Table Generator Help
Table Generators are tools that allow users to access aggregate GVSU information
over the internet.
Using a table generator, getting the information you want is a
simple drag-and drop process, but the tool has the flexibility to help you get exactly the
data you need without a lot of unnecessary information.
We currently have four table generator tools:
- the Degree Table Generator accesses data about GVSU degrees granted and their recipients*;
- the Enrollment Table Generator accesses data about GVSU students*;
- the Faculty Table Generator accesses data about GVSU faculty members;
- the Section Table Generator accesses data about GVSU courses and course sections;
* - Access to the Degree and Enrollment Table Generators is restricted to GVSU employees to comply with
federal rules on the confidentiality of student records.
Examples and explanations in the remainder of this document are taken from various Table
Generators, but the functionalities described apply equally to each one.
The table generator interface consists of two principal parts:
- A few dozen colored boxes which represent the characteristics that can appear in your
table ("Pods");
- A gray table diagram (at the bottom of the page), with white boxes representing the
ways the data can appear in the table ("Slots").
You design your table by choosing the pods you want and putting them into the slots where
you want them.
For example, (in the Enrollment Table Generator) if you put the Class pod into one of the of the slots labeled "Row",
it would specify a table that looks something like this:
| Headcount |
---|
Class | |
FRESHMAN | 4093 |
SOPHOMORE | 4281 |
JUNIOR | 3982 |
SENIOR | 6037 |
MASTERS | 3670 |
Total | 22063 |
The table shows the number of students by class, with the classifications listed down the
left side of the table. (You specified Class as a "Row" variable, so the table has a row
for each class.) If you put Class in one of the slots labeled "Column" instead, the table would look
like the following, with the classifications listed across the top of the table:
| Class |
FRESHMAN |
SOPHOMORE |
JUNIOR |
SENIOR |
MASTERS |
Total |
Total | 4093 | 4281 | 3982 |
6037 | 3670 | 22063 |
---|
When you've designed your table the way you want it to appear, click the "Submit Request"
button, and your table will be created exactly as you've requested, and you can read it in your
browser, open it up as a spreadsheet, print it, or go back and modify the specifications.
The parts of the window:
There are 3 general parts to the table generator page:
- The available pods -- Here you'll find all of the variables you can use to design your table.
- The table diagram -- This is where you create your table layout. The white boxes are empty slots.
- Help and Table options -- The buttons on the left side of the page allow you to (a) access this help
page, (b) specify whether you want an HTML table or a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet,
(c) save or restore a pre-defined table layout, (d) submit your table request, or
(e) reset all parameters to their initial values.
|
|
How to move a pod:
Unless you're using a touchscreen device, the easiest way to move a pod is just to click it and
drag it to where you want it to be. Use
the left mouse button to click and drag the pod, and release the button over the desired location
to drop the pod. Pods can only be dropped in appropriate slots or in their "home" location. If
you drop a pod anywhere else on the page, it will return to its "home" location. The home location
is the space reserved for the pod in the list of available pods (the upper 2/3 of the page).
You can also move a pod by using its options menu. Left click (or tap) on the pod to view the
list of
actions you can take with the variable. Among the options listed will be a list of places where the
pod can be moved. These options will include some, but not all, of the following:
- Make it a COLUMN variable -- puts the pod in the highest available "Column" slot.
- Make it a ROW variable -- puts the pod in the highest available "Row" slot.
- Make it a PAGE variable -- puts the pod in the "Page" slot.
- Make it a DATA variable -- puts the pod in the highest available "Data" slot.
- Promote it -- Moves the variable to the next higher slot within the same table dimension.
For example, a pod in the second "Row" slot can be promoted to the first "Row" slot.
- Demote it -- Moves the variable to the next lower slot within the same table dimension.
For example, a pod in the first "Row" slot can be demoted to the second "Row" slot.
- Remove it from the table -- sends the pod back to its "home" location.
For information about the difference between higher and lower slots within a table dimension, see the
section on slot order below.
If you move a pod (either by drag-and-drop or the pod options menu) to a slot that is already
occupied by another pod, the pods will trade places, with the displaced pod going to the place where
the pod you moved started. (If the pod you moved was in its "home" location, the displaced pod will
go to its own home, not to the exact spot where the new pod was located.) If the
displaced pod is not allowed to occupy the slot from which you moved the new pod, the displaced pod
will go to its home location instead.
Other things you can do with a pod:
In addition to moving a pod into, around in, or out of the table, there are several
other useful actions available from the pod options menu. Not all options are available
for all pods, and some options are context-sensitive -- they only appear on the options
menu when the situation makes them appropriate.
