Glossary of Terms
Academic Advisor – Every student is assigned to a faculty advisor who is available to answer academic questions and offer guidance about the academic program.
Area Coordinators – Professional, full-time, live-in Residence Life staff.
B.A. – Bachelor of Arts Degree
B.B.A. – Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting
B.M. – Bachelor of Music Degree
B.S. – Bachelor of Science Degree
College – TLU’s academic departments are divided into two colleges; the College of Professional Studies, and the College of Arts and Science.
College Deans – The deans handle student concerns above the department chair level. TLU has a dean for each of its two colleges.
Core Courses – Refers to specific courses in the general education curriculum that all students are required to take.
Course Call Number – A unique number used to identify a specific course and section in the course schedule.
Course Schedule – The master list of all courses offered each semester.
Credit Hour – 124 credit hours are required to graduate. Most courses are three credit hours. Also called “semester hours,” “credits,” and “hours.”
Drop / Add – The procedure for changing your schedule, dropping one class and/or adding another. The change becomes official only when you have your instructor and advisor’s signatures and the form has been filed with the Office of Registration and Records.
Degree Program – An academic plan of study consisting of no less than 124 hours of credit in which a student pursues at least one major.
Department – An administrative unit for organizing, coordinating and delivering educational services; a department can administer more than one program, e.g. theology and philosophy.
Elective – A course taken that is not a requirement toward a student’s degree program. However, the hours are still applied toward the total number of hours needed for graduation.
FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Required for each year that a student requests financial aid. Without filing this form, students are not eligible for aid.
Full-time Student – An undergraduate student registered for 12 or more semester hours.
GEC – General Education Curriculum. Specific courses required for graduation. Also called “Core courses.”
GPA – Grade Point Average
Hold – A “hold” on a student’s record indicates an outstanding obligation (fees, signature, etc.). All holds must be cleared before students will be allowed to register.
Incomplete – Given by instructors in consultation with the student when all work for a course is not completed. The instructor must change the “I” to a letter grade within one month of the start of the following long semester. If the “I” is not changed the course grade becomes an “F.”
Independent Study – Faculty-supervised individual study for advanced work in specific areas. This option is open only for juniors or seniors with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.
Lab – A small, hands-on section of a course that is required with a lecture section.
Lower-Division Courses – Classes usually numbered 100 – 299, ordinarily taken by freshmen.
Major – An approved program of study leading to a bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of music, or bachelor of business administration. Majors require anywhere from 24-60 semester hours of courses within the discipline.
Minor – An approved program of study in a discipline other than the major. Minors are optional and do not lead to a degree.
Peer Mentor – An orientation leader trained to help students transition into the TLU community during orientation and throughout the year.
Prerequisite – A course that is required as a prior condition for taking another course.
R.A. – Resident Assistant. Returning students who are trained to assist professional staff in the administration of residence life on campus. R.A.s live in the halls and apartments and assist with community activities, educational programming and residence life policy enforcement.
Registration – An officially registered student is one who has submitted course selections on the registration form, obtained the necessary approvals, and has settled all charges with the Business Office.
Registration Confirmation – Advance-registered students must confirm their registration and complete their financial arrangements at the beginning of each semester. Students who do not do this by the designated day will have their schedules deleted.
Regular Student – Students who have met all admissions requirements and are degree seeking. May be full-time or part-time.
Repeating Courses – A course may be repeated at TLU. The official grade is the last one made and is the grade that is used to compute the students GPA.
Section – A number identifying a specific time and specific professor for a class.
Semester Hour – The basic unit of credit in college/university courses. Also commonly called “credit hour.”
SGA – Student Government Association.
Special Students – Special students are those who either have not fulfilled all admission requirements or are not degree seeking. They are not eligible for financial aid.
Student Classification – Regular students are classified according to the number of semester hours of college credit earned (not counting hours currently enrolled). Freshmen, 0-26 hours; sophomore, 27-59 hours; junior, 60-89 hours; senior, 90+ hours.
Study Abroad – An experience through the International Education Program that permits students to attend colleges and universities in other countries.
Upper-Division Courses – Courses usually numbered 300 - 499 and taken after lower-division course requirements are met. Taken after the first year.
