COLLEGE DICTIONARY 

Below are standard terms used on a college campus. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with these terms. It will make navigating college much easier!

A-G Requirements: a group of high school courses that must be completed with a grade of C or better to qualify for admissions to The University of California or California State University.

Academic Affairs: a college or university department that oversees academic programming and curriculum development, research, and faculty management.

Academic Hold: a restriction placed on a student's account will prevent the student from registering for additional courses. Academic holds usually occur when a student faces disciplinary action or as troubling grades and is at risk of failing college. Another type of hold, known as a financial hold, is the result of unpaid costs. See "financial hold." 

Accreditation: a set of standards set by private organizations who review college and university's structure, programming, and overall functioning. Ideally, regional accreditation is best. See "regional accreditation."

ACT: the American College Test. A standardized test that tests English, reading, math, and science skills. This test is used to determine a student's readiness for college and is a popular admission requirement.

Adjunct: an instructor or professor who teaches at a college or university part-time or on a limited term

Admissions: the process a college uses to assess and accept an incoming class of students. Every college has a department dedicated to admissions.

APA: a standardized writing format created by the American Psychological Association. Along with MLA, this format is a popular requirement for writing college papers.

Associate Degree: a two-year college degree. Typically, this Degree requires the completion of around 60 college credits or 20-course units. The student is not considered a college graduate until they complete a bachelor's degree.

Audit: a review process that typically takes place between a college advisor and the student to confirm that the student has completed all requirements for their degree program.

Bachelor's Degree: a four-year college degree that typically requires the completion of 120 college credits or 40-course units. After this Degree, the student is considered a college graduate.

Banner: also known as Banner Web or PeopleSoft; this is a popular software used on college campuses to track and maintain student records. Students have little interaction with this system; however, it is commonly referred to amongst college administrators and faculty.

Bibliography: a formatted list of articles, books, or other publications that were used or referred to throughout a research paper. Using MLA or APA format, this tends to be the final page of the document. This is also known as a work cited page. A bibliography is required when referencing someone else's work. See "plagiarism."

Blackboard: an online learning software like Canvas. See “Canvas” and “Learning Management System.”

Blue Book Exam: a small booklet of line paper used for written examinations. These types of exams are less common than others.

Bursar: oversees collecting and processing financial transactions across the campus. This includes payments for courses and receiving and processing financial aid loans and grants. Separately, a financial aid office leads efforts that support student access to financial aid, loans, and grants. Once those loans and grants are approved, the bursar processes the accounting. The bursar is usually responsible for creating and removing financial holds on student accounts. See "financial hold." See "financial aid."

Canvas: an online learning platform that integrates coursework and social interaction between students and faculty.

Certificate: a program that provides specific learning on a topic. In some cases, the courses completed in a certificate program are transferable toward an associate degree program. A certificate is not a college degree.

Chicago: an established writing format similar to MLA or APA. This format is less popular than MLA and APA. See "MLA" and "APA."

College: a higher education institution that usually consists of several different schools specializing in particular industries or pathways of study.

Community/City College: a state-funded community accessible learning institution that provides associate degree, certificate, and workforce development learning programs. Some community colleges provide specific on-the-job training.

Course Units: a measurement or system used to track the number of courses completed by a student. Some colleges or universities use course units, while others use college credits. One course unit is the same as three college credits. 

Credits: a system of data measurement used to track the number of courses completed by a student. Some colleges or universities use credits, while others use course units. Three college credits are the same as a one-course unit.

Curriculum: a developed collection of assignments, tests, and coursework.

Dean: the college equivalent of an assistant or vice-principal. A dean typically oversees an academic or administrative department. Deans also handle student disciplinary issues.

Degree: a diploma or certification provided to a student after a set course of study is completed, successfully. There are five levels of college degrees: associates, bachelors, masters, professional, and doctoral.

Disability Services: the department or office on a college campus that works with students with disabilities, health problems, or impairments and helps them as they seek accommodations and supports. The services provided at the college level are very different from those provided at the high school level. Be sure to request more information on this topic from the College and Career Center, if needed.

Dissertation: an extended and in-depth research paper, typically exceeding 100 pages or more. A dissertation is required in order to complete a doctoral-level degree, successfully.

Diversity and Inclusion: growing efforts on the college campus and within the workplace committed to embracing differences in traits and characteristics and assuring that all feel welcome.

