The People
The university staff member assigned to help you select your major and plan your semester schedule
Who is an Academic Advisor?
The contract and course roadmap handed out on the first day of class, listing all homework deadlines, exam dates, and grading scales.
What is a Syllabus?
Extra time granted by a professor that allows a student to hand in a research paper or homework assignment late.
What is an Extension?
A graduate student who helps the head professor by grading assignments
Who is a TA (Teaching Assistant)?
The short window of time at the very beginning of the semester where students can alter their class schedules without any academic or financial penalty.
What is the Add/Drop Period?
A surprise, unannounced short test given by a professor during a regular lecture to check if students did their readings.
What is a Pop Quiz?
The department or office responsible for maintaining official student records, enrollment statistics, and sending out official transcripts
What is the Registrar's Office?
A mandatory introductory course that a student must take and pass before they are allowed to enroll in a more advanced class.
What is a Prerequisite?
The official, cumulative numerical average of a student's grades throughout their entire time at the university, usually calculated on a 4.0 scale.
What is a GPA (Grade Point Average)?
The student living in a dormitory who is hired to supervise the floor, help students with issues, and enforce housing rules.
Who is an RA (Resident Advisor / Assistant)?
The practice of attending a university class just to listen and learn, without earning official credits or being forced to take the exams.
What is auditing a class?
The serious academic offense of copying someone else’s ideas, words, or research without giving them proper credit.
What is Plagiarism?
The high-ranking university official who serves as the head of an entire academic college or specific department.
Who is a Dean?
The status of a student who has accumulated too many low grades and is officially warned that they might be expelled if their GPA does not improve.
What is Academic Probation?
A grading system where a student's final score depends on how well the rest of the class performed, rather than a fixed standard percentage.
What is grading on a curve?