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Academic adviser: A member of a college faculty who
helps and advises students solely on academic matters.
Academic year: The period of formal instruction, usually
September to May; may be divided into terms of varying lengths:
semesters, trimesters, or quarters.
Accreditation: Approval of colleges and universities
by nationally recognized professional associations or regional
accrediting bodies.
Add/Drop: A process at the beginning of the term whereby
students can delete or add classes with an instructor's permission.
Advance registration: A process of choosing classes
in advance of other students.
Affidavit of support: An official document proving
a promise of funding from an individual or organization.
Assistantship: A study grant of financial assistance
to a graduate student that is offered in return for certain
services in teaching or laboratory supervision as a teaching
assistant, or for services in research as a research assistant.
Audit: To take a class without receiving credit toward
a degree.
Baccalaureate degree: The degree of "bachelor"
conferred upon graduates of most U.S. colleges and universities.
Bachelor's degree: Degree awarded upon completion
of approximately four years of full-time study in the liberal
arts and sciences or professional subjects. It is a prerequisite
to study in a graduate program.
Bulletin: A publication created each year by a university
or college that contains the details of academic majors offered
and the requirements for completing them. Usually includes
a listing and description of every class the institution offers.
Campus: The land on which the buildings of a college
or university are located.
Class rank: A number or ratio indicating a student's
academic standing in his or her graduating class. A student
who ranks first in a class of 100 students would report his
or her class rank as 1/100, while a student ranking last would
report 100/100. Class rank may also be expressed in percentiles
(for example, the top 25 percent, the lower 50 percent).
Coed: A college or university that admits both men
and women; also refers to a dormitory that houses both men
and women.
College: A postsecondary institution that provides
undergraduate education and, in some cases, master's level
degrees. College, in a separate sense, is a division of a
university; for example, College of Business.
College catalog: An official publication giving information
about a university's academic programs, facilities, entrance
requirements, and student life.
Conditional admission: An acceptance to a college
or university that is dependent upon the individual completing
coursework or meeting specified criteria prior to enrollment.
Core requirements: Mandatory courses required for
completion of a degree.
Course: Regularly scheduled class sessions of one
to five hours (or more) per week during a term. A degree program
is made up of a specified number of required and elective
courses and varies from institution to institution.
Course load: The number of courses or credits taken
in a specific term.
Credits: Units institutions use to record the completion
of courses (with passing grades) that are required for an
academic degree. The catalog of a college or university defines
the number and kinds of credits that are required for the
university's degrees and states the value of each course offered
in terms of "credit hours" or "units."
Culture shock: The mental shock of adjusting to a
new country and a new culture, which may be dramatically different
from your own.
Dean: Director or highest authority within a certain
professional school or college of a university.
Degree: Diploma or title conferred by a college, university,
or professional school upon completion of a prescribed program
of studies.
Department: Administrative subdivision of a school,
college, or university through which instruction in a certain
field of study is given (such as English department or history
department).
Dissertation: Thesis written on an original topic
of research, usually presented as one of the final requirements
for a doctoral degree(Ph.D.).
Doctorate (Ph.D.): The highest academic degree conferred
by a university to students who have completed at least three
years of graduate study beyond the bachelor's and/or master's
degree and who have demonstrated their academic ability in
oral and written examinations and through original research
presented in the form of a dissertation.
Dormitories: Housing facilities on the campus of a
college or university reserved for students. A typical dormitory
would include student rooms, bathrooms, common rooms, and
possibly a cafeteria.
Drop: See "Withdrawal."
Electives: Courses that students may choose to take
for credit toward their intended degree, as distinguished
from courses that they are required to take.
English as a Second Language (ESL): A course used
to teach English to students whose first language is not English.
Extracurricular activities: Nonacademic activities
undertaken outside university courses.
Faculty: The members of the teaching staff, and occasionally
the administrative staff, of an educational institution. The
faculty is responsible for designing the plans of study offered
by the institution.
Fees: An amount charged by universities, in addition
to tuition, to cover costs of institutional services.
Fellowship: A form of financial assistance, usually
awarded to a graduate student. Generally, no service is required
of the student in return.
Financial aid: A general term that includes all types
of money, loans, and work-study programs offered to a student
to help pay tuition, fees, and living expenses.
Freshman: A first-year student at a secondary school,
college, or university.
Full-time student: A student who is enrolled at a
university and is taking at least the minimum number of credits
(often 12) to meet the university's requirement for a full
course load.
Grade Point Average (GPA): A system of recording achievement
based on a numerical average of the grades attained in each
course.
Graduate: A student who has completed a course of
study, either at the secondary or university level. A graduate
program at a university is a study course for students who
already hold a bachelor's degree.
Grant: A form of financial aid.
Incomplete: A designation given in lieu of a grade
for a course that has not been completed (with permission).
