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor's, graduate, or professional degree. (In some cases, however, a student enrolled in a postbaccalaureate teacher certification program might receive a Federal Pell Grant.) Students with exceptional financial need are defined as students with the lowest expected family contributions (EFC) at the college or university. A student who meets certain requirements might be eligible for a larger Pell Grant if his or her parent died as result of military service in Iraq or Afghanistan or in the line of duty as a public safety officer. Importantly, Pell Grant lifetime eligibility is limited to 12 semesters or the equivalent of 6 years of study. Additionally, Pell eligibility and the amount awarded can differ from year to year. More information about Pell Grants can be found here.
    Pertains to what population of students: Undergraduate students.
  • FERPA
    FERPA (the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act) governs how educational institutions protect the privacy of information pertaining to students. The statute can be found here.
    The UNM Office of the Registrar holds responsibility and authority for upholding FERPA guidelines at UNM, and their guidance can be found here.
    For the purposes of reporting, OIA adheres to the following guidance:
    In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA; 34 CFR Part 99), educational institutions have an obligation to keep students’ educational records and identities secure and private. Publicly releasing data about student enrollment, grades, and other data points can involve a risk to students’ right to privacy. The aggregation of student-level data into department-level (or higher) reports removes much of the risk of disclosure since no direct identifiers (such as a name, Social Security Number, or student ID) are present in the aggregated tables. Some risk of disclosure does remain, however, in circumstances where one or more students possess a unique or uncommon characteristic (or a combination of characteristics) that would allow them to be identified in the data table (this commonly occurs with small subgroup populations), or where some easily observable characteristic corresponds to an unrelated category in the data table.
    To prevent any inadvertent disclosure of students’ identities, we will not release data in which a particular group consists of fewer than five (5) students.
    In order to mitigate disclosure concerns, we suggest the use of percentages rather than raw numbers or aggregating multiple small groups to create a group larger than 5 to minimize the risk of identifiability.
    For more guidance, please see this FAQ.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • First-Generation Status
    Although the definition of first-generation status can be complicated, the standard definition according to the Center for First Generation Student Success is a student with neither parent having a baccalaureate degree.
    The OIA reports first-generation status based on self-reported information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) regarding the highest level of education completed by both parents (or only one, for single-parent families). If both parents are reported as having middle school, high school, or other/unknown education level, the student is considered a first-generation student. If at least one parent is reported as having some college education or beyond, the student is not a first-generation student.
    Pertains to what population of students: Undergraduate students.
  • First-time, Full-time (FTFT) Freshmen
    Students who are attending college for the first time, regardless of dual credit courses in high school, who are full-time, degree-seeking students (enrolled for 12 or more credit hours in the first semester).
    Pertains to what population of students: Undergraduate students.
  • Freshman Cohort
    Students who enroll in a given fall semester as degree-seeking, undergraduate-level students for the first time. For the purposes of determining a fall freshman cohort, these students begin a degree program in the fall or summer semester of the given year. Students who enroll as first-time freshmen in the spring do not count in the freshman cohort, but will be counted in the full-year cohort for the IPEDS Outcome Measures survey.
    Information about freshman cohorts from the last ten years can be found on OIA's Freshman Cohort Tracking dashboard.
    Pertains to what population of students: Undergraduate Students.
  • Freshman Cohort vs. Freshman Classification
    While most members of the first-time freshman cohort are also classified as freshmen (with fewer than 27 credit hours), not all freshmen are necessarily members of the first-time cohort. It is possible that a first-time freshman can enter UNM with 27 or more student credit hours, which would designate them as a sophomore or even a junior for the purposes of student classification.
    Students could be classified as a freshman without being a member of the first-time freshman cohort if:
    1. They enter in the Spring semester
    2. They transfer to UNM from another institution with fewer than 27 credits
    3. They enter UNM as a non-degree student

