Glossary of Terms

A

Academic Advisor
A university employee who helps the student make informed and responsible decisions in the pursuit of the student's academic goals.
Academic Calendar
An official register of notable dates in an academic year, including registration timelines, term start/end dates, final exam schedules and student holidays/campus closings.
Academic Program
Also called Educational Program; Any grouping of subject matter courses which, when satisfactorily completed by a student, shall entitle the student to a credential from an institution of higher education.
Approved List of Courses
Contains courses formally approved to count toward a degree requirement that cannot be published in the catalog, such as courses added to course inventory during off-catalog cycles.
Auditing a course
Registering for and attending a class for the express purpose of hearing and observing only, with no active participation, such as submitting papers, taking part in class discussions or receiving a credit for the course.

B

Baccalaureate
A term used to describe undergraduate education, baccalaureate programs are typically completed within four to five years and require a minimum of 120 credit hours to obtain a degree. Bachelor’s degrees are classified as baccalaureate degrees.
Bachelors degree

An undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study, traditionally comprising the equivalent of four years of full-time academic study beyond the completion of high school.

  • Bachelor of Arts: Distinguished by its concentration in liberal arts; typically focused on culture, arts, philosophy, and language.
  • Bachelor of Science: Distinguished by its concentration on mathematics, statistics, quantitative reasoning, and scientific analysis.

C

Capstone course
A senior-level culminating course within each undergraduate major. Normally it is among the last courses taken for degree completion.
Catalog
This is UTA’s annual publication comprised of data pertaining to the university. The catalog outlines the institution’s general regulations, policies and procedures. It offers specifics pertaining to each college and its affiliated academic departments from program requirements and course descriptions to advisors and faculty members. The University catalog can be found online here: https://catalog.uta.edu/
Certificate
Credentials obtained after completing specific required coursework in a single field of study.
Co-requisite
A stipulation by a major department or academic unit in which two courses must be completed simultaneously (Ex. A course and corresponding lab)
Colleges
Individual schools within the university focused on specialized fields of study and offering degrees and/or certificates related to them (i.e. College of Engineering, School of Social Work)
Commencement
The formal ceremony of conferring degrees at the end of the semester or academic year
Concentration
A defined subset of courses within a major that allows a student to focus in a particular area of that major.
Concurrent enrollment
Cooperative programs between University of Texas system components (UTA, UTD and UTSW) in which a student may enroll and complete coursework at two of these institutions simultaneously
Conferral
The official institutional awarding of a transcript-recognized credential by the University to the student, such as a certificate, degree, honors, major, or minor.
Core Curriculum
Set of courses designated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) totaling 42 semester credit hours which are required to complete any degree
Course
A set schedule of classes in which students receive instruction in a particular subject and culminates in mastery of that subject; A designated number of semester credit hours are awarded upon successful completion
Credit Hour
Also called semester credit hours; A unit of academic credit measured in hours or quarter hours. One credit hour usually represents one hour of class time per week.

D

Dean
Administrative officer at the head of an academic unit or college within a university
Deans list
Public recognition by each college, at the end of a semester, naming students who have achieved a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) or level of achievement established by the dean of the unit.
Degree
The academic credential conferred to a student for completed work in an area of study. Examples are bachelor, master and doctoral degrees.
Degree Plan
Defines the conditions of entry, course requirements and course sequence needed to fulfill a degree program.
Degree Program
Any grouping of subject matter courses which, when satisfactorily completed by a student, entitles the student to a degree from an institution of higher education; characterized by a disciplinary major which is the primary focus of coursework.
Degree Requirement
Required coursework and non-coursework conditions specific to the degree.
Degree seeking student
An applicant who has been granted admission to a degree program under full, provisional, or conditional status.
Department
Within a university, the term department refers to an academic unit housed within a school or college. 
Diploma
A document bearing record of a degree conferred by an educational institution.
Double or Dual Major
Informal arrangement, with approval of participating academic units, where a student can pursue more than one major simultaneously. Example: Communication – Journalism (BA) and Communication – Broadcast (BA).
Dynamic Dated Courses
Courses in sessions that fall outside of the normally scheduled time periods; used for special Academic Partnership programs and available only to students associated with these programs.

E

Elective
Courses that count as general credits toward required total degree plan hours but are not a specific program requirement. 
Emphasis
A defined subset of courses within a major that appears as an official designation on the transcript.
Encumbrance
A hold placed on a student's record as a result of an unfulfilled monetary obligation to the university or of a disciplinary action by the university. 
Enrollment Verification
An official document that contains your enrollment information at UT Arlington for a semester; An enrollment verification letter includes the following information: semester begin/end dates, career level (Undergraduate/Graduate), enrollment status.
Excessive Hours
When a student enrolls in courses resulting in a significantly greater number of hours (30-45 more) than what is required to complete a their chosen degree plan.
Excessive Hours Policy
States that a student initially enrolled as an undergraduate in the 1999 fall semester and later may be subject to a higher tuition rate for attempting excessive hours at any Texas public institution of higher education (Texas Education Code § 54.014).

F

FERPA
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records, transferring rights from parents to the student when they reach the age of 18 or attends an institution of higher education.
Financial Aid
Money provided for students to help pay expenses associated with obtaining an academic degree at in institution of higher education.
Fresh Start
A provision of the Texas Education Code that allows Texas residents to apply for undergraduate admission at UTA without consideration of credits or grades earned 10 or more years prior to enrollment.
Full time student
An undergraduate student taking 12 or more hours each semester, or a graduate student taking nine or more hours each semester.

