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| Academic Term (Semester,
Trimester, Quarter) |
| The period of time students are enrolled in a specific group of classes. Most colleges and
universities schedule two semesters of 14 to 16 weeks between August and
June. |
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| Articulation |
| A written agreement between
two colleges or universities outlining how a course(s) or academic
program will transfer from one to the other. |
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| Associate Degree |
| Degree awarded for the
completion of at least 60 credits
of work that typically includes General
Education Requirements, major
program of study requirements,
and electives.
Community colleges and two-year private and proprietary colleges generally
award the associate degree. |
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| Bachelor Degree |
| Degree awarded for the
completion of at least 120 credits
of work that typically includes General
Education Requirements, major
program of study requirements,
and electives.
Four-year public, private, and proprietary colleges and universities generally
award the bachelor degree. |
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| Concentration |
| A certain number of credits/courses
in a major program of
study that is more specialized
than the general degree program. For example, a student majoring in Business
Administration may have a concentration in Marketing. |
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| Core Courses |
| See General Education Requirements (GenEDs) |
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| Course Equivalency |
| A course at one institution that equates to a course offered at another college or university.
For example, Biology 100 (Fundamentals of Biology), offered at a community
college, may be equivalent to Biology 1001 (Introduction to Biology),
offered at a four-year college or university. |
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| Course Evaluation |
| A list of courses from one institution and their corresponding or equivalent courses at another college
or university. |
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| Credits (Semester
Hours) |
| Units earned when a college
or university course is successfully completed. Most courses equate to
3 or 4 credits or semester hours. Typically, students at a community college
must complete 60 to 65 credits or semester
hours in order to earn an associate
degree. |
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| Elective |
| A course chosen
by the student to fulfill degree requirements or a personal interest. (See Lower Level Elective) |
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| Fine Arts |
| Generally courses in dance, music, theater,
and visual arts. |
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| Full-Time Student |
| Usually a student who is taking 12 or
more credits
per semester |
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| General Education Requirements (GenED
or Core Courses) |
| A group of courses which
provides a broad cultural background that college and university students
are required to complete as part of their graduation requirements. GenED
courses frequently come from the social
sciences, humanities,
communications, mathematics, sciences,
and fine arts
areas. |
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| Grade Point Average (GPA) |
| An assessment, frequently
expressed in numerical terms on a scale of 4.0, of a student's semester
or cumulative academic performance. |
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| Humanities |
| Generally courses in the
classics, foreign languages, linguistics, literature, philosophy, public
speaking, and religion. |
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| Inactive Course |
A course not currently offered by the college or university. An 'Inactive' transferable course will usually transfer if successfully completed prior to any cutoff date established by the Receiving Institution. |
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| Lower Division |
| The first two years (freshman
and sophomore) of college study, which can be completed at a community
college or a four-year college or university. |
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| Lower Level Elective |
| A freshman- or sophomore-level
course providing credit
towards graduation, but not satisfying a General
Education Requirement or Major
requirement. Frequently, courses not meeting an area or course requirement
are assigned to this category. (See Elective) |
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| Major (Major
Program of Study) |
| A student’s academic area
of emphasis and specialization. Frequently, students will be required
to take 20% to 30% of their coursework in their major. |
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| Major Elective Credit |
| A non-specified course in the student's major. For example,
on NJ TRANSFER a community college sociology course displaying a 'SOCEC' or 'SOCIEC'
equivalency will fulfill three credits of the Sociology major requirements
at the four-year institution. |
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| Matriculated Student |
| A full- or part-time student accepted
to pursue study towards a degree by a college or university. |
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| Minor |
| A small group of courses
often related to, but different from, a student's major
program of study. Usually, students are required to "declare"
a major, but not all colleges require a student to choose
a minor. |
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| NJ TRANSFER |
| A Web-based articulation
and credit equivalency program designed to facilitate students’ transfer
of courses from New Jersey’s community colleges to New Jersey’s four-year
colleges and universities. The URL for NJ
TRANSFER
is www.njtransfer.org |
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| Non-Matriculated Student |
| A student who has not
been accepted into a degree program by a college or university, but who
is allowed to enroll in courses. |
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| Non-Transferable Courses |
| Courses offered by one institution that will not transfer to another college or university. Some
examples of these courses are developmental courses in English or mathematics
and many vocational courses. |
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| Prerequisite |
| A course or courses that
must be successfully completed before a student can enroll in the next-level
course or a more advanced course. |
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| Receiver Institution |
| A four-year college or university in New
Jersey that participates in NJ
TRANSFER. |
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| Recommended Transfer Program (RTP) |
| In NJ
TRANSFER,
Recommended Transfer Program, or RTP, refers to the first 2 years (usually
60 to 65 credits) of an academic program or major at
a four-year college or university. The four-year college or university
courses are translated to the equivalent courses at the community college
selected by the user. |
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| Sciences |
| Usually courses in biology, chemistry,
geology, and physics. |
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| Semester (Academic
Term) |
| The period of time students are enrolled in a specific group of classes. Most colleges and
universities schedule two semesters of 14 to 16 weeks between August and
June. |
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| Semester Hours |
| See credits. |
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| Sender Institution |
| A New Jersey community/county college. |
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| Social Sciences |
| Usually courses in anthropology, geography,
political science, psychology, and sociology. |
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| Transcript |
| The official
cumulative record containing the courses, semester hours, and grades
earned by a student at a college or university. |
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| Transfer Student |
| A student who, after attending
a college or university, seeks admission to another college or university.
Generally, transferable courses taken at previous colleges will be applied toward the degree
requirements at the new institution. |
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| Transferable Courses |
| Courses offered by one
college that will transfer to another college. These courses can usually be
applied toward the degree requirements at the college
or university to which you are transferring. |
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| Upper Division |
| The last two years (junior
and senior) of college study, usually completed at a four-year
college or university. |
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| The source for some
of the definitions on this page is Going to College in New Jersey:
A Guide to Undergraduate Opportunities, which is published by the
State of New Jersey Office of Student Assistance. You may contact this
office at 1-800-792-8670. |
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