NYU Glossary of Terms

As you navigate through NYU, you may come across some unfamiliar terms or acronyms. This glossary can help you demystify some of those terms and connect you to more information. Please reach out to your advisor if you have any additional questions.

Academic Year

NYU divides the year into four terms: Fall (September through mid-December), “J Term” (January), Spring (late January through May), and Summer Sessions (varying lengths between May and August). See important dates and deadlines on the Academic Calendar.

Add/Drop Period

A two-week period of time after the start of the fall and spring semesters (deadlines at Study Away sites may vary) when students can adjust their schedules by adding or removing courses. Students should consult with their academic advisor before adding/dropping classes and refer to the Academic Calendar to check deadlines.

Adjunct Faculty

A professor who teaches on a limited-term contract, often for one semester at a time. Non-tenure-track faculty teach college classes at all levels and are "typically tasked with the same instructional responsibilities as tenured faculty, such as assembling syllabi, ordering textbooks, and writing lectures.”

Albert

NYU’s student information system and the home of a student’s academic record. Students, faculty, and staff can access Albert from NYU Home. Students can use Albert to find and sign up for classes, check requirements for and progress toward their degree, request transcripts, verify their enrollment, update their preferred name, name pronunciation, and pronouns in NYU’s systems, accept or decline financial aid packages, view any financial aid missing forms or paperwork, see grades, and view any holds on their account.

Audit

With the permission of an instructor, a student can sit in on a course without earning credit towards their degree (in exchange for exemption from examinations and other assignments). Students are responsible for the full price of an audited course and it will appear on their transcript with an “R” grade. To discuss this process, students should speak with their academic advisor.

Bias Response Line

A way for members of the NYU community to report harassment, discrimination, or instances of bias that they have either witnessed or experienced. Any member of the NYU community may call the Bias Response Line at 212-998-2277.

Blended Course

A course where some, but not all, of the required instructional time is in person, with the rest being in an online format. Like a fully remote course, the online component of a blended course can be offered in asynchronous, synchronous, or hybrid meeting patterns.

Bursar

Office that oversees student’s university financial accounts, payments, and billing for all NYU students. This office is where students go (in person or online) to make payments for the academic term. Should students need help paying their bill, they should contact the Office of Financial Aid.

Center for Multicultural Education and Programs (CMEP)

Center that aims to engage, support, empower, and celebrate students of color and those with marginalized and historically underrepresented identities. Their office is located on the eighth floor of Kimmel. CMEP has a wide variety of programming available to all members of the NYU community.

Co-requisite

A course that must be taken in the same semester as another course. For example, CAS students interested in majoring in Biology must take General Chemistry I or Advanced General Chemistry I in the same semester as Principles of Biology I.

Course Load

Refers to the number of credits a student takes in a semester. For undergraduates, “full-time” status is 12 or more credits and graduates are 9 or more credit hours. Students should consult with their advisor and the Office of Financial Aid, if applicable, if they are considering enrolling less than full time, as it may impact their financial aid and timeline for graduation. International students should also check with the Office of Global Services regarding certain course load restrictions that may be required by their visas.

Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

A temporary work authorization for international students on an F-1 visa that directly relates to a student’s major area of study. CPT can be paid or unpaid internships, full or part-time employment, or cooperative education and must be completed before graduation. Interested students should contact the Office of Global Services prior to applying for CPT.

Credits

(Sometimes referred to as credit hours, units, or points) Units to measure a student’s enrollment in a course and track their progress toward a degree. MCC courses are generally 4 credits each.

Dismissal

A formal expulsion from NYU. Students may be dismissed for not being in good academic standing for multiple semesters, by not making satisfactory progress toward a program or degree for a prolonged period of time, and/or by violating their school’s code of conduct.

Elective

A course that is not offered by MCC but still counts toward the degree. Electives allow students to pursue their academic interests outside of their home department.

