Glossary

An academic advisor is a professional who works in your college whose primary responsibilities include developing a collaborative relationship with you as you pursue your academic and personal goals. They are a great resource for answering your questions and connecting you to different resources. The Advising Resource Center website can help you find your advisor and also provides resources for you.

Academic eligibility refers to whether a student is eligible to enroll for classes at UA based on their previous academic performance. Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater in order to maintain their status as Eligible. Students who have semester or cumulative GPAs less than 2.0 for one or more semesters may have their status changed to Academic Review, Academic Warning, or Academic Probation. Students may also become Ineligible to enroll for classes. See the Academic Eligibility Policy for definitions of these different statuses.

The Code of Academic Integrity outlines your commitment to and responsibility for honest and ethical behavior as a member of the University of Arizona learning community. It includes what is expected of you as a scholar, what is defined as academic dishonesty and prohibited conduct, and how Code of Academic Integrity violations are processed on our campus.

From Latin, alma mater is used to refer to the school, college, or university one attended.

Alumnus comes from Latin and is used to refer to a graduate from a particular school. It is the singular, masculine form of the word. Alumni is the plural, masculine form. Alumna is the singular, feminine form of the word, while alumnae is the plural, feminine form.

It is also seen written as alum (singular) and alums (plural) to avoid using either of the gendered forms of the word.

The Associated Students of the University of Arizona (ASUA) is your student government that represents you, advocates for students, represents students through various leadership positions, and offers programming on campus.

An attribute (in terms of your General Education courses) is a focus on particular skills, methodologies, ways of knowing, and/or context associated with your Gen Ed coursework. All of your Exploring Perspectives and Building Connections courses will have one or two attributes associated with them. The four attributes include Diversity & Equity, Quantitative Reasoning, World Cultures & Societies, and Writing.

Another term for a bachelor's degree.

A bachelor’s degree is a credential that certifies that you have completed your academic program of study and earned a degree from a recognized, degree-granting postsecondary institution. At the University of Arizona, a bachelor’s degree is awarded to undergraduate students who have completed a minimum of 120 academic units including major, minor, and General Education requirements.

The university bursar is the university official who is responsible for the management of student financial records. The Bursar’s Office manages your bills for tuition and fees, collects payment, and processes student refunds (if you have one). Students will sometimes say “I’m just going to bursar it,” in reference to making certain purchases on campus. Just know that anything you charge to your bursar’s account will be due at the next billing cycle.

Your official university identification card -- the CatCard -- also serves as your library card, your rec center membership card, your entry to the dorms if you live there, and it can also be used for financial transactions. Keep your CatCard safe, secure, and handy - and remember there is a fee to replace it!

A college at the University of Arizona is an organization within the institution that includes a variety of disciplines, majors, minors, as well as the faculty, staff, and students who are affiliated with that college. You are both a student at the University of Arizona (the University) as well as a student in a college within the University (maybe even two colleges, if you have a double major, for example). Within the 20 different colleges and schools, there are smaller organizations called departments. You can figure out which college you are a part of through your UAccess student account.

A CV is a detailed, and often longer, version of your résumé that includes professional experience, academic and educational accomplishments, presentations, publications, teaching experience, research, and other skills. CVs are mostly relevant for applying to positions in higher education or for applying to research opportunities.

D2L stands for Desire 2 Learn. It is the most popular online platform used by instructors to keep everything you need to know and do for your courses, including where to find your course syllabus, assignments, due dates, grades, and info on how to communicate with your instructor and/or TAs. If you are enrolled in a course on UAccess and you do not see a D2L site for your class after classes have begun, you should email your instructor.

A dean is the head of a college, academic department (like the Library), or other administrative unit that provides oversight, direction, and decision-making for the unit. Your dean is the dean of the college where your primary major is housed.

The dean of students, currently Kendal Washington White*, is the university administrator responsible for a variety of student life concerns. The Dean of Students Office is an organizational unit that supports student success and connects students to their faculty and administration. They advocate for you, help you understand your rights and responsibilities as a student, are a place where you can ask questions or express concerns, and can connect you to various resources for your success.

In Fall 2024, Chrissy Lieberman is the Interim Dean of Students.

Digication is the ePortfolio platform you will use to create your Gen Ed ePortfolio. You can access the platform using your NetID and password. You can add and save your Signature Assignments from your Gen Ed courses so you don’t lose track of them.