    Pertains to what population of students: Undergraduate students.
  • Frozen/Census Files vs. Live/My Reports/ODS Data
    In order to comply with federal and state data collection requirements (as well as best practices in data curation), UNM Information Technology freezes a selection of Banner tables on the official census date each semester. In the fall and spring semester, this census date falls on the third Friday of the semester (21 days after the beginning of the term). In the summer semester, the census date is on the final Friday of the summer term. The data from these frozen tables are the basis for all official and mandatory reporting.
    Data pulled from MyReports/ODS reflects live rather than frozen data. These live data are updated every night during a regular overnight process, and will show data as of 5:00 PM the day before. It is often not possible to match data pulled from MyReports/ODS to public-facing and/or official reports generated by OIA since the latter are generated from frozen data. MyReports is best for more timely data used for tracking changes or making comparisons over a period of time (days, weeks, months, semesters, or academic years).
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • FTE
    For IPEDS purposes, FTE = Head count of Full time students + 1/3 * Head count of part time students.
    For purposes of the Official Enrollment Report and NMHED Reporting in Fall and Spring semesters, FTE is calculated for undergraduate students by summing Student Credit Hours (SCH) and dividing by 15. For graduate students, FTE is the sum of Student Credit Hours (SCH) divided by 12. In Summer semesters, FTE is the sum of Student Credit Hours (SCH) divided by 6 for both undergraduate and graduate students. The exception is medical school students, where FTE is the actual unduplicated enrollment.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • FTE vs. Time Status
    Distinction between time status (full or part-time) and FTE
    Based on differences in definitions, not all full-time students necessarily equal 1 FTE.
    By federal reporting definitions, full-time status is 12 hours for undergraduates and 9 hours for graduates.
    However, when calculating FTE for internal or state reporting, full-time status requires 15 hours for undergraduates and 12 hours for graduates.
    This results in slightly lower reported FTE values for state and internal reporting when compared to IPEDS-reported FTE.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Gender
    Currently, gender is reported on a binary M or F system, due to the NMHED requirement for only those two gender categories. Each student record in the raw files submitted to NMHED throughout the year must have a gender code of either M or F. Student records with missing gender codes or gender = N are not accepted in their electronic file submission system (eDEAR).
    Enrollment by the binary student gender indicator (Male vs. Female) can be found by semester and campus in the Official Enrollment Report here.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • GPA Calculation
    To calculate a student's GPA, you will need to divide the quality points by the number of credit hours. Quality Points are a function of both the grade (expressed in numeric form) and the number of credit hours.
    Grade Scale:
    • A+: 4.33
    • A: 4.00
    • A-: 3.67
    • B+: 3.33
    • B: 3.00
    • B-: 2.67
    • C+: 2.33
    • C: 2.00
    • C-: 1.67
    • D+: 1.33
    • D: 1.00
    • D-: 0.67
    • F: 0

    For example, an A+ is equivalent to 4.33 points, meaning that a student who receives an A+ in a 3 credit-hour course earns 12.99 quality points (3 x 4.33) for that course. If calculating a student's overall level GPA, you will need the total quality points for all courses taken at that level at UNM as well as the total number of credit hours taken at UNM at that course level.
    To calculate a term-specific GPA, you will need to total the number of quality points earned in that semester divided by the total credit hours attempted in that semester.
    If you are calculating the average GPA for a group of students, do not simply average their individual GPAs. You will need to total all quality points earned by those students and then divide that by the sum of all credit hours attempted by those students. This allows the calculation of a true average, which ensures that no individual GPA is over- or under-weighted in the overall calculation.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Graduation Rate
    The percentage of first-time, full-time freshmen from a particular fall cohort who graduate prior to a specific subsequent term. Generally, the graduation rate for a given freshman cohort refers to the percentage of full-time students in the cohort who graduate within 6 years, or prior to the start of the cohort's 7th fall semester. For example, the graduation rate for the 2010 freshman cohort is the percentage of students who graduated prior to the start of Fall 2017.For IPEDS reporting, this rate is often referred to as the “150% graduation rate,” as it reflects graduation within 150% of the expected time to finish a bachelor's degree.
    Note: PharmD students are also counted as Bachelor's completers once they are enrolled in the "PH" college, regardless of whether they have received an undergraduate degree in Pharmacy. This is an IPEDS reporting requirement. It is now an option to receive the Bachelor's degree, but it is not required for a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.
    Graduation rates are computed based on 4, 5, 6, or 8 year time periods, and generally include only students who began as first-time, full-time freshmen. The Outcome Measures survey calculates a graduation rate for other groups of undergraduate students, including first-time part-time students, transfer-in students, and students who transfer out.
    While there is currently no established official methodology for calculating graduation rates for master's and doctoral students, it is possible to determine a graduation rate with a few parameters in place; namely, the initial term of matriculation and the term by which these students may have graduated.
    Please find graduation rates for first-year cohorts here.
    Pertains to what population of students: Undergraduates; First-time, full-time freshmen.
  • Head Count
    Actual number of enrolled students; typically reported as unduplicated totals (i.e., when reporting on full academic year headcounts, students are only counted once rather than by semester).
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Instructional Staff/Rank
    Categories:
    • Professor - Faculty member
    • Associate Professor (one step up from an assistant professor) - Faculty member
    • Assistant Professor (Entry Level Faculty member)
    • Instructor (normally holds a minimum of a Master’s degree or equivalent)
    • Lecturer (Only teaching)
    • No Academic Rank

