Navigating Data-Driven Insights: An Overview of UCF's Common Data Set and Interactive Dashboards

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is committed to providing transparent and accessible data to inform decision-making and enhance the university experience for students, faculty, and staff. This article explores the significance of the UCF Common Data Set and highlights the various interactive dashboards available, offering a comprehensive overview of the university's key metrics and initiatives.

Understanding the UCF Common Data Set

The Common Data Set (CDS) initiative is a collaborative effort among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Peterson's, and U.S. News & World Report. The combined goal of this collaboration is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved in a student’s transition into higher education, as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers.

UCF utilizes the CDS to provide standardized data about the university's academic programs, admissions, enrollment, student life, and financial aid. This data is valuable for prospective students, current students, researchers, and anyone interested in learning more about UCF.

Academic Excellence and Student Profile

UCF's commitment to academic excellence is reflected in the profile of its student body. Freshmen enrolled in fall 2020 posted average SAT scores of 1320, ACT scores of 28.7, and average high school weighted GPAs of 4.18. Impressively, 34% of accepted applicants were in the top ten percent of their graduating class, while 72% were in the top quarter. These statistics highlight the competitive nature of admissions and the high caliber of students who choose UCF.

For prospective students concerned about their academic credentials, it's worth noting that admission decisions are holistic. While a 3.5 GPA and a 1050 SAT score might be slightly below the average, approximately 25% of the class has a GPA around 3.5. Strong extracurricular activities and compelling essays can compensate for slightly lower scores.

Read also: Comprehensive CDS Guide

Financial Aid and Affordability

Recognizing the importance of making education accessible, UCF provides financial aid to a significant portion of its student body. 71% of undergraduates receive financial aid, and the average net price for federal loan recipients is $9,949. For the 2020-21 academic year, undergraduate tuition costs were $212.28 per credit hour for in-state students and $748.89 per credit hour for out-of-state students. Graduate tuition costs were $369.65 per credit hour for in-state students and $1,194.05 per credit hour for out-of-state students. Tuition for the medical school is $25,490 for both in-state and out-of-state students. Estimated annual cost for undergraduate students is $22,2849 for Florida residents and $38,949 for non-Florida residents. Furthermore, 70% of first-time-in-college students graduate without any educational debt at UCF.

Interactive Dashboards: A Gateway to UCF Data

UCF Analytics and Integrated Planning (AIP) and Institutional Knowledge Management (IKM) have developed a suite of interactive dashboards that provide easy access to a wide range of data. These dashboards are designed to empower users to explore trends, analyze performance, and make informed decisions. AIP has released a new Tableau Dashboard Tutorial to help users navigate and interpret Tableau dashboards more effectively.

Admissions and Enrollment Trends

Several dashboards focus on admissions and enrollment data, providing insights into the composition of the student body and trends over time.

Undergraduate Admissions Dashboard: This dashboard presents comprehensive admissions data and trends for UCF’s undergraduate programs over a five-year period. It displays data related to the number of applications, acceptances, and enrollments, alongside critical metrics such as acceptance and yield rates.
Graduate Program Statistics Dashboard: This tool displays current and historical admissions, enrollment, and degree completion data for UCF’s graduate programs. The Admissions data is broken out into sex, ethnicity, average incoming GPA, and GRE test scores. The Enrollment section includes overall counts, full-time vs. part-time status, and other key demographics.
Enrollment Dashboard: This dashboard displays current and historical enrollment patterns at UCF, providing data on all students over the most recent five years. Users can view the ethnicity, student classification, major, and full/part-time status of enrolled students in chart and crosstab formats.
Geographic Enrollment Dashboard: This dashboard displays current and historical geographic enrollment patterns at UCF, offering geographic data on all students over the most recent five years. The dashboard allows users to view the country, state, and Florida county of enrolled students in chart and crosstab formats.
Feeder Schools Dashboard: This dashboard displays current and historical feeder school patterns, providing data on incoming FTICs and undergraduate transfers over the most recent five years.
Enrollment Monitoring Dashboard: Created to assist the President’s cabinet with enrollment tracking leading up to the start of each term, this dashboard tracks weekly admissions and enrollment data compared to the same point in time in the previous year.

Student Success and Outcomes

UCF is dedicated to student success, and several dashboards track key metrics related to retention, graduation, and employment outcomes.