An academic discipline refers broadly to a field of study. There are many ways to divide fields of study into disciplines. In the UA General Education program, you will be exposed to four overarching disciplines defined by their ways of thinking, knowing, and doing: the arts, the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. Some specific majors might fall neatly into one; some might cross the boundaries between two. Some majors might be specific applications of a discipline (e.g. education as applied social science), while others might be interdisciplinary in nature.

A discussion board is a space on your D2L site (or other online course platform) where you share your responses to a prompt and engage with other students online. Sometimes you may be prompted to post or reply to a discussion for a course activity.  It can be a tool to engage in asynchronous (not in real-time) conversations with other students, your instructor(s) and/or TA(s) in the course.

A doctorate or doctoral degree is the highest earned advanced degree offered at a postsecondary institution in the US and a credential that certifies you have completed many years of advanced study, scholarship, and often research in your discipline. Doctoral degree requirements vary depending on the discipline, type of professional training, and college/university offering the degree.

An ePortfolio is any electronic collection of work that represents the author’s experience, and it can have many functions, such as highlighting exemplary work, providing an overview of qualifications, or showing learning. In the UA General Education program, you will utilize a Learning ePortfolio throughout your Gen Ed courses to reflect upon and make meaning of your learning experiences. This does not mean you can't have other ePortfolios for other purposes. Just like you might create another resume depending on the job application, you might design different ePortfolios for various purposes.

Federal work study, or FWS, is a form of financial aid that helps provide on-campus jobs to students. Like any job, students get paid directly for their work -- nothing gets automatically applied to the cost of education -- so you need to decide wisely how to use your earnings!

Grade point average, or GPA, is a number that reflects the average number of “grade points” you have earned per academic unit. A “grade point” refers to the number of points assigned to a grade (e.g. 4 for an “A,” 3 for a “B,” and so on). Some things to keep in mind with GPA. First, GPA is calculated based on academic units. Because of that, a 4-unit course will impact your GPA more than a 2-unit course. Secondly, GPA is only calculated based on classes you take at UA; credit you transfer from other colleges or universities does not factor into your GPA. Finally, students with fewer than 60 units completed may attempt to improve their GPA by using the Grade Replacement Opportunity (GRO) for certain classes. Talk to your advisor about GRO and whether it would be a good fit for you. Use these online GPA calculators to better understand GPA and how it is calculated.

Grade Replacement Opportunity, or GRO, is the opportunity for some students to retake a course in which they received a final grade of C, D, or E in order to attempt to increase their grade. With a GRO, the new grade replaces the old grade in the GPA calculation. However, it is important to note that GRO is not an option for all students, for all classes, or in all circumstances. Before you think, “Oh, I’ll just GRO it,” be sure to speak with your advisor to make sure GRO is an option for you and look through the GRO policy.

Drawing from Greek letters to signify different organizations, “Greek Life” refers to fraternities and sororities. These organizations vary widely in size and focus, and can provide a supportive network on campus. Check out the Fraternity & Sorority Programs website for more info.

A term used to describe formal postsecondary (after high school) education, including bachelor's degree programs and graduate and professional programs. Also referred to as postsecondary education or tertiary education.

The designation of Hispanic Serving Institution comes from the U.S. Department of Education, indicating colleges and universities whose student bodies are 25% or more Hispanic. This designation informs the UA's teaching, learning, research, and community engagement, and allows the UA to compete for funding aimed at supporting HSIs.

Referring to any event that welcomes back members of a community, UA Homecoming is an event in the fall that encourages alumni to return to campus and celebrate the Wildcat community. In addition to the Homecoming football game, parade, and class reunion events, there are many ways to get involved in Homecoming weekend. Check out the Alumni Association’s website for more information.

The Integrated Learning Center (technically, the Manuel Pacheco Integrated Learning Center) is a building under the mall that connects to the Main Library. You can access the ILC from the mall on either the south side (by the Library) or the north side (by the Psychology building) or underground via the Main Library. The ILC houses classroom spaces and offices for the Office of Instruction and Assessment (OIA).

This is a title associated with any individual who teaches at the University, regardless of their employment status (tenure-track, career-track, full-time, part-time, staff, etc.). Instructors teach undergraduate courses, may or may not have a terminal degree, and are considered experienced in their field of work. If you are not sure how to address your instructor, you can look in course materials where they have introduced themselves, such as your course D2L site, the syllabus, and/or their email signature. You can also call them “Dr./Mr./Ms. (their last name)” for the first time; if they would like you to call them something different, they will typically let you know.