    Pertains to what population: Instructional Staff.
  • IPEDS
    Acronym for Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; A set of surveys from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) designed to collect and share information on institutions of higher education pertaining to enrollments, degrees, demographics, human resources, financial aid, admissions, academic libraries, and finance.
    These surveys are administered at the federal level and are required of all institutions of higher education that participate in, or are applicants for participation in, any federal financial assistance program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
    The data for these surveys are collected on an annual basis using a pre-determined data collection cycle that runs August-October, December-February, and December-April. Previously reported data (including executive summary reports, raw data, and overviews) can be found in the IPEDS Data Center.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Major vs Program vs Concentration
    Areas of study being offered by the various colleges in the university are generally known as majors or programs. However, a program incorporates the level of study and the degree of the student while a major is simply the area of study. The program is thus the specific degree being conferred on the student at graduation, which includes the degree, major, and college.
    A concentration is a specialization within certain majors. Not all colleges have majors with concentrations.
    For example, the College of Arts and Sciences (college) may offer a Chemistry (CHEM) major. More specifically, the college offers a Chemistry major with BA Chemistry, BS Chemistry, MS Chemistry and PhD Chemistry programs which correspond to Bachelors, Master's, and PhD degrees in the field.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • NMHED
    Acronym for the New Mexico Higher Education Department; The state-level governing body that oversees institutions of higher education and collects data pertaining to students for purposes of compliance, record-keeping, and analysis. OIA submits raw data files to the NMHED multiple times per year with record-level information on enrollments, courses, student courses, degrees, and financial aid. The files submitted to NMHED are the basis for many other reports generated throughout the year. You can learn more about the data collection schedule for NMHED here.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Non-degree vs Undecided Students
    Non-degree students are enrolled but not seeking a degree, and will be listed under Non-Degree for both major and college. Degree-seeking students who have not yet decided on a major will have a major of Undecided (UNDC) and a college value of UC for undergraduates or GP for graduate students.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Public Service Staff
    An occupational category used to classify persons whose specific assignments customarily are made for the purpose of carrying out public service activities such as agricultural extension services, clinical services, or continuing education. Regardless of title, academic rank, or tenure status, these employees formally spend the majority of their time carrying out public service activities.
    Pertains to what population: Non-Instructional Staff.
  • Research Staff
    Employees hired in a faculty role who are working mainly on research.
    Pertains to what population: Non-Instructional Staff.
  • Retention Rate
    Percentage of first-time, degree-seeking freshmen (or freshmen cohort) who remain enrolled in a subsequent semester. For example, the 1-year retention rate for the 2015 freshmen cohort reflects the percentage of students in the cohort who remain enrolled at the start of the fall 2016 semester. This includes students who are away as national/international exchange students or on cooperative work assignments. The “retention rate” for a given freshmen cohort generally refers to the 1-year rate, or 3rd-semester retention.
    While there is currently no established official methodology for calculating retention rates for master's and doctoral students, it is possible to determine a retention rate with a few parameters in place; namely, the initial term of matriculation and the time frame in which you are measuring continued enrollment.
    Please find retention rates for first-year cohorts here.
    Pertains to what population of students: First-time freshmen.
  • Staff
    Types of staff:
    • Full time: An appointment of at least .75 FTE (equivalent to 30 or more hours per week)
    • Part time: An appointment of less than .75 FTE (equivalent to less than 30 hours per week)
    • Regular
    • Temporary

