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Ability to Benefit
A review made by a college to determine if a potential student will be able to benefit, with or without remedial education/training, from the program(s) offered at the school. The ability to benefit is generally applied as an entrance requirement for Texas community colleges.

Academic Advisor
The official (a member of the faculty or another professional) who provides academic advice and guidance to students.
Academic Calendar
The period that makes up the school year, usually divided into two terms (semesters), three terms (trimesters), or four terms (quarters).

Academic Year
An academic year is the period of time K-12, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study. Academic years vary from school to school. Typically, the length of an academic year runs August/September through May/June. The academic year usually equates to two semesters, two trimesters, or three quarters.

Accreditation
Accreditation in higher education is a collegial process of self-review and peer review for improvement of academic quality and public accountability of institutions and programs. This quality review process occurs on a periodic basis, usually every three to 10 years. It typically involves three major activities:

• A self-evaluation by an institution or program using the standards or criteria of an accrediting organization.
• A peer review of an institution or program to gather evidence of quality.
• A decision or judgment by an accrediting organization to accredit, accredit with conditions, or not accredit an institution/program.

The purpose of this process is to provide a professional judgment as to the quality of the school or program(s) offered and to encourage continuous improvement.

Accrediting Agencies
Agencies that establish operating standards for educational or professional institutions and programs, determine the extent to which the standards are met, and publicly announce their findings. Voluntary, non-governmental, institutional accreditation, such as that practiced by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and other regional commissions, is a unique characteristic of American education. In many other countries the maintenance of educational standards is a governmental function. No institution in the United States is required to seek accreditation, however, because of the recognized benefits most of the eligible institutions in the six accrediting regions of the United States have sought to become accredited. Institutional accreditation in higher education is a collegial process of self-review and peer review for improvement of academic quality and public accountability of institutions and programs. This quality review process occurs on a periodic basis, usually every three to 10 years. Typically, it involves three major activities:

• A self-evaluation by an institution or program using the standards or criteria of an accrediting organization.
• A peer review of an institution or program to gather evidence of quality.
• A decision or judgment by an accrediting organization to accredit, accredit with conditions, or not accredit an institution/program.

Regional accrediting bodies accredit institutions, not individual programs; however, programs are actively reviewed by the regional accrediting associations through the substantive change process. A second type of institutional accreditation is one that focuses on single mission institutions, such as theology (Association of Theological Schools – ATS), art and design (the National Association of Schools of Art and Design – NASAD), and music (the National Association of Schools of Music – NASM). Another type of accreditation is specialized or professional accreditation, which focuses on programs in a specific discipline, and not the institution. Examples are specialized accreditation in education, law, medicine, chiropractic, computer science, and more than 90 other disciplines. Austin Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

ACT
ACT (American College Testing) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides more than a hundred assessment, research, information, and program management services in the broad areas of education and workforce development. ACT administers a standardized external battery of tests administered by the American College Testing Program covering English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning. The tests are designed to assess the student's educational development and readiness for college-level study and may be used by institutions in lieu of SAT.

Adjunct Faculty
Faculty members who teach part-time without appointments in the regular faculty.

Admissions Office
The office responsible for admitting students to the institution.

Advanced Degree
An award conferred by a college, university, or other postsecondary education as official recognition for the successful completion of a program of studies past the baccalaureate level. These degrees include:

• Post-Baccalaureate Certificate
• Post-Masters Certificate
• Further Professional Certificate
• Master's Degree
• Doctoral Degree
• Middle/Intermediate Degree
• First-Professional Degree

Advanced Placement Courses
Courses in high school that prepare students to take examinations that allow them to earn college credits while in high school.

Advanced Standing
The practice of placing a student in a course based on previous achievement levels, e.g., study at another institution, by challenge examination, AP or CLEP examination results.

AP
Acronym for Advanced Placement Program, referring to high school courses that prepare students to take examinations that allow them to earn college credits while in high school and, therefore, lessen the time it takes to earn a baccalaureate degree.

Application Deadline
The last date on which a college will accept applications for admission for the coming term.

Application Fee
The amount of money that an institution charges for processing a student's application for admittance to the institution. This amount is not creditable toward tuition or required fees, nor is it refundable if the student is not admitted to the institution.

Assistant Professor
A junior member of the faculty who has not yet received tenure.

Assistantship
Award granted to graduate students and that consists of tuition remission and a stipend for part-time teaching or research.

Associate Degree
An award that normally requires at least two but less than four years of full-time equivalent college work.

Associate Degree Recipient
Refers to students who have already received an associate degree.

Associate Professor
A tenured member of the faculty.

Attrition
A term indicative of those students who leave or drop out prior to completion of their educational program.

Auditing
Taking a class to acquire knowledge but not for credit or grades. Audited courses do not count toward degree requirements.

Average Cost per Student
A calculation that divides selected funds spent in a higher education system by the number of students enrolled in that system.

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