An internship is an experience that provides career-related work for students. Internships can take a number of forms, require various amount of time commitment per week, last from a few weeks to a year, and can be paid or unpaid. The common thread is that when you participate in an internship, you are gaining pre-professional experience that will better prepare you for the workplace and make you more desirable to hiring managers. It’s never too early to start thinking about what internship opportunities might be right for you, so check out the Internships information through Student Engagement & Career Development.

The term liberal arts refers to college or university study in disciplines that are designed to provide general knowledge and skills, like critical thinking, communication, evaluation, and analysis, rather than specific professional or vocational skills.

Librarians at UA have earned a master's in information science, and focus on areas like information management, research support, archival studies, digital curation, data science & analytics, and the teaching of information literacy. At UA, librarians work in the Main Library, Weaver Science Library, Health Sciences Library, and in Special Collections (rare & unique materials). Every UA college and department has an assigned librarian; visit https://new.library.arizona.edu/about/contact/your-librarian to find yours! You can email your librarian or chat online. They can help you get started with research assignments and much more. Whatever your question is, librarians can help you.

Your major is your discipline and area of study in which you will earn your degree. Your major will provide you with skills, knowledge, and abilities informed by that area of study, thereby providing a focus for your learning. Your major may relate to your future career, your scholarly interests, or both. Majors have degree requirements and minimum units that need to be completed to earn your degree, and your Academic Advisor can help answer your questions about your major.

A master’s degree is a credential that certifies you have completed an advanced academic program of study and earned an advanced degree (beyond a bachelor’s degree) from a recognized, degree-granting postsecondary institution. Master’s degree requirements vary depending on the area of study, type of program, and college/university offering the program.

Metacognition is the process of becoming aware of and regulating your own thinking. It is, quite literally, thinking about thinking. Metacognition is a critical part of the learning process because when we understand our thought processes, we can be active in refining them.

A minor is an additional disciplinary focus that may or may not relate explicitly to your major, and can provide you with a concentration and focus for units you complete outside your major. Minors often have requirements and minimum units that need to be completed to earn the minor, and your academic advisor can help answer your questions about your minor.

Office hours are times that your instructors set aside for you to go and speak with them. Office hours can be used to talk about concepts from class you might need clarified, for help with understanding an assignment, to review an exam after it's been graded, or even to talk about ways to get involved in their research. While each instructor will have their own approach to office hours, it’s generally a great way to get to know them more and get the most out of a class.

The university’s original building, Old Main, sits at the west end of the mall. Opened in 1891, it housed the entirety of university operations -- classrooms, labs, dorms, everything! Old Main now houses the Office of the President and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

The Pac-12 is a conference consisting of Division I college athletics programs in the Western United States that is facilitated by the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). The UA is a member of the Pac-12 conference, which means many of our sports teams compete against other universities in the Pac-12.

The University Libraries define plagiarism as using other people’s ideas or words without giving credit to the author/creator. Plagiarism can take a variety of forms, be intentional or unintentional, and have a variety of consequences in academic, professional, and personal settings. It is something you agree not to do as part of your responsibilities outlined in the Code of Academic Integrity.

The president of the University of Arizona (currently, Dr. Robert Robbins)* is the senior administrator of the university. In a way, you might consider the president the CEO (chief executive officer). The President works with the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) on the UA’s strategic plan, provides executive level leadership to the university, and connects and collaborates with many external constituencies.

On October 1, 2024, UA will welcome Dr. Suresh Garimella as its new president.

A provost is the chief academic officer of an academic institution. The UA provost (currently, Dr. Ronald Marx) is responsible for providing executive level leadership over the academic functions of the university, including the Provost’s Council and the Academic Deans’ Council.

The university registrar is the university official responsible for the oversight and maintenance of academic records. The Office of the Registrar maintains your academic transcript, the schedule of classes, academic policy, and manages student privacy among many other responsibilities.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary Online, research is defined as a “detailed study of a subject in order to discover information or achieve a new understanding of it.” Librarians at the UA Libraries are available to assist you with a wide range of research -- anything from class papers to developing 3D printing files for class projects.

The Research I (R1) classification is part of the Carnegie Classification system that organizes institutions of higher education into groups based on size, degrees, and research activity. R1 is the University of Arizona’s classification and indicates a doctoral-granting institution with “Very High” research activity -- at least $5 million in research expenditures. In fact, UA is a Top 20 research university in the nation with over $700 million in research annually. Think of all the ways you could get involved in that research!