The following actions may be available from the options menu:
- See more details about it in the data dictionary -- Opens this help page to the
Data Dictionary entry for the variable. The data dictionary contains more
extensive information about the variable, its values, and its formatting.
- Control the way values will be grouped in the table -- Opens the
Formatting Window for the variable. The formatting window allows you to
customize the way values of certain variables will be grouped in your table. This option
is only available for selected variables and only when those variables are in a "Row",
"Column", or "Page" slot.
- Allow duplication of records for [students]
with multiple values -- Set the
duplication flag for this variable. See Duplication for details. This
option is only available for selected variables and only when those variables are in a
"Row", "Column", or "Page" slot. (The word "students" is replaced with "faculty members" or "graduates" as appropriate.)
- Disable duplication of records for [students] with multiple values -- Remove the
duplication flag for this variable. See Duplication for details. This
option is only available for selected variables and only when those variables are in a
"Row", "Column", or "Page" slot and duplication has previously been enabled. (The word "students" is replaced with "faculty members" or "graduates" as appropriate.)
- Use it for record selection -- Opens the Record Selection Window
for the variable. The selection window allows you to limit the population included in your
table to those students (or faculty members, course sections, or degrees)
with certain values of the variable.
- Clear its record selection setting -- Removes any current selection parameters
for the variable. This option only appears if record selection parameters have previously been set.
- Do nothing -- Closes the option window without making any changes. (Clicking
the "X" at the upper right of the options window has the same effect.)
The parts of the table (the slots)
A table can show your information in up to four different ways: across the columns
of the table; down the table in rows; broken up into many different table pages;
or as the data element summarized within the table's individual cells. The
following examples (from the Section Table Generator) illustrate the 4 types:
Data = Number of Sections
Course Prefix = FRE
| Course Level |
Lower-division |
Upper-division |
Total |
Instructor Rank |
|
Assistant Professor |
4 | 6 | 10 |
Associate Professor |
1 | 2 | 3 |
Total |
5 | 8 | 13 |
|
|
In the tables to the left, Course Level is laid out as a "Column"
variable, while Instructor Rank is shown as a "Row" variable. Course
Prefix is a "Page" variable here, meaning that a separate table is created for each
subject area. Finally, the "Data" element for these tables is Number of Sections
, so each cell shows the number of sections with the characteristics described by the
"Column", "Row", and "Page" variables. A table with two data elements, Number of
Sections and Census Credit Hours, is shown below. In it, the data
elements are arrayed horizontally, as if they were values of a "Column" variable. |
Data = Number of Sections
Course Prefix = GER
| Course Level |
Lower-division |
Upper-division |
Total |
Instructor Rank |
|
Assistant Professor |
2 | 1 | 3 |
Professor |
1 | 5 | 6 |
Total |
3 | 6 | 9 |
|
Course Prefix = FRE
| Data Type |
Number of Sections |
Census Credit Hours |
Instructor Rank |
|
Assistant Professor |
10 | 446 |
Associate Professor |
3 | 142 |
Total |
13 | 588 |
|
The Table Generator allows you to select up to 2 column variables and up to 2 row
variables. You can select one page variable and up to 4 data elements.
If you select more than one data element, a new pod, Data Variables, will appear
in your table diagram. This pod is a placeholder that controls how the multiple data
variables will be dispayed in your table. You can move it around in your table (to other
"Column", "Row", or "Page" slots), but the only way to remove it from the table is to
remove "Data" variables until only one "Data" slot is occupied, at which time the Data
Variables pod will disappear. The Data Variables pod will initially be placed
in an empty "Column", "Row", or "Page" slot if possible. If all of those slots are filled,
Data Variables will displace the pod in the second "Column" slot.
