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Baccalaureate
Bachelor's degree.

Bachelor's Degree
An award that normally requires at least four but not more than five years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a five-year cooperative (work-study plan) program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. It also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal four years of work are completed in three years.

Bachelor's Degree Recipient
Refers to students who have already received a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Books and Supplies
The average cost of books and supplies for a typical student for an entire academic year (or program).

Branch Institution/Center
A campus or site of an educational institution that is not temporary, is located in a community beyond a reasonable commuting distance from its parent institution, and offers organized programs of study, not just courses.

Bursar/Cashier
A university official responsible for collecting student fees.

Census Date
Refers to the day statistics or a report is prepared.

Certificate
A formal award certifying the satisfactory completion of a postsecondary education program that usually requires two or less years of undergraduate coursework and is vocationally/occupationally oriented.

Challenge Examination
An examination created by an institution as the equivalent to a course. Students who pass challenge tests are commonly exempted from, or given credit for, the course counterpart of the examination.

Charter School
Schools run independently of the traditional public school system, but receiving public funding, run by groups such as teachers, parents, or foundations. Charter schools are free of many district regulations and are often tailored to community needs.

Class Rank
The relative position of a student in his or her graduating class, determined by grade average.

CLEP (College Level Examination Program)
A program offered by the College Board designed to offer students the opportunity to earn college credit by examination.

Closed Course
Fully-subscribed course that is no longer enrolling students.

College
A general term for a postsecondary education. It often refers to institutions that offer undergraduate programs or to the undergraduate divisions of large universities.

College Board
The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 4,500 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves over three million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT®, and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities, and concerns. The Board contracts with the Educational Testing Service to create and administer its Admissions Testing Program (SAT I, SAT II - Subject Matter, and Advanced Placement tests), as well as reports to students indicating their performance on the tests.

College Entrance Examinations
A series of standardized examinations required by colleges and universities as part of an admissions application process. The examinations are designed to provide information on the level of academic preparedness of applicants for successful collegiate study at either the undergraduate or graduate levels.

• ACT Assessment—a standardized test offered by the American College Testing service.
• SAT I Reasoning—a standardized test offered by the College Board through a contract with the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
• SAT II Subject Matter Tests—a series of standardized tests offered by the College Board through a contract with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to assess the proficiency of prospective students in specific subject areas (e.g., chemistry, history, calculus, Spanish, etc.).
• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)—a standardized test taken most often by students for whom English is not the native language. It is intended to provide information on the level of readiness of the student to learn in the English language.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
A program offered by the College Board designed to offer students the opportunity to earn college credit by examination.

Commencement
Graduation ceremony, usually held in May or June at the end of the academic year.

Community College
In Texas, they are full-service, accredited, degree and certificate-granting institutions offering a full complement of lower-division programs and services, usually at a single campus location owned by the district; community colleges enroll a minimum of 1,000 full-time equivalent students. Primary missions of the colleges are to offer academic and vocational education at the lower division level for both recent high school graduates and those returning to school. Another primary mission is to advance economic growth in the state and global competitiveness through education, training, and services that contribute to continuous workforce improvement. Essential and important functions of the colleges include basic skills instruction, providing English as a second language, adult noncredit instruction, and providing support services that help students to succeed.

Comprehensive Examination
Broad examinations covering material in several courses, typically taken at the end of master's degree programs or after the end of doctoral coursework before writing the dissertation.

Continuing Education
Educational programs offered by colleges and universities to adults in the community during the evening and on weekends. It usually refers to non-credit coursework.

Core Curriculum
General education requirements set as a defined series of interdisciplinary courses that must be taken by all undergraduates enrolled in degree programs at an institution.

Cost of Attendance
The cost of attendance for a student is generally determined by adding the following expenses: tuition and fees; books, supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses; room and board; and dependent care, if applicable. Each institution determines its own student cost.

Course
A discrete subject studied during one semester or quarter.

Course Load
The number of courses taken in a given term or semester. Colleges usually specify a range for the number of courses or credits to be taken by full-time students. While the academic institution is allowed to determine what constitutes a full course load, it generally means a minimum of 12 semester credit hours during each term/semester.

Credential
A certificate of competency in a specialized field, usually related to the ability to teach in that field.

Credit
Recognition of attendance or performance in an instructional activity (course or program) that can be applied by a recipient toward the requirements for a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Credit by Examination
Academic credit granted by a college when a student has demonstrated proficiency in a subject as measured by an examination.

Credit Course
A course that, if successfully completed, can be applied toward the number of courses required for achieving a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Credit Hour
A unit of measure representing an hour of instruction over a 16-week period in a semester or trimester system, or a 10-week period in a quarter system. It is applied toward the total number of hours needed for completing the requirements of a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Cumulative Grade Point Average
The numerical average of all the student's grades achieved during the period of study at an institution.

Curriculum (plural curricula)
A plan of instruction that details what students are to know, how they are to learn it, what the teacher's role is, and the context in which learning and teaching will take place.

Curve Grading
A system of relative grading based on the performance of all members of a class on an examination. It is also called norm-referenced grading.

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