The student will be given a specified period for completion
of the coursework, after which an "F" (a failing
grade) will result.
Independent study: Official coursework undertaken
outside a classroom setting. It will usually be monitored
by an instructor.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS): The U.S. government
body that oversees the collection of income taxes.
International student adviser (ISA): The person at
a university who is in charge of providing information and
guidance to international students in such areas as government
regulations, visas, academic regulations, social customs,
language, financial or housing problems, travel plans, insurance,
and legal matters.
Internship: Placement of a student in a work environment
in order to acquire professional experience.
Junior: A third-year student at a secondary school,
college, or university.
Language requirement: A requirement of some graduate
programs that students must show basic reading and writing
proficiency in one other language besides their own to receive
their degree.
Lease: A legal document to show an agreement between
the owner (landlord) and the renter of an apartment or other
property.
Lecture: Common method of instruction in college and
university courses; a professor lectures in classes of 20
to several hundred students. Lectures may be supplemented
with regular small group discussions led by teaching assistants.
Liberal arts: A term referring to academic studies
of subjects in the humanities, the social sciences, and the
sciences. Also called "liberal arts and sciences"
or "arts and sciences."
Loan: A sum of money lent to an individual (or organization)
with an agreement to repay the money, possibly with interest.
Maintenance: Refers to the expenses of attending a
university, including room (living quarters) and board (meals),
books, clothing, laundry, local transportation, and incidentals.
Major: The subject in which a student wishes to concentrate.
Major professor/thesis adviser: For research degrees,
the professor who works closely with a student in planning
and choosing a research plan, in conducting the research,
and in presenting the results. The major professor serves
as the head of a committee of faculty members who review progress
and results.
Master's degree: Degree awarded upon completion of
academic requirements that usually include a minimum of one
year's study beyond the bachelor's degree.
Midterm exam: An exam administered after half the
academic term has passed that covers all class material studied
until that point.
Minor: A subject in which the student takes the second
greatest concentration of courses.
Nonresident: A student who does not meet the residence
requirements of the state. Tuition fees and admission policies
may differ for residents and nonresidents. International students
are usually classified as nonresidents, and there is little
possibility of changing to resident status at a later date
for tuition purposes.
Notarization: The certification of a document (or
a statement or signature) as authentic and true by a public
official (known in the United States as a "notary public")
or a lawyer who is also a commissioner of oaths.
Part-time student: A student who is enrolled at a
university but is not taking the minimum number of credits
(often 12) to meet the university's requirement for a full
course load.
Placement test: An examination used to test a student's
academic ability in a certain field so that he or she may
be placed in the appropriate courses in that field. In some
cases, a student may be given academic credit based on the
results of a placement test.
Plagiarism: The use of another person's words or ideas
as your own.
Postdoctorate: Studies designed for those who have
completed a doctoral degree (Ph.D.).
Prerequisite: Program or course that a student is
required to complete before being permitted to enroll in a
more advanced program or course.
Registration: Process through which students select
courses to be taken during a quarter, semester, or trimester.
Resident assistant (RA): A person who assists the
residence hall director in campus dormitories and is usually
the first point of contact for students with problems or queries
regarding dorm life. RAs are usually students at the college
who receive free accommodation and other benefits in return
for their services.
Reverse culture shock: The culture shock an individual
experiences upon returning to their home country after living
abroad.
Scholarship: A study grant of financial aid, usually
given at the undergraduate level, that may take the form of
a waiver of tuition and/or fees.
Semester: Period of study lasting approximately 15
to 16 weeks or one-half the academic year.
Senior: A fourth-year student at a secondary school,
college, or university.
Social Security Number: A number issued to people
by the U.S. government for payroll deductions for old age,
survivors, and disability insurance. Anyone who works regularly
must obtain a Social Security Number. Many institutions use
this number as the student identification number.
Sophomore: A second-year student at a secondary school,
college, or university.
Special student: A student at a college or university
who is not enrolled as a candidate for a degree. Also may
be referred to as a nondegree, nonmatriculating, or visiting
student.
Teaching Assistant (TA): A graduate student who acts
as instructor for an undergraduate course in his or her field,
in return for some form of financial aid from the university.
Thesis: A written work containing the results of research
on a specific topic prepared by a candidate for a bachelor's
or master's degree.
Transcript: A certified copy (see "Notarization")
of a student's educational record.
Trimester: Period of study consisting of approximately
three equal terms of 16 weeks during the academic year.
Tuition: The money an institution charges for instruction
and training (does not include the cost of books).
Undergraduate studies: Two-year or four-year programs
at a college or university, undertaken after secondary school
graduation and leading to the associate or bachelor's degree.
University: A large postsecondary institution that
offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Withdrawal: The administrative procedure of dropping
a course or leaving a university.
Zip code: A series of numbers in mailing addresses
that designate postal delivery districts in the United States.
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