COLLEGE LINGO
Understanding these general college terms will be helpful to you before you begin your college planning process.
ACADEMIC DEAN: Head administrator over a specific academic college, school, or unit within a college or university.
ACADEMIC PROBATION: A status placed on students with low grade point averages. This status allows students the opportunity to raise their grades within a specified time period to avoid being dismissed from the college or university.
ADVISOR: A staff or faculty member of a college or university who assists students in both their educational and course scheduling plans.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR: A faculty member of a college or university who ranks above an instructor and below an associate professor.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR: A faculty member of a college or university who ranks above an assistant professor and below a professor.
BULLETIN: The college or university book which serves as the academic contract for undergraduate and graduate students who need information about the university’s academic programs, courses, policies, etc.
BURSAR: The senior financial administrator in a college or university to whom students pay tuition and fees.
CLEP (College-Level-Examination Program): Comprehensive tests in various subject areas that provide students with the opportunity to earn credit without having to take the course. Each college or university determines an acceptable score and the amount of credit granted for each examination.
COMPREHENSIVE TEST: A test, usual given at the end of a course or entire degree program, that covers all the material taught.
CURRICULUM: A set of courses that fulfills an entire program of study
DROP DATE: The final day a class can be dropped and no grade registered.
ESSAY TEST: A test where answers require students to respond in paragraph form. Also called a subjective test.
GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA): A student’s grade average from courses taken during a single term or semester. A student’s GPA is figured by converting letter grades and multiplying them by the credits for each class, then dividing by total credit hours taken. The average grade point for all courses taken is called the Cumulative Grade Point Average.
INSTRUCTOR: The lower ranking level of college teachers.
MAJOR: A student’s primary concentration of study.
MINOR: A student’s secondary concentration of study
OBJECTIVE TEST: A test mainly comprised of multiple choice and true-false questions.
ORIENTATION: An event which introduces students to various aspects of a college or university.
PLAGIARISM: Copying, claiming, or implying someone else’s work as your own.
PROFESSOR: The highest ranking level of college teachers.
PREREQUISITE: A course which is required to be completed before taking another course.
REGISTRAR: The head college or university administrator responsible for student grade records and registration.
REGISTRATION: Signing up for courses.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS: A college or university’s regulation on the qualitative and quantitative requirements of acceptable academic progress.
SCHEDULE: A student’s list of classes for a specified term. The schedule details the day(s), time(s), and place(s) of meeting for each class.
SUBJECTIVE TEST: A test where answers require students to respond in paragraph form. Also called an essay test.
SYLLABUS: A summary or outline of a course provided by the instructor. The syllabus can include topics to be discussed, assignments, due dates, instructor profile, etc.
TRANSCRIPT: A copy of a student’s official academic record.
TUTOR: An individual who provides a student with additional instruction.
UNIVERSITY FEE(S): Additional fee(s) imposed by a college or university to students which pays for numerous student services (recreation facility fee, library fee, technology fee, health center fee, etc.) |
