GLOSSARY

Key terms in NCDPI’s Educator Preparation Program Dashboards

Candidate

Someone enrolled in an educator preparation program (EPP) in the past or currently.

Candidate New Enrollment Year

The first year the candidate takes classes in the EPP following admission to the program. Throughout the dashboard, years follow a Aug 1- July 31 reporting year; e.g., someone starting an educator preparation program on Aug 15, 2023, would have Candidate New Enrollment Year of 2024.

Candidate Completion Year

Completion means finishing the EPP having met all the requirements for completing. Throughout the dashboard, years follow a Aug 1- July 31 reporting year; e.g., someone completing an educator preparation program on Dec 15, 2023, would have a 2024 completion year.

Degree

Across the state, EPPs offer eight types of degrees: Undergraduate (U);  Undergraduate license only - no degree awarded (ULO); Initial teaching license issued at the graduate level (GFA), Residency (R ), Graduate level (G), Graduate degree in a new license area (GNA); Upgrade to graduate degree in area already licensed (GSA); and Graduate license only (GLO). Not every EPP offers all the degrees.

Degree Type

The dashboard groups the degrees as follows:

• Graduate degree type includes the GFA, G, GNA, and GSA degrees
• Undergraduate degree type includes the U degree
• License-Only degree type includes ULO, GLO, and R

EPP Type

The dashboard places EPPs into four groups: Institutions of Higher Education - Public, Institutions of Higher Education - Independent, Community Colleges, and Non-IHE. Non-IHE refers to EPPs that are not based at institutions of higher education in NC.

Initial Teaching License

Except where noted, all of the EPP dashboards focus on candidates pursuing initial teaching licenses. This excludes candidates pursuing administrative degrees, license endorsements, or additional teaching licenses.

License Group

For visualizations, the dashboard categorizes  license areas into six groups: Elementary, Middle Grades, Secondary, Special Subjects, Exceptional Children, Special Subjects, and Career Technical Education. In the DIY Tables, you can see data at the license area level.

Pathway

Pathway refers to the route a candidate takes to licensure. The dashboard categorizes candidates into two pathways--traditional and alternate. The traditional route includes all the degrees that lead to an academic degree (Undergraduate, Graduate in First License Area (GFA)). The alternate routes include all degree designations that do not result in an academic degree upon completion (ULO, GLO, R).  One nuance: anyone who holds a residency license while completing their program is counted as alternate route, regardless of degree. For example, someone in a GFA program with a residency license is alternate route for the purposes of the dashboard.

Questions?

Contact andy.baxter@dpi.nc.gov

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