GLOSSARY OF COLLEGE TERMS
The following is offered as an explanation of common terms used at Ventura College. You should be familiar with these key words, terms and phrases since you will read or hear them throughout your college experience. A counselor is also available to answer any questions.
A.A., Associate in Arts: general degree granted by California Community Colleges.
A.S., Associate in Science: degree granted by California Community Colleges generally having more emphasis on two-year vocational training than the A.A. degree.
Academic Renewal: a process to have previous substandard college work (grades and credits) excluded from computation of the cumulative grade point average.
Academic Year: Fall and Spring semesters, beginning with the start of the Fall term in August through the end of the Spring term in mid-May.
Add: formally adding a class(es) by completing the appropriate forms online or at the Admissions Office.
Adding a Closed Class: students seeking entry to classes that are closed at the time they register are referred to the instructor.
Articulation: a connecting link between two or more schools. Articulation agreements between Ventura College and universities list the courses that transfer and that satisfy certain requirements.
Assessment/Placement Test: test given prior to registration for classes. The results are used to help students select appropriate classes.
Bachelor’s Degree: degree granted by four-year colleges and universities. Usually the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or the Bachelor of Science (B.S.).
By Arrangement: courses, or part of courses which include additional hours not yet scheduled.
Certificate of Achievement: a document indicating that the graduate has satisfactorily completed the major courses in a program, but not the general education courses. A certificate is not a degree.
Certificate of Completion: a document awarded to a student upon completion of a course or a series of courses as designated in the College Catalog. Certificates are issued by selected instructional departments of the College. Consult the instructor for more information.
Certificate Program: vocational programs which concentrate only on those courses essential to prepare a student for employment in a selected field.
Class Schedule: the listing of courses including hours, instructor and room assignments to be offered each term. (See Schedule of Classes)
Collaborative Learning: a method of instruction committed to actively engaging students in their learning using small groups, team and group projects, and providing opportunities for students to share common experiences and solve problems.
Community Education Classes: fully fee-funded avocational and recreational classes. These classes carry no credit value.
Corequisite: a course or courses in which a student must be concurrently enrolled. A corequisite represents a set of skills or a body of knowledge that a student must acquire through concurrent enrollment. Corequisites are indicated in the Class Listings of the Schedule of Classes and in the College Catalog.
Counselor: faculty who assist students with personal, career, avocational and educational planning and development.
Course: an organized pattern of instruction in a specified subject offered by the college.
Course Description: a brief statement about the content of a particular course.
Credit/No Credit: a grading system allowing a course to be taken for a grade of credit/no credit rather than for a letter grade. Please see pages 20-21.
Credit: (graded course) course for which units are granted.
CSU: the California State University system, also called Cal State, consists of 23 campuses statewide.
Curriculum: a group of required courses leading to a degree or certificate. Also used to refer to course offerings of the College as a whole.
Degree: a diploma granted by a college stating that the student has attained a certain level of ability in a specific field. The most common degrees are: 1) A.A. Associate in Arts; 2) A.S. Associate in Science; 3) B.A./B.S. Bachelors Degree (four-year). 
Dismissal: the procedure of dismissing a student from college for poor academic achievement, for incurring excessive withdrawals, or disciplinary reasons. Often, dismissal is temporary, providing the student agrees to certain conditions. See College Catalog, Appendix I for more information.
Disqualification: the procedure of dismissing a student from college for poor academic achievement or for incurring excessive withdrawals.
Drop: withdrawing formally from a class in which a student is enrolled. It is the student’s responsibility to formally withdraw from a class. A student may drop a class online or in-person, or the instructor may initiate the drop.  Contact the Admissions Office for more information and deadlines.
Educational Work Load: generally consists of 15 units of work per semester in order to make normal progress towards the A.A./A.S. degree and/or transfer requirements.
Elective: a course that is not specifically required for the major but which the student takes for unit credit, and which may count towards the degree.
Full-Time Student Status: a student who enrolls in and satisfactorily completes a minimum of 12 units. This status is important for financial aid eligibility and other special program requirements. Limitations apply regarding G.P.A., credit/no credit grades, etc.
General Education/Breadth Requirements: courses that all students must satisfactorily complete to obtain a degree. Depending on the degree desired, these requirements vary. Current lists are available at the Counseling Office and the College Catalog, the Schedule of Classes and on the College Web site.
Good Standing: indicates that the student’s grade point average is a “C” (2.0 or better.)
Grade Point Average (G.P.A.): the average of a student’s grades. See pages 22-23.
Hour: same as “Credit” or “Credit Unit.” See “Credit” and “Unit.”