Doctoral Degree: the highest-level degree offered from a university. The completion of a doctoral degree, in most cases, is the equivalent of achieving expertise in a particular area of study.

Dormitory: on-campus housing for students

Enrollment Services: the college or department in charge of enrolling students and tracking grades. This department will be heavily involved with Banner. See “Banner” and “Registrar.”

Evaluation: a questionnaire provided at the end of every college course. This process is the student's chance to evaluate their instructor and the materials covered.

Externship: like an internship, the primary difference being externships do not provide college credit. An externship is the opportunity to shadow an established professional working in their field. This helps students understand how to compose themselves and the type of work and demands that the field encounters.

Faculty: a group of instructors or professors.

FAFSA: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA is an important document that must be complete in order to receive financial Aid. The FAFSA determines student loans, grants and can be used to determine scholarship eligibility. Faster funding amounts increase each year. Each year, a new FAFSA must be complete. The FAFSA can always be completed for free at FAFSA.gov. If the student is asked to pay or provide payment information, then the student is on the wrong website.

Financial Aid: financial resources to help pay for college. This includes loans, grants, work-study programs, and scholarships which can be accessed by completing the FAFSA.

Financial Hold: a freeze on student accounts due to an overdue balance. Completing the FAFSA on time can help to avoid financial holds. Financial holds on a student account after graduation can prevent students from receiving their final transcripts and degrees. For current students, a financial hold will prevent the student from registering for next semester's courses. Most colleges will work out a payment plan with the student, which will lift the hold as long as payments are on time.

Format: a select group of guidelines that determine how a document should be structured. Popular formats include MLA and APA. On a rare occasion, the Chicago format may be used.

Fraternity: an on-campus group formed around a standard set of demographics, goals, efforts, or motivations. These groups tend to include students who identify as male. See “Sorority.”

General Education Requirements (Gen. Eds): colleges or universities core required classes. General education requirements tend to be English, math, science, philosophy, foreign language, and social science courses. These courses are required for every student, no matter their college major.

GMAT: the Graduate Management Admissions Test is typically a requirement when applying to business school and pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree. This test would be completed as the student nears completion of their bachelor's degree or after graduation. Like the ACT and SAT, the GMAT helps determine whether a student can be accepted into a master's degree program at a business school.

GPA: a student’s Grade Point Average. This is a cumulative average score of all of the student's grades. Commonly, 4.0 is the highest GPA with only exceptional academic performances exceeding the 4.0 ceiling.

Graduate School: a school at a university that provides master or doctoral-level degrees. To pursue graduate school, the student must first complete a bachelor's degree.

Graduate: a student who has completed a bachelor's degree

Grants: free money that can be accessed through completing the FAFSA on time. Grant money does not have to be repaid.

GRE: the Graduate Record Exam. For students seeking a master, professional, or doctoral degree, the GRE is commonly required for admissions. Some graduate schools are moving away from the GRE. Specific professional degree programs or specific graduate schools, such as law school, business school, medical school, and others, have different testing requirements, but some do allow students to substitute the GRE.

Instructor: a member of a department’s teaching staff. An instructor is usually managed by a professor or associate professor.

Internship: a short-term, usually one semester-long work experience offered by companies or organizations. This experience gives a student experience within a specific industry. Internships had previously always been unpaid; however, recently, there has been growth in paid internships. An internship provides college credit through an agreement with the college. 

Ivy League: a group of eight universities in the United States, all of which are among the nation's oldest. All eight of these universities are considered amongst the most elite universities in the world and have very high admission standards. The Ivy League universities are the University of Pennsylvania (not to be confused with Penn State), Princeton University, Dartmouth College, Columbia University, Brown University, Cornell University, Yale University, and Harvard University.

Learning Management System (LMS): a software or online platform where students, faculty, and administrators can interact. An example of an LMS is Blackboard and Canvas. See “Blackboard” and “Canvas.”

Lecturer: See "instructor."

Liberal Arts: consists of a group of undergraduate majors that are not STEM-related. These majors include history, literature, writing, psychology, sociology, and others. Some colleges market themselves or are referred to as “liberal arts colleges.” Most of their majors fall under liberal arts categories; however, those colleges tend to offer STEM majors. See "STEM."