NYU Engage

A platform students use to find clubs and organizations. NYU Engage is an online community to create and join clubs and organizations; find events; and stay engaged via message boards, news posts, and group messaging.

Fellowship

A broad term that encompasses a range of academic, co-curricular, and professional opportunities for students. These can include funding for scientific research, public service interests, graduate school, international research, study abroad, and independent projects. Typically these fellowships come with a funding package.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

A federal law that protects students’ academic and financial records. Because students’ educational records are their own, they have the right to grant access to certain individuals, and all others are denied. If they grant access, that allows the individual to see their grades, class schedules, bills, and other academic information. Students must sign a waiver to grant access.

Financial Aid

Financial assistance that helps students and their families cover the cost of college. This includes scholarships and grants from the government and NYU (which do not need to be repaid), federal and private loans (which do need to be repaid), as well as opportunities for student employment, often called work-study, at NYU. Speak with a financial aid counselor at the StudentLink Center or email financial.aid@nyu.edu.

The Financial Aid team put together a quick guide to common Financial Aid terms.

First-Generation (First-Gen) Students

Students who are typically understood as the first in their immediate family to attend college or an American institution of higher education. NYU has several resources to support first-gen students including Proud to Be First, the Liberal Studies Peer Mentoring Program, and First Class.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

A number that measures academic achievement on a scale from 4.000 (an A) to 0.000 (an F). Students have both a term and a cumulative GPA that appear on their transcripts: Term GPA measures academic progress for a given term, cumulative GPA includes all courses taken for credit.

Handshake

An online database used by the Wasserman Center for Career Development that helps students and alumni search and apply for jobs and internships.

Hold

An indicator placed on a student’s Albert account indicating the student needs to take some sort of administrative action (filling out a form, paying a bill, meeting with an advisor, etc.) The most common hold is an “Advisor Hold,” which means that students must meet with their academic advisor to discuss their schedule and academic plan before they are able to register for classes.

Incomplete Grade

A temporary transcript marker that means a student did not complete a course and has made an agreement with the faculty member to complete the course at a later date. Incomplete grades are granted at the discretion of the faculty member and are usually granted because there is a circumstance beyond the student’s control that has impacted their ability to complete coursework. Students who may have unexpected or difficult situations that impact their ability to complete work in a particular course should talk with their advisor and faculty about requesting an incomplete.

Independent Study

An individualized project or series of lessons that students take one-on-one with a member of the faculty for academic credit. Typically a student and professor agree upon a topic for the student to research and submit a final summary of their research for an agreed upon amount of credits. Independent studies provide a way for students to pursue a topic of interest that does not necessarily fit into a traditional academic curriculum or that they wish to explore further. Students should speak with their academic advisor if they’re interested in pursuing an independent study.

January Term (J Term)

A three-week term in January, after the Fall but before the beginning of the spring semester. Students can choose to enroll in up to six credits’ worth of classes at one of several NYU schools and campuses during J-Term. It should be noted that because of the limited time period, courses are often accelerated during J-Term. If interested, there are opportunities for students to spend the J-Term at a NYU Study Away site.

Leave of Absence (LOA)

A Leave of Absence is a formal distinction period of time when a student is not enrolled in classes but typically intends to reenroll. Because NYU understands that other things may come up for students, there are procedures that allow them time away when needed. Students typically take leaves to work on their mental health, assist family members with medical or other emergencies, pursue work opportunities that may conflict with their studies, or fulfill military obligations. In order to take a Leave of Absence, students must submit a Leave of Absence request on Albert and speak with their academic advisors.

LGBTQ+ Center

The NYU LGBTQ+ Center creates a welcoming environment for students, faculty, staff, and alumni to develop their understanding of and engage with LGBTQ+ communities through programs, events, learning and development, support, consultation, and resource sharing.

MakerSpace

An NYU Tandon workspace lab created to foster collaborative design projects. This space is open to all NYU students, staff, and faculty. It highlights new iterative, interdisciplinary teamwork using cutting-edge tools of rapid prototyping and digitally driven production.