The following tables illustrate effects of different placements of Data Variables:
- Data Variables in a "Column" slot
Course Prefix = FRE
| Data Type |
Number of Sections |
Census Credit Hours |
Instructor Rank |
|
Assistant Professor |
10 | 446 |
Associate Professor |
3 | 142 |
Total |
13 | 588 |
- Data Variables in a "Row" slot
Course Prefix =
FRE
| Instructor Rank |
Assistant Professor | Associate Professor | Total |
Data Type | |
Number of Sections |
10 | 3 | 13 |
Census Credit Hours |
446 | 142 | 588 |
- Data Variables in the "Page" slot
Data Type = Number of Sections
| Instructor Rank |
Assistant Professor | Associate Professor | Professor | Total |
Course Prefix |
|
FRE | 10 | 3 | | 13 |
GER | 3 | | 6 | 9 |
Total | 13 | 3 | 6 | 22 |
Data Type = Census Credit Hours
| Instructor Rank |
Assistant Professor | Associate Professor | Professor | Total |
Course Prefix |
|
FRE | 446 | 142 | | 588 |
GER | 151 | | 183 | 334 |
Total | 597 | 142 | 183 | 922 |
The significance of order within table dimensions
With both column and row elements, you have the option of nesting variables. Nesting a
variable means that the different levels of the second variable will be shown for each level of the
first variable. For the "Column" slots, a variable in the right-hand slot will be nested within
the variable in the left-hand slot. For "Row" variables, the variable in the lower pod is nested
within the variable in the upper slot. In both cases, if there is only one variable specified for that
particular dimension (i.e. only one "Column" variable or only one "Row" variable), it makes no
difference which of the two slots it occupies.
The tables below give examples of nested "Row" variables. In the first table, Course Level values
are nested within Night/Weekend categories, while the second table has Night/Weekend nested within
Course Level. The same data are displayed either way, although the presentation differs slightly.
| Number of Sections |
Night / Weekend |
Course Level |
|
Evening and Weekend |
Undergraduate | 3 |
Graduate | 24 |
Total | 27 |
No Evening or Weekend |
Undergraduate | 2817 |
Graduate | 449 |
Total | 3266 |
Evening |
Undergraduate | 382 |
Graduate | 174 |
Total | 556 |
Weekend |
Undergraduate | 5 |
Graduate | 28 |
Total | 33 |
Total |
Undergraduate | 3207 |
Graduate | 675 |
Total | 3882 |
|
| Number of Sections |
Course Level |
Night / Weekend |
|
Undergraduate |
Evening and Weekend | 3 |
No Evening or Weekend | 2817 |
Evening | 382 |
Weekend | 5 |
Total | 3207 |
Graduate |
Evening and Weekend | 24 |
No Evening or Weekend | 449 |
Evening | 174 |
Weekend | 28 |
Total | 675 |
Total |
Evening and Weekend | 27 |
No Evening or Weekend | 3266 |
Evening | 556 |
Weekend | 33 |
Total | 3882 |
|
For "Data" variables, slot order only affects the order in which the types of summary data
appear. For example, the first Enrollment Table Generator table below has Headcount before Attempted Hours,
while the second table has their positions reversed.
| Data Type |
Headcount | Attempted Hours |
Gender | |
Female |
11909 | 134273 |
Male |
8002 | 92104 |
Total |
19911 | 226377 |
|
| Data Type |
Attempted Hours | Headcount |
Gender | |
Female |
134273 | 11909 |
Male |
92104 | 8002 |
Total |
226377 | 19911 |
|
Note that the four data slots are in "row-major" order, meaning
that any variables in the two top data slots will appear before any variables in the lower
data slots. |
Table Layout Hints
As a rule, you should make
your tables as uncomplicated as possible. The more variables you add to the table,
the larger and more unwieldy your table becomes. At the extremes, your table can
become so large that it slows your web browser to an apparent halt. Here
are some hints for laying out tables that will give you the information you want without
tons of unwanted data:
- Only use variables that you actually need.
- Use record selection to trim the amount of data your table presents.
- If you use variables with lots of different values (like Major, Department, or
Course ID), use them
as row variables, since row variables take up much less space on your screen or page than
column or page variables.
Record selection:
By using the pods' Record Selection windows, you can modify your table request to only include
information about the students (or faculty members, degrees, or courses) that are of interest to you.
For example, you can use the Faculty Table Generator to create a table
of only Engineering faculty, or only tenured faculty members, or female Associate Professors.
You can access the Record Selection window for a variable by choosing "Use it for record selection"
from the pod's options menu. Note that a variable does not need to be part of your table layout
to be used for record selection.
The Record Selection menu will take one of three forms. For continuous variables, you are asked to
designate a range of values to include (or exclude); for most variables with discrete values you are given
a selection list of possible values; for some variable with many possible text values, you can give a text
string to match, with wildcards if necessary.
Selecting a range:
To select a range of values, simply enter the lower and upper bounds of the range in the appropriate
boxes in the selection window. The default contents of the text boxes, "Low" and "High", are special
values which can be used to create open-ended ranges. For example, "Low" to "500" is how you would select
all values less than or equal to 500. (Note that selection ranges include both their lower and upper
bounds.)
You also have the option of excluding the values in the range (and keeping all others). To do this,
select "Exclude" instead of "Include" in the first selection box.
