CAMPUS VOCABULARY

ADMISSION - The submission of an application for admission by the student and acceptance of the application by Skyline College. Based on information provided on the application, a student is sent procedures for registration.

ADD CLASSES or /DROP CLASSES – Students may add or drop classes from their program using WebSMART, or in-person at the Admissions and Records Office, Building 2, Room 2225.

ASSOCIATE IN ARTS (A.A.) DEGREE OR ASSOCIATE IN SCIENCE (A.S.) DEGREE - Degrees awarded by Skyline College after satisfactory completion of an organized program of study covering a broad spectrum of courses (called General Education) and a major. The associate degree requires at least 60 units of credit.

BACHELOR'S DEGREES (B.A., B.S., A.B., B.B.A., B.F.A.) - Degrees awarded by four-year colleges and universities after satisfactory completion of a program of study, usually requiring at least four years..

CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS - Vocational occupational programs, requiring approximately two years or more to complete, that concentrate on those courses essential to prepare a student for employment in a selected field.

CERTIFICATION - A process applicable to the University of California and California State University systems in which Skyline College verifies that the student transferring has completed the required general education courses.

CLASS SCHEDULE - A publication issued several months before the beginning of each semester announcing specific course offerings for that semester, an application for admissions, general information, the current fee schedule, and the semester calendar with applicable deadlines.

COLLEGE CATALOG - An annual publication of the College, describing the degree, vocational, and transfer programs, courses that the College may offer, admissions requirements, and College policies and regulations. Catalogs are available in the College Library, may be purchased from the College Bookstore or viewed online.

COUNSELING/ADVISING - Counselors and advisors assist students in establishing educational goals and selecting courses to achieve these goals. Appointments are available to all students and recommended for those seeking degrees, vocational certificates or transfer opportunities.

CREDIT - The official award given for the completion of a course. Credit is measured in units according to the amount of time spent in a course and the completion of outside assignments.

CSUGE or IGETC CERTIFICATION (Previously "Certification") - A process applicable to the University of California and the California State University systems by which Skyline College certifies that a transferring student has completed or partially completed the General Education Breadth requirements.

DISMISSAL - A situation caused by low academic or unsatisfactory progress performance in which the disqualified student may not continue at the College without approval for readmission.

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS (also called Breadth Requirement) -Courses selected from required general academic areas such as Humanities, Social Science, Science, Quantitative Reasoning, and Oral and Written Language that must be completed before a degree is awarded. "GE" requirements are intended to ensure a multidimensional education.

GOOD STANDING - Refers to students who are maintaining satisfactory academic progress in regard to their grade point average and course completion rate and who have conducted themselves within the College Code of Conduct.

GRADE POINTS - A numerical value assigned to units of college credit for each course for which a letter grade is received (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=l, F=O). Grade points are totaled in computing a Grade Point Average (G.P.A.), which is widely accepted as a measure of academic achievement.

LOWER DIVISION - Courses taken during the first year (freshman) or second year (sophomore) of college studies are generally the first 60 units of college work. Lower division courses are introductory or broader in content than more specialized courses in the Upper Division.

MAJOR - A series of courses, required and elective, in a main area of academic or vocational interest.

MATRICULATION - A process which brings a college and a student who enrolls for credit into an agreement for the purpose of realizing the student's educational goal. All primary parts of matriculation are the assessment, orientation, and counseling of new, non-exempt students. For information on exemptions from matriculation, please refer to the current class schedule.

PLACEMENT TESTING - Placement tests are designed to assess student skills in math, reading, English, and/or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). The test results, along with other criteria, are used to determine an appropriate course placement. For retest policies and the current test schedule, or to review sample test questions, please visit our comprehensive website.

PREREQUISITE - Previous background or course(s) required for entry into a course. Prerequisites are listed in both the College Catalog and the Class Schedule.

PROBATION - A warning status applied to students whose academic progress has fallen below 50% of the units they have attempted and/or whose grade point average has fallen below 2.0. Continued unsatisfactory progress can lead to dismissal from the College.

REGISTRATION - The official process for enrolling in one or more classes. During the regular registration period as published in the Class Schedule, registration is completed by using WebSMART. Registration may be completed in person in the Office of Admissions and Records.

SEMESTER - Skyline College’s regular academic year is divided into two terms referred to as the fall and spring semesters and are approximately 17 weeks each in duration.

UNITS - Credit awarded by completing a college course and measured according to the amount of time spent in the course and assignments completed. A minimum of 60 semester units is required for an Associate Degree from Skyline College.

WebSMART - A web-based registration system, which may also be used to add or drop courses, pay fees by credit card, and access final grades.

WITHDRAW - A student may withdraw from a semester-length class through the 14th week of the semester and will receive a "W" on their academic transcript for the course. For courses other than semester-length, please refer to the Class Schedule under "Withdrawal Policy." Students who drop more than 50% of their units attempted will be placed on probation.