Glossary
Below you will find a list of terms and departments that may be helpful when navigating the college environment.
Academic Terms |
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Academic Advisors
Academic advisors help students clarify their career goals, discuss academic course schedules and discuss how to achieve academic success. Academic advisors address students' needs related to student learning, personal and professional development, and help students plan and implement academic programs of study in a timely manner towards graduation.
Academic Probation
Warning to students who fail to maintain a semester and/or overall grade point average of 2.00 or above. Failure to increase GPA within a specific time period may result in academic dismissal.
Academic Standing
Academic status within the institution. Students with a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or above are considered in good academic standing.
Academic Year
Academic year consists of two 16-week semesters - fall and spring semesters.
Add/Drop
A week timeframe at the beginning of each semester where a student can drop out of or add a course to their schedule without impacting tuition cost or GPA. Prior to withdrawing from a course, students should contact the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center to discuss the impact to financial aid.
Co-Requisite
A course requirement that can be taken with another course simultaneously.
Commencement
Graduation.
CRN (Course Reference Number)
5-digit number assigned to each course. This is the number that a student will use when registering for a course.
Dean’s List
To qualify for Dean’s List, and in recognition of academic excellence, students must have a 3.40 GPA or above and must have completed at least 12 letter-graded credit hours by the end of the semester.
FERPA
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 is a federal law that regulates access to student records and information by public entities. FERPA gives parents certain rights in regards to access to their students' records. These rights transfer to the student when the student turns 18. The financial information document submitted for student financial aid and supplies information concerning income, assets, expenses and liabilities.
Financial Aid
Eligible students can receive financial assistance which is available in the form of grants, loans, scholarships and federal work-study employment.
First Generation Student:
First generation students come from families where biological parents did not complete a four-year college degree.
First-year Experience Course
Course that introduces students to the university, allows students to get familiar with university resources, connects students to network resources within the university (faculty, staff, upper division students and fellow classmates).
FLASHcard
A identification card that is issued to registered students that is used for admittance into different types of events (athletic, cultural, social), borrowing library materials, purchasing needed goods and services on the debit plan or Dining Services plan.
FLASHcash
A prepaid purchase plan for students, faculty or staff or anyone who visits Kent State University frequently. Students will make an initial deposit into their account and charges are deducted as purchases are made.
Full-time Student
A student who is taking 12 credit hours or above.
GPS (Graduation Planning System)
A program that provides students with the program roadmap to degree completion which includes a real-time degree audit and individualized semester educational plan.
Graduation Planning System
A degree plan created with the requirements from the degree audit, organized in a roadmap format, but tailored to a student's individual situation allowing for flexibility.
KSU ID
Kent State University nine-digit Identification number that begins with 810 or 811.
MWF & TR
Course schedule abbreviation for class days of the week. Monday (M), Tuesday (T), Wednesday (W), Thursday (R), Friday (F).
Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center
The Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center is the one resource where students can find access to resources for Financial Aid and Scholarships, Billing and Payment, Student Records and Academic Transcripts and Financial Wellness programming.
Part-time Student
A student who is taking below 12 credit hours.
Prerequisite
A course requirement that is required before enrollment into a more advanced course.
President’s List
To qualify for President’s list, and in recognition of extremely high level academic excellence, students must have a 4.00 GPA and must have completed 15 or more credit hours (regular grades) by the end of the semester.
Provost
The Provost is senior vice president of academic affairs; chief academic officer.
Scholarships
A non-repayable award to an eligible student based on academic achievement and determined financial need or based on academic achievement alone.
Student Ombuds
A representative for students who is appointed by the university to assist students in resolving concerns, complaints and grievances through established channels. Information about Student Ombuds can be found here.
Syllabus
An outline or summary of the main information for a course that a student is taking.
VSB (Visual Schedule Builder)
A tool used by students to schedule their courses using a Monday-Friday visual calendar. The GPS plan created by an Academic Advisor can be imported into the Visual Schedule Builder to provide an easy access to course planning.
Withdrawal
Process by which a student removes a course from their schedule, subject to deadlines published on the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center website. A mark of W will be recorded on the student transcript.
Work-Study
An employment program based on financial aid needs. A student may be employed on campus for no more than 20 hours per week to earn money to help cover educational costs.