Non-degree-seeking student

Institutions code students as degree-seeking or non-degree-seeking at the time of registration or admission. Fall Enrollment reports both groups. Only degree-seeking students enter the official outcome cohorts. A student who begins as non-degree-seeking and later matriculates is removed from the non-degree count and added to the appropriate degree-seeking category for subsequent terms; the student does not become first-time if prior postsecondary enrollment exists.

Example: a student enrolls in two online courses to learn a programming language and is coded non-degree-seeking. Those credits appear on a transcript but the student is not included in the institution’s first-time or graduation-rate cohorts. If the student later applies and is admitted to a degree program, subsequent enrollment is reclassified as degree-seeking. The previously earned credits may count toward the degree but the student’s original entry term does not start a new graduation-rate clock.

Degree-seeking students are matriculated into a formal program. First-time and transfer-in classifications apply only within the degree-seeking population for most federal reporting. Continuing-education or non-credit students are outside both categories.

Including non-degree-seeking students in retention or graduation calculations. Assuming every student taking credit courses is degree-seeking. Failing to reclassify a student who later matriculates into a degree program.