    Official Staff Counts by year, campus location, gender, ethnicity, etc. can be found here.
    Pertains to what population: Staff.
  • Student Classification
    Provides information on both level of study and class level.
    • CC: Concurrent Enrollment
    • G1: Graduate, First Masters
    • G2: Graduate, Second Masters
    • G3: Graduate, Doctoral
    • G4: Graduate, Certificate Program
    • G6: Graduate, Doctoral Candidate
    • G8: Graduate, MFA
    • G9: Graduate, MFA Candidates
    • L1-L3: Law, Years 1-3
    • MA: Medical School, Phase 1, Year 1
    • MB: Medical School, Phase 1, Year 2
    • M2: Medical School, Phase 2, Year 3
    • M3: Medical School, Phase 3, Year 4
    • N2-N4: Nursing, Levels II-IV
    • NG: Non-degree graduate student
    • NU: Non-degree undergraduate student
    • P1-P4: Pharmacy, Years 1-4
    • UA: Freshman, First Year First Semester
    • UB: Freshman, First Year Second Semester
    • U2: Sophomore
    • U3: Junior
    • U4: Senior

    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Student College vs. Course College

    Student college is the college a student is registered at, whereas course college is the college that provides a certain course. In a given semester, a student can only have one student college, but can take courses that belong to different course colleges.
    Student college can be found in Academic Study, and course college can be found in Student Course.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Student Credit Hours (SCH)

    SCH is the summation of all credit hours taken by students in a given course, subject, semester, campus, or level.
    Student Credit Hours by semester and campus location are available in the Official Enrollment Report here.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Student Level
    Students are categorized based on the level of study as follows:
    • NU: Non-degree Undergraduate; Includes non-degree students who have not yet earned a baccalaureate degree, concurrent enrollment students, and dual credit students.
    • AD: Associate's; Includes all degree-seeking students at branch campuses pursuing an Associate's degree (AA/AS/AAS) or a certificate at a branch campus (less than one year, one-year, or one to two-year certificates) . Typically takes courses with course numbers ranging from 100-299.
    • UG: Undergraduate; Includes all degree-seeking students at the baccalaureate level and undergraduate certificates (one-year, one to two year and two-year certificates). Typically takes courses with course numbers ranging from 100-499. Only Main Campus has UG-level programs, although UG-level students may take courses at branch campuses.
    • NG: Non-degree Graduate; Includes all non-degree seeking students who already hold a baccalaureate degree, regardless of the level of courses being taken.
    • GR: Graduate; Includes degree-seeking students in all Master's and Doctoral degree programs (aside from Doctor of Medicine, Juris Doctor, and Doctor of Pharmacy).
    • DM: Doctor of Medicine; Only applies to students in the School of Medicine pursuing a Doctor of Medicine degree.
    • LW: Law; Includes degree-seeking students in the School of Law pursuing a Juris Doctor degree. Students in the School of Law who are pursuing the MSL Studies in Law degree are considered Graduate students and not Law students.
    • PH: Pharmacy; Includes degree-seeking students in the College of Pharmacy who are pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree and who have completed undergraduate-level study.

