Nov 25, 2024  
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog

Glossary and Abbreviations


 A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

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 good standing: (as displayed on enrollment verification form)

  • YES = Student is in good standing; eligible to re-enroll; not dismissed
  • NO = Student is not in good standing; not eligible to re-enroll; dismissed

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

Academic warning: (Warning) 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: Auditing is participating in a class regularly without submitting class work and without receiving credit. {University Handbook, F66.1-F66.2

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

B.S. degree: (Bachelor of Science) 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.

Certificate programs: A non-degree credential designed to provide students with specialized knowledge that is less extensive than, and different from an undergraduate or graduate degree 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.

Combined, Co-Convened Course(s): The temporary linking of one or more separate courses that are independent of each other but are combined into one class offering (same time/day and Facility ID) for administrative convenience. Co-Convened courses will have a similar course title and can be used for dual offerings of the same course (both undergraduate and graduate) or courses within different subject areas.

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.) This term usually means the student is enrolled in High School and is taking college credit at the same time.

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

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

Credit hour: (Cr.) The amount of effort required to attain a specific amount of knowledge or skill is 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.

Cross-listed course: Cross-listing is an administrative way for two or more academic units to share responsibility for a single course. The same course is offered collaboratively by two or more academic units and identified by the same course hundred level (i.e. both 2xx, 3xx, etc.), course name, course description, K-State 8 tags, and learning objectives. Cross-listed courses are combined in the course catalog and when scheduling in KSIS and are subject to the retake policy as repeated courses.  

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

Double major: A double major is two majors in the same degree type being pursued by a student at one time (e.g., B.S. in Mathematics and B.S. in Geography). The requirements for both degrees must be satisfied. 

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

Dual degrees: A dual degree is two unique degree types that a student has elected to pursue at one time (e.g., B.S. in Mathematics and B.S.B.A in Business Administration). The requirements for both degrees must be satisfied.  

Dual-listed Courses: The same course is offered by the same academic units and is identified typically by the same course name, but with different course prefixes, numbers, and levels. Each course should have clear learning outcomes that address the differences in the course level combinations, between an undergraduate/graduate course combination or master/doctoral course combination.

Ed.D.: Doctor of Education degree. A post-baccalaureate degree is 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.

Ed.S.: Education Specialist degree. An Ed.S is an advanced degree for teachers who want to keep working while gaining specialized proficiency in a particular area of interest, such as administrative leadership, education technology, or early childhood.

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

Enrollment: The process of selecting course(s) and being enrolled/registered in the course(s).

Equivalent course: (Equiv.) Courses offered by one or more academic units with different course numbers and course names and may have a similar or different course prefix. Equivalent substitute courses are noted in the catalog that they cannot be taken for credit if credit has been received in specified equivalent course(s).  Equivalent courses are subject to the retake policy as repeated courses.

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

Grade point average: A measure of a student’s academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted.

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

Intersession: Courses offered in-between terms. 

K-State 8: Indicates that the course has been approved for the K-State 8 General Education Program which encourages students to be intellectual explorers. Students who first enroll in Summer 2011 or later must meet the requirements of the K-State 8 General Education Program.

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

M.A.: Master of Arts degree. A post-baccalaureate degree is 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 is 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 student taking courses at K-State, but not admitted to a program leading to a degree.

Non-Standard Course: A course that is not scheduled in the full fall/spring scheduling guidelines of a term.

One-Half Credit Hour: The amount of effort required to attain a specific amount of knowledge or skill equivalent to 22.5 hours of effort.  Any combination of contact time and effort outside of class is allowed. Academic sessions, including full or condensed semesters, intersession classes, summer classes, or other defined periods of time, are expected to maintain an equivalent amount of time (contact and outside of class time). {University Handbook: Section F115.1}

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 is 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, must be met before a particular course can be taken.

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

Recitation: (Rec.) A small section is 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.

Repeatable Course: A course that may be taken multiple times without being subject to the retake policy. There may be a credit hour or course count limit associated with a repeatable course.

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. A secondary field of specialization is an interdisciplinary program of study which is completed in addition to a major. These programs are administered by a director and a supervisory committee of faculty representing the various academic departments offering courses for the secondary major. Secondary majors cannot be earned outside of the completion of the primary major. 

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.