Licensure: a government process requiring a person seeking a license to complete a set of courses, a specific degree, or a set number of years or hours working in a particular field. Some licenses require all three. Careers that require licensure include registered nurses, accountants, psychologists, medical doctors, and others. There is usually an exam that must be passed before obtaining a license to practice the profession.

Loans: a funding source made available to everybody, no matter their income. In general, loans can be denied based on the applicants and their credit history; however, FAFSA loans are not based on credit history or a parents' credit history. Some student loans may be forgiven, depending on the major, where the student finds employment after completing their education, or timely monthly payments. See "Loan Forgiveness."

Loan Forgiveness: programs managed by the United States Department of Education that set out guidelines that, when met, could lead to the full or partial cancellation, discharge, or forgiveness of the student's remaining student loans. Some of those guidelines include working in a particular industry, making a set term of on-time payments, working in public service or for a nonprofit, or having or becoming disabled and unable to make payments.

LSAT: the Law School Admissions Test. This test is a requirement to get into law school. Students interested in law school should start studying for the LSAT during their third year in college. Unlike other tests, the LSAT does not test what the student knows; instead, it tests how the student thinks or comes to a logical conclusion.

Major: a specific subject or academic in which the student chooses to specialize.

Master's Degree: a graduate-level degree that can be accessed after completing a bachelor's degree. Unlike a bachelor's degree, a master's degree is focused explicitly on the subject matter and will not include general education requirements such as English, math, and social science courses, unless those courses are directly related to the master's degree program. For example, if a student pursues a master's degree in psychology, they will likely have to complete master's level statistics courses since psychology relies heavily on data gathering and statistics. Some master's degrees take one year (Master of Arts/M.A.), and some take two (Master of Science/M.S.). 

MCAT: the Medical College Admissions Test. This is a multiple-choice exam required for admissions to medical school and veterinary school. Students begin to study for this exam during their third year in college and complete the exam in the early fall of their senior year when they apply to medical or veterinary school.

Mid-Terms: an exam given in most college courses during the middle of the semester or quarter. This exam will cover all topics learned up until that point. This exam can be as much as 20% or more of the student's final grade for that course.

Minor: some degrees or colleges offer students the chance to have a minor in addition to their college major. The minor consists of fewer courses in a specific area of study. For example, the student can major in psychology but minor in anthropology, sociology, or another subject. Having a minor can make the student more marketable to employers or graduate schools.

MLA: the Modern Language Association format and guidelines for writing. Along with APA, MLA is used commonly on college campuses. See "APA."

NCLEX-RN: The National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nursing. This multiple-choice exam is its requirement to be completed in order to be a licensed registered nurse. Students complete this exam near or after graduating from their registered nursing program.

Need-Based: a term applied to scholarships, grants, and other funding or public resources available for college or college campuses. This term exclusively applies to students who require financial support. In most cases, the FAFSA's information helps determine whether a student is considered need-based. See "FAFSA."

Out-of-State: a different tuition rate charged to students attending state or state-affiliated colleges or universities while those students maintain a legal residency in another state. For example, a student living in Arizona, who is accepted to and attends Cal State Long Beach, will pay a higher tuition rate than the tuition rate charged to students who reside in California.

Ph.D.: a Philosophy Doctorate. This Degree is research-focused within the field the student is pursuing. While Ph.D. stands for philosophy doctorate, that does not mean that the degree focuses on the subject philosophy. A Ph.D. can be obtained in almost any field. See "Doctoral Degree."

Philosophy: a major, minor, or general course. Philosophy is the study of knowledge, thought, theoretical approaches, and in some cases, the basis for formulating arguments. Famous philosophers include Homer, Plato, Socrates, and others.

Plagiarism: the act of taking somebody else's work and passing it off as one's own work. This is highly frowned upon and can lead to being disenrolled from college. The college will also indicate plagiarism on the student's college transcript, creating a permanent record. This will impact this student who committed plagiarism when attempting to enroll in another college or share their transcripts with a potential employer. Students should never, under any circumstances, commit plagiarism. It can be illegal. 

Prerequisite: a course that is required in order to access a more advanced course. For example, to access College English II, the student must first successfully complete the prerequisite course, which is College English I.

