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Academic Honors: Summa Cum Laude awarded to a student with a cumulative 4.0 GPA; Magna Cum Laude awarded to a student with a 3.75 to 3.99 cumulative GPA; Cum Laude awarded to a student with a cumulative GPA of 3.5-3.74.
Academic Load: The amount of classes a student takes in any given college semester. Students should choose to take the amount of classes they feel that they can successfully complete.
Academic Probation: A warning to a student that his or her academic progress is unsatisfactory. In some colleges, there are several degrees of academic probation for students.
Academic Regulations: Academic Regulations are the official policies and rules of the institution which apply to faculty, staff and students concerning matters which directly affect academic standards. Includes such topics as academic standards, grading system and standards, registration and withdrawal from classes, choosing and/or changing your curriculum, petition and appeal, and much more.
Academics: Anything directly related to the delivery of instruction. Course descriptions, Class Schedules, Faculty Information, Graduation Requirements, etc. (distinct from “student services” or “student development”).
Admission: The process of becoming officially recognized as a student. Once admitted to a particular institution, you do not have to go through this process again unless you stop out from this institution for an extended period of time. You must fill out an admissions application form and submit it to one of the EICC institutions to begin the admissions process. (see also “registration,” which is required every semester during which you wish to take classes).
Advising: Advising comes in two forms: academic advising and student service advising. Academic advising refers to assistance with the process of planning what courses need to be taken in what sequence in order to reach your academic goal. In the early stages of your college career, while still formulating your goals, some academic advising might be provided by advisors from Student Services. However, once you have selected a major, advising will become a part of your interaction with the full-time faculty in the related department. Student Service advising focuses primarily on the various support services available to provide you with academic and personal support as you work to complete your degree (i.e., tutoring, financial aid, etc.).
Advisor (Academic): Academic Advisors are one of two advisors that you will be assigned while enrolled at EICC. Your Academic Advisor is generally considered as a content expert within his or her discipline. Academic Advisors are assigned based on major. After you have been assigned with an Academic Advisor, he or she will be able to answer specific questions degree requirements, course selection and career considerations for your selected major and/or career field.
Advisor (Student Achievement): Student Achievement Advisors are one of two advisors that your will be assigned while enrolled at EICC. Your Student Achievement Advisor is generally considered as an expert in the area of Student Services and Development. This advisor is trained to assist you in your initial enrollment into the college, and provide you with guidance and support as you work to complete your degree. The Student Achievement Advisor is can assist you by connecting you with the various college and community resources designed to support your degree completion efforts.
Advisor (Transition Advisor): The Transition Advisors are advisors that work specifically with first-time, full-time, degree seeking students at EICC. Transition Advisors take a pro-active approach to ensure that first-time students make a smooth transition into the college environment. After being assigned to a Transition Advisor for one full academic year, these students will then be re-assigned to a Student Achievement Advisor. The Transition Advisor will then work with a new group of first-time college students
Advisors: Advisors provide students with professional guidance in just about any area that might be related to your College success. This could mean anything from determining your program of study, selecting and registering for courses required for degree completion, to the development of better study skills to assistance with serious personal issues. Advisors are the faculty and staff with professional credentials in this field.
Alumni: Persons who have graduated from the institution.
Articulation: An agreement between institutions that provides assurance of smooth transfer of credit from one to the other, at least in selected programs of study. EICC has many formal articulation agreements with local colleges/universities (Augustana, St. Ambrose, Western IL QC) and regent universities (Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa).
Assessment: A name typically given to any tests, survey, or questionnaire designed to help you identify your academic and/or personal strengths and weaknesses, your career interests and goals, or to determine which courses are best suited to your current interests and skill levels. For example, first-time students enrolled at EICC are required to complete the ALEKS test to ensure that they are placed in appropriate courses that are neither significantly above or below their current levels of mastery.
Associate of Arts: The A.A. degree is designed to provide the first two years of a typical college or university’s Bachelor’s Degree in liberal arts, sciences, general studies or pre-professional studies. Completion of the A.A. degree will satisfy most of the general education core requirements of most colleges and universities.
Associate of Science: The A.S. degree is designed for transfer, like the A.A. degree, but with emphasis in math and science areas of study.
