AA (Associate of Arts) Degree: Allows students to attend UACCM and complete the general education requirements of a baccalaureate degree program before transferring to a four-year institution. The courses required for the Associate of Arts degrees meet the general education requirements of most senior institutions in the state and may give students more opportunity for full transferability of credits.
AAS (Associate of Applied Science) Degree: Designed for employment purposes, and it should not be assumed that the degree or the courses in the degree can be transferred to another institution. This degree contains more hands--on learning.
Academic Achievement: College courses designed to improve basic skills in reading and writing. Students are placed into academic achievement courses based on their individual test scores; college prep coursework does not count towards graduation requirements but must be completed before enrolling in college--level coursework.
Academic Probation: When a student’s overall GPA drops below a 2.0. Students on probation are required to meet with an academic adviser before registering for classes for the upcoming semester as well as fill out an academic plan of success. This is different from Financial Aid Warning or Probation.
Academic Suspension: When a student has been on academic probation in a previous semester and his or her overall GPA stays below a 2.0, he or she is placed on academic suspension. A student who is placed on suspension is able to appeal that suspension for an exception to this policy. This is different from Financial Aid Suspension.
Academic Year: The beginning of the fall semester to the end of the summer semester.
Advising: The process of talking to an academic adviser to discuss what courses students want to take and what they still need to take to receive their degree.
AS (Associate of Science) Degree: Allows students to attend UACCM and complete the general education requirements of a baccalaureate degree program before transferring to a four-year institution. The courses required for the Associate of Science degrees meet the general education requirements of most senior institutions in the state and may give students more opportunity for full transferability of credits.
Award Email: An email sent to a student from the UACCM Financial Aid office that lists all the financial aid being offered to that student.
Certificate of Proficiency: A certificate that generally takes 1 to 2 semesters to complete. Not all technical fields will have the Certificate of Proficiency option. It is designed to promote skills growth in certain fields of study.
CLEP (College Level Examination Program): Allows students to earn credit towards completion of a certificate and/or degree at UACCM by testing in certain subject areas. Check with the Registrar for a current list of accepted College Level Examination Program scores or visit http://www.uaccm.edu/testing/credit_by_exam.html.
Co‐Requisite: A course that must be taken at the same time as another course.
Course Load: The number of credits a student takes during a semester. A student who is enrolling full time will typically take a course load of 12 to 15 credits. Some scholarships will require students to take at least 12 hours their first semester and at least 15 semester hours every semester afterwards. The maximum amount course load is 18 semester hours. Exceptions to the maximum course load must be approved by the student’s academic advisor and the division chair. A student must have a 3.00 grade point average the preceding semester to be approved for more than 18 semester hours.
Course Number: The numbers and letters that distinguish courses. UACCM courses are identified by a code containing letters, which indicate the department, and numbers, which indicate the sequencing within the department. The last number indicates credit hours received for the course. A complete list of course letters can be found in the course catalog. Example: ENG 1013
Credit: A unit of work in a specific class, that is equal to the number of hours the class meets per week in a specific semester. For example, a three credit hour class meets for three hours a week during the semester; a four credit hour class meets for four hours a week.
Dean: An administrative officer in charge of a specific academic or department at the college. The Vice Chancellor for Academic Services oversees the entire faculty and staff in each department.
Degree Audit: A computerized document that lists students’ courses needed for graduation based on their specific degree program. Degree Audit also allows students to degree shop to see how many of their credits are applicable to other degrees offered by UACCM.
Elective: A college‐level course that is taken to fulfill a program requirement or general education requirement. Electives can be used to help a student prepare to transfer into a specific major.
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid): A federal application that is required to receive financial aid at a college or university. The form needs to be filled out and submitted electronically at studentaid.gov/fafsa. Students will need to fill out one form a year.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): A federal law that protects the privacy of educational records. Educational records include grades, test scores and financial aid information. Once a student is enrolled in classes at UACCM, the right to all his or her information becomes that of the student, regardless of the student’s age. Students can allow certain individuals access to their records by filling out the appropriate form in the Registrar’s Office.
Full Time: A student who is enrolled in 12 or more credit hours in the fall, spring, or summer semester. Students enrolled full time are eligible for full financial aid.
GPA (Grade Point Average): The ratio of grade points earned to the number of credits attempted. A student’s GPA is calculated each semester and shows overall academic performance. The GPA includes any courses in which a student received a grade of A, B, C, D or F. The formula for calculating GPA is below:
Quality point/hours attempted=GPA
Grades: A measurement of achievement in a class. College level courses receive grades of A, B, C, D or F.
Grants: Money awarded to students in their financial aid award letter that does not need to be paid back upon graduation.
Loans: Money awarded to students in their financial aid package that must be completely paid back with interest at the conclusion of their education.
Major: Designation given to the group of courses necessary to receive a college degree in a specific area.
Part Time: A student who is enrolled in less than 12 credit hours in the fall or spring semester. Students enrolled part time are eligible for partial financial aid.
Prerequisite: An academic class or requirement that must be met before another class can be taken. For example, ENG 10103 must be completed with a “C” or higher before taking ENG 10203.
Program of Study: Courses required to complete degree or certificate in a specific area. Programs of study may be found online.
Registration: The process of enrolling for classes. This includes picking class times and paying all tuition and fees.
Scholarships: Money awarded to students in their award letter to help pay for tuition. Scholarships do not need to be repaid upon graduation. UACCM scholarships are listed online at http://www.uaccm.edu/financial_aid/scholarships.html.
Semester: A portion of the academic year. A semester is 16 weeks long. Example: August- December.
Syllabus: An outline or brief statement of the policies and procedures of a class. Students will receive a syllabus on the first day of each class. Each syllabus will contain the instructor’s office hours and contact information, course requirements, and grading criteria.
Technical Certificate: Typically 2 to 3 semesters in length and provide entry-level skills in specific technical, business, health, and service-oriented career fields.
Transcript: A student’s official academic record that shows all courses for which the student was enrolled and what grades he or she received for those courses. A transcript will also show any probations, suspensions, and honors a student has received during their time at a college.
Withdrawal/Drop: There are three types of withdrawal: drop (registrar deletes student from the course), withdrawal (student drops the course and a grade of “W” is assigned), and administrative withdrawal (faculty drops student from course and a grade of “AW” is assigned). For details, see the Drop Policy, Withdrawal Policy, or Attendance Policy/Administrative Withdrawal Policy in the college catalog at https://www.uaccm.edu/student/printable_resources.html#catalogs.
Work‐Study: On‐campus, part‐time employment for eligible students. The money is awarded to students based on their FAFSA results and is paid by the federal government. Students may apply at http://www.uaccm.edu/financial_aid/work_study.html.