Private College/University: a college or university funded by student tuition, donations, endowments, or government grants for projects. Private colleges and universities cost substantially more than state colleges or state-affiliated colleges or universities. Private colleges and universities tend to have a higher academic ranking than state colleges and universities.

Professional Degree: a doctoral-level degree that prepares students for a specific field. Professional degrees include the Juris Doctor (JD), Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Doctor of Psychology (Psy. D.), and others. A Ph.D. is a doctoral-level research degree, but not a professional degree. See "Doctoral Degree" and “Ph.D.” 

Professor: the highest-ranked instructor within an academic department. For example, the professor of psychology will lead a college or university’s psychology department. Under that professor will be an associate professor, instructors, and adjunct faculty, all of whom teach courses. 

Provost: the senior academic administrator at a college. All professors report to the provost. When the college president or chancellor is unavailable, the provost steps in a vice president-type role.

Quarter: an academic year that uses quarters consists of four quarters. Typically, these quarters are spring, summer, fall, and winter. Each quarter provides a new set of courses. Quarters tend to be 10-12 weeks long. Colleges and universities that do not use a quarter system use a semester system. See "Semester."

Regional Accreditation: a process of measuring academic and administrative standards at a college or university. In the U.S., there are six regions, with each region have its own, but very similar, accreditation. It is highly recommended that students only attend a regionally accredited college or university. When transferring coursework, it is common for regionally accredited colleges to reject any courses from non-regionally accredited colleges. This would require the student to retake all the courses they completed at the non-regionally accredited institution. See “Transfer.”

Registrar: an academic administrator who oversees and maintains student records and access to student records. When registering for courses, it is common to have to register through the office of the registrar, which may also be called enrollment services. The registrar also controls orders for transcripts or degrees and academic or financial holds on transcripts or degrees. See “Enrollment Services.”

Research Database: an organized digital database that contains articles, periodicals, books, data sets, and much more. The student will have access to several popular databases to help the student with research and professional development.

Residency: a student who lives within the district a city/community college serves or the state where a state university or college is located is considered to have residency. Since tax dollars partially fund community colleges and state universities and colleges, students within those districts or states qualify for a discounted tuition rates since their families have already contributed their tax dollars.

SAT: the Scholastic Aptitude Test. This was once the standard for college admissions but became less popular as the ACT takes its place. Some colleges require both the SAT and ACT. See "ACT."

Scholarships: financial support provided to students based on financial need, academic achievement, the completion of a particular project, demographics, or other criteria. The donors who fund a scholarship dictate the criteria for qualifying for that scholarship. Most scholarships require the FAFSA's submission, but the FAFSA itself does not provide scholarships (only grants and loans can be accessed through the FAFSA). See "FAFSA," "Grants," "Loans," and "Need-Based."

Semester: colleges and universities that operate on a semester system offer two semesters: fall and spring, with an optional summer semester. Semesters tend to be 15 to 17 weeks long. See "Quarter."

Social Justice: a view and ongoing effort to support the idea that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunity. Social justice initiatives are prevalent on college campuses, and students are encouraged to participate in the efforts and conversation.

Social Sciences: the study of humans within society, social groups, or individually. These majors include psychology, sociology, anthropology, and others.

Sorority: an on-campus group formed around a standard set of demographics, goals, efforts, or motivations. These groups tend to include students who identify as female. See "Fraternity."

SPSS: the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software. This is an advanced statistics-focused software. Think of SPSS as a more complex version of Excel. It is popular within the social sciences and majors.

State College/University: a publicly funded institution also referred to as a public college/university. Students with residency within the institution's district or state will qualify for a lower tuition rate. Students outside of the district will pay a higher rate known as "out of state" or "out of district" tuition. See "residency."

State-Affiliated College/University: an institution that relies on both private and state funds. Like state colleges or universities, state-affiliated colleges and universities offer tuition discounts to students who reside within the institution's state. State-affiliated colleges or universities tend to cost more than state colleges and universities. See "Private College/University" and "State College/University". 

STEM: an abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. These four areas are recognized as high growth, meaning employment and job security tend to grow in majors that fall within the STEM categories. In some cases, this term abbreviates as "STEAM." The "A" represents art.

Subsidized Loan: student loans for students who demonstrate financial need. The U.S. Department of Education pays the interest on these loans, and the loans are only available for students pursuing an associate's or bachelor's level degree. These loans can only be accessed by completing the FAFSA. See "FAFSA" and see "Unsubsidized Loan."