Selecting specific values:
To make a single selection from the drop-down list, just click the desired value. To make multiple
selections, select the first value by clicking it, then make subsequent selections by holding down the
Ctrl key and clicking the additional values.
Text string matching
Type as much of the text value as you want. Use the ? and * wildcard characters to represent unknown characters.
- ? represents any single letter, numeral, or symbol (including space).
- * represents 0 or more letters, numerals, or symbols (including spaces).
Note that a trailing * is presumed. That is, if you type "Clark" in the selection window for INSTRUCTOR
you might get results for people named Clarkson as well as those named Clark.
Examples:
Typing this... | ... might yield these |
Smith, C |
Smith, Calvin
Smith, Carl
Smith, Carla
Smith, Carol
Smith, Charles
Smith, Cheryl
Smith, Cristine
|
Smith, Ch |
Smith, Charles
Smith, Cheryl
|
Smith, C*r |
Smith, Carl
Smith, Carla
Smith, Carol
Smith, Charles
Smith, Cheryl
Smith, Cristine
|
Smith, C?r |
Smith, Carl
Smith, Carla
Smith, Carol
|
Smith, Carl |
Smith, Carl
Smith, Carla
|
Smith, Carl? |
Smith, Carla
|
All of the text-matching selection windows are case-insensitive, meaning that capital letters will
be matched to their lower-case counterparts and vice versa. Additional information about text-matching
is available in the appropriate data dictionary entries.
Applying your selections
When you have designated your selection criteria, click the "Done" button. The pod for which
you just created selection criteria will now have asterisks (*) in its upper corners as a visual
reminder that you have made exclusions.
If you specify selection criteria for more than one variable, those criteria are compounded --
records must meet all selection criteria to be included in the table. For
example, if you select "Associate Professor" for Rank and "Female' for Gender you will get data
only for faculty members who are female AND hold Associate Professor rank. (In logic terminology, you're making
"and" operations, not "or" operations.) With these selections you could get the following simple
trend breakdown for female Associate Professors:
College |
Academic Year |
2002-03 | 2012-13 | Total |
COLLEGE OF COMMUNITY & PUBLIC SERVICE |
2 | 12 | 14 |
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION |
5 | 13 | 18 |
COLLEGE OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS |
| 5 | 5 |
COLLEGE OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES |
| 5 | 5 |
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES |
61 | 91 | 152 |
KIRKHOF COLLEGE OF NURSING |
10 | 12 | 22 |
PADNOS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING |
| 2 | 2 |
SEIDMAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS |
5 | 14 | 19 |
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES |
5 | 3 | 8 |
Total |
88 | 157 | 245 |
To remind you that your table shows a subset of the GVSU faculty rather than the entire
population, there will be a small extra table at the end of each report that summarizes the
selection criteria you submitted. For the example above, the summary table looks like this:
Summary of Record Selection Criteria
Characteristic | Selected Values |
Academic Year |
2012-13 |
|
2002-03 |
Rank |
Associate Professor |
Gender |
FEMALE |
About term (semester) or year selection
You can generate tables with GVSU data from a single semester or from multiple semesters. By default, tables
will generally include data from the most recent relevant semester. Degree Table Generator tables default to
the most recent complete academic year.
The record selection windows for Term or Academic Year include an option for "Most Recent Term"
(or Year). This allows stored layouts to access updated data as it becomes available (e.g. a query that
asks for Fall 2012 enrollment will always yield Fall 2012 figures, but a query for "Most Recent Term" will not.)
Note that selecting more than one term will not automatically result
in a table that shows trend data. You must also include Term as a table element
(That is, the pod should be in the table diagram). If you use multiple terms' data, but do not
specify Term as a table variable, data will be aggregated across terms. It is not possible
to unduplicate by term (that is, to count how may individuals meet certain criteria in at least one
term in a multi-term range). If you need unduplicated counts for a multi-semester period,
please contact the Office of Institutional Analysis directly.
Formatting variables:
With many variables, you have a choice about how the values will be categorized in your
table. This allows you much more flexibility to create the table precisely the way you
need it. For example, the default Degree Table Generator categories for age include the
range "25-29". However, if you need to know how many bachelor's degree recipients were over 25 (i.e.
26 or older), the default doesn't quite work. You can use the formatting window for Age
to tell the table generator to use a single cutpoint at 26, and your table will have just
two age categories -- representing "Under 26" and "26 and Older".
There are two types of formatting windows you may encounter. A few variables have a
limited number of formatting options available, and their formatting windows present a
drop-down list with the choices. Following is a list of those variables and links to
their data dictionary entries, where you can find specific details about formatting options.
