Academic Advisor - A faculty or staff member assigned to help students select courses and plan programs.
Academic Coach - A staff member or trained peer educator who helps students define and achieve academic goals and improve study skills and strategies.
Academic Dismissal - Dismissal from the University or a program for not maintaining the required grade point average (GPA) or for not completing the required number of credits.
Advanced Placement - Eligibility to enroll in courses beyond the entry level through transfer credit or examination.
Associate Degree - A degree granted after completing at least two years of full-time academic study beyond the completion of high school and fulfillment of graduation requirements.
Auditing - Registering for and attending class(es) regularly without being held responsible for the work required for credit. (No credit hours are earned and full tuition must be paid. The grade “V” appears on the record.)
Baccalaureate Degree - A degree granted after completion of at least four years of full-time academic study beyond the completion of high school and fulfillment of graduation requirements.
Classification - A term based on the number of credit hours earned to classify a student at the freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior level.
Concentration - A designated group of courses within a major program.
Core Curriculum - Sixty semester hours of credit comprising the four major areas of humanities, sciences and mathematics, social sciences, and courses related to the major.
Continuing Education Unit - Recognition for participation in a non-credit program or workshop.
Credit/No Credit - A method used to evaluate performance in courses that is separate from the grade point system. (The grade “S” or “U” appears on the record.)
Credit By Examination - Credit granted upon the successful completion of a standardized test such as the examinations offered by the College Level Examination Program (CLEP). (The grade “K” appears on the record.)
Credit Hour - A unit of academic credit measured in semester hours or quarter hours. One credit hour usually represents one hour of class time per week.
Credit Load - The total number of credits for which a student registers during a given semester.
Deadline - The date by which certain information must be received by any given office or unit. (Current deadline dates are printed in the catalog and course schedule.)
Dean’s List - An announcement at the end of each semester listing students who have achieved a specified grade point average.
Degree Requirement - A specifically identified course or examination that must be satisfied in order to become a candidate for a degree. (West Georgia has both general University and specific program requirements.)
Drop and Add - The process of making certain changes (dropping and adding classes) in a student’s schedule of courses at the beginning of the semester. Adding courses is possible only in this three-day period. (See the course schedule for specific dates.)
eCore - eCore stands for ‘electronic core.’ These are fully online core courses that are part of a state wide initiative (meaning students could be in classes with students from around the state and your instructor may or may not be a UWG instructor). One or two proctored exams are required but can be taken at sites around the world. See http://ecore.westga.edu.
Elective - An elective is a course elected from several. It implies options and choice; however, it should be stressed that physical education and recreation activity electives will not count as general academic electives. Also, programs require a certain number of hours to be upper-division and some lower-division. The term elective can refer to either of those; therefore, every use of the term elective is not the same.
Embedded Certificates - Embedded certificates are those certificates where the courses required to earn the certificate are embedded into a major or degree program and are only awarded at the completion of a specific degree program. These certificates are intended to encourage students to use the elective requirements in their degree program to form a coherent concentration of coursework in a specified area.
Fees - The expenses payable by the student to the University in order to be officially enrolled. Examples of such fees include the application fee, matriculation fee, and activity fees.
Full-time Student - A student enrolled for a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester. The normal full-time course load is 15 credit hours per semester.
GPA - The term simply means Grade Point Average; however, all GPAs are not the same. In fact, there are several different uses and methods for calculating GPA. Below are listed some of the most common.
Graduation GPA - The GPA used to determine eligibility for graduation is the average of all grades for all courses attempted at West Georgia adjusted by any graduation forgiveness policies in place in the catalog used to determine degree requirements.
GPA adjusted versus unadjusted - An unadjusted GPA means that the result is an arithmetical average of the grades of all courses attempted at a given institution; whereas, an adjusted GPA refers to the average being altered by deletions of certain grades that were either repeated or eliminated.
Honors Graduation GPA - The Overall GPA (minus any forgiveness or repeat policy adjustments) is used to determine eligibility for graduation with honors.
HOPE GPA - This is the average of all college-level work attempted after high school graduation, including any remedial work.
Institutional GPA - This is the average of all grades for courses attempted at West Georgia with adjustments for repeated courses according to the policies in place when the course was initially attempted.
Overall GPA - This term simply means the combined average of the Transfer GPA (if applicable) and the Institutional GPA.
Georgia Residency Requirements - The requirements for identifying or establishing permanent residency in the state of Georgia for the assessment of matriculation fees.
