Attachment – A file that is included with an e-mail message. Oftentimes, the file must be saved to the desktop before it can be opened.
Audit – To take a class for no credit. There are additional charges for auditing a class.
B
Bachelor’s Degree – A degree awarded by a four-year college. The B.A., B.S., or B.A.S. requires approximately 120 credits.
Blackboard – A course management system designed to support teaching and learning in an educational setting; often referred to as a virtual learning environment. Blackboard works over the Internet and provides a variety of tools that a student and instructor use to communicate with each other such as uploading of course content, return of student’s assignments, peer and group interaction, collecting and organizing student grades, questionnaires, etc. Blackboard is used to supplement the face-2-face classroom
environment, commonly known as Blended Learning.
Blended Learning – Blended learning is often referred to as Hybrid learning and typically is the combination of multiple approaches to learning. An example of blended learning would be to give a well-structured introductory lesson face-to-face in the classroom, and then provide follow-up materials online, often times provided through Blackboard (a course management system).
Blog – A user-generated website where entries are made in journal style. A blog provides interactive commentary on a particular subject.
C
Campus – The College a course is being offered at (SMC).
Catalog – The annual publication which explains college policies, procedures, and programs, including course descriptions.
Catalog Year – A policy that allows students who maintain continuous enrollment to follow the program requirements of the catalog year in which they began.
Certificate of Completion (CCL) – A certificate awarded for the completion of a specified career program.
Class Notes – Notes unique to the class attached to in SIS that give specific instruction to the student.
Class Number – A five-digit number identifying a class (formerly section number of a class ID).
Class Section – The numerical order of several classes within the same subject area (4 digits long)
Class Status – Active (open for enrollment), Cancelled Section (class placed in cancelled status due to low
enrollment), Stop Further Enrollment (class placed in this status to prevent any further enrollment), and Tentative Section (temporarily closed status until enrollment determined; usually a class set up for our ACE or Charter School students)
College Work/Study – A form of financial aid based on need, which provides the student with paid employment while in school.
Content Outline – An outline reflects the content that will be covered by a course.
Co-requisite – Requirement(s) which must be met concurrently with a course.
Counselor – A faculty member available to help you with personal, career, or school-related questions.
Course Career – When a course is offered as Credit or Non Credit.
Course Competencies – Statements which describe skills and/or knowledge students are expected to posses as a result of completing the course successfully. Includes an Outline Reference (Roman Numerals) which identifies a relationship between a major outline point and a Competency.
Course Component – When a class is offered as a lecture (LEC), a lab (LAB), or a combination of the two; Lecture/Lab (L/L).
Course Description – The brief, official statement of the content and prerequisites and/or co-requisites of each course included in the catalog.
Course ID – A number identifying a course and linked to the Course Bank (repository of all MCCD courses created)
Course Notes – Contains critical course information such as credit/no credit option and course repeat statements.
Course Number – Number that is assigned to a course that provides information about course level and sequence. Numbers range from 001-299. Numbers below 100 are not transferable to Universities and do not apply toward MCCCD degrees or certificates (i.e., ENG101 First Year Composition.
Credits – Credit hour is the term used to indicate the value of an academic credit. Credit hours are awarded for the successful completion of a course.
Cross-referenced courses – Two or more disciplines connected to the course. All course elements are identical except for the prefix. Some variation may occur at number level if a number is not available for use.
Curriculum – A series of course which meet a particular academic or vocational goal. Also called a program of study.
Cursor – A small symbol, usually a blinking line, arrow, or hand, which represents where you are currently positioned on the computer screen
D
Drop/Add Period – The period during which you can make changes in your schedule without penalty. The drop/add period varies with the length of the class.
E
Electives – Courses a student can select in order to complete a program of study, sometimes with restrictions.
E-learning – Electronic learning is designed in such a way that the student rarely, if ever, attends a face-to-face classroom setting and most times no in-person interaction may take place. Instruction delivered using e-Learning involves using interchangeably a wide variety of technologies, mainly Internet or computer-based instruction.
E-mail – Electronic mail, a means of sending written messages electronically.
Enrollment Status – Open, Closed, etc.
Full Course Descriptions – Information which communicates the content of a course.
G
Grading Basis – GRD or P/Z
Grant – Student financial aid based on need. Grants do not have to be repaid.
Helpdesk – A college service that assists students when they are having technical/computer related problems while enrolled in an Internet course.
