Frequently Asked Questions

Our Data Dictionary contains all of the most important definitions that you might need while navigating the IR website. To look up a specific term, press CRTL + F (on Windows) or COMMAND + F (on Mac).

Spring, summer and fall semesters are denoted by the codes 10, 50, and 80, respectively. For example, 202110 denotes Spring 2021, 202150 Summer 2021 and 202180 Fall 2021. The number refers to the month in which classes for that term begin (August is the eighth month, and so on).

Unless you are specifically looking for data about spring or summer, the standard term for reporting is fall.

Preponderant enrollment counts students at one primary campus location. Concurrent enrollment counts students at each campus they attend. When considering concurrent enrollment, a student who takes courses at both the Kent and Stark campuses during the same semester will be counted twice.

• If you would like to see data about a specific major, are you also selecting the college and department? Try again by only selecting the major information and leaving out the less specific information. Changes in college, department or major names over time can sometimes have an impact on the results.

• If you want to see data about a specific major, avoid selecting the sub major (concentration). Musical Theatre, for example, is a major, and Musical Theatre Dance is a sub major.

• If you're looking for information about an online course, make sure you know the code for the type of distance learning class you're looking for. Refer to the FAQ about distance learning course codes.

• Are you looking for information about the summer term? We only record summer data at the end of the term, so avoid selecting the 15th day.

Some of the codes may not be in use right now, but our apps have historical data, so they still appear as options.

Summer data includes Summer I, II and III, as well as intersession, which are all shorter sessions. As a result, the 15th day is not an option.

Major movement data from the 2016 to 2019 freshman cohorts show that most students do not change majors from freshman year to graduation, and those who do usually stay within the same college. We examined data from the beginning and end of their first fall semester through sophomore year, which is when the majority of major changes occur. At Kent Campus, the analysis included retained students enrolled in all majors except Exploratory, who are expected to change majors at least once. These are significant findings because major changes affect time to degree.

According to the findings, 62% of retained students do not change their major during their first year. Furthermore, 30% change only once, and 16% remain at their original college. In total, 93% of new freshmen stick with their first major or change majors only once. Therefore, out of 15,110 students (all freshmen except Exploratory majors), only nine students changed their major four times and two students changed their major five times. Changes in colleges are similar: three students changed colleges three times, while one student changed five times.

With the exception of Exploratory, the most frequently changed majors are Biological Sciences, Pre-Fashion Design & Merchandising, Pre-Nursing, General Business, Nursing and Computer Science. On the other hand, students switch to Psychology, Nursing, Fashion Merchandising, Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies, and Marketing.

Explore our Major Movement Report to learn more about changes within other cohorts and/or specific colleges.