Syllabus: an outline provided by the professor or instructor on the first day of the course. Sometimes the student will receive the outline earlier by email or on Canvas/Blackboard. This outline provides details on assignments, grading, rules, attendance policies, how to request accommodations, and other relevant information relating to that course's expectations. The outline is always subject to change based on the professor's or instructor's needs. 

Tenure: a professor's employment status at the college or university. A tenured professor, in most cases, cannot be fired or removed from their position unless the circumstances are extreme. Tenure tends to be political and a well-debated topic.

Terminal Degree: the highest degree available within a particular field. For the most part, a terminal degree is a doctoral-level degree or professional level degree. An example of a terminal degree could be a Master of Social Work (MSW) or a Master of Business Administration (MBA). See "Professional Degree" and see "Doctoral degree."

Thesis: a long-written report or essay based on a select topic of research or hypothesis. Almost every nonmathematical course in college will require one or more thesis-like projects. These can be anywhere from five to 50+ pages long. In a bachelor's degree or associate degree program, these types of written assignments tend to fall within the five-to-10-pages, double-spaced length and must follow APA or MLA format. The syllabus will set out guidelines. See "Syllabus", "MLA", "APA", "Chicago", and "Plagiarism." 

Title IV (Title Four): after completing your FAFSA, the student will be required to sign a Title IV authorization. This title/law authorizes a college or university to use FAFSA loans to pay for college tuition, on-campus housing, books, and technology. The college or university's financial aid office will contact the student to complete this form after submitting the FAFSA and getting accepted into the school.

Title IX (Title Nine): a federal law that protects students from sexual-based discrimination on a college or university campus. This law also protects students from incidents of abuse from college staff or other students. All colleges and universities in the U.S. are required to have a designated staff member who oversees Title XI enforcement on campus.

Track: a group of students who study and succeed academically, within a set range of grades or data. Tracks are commonly used in high school; however, city/community college prerequisite courses may group students based on a student's track.

Transcript: a record of the student's academic performance, grades, credits or course units completed, academic major, and any academic disciplinary actions. An official transcript is provided in an envelope sealed and stamped by the college. In most cases, official transcripts are sent directly to the student's employer or the college or graduate school where the student is transferring. An unofficial transcript is less secure documents and can usually be printed from a student portal. Having a financial or academic hold on the student's account can prevent the student from accessing or requesting official or unofficial transcripts.

Transfer: the process of transferring completed college courses from one college to another. For example, if a student completes courses at LBCC and then transfers to Cal State Long Beach, they will have to request that their official transcripts be sent to Cal State Long Beach. From there, Cal State Long Beach will evaluate the completed courses and grades to determine whether or not the courses are transferable. Having an academic hold or a financial hold on the student account may prevent the student from transferring credits or requesting a transcript. See "Financial Hold" and "Academic Hold." 

Undergraduate: a college student who has not yet finished their bachelor's degree. Even with an associate's degree, the student will still be considered an undergraduate. See "Bachelor's Degree", "Associate's Degree", "Graduate" and "Graduate School".

University: a higher education institution comprised of colleges and schools. See “College.”

Unsubsidized Loan: student loans that are available to all students no matter their financial need. Students accumulate interest on these loans. Like subsidized loans, monthly payments are not due until six months after completing or stopping college coursework. These loans can only be accessed by completing the FAFSA. See "FAFSA" and see "Subsidized Loan."

Waitlist: during the college application review process, a college creates a list of students who meet their admissions criteria, but due to limited availability, the student could not be accepted. As accepted students decide to attend different colleges, the admissions department will begin contacting and offering admission to students on their waitlist.

Withdrawal: the formal process of dropping out of a course or degree program. If a student needs to stop attending college or a course, they should pursue the withdrawal process. Not withdrawing could lead to a failing grade on the student's transcript. An instructor or professor may decide to give the student an "F" as a final grade since they stop coming to class. Completing the withdrawal process will prevent that. Some colleges or courses have withdrawal deadlines.

Workforce Development: training programs that can be complete in less than a year. These programs are not considered college courses but do prepare the student for employment in a particular industry. Some students may pursue workforce development training, start a new job afterward, then attend college in the evening and pursue a degree.

Works Cited: See "Bibliography"