A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Magnet School
A public primary or secondary school that places special emphasis on a particular field, such as science or art, and is designed to attract students with specific interests, talents, or backgrounds.

Major
The academic area in which a student chooses to concentrate. Generally, major course requirements take up to one quarter to one half of the student's undergraduate studies and are combined with other general education requirements.

Makeup Examination
A late examination for students who missed the original examination.

Masters
Includes students who are enrolled in a master's degree program.

Master's Degree
An award that requires the completion of a program of study of at least the full-time equivalent of one but not more than two academic years of work beyond the bachelor's degree.

Matriculate
To enroll at a college or university to begin or to continue toward an educational objective, i.e., a college degree.

Matriculation
A process that enhances student success through a community college or university and promotes and sustains the efforts of students to be successful in their educational endeavors. The goals of matriculation are to ensure that all students complete their college courses, continue to the next academic term, and achieve their educational objectives.

MBA
Master of Business Administration.

MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)
A standardized external examination designed to measure specified science knowledge and its application in solving related problems, and of other learning and reasoning skills considered important for the study of medicine, used by medical schools to assess applicants.

Mid-Term Examination
An examination administered at the mid-point of the semester or term.

Minor
An academic subject area in which a student may take the second-greatest concentration of courses. While a major may require as many as sixteen courses for a degree, a minor may require only four or five courses.

Multiple-Choice Examination
An objective examination giving students several choices of answers to a question of which one is correct.

Back to Top

NCES
Acronym for the National Center for Education Statistics. NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data that are related to education in the United States and other nations.

Need
The term “need,” as used in financial aid, usually refers to the difference between the resources available to the student (from parents, student’s savings and summer jobs) and the cost of attending the student’s selected postsecondary institution.

Need Analysis
Need analysis is the process of determining objectively the demonstrated need of an applicant for financial aid. To determine a student’s eligibility for federal student aid, the financial aid administrator must determine the student’s financial need. If the student’s cost of attendance exceeds his or her family contribution, the student has need.

Need-Based Aid
Need-based aid is aid based on the cost of education minus a student’s family’s ability to meet those costs.

Non-Matriculated
Enrolled in courses but not in a program leading to a degree.

Nonportable Funding
This term refers to college funding that cannot be transferred to another college or university. Many colleges, for example, have scholarship funds that are specific to that particular college or university. If a student receiving nonportable funding transfers to another college or university, the scholarship monies remain at that school.

Nonresident Alien
A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary basis.

OPE
Acronym for the Office of Postsecondary Education. OPE is a division of the U.S. Department of Education.

Open Admission
Admission policy whereby the school will accept a student who has earned a high school diploma or general education development (GED) certificate and others under certain conditions. In Texas, this usually applies only to the Texas community college system.

Open-Book Examination
An examination where students are allowed to consult course materials while answering questions.

Out-of-State Student
A student who is not a legal resident of the state in which he/she attends school.

Back to Top