University of Arkansas

Academic Warning — A status resulting from unsatisfactory grades.

Act 1052/467 — Section 21 of Arkansas Act 467 of 1989 specifies that all first-time entering freshmen who are enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program will be placed in either college-level credit courses in English and mathematics or developmental courses in English composition, reading, and mathematics on the basis of their scores on specified tests. See the Registration portion of Orientation and Registration for more information.

Advance Registration — A period of time scheduled during a regular (fall or spring) semester that allows currently enrolled students to register for the next regular semester. In addition, advance registration for the summer sessions is scheduled during the spring semester.

Audit — To take a course without credit.

Adviser — A faculty or staff member assigned to a student to advise that student on academic matters that include degree requirements and selection of courses.

Class Schedule — List of courses and sections for a specific semester, including names of instructors; day, hour, and place of class meetings; and detailed registration procedures. The university's class schedule is maintained online and sometimes informally referred to as the “Racing Form.”

College or School — One of ten major divisions within the University that offers specialized curricula.

Concentration — A subset of a major’s requirements leading to a graduate or bachelor’s degree.

Consent — A prerequisite that requires the student to obtain approval from the instructor or the department before he or she will be allowed to register for the course.

Core — See University Core below.

Corequisite — A course that must be taken at the same time as the course described.

Course — A unit of academic instruction.

Course Deficiencies — Lacking required units of study in high school. See the Placement and Proficiency portion of the Admission chapter.

Course Load — The number of semester credit hours a student may schedule in a given term.

Cumulative Grade-Point Average — An average computed by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the total number of credit hours attempted in all courses for which grades (rather than marks) are given.

Curriculum — A program of courses comprising the formal requirements for a degree in a particular field of study.

Degree Program — A complete course of study inclusive of all University, college, and departmental requirements.

Department — Division of faculty or instruction within a college, such as Department of Accounting within the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

Dependent Major — See Second Major below.

Drop/Add — Official dropping or adding of courses for which students are registered during specified times as published in the schedule of classes. See also Withdrawal below.

Eight-Semester Degree Completion Program — Most majors offered by the University of Arkansas can be completed in eight semesters, and the university provides plans that show students which classes to take each semester in order to finish in eight semesters. A few majors either require a summer internship or fieldwork, and may therefore not qualify for the eight-semester degree completion program.

Elective — A course not required but one that a student chooses to take.

Equivalent — A course allowed in place of a similar course in the same academic discipline. May require approval by an academic dean.

Fees — Charges, additional to tuition, that cover specific University services, programs, facilities, activities and/or events. See the Fee and Cost Estimates chapter of this catalog for a full list of fees.

Grade Points — Points per semester hour assigned to a grade (not a mark), indicating numerical value of the grade. The grade-point average indicates overall performance and is computed by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the number of semester hours attempted.

Grade Sanction(s) — A penalty for academic dishonesty. Grade sanctions may consist of either a grade of zero or a failing grade on part or all of a submitted assignment or examination or the lowering of a course grade, or a failing grade.

Hazing — Any activity that is required of an individual that may cause mental or physical stress and/or embarrassment when in the process of joining or belonging to any organization.

Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) — This online database maintains student, faculty and staff records and class schedules.

Laboratory — Descriptive of work other than class work, such as experimentation and practical application.

Lecture — A class session in which an instructor speaks on a specific topic.

Major — A main or primary discipline in which a student completes a designated number of courses and hours of credit.

Minor — A second discipline or area of study in which a student concentrates in addition to the student’s major; each approved minor requires a minimum of 15 hours in a designated discipline.

Noncredit Course — A course for which no credit is given. (Some credit courses will not count toward degrees.)

Overload — A course load of more semester hours than a student is normally permitted to schedule in a given period.

Prerequisite — A course or requirement that must be completed before the term when the described course is taken.

Registration — Enrollment at the beginning or prior to the beginning of a semester, including selection of classes and payment of fees and tuition.

Registration Fee — A fee paid by all students who register for classes.

Sanction(s) — The penalty for noncompliance to a policy. Usually a response that will redirect the individual or group’s inappropriate behavior, encourage responsible judgment and ethical reasoning, protect the community’s property and rights, and affirm the integrity of the institution’s conduct standards.

Second Major — A major that is not offered independently but which a student may pursue in addition to a primary major.

Section — A division of a course for instruction. A course may be taught in one or more sections or classes or at different times, depending on enrollment in the course.

Semester Credit Hour — Unit of measure of college work. One semester credit hour is normally equivalent to one hour of class work or from two to six hours of laboratory work per week for a semester.

State Minimum Core — See University Core below.

Student Number — A number given to each student as a permanent identification number for use at the University.

Summer Sessions — Periods of time during the summer when course work is offered. (See the calendar or the summer class schedule for specific times and dates.)

Suspension — A status in which students are not permitted to register for courses for a specified time period.

Syllabus — An outline or summary of the main points of a course of study, lecture, or text.

Transcript — A copy of a student’s academic record, mainly intended for communicating information from one institution to another.

Tuition — The charge for University enrollment and registration, calculated per credit hour each semester. Tuition rates may vary depending on a student’s resident status, undergraduate or graduate standing, and college affiliation. Tuition does not include cost of room and board. Additional charges will apply depending on student status. See entry for Fees above.

Undeclared Major — Designation indicating students who have not selected a major.

Undergraduate Study — Work taken toward earning an associate or a baccalaureate degree.

University Core — The state of Arkansas specifies a number of core courses that students must successfully pass to obtain a degree. These are also sometimes referred to as the State Minimum Core. See the Requirements for Graduation and University Core portions of the Academic Regulations for more information.

Withdrawal — Official withdrawal from all courses during a semester at the University.