First Generation College Students

• Academic Probation – Academic probation means a student has fallen from good standing status and is at risk of being dismissed from the university. Institutions measure academic standing by GPA and courses passed.
• Add/Drop Period – Time frame when students can drop or add courses to their course load without consequences, including incomplete marks on their transcript. When a student leaves a course during the add/drop grace period, it’s referred to as dropping. There is no financial or academic penalty for dropping a course during the add/drop period. Students may drop a class because they feel the chosen course load will be too heavy, or they may want to switch to a different class.
• Advisor – Academic advisors are faculty members assigned to students in their department. They help students choose majors and minors, design a course of study and help ensure students fulfill graduation requirements.
• Associate’s Degree – An undergraduate degree that generally requires two years of full-time study.
• BA / Bachelor of Arts: Undergraduate degree that generally requires four years of full-time study. Students must declare a major in a particular field of study. A Bachelor of Arts usually includes broader general instruction in the liberal arts and humanities, history, communications, or religious studies.
• BS / Bachelor of Science: Undergraduate degree that generally requires four years of full-time study. Students must declare a major in a particular field of study. Provides specialized training in a particular field of study, often emphasizing science, math, and technology.
• Coed – Refers to any program, dormitory, or activity that includes all genders. This term is typically used to describe residence halls that have both male and female students living on the same floor.
• Commencement – A formal graduation ceremony that celebrates recent graduates of the institution with their family and friends. The word “commencement” is often used interchangeably with graduation, but it’s not quite the same thing. At a college commencement ceremony, all the students who will graduate (earn their degree) during that academic year may participate even if they haven’t officially completed their graduation requirements.
• Credit – Each course is assigned a certain number of credit hours, usually corresponding to how often class occurs and how long classes are, as well as the course difficulty. Many classes earn a student 3 to 4 credit hours. To be considered full-time, a student must be taking at least 12 credits per semester.
• Dean – A dean is the head of a particular academic or administrative department at a college or university, for example, Dean of Admissions, Dean of Faculty, Dean of Student Affairs, etc.
• DegreeWorks – Concord University’s online system for assessing a student’s progression toward his/her degree or
  graduation. Available on the MyCU app and the MyConcord U dashboard webpage; https://myconcordu.concord.edu.
• Drop-in Tutoring – Free and available for all enrolled Concord students. Monday – Thursday. No appointment needed. Located in The Learning Center, Library, 3rd floor Mezzanine Level. To search tutors by subject, go to www.web.penjiapp.com.
• Electives – Electives are the courses a student chooses to take from a list of offerings that fulfill general education requirements, or any courses outside the student’s major.
• FAFSA – This stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Completing this online form is the first step in applying for financial aid. All colleges require students who’d like to be considered for financial aid to complete it EVERY YEAR. Receiving financial aid could help you avoid taking
  student loans.
• Finals – Completed during the last week of each term, finals refers to the exams and assignments students must undertake before their summer or winter breaks.
• General Education Courses Curriculum that creates the foundation of an undergraduate degree. It generally includes lower-level courses in English, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences. Include fundamental classes like English, math, general science and history that provide a foundation
  for major-specific classes. Most 4-year college programs come with a set of general education requirements, intended to ensure all students receive a broad education, with knowledge of topics outside of their chosen field of study.
• Grading on a Curve – Grading on a curve means adjusting student scores after an assignment. The idea of “the curve” goes back to a bell curve. Generally, professors aim for an average grade in the C to B range, depending on the class. If a professor notices that the average score was significantly lower —
  for example, the average grade was below passing — they can grade on a curve. That means modifying each student’s grade to raise the average.
• Liberal Arts – The liberal arts are a broad field of study including subjects within the arts, sciences, and humanities. Many colleges label themselves liberal arts institutions. This simply means they offer a variety of degrees covering the arts, sciences, and humanities while prioritizing critical thinking.
• Major – A college major is a concentrated area of study that forms the basis of the undergraduate curriculum. Your major helps to shape academic pathway Influences career pathway and courses taken.
• Master’s Degree – A graduate-level degree pursued after completing a bachelor’s degree program. A master’s degree requires a year and a half to two years of full-time study and a high-level of mastery in a specific field at the completion of the program.
