AdvisingHandbook

Basic College Terminology

Academic Advisor Professionally trained individuals who help guide students through college to reach their academic goals

Academic Probation Used a corrective measure when a student’s GPA falls below a 2.0

Accuplacer A college level readiness test used to accurately place students in courses

American College Testing (ACT) A multiple- choice test used to measure a high school students’ readiness for college; consists of four sections: English, reading, math, and science

Cohort A group of students work through coursework together towards the same degree

Commencement (graduation) A ceremony where degrees are conferred by the graduating students

Credit Hour A unit of measurement to determine the amount of instructional and learning time is needed based on the time the student will need to spend working on the course

Curriculum Courses that makeup an academic program and are required for graduation

Degree Audit/Evaluation A method of seeing how far along a student is in their process; evaluate what courses will need completed to complete their degree

Department Chair An educator who is assigned to manage a particular department

Electives Coursework outside the core and major requirements

Updated 8/18/22