G

Good standing
A designation that signifies that a student is eligible to continue, to return, or to transfer elsewhere; implies good academic standing.
Grade point average
A student's scholastic average, computed by dividing total quality points by quality hours attempted.
Graduate
One who has received an academic or professional degree; one who has completed the prescribed course of study in any school or institution of higher learning. 
Graduation
The actions of receiving or conferring an academic degree after all requirements have been met. 
Graduation audit
The final review of a student's academic record that determines eligibility to graduate. 
Grant
A form of financial aid obtained from the state or federal government that does not require repayment except in extenuating circumstances.

H

Honors
Designation indicated on the university degree and transcript to reflect outstanding scholarship. 
Honors courses
Special courses offered by UTA’s Honors College designed to offer intellectual challenge and personal attention to particularly able students. 
Hybrid online course
A course that blends online and face-to-face on-campus meetings. At least 50 percent of the instruction and interaction is online. 

I

Incomplete
The grade I, sometimes granted when a student is temporarily unable to complete course requirements because of unusual circumstances. 
Independent study
A course of study undertaken by a student under the supervision of one or more faculty members outside the classroom. 
Interdisciplinary
Designating a combination of subject matter from two or more disciplines within a course or program. 
Internship
Work in a firm or agency related to a student's major program and/or career plans. Involves earning university credit and may or may not involve receiving payment.

L

Lab
A smaller, individual course component that supplements larger lectures allowing for in-depth observation, participation, experimentation or practice.
Latin Honors

Distinction awarded to graduates who complete at least 45 hours at UTA with a GPA of 3.5 or greater as follows: 

  • Cum Laude Latin Honors = GPA of 3.5 – 3.699 
  • Magna Cum Laude Latin Honors = GPA of 3.7 – 3.899 
  • Summa Cum Laude Latin Honors = GPA of 3.9 – 4.0 
Lecture
A course in which the lesson is typically delivered via a speech or presentation by the instructor.
Loans
A form of financial aid borrowed from a federal or private financial institution that requires repayment of a principal amount plus accrued interest.

M

Major
Primary area of study while pursuing a degree (generally consisting of 30 to 50 semester hours of credit) in which a student develops the greatest depth of knowledge, competence, and understanding that can lead to a degree
Masters degree
A degree granted upon the completion of at least one year of graduate-level work beyond the bachelor's degree.
Meningitis requirement
Condition of enrollment that states any Texas college student new to the institution and under age 22 on the first day of the term must submit documentation of immunization against bacterial meningitis or proof of exemption; See Texas Meningitis Vaccination Law
Milestone
record of achievement that recognizes a student's completion of a coherent and meaningful academic experience which can be found in MyMav
Minor
Transcript-recognized complementary area of study comprised of a designated group of classes in a discipline that is primarily outside the major area of study or is interdisciplinary and offers less depth and breadth than a major
MyMav
UTA’s online student information tool that provides centralized management of student data, including but not limited to, registering for classes, paying bills, accepting financial aid, checking grades, and viewing degree audits. Access this resource at https://www.uta.edu/mymav

N

Nondegree seeking student
A student who has been admitted to a nondegree-seeking category (sometimes referred to as a continuing education student) and is not currently seeking a bachelor's or master's degree.

P

Part time student
An undergraduate student who takes fewer than 12 hours during a semester or a graduate student who takes fewer than nine hours during a semester. 
Prerequisite
A course or additional work that a student must satisfactorily complete before enrolling in another course or being admitted to a certain program.

R

Registration
The process of signing up and paying tuition and fees for courses each semester.
Residency status
classification of a student as either a resident of Texas, nonresident or international student and determines tuition rate; See Rules and Regulations for Determining Residence Status on the College for All Texans website.

S

SACSCOC
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. See: https://sacscoc.org/.
Schedule Planner
An online tool in MyMav that allows a student to build a virtual schedule for available terms based on all current possible course options.
Scholarship
A form of financial aid received from nonprofit and private organizations usually awarded based on academic merit, talent or specific area of study and does not require repayment.
Section
A specific instance of a class assigned a five-digit unique number in the Course Schedule for which students can register.
Semesters
Periods of instruction into which an academic year is divided. A semester spans a specified number of weeks including registration, instruction, and final examinations.
Shopping Cart
An area in MyMav for holding courses during the registration process as students prepare to officially add them to a schedule and pay for them.
Study abroad
An arrangement by which UTA students complete part of their degree program studying in another country.

T

THECB
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is the state’s agency that oversees all public post-secondary education in the state. See: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/. 
Thesis
An extensive written discourse on a new point of view resulting from research, usually a requirement for an advanced academic degree. 
Transcript
A copy of a student's permanent academic record at a particular institution.
Transfer credit
Credit earned at another accredited institution and accepted toward a UTA degree.
Tuition
The amount of money that must be paid for courses based on the number of credits for which one registers.

U

Undergraduate
A university student who has not yet received a first degree.

W

Waitlist
A list for some classes that allows students an automatic enrollment in a course with zero available seats if a spot opens up.
Work study
A form of financial aid for students in which a part-time job is provided to a student to earn money for education expenses.