Mar 28, 2024  
2012-2013 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2012-2013 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Glossary and Abbreviations


A/Pass/F: A grading option in which a student earning a grade of A in a course will have an A recorded for that course; a grade of B, C, or D will be recorded as a Pass; and a grade of F will be recorded as an F.

Academic load: The total number of credit hours enrolled in during one term.

Academic warning: (W) An indication that a student is in academic difficulty which could lead to dismissal from the university.

Add/Drop: Changing the student’s course schedule by adding and/or dropping a course.

Advanced standing: Having credit awarded for previous work or testing.

Advisor: A department or college-based faculty member who helps a student achieve her or his educational goals by providing guidance on courses, program requirements, prerequisites, programs of study, and policies and procedures.

Audit: To attend a course regularly without participating in course work and without receiving credit.

Bachelor of arts degree: (B.A.) Courses selected from a variety of disciplines with concentrations in one or two areas. A modern language is required for a B.A. degree.

Bachelor of science degree: (B.S.) A specified program of required courses with fewer electives than the B.A. A modern language is not required.

Baccalaureate: Refers to the bachelor’s degree.

Certification programs: A non-degree credential designed to provide students with specialized knowledge that is less extensive than, and different from, a master’s program. A certificate program represents a focused collection of courses that, when completed, affords the student some record of coherent academic accomplishment in a given discipline or set of related disciplines.

Classification: Level of progress toward a degree with classifications of freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, depending on the number of term hours completed.

College: An academic unit of the university. Kansas State University has nine colleges.

Cooperative education (co-op): The integration of academic experience with planned employment experiences that relate to a student’s academic major or career goals. The work experience supplements and complements the curriculum.

Concurrent enrollment: (Conc.) Taking a course during the same term as another.

Course: A unit of study a student enrolls in during a term.

Credit by examination: Credit received when a student takes an oral or written examination without enrolling for a course.

Credit hour: (Cr.) The amount of effort required to attain a specific amount of knowledge or skill equivalent to three hours of effort per week for 15 weeks.  Any combination of contact time and effort outside of class is allowed (University Handbook: Section F115).

Credit/No Credit: (C/NC) A grading option with successful completion of a course recorded as Credit and failure as No Credit. No other grades are given for such courses and they are not figured into the grade point average.

Curriculum: A program of courses that meets the requirements for a degree in a particular field of study, also referred to as a major.

Degree program: Courses required for completion of a particular degree.

Department: A unit within a college representing a discipline.

Discipline: An area of study representing a branch of knowledge, such as mathematics.

Dismissal: (D) A student who neglects his or her academic responsibilities may be dismissed on recommendation of an academic dean.

Double major: A student may elect to pursue two majors at one time.

Drop/Add: Changing the student’s course schedule by adding and/or dropping a course, or both.

Dual degrees: A student may elect to pursue two degrees at one time.

Ed.D.: Doctor of Education degree. A post-baccalaureate degree awarded upon completion of at least three years of full-time specialized study, together with a major research contribution to the field of education that demonstrates independence as a scholar. The degree culminates with a formal dissertation.

Electives: Courses chosen by a student that are not required for the major or minor. The number of hours of electives required varies according to student’s major.

Enrollment: The process of selecting courses and having courses reserved.

Equivalent: (Equiv.) Equivalent course is a course where there is sufficient overlap in content that students may, with approval, register in the course to meet a program’s requirement.

Extracurricular: Activities such as band or debate for which a student may earn credit toward graduation. Extracurricular activities are counted as electives.

Financial aid: Help for a student to pay for college. Aid is available from grants, loans, scholarships, and work/study employment.

Grade point average: (GPA) A measure of scholastic performance. A GPA is obtained by dividing the number of grade points by the hours of work attempted, where an A = 4 points, a B = 3 points, a C = 2 points, a D = 1 point, and an F = 0 points.

Graduate certificate: A non-degree credential designed to provide students with specialized knowledge that is less extensive than, and different from, a master’s program. A certificate program represents a focused collection of courses that, when completed, affords the student a record of academic accomplishment in a given discipline or set of related disciplines.

Graduate student: A student who has completed a bachelor’s degree and has met all the requirements for admission to the Graduate School.

Hour: The unit by which course work is measured. The number of term hours assigned to a course is usually determined by the number of hours a course meets per week.

Intersession: Courses offered between fall and spring terms, and after spring term and prior to summer term.

Lecture: (Lec.) A course wherein the teaching is done primarily through oration.

M.A.: Master of arts degree. A post-baccalaureate degree awarded upon completion of at least 30 term hours of graduate credit, usually in the humanities or social sciences. May or may not include research and a thesis, depending on the field of study.

Major: A program of courses that meets the requirements for a degree in a particular field of study.

Minor: A systematic program of study in an area of emphasis outside a student’s major.

M.S.: Master of science degree. A post-baccalaureate degree awarded upon completion of at least 30 term hours of graduate credit, usually in the sciences or professions. Research and a thesis are required in most of the sciences.

Non-Degree seeking student: A graduate student taking courses at K-State but not admitted to a graduate program leading to a degree.

Non-Standard Course: A course that does not meet the guidelines of a Regular Session course.

Option: An approved group of courses creating a specialty within a major field of study.

Orientation: Activities designed to help new students become acquainted with the university.

Ph.D.: Doctor of philosophy degree. A post-baccalaureate degree awarded upon completion of at least three years of full-time specialized study, together with a major research contribution to the discipline that demonstrates independence as a scholar. The degree culminates with a formal dissertation.

Prerequisite: (Pr.) A requirement, usually credit in another course, which must be met before a particular course can be taken.

Probation: Probation is an academic warning that a student in is academic difficulty which could lead to dismissal from the university.

Recitation: (Rec.) A small section usually taken in conjunction with a lecture.

Regular Session Course: A course that meets for the first time during the first 7 calendar days of the semester and that has its last class meeting during the final 7 calendar days of the semester.

Scholastic honors: An award an undergraduate receives based on the excellence of K-State academic work.

Secondary major: Interdisciplinary major which must be completed along with a primary major course of study.

Special student: An undergraduate student taking courses at K-State but not regularly enrolled in work toward a degree.

Transcript: An official copy of a student’s permanent academic record.

Transfer student: A student who terminates enrollment in another college or university and subsequently enrolls at K-State.

Undergraduate student: A university student who has not received a bachelor’s degree.

Variable: (V/Var.). The credits earned in some courses may vary.