Academic Terminology
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A.A. Certificate - Associate of Arts certificate, awarded upon satisfactory completion, with an overall C average, of 60 credits (at least 36 at UF), including general education requirements, writing and math requirements (Gordon Rule), and College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) requirement.
Academic Year - The traditional annual cycle of academic terms: Summer B, Fall, Spring, Summer A, Summer C.
Admission requirements - The necessary minimum criteria every applicant must have to be admitted to UF. Many majors have additional requirements for admission as a junior.
Admitted - Students who have applied and have been accepted to the university in a degree-seeking status. Admission is not validated until the student registers for and attends classes.
Audit - Permission to attend and to participate in a course without benefit of a grade or credit. CEUs (continuing education units) may be awarded at the discretion of the instructor.
Baccalaureate - Bachelor’s degree, the traditional undergraduate degree.
Calendar, University - An annual publication listing all official dates and deadlines for the academic year.
Catalog Year - The year during which the regulations published in a specific edition of the Undergraduate Catalog apply. A student’s academic year, which begins when the catalog takes effect in the Summer B term, is governed by the regulations for academic requirements published in the catalog in effect at the time the student begins undergraduate studies.
Classification/College - A code indicating a student’s academic level (year) and college affiliation.
CLASR - College Level Academic Skills Requirement is designed to measure the communication and computation skills judged by Florida statutes and the State Board of Education as necessary for successful performance and progression through the baccalaureate level.
Combined Degrees - An accelerated program that allows students to count 12 graduate credits toward their undergraduate degree.
Common Course Numbering System - A statewide system of course prefixes and numbers developed to facilitate the transfer of credit by identifying equivalent courses.
Continuous Enrollment - Undergraduate students who register for and complete at least one course in one term in an academic year are continuously enrolled.
Corequisite - Two courses that must be taken concurrently.
Correspondence/Extension Work - Division of Continuing Education course offerings. Consult your college dean’s office for restrictions and limitations.
Course sequence - The specified order of enrollment for a series of courses; e.g., ENC 1101, 1102, 1145.
Credit - One semester hour, generally representing one hour per week of lecture or two or more hours per week of laboratory work.
Critical tracking criteria - the courses required for entry to a major; these courses are in bold (or are noted) in the Undergraduate Catalog and are marked with >>> in ISIS.
Cum Laude - Graduating "with honors."
Deficit Points - The number of grade points below a C average on hours attempted at the university. If the grade point average is less than a 2.0, there is a grade point deficit. Refer to "Grade Point Averaging and Deficits" in the academic regulations section of this catalog.
Degree Audit - Information on a student's progress toward a degree, updated each fall and spring semester. Also referred to as a tracking audit or SASS audit.
Degree shopping - Exploring possible majors to determine your interest and to estimate whether the course work you have completed meets any of the degree requirements for a specific major.
Directory Information - Directory information is the information available about a student that is not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. While FERPA and state law protect the privacy of educational records, directory information is not treated as confidential and may be disclosed by the university without student consent unless the student has a privacy hold.
Dismissal - Students with 15 or more grade point deficit points will be placed on academic dismissal and will not be permitted further registration at UF.
Distance Learning - A distance learning course is a course where students are located outside of Gainesville, Florida, and the professor and students are physically separated from each other for the majority of the course.
Drop - To drop a single course from a given term.
Drop/Add - A period of time beginning the first day of classes when students can adjust schedules by dropping or adding courses or changing sections of a course. Courses dropped during the official drop/add period are not subject to fees.
Dual Enrollment - Simultaneous registration at two educational institutions.
Early Admission - Admission as a freshman following completion of the junior year of high school.
Enrollment - Registration for course work and payment of fees constitutes official enrollment.
Excess credits - credit hours exceeding 115% of the degree requirements.
FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. A federal law designed to protect the privacy of student records and to allow students access to their educational records. Also known as the Buckley Amendment. The privacy of student records also is governed by state law, in Section 1002.22 of the Florida Statutes.
GatorLink - A student’s computer identity at UF, usually in the format of a username@ufl.edu. All students are required to sign up for a GatorLink account, since official university communications are sent to this e-mail address.
Gator 1 Card - UF’s official university photo identification. All enrolled students must have a university ID card.
General Education Requirement - Universitywide requirement of the basic studies that form the foundation of all undergraduate degree programs.
Good Standing - Eligible to continue to register for university course work.
Grade Point Average (GPA) - The ratio of grade points earned to semester hours carried. The UF GPA is computed on University of Florida course work only.
Grade Points - The number of points attributed to a grade (A=4, B=3, etc.) times the number of credit hours in the course.
Graduate Student - A student who has earned a baccalaureate degree and who has been admitted to the Graduate School to pursue a graduate degree program (master’s, specialist, engineer, doctorate).
Graduation Requirements - Universitywide and college-specific requirements that must be met for graduation from UF.
