Preferred Term: First-time in College (FTIC)

Description: A student attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. Includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term. Also includes students who entered with advanced standing (college credits earned before graduation from high school).

Source: CDS SCHEV Addendum: Includes students who were dual-enrolled in college during High School and who may have completed an associate's degree at time of HS graduation. First-time in College means that a student is enrolled in a college, having completed high school, for the first time since completing high school. For tracking purposes for Graduation Rate measurement, student enrollment in the summer immediately following high school completion is ignored, and the fall enrollment is counted as the period of first enrollment.

First-time in College, as a status definition, is not affected by the number of college credits accepted by the institution at entry. It is possible, albeit unlikely, that a student may be classified as FTIC while entering an institution with senior or fourth-year status.