Matriculation

Formal term to indicate that a student is currently enrolled in a degree-seeking program.

Moses Center

Provides services and programs for all NYU students who may have hearing and visual impairments, mobility impairments, learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders, chronic illnesses, and other conditions that may impact their ability to complete their coursework and access different spaces on campus. The Moses Center for Student Accessibility (CSA) works with NYU students to determine and implement appropriate and reasonable accommodations as well as connect to available programs and resources to support equal access to a world-class education.

Multi Factor Authentication/Duo Mobile

An extra layer of protection to ensure data security for its students, faculty, and staff. When logging in to NYU’s online systems, users will typically need to enter their NetID and password, along with a second form of verification from a cell phone or landline. Duo Mobile is an app that lets users log in by accepting a notification on their phones.

N-Number

All NYU students, faculty, and staff have N Numbers (also called Campus ID number or University ID number). N Numbers are printed on the back of NYUCards. It is an 8-digit string of numbers and starts with “N.”

NetID

All NYU students, faculty, and staff have an NYU NetID, or network identification. It is a combination of an individual’s initials and a few random numbers. NetIDs, along with N Numbers, are printed on the back of NYUCards. This form of identification is necessary to log on to many of the internal systems.

NYU Home

NYU’s main online portal. The site acts as a one-stop-shop landing page that links to various services and applications for academics, work, and campus life. NYUHome also provides the ability for you to search and browse the profiles of people in the NYU Community and to manage your own profile and its visibility to others.

Office Hours

A block of time set aside by instructors, teaching assistants, and certain other NYU staff members, for students to ask questions and receive extra guidance and/or support.

Office of Global Services (OGS)

The Office of Global Services (OGS) handles immigration matters for all students, faculty, and staff seeking immigration and visa support when traveling to NYU locations in the US and around the world. For international students, OGS assists with visa and other immigration concerns and requirements. For domestic students interested in studying overseas, OGS will help guide them through the visa application process.

Optional Practical Training (OPT)

A special kind of work permit for international undergraduate and graduate students with an F-1 visa who have completed or pursued their degrees for at least one academic year. OPT allows these students to work in a field directly related to their field of study. Students interested in applying for OPT should contact the Office of Global

Pass/Fail

A grade option that either automatically applies to a course or can be chosen by a student during registration and up to the ninth week of the term. Upon completion of the course, instead of receiving a letter grade for the class, students will have a P for pass or F for fail on their transcript. Each school has a different pass/fail policy so please consult with your academic advisor.

Plagiarism

Presenting others' work without adequate acknowledgement of its source, as though it were one’s own. This can include quoting another text without providing a citation, turning in the same paper for multiple courses, turning in work that someone else wrote, or including without citation an idea or argument that they did not come up with in an academic work. NYU takes plagiarism very seriously, and students who participate in it may automatically fail their class, be suspended, or dismissed from the University.

Prerequisite

A course that students are required to take before advancing to a higher-level class in a given subject or discipline. Students may be able to place out of certain prerequisites (in languages, for example) by taking a placement exam or by having certain AP/IB/A-Level credits.

Registrar

The office responsible for tasks related to registration, certifications, graduation, transcripts, enrollment verifications, and academic record keeping. Students can meet in-person with representatives from the Registrar at the StudentLink Centers or contact the Registrar online for more information.

Registration

The process of signing up for classes. The NYU Academic Calendar lists registration dates and deadlines for each academic year. Students can search and sign up for classes online using Albert and undergraduate students should meet with their academic advisors prior to registration.

Remote Course

All of the instruction is online, whether the course meets at a designated time (synchronous), is self-paced (asynchronous), or a combination of both. Though wholly online, these courses will retain their usual enrollment size and students will have opportunities for regular engagement with the professor.

