Glossary

Debt burden: Student loan payments as a percent of salary.

Dual enrollment courses: Classes taken on a high school campus for which a student receives course credit at both the high school and community college levels.

First university degree: A terminal undergraduate degree program; these degrees are classified as level 5A in the International Standard Classification of Education, although individual countries use different names for the first terminal degree (e.g., laureata in Italy, diplome in Germany, maitrise in France, and bachelor’s degree in the United States and in Asian countries).

Internationally mobile students: Those individuals who are not citizens of the country in which they study.

Net price: The published price of an undergraduate college education minus the average grant aid and tax benefits that students receive.

Stay rate: The proportion of students on temporary visas who have plans to stay in the United States immediately after degree conferral.

Tertiary type A programs: Higher education programs that are largely theory-based and designed to provide sufficient qualifications for entry to advanced research programs and to professions with high skill requirements, such as medicine, dentistry, or architecture, and have a minimum duration of 3 years, although they typically last 4 or more years. These correspond to bachelor’s or master’s degrees in the United States.

Tertiary type B programs: Higher education programs that focus on practical, technical, or occupational skills for direct entry into the labor market and have a minimum duration of 2 years. These correspond to associate’s degrees in the United States.

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