Retention & Graduation Dashboard: This dashboard displays retention and graduation rates for FTIC and transfer students at UCF. It is updated three times a year: Mid-February (final Fall data), mid-September (final Summer and early Fall data), and Late October (preliminary Fall data).
Graduates Employment & Continuing Education Dashboard: This dashboard displays current FETPIP (Florida Education and Training Placement Information Program) data, which provides follow-up data on former students and program participants who have graduated, exited, or completed a public education or training program within the State of Florida.
Student Success Dashboard: This dashboard incorporates elements of existing advising tools including EAB and Pegasus Path as well as course registration, holds, and other demographic data. A new resource that will help UCF Advisors increase their efficiency when interacting with students will be rolled out later this month. This new tool allows advisors to better guide students towards reaching their goals and achieving success at UCF.
Degrees Awarded Dashboard: This dashboard displays current and total degrees awarded to date at UCF. Viewers also have the ability to filter and narrow down the most recent five- and ten-year trends. The dashboard displays the total counts of degrees, minors, and certificates awarded.

Academic Program Quality and Productivity

UCF conducts in-depth reviews of each of its academic programs every seven years, in accordance with regulations established by the Florida Board of Governors. An interactive tool is available to UCF faculty and staff members to help examine the quality and productivity of academic programs.

Read also: Common Data Set: Boston College

Faculty and Staff Demographics

The Faculty and Staff Interactive Dashboard contains an overview of UCF faculty and staff including demographics on sex, ethnicity, rank and tenure status (for faculty), and employee groups (for staff). The team has been working hard to include Fall 2022 employee data from Workday, which launched last July. This dashboard displays overall counts and demographics of UCF’s faculty and staff. The dashboard includes three tabs which display the data for all UCF faculty and staff combined and separately. Categories include employee type, sex, race, new vs. returning status, tenure status and rank.

Resource Utilization and Engagement

SCH & FTE Dashboard: This dashboard displays student credit hours (SCH) and annual full-time equivalency (FTE) data. It provides SCH and FTE on all students over the most recent five years, and can be viewed in chart and crosstab formats.
Library Utilization Tab: A new addition to the Library Dashboard, the Library Utilization tab includes information that provides elevated user engagement and helps users make informed decisions.

Experiential Learning and High Impact Practices

UCF’s office of Experiential Learning’s mission is to develop and sustain quality opportunities through an inclusive environment that promotes collaboration between students, faculty, community, and employer partners. The Experiential Learning dashboard was built to track and showcase the various experiences UCF students can complete outside of the classroom including clinicals, internships, co-ops, and practicums. The High Impact Practice (HIP) Summary Dashboard displays summary statistics on the six major High Impact areas including Undergraduate Research, Study Abroad, Learning Communities, Experiential Learning, High Impact Designated Courses, and Capstone Courses.

IKM has had a long-standing partnership with the College of Undergraduate Studies surrounding UCF’s High Impact Practices. What started as a need to track Undergraduate Research activity gradually evolved into the creation of an interactive dashboard that provided information on both student and faculty participants.

UCF: A Thriving Public Research University

Founded on June 10, 1963, the University of Central Florida has grown into a major public research university. Originally named Florida Technological University, its mission was to educate students for space-age careers in engineering and other technological professions. Today, UCF offers a wide array of programs across its thirteen academic colleges and schools.

Campus and Location

UCF's main campus is located in unincorporated Orange County, Florida, and spans 1,420 acres. The campus is designed to be pedestrian-oriented, with a series of concentric circles. The outermost circle is Gemini Blvd, which is also the main road for vehicular traffic on campus. Pegasus Circle contains the student union, with the John C. Hitt Library located directly to the south of it. In 2019, a 15-acre (6-hectare) campus was opened in Downtown Orlando in collaboration with Valencia West. The 50-acre (20-hectare) UCF Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona includes the UCF College of Medicine and the Burnett Biomedical Sciences Building.

Read also: ABC: By the Numbers

Research and Partnerships

The University of Central Florida fosters research among its thirteen academic colleges and schools, partnerships with corporations such as Lockheed Martin, Disney, Boeing, L3Harris, Siemens, SpaceX, and Universal. UCF also houses a satellite campus in Cocoa, FL, near Kennedy Space Center. The Central Florida Research Park, adjacent to the UCF campus, is the seventh largest research park in the nation and the largest in Florida, housing over 116 corporations. UCF researchers received $237.4 million in fiscal year 2025 for funded research.

Rankings and Recognition

In the edition of Best Colleges, University of Central Florida is ranked among national universities and recognized as one of the Most Innovative Schools. A 2015 Aviation Week & Space Technology workforce study named UCF the No. 1 supplier of aerospace and defense workforce talent in the United States.

Student Life

UCF has over 400 registered student organizations, intramural sports, and an active Student Government. Spirit Splash is a homecoming tradition at UCF, and is traditionally the only time during the year that students are allowed into the Reflecting Pond.

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