Advising Center

College Terminology

Academic Forfeit – For students applying for admission to Nursing and Allied Health Programs. After meeting academic forfeit conditions, no credit hours for any courses disregarded in the JSCC cumulative grade point average will be counted toward the total number of hours required for a formal award. Students must complete an Academic Forfeit Request Form. The Academic Forfeit Policy is printed in the JSCC College Catalog.

Advisement – meeting with an advisor to plan your course work.

Advisor – a faculty member or professional staff member trained to work with students in planning their coursework at Jefferson State

Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree – a career and professional degree program designed to prepare students for employment upon graduation.

Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degree – a university parallel degree program designed to prepare students to transfer to senior institutions and pursue a bachelor’s degree.

Audit – to attend a class for information only, no credit given.

Bankruptcy – after meeting academic bankruptcy conditions, no credit hours for any courses disregarded in the JSCC cumulative grade point average will be counted toward the total number of hours required for a formal award. Students must complete an Academic Bankruptcy Request Form. The Academic Bankruptcy Policy is printed in the JSCC College Catalog.

Catalog Year – indicates the year of the college catalog that a student is following for graduation requirements. (ex. – 2009-2010 Catalog)

Certificate – a program of one year or less of study designed for students who wish to obtain specific occupational skills. These programs will have a program code beginning with STC_ or CER_.

Course Load – the number of credit hours for which a student is registered.

Course Withdrawal – withdrawal from a single course after the registration period has ended. A grade of W, WP or WF will be assigned depending on when the withdrawal is received in Enrollment Services.

Complete Withdrawal from College – withdrawal from all courses after the registration period has ended. A grade of W, WP or WF will be assigned depending on when the withdrawal is received in Enrollment Services.

Credit Hour – the standard unit for figuring college credit. Jefferson State awards semester hours credit.

CRN – a number assigned to a course that refers to the time and day(s) of the week the course is taught.

Degree Evaluation - a web based program evaluation process which enables students to generate electronic compliances/degree evaluations available via My JSCC Pipeline/Access Your Online Services/Student/Student Records/Degree Evaluation which tracks a student’s progress for a program of study.

Developmental Course – course numbered less than 100 which is a skill-building course in reading, writing or math that prepares students for freshman-level English and math courses. (ex. – ENG 093)

Drop – withdrawing from a class before the end of the registration period.

Forgiveness – when a course is repeated one time, the last grade awarded (excluding grades of “W” and “WP”) replaces the previous grade in the computation of the cumulative grade point average. Students must complete a Forgiveness Request form. The Forgiveness Policy is printed in the JSCC College Catalog.

Freshman – a student with 30 or less semester hours of credit.

Full-time Student – a student enrolled for 12 or more semester hours.

Grade Point Average (GPA) – total quality points earned (an “A” in a 3 hour course equals 12 quality points, etc.) divided by a total of the semester hours attempted, regardless of whether passed or failed.

Grades – grades of A, B, C, D, F, W, WF, WP, or I are assigned for all college level courses for which students have registered for credit.

Major – a stated list of courses required to complete a program of study, certificate, or degree.

Math and English Placement Test (ACT COMPASS TEST) – a test of reading, writing, and math used to place students in the appropriate courses based on their skills.

Part-time Student – a student enrolled in less that twelve semester hours.

Probation – the status of a student whose cumulative GPA falls below the level required by this policy for the total number of credit hours. The Standards of Progress Policy is printed in the JSCC College Catalog.

Program of Study – a stated list of courses required to complete a major, certificate, or degree.

Quality Points – the number of points given in a course, depending on the quality of work done. (A = 4 quality points, B = 3, C =2, D = 1 or WF = 0)

Schedule Adjustment – adding and dropping a course on or after the first official day of class until the end of the schedule adjustment period.

Session – a seven-week course taught at an accelerated pace.

Sophomore – a student with 31-60 semester hours of credit.

STARS a computerized advising system created to inform students of the courses that they can take and transfer among public institutions without losing credit based on a student’s major.

Suspension – after having been on probation, a student’s cumulative GPA drops below the minimum required GPA for the number of hours attempted. The Standards of Progress Policy is printed in the JSCC College Catalog.

Transcript – a student’s permanent record of courses taken and grades received.

Transfer Courses – non-developmental courses for which four-year colleges will accept as meeting degree requirements.

Transient – a student enrolled at an institution who will attend another institution and then return to the home institution.

Tuition – the charge for enrolling in college based on the number of credit hours a student is taking and the student’s place of legal residence.