• Midterms – An exam given approximately halfway through a course term that generally covers all lecture, reading and discussion material presented so far. At Concord, refers to grades reported at mid-semester.
• Minor – Secondary focus meant to add value to the student’s major. A minor consists of the lower-level courses required for a major in the same discipline. For example, a Business major with a minor in Spanish will be required to complete a certain number of lower-level Spanish courses.
• MLA/APA Style – Both MLA and APA use parenthetical citations to cite sources in a text. They include slightly different information. APA is used primarily in the sciences and in fields related to education. MLA is primarily used in humanities subjects such as languages, literary studies, and media studies.
  Professors usually indicate which citation style they require.
• MyCU / MyConcordU – Online homepage and/or app that contains resources and links to important events and information. Includes email, Blackboard, DegreeWorks, IT Helpdesk, Career Center, and more.
• Plagiarism – Taking credit for someone else’s work as your own including copying words, sentence structure or ideas. Plagiarism has very grave consequences in college and careers.
• Prerequisite – Prerequisites are specific courses or subjects that you need to take (and get a passing grade in) before you can take higher-level courses in that same subject. At the undergraduate level, these courses typically come in 100-, 200-, 300-, or 400-levels, with the higher levels indicating more
  advanced courses. Pre reqs were designed as part of the building block system, meaning that higher-level courses should build upon the knowledge that was established in lower-level courses. For example, your college degree might require you to take Calculus I as a freshman before you
  take Calculus II as a sophomore.
• Progression Sheet – Available online through the Concord University Registrar’s Office page or in the academic catalog. Lists the requirements to complete a program and guide students through choosing courses. It basically maps out the “path” of courses you should take to achieve your major. The Registrar, your advisor, CACD or SSS can help you with your Progression sheet.
• Registrar – Registrars function as college administrators, overseeing data surrounding incoming and outgoing students, handling credit transfers, and conducting degree evaluations. The registrar’s office is responsible for many administrative academic duties like registering students for classes, preparing
  student transcripts, preparing class schedules and analyzing enrollment statistics.
• SAP / Satisfactory Academic Progress: SAP is a federal student aid (FSA) eligibility requirement and is administered by the university in addition to the academic standards of performance required under the CU academic progress policy. More detail can be found on Concord University’s
  Financial Aid webpage, https://www.concord.edu/financial-aid.
• Students who do not maintain SAP under this policy will initially be placed on financial aid warning and will be notified by mail, email, or via MyConcordU of their status.
• Service Learning – Service learning allows students to step outside the classroom and gain skills by helping others.
• Syllabus – A general summary of a course handed out to students at the beginning of the term (and also available electronically). The syllabus includes required textbooks, an overview of required readings, assignments and due dates, tests, and other necessary information. The professor’s contact information and office hours will also be listed. Reading and following the syllabus is a key success tool for college students! USE THE SYLLABUS AS A TIME MANAGEMENT TOOL AND PLAN YOUR SEMESTER IN ADVANCE!
• Synchronous/Asynchronous Learning – Synchronous learning is an online classroom format where students learn together at the same time and can engage with classmates and instructors via chat rooms and video conferencing, requires students to attend real-time lectures and complete assignments at specific times. Asynchronous learning is a type of online education, asynchronous learning allows students to watch lectures and complete assignments on their own time rather than having to attend classes on a specific schedule.
• Title IX – This federal law was enacted in 1972 and prohibits any school or education-related program from discriminating based on gender.
• Transcript – A transcript displays an overview of a student’s academic progress and grades throughout college. Transcripts indicate which classes a student has taken. It includes names and grades for all completed courses, their GPA and their total credit hours.
• Undergraduate – An undergraduate is any student pursuing a 4-year bachelor’s degree.
• Withdraw – To drop a class after the add/drop grace period. Withdrawing often means receiving a W on your transcript. Withdrawing is when a student leaves a course after the add/drop period is over. While withdrawing from a class does not affect a student’s GPA, it is shown on their transcript as a “W.” A student may withdraw from a class if they realize they will not earn the grade they need, either for their major or any financial awards. They can retake the class again and aim for a higher grade.

Sources: The Ultimate Glossary of College Terminology By Kirsten Slyter on 10/28/2019, College Terms You Need to Know: A Complete Guide, and The Higher Education Glossary