Glossary of Terms
A
@: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates waiver of a requirement (without credit).
AA: Associate in Arts: the degree awarded in the following programs: Childhood Education, Communication Studies, Education Associate: The Bilingual Child, Human Services: Gerontology and Mental Health, and Liberal Arts: Social Sciences and Humanities, Secondary Education, Writing & Literature.
AAS: Associate in Applied Science: the degree awarded in the following programs: Foodservice Management, Commercial Photography, Computer Operations, Computer Technology, Paramedic, Music Recording Technology, New Media Technology, Nursing, Paralegal Studies, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapist Assistant, Programming and Systems, Travel and Tourism & Hospitality Management, and Veterinary Technology.
Academic Advisor: Counselor or faculty advisor who helps students plan their course of study. Students may meet and talk with an adviser one-on-one about their academic program, degree requirements, and career/life goals.
Academic Year: Two enhanced semesters, each consisting of a twelve-week session and a six-week session. The academic year runs from September through August.
ACE: [Division of] Adult and Continuing Education.
ACT: See CUNY/ACT.
Advanced Standing: Credit given upon admission for previously acquired coursework, credentials, and life experience. See page 12.
Advisement Form: Required form which must be signed by a counselor or faculty advisor before registration. It lists the courses for which a student has been advised to register.
APTS: Aid for Part-Time Study, a financial aid program.
Articulation: An existing agreement between a four-year college and LaGuardia to accept certain courses for credit toward a BA or BS degree at that senior college, or an agreement between LaGuardia and a high school for automatic advanced placement credit.
AS: Associate in Science: the degree awarded in the following programs: Accounting, Biology, Business Administration, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Dietetic Technician, Engineering Science, Environmental Science, Fine Arts, Liberal Arts: Mathematics and Science, and School Foodservice.
Associate Degree: See AA, AAS, AS.
ATB Exams: Computer-based ability to benefit examinations in reading, writing and math required by NY State for students whose
high school diploma was earned outside the
U.S. and who have applied for the Tuition Assistance Program.
B
Basic Skills: Pre-college-level courses in reading, writing and mathematics that students may be required to take, depending on their performance on the placement tests.
BEOG: Basic Educational Opportunity Grant. See: Pell Grant.
Bursar: The College cashier, where all fees and tuition are collected, and all student accounts are administered. The Bursar’s Office accepts cash, checks, and money orders.
C
Career and Transfer Center: Renamed Transfer Services. See page 212.
Center for Career & Professional Development: Available to all students and alumni. Offers full- and part-time job referrals, placement in temporary positions, and assistance in developing interview techniques and preparing a resume.
Certificate: Award granted by the College in recognition of completion of a prescribed course of study containing fewer than 60 credits. Awarded in the commercial photography, practical nursing, and New Media Technology/Digital Media Arts.
Child of Veteran Award: A financial aid program.
Cleared: A term used by the Bursar’s Office to indicate that a student has paid or has made acceptable arrangements to pay money owed to the College.
CLEP: College Level Examination Program.
Clinical phase: That part of an Allied Health program which includes courses in the major and exposure to practice.
CLIP: CUNY English Language Immersion Program.
Club Hours: Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Classes are not usually scheduled during these times.
Cluster: Three or more courses offered during the same semester to a common group of students and linked by common themes or assignments. (Two courses linked in the same way are often called a “Pair.”)
College Discovery Program: A comprehensive program of basic skills courses, counseling, tutoring, and financial aid for students who meet the eligibility requirements.
Continuing Education: Non-credit programs for adult students, offered at LaGuardia by the Division of Adult and Continuing Education (ACE).
COPE: College Opportunity to Prepare for Employment.
Corequisite: Course which must be taken during the same session as another course.
Counselor: College faculty trained to help students examine educational, career and personal concerns. Counselors conduct New Student Seminar, lead workshops, and are available to see students on an individual and group basis.
Course Code: Each code (listed in the Schedule of Classes) identifies the department offering the course, the name of the course, and the particular section (days and times) a course is scheduled to meet (e.g., ENC/G101.0771).