Grade Point - The numerical value given to letter grades. An “A” is equivalent to 4 points per semester hour, a “B” to 3 points, a “C” to 2 points, a “D” to 1 point, and an “F” to 0 points.
Grant - Financial assistance awarded to students that does not have to be repaid, usually based on need.
High School Dual/Joint Enrollment Program - A program that makes available to qualified high school students West Georgia courses for full academic credit.
Honors - Designations indicated on the university degree and transcript to reflect outstanding scholarship.
Incomplete - The grade “I” sometimes granted when a student is temporarily unable to complete course requirements because of unusual circumstances.
Independent Study - A course of study undertaken by a student under the supervision of one or more faculty members outside the classroom.
Internship - Work in a firm or agency related to a student’s major program and/or career plans. An internship involves earning college credit and may involve receiving payment.
Loan - Financial assistance to students that must be repaid. Low interest loans are available, and financial need may or may not be a factor.
Major - A concentration of related courses generally consisting of 21 or more semester hours of credit.
Matriculation - The process of obtaining enrollment at the university.
Minor - A concentration of related courses generally consisting of a minimum of 15 semester hours of credit.
Non-Degree Student - A student who has been admitted to a non-degree category and is not currently seeking an associate or baccalaureate degree.
Part-Time Student - A student who takes fewer than 12 credit hours during a semester.
Portfolio - A collection of work (e.g., paintings, writings, etc.) that may be used to demonstrate competency in an academic area.
Prerequisite - A requirement, usually the completion of another course, which must be met before a student can register for a course.
Select Students - The Select Student Program is intended for students who have demonstrated superior scholastic achievement and who wish to pursue advanced course work in an individualized curriculum in their majors under the guidance of their department chairs. A student who attains a 3.75 or above institutional grade point average in the first 40-60 academic hours of credit at West Georgia is eligible to apply for the program. A student seeking Select Student status must be recommended by his major department chair or the Honors College Committee and approved by the Office of the Honors College Dean. Students must make application to the department chair by the time they have earned 90 hours and obtain approval of specialized curriculum. Contact the Honors College for additional information.
Semester Calendar System - A semester is a unit of time, 15 weeks long, in the academic calendar. A full academic year consists of two semesters.
Semester Hour - A unit of academic credit. One quarter hour of credit is equivalent to two-thirds a semester hour of credit.
Stand-Alone Certificates - Stand-alone certificates are those certificates that comprise a prescribed program of study that may or may not be associated with a degree, major or minor. These certificates represent a cohesive program of study of a smaller size than a degree program and provide more flexibility to those looking to pursue continued education, including a means for professionals to renew and retrain due to an ever-changing workforce.
Registration - The process of signing up and paying fees for courses each semester.
Reinstatement - Readmission to the University after having been academically excluded or having withdrawn.
Residence Requirement - The required number of credit hours of course work that must be completed at West Georgia before a degree will be granted.
Residency Requirement - As opposed to the Residence Requirement, the Residency Requirement refers to the length of time certain students (usually depended upon classification) must live on campus.
ROTC - The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps military science curriculum offers electives leading to a commission in the United States Armed Forces.
Scholarship - Financial assistance to students awarded on the basis of academic achievement. Financial need may or may not be a factor.
Stop Registration - A hold placed on a student’s registration as a result of academic exclusion, an unfulfilled obligation to the University, or a disciplinary action by the University.
Student Employment - Part-time jobs made available to students with financial need through federally funded programs (work-study) and to students without need through individual departments (regular student assistant program).
Transferable Course - A course that has a direct UWG course equivalent or elective as determined by the department and has a grade of “D” or higher, with the exception of ENGL 1101 and 1102, which require a grade of “C” or higher.
Transfer GPA - The calculation of all successfully completed transfer courses determined to be transferable from all previously attended post-secondary institutions.
Transfer Student - Transfer students are those who have previously been enrolled in any accredited college. All previous college attendance must be reported at the time of application. (High school students in dual/joint enrollment programs are not considered transfer students.)
Transient Student - Students currently enrolled at another college may apply for the privilege of temporary registration at West Georgia. Such students are those who expect to return to their home institution and who have transient permission from that institution.
Transient Student Status - Students wishing to complete classes at another college or university to count towards their degree at West Georgia must maintain good academic standing at UWG and hold active student status at UWG for the transient term. Permission must be obtained from the Dean of their major school.
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