Glossary of Terms
Academic Support
Operating Expense category, which includes the Library, Nursery School, Academic Computing, and the Provost's Office.
Acceptance
An offer of admission to an applicant.
Alumnae/i
Individuals who have graduated from Wheaton or who have completed seven or more courses before withdrawing from Wheaton.
Annual Fund
Gifts to the Annual Fund to support the college's current operations.
Annual Operating Margin
The increase in net assets from operating activities, as a percentage of operating revenues.
Applicant
A candidate for admission who submits an application form and $55 application fee or fee waiver.
Auxiliary enterprise
An entity that exists to furnish goods or services to students, faculty or staff that charges a fee directly related to the cost of the goods and services. Auxiliary enterprises are managed as essentially self-supporting activities. Food service is an example of an auxiliary enterprise.
Burglary
Unlawful entry into a building to commit a felony or theft.
Capital gifts
Gifts that support endowment, building projects and major new initiatives.
Cohort
A group of people defined by common characteristics. For example, a student cohort is a group of students who entered the college on the same date.
Compound Annual Growth
The compound annual growth rate computes a rate of growth needed in every year of a period in order to produce the total change.
Comprehensive Fee
Tuition, room, board and mandatory student fees.
Consolidated Investments
Comprised of a majority of endowment funds, funds designated by the Board of Trustees to fund capital projects, and funds that hold the college˙≠s annuities.
Conversion
The percentage of students from the inquiry pool who submit an admission application.
CPI
Consumer Price Index. A measure of the relative price of a market basket of goods and services that consumers purchase.
Cost of Education/Attendance
Tuition, room and board, mandatory fees, books and supplies, transportation and personal expenses.
Debt Outstanding
Debt obligations including bonds and notes payable.
Debt Service Coverage
Measures actual margin of protection for annual debt service payments from annual operations.
Discount Rate
Institutional financial aid expressed as a percentage of gross student revenues.
Diversity
Students who identify themselves as Asian or Pacific Islander, African-American, Cape Verdean, Hispanic, American Indian or Multiracial.
Donor Supported Aid
Donor-Supported Aid is the percentage of total Wheaton grant aid that is provided by gifts and endowments restricted to student aid.
Endowment
Funds whose donors have stipulated that the principal must be invested in perpetuity and that only the income may be expended.
Enroll
Accepted candidates who submit an enrollment deposit.
Facilities Condition Index
The maintenance backlog expressed as a percent of plant replacement value.
Facilities Reinvestment Rate
The level of annual funding for facilities maintenance and renewal expressed as a percent of plant replacement value.
Federal Work Study
Campus employment program through which the federal government pays a portion of the student˙≠s wages.
FTE
Full-time equivalent. Faculty and Student FTE based on sum of full-time and 1/3 of part-time individuals. FTE for administrative staff is based on hours worked.
Gifts for current operations
Private Gifts and Grants available for current operations. This excludes strategic capital gifts.
Gift and Investment Reliance
The extent to which the college˙≠s operating expenses are covered by gifts and investments.
GPA
Grade Point Average. A numeric representation of letter grades received by a student during his or her academic career calculated as an average.
Graduation Rate
The percentage of a student cohort graduating four, five or six years from the date they entered Wheaton.
Gross Tuition and Fees
Tuition and fee revenue that is not adjusted or discounted for financial aid.
Headcount
Number of individual people, whether full-time or part-time.
HELIN
The Rhode Island Higher Education Library Information Network is a consortium of ten academic institutions and fifteen health sciences libraries in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
HEPI
Higher Education Price Index. A measure of the relative price of a market basket of the goods and services that colleges and universities purchase.
Inquiry
A prospective student who has shown an interest in Wheaton by responding to direct mail, sending a letter, telephoning the office, etc. This person has not yet sent an application.
Institutional Aid
College funded scholarships (grants), College work-study expenditures, loan funds, and the College's portion of federal and state aid programs.
Institutional Support
Operating Expense category, which includes the offices of the Vice President for Finance and Operations, the President, Human Resources, Information Technologies and Services, and College Advancement. It also includes insurance, dues, professional fees, and allowance for bad debts.
Instruction
Operating Expense category, which includes the direct costs of academic departments, primarily faculty salaries.