The other type of formatting window appears for continous variables -- that is, variables like
Age or Attempted Hours that can take any value within an expected range. For these
variables a default rule for separating the values into categories has been assigned (these are
described in the variables' data dictionary entries), but you can apply a customized formatting
rule if you want.
The custom formatting rule for a continuous variable can take either of two forms: a list
of specific cutpoints, or an interval for equal-size ranges.
- To designate specific cutpoints, simply type the cutpoints in ascending order, separating
the values with commas. For example if you want to see data about three groups of students --
those taking less than 12 hours, those taking 12 to 17 hours, and those taking 18 or more
hours -- you would type "12,18" (without the quotation marks) in the formatting window for
Attempted Hours.
- To designate intervals, you use the form "byRatL", where R is the size
of each range and L is the low end of the lowest interval. For example "by10at15"
specifies that each of the categories should span 10 units (let's say years, in the case
of Age), and the lowest 10-year range should start at 15. This would result in
categories like 15-24, 25-34, 35-44, etc. Note that any values that are less
than L will still be reported in a catch-all category labeled "0-14". Either
R or L or both can be a negative number or a decimal, but they cannot contain
letters, special symbols (other than "-" and "."), or spaces. (Quotation marks in these
instructions are for clarity -- you should not type them in the formatting window.)
In cases where the university does not know (or did not know at the time the data were captured) the value for
a variable for one or more records, the missing data will be reported as a separate category, typically labeled
with a period (.).
Record duplication:
Enabling duplication by a variable in your table is a way of acknowledging that some
characteristics are not restricted to "one to a customer." For example, a student can have more
than one major at a time. If you specify an Enrollment Table Generator table showing students'majors but
don't enable duplication, you'll get a tabulation of students' primary majors, and the total for the table
will correctly reflect the number of students at the university (provided you didn't use
record selection). However, the number of students majoring in any given field may be under-reported,
because students who
declared the program as their second major will only be counted toward their primary program. If you run
the same table with duplication enabled, you will get accurate counts of the number of students in each
particular major, but the total for the table will be higher than the actual number of students at the
university.
The decision of whether to enable duplication is substantive, based on your needs. If you want each
student (or faculty member, course section, or degree) to be counted only once and you want the totals to be easier to interpret, avoid duplication.
On the other hand, if you want to be certain to count every instance of a characteristic and aren't
worried about the values in the totals, then you should use duplication.
It is only possible to enable duplication for one variable at a time.
When you enable duplication for a variable, it is automatically disabled for any other variable. You will
receive an alert if the table generator disables a prior setting in this way.
It is only possible to enable duplication when the variables are specified as column, row, or
page variables. Once the variable pod is in a column, row, or page slot, click on it to open the options menu, then
choose "Allow duplication for [students] with multiple values".
The following Table Generator variables can have duplication enabled.
Table options
The Table Options area at the left side of the Table Generator screen contains controls to access this help
page, control the table format, save or restore a pre-defined table layout, submit your table request, or reset
all parameters to their initial values. The Section Table generator also allows users to specify how cross-listed
courses should be tabulated.
Excel output
You can request your Table Generator output in HTML form (which will appear in your browser), or as an Excel
spreadsheet. The only substantive difference between the two is that HTML output has the variable labels hyperlinked
to their data dictionary entries. In fact, both forms of output are actually constructed in HTML -- the "Excel"
versions are just presented to your browser in a form that induces it to send the file to Excel for opening. Your
browser will probably ask whether you want to open the file or save it -- open it. Then Excel will typically issue a
warning that looks like this:
Select "Yes" to open the file. There is nothing harmful in it!
Storing table layouts
If you have a Table Generator request that you make repeatedly, you can save the specification to reuse later. Once
you have made the specification, click the "Save Layout" button. You will be prompted to give it a name. Choose something
that will help you identify it later, then click "OK". Note that only about 30 characters will show up in the selection
list.
Stored layouts write the table specification to a tiny cookie on your computer. This has a couple noteworthy
implications. First, you are saving the description of the table, not the table itself. Second, the save
layout is only available on the computer on which it was created. If you get a new computer, you'll need to recreate
your saved layouts.
Restoring saved layouts
Saved layouts are listed in a drop-down menu right above the "Submit" button. The list is pre-populated with some
general-interest layouts that are available to all users. Layouts that you have created personally will appear below
the prefabricated ones, in the order that you created them.
