Decoding the Language
This two or three letter acronym was mentioned by commenters as confusing.
EFC, SAP, TA, or RA
Name one of the institutions that has created web pages defining campus terms.
Maryville College, Dartmouth College, or Western Illinois University
This associate vice president for instruction at the University of Georgia stated that language is a creature of tradition.
Naomi Norman
According to research by the U.S. Department of Education, these students graduate at lower rates than their peers.
First-generation students
This term is used for the invisible rules and unspoken expectations of college life.
Hidden curriculum
The idea for the University of Georgia's jargon handbook came from conversations with first-year students by this person.
Judith Iakovou
This Wichita State University assistant vice president for academic affairs said, “Are we building a campus that works for the grown-ups here, or are we building a campus that works for the student body we’re recruiting?”
Kaye Monk-Morgan
Misunderstanding institutional language can lead to this type of misstep regarding course deadlines.
Withdrawing after a deadline
The University of Georgia mailed a jargon handbook to the families of these students.
First-generation students
The University of Georgia's jargon handbook was available in English, Spanish, Korean, and this fourth language.
Chinese
This senior director of the Center for First-Generation
Student Success at NASPA said that incomprehensible lingo can "flare that impostor syndrome" for students.
Sarah Whitley
La'Tonya Rease Miles, director of the First Year Experience office, works at this University.
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
This is the title of the administrator at a college who is responsible for the budget and payments.
Bursar
At Wichita State, the administration suggested changing the term "office hours" to this phrase.
Student hours
This research assistant at the University of Texas at Austin said that creating resources to define terms is "a little bit backwards".
Zachary W. Taylor
A commenter on a Facebook page focused on first-generation student success asked, "Why do we have so many freaking" these.
Acronyms
Laura Keane and her colleagues at uAspire found 136 different terms for this one type of student loan.
Unsubsidized student loan
This university in Utah has a website offering a terms and definitions page, including phrases like “Community Engaged Learning” and "Bursar's Office".
Weber State University
This assistant professor at Appalachian State University said that simplifying language is actually creating "lanes of access".
Sonja Ardoin
Kaye Monk-Morgan said that first-year students at Wichita State didn't understand the language used in the instructions and also in this course document.
Syllabus