Audit: A way to register (and pay) for a “credit” course without receiving a letter grade on your transcript. Used for several reasons: among the most common being to review material for which you already have a passing grade on your record, or for courses taken purely out of personal interest which are not required in your chosen curriculum.
Bachelor’s Degree: The degree conferred by institutions of higher education for the completion of a four-year curriculum of study. The degree will usually be designated with B.A. or B.S.
Campus: The place where all of this happens - the buildings, parking lots, athletic fields, etc. Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is made up of three integrated, yet separate colleges: Clinton Community College, Muscatine Community College, and Scott Community College. Each of these three colleges offer courses at their main campus as well as satellite campuses.
Career Placement Services: Assists students with employment upon completion of a degree. Students must register with the Placement Office and provide a resume to receive services.
Career Technology: A curriculum designed primarily for direct entry into the workplace upon completion, although some do also provide alternatives for extension into a 4-year degree. Examples: Advertising Art, Landscape Technology, or Microcomputer Repair.
Certificate: A record of successful completion of a shorter program of study (generally 12-38 credits), typically with application to skills needed for immediate entry into the workplace. (see also “degree”)
Concentration Area: A specialized field of study that a student chooses to pursue through his or her EICC college career (see Major).
Continuing Education: That department within a college with direct responsibility for planning and delivering non-credit courses. The name is intended to reflect the fact that the largest demand for such instruction tends to come from adults returning to school seeking to expand their job skills, their life skills (courses in taxes, investment, or home repair), or simply to stretch their minds. Continuing Education courses do not lead toward the completion of an Associate degree.
Co-requisite: A requirement that a course may be taken NO LATER THAN the same semester as some other course. Frequently seen connecting science courses with co-requisite mathematics courses.
Course: The typical unit of instruction from which students assemble their educational experience. Traditionally, a certain number of hours per week over the span of a semester, during which a particular set of subject matter is investigated under the guidance of a single teacher. The College Catalog contains descriptions of all courses offered by the college including information about credits earned, pre-requisites if any, type of instruction used, and specific content that will be studied.
Course Number: The Course Number is the unique identifier for each class section that is used for filling out registration forms.
Credit: Credits are based on the amount of hours spent in class each semester. A student receives course credit when completing a college course with a passing grade. Students completing a course but earning a non-passing grade will not be awarded credit for that particular course. Course credit at EICC is recorded as semester hours (s.h.) of credit. Credit courses are primarily designed to earn academic credits toward a degree or certificate and are distinct from “non-credit” courses (see “Continuing Education”).
Curriculum: Also called “Program of Studies.” A set of required and elective courses designed to meet specific career or transfer goals, and leading to some degree or certificate upon successful completion. Curriculum descriptions typically lay out not only the list of courses required, but also the order in which some of them should (or must) be taken (pre-requisites, and/or co-requisites).
Dean’s List: Students who earn a 3.50 or higher grade point average and are enrolled in six credit hours in any term are honored by being named to the Dean’s List.
Degree: Official confirmation by the institution that you have successfully completed an extended program of studies. EICC offers 2-year Associate degrees in Arts, Science, and Applied Sciences – some designed as direct preparation for immediate entry into a career, others for transfer into a 4-year program leading to the Bachelor’s Degree.
Department: Faculty are typically organized into Departments along disciplinary lines to assist with efficiency of planning and program development activities. Depending on the size of the school, a single department might encompass just one or several disciplines.
Developmental (College Prep) Course: A course that prepares students for success in subsequent college-level courses. Developmental (College Prep) courses typically have course numbers that begin with a zero, (e.g. ENG013, ENG064, MAT041, MAT063,…). Credits earned in a developmental course will NOT count toward satisfying any degree or certificate program requirement.
Disability Services: Services for persons with physical, psychological or learning disabilities.
Discipline: Generally the name given to that set of courses which are identified by a particular three-letter prefix in the College catalog – BIOlogy, ENGlish, or MATh, for example. Means about the same thing as “subject” in secondary school. (See also “department”)
Distance Learning: Has come to mean any use of modern communications technology to allow interaction between instructor and students outside the scope of the traditional classroom. Can mean E-Learning, On-Line (internet), ICN (television), or hybrid (any combination of the above). Some EICC courses are taught entirely in distance learning mode. Others include distance components to augment more traditional face-to-face instruction.