Hybrid Class – Delivery of instruction using a combination of multiple approaches to learning that may involve web-based resources, computer-based training, collaborative activities, moderate discussion, or other as appropriate for the specific course. Content delivery and participation in a hybrid course may range from 25% up to 100% outside of the traditional classroom/lab environment. In most cases, a student will need to attend an orientation the first week of classes in the Technology Center. See also: Blended Learning and e-Learning.
I
Internet Class – Classes on the World Wide Web.
L
Location of Class – The physical location that a class will be held at. Often times, a class is offered through a college but is held at a separate site from the main campus (i.e., offered by SMCC ; held at the Guadalupe Center, Ahwatukee Foothills Center or at a location in Laveen).
Lower Division – First and second year college courses
M
MCCD OR MCCCD – Maricopa County Community College District
MEID – Maricopa Enterprise ID used to log on to My.maricopa.edu to access the Student Center (see Student Center).
Mode of Instruction – Hybrid, Internet or In Person – The official log-in where students can access the Student Center to perform a variety of functions (i.e., enroll in classes, pay for classes, request transcript, print schedule, etc.)
- The official log-in where students can access the Student Center to perform a variety of functions (i.e., enroll in classes, pay for classes, request transcript, print schedule, etc.)
N
Netiquette – Rules of conduct that define polite behavior in an email and on the Internet.
O
Online – See e-Learning
P
Password – A secret word you use to gain access to a computer system. Some times there are restrictions on the types of characters you can use (i.e., letters, numbers, or incidentals) as well as a maximum number of them. Periodically you will be alerted by a system generated memo to renew your password by a scheduled date in order to continue assessing the system.
Periods – The number of 50-minute periods per week that a course should be offered during a standard 16-week semester.
Prerequisite – A requirement which must be met before enrolling in a specific class, usually the completion of a lower-level class in the same subject.
Q
Quick Admit – Admitting an individual for a specific term.
Quick Enroll – Registering a Student.
R
Required Course – A course needed to complete a certificate or degree program.
Requisites (Pre/Co requisites) – Prerequisites define requirements which must be completed prior to enrollment in a course. Co requisites define requirements that must be met concurrently with a course.
Residential Faculty – Full-time certified instructors.
Restricted Electives – A listing of selected courses students can choose from to complete a certificate or
degree program.
S
Schedule – The publication which includes class offerings for a specific term and year. A schedule may appear in printed format or may be accessed at various web site venues.
Scholarships – Student financial aid based on academic achievement, need, or a combination of factors.
Scholarships do not have to be repaid. Student must apply for them through the Financial Aid Office.
Section Number – The five-digit code following the subject code and course number in the schedule of classes which identifies the location and time of the class (PSY101 55673).
SIS – Student Information System (PeopleSoft)
SMCC – South Mountain Community College (sometimes referred to as SM or SMC).
Social Security Number/National ID – A nine-digit number assigned to an individual from the Social Security
Administration once an application has been submitted. This number is used by SMCC to identify your records. If you chose not to use your Social Security Number; Confirmation ID’s can be obtained at Admissions and Records.
Student Self Service – On-Line Registration
Student Center – Internet access to the Student Center (My.maricopa.edu) allows you to search for classes, register for classes, view class schedule, drop/withdraw from a class, view financial aid, view changes to account, view grades, register for classes at another Maricopa Community College, request official transcripts and update contact and address information.
Subject Area/Course Prefix – Three letter designation for the discipline to which a course belongs.
Suffix – Alphabetic characters grouped with the Course Number that often identifies a modularized course. (e.g., AA, AB, BB, AX ...).
Syllabus – A course outline and information on classroom policies, tests, dates, and materials to be used in a class.
T
Term – A grouping for classes and tuition; a period of time a campus has determined as an instructional accounting period.
- The Term Code consists of 4 digits (i.e., 4086).
- The first number represents an arbitrary number chosen to correspond to the 21st century (i.e., 4XXX).
- The second and third numbers represent the year
(X08X).
- The fourth number represents the term of spring (2), summer I (4), summer II (5), or fall (6).
Transcript – An official record of a student’s course work and grades.
Transfer Credit – Credit earned at other regionally accredited institutions that is accepted at South Mountain
Community College. Credits accepted in transfer do not necessarily apply to all certificates and degrees.
U
Units/Credits – The term used to indicate the value of an academic credit.
Upper Division – Courses usually taken during junior and senior years, offered at four-year institutions.
Username – A unique name used to access resources on a computer. If you are registered for an Internet course, your username, along with your password, allows you to get access to course information and the messaging system. In an e-mail address, the characters before the ‘@’ symbol are the username.