Definitions

Cohort. The results generated on these pages are based on groups of students called a cohort. A cohort is defined as all students who matriculated in a summer or fall quarter of a certain year.

Ethnic Origin or Federal Ethnicity. This is the self-reported ethnicity as selected on the CSU application. The grouping of students into the nine ethnic groups used by Cal Poly's Institutional Research is based on the federal standards defined by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System as part of the National Center for Education Statistics.

First-Time First-Year (FTFY). Students who enrolled for the first time in their college career with 12 units or more.

Graduate Students. Students who are pursuing a master's degree.

New Transfer (NTR) Students. Students who started college elsewhere and have subsequently transferred to Cal Poly.

Post-Baccalaureate Students. Students who have a bachelor's degree but are not seeking a master's degree.

Underrepresented Minorities (URM). Cal Poly defines an underrepresented minority student (URM) as a student whose race/ethnicity is Hispanic, African American, Native American, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or multi-racial with at least one of those four ethnicities. For more information, view our PolyData URM Trends page here.

WSCUC is the acronym for the WASC Senior College and University Commission, one of six regional organizations that the federal government has authorized to accredit institutions of higher learning. WSCUC serves both public and private higher education institutions in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific, as well as a limited number outside the U.S.