Elective: A course in which the student has some choice or selection – as distinct from a course that is absolutely required in a particular curriculum. In many cases, “electives” may be limited within categories – as for example to satisfy General Education requirements where some elective credits must be taken from Humanities, others from Arts, others from Science, etc.
Faculty: In its simplest usage – those directly responsible to plan and deliver the academic program. “Full-Time” faculty are assigned many regular duties above and beyond hours devoted to individual courses, including program development, student advising, and service on a wide variety of committees within the College. “Adjunct” (part-time) faculty are qualified professionals assigned to teach one or two courses in any given semester, with no formal duties outside the scope of those courses.
FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the application needed to determine eligibility for Federal Student Aid. It may be used by colleges and universities to determine financial need for work study programs, grants, loans, and some institution scholarships.
FERPA: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.
Freshman: Traditional name for first-year students in four-year degree programs. A freshman is any student who has earned fewer than 24 credit hours.
General Education Requirements: Basic core courses required by most institutions to assure students receive a well-rounded education. Students are required to either take certain courses to fulfill the requirements or choose courses from a menu of courses to meet specific requirements.
Grade Point Average (GPA): Shorthand for “grade point average.” The standard measure for determining overall academic standing. EICC, like almost all US institutions, uses the scale A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 and F=0. Grade points for each course are multiplied by the number of credits assigned to that course, these values are summed, and that total is finally divided by the total number of credits for these courses to arrive at the GPA.
Graduation Requirements Worksheet: A form designed to assist students in following A.A. or A.S. degree requirements and in updating their progress.
Major: A principal subject of study in one department or field of learning in which a student is required or elects to take a specified number of courses and credit hours as a part of the requirement for obtaining a degree.
Mid-Term Exams: Tests given halfway through a semester to determine how students are progressing.
Orientation: A program of activities for new students designed to introduce them to some of the essential knowledge and skills for a successful College experience.
Pre-requisite: A requirement that certain courses must be successfully completed before others may be attempted. Sometimes requires a grade of C or better in the earlier course - if so this will be stated explicitly in the course description for the later course.
Program of Study: See curriculum
Registration: The process of planning your courses for every upcoming semester, and reserving your place in a particular course by paying the tuition bill.
Semester: Period of time within which a course will be completed. Traditionally 16 weeks long - so that a basic three credit hour course would be one that met three hours each week for 16 weeks, or a total of 48 hours of instructional time. EICC has regular 16-week semesters in the “Fall” (late August - mid December) and in the “Spring” (late January - early May). EICC also offers a Summer Sessions in a variety of time configurations.
Sophomore: Traditional name for second-year students in four-year degree programs. A sophomore is any student who has earned at least 24 credit hours.
Student Services
Syllabus: A summary document prepared by the instructor that states basic information about plans for a particular course in a particular semester. Can include such things as textbook lists, office hours, test dates, required assignments, chapters to be covered, learning objectives, etc.
TBA: To Be Announced - Seen in the schedule of classes when exact instructor, or sometimes exact classroom, was not yet known at the time the schedule was sent to the printer.
Transcript: A formal record of grades received in all courses you have taken, and whether any degrees or certificates have been successfully completed. Must generally be sent directly from one college to the other when planning to transfer, or when applying to begin a higher degree program.
Transfer program: A two-year curriculum that is specifically designed to prepare for transfer with minimal loss of credits as the first half of a Bachelor’s degree program. EICC has many formal articulation agreements with local colleges/universities (Augustana, St. Ambrose, Western IL QC) and regent universities (Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa).
Tuition: The fees charged specifically to cover the cost of instruction – generally computed by a formula based upon credit hours. Tuition does NOT include the cost for text books.
Withdraw: The act of filing paperwork to remove yourself from the official class roster, either for a single course or for an entire semester. If done early enough in the semester the course (or courses) will not appear on your transcript at all. For the rest of the semester, will show on your transcript as a W grade. Exact dates for these withdraw periods are published in the Semester Calendar for each semester. Terminating your class participation without completing the “withdraw” paperwork can lead to a grade of F on your record.
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