    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Student Status
    Students are classified as either Active (AS) or Inactive (IS) based on enrollment and registration in consecutive semesters. If a student does not register for courses for three consecutive semesters, they will be listed as Inactive in the fourth semester after their last registered semester.
    To illustrate: Louie Lobo registered for and took a course in Spring 2019. He then did not register for courses in Summer 2019, Fall 2019, or Spring 2020. His student status in these three terms was listed as Active. In Summer 2020, his status would have changed to Inactive.
    When calculating headcounts for a program in a specific term, only those students with Active status can be counted. Further, students must be both enrolled and registered to be included in any headcount totals. Student status can be found in Academic Study.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Time to Degree
    Time to degree is determined by calculating the number of years a student takes to complete a degree from the initial semester of matriculation in that degree program. Time to degree differs from graduation rates in that time to degree reflects the number of years taken to complete a degree program, and graduation rates reflect the percentage of students in a given cohort or group who complete their degree programs within a given time frame (typically 4, 5, or 6 years in the case of undergraduate students).
    Time to degree for first-time, full-time freshmen by college and program can be accessed here.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Transfer Student
    A transfer student is an undergraduate student who moves from one institution to another at the same level. Students can transfer from another institution within New Mexico or another state to UNM.
    Students need to have earned at least 24 semester credit hours at another college or university after completing high school to transfer to UNM. Students who enroll at UNM after completing an Associate's degree (AA or AS) from a regionally-accredited community college are also considered transfer students.
    Statistics of UNM's transfer students can be found in the Transfer Students dashboard.
    Pertains to what population of students: Undergraduate students.
  • Transfer Type
    UNM student transfer type is recorded as Native, Branch, or Transfer (N, B, or T). ‘N’ would indicate that the student began as a first-time freshman at the UNM Albuquerque campus in that semester. In other words, they are recorded as a student that is “Native” to UNM Albuquerque campus. Alternatively, a ‘B’ would indicate that a student transferred to the Albuquerque Campus from another UNM branch – either Los Alamos, Valencia, Taos, or Gallup. These students are recorded then as “Branch” transfers. Finally, a ‘T’ would indicate that a student transferred from another institution that is not a UNM branch campus (e.g., CNM, NMSU, University of Texas). These students are recorded more broadly as “Transfers.”
    Pertains to what population of students: Undergraduate students.
  • Types of Financial Aid
    There are four types of financial aid: loan, scholarship, grant, and work study.
    • Loans are taken by the student and/or the parents/guardians of said students for the purpose of defraying the costs of tuition, fees, course materials, and cost-of-living expenses. Loans can be taken from the U.S. Department of Education (typically referred to as 'federal loans') and can be subsidized or unsubsidized loans. A subsidized loan is a loan generally given to students who can demonstrate financial need, and its interest is subsidized by the federal government for the duration of the program plus a 6-month grace period after graduation. An unsubsidized loan is granted to a student who is unable to demonstrate financial need, and the student is responsible for repaying the principal plus the interest accrued both during and after the program. Students are also able to take out private loans from banks or other sources that are subject to the rules and regulations of those entities.
    • Scholarships are given to students for need, merit, or some combination of the two. These monies are disbursed to students and do not need to be paid back. Scholarships can originate from the institution, state, or private groups.
    • Grants are typically given to students who demonstrate some type of financial need, and can originate from the institution, the state, the federal government, or even private groups. Like scholarships, they do not need to be paid back. The most well-known type of grant is the federal Pell Grant, which provides funding to undergraduate students who demonstrate very high levels of financial need through their Estimated Family Contribution, which is calculated on the student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) based on family size and family income. More information about the Pell Grant can be found in the "Federal Pell Grant" entry.
    • Work Study is awarded to students who may have financial need and provides income to students who work a part-time, on-campus job. Work study can be funded by the institution, state, or federal resources, and the money earned does not need to be paid back. Work study is typically awarded only to undergraduate students.

    Financial aid statistics by aid year, campus, type of award, fund source and more can be found in the Student Financial Aid dashboard.
    Pertains to what population of students: All.
  • Under-Represented Minority (URM)
    Under-represented minority (URM) groups are racial and ethnic groups considered underrepresented in higher education (or specific fields of higher education) relative to their proportion in the general U.S. population.
    There is no uniform definition of URM. For example, the NIH defines URM as Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders; the NSF defines URM as Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians or Alaska Natives.
    Pertains to what population: All.
  • Upper vs. Lower Undergraduate Courses

    Lower-division courses introduce undergraduates to an academic discipline, whereas upper-division classes provide advanced-level study, particularly for majors. Lower-division courses have course numbers starting with 1 or 2 (100-299 or 1000-2999 range), and upper-division courses have course numbers starting with 3 or 4 (300-499 range).