Remember that layouts that are with an explicit term specified will be restored with that specification. If
you intend to re-use the table to acquire updated data over time, you should use the "Most Recent Term" (or year)
selection in the records selection window rather than a specific term.
Managing saved layouts
If you have saved layouts that you created on your computer, you can rename or remove them. To do so, choose "Manage
stored layouts" from the layout selection list. (It should be at the very bottom, below the prefabricated layouts
and any that you've created. It won't appear on the list if you don't have any saved layouts.) The Manage Stored
Layouts window will look similar to the following:
You can delete or rename any of your layouts, then choose "Done" to save your changes. You can click "Cancel" to
exit without making changes. If you do save your changes, they won't be apparent on the Table Generator screen until
you refresh the page.
Data Dictionary:
Following is a list of data elements available in the
Section Table Generator.
Term
The semester in which the section was offered. For terms which have had an official census, data reflect status
as of the census date for that particular term. Otherwise data reflect status as of the date reported in the
Record Selection Criteria table.
Use of census data avoids the ambiguities that result from reporting directly
from a constantly changing database. Results of table generator queries are stable for
terms with census data -- you will get the same results today as you got yesterday if you use the same
parameters. A downside to the use of census data is that data that are incomplete or incorrect when
they are captured are not changed to reflect subsequent improvements.
Provisional data for upcoming or ongoing semesters is provided in response to user demand, but please bear in mind
that data are in flux. Updates are captured weekly (on Monday morning), and may result in transitory results
(if you request the same parameters next week, you may not get the same tabular results).
Unlike other table generator variables, there is no "all" selection criterion for
Term. By default, the most recent academic
term for which census data exist will be selected.
Back to variable list
College
This is the college (within GVSU) responsible for the course offering. At present, all offerings are
assigned to the
post-reorganization college that is responsible for the course.
There is currently no way to use the Section Table Generator to summarize data according
to the organizational structure that existed prior to 2004.
The extant values for
College are:
- COLLEGE OF COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SERVICES
- COLLEGE OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS
- COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES
- COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
- UNIVERSITY-WIDE INTERDISCIPLINARY INITS
- KIRKHOF COLLEGE OF NURSING
- PADNOS COLLEGE OF ENGIN. AND COMPUTING
- SEIDMAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
Back to variable list
Department
This is the academic department responsible for the course offering. This may be different
from the instructor's assigned department (see
Instructor Department
below). This also differs from the
Course Prefix in some cases, since several
academic departments offer courses in more than one content area with different prefixes
-- e.g. CBR (Broadcasting) and CPH (Photography) courses are both offered (among others)
by the School of Communications.
Back to variable list
Course Prefix
This is the first 3 letters in the course or section ID, representing the general content
area of the course. Note that multiple prefixes / content areas can be offered by a
single
Department.
EXAMPLE: the prefix for PLS 211 A is PLS
Back to variable list
Course Level
This is a broad categorization of the course call number, representing the approximate
level of difficulty or sophistication of the course. Courses with higher levels are
presumed to be more advanced than those at lower levels. There are three possible levels
of aggregation for
Course Level. The following table summarizes those levels of
aggregation and the associated categories of courses:
By 100's (default) | 000-Level |
100-Level |
200-Level |
300-Level |
400-Level |
500-Level |
600-Level |
3 categories | Lower-Division (000-299) |
Upper-Division (300-499) |
Graduate (500-699) |
2 categories | Undergraduate |
Graduate |
To specify a level of aggregation, choose "Control the way values will be grouped in the
table..." from the pod options menu. The pod must be located in a PAGE, COLUMN, or ROW
slot for this option to appear. (See
Formatting Variables for more
details.)
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Course ID
This is the 7-character course ID. The numeric potion of the course ID should always start
in the 5th position (e.g. "NUR 400", not "NUR400" and "ED 330", not "ED330" or
"ED 330"). This distinction is only important for you if you use
Course ID for
record selection (see
Record Selection above).
There are three formatting options available for
Course ID: ID only ("CHM 115") [default];
title only ("Principles of Chemistry"); or both ("CHM 115 - Principles of Chemistry").
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Section ID
This is the full ID of the section, including the prefix, course number, and section code.
Combined with
Term, the section ID uniquely identifies a course section. As with
Course ID above, the presence of spaces is important: the numeric portion
should start in the 5th position and the section code should start in the 9th position.
Most section IDs are either 9 or 10 characters long, depending whether they have a
one-character or a two-character section code. These distinctions are only important
for you if you use
Course ID for record selection (see
Record
Selection above).
EXAMPLES: WRT 305 H; BIO 205 A1; MKT 655 A
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Instructor Rank
The rank and appointment type of the primary faculty member assigned to teach the section.