JYA
Junior Year Abroad.
Legacy
Student with an alumnae/i relative.
Life income funds
Funds obligating the institution to pay the beneficiary only the income earned by the assets of the fund or a stipulated percentage of its market value.
Maintenance Backlog
The cost of maintenance tasks that are due or past due but have not yet been performed.
Mass Gilbert Grant
Fund allotted to Wheaton by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
MEFA
Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority. Private authority established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to provide alternative loans to parents and students.
Net Assets
The residual value of assets less liabilities.
Net Assets Released from Restrictions
Temporarily restricted net assets that are reclassified as unrestricted, as a result of meeting donor-imposed stipulations accompanying restricted gifts.
Net Operating Surplus
The increase in unrestricted net assets from operations.
Non-Donor Supported Financial Aid
The portion of institutionally funded financial aid that is supported by unrestricted revenue, primarily consisting of tuition revenue.
Non-Operating Revenues
Revenues including all gifts, investment income, and realized and unrealized gains on investments, not utilized for operations.
Operation & Maintenance of Plant
Expenses for physical plant administration, building maintenance, custodial services, utilities, landscape and grounds maintenance.
Operating Revenues and Expenses
Revenues and expenses which relate directly to operating activities.
Pell Grant
A Federal grant awarded to students with high financial need.
Perkins Loan
A low interest loan offered to students with exceptional need. Wheaton determines the size; there are no payments due until nine months after graduation.
Permanently Restricted
Net assets, which are subject to donor stipulations requiring the funds to be invested in perpetuity to produce income for general or specific purposes. The primary example is the contributed value of donors' gifts to endowment.
Plant Reinvestment Rate
The percentage of the replacement value of the physical plant that is spent each year on facilities replacement and renewal.
PLUS
Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students.
PRESHCO
Programa de Estudios Hispanicos en la Universidad de Cordoba.
Rated Athletes
Prospective students evaluated by the Athletics Department. The highest rated students are actively recruited, and the corresponding selectivity and yield numbers for this group should be interpreted accordingly.
Resident
A student who resides in campus housing.
Restricted
Funds that may only be used in accordance with the purpose established by the source of the funds.
Retention
The percentage of a student cohort that is enrolled in a particular year and returns the following fall.
Robbery
The taking of anything of value under confrontational circumstances.
SALT
The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.
SAT
Scholastic Aptitude Test. A standardized test taken by most high school students. Submission of standardized test scores, including the SAT, became optional in the fall of 1992.
Scholarships and Fellowships
The college˙≠s expenses related to federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs, which include loans and work-study.
Serial
Inclusive term for all subscription titles including periodicals (journals and magazines), newspapers, annuals and irregular annuals.
Selectivity
Number of students accepted divided by number who applied.
SEOG
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant.
SMCL
Southeastern Massachusetts Cooperative Libraries, a consortium of seven libraries.
Student/Faculty Ratio
The number of FTE students per FTE faculty.
Student Revenue Reliance
The percentage of total unrestricted revenues derived from net tuition and auxiliary enterprises.
Student Services
Operating Expense category, which includes all of the Dean of Students˙≠ areas, the Filene Center, Advising, Student Aid, Admission, and the Registrar.
Temporarily Restricted
Net assets, which are limited in use by donor-imposed stipulations that will either expire with the passage of time or be fulfilled by actions of the College. Examples include expendable gifts restricted by donors to a particular purpose.
Tenure
A status granted to professors that gives protection from summary dismissal.
Unrestricted
Net assets which are not subject to donor-imposed stipulations. Examples include funds from Annual Giving to be used for current operations, quasi-endowment funds designated for specific purposes, and the carrying value of all physical properties.
Unrestricted Expendable Net Assets
The unrestricted portion of net assets that excludes physical properties and that may be expended.
Washington Semester
Qualified students majoring in political science or economics may spend one semester in their junior year at American University in Washington, DC.
Weighted Market Index
An index of market performance which is weighted to reflect Wheaton˙≠s investment allocations in major sectors of the market. Components of the weighted market index include S&P 500, Lehman Govt./Corp., Russell 100 and EAFA net.
Wheaton Work
Work-study compensation for those students who are not eligible for Federal work-study.
Yield
Number of students enrolled divided by number who were accepted.