Terms & Definitions

F&M's Graduating Class includes any student who completes their degree in the Fall, Spring, or Summer of a given year. For example, F&M's Class of 2022 includes students who graduated in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, or Summer 2022.

Calculated as the percent of the graduating class for which F&M has information on post-graduation career outcomes; F&M follows the data collection standards established by the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE). 

F&M provides a unique level of personal interaction when compiling outcome data. Rather than merely asking students to complete a form prior to graduation, OSPGD staff members reach out to students directly with follow-up as needed. This ensures that we hear each student’s unique post-graduation plans and enables us to achieve a knowledge rate that is exceptionally higher than the minimum suggested by NACE. 

Data on 6-month outcomes are collected through the end of January to ensure Summer graduates are given full opportunity to report their outcomes.

The percent of graduates with a known positive career outcome; calculated by taking the number of known positive outcomes and dividing it by the number of known graduates minus those who are not seeking an outcome.

Positive career outcomes include: Employed Full-Time, Employed Part-Time, Furthering Studies/Training, Fellowship/Internship, Volunteer/Other Service, Military

In accordance with NACE reporting standards, F&M groups career outcomes into the following categories: Employed Full-Time, Employed Part-Time, Furthering Studies/Training, Volunteer/Other Service, Military, Still Applying: Education, Still Applying: Employment. While NACE includes graduates on Fellowship/Internship under the Employed categories, F&M began breaking out this category in 2022.

While graduates may be pursuing multiple outcome activities (e.g., part-time employment while furthering studies), F&M only reports one primary outcome for each student based on how the student spends the greatest proportion of their time.

OSPGD staff members manually code graduates with an employment (full-time or part-time) or fellowship/internship outcome into the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS; website) 2-digit code categories based on the employer/fellowship; due to the breadth of NAICS code 54 (Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services), F&M divides employers/fellowships in this code into 4-digit code subcategories for reporting purposes

Any student who reports that they intend to pursue their post-graduation outcome pathway in the United States is counted in the domestic category regardless of the student’s citizenship status; students pursuing outcomes abroad are counted in the international category.