Shopping Cart

During registration, students can log in to Albert and use the Shopping Cart feature to mark any classes they’re interested in taking for the current or upcoming term.

Student Information Systems (SIS)

Tools that universities use to track and record student data, such as financial aid packages, degree progress, and more. Albert performs these functions at NYU.

StudentLink

Service center that houses the offices of the Registrar, Global Programs, Financial Aid, Global Services, and Bursar. Students may speak with a StudentLink Counselor concerning this such as billing questions, financial aid eligibility, study away options, enrollment and degree verifications and more.

Swap

During the add/drop period, students may join the waitlist for a course they want to take by setting up a “swap.” This feature in Albert allows students to register for another course as a placeholder (to ensure that they remain enrolled full-time) and automatically switches the waitlisted course with the placeholder once a seat opens up.

Syllabus

A document that instructors use to provide students in their class with a general overview of the class for that semester. Syllabi generally include contact information for the instructor and their office hours, a course description, the instructor’s expectations and policies, required materials like books or other supplies, an overview of major and minor assignments, and a general schedule for the term.

Synchronous Course

A course that is taught online with real-time virtual sessions where all course participants log in simultaneously.

Teaching Assistant (TA)

Commonly called a TA, teaching assistants are usually a graduate student who aids a professor in the instruction of a class. Generally, TAs help grade papers, hold office hours to answer questions about homework and other assignments, and often lead discussion sections. TA’s employed on a temporary contract by a department at a college or university in teaching-related responsibilities.

Tenure

An academic appointment granted to a faculty member that offers them a permanent post to the University and academic freedom. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances. Tenure is a means of defending the principle of academic freedom, which holds that it is beneficial for society in the long run if scholars are free to hold and examine a variety of views through their role with a University. Before faculty are granted tenure, there is an extensive review process.

Term Withdrawal

A term withdrawal means you are withdrawing from all of your classes for a term. A term withdrawal requested after the drop/add deadline of the term will result in W grades on your transcript. This can only be requested after the add/drop deadline. Students may request a term withdrawal through Albert or by speaking with their academic advisor.

Transcript

A complete record of all courses a student has completed, including the final grades earned, at an educational institution. A transcript will also list the student’s Grade Point Average (GPA) and any awards or degrees granted by that institution.

Transfer Credit

Credits awarded from another college or university that can be applied to a student’s NYU degree. Not all transfer credits from outside schools can be used toward an NYU degree, so students should speak with their academic advisor about which will count toward their degree program.

Tuition

The cost of attending an institution, usually calculated by the number of credit hours a student takes in a given semester. At NYU, a student’s tuition may also depend on which school they attend. Tuition does not include the cost of housing, dining, textbooks, or other expenses.

Wasserman Center for Career Development

The Wasserman Center is where you will go for support with career development. Wasserman helps students explore, prepare and connect with meaningful career opportunities, regardless of a student's school or major. Wasserman supports students through job and internship fairs, career coaching, seminars on interviewing skills and resume/cover letter writing, and they operate Handshake, an online job search tool. Wasserman also assists students with finding work-study, part-time, internship, and full-time jobs, both on campus and off.

Wellness Exchange

A 24/7 mental health resource for the NYU community. Call the 24-hour hotline at (212) 443-9999, chat via the Wellness Exchange app anytime, make a virtual appointment, or "stop by" during our virtual drop-in hours to speak with a certified counselor. Students can discuss any day-to-day challenges or health concerns, including medical issues, stress, depression, sexual assault, anxiety, alcohol or drug dependence, and eating disorders.

Withdraw

Formally unenrolling from a course. This happens after the add/drop deadline has passed (refer to the pertinent academic calendar for exact dates). Courses that students have withdrawn from do not receive credit and appear on their transcripts with a “W” grade. A “W” grade does not impact a student’s Grade Point Average (GPA), but it may impact their degree progress, financial aid, and/or visa status. Students should speak with their advisor if they are considering withdrawing from a class.