ISIS - Web-based Integrated Student Information System that allows you to degree shop, to identify degree requirements and to evaluate your progress toward completion of a degree.
Magna Cum Laude - Graduating with "high honors."
Major - An academic program chosen as a field of specialization, with a course concentration of at least 30 hours.
Matriculation - Enrollment as an admitted, degree-seeking student.
Medical Withdrawal - Student drops all courses in a given term based on medical documentation. Fees for the semester are refunded.
Minor - An officially recognized secondary concentration of study in an approved subject area, consisting of at least 15 credits of appropriate course work. Minors are optional.
Nondegree Enrollment - Nondegree enrollment is restricted to participants in special programs, off-campus programs, university-affiliated exchange programs, those participants with nondegree educational objectives at the university, and high school/college dual-credit enrollment.
Undergraduate students who have been denied admission to UF for any term are not eligible for nondegree registration. Students who have previously attended UF in a degree-seeking status who did not subsequently earn a bachelor's degree are not eligible for nondegree registration.
Nondegree enrollment is subject to the availability of faculty, space and facilities and it is generally limited to the summer terms. No application for admission is required.
On-track or off-track - refers to students who are (or are not) meeting degree requirements each term, according to their majors' universal tracking plans.
Overall GPA - the cumulative grade point average of all courses taken at UF.
Permanent Academic Record - The complete list of a student’s courses attempted, grades and credit earned, degrees awarded, and any other pertinent academic information.
Petition - A written request seeking a waiver of or an exception to a university regulation, policy or deadline. Petitions may be considered if the circumstances are beyond the student's control.
Postbaccalaureate - A student who has earned a baccalaureate degree and been admitted for continued study but who has not been admitted as a graduate or professional student.
Preprofessional GPA - The grade point average achieved in the specific courses required for admission to a major; these courses generally are completed in the first two years of study, and the required GPA is often higher than 2.0.
Privacy Hold - A code on a student's academic record that prohibits the university from releasing directory information to anyone other than the student, except to school officials with a legitimate educational interest, and in other situations where consent is not required by law, such as a lawful subpoena.
Prerequisite - A condition that must be met to establish eligibility to enroll in a program or course.
Prerequisite courses - The courses you must take and successfully complete before you can enroll in another course.
Probation, Academic - Any undergraduate with less than a 2.0 cumulative UF GPA shall be placed on academic probation while a grade point deficit exists. Refer to "deficit points."
Professional Student - A student who is admitted to pursue a Doctor of Dental Medicine, Juris Doctor, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy or Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.
Readmission - The procedure for a previously admitted/enrolled UF student to re-enroll in a degree-seeking status after a break in enrollment of more than one term.
Registration - The process by which a student officially selects and enrolls in university course work. Registration is not complete until appropriate fees are paid.
Residence - A student’s tenure within the university and/or a specific college or school.
Residency - Classification of students as Florida residents or non-Florida residents for tuition purposes.
Schedule Adjustment - A period of time following advance registration before the beginning of classes when students can adjust their course schedules.
Schedule of Courses - Registration information provided each term with academic regulations and a listing of all courses offered.
Semester - A standard academic term (fall or spring) of approximately 16 weeks of instruction. Refer to "term."
Senate Petition Committee - This committee shall act for the Senate on the petitions of students requesting waivers of University academic regulations except petitions requesting:
- Late registration
- Exceptions to minimum-maximum load regulations
- Changes of schedule after the date authorized for such changes
- Adding of courses after the date set in the University Calendar as the last time for adding courses
These four kinds of petitions shall be acted on by the school or college in which the student is enrolled. Petitions approved by the school or college must be reported to the Registrar's Office before the action becomes official.
Summa Cum Laude - Graduating with "highest honors."
S-U Option - A provision by which a student may elect, with college approval, to enroll in a course, the grade for which is not computed in the grade point average. Grades awarded are S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory).
S.U.S. - The State University System of Florida. The University of Florida is one of 11 state-supported universities in the S.U.S.
Term - A period of instruction. During the fall and spring, the term is a standard 16-week semester. During the summer, various shorter length periods of instruction are offered: Summer A and Summer B are six-week terms; Summer C is a 12-week term.
Track - A detailed semester-by-semester plan for graduation.
Transcript - An official copy of the student’s complete course work, grades, credit and degrees earned at the University of Florida.
Transfer Credit - Course work completed at another institution that is accepted at the University of Florida and which may be applicable toward a specific major, minor or degree.
Transient Student - A student of another accredited institution who receives permission to register (for one term) as a nondegree-seeking student to earn credit to transfer back to his or her parent institution.
Universal Tracking System and Audits - A computerized academic advising and tracking program that provides an assessment of progress toward degree requirements. The goal is a timely graduation.
Withdraw - To drop all courses for a given term.
Writing and Math Requirement (Gordon Rule) - A state law requiring that all students complete 24,000 words of designated writing courses and six hours of designated math courses prior to earning 60 credits. Courses are identified by category in the Schedule of Courses.