CR: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates a course for which a student earned credit by examination or on the basis of an articulation agreement with the student’s high school.
CUNY/ACT: A three-part test for new students that determines whether they will be placed in ESL or basic reading, writing, and mathematics classes or college level classes.
Curriculum: A set of courses constituting an area of specialization.
D
Day Program: Contains chiefly courses taught during the week and before 5pm.
Dean’s List: A listing of students who have achieved academic excellence in a given semester. See page 201.
Degree: Award granted by the College in recognition of completion of a prescribed course of study of at least 60 credits, e.g., AA, AAS, AS.
Dependent Student: A student whose financial support comes in large part from some other person. See page 14.
E
Elective Requirements: See individual academic program listings, page 25-96. Liberal Arts electives include courses from the Departments of Education and Language Acquisition, English, Human Services, Humanities, Library, Natural and Applied Sciences, Mathematics, and Social Science, except those courses listed on page 196.
Enhanced Semester: A two-part semester divided into a 12-week session and a 6-week session.
ePortfolio: Personal Web space in which students create their own websites where they can archive and showcase their work and create an online resume and transfer tool.
ESL: English as a Second Language.
Evening status: See Extended Day.
Express Course: Course offered in an intensive mode, usually during intersession.
Extended Day: Evening (after 5pm) and weekend courses.
F
F: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates that the student failed the course. Counted in the calculation of GPA.
F Grade Policy: Detailed explanation is in the Academic Policy section, page 202.
Faculty Advisor: An instructor in a student’s major who can assist with academic and career planning.
FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
FDPLUS: Federal Direct Parent Loan for Under- graduate Students, a financial aid program.
Federal Direct Loans: A financial aid program.
Federal Pell Grant: A financial aid program.
Federal Perkins Loans: A financial aid program.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG): A financial aid program.
Federal Work-Study Program: A financial aid program.
FIN: An “INC” grade that has been changed to an “F.”
FPL: Federal Perkins Loan, a financial aid program.
Freshman: First-year college student.
FSEOG: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, a financial aid program.
Full-Time Student: Generally, a student registered for at least 12 credits or credit equivalents per semester. Since each financial aid program has a different definition for full- time status, students should see a financial aid counselor for information about how to maintain eligibility for all forms of financial aid. Veterans should contact the Office of Veterans Affairs.
FWS: Federal Work-Study Program, a financial aid program.
G
GED: General Equivalency Diploma (equivalent to High School diploma)
GPA: Grade point average.
I
IEP: Individualized Educational Program, See page 8.
Immunization: The State of New York requires all students born on or after January 1, 1957, to present proof of immunity against measles, mumps, and rubella.
INC: A symbol on a student’s transcript indicating an incomplete course.
Independent Student: Students who are financially self-supporting.
Independent Study: A course of study designed by a faculty member and a student tailored to a student’s interests.
International High School: A NYC Department of Education high school on campus.
Internship: Credit-bearing work experience.
Internship Seminar: Class taken during internship cycle; in the seminar, students examine their work experiences in relation
to educational and career objectives, academic concepts, and experiential education learning theories.
L
Learning Community: A group of students who enroll in a common set of courses (“pairs” or “clusters”) which are thematically linked and who work together on projects and assignments.
Liberal Arts: Most of the courses offered by the Education and Language Acquisition, English, Humanities, Library, Mathematics, Natural and Applied Sciences, and Social Science Departments. See page 196 for a list of courses that do not count as Liberal Arts.
Liberal Arts Cluster: A learning community for students in their first college-level semester.
M
Meningitis: An infectious disease.
Middle College: A NYC Department of Education high school on campus.
Military Credit: Up to six unrestricted elective credits for veterans who have been honorably discharged from the United States military and are enrolled in degree programs.
N
National PONSI: National Program on Non- collegiate Sponsored Instruction. See page 12.
NC: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates that no credit was earned for the course.
New Student Seminar: A required, counselor-led course which helps orient students to the College.
Non-degree Students: Students enrolled in individual courses but not working toward a degree.
