Glossary of Academic Terms

Academic Standards: Minimum grade point average and ratio of passed to attempted credits necessary to remain a student in good standing. Failure to maintain minimum standards can result in probation and suspension from the college. See specific requirements in the college catalog.

Academic Warning: Any student who has achieved the minimum standard of academic performance outlined here but has not earned a 2.00 GPA in the most recent semester will be issued an academic warning, which will direct the student to meet with the assigned academic advisor to review the student’s progress.

Articulation Agreement: A formal agreement between TC3 and a baccalaureate degree granting institution. These agreements are established for specific academic programs and assure transfer with junior standing upon completion of appropriate coursework and achievement of a minimum grade average.

Associate Degree: Awarded to a student following completion of a two-year curriculum/program comprised of sixty or more semester credits. TC3 awards the following degrees: Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, and Associate of Applied Science.

Attendance: Attendance in class is necessary for successful completion of a course of study. The College’s policy is available at http://www.sunytccc.edu/student/policies.asp#attend. Students are also responsible to read and understand the individual attendance policy in each of their courses.

Bachelors or Baccalaureate Degree: Awarded to a student following completion of a four-year curriculum/program comprised of one hundred twenty or more semester credits.

Certificate: A document issued to a student signifying completion of a specific series of skill-based courses. A certificate program generally requires thirty or fewer credits.

Course Description: Describes what is taught in the course and includes required classroom hours, lab hours, and clinic hours, number of credits to be earned, and indicates if a prerequisite/corequisite is needed.

Corequisite: A course that must be successfully completed before or enrolled in concurrently with a particular course.

Course Outline: Description of a particular course section’s requirements, including textbooks, assignments, exam and other assessments, and attendance and grading policies. Sometimes referred to a course syllabus.

Credit/Credit Hour: The unit used to measure progress toward a degree or certificate, measured in semester hours.

Developmental Course: A pre-college level course intended to develop a student’s basic skills in reading, writing, or mathematics to the level necessary for success in college-level courses. Courses are designated by numbers less than 100, e.g. MATH 90. Developmental courses do not earn credit toward a degree or certificate and grades are not calculated into a Grade Point Average.

Elective Course: A program requirement that allows a student to choose from a number of possible courses. The options may be restricted to a particular group of courses, e.g. Social Science or Math, or may be unrestricted.

General Education Requirements: Areas of coursework that must completed by all students in all programs.

Grade Point Average (GPA): A numerical average based on the credit hours attempted and grades earned for courses taken at TC3. At the end of each semester separate semester and cumulative averages are calculated.

Liberal Arts: Courses that are intended to provide general knowledge and to develop a student’s general intellectual capacities. At TC3 they are designated as Social Science, Math/Science, or Humanities.

Matriculated Student: A matriculated student has been accepted for admission to the college, is enrolled in an academic program, and is pursuing courses toward a degree or certificate.

Mid-Semester Grades: Mid-semester grades (S, S-, U) are indicators of a student’s progress. Mid-semester grades are not recorded on official transcripts.

Prerequisite: A course that must be successfully completed before enrolling in a particular course.

Probation: Status of students who fail to achieve the minimum academic standards. A student on academic probation may register for classes but will be limited to a maximum of thirteen total semester credits. The notation “Probation” will be placed on the student’s academic record.

Program (academic): Course of study leading to a degree or certificate. Sometimes referred to as curriculum or major.

Registered Student: A registered student is one who has scheduled classes and met all payment requirements. A student who schedules classes but does not complete the payment process will not be granted credit, regardless of class attendance.

Semester: A fifteen-week period of instruction and exams. Note that TC3 does not have a separate “Finals Week.” You are expected to be in class during the last week of the semester, whether or not a final exam is scheduled. The time that your class is scheduled will be slightly different from the first 14 weeks.

Suspension: Denial of all registration privileges for a specified period of time because of failure to meet academic standards following a semester of probation. The notation “Suspension” will be placed on the transcript.

Transcript: The official academic record maintained by the Academic Records Office. It shows all academic work attempted and grades earned, as well as transfer credits accepted from other schools.

Transfer Credit: Credit granted toward a degree or certificate for work completed at another recognized institution. Transfer credits are not used in calculation of a Grade Point Average.