Mar 18, 2024  
2019-2020 Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Glossary


Academic - Pertaining to a liberal arts program of study, as opposed to a career or technical program. Term used with degree, program, or course.

Academic calendar - A two-year calendar indicating quarter start and end dates, holidays to be observed by Green River campuses, and other non-class days.

Academic certificate - Awarded for recognition of accomplishment in an academic program.

Academic standards - College policy that requires students to maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.0.

Advisor - The faculty member, administrator, or Career and Advising Center staff person who helps you in the advising process.

Application - The process of applying for admission to the college or to a specific program of study; also the form you fill out to apply.

Articulation agreement - An agreement between the college and certain high schools or other colleges by which specific courses taken at one institution are allowed for automatic credit at the other institution.

Associate Development (AD) - A degree designed for students to plan their educational program with self-direction and development without specific requirements in subject areas.

Associate in Applied Arts (AAA) - A degree designed for students in career/technical programs, generally in business and business-related fields.

Associate in Applied Science (AAS) - A degree designed for students in career/technical programs, generally in health sciences, technical, and trades subjects.

Associate in Applied Science-Transfer (AAST) - A degree for technical courses required for job preparation and includes college-level general education requirements.

Associate in Arts (AA-DTA) - Liberal arts degree fulfilling the general requirements taken by college freshmen and sophomores. Students must complete 90 quarter credits in courses numbered 100 or above and meet specific distribution requirements.

Associate in Business (AB-DTA/MRP) - A degree for students pursuing a career in the field of business.

Associate in Computer Science (ACS-DTA/MRP) - A degree for students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university at a junior level to a Bachelors of Computer Science program.

Associate in Fine Arts (Art) (AFA) - A degree for students pursuing a degree in fine arts specializing in art or photography.

Associate in Math Education (AM-DTA/MRP) - A degree for students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university at a junior level to a Bachelors of Science in Nursing Program.

Associate in Pre-Nursing (A-PreN-DTA/MRP) - A degree for students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university at a junior level to a Bachelors of Science in Nursing.

Associate in Science-Transfer (Track 1) (AST- 1) - A degree for students interested in Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Geology, and Earth Science.

Associate in Science-Transfer (Track 2) (AST- 2) - A degree for students interested in Engineering, Engineering Technology, Computer Science, Physics, and Atmospheric Science.

Audit - Taking a class for information only and not for credit or a grade.

Bachelor’s or Baccalaureate - A degree awarded by four-year colleges and universities to students who have completed a specified course of study.

Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) - A degree for students who already hold a technical degree. This degree is built upon technical courses required for job placement and career promotion.

Career/technical - A program of study intended to prepare students for employment in a certain field rather than for transfer to a four-year college or university. Used to describe a degree, program, or course. Also referred to as vocational.

Certificate of Completion (Cert) - Awarded in some career/technical programs. These certificates usually do not include courses outside the major subject.

Certificate of Proficiency (Cert-P) - Awarded for the successful completion of a specific short-term program of study in a career/technical field where course work is 44 credits or less, and generally does not include “Related Instruction” requirements.

Common Course Number - Includes commonly shared courses among Washington community and technical colleges with the same course number and title, designated by the “&” symbol.

Concurrent enrollment - Enrollment in two or more linked classes.

Continuing and Community Education - Courses, seminars or workshops, usually non-credit, that do not apply to degrees but are taken for personal enrichment, professional development, or general knowledge.

Co-op fee - An extra charge, in addition to tuition, required for certain courses to cover lab supplies, equipment, computer use, etc.

Course - A single subject of study taken for one quarter or other specified period of time. Sometimes referred to as a class.

Course abbreviation - A shortened version of the name of a department; for example, ENGL for “English.”

Course code/number - The number used with the course abbreviation to refer to a specific course; for example, “ENGL& 101.”

Course title - The descriptive name of a specific course; for example, “English Composition I” is the course title for ENGL& 101.

Credit or credit hour - The unit of measurement for the amount of work and/or time required for a course. A five-credit class will usually meet five  hours a week. Also known as quarter hour.

Credit by exam - An alternative method by which you may complete credits to earn a particular degree or certificate.

Credit load - The total number of credit hours you enroll in for a quarter.

Curriculum - A set of courses constituting an area of specialization.

Degree - Awarded for the successful completion of a specific program of study.

Degree audit - An online tool which allows students to view degree and certificate requirements and track completed coursework in their selected program of study.

Department - A specific area of study in which the college offers classes. Also, the group of faculty who teach that subject.

Distribution - Each degree requires completion of course work in specific learning areas: arts and humanities, science and mathematics, and social and behavioral sciences. These requirements provide students with a broad exposure to the humanities and sciences. To fulfill the requirements, students may choose from a wide variety of subject fields within each learning area.

Diploma - Awarded for successful completion of high school.

Drop a course - Withdrawal from a course by the deadline published in the quarterly class schedule.

Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) - The Direct Transfer Agreement assures the transfer of credit, but not automatic admission (since each institution has separate admission criteria which are based on grades, test scores and other considerations) to a college or university with which Green River has such an agreement. Essentially, transfer agreements ensure that a student who completes an Associate of Arts degree at a community college will have satisfied all or most of the basic (i.e. general education or core) requirements at the various four-year institutions.

Elective - A course you choose to take which is not a core or required course for your particular program.

Emphasis - Concentrated study in a specialized area within a career/technical or academic program of study.

Entry Codes - Instructor permission codes that allow a student entry into a particular course or course section.

English Language Learning (ELL) - A program designed specifically for those needing to further develop their English reading, writing, and speaking skills.

ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) - A program designed specifically for those needing to further develop their English reading, writing, and speaking skills.

Full-time student - A student who is enrolled for 12 or more credits.

General Education Requirements (GER) - A range of courses distributed across various academic areas, required for the AS-T and other degrees, in  order to develop breadth of knowledge outside the major field. Sometimes referred to as distribution requirements or core requirements, a.k.a. GUR, General Undergraduate Requirements.

Grade points - The number obtained by multiplying the numerical value of the grade you receive for a course by the number of credit hours earned in that course. For example, if you earn a 3.3 grade in a 5-credit course you earn 16.5 grade points for that course.

Grade point average (GPA) - The number obtained by dividing total grade points earned by total credit hours attempted in a quarter. Your cumulative grade point average is obtained by dividing total grade points on your record by total hours you have attempted.

High School Equivalency Preparation Test - A program for adults who have not graduated from high school and want to earn a certificate of high school equivalency.

Independent study - A course of study on a topic of interest to a student, designed with the help of an instructor and supervised by an instructor, and undertaken with departmental approval.

International Baccalaureate - (IB) - A rigorous pre-college course of study for highly motivated high school students.

Major - The subject area in which you choose to specialize.

Major Related Program (MRP) - A degree designed for students planning to transfer directly into a specific major at a baccalaureate institution.

Non-resident student - A student who has not lived in the State of Washington for at least one year before the initial quarter of study. See also Resident student.

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities - The regional association through which Green River College is accredited.

Part-time student - A student registered for fewer than 12 credits. See also Full-time student.

Personal Identification Number (PIN) - A randomly assigned six-digit number required for a student to access their records on the web. Students may change their PIN number online (through Online Services).

Phi Theta Kappa - The international honor society for two-year colleges. Its purpose is to recognize and encourage scholarship among students attending two-year colleges.

Placement - An assessment indicating the appropriate starting point for each student.

Prefix - A shortened version of the name of a dpartment; for example, ENGL for “English.”

Pre-professional program - A program designed to fulfill part of the requirements leading to study in a professional program or school.

Prerequisite - A requirement that must be met before you enroll in a particular course, usually a test score or completion of another course.

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) - An opportunity for students to earn credit for prior nontraditional education and/or work experience.

Program of study - A group of courses leading to a particular degree or certificate.

Quarter - The designation for a school term, lasting approximately 11 weeks (8 weeks for summer).

Related instruction - A range of courses distributed across various areas, required for a career/technical degree in order to develop breadth of knowledge outside the major field.

Residence requirement - Credits required by a college in order to fulfill degree requirements, which cannot be transferred in from another institution. 

Resident student - A student who has lived in the State of Washington for at least one year immediately prior to the first day of instruction for a quarter.

Section - A specific class with its own unique days, hours, location and instructor. A number of sections of a certain course may be offered during a quarter, with different days, times, locations and instructors.

Special Topics - A course offering on a special topic of interest to students.

Student Identification Number - A unique number assigned to a student for tracking, data entry, identification, transcripts, and for conducting other college business.

Student Learning Outcomes - The knowledge, skills, abilities or attitudes that students have attained by the end of any set of college experiences-courses, programs, degrees and certificates or encounters with college services. Articulates the major goals of each experience, requires higher-level thinking skills and usually results in a product that can be evaluated.

Study Day - The day preceding the finals testing schedule to be used for study, reading, individual meetings with faculty, study groups or other activities that will better prepare the student for their final course assessments. Study day applies to day classes only and night classes will meet during their normal time period.

Technology Fee - A quarterly fee charged to students to support computer-based resources and services available to all students in the Holman Library and the open lab in the Technology building.

TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language-a compulsory test for students wanting to study in U.S. colleges and universities.

Transcript evaluation - An official determination as to which courses taken at another college will be allowed for credit at Green River. Also, the determination by a four-year college as to which of your Green River courses will be allowed for credit at that institution.

Transfer credits - Credits earned at one college that are accepted toward a degree at another college.

Transfer degree - A degree intended to parallel the first two years of a bachelor’s degree program.

Withdrawal from the college - Officially dropping all courses for which you are enrolled for a particular quarter. See Drop a Course.