Non-Cleared: Term used by the Bursar’s Office to indicate that a student owes money to the College. The account must be settled before the student will be permitted to register for the next semester’s classes.
Non-credit Programs: Non-credit courses offered through the Division of Adult and Continuing Education designed to meet the interest and needs of a variety of individuals and groups.
O
Option: A subset of a curriculum indicating the degree requirements for that particular degree. For example, Journalism is an option within the Liberal Arts curriculum.
P
P: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates that the student passed the course. Used prior to Fall, 1975. Not calculated toward GPA.
Pair: Two courses offered during the same semester to a common group of students. See also: Cluster.
Part-Time Student: Generally, a student registered for less than 12 tuition units is considered part-time at LaGuardia. Since each financial aid program has a different definition for part-time status, students should see a financial aid counselor for information about how to maintain eligibility for all forms of financial aid. Veterans should speak with the Office of Veterans Affairs.
Pell Grant: A financial aid program (formerly BEOG).
Placement Tests: Tests required upon admission to determine assignment of students to appropriate classes.
PONSI: See National PONSI.
Pre-clinical phase: That part of an Allied Health program that contains the courses which a student must complete to apply for candidacy to the clinical phase of the program.
Prerequisite: A course that must be completed prior to taking another course.
Probation: A trial period of one semester which permits students to improve a low grade point average.
Program: Prescribed course of study leading to a degree or a certificate.
PTAP: Part-Time TAP Program, a financial aid program
R
R: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates that the course must be repeated. This grade is only given in basic skills courses.
Readmission: Process through which a student who stopped attending the College while in good academic standing may be allowed to re-enroll in the College and register for classes.
Reallocant: Student applied to another CUNY college, but has decided to attend LaGuardia.
Reinstatement: Process through which a student who has been suspended by the College may be allowed to re-enroll in the College and register for classes.
Requirement: Course necessary for completion of a degree.
Retention: Policy specifying conditions for maintaining student status.
Robert F. Wagner Institute for the Arts and Technology: A NYC Department of Education high school near campus.
S
S: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates that the student has satisfactorily passed the course. This grade is not counted in the calculation of GPA.
SAR: Student Aid Report which details aid received from federally funded programs.
SAT: Scholastic Aptitude Test, offered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). See page 10.
Schedule Adjustment: A period of time after registration in which students may add and/or drop courses, called change of program.
SIR: Student Instructional Report, a questionnaire by which students evaluate their teachers.
Study Group: A group of students, often led by an advanced student, who work together to master difficult skills.
Supplemental Educational Opportunities Grant: A financial aid program. See FSEOG.
Suspension: The result of a student’s failure to raise a low grade point average during probation. Students on suspension cannot register for classes in the College for one semester.
T
TAP: Tuition Assistance Program, a NY State financial aid program.
TASC: High School Equivalency Exam
TCR: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates that credit was transferred to LaGuardia from a school the student previously attended.
Transcript: Report of grades received.
Transfer: Process of applying credits taken at one school toward placement and/or advanced standing at another school.
Transfer Student: Student applying to LaGuardia after having completed credits at another college. See page 10.
U
U: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates that the student has not satisfactorily passed the course. This grade is not counted in the calculation of GPA.
Urban Study Requirement: All students are required to take at least one of the
special set of courses which utilize the facilities of New York City to focus learning in a given discipline.
V
Veterans Administration Educational Benefits: A form of financial aid.
W
W: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates official withdrawal from a course prior to the official withdrawal date.
WA: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates administrative withdrawal, e.g. student not cleared for immunization. For academic purposes, this symbol counts as a “W”, an official withdrawal.
WU: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates unofficial withdrawal from a course after the official withdrawal date. WU grades are counted as F grades in the calculation of students’ grade point averages.
Y
Y: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates that the student completed the first semester of a two-semester course. Used prior to Fall 1980 and not calculated toward GPA.
Z
Z: A symbol on a student’s transcript which indicates that the instructor was delayed in submitting a grade. Students completing an internship normally receive the temporary grade of “Z.” The “Z” grade will be changed to the student’s correct grade by the session following the internship.