Faculty with regular appointments are categorized by rank, while all others are
categorized by type of appointment (i.e. adjunct, affiliate, or visitor). Sections without
assigned instructors ("Staff" sections) are counted under "Adjunct". Please note that
faculty rank data from semesters prior to fall 2004 are somewhat tenuous. Subsequent data
should be much more reliable. There are two levels of aggregation available for reporting
Instructor Rank. The default is to show the levels in relative detail, while the
alternative groups faculty by appointment type as follows:
Default | Alternative |
Adjunct Professor | Adjunct |
Visiting Professor | FT Non-Tenure-Track |
Affiliate Professor |
Instructor | Tenured / Tenure-track |
Assistant Professor |
Associate Professor |
Professor |
An instructor's rank is determined once per year, on September 30th. For the most part, this
yields accurate data for semesters that are over or in-progress, because faculty appointments
typically run August through August. Note however that rank data for upcoming semesters are
approximate only, since promotions and changes in appointments that occurred or will occur after
the last Sep 30 census will not be reflected.
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Instructor Department
This is the academic department in which the primary assigned instructor has his or her principal
assignment. This may be different from
Department, the department responsible for
the course. Sections without assigned instructors ("Staff" sections) are assigned to
the course's department. An instructor's home department is determined once per year, on
September 30th. For the most part, this yields accurate data for semesters that are over or
in-progress, because faculty appointments typically run August through August. Note however
that
Instructor Department data for upcoming semesters are approximate only, since
changes in appointments that occurred or will occur after the last Sep 30 census will not be
reflected.
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Instructor
The instructor assigned to the section in the university's SIS or Banner records. Despite insistence
by the Records office that all sections have their instructors attributed correctly, there
are still some sections assigned to "STAFF." Since Table Generator data are reflective of
data as they exist on the census date for the term (generally 1 week into classes), they are not
corrected retroactively -- if a section appears as staff and you know who the real instructor was,
it's too late to fix the table generator data, but please encourage department and college
administration and staff to submit correct and timely information for future terms.
Names are formatted LAST, FIRST.
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Section Location
The GVSU campus on which the course was offered. Note that distance education sections often require
one or more "face-to-face" meetings, in which case, the course is categorized according to the location
of those meetings. Sections without scheduled meetings are generally counted as if they occur at
Allendale. Courses of those types can be distinguished by using
Contact Type.
Extant values are:
- ALLENDALE CAMPUS
- GRAND RAPIDS CAMPUS
- MUSKEGON
- OTHER GRAND RAPIDS LOCATIONS
- HOLLAND
- OUT OF COUNTRY
- OTHER MICHIGAN LOCATIONS
- TRAVERSE CITY
- OUT OF STATE
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Building
The building in which the section meets. Buildings are listed by both the building code and name
(e.g. "CAC Calder Art Center"). Sections with more than one meeting place scheduled are
categorized in the building containing their primary meeting space (the
one listed first). A list of extant values can be viewed by opening the Record Selection window
from the pod options window.
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Night / Weekend
Sections with scheduled meeting times beginning at 6:00 PM or later are considered evening courses.
Any sections with scheduled meetings on Saturday or Sunday are labeled as "weekend courses". Any sections
that meet both of these criteria, and are labeled "Both".
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Instruction Type
This the instructional activity type recorded for the section in SIS. Extant values are:
- CLINICAL STDY
- DISCUSSION *
- FIELD STUDY
- INDEP STUDY
- INTERNSHIP
- INDEP READING
- INTL STUDIES
- LABORATORY *
- LEC-DISC *
- LECTURE *
- LEC & LAB *
- PRACTICUM
- RESEARCH
- REHEARSAL *
- SEMINAR *
- STUDIO *
Types marked with asterisks (*) are those with formal meeting patterns (i.e. the instructor and all students
meet in scheduled sessions). Reports considering section size should generally only include these instruction
types. For example, the pre-defined table layout "Listing of very small sections" includes only those 8 types.
See also
Contact Type.
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Gen-Ed - Foundations
Indicates any GVSU General Education Foundations category to which the section can be applied. The
categories are:
- THE ARTS
- PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE
- HISTORICAL ANALYSIS (formerly HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES)
- MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
- PHYSICAL SCIENCES
- LIFE SCIENCES
- SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Courses which do not apply towards a Foundations requirement have a value of "NO CATEGORY". The "Historical Perspectives" category was renamed
"Historical Analysis" in 2022. Because the substantive nature of the category didn't change, it has been relabeled retroactively for the sake of
continuity within Section Table Generator results.