Limitations on Enrollment: a condition of enrollment that limits how students qualify for a particular program. These limitations apply to courses that include public performance or intercollegiate competition where a tryout or audition is necessary. Additionally, some courses require formal admission to a particular program in order to enroll (e.g., Associate Degree Nursing Program).
Lower Division: the first two years of college work, i.e., freshman and sophomore years and/or courses. By California law only lower division work can be offered at California Community Colleges.
Major: the field of concentrated study a student plans to pursue, e.g., biology, nursing, etc.
Matriculation: a process that promotes and sustains the efforts of community college students to achieve their educational goals through a coordinated program of instructional and support services tailored to individual needs.
Minor: the field of study a student plans to pursue in addition to the major but with less emphasis. A minor is not usually required.
Noncredit Courses: courses that grant no college credit or student grades. A noncredit course should not be confused with the credit/no credit grading option defined above.
Open Entry: courses that may be added to program of student throughout the semester.
Open Exit: courses that may be completed upon fulfillment of course requirements at any time during the semester.
Part-Time Student Status: a student who enrolls in or completes fewer than 12 units.
Preparation for the Major Requirements: courses that are required by four-year college and universities before the student begins. See “Major.”
Prerequisite: a requirement which must be completed prior to enrollment in a course and without which a student is highly unlikely to succeed. Prerequisites are listed in the course descriptions in the College Catalog and in the Class Listings of the Schedule of Classes.
Probation: students may be placed on probation if they fail to maintain progress towards their declared academic goal or if their grade point average drops below a 2.0 for any term. Students on probation are required to meet with a counselor to develop a plan to get off probation.
Program Changes: adding or dropping classes after initially enrolling.
Program of Study: a planned series of courses.
Recommended Preparation: preparation suggested by the faculty to successfully complete a particular course. While encouraged to do so, students do not have to satisfy recommended preparation guidelines to enroll in a course.
Registration: the official process of enrolling in courses. The process of registration must be completed by the second week of the semester for Fall and Spring and by the middle of the first week for Summer in order for a student to be officially enrolled and to receive credit for his/her classes.
Schedule of Classes: a booklet used during registration, listing the course ID, title, units, time, instructor and location of classes offered in a particular term. In addition, the Schedule lists other course information (e.g., prerequisites, fees, transfer credit) plus the registration and deadline calendars.
Semester Unit: in general, a semester unit represents one hour of lecture or three hours of laboratory per week for a semester. Graduation requires 60 semester units. One semester unit or one credit hour is approximately three hours of recitation, study or laboratory per week throughout the term. Please see page 20.
Semester: one-half of the academic year; 16 to 18 weeks duration.
Short-Term Course: a class that meets for less than a full semester.
Student Education Plan (SEP): a program of study and services needed by the student to enable the student to reach his/her educational objective. The SEP is developed by the student and counselor.
TBA: “To Be Announced” is noted in the Schedule of Classes when the time of a class may be arranged independently or when the location or instructor is to be announced after the publication goes to print.
Testing: students may expect continuous testing throughout the semester in most class courses. Although a final examination is generally required at the end of each course, there is also continuous evaluation during the semester. Students may contact instructors to see how they are doing during the semester. The grade recorded on the student’s transcript is that which is received at the end of the semester as a result of the testing and other evaluative procedures utilized by the instructor over that semester.
Transcript (of record): a copy of a student’s college records prepared by the Admission and Record’s Office. Please see page 14.
Transfer: this term generally applies to the student who plans to continue his or her education at a four-year college or university.
Transferable Course: a course that is accepted at universities at least for elective credit. Indicated after each applicable course in the Catalog and Schedule under “Transfer Credit.”
Transfer Requirements: in order of importance, transfer students must satisfy requirements for admission, preparation in the major, and general education. Admissions requirements, at a minimum, include units, scholarship, and subject area preparation.
UC: the University of California system of 10 campuses.
Undergraduate: courses in the freshman through senior years of college work. Courses taken up to completion of a Bachelor’s Degree.
Units: the basic unit of credit is the semester unit which is equivalent to a credit hour. One credit hour of community college work is approximately three hours of recitation, study or laboratory work per week throughout a term. For practical purposes, the following terms are synonymous: unit, semester unit, semester hours, credit, credit hour.
Units Attempted: total number of credit units in the courses for which a student has enrolled.
Units Completed: total number of units in the courses for which a student has received a grade of A, B, C, D, F, or Credit/No Credit.
Upper Division: refers to courses taken at the junior and senior class level at the four-year college or university.
Withdrawal: the process by which a student officially drops from all classes during the semester. Check with the Admissions Office for the specific requirements and procedures.