Creating and Managing a Retention Cohort Group

This document details the steps to upload cohorts and manage cohorts for retention and graduation rates. 

Detailed Information

Table of Contents

The Institutional Research Office on each campus populates the cohort of each fall and spring term with students who are enrolled on the census date. For the fall term, students admitted in the preceding summer term who are enrolled on the fall census date are included in the fall cohort. A student's membership in a cohort group is maintained in the UM_STDNT_COHORT table. For complementary purposes, additional types of cohorts can be set up using the UM_STDNT_COHORT table; however, this document details the retention cohort only. Each IR Office can choose either 1) to create own CSV file and upload it or 2) to use an automated process.

If your office chooses to use CSV file, go to Step One. If the automated process, go to Step Two.

Step One: Creating a Retention Cohort File 

A .csv format file should be created to upload the cohort. No header row is required.  The file should contain these three fields:

  • EMPLID
  • Cohort Term (Fall or Spring. Summer should be included in Fall. e.g., 1910)
  • Admit Type 
    • FYR- First time
    • TRF- Transfer
    • GRD- Graduate

The student in the cohort should be a degree-seeking student. Institutions need to be sure that the cohort data loaded on Admit Type follows the IPEDS Definitions:

First-time student (undergraduate): A student who has no prior postsecondary experience (except as noted in this definition) attending any institution for the first time at the undergraduate level. This includes students enrolled in academic or occupational programs. It also includes students enrolled in the fall term who attended college for the first time in the prior summer term, and students who entered with advanced standing (college credits or postsecondary formal award earned before graduation from high school).

Transfer-In Student: A degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate student entering the IPEDS reporting institution for the first time but known to have previously enrolled at a different postsecondary institution (not as a high school student). The student may transfer with or without credit. For systems of coordinated institutions (multi-campus system), students are to be identified as transfer-in students upon entering an institution from another institution within the same coordinated system.

Using this uploaded cohort information (EMPLID, Cohort Term, and Admit Type), and the student's full or part-time status (calculated by combining the cohort information with student semester credit hours on census day), retention can be reported to IPEDS for full-time and part-time cohorts, and for First-Year and Transfer cohorts. 

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Step Two: Uploading Retention Cohort

  1. Log in to MaineStreet CSPRD and go to: University of Maine System > Records and Enrollment > Batch Processing > Assign Cohorts
  2. If you don’t have a Run Control ID, create one by clicking “Add a New Value”
  3. If you are attaching your own  CSV.file, check below. If you are using the automated process, go to #4.

showing the required fields needed to attach your own csv file completed. The required fields are listed below this image.

  • Select your institution & academic career
  • Cohort code should be “RETENTION”.
  • Effective Date should be census day.
  • Pick “Add to Previous Data” for the box for "If student is in the Cohort".
  • Check the box for “Load from File”.
  • Attach file by clicking the paper clip icon and choose file
  • Go to step #5.
  1. If you are using the automated process, check below:

Showing the required fields completed as well as what to enter if student is in the cohort already. The information is listed below as well.

  • Select your institution and Academic Career
  • Cohort code should be “RETENTION”.
  • Effective Date should be census day.
  • Enter the From Term and the To Term
  1. Click “Run” and click “OK” on the next screen.
  2. Go to “Process Monitor” and wait till the Run Status changes to “Success” (You might need to click “Refresh” a few times.)

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Step Three: Checking Data

  1. Run the query, UMS_DTS_COHORT_COUNT, in CSPRD to check the count of IDs uploaded. If you would like to get a list of EMPLID, run UMS_DTS_COHORT_EMPLID.

  2. Run the query, UMS_DTS_COHORT_VALIDATION, in CSPRD to check for errors.         
    Error type:

  • Acad_career does not match with Admit_type  (e.g., Acad_career=UGRD & admit_type=GRD)
  • More than one ID within the same cohort term

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Step Four: Manually Managing Cohort Data

Log in to MaineStreet CSPRD and go to: University of Maine System > Records and Enrollment > Add/Maintain Student Cohort

Add a new student to a Cohort

  1. Search results should show "No matching values were found".
  2. Click Add a New Value.
    showing the location of the button for adding a new value
  3. On the next screen, enter the Academic Career and Cohort Code. Click Add. The Cohort Code should be RETENTION.
  4. Enter an Effective Date. (usually census date)
  5. Check the Manual Override checkbox. Doing so indicates that this data was entered manually as opposed to having been entered via the batch process.
  6. Enter the Cohort Term.
  7. The Cohort Type is derived automatically from the Admit Type listed on the admissions application associated with the student's degree-seeking program. You may override this value.
  8. If applicable, check the Enrolled in Summer Term and enter the Summer Term.
  9. If applicable, check the Exclude from Cohort and enter the Reason.
  10. The enrollment status detail will display the student's enrollment status and load at various points throughout the student's Cohort Term.
  11. The ID of the user adding the data is captured along with the date of the action.

Delete a student from a Cohort

  1. Log in to MaineStreet CSPRD and go to: University of Maine System > Records and Enrollment > Add/Maintain Student Cohort. Find the student
    Showing what the add/maintain student cohort screen looks like. It shows the ID, Academic Institution, and Cohort Code (RETENTION) with data in the fields.
  2. Click the delete icon
    Shows the delete button is at the upper right side of the Cohort Information section.

Edit a Student's Cohort Assignment

  1. Log in to MaineStreet CSPRD and go to: University of Maine System > Records and Enrollment > Add/Maintain Student Cohort. Find the student
  2. Check the box for "Manual Override". Doing so indicates that this data was entered manually as opposed to having been entered via the batch process.
     
  3. Make the necessary changes to the student's cohort assignment. The ID of the user adding the data is captured along with the date of the action.

Add a new row for existing students

  1. Log in to MaineStreet CSPRD and go to: University of Maine System > Records and Enrollment > Add/Maintain Student Cohort. Search for the student.
  2. Click the "RETENTION" line on the search results.
  3. Click the "+" icon to add a new row. 
    Shows the button to add a row for existing student is in the plus sign in the upper right of the Cohort Information Section body.
  4. Check the box for "Manual Override". Enter the data and Save it.

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Environment

  • Campus Solutions/MaineStreet  CSPRD
  • Data will be available in CSRPT on the next day.
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