A résumé (often written without accents or with only one: resume or resumé) is a document and marketing tool designed to showcase your experience, skills, and accomplishments for a prospective employer, graduate program, or other audience that wants to learn more about you. You can include a variety of experiences on a resume, and you will develop many different versions of your resume throughout and after college. Student Engagement & Career Development has a variety of resources for getting started on your resume.

Service learning can refer to a wide variety of experiences, from single-day service projects to volunteer opportunities that last a week, a month, or more. The common thing that links these together as service learning is the learning. Service learning opportunities typically have pre- and post-service reflection and learning components to help you make meaning of the experience. These opportunities can enhance your resume and interviews, particularly when you speak to what you learned from the experience. Want to get involved? Check out ASUA’s Volunteer Services.

An acronym for "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math," STEM is often used to refer to the many academic disciplines and career paths related to these areas.

The Student Code of Conduct is a policy that governs student behavior. Approved by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR), the code defines what behaviors are prohibited by UA students. Violations of the Code of Conduct are investigated by the Dean of Students Office. While not the most riveting read, it is a good idea to understand the Code of Conduct to which you are held accountable, as well as the processes and student rights and responsibilities outlined by the Dean of Students Office.

Student Course Surveys (SCS), formerly called Teacher Course Evaluations (TCE), are an opportunity for you to provide anonymous feedback about what you learned in a course, the effectiveness of your instructor or professor, and recommendations you have for the course in the future. You can also look up what other students have said about a course: scsonline.oia.arizona.edu

The Student Union Memorial Center (SUMC) is often considered the campus “living room,” a space on campus where you can eat, gather, meet, and study between classes. You can find many clubs, organizations, and departments in the building and you may also have classes or meetings take place there.

Study abroad is the opportunity for you to take courses in one of 60+ countries, either at another university or at a UA Global campus. You can earn UA credit while experiencing another culture and developing global perspective-taking. Studying abroad takes a lot of planning, both in terms of figuring out how courses will fit into your program and budgeting for the additional costs (and applying for scholarships!). Start looking at Study Abroad early to see if it is right for you.

A course syllabus is a way for an instructor to communicate in writing the purpose of a course, the course schedule, topics that will be covered, grading, policies, and other relevant course information. The syllabus functions as an agreement between instructors and students about what is expected to be successful in the course.

This is the former name for Student Course Surveys (SCS), so you may hear some people on campus using TCE to refer to SCS.

A teaching assistant (TA) is a person, typically a graduate student, who supports the teaching mission of the University. A TA may teach independently, or they may work with an instructor and help to teach the class. This can take a variety of forms, from running discussion sections to facilitating classroom activities. If your class has a TA who supports your instructor, they will often have office hours just as your instructors will, and you are encouraged to utilize those office hours to help further develop your understanding of course material.

The mall is a physical greenspace on the UA main campus that runs east to west between the Old Main building and Campbell Avenue where you can recreate, tailgate, and attend or host events for a club/organization.

Your transcript is the university’s official record of your academic work. It includes the courses you took, the grades you received, your grade point average (GPA), among other details. If you plan to apply to graduate or professional schools after graduating from UA, you will need to submit your UA transcripts with your applications. Your transcript also indicates courses from which you withdrew (dropped) if you dropped after the date listed on the registration calendar.

Transfer credit refers to academic coursework that a student takes at another institution but requests to have applied to their degree program at UA. Transfer credit can be earned in a number of ways: dual enrollment while in high school, by being a student at another college or university before coming to UA, by taking courses at a community college over the summer, and more. For current UA students, it is critical to talk to your advisor prior to taking a course elsewhere to make sure it will transfer to UA and satisfy degree requirements.

Undergraduate research is a term used to describe a variety of opportunities for university students to pursue their interests, contribute to existing scholarly projects, participate in coursework and/or programs outside the classroom, and contribute to their academic discipline. You don’t have to wait until your junior or senior year to get started on your research interests, and you don’t have to be a particular major to do research if it is something you are curious about. You can learn more about undergraduate research by contacting Research, Innovation & Impact.

A university is a higher education organization that awards degrees and often consists of a variety of colleges and programs, typically enrolling both undergraduate and graduate students in degree programs.

This is a term used to define the amount of work that a student is expected to complete per unit of credit for a course. Basically, it is a way to operationalize effort in a course setting. The University of Arizona credit policy requires at least 45 hours of work by each student per unit of credit associated with a course.

ZonaZoo consists of the student section and membership-based ticketing program for UA athletic events. You can learn more about becoming a member here.