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Gen-Ed - Cultural
Indicates any GVSU General Education Cultural Emphasis category to which the section can be applied.
The categories are:
- GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES (formerly WORLD PERSPECTIVES)
- US DIVERSITY
Courses which do not apply towards a Cultural Emphasis requirement have a value of "NO CATEGORY". The "World Perspectives" category was renamed
"Global Perspectives " in 2018. Because the substantive nature of the category didn't change, it has been relabeled retroactively for the sake of
continuity within Section Table Generator results.
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Gen-Ed - Themes
Indicates any GVSU General Education Theme to which a course can be applied. The themes are:
- CHANGING IDEAS: CHANGING WORLDS
- EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT
- ETHICS
- FREEDOM AND SOCIAL CONTROL
- GENDER, SOCIETY AND CULTURE
- MAKING WAR AND PEACE
- PERSPECTIVES FROM THE OUTSIDE
- RELIGION
- REVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION IN THE AMERICAS
- SOCIETY AND MEDIA
- THE HUMAN JOURNEY
- THE U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
- DEATH AND DYING
- GLOBAL CHANGE: INTEGR. AND FRAG.
- HEALTH, ILLNESS, AND HEALING
- CITIES
- CREATIVITY: IDEAS & INNOVATION
- PERCEPTION
- THE AMERICAN MOSAIC
- DEMOCRACY
- SPORT & LIFE
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Gen-Ed - Themes
Indicates any GVSU General Education Issues category to which a course can be applied. The Issues
requirement was first implemented in Fall 2013, so all values prior to that semester are listed
as "No Category".
The categories are:
- Globalization
- Health
- Human Rights
- Identity
- Information, Innovation, and Technology
- Sustainability
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SWS
Indicates whether a section satisfies the General Education "Supplemental Writing Skills" requirement.
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Contact Type
Indicates the nature of instructor-student contact for the course:
- Hybrid - course has limited in-person meetings with remainder of instruction occuring online
- Online
- Scheduled - Course has regular meetings in which instructor and students meet in a shared physical
space. See Instruction Type for a list of the specific meeting types that are
included.
- Other - Includes unstructured course types such as Independent Study, Internships, and Research.
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Number of Seats
The maximum enrollment allowed for the section. When used as a data variable, aggregation will be the sum
across any applicable sections. The default formatting when used as a categorical (i.e. row, column, or page)
variable is by10at0 -- [0-9,10-19,20-29,...]. You can modify the formatting using the
variable formatting window.
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Student Credit Hours
The total student credit hours (i.e. number of students times number of credit hours per student) generated by
the section. Data reflect official census enrollment or enrollment as of the date specified in the Record Selection
Summary table. Any drops/adds that occur after the census are not reflected in Table Generator data. When used as a
data variable, aggregation will be the sum across any applicable sections. The default formatting when used as a
categorical (i.e. row, column, or page) variable is by10at0 -- [0-9,10-19,20-29,...]. You can modify the formatting
using the
variable formatting window.
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Scheduled Hours
The number of credit hours awarded to any single student upon completion of the section. When used as a data
variable, aggregation will be the sum across any applicable sections. The default formatting when used as a
categorical (i.e. row, column, or page) variable is by1at0 -- [0,1,2,3,...]. You can modify the formatting
using the
variable formatting window.
See also
Contact Hours
By default, non-credit sections are excluded from Section Table Generator tables. You can clear this
selection criterion by selecting the appropriate option from the options window, or specify an alternative
criterion in the record selection window.
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Enrollment
The number of enrolled students on the census date for the term or the date specified in the Record Selection
Summary table. Any drops/adds that occur after the census are not reflected in Table Generator data. When
used as a data variable, aggregation will be the sum across any applicable sections. The default formatting
when used as a categorical (i.e. row, column, or page) variable is by5at0 -- [0-4,5-9,10-14,...]. You can
modify the formatting using the
variable formatting window.
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Number of Sections
The number of sections that meet the given criteria. This is the default data variable for Section Table
Generator tables.
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Data Variables
This pod is a placeholder that controls how the multiple data
variables will be dispayed in your table. You can move it around in your table (to other
"Column", "Row", or "Page" slots), but the only way to remove it from the table is to
remove "Data" variables until only one "Data" slot is occupied, at which time the
Data
Variables pod will disappear. The
Data Variables pod will initially be placed
in an empty "Column", "Row", or "Page" slot if possible. If all of those slots are filled,
Data Variables will displace the pod in the second "Column" slot.
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