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70.40
Higher Education Enrollment Reporting

Purpose of these policies

The Higher Education Enrollment Reporting (HEER) policies and procedures serve as the basis for collecting data on higher education enrollment.  This data is used by the Office of Financial Management and the Legislature for budget calculations as well as to track budgeted FTEs versus actual FTEs (full time equivalents), to monitor legislative mandates, to project short and long term enrollment and to conduct other related studies.

Authority of these policies

RCW 43.62.050 and RCW 28B.10.784 require the Office of Financial Management to collect and report higher education enrollment data.

Who must comply with these policies?

These policies apply to all public four-year institutions of higher education.

Special definitions

State-funded enrollment - Enrollment meeting all of the following conditions is considered state funded enrollment:

1. The course is a credit course.

2. The course is degree-applicable or is required for a student to make progress toward a degree, as certified by the institution.

3. The enrolled student does not receive a state sponsored tuition waiver per RCW 28B.15.0131 (certain American Indian students), RCW 28B.15.540 (residents age 60 or older), RCW 28B.15.558 (state employees), or RCW 28B.15.621 (3) (certain veterans).

4. Regular resident or non-resident tuition fees as per RCW 28B.15.067 and RCW 28B.15.100 are charged.

5. The course is not self-sustaining as defined in item 3 under definitions of self-sustaining immediately below.

Self-sustaining enrollment - Enrollment meeting all of the following conditions is considered self-sustaining enrollment:

1. The course is a credit course.

2. The enrolled student does not receive a state sponsored tuition waiver per RCW 28B.15.0131 (certain American Indian students), RCW 28B.15.540 (residents age 60 or older), RCW 28B.15.558 (state employees), or RCW 28B.15.621 (3) (certain veterans).

3. The direct costs of the course are entirely funded by Account 148, Institutions of Higher Education – Dedicated Local Account, or by external funds, or by a combination of the two.

Summer enrollment - All summer enrollments are self-sustaining except certain state-funded courses that have prior approval from OFM.

Fee-waiver enrollment - Enrollment meeting all of the following conditions is considered fee-waiver enrollment:

1. The course is a credit course.

2. The enrolled student receives a state sponsored tuition waiver per RCW 28B.15.0131 (certain American Indian students), RCW 28B.15.540 (residents age 60 or older), RCW 28B.15.558 (state employees), or RCW 28B.15.621 (3) (certain veterans).

Data element definitions used for higher education enrollment reporting in the Public Centralized Higher Education Enrollment System (PCHEES) and reporting formats for standard reports (HEER Tables 1–18A) and for the distance learning reports (HEER Tables 19–22) are available at http://www.ofm.wa.gov/hied/pchees/. 

Higher Education Enrollment Reporting Requirements

Data for the HEER report must be submitted electronically in student unit record files through the PCHEES.  All unit record files and reports submitted are considered official. 

The following reporting requirements must be met:

1. Each data unit record submitted must include all required academic course enrollment and student characteristic information elements.  Current requirements are available at http://www.ofm.wa.gov/hied/pchees/.

2. All credited course enrollments regardless of their type of funding, i.e., state funded, self-sustaining, or fee-waiver, must be reported.

3. Changes from the last reported regular term in the funding type of courses (i.e., from self-sustaining to state funded or vice versa) must be reported to the OFM Forecasting Division. A “Changes of Course Funding Types” form is available at http://www.ofm.wa.gov/hied/pchees/. The submitted form must be signed by the person authorized to complete the report. Summer term is not considered a regular term.

4. Remedial courses offered for credit must be flagged as remedial courses.  A remedial course is a course that is designed to remedy a deficiency and qualify a student to take a regular credited academic course.  A remedial course may be state-funded, self-sustaining, or fee-waiver.  If a state-funded course is flagged as remedial, it must meet the requirements set forth in section 70.40.30.

5. To ensure that courses reported can be traced to the term in which they originate and end, all course data submitted must include start and end dates.

6. Reports for regular terms (fall, winter, and spring) must reflect net enrollment at the conclusion of the second Friday of instruction (the “10th day”). 

7. The net enrollment is enrollment after adjustments for drop, add, withdrawal, cancellation, and other relevant course enrollment transactions.

8. The 10th day report for a regular term can include enrollment of courses beginning after the 10th day of the prior regular term.  The Fall 10th day data submittal can include enrollment of courses beginning after the end of summer and before the start of fall term.

9. Data for the summer term must be submitted at the end of the summer term.