Helpful College Terms to Know

FAFSA

F

Free Application for Federal Student Aid is used to determine eligibility for financial aid from the federal government and from other sources.

Fees

F

In addition to tuition, fees are the costs that cover student activities, counseling services, public safety, and other essential services.

Financial Aid

F

Resources available to students who are unable to cover their own costs of college.

Financial Aid Package

F

A combination of grants, scholarships, loans, and work that will help you pay for the cost of college.

Full Time Student

F

A student who takes at least 12 credits per semester is considered a full-time student.  Ideally, students should attempt 16 credits a semester.

Grants

F

A grant is a form of financial aid that does not have to be repaid.

Loans

F

Loans are a form of financial aid that must be repaid with interest.

Meal Plan

F

A plan for purchasing meals prepared by college food services.

Part Time Student

F

Students who do not take a full course load or less than 12 credits per semester.

Pell Grant

F

A federal grant program that assists students from low-income backgrounds to attend college.

Room and Board

F

The cost of a room (college residence) and meals (board).

Scholarships

F

A form of financial aid that is given awarded to a student for outstanding accomplishments in academics, music, or athletics.  Scholarships do not have to be repaid.

Tuition

F

The costs of attending college which do not include room and board, or additional student fees.

Tuition Waiver

F

A type of scholarship where part or all of the costs of tuition are waived.  Usually tuition waivers are based on academic accomplishment.

Work Study

F

A federal financial aid program that pays students to perform part-time jobs on campus to help cover the costs of college.

ADA

A

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal law that states colleges and universities has a responsibility to provide reasonable assistance to qualified students with medical, psychological, learning or other disabilities.  See more at: https://www.snow.edu/general/ADA/ada_law.html

Academic Adviser

A

A professional adviser who is available to help students select classes, determine courses of study, and to discuss academic challenges.  See more at: https://www.snow.edu/offices/advisement/index.html

Academic Dean

A

The faculty leader of one of the five academic divisions at Snow College (Business and Applied Technology Division, Fine Arts Division, Humanities Division, Natural Science Division, Social Science Division).

Associate’s Degree

A

A degree that takes usually takes two years as a full-time student to complete.  Most associate’s degrees require at least 60 credits to complete.

Bachelor’s Degree

A

A degree that usually takes four to five years as a full-time student to complete.  A bachelor’s degree usually takes 120-130 credits to complete.  A bachelor’s degree is sometimes called a baccalaureate degree.

Badger I.D.

A

Every student and every employee at Snow College has a Badger Identification Card that contains a number and the bearer’s photograph.  It is necessary for library use, attendance at cultural and athletic events, …

Business and Applied Technologies Division

A

Academic programs in technical and service fields such as agriculture and agribusiness, business, carpentry, computer information systems, construction management, cosmetology and barbering, industrial mechanics, machine tool technology, manufacturing technology, nursing, outdoor leadership, transportation technology, and welding technology.

Certificate

A

Certificates are awarded for specific program completions that require fewer credits than associate’s and bachelor’s degrees.  Snow College offers several certificate programs in various areas.

College Credit

A

Every course that is offered at a college or university is assigned credits which you earn towards a degree when you complete the course.  Courses may be assigned one to six credits, depending on the amount of work required of each course (see Credit Hour).

Credit Hour

A

Credit hours are assigned to each course and are based upon the number of hours each course meets and the number of  hours each course requires the student to work outside of class meetings.

Co-requisite Classes

A

Two or more classes that are required, suggested, or may be taken simultaneously.

Dean

A

See Academic Dean.

Declare a Major

A

In order to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, students are required to declare a major field of study.  Because Snow College is principally a two—year college, we prepare students for majors and do not have a formal process for declaring majors.

Department Chair

A

The faculty leader of an academic department or major.

Developmental Courses

A

Courses designed to prepare students for college-level work.  Developmental courses are usually not assigned credits.

Elective Course

A

A course a student takes by choice, and may not be required to complete a degree.

FERPA

A

The Family Educational Rights Privacy Act states that institutions must have written permission from students in order to release information about a student’s academic record.  See https://www.snow.edu/offices/regstrar/Policies/FERPA_Policy.html

Fine Arts Division

A

Includes the academic disciplines of communication, dance, music, theatre arts, new media, and visual arts.

GE

A

See General Education Courses.

General Education Courses

A

General education courses are courses that all students, regardless of major, are required to take in order to graduate.  They are courses designed to help students to think critically about the world about them.

Higher Education

A

Two and four year colleges and universities are institutions of higher education.

Humanities Division

A

Includes the academic disciplines of English, English as a second language, foreign languages, philosophy, and teaching English as a second language.

Interdisciplinary Course

A

A course dealing with two or more academic disciplines.

Internship

A

Work experience in a given field that a college student performs, usually for credit, and is supervised by a career professional for the field work and a professor for the academic work.

Major

A

A major is the primary subject a student decides to study in college.  Most courses students take in college, other than general education courses, are major courses.

Minor

A

A minor is a secondary subject area a student may study in college.  It is less intensive and requires fewer courses to complete than a major.

Natural Science and Mathematics Division

A

Academic disciplines that include biology, chemistry, physical science, computer science, software engineering, engineering, geology, mathematics, natural resources, physics.

Online Course

A

A web-based college course that is taught through technological delivery, usually the internet.

Placement Test

A

A placement test helps determine how prepared you are to do college level work.  Placement tests can be given in any field, though they are mostly used in mathematics and English, and are used to help get you started at the appropriate level of work that can help you succeed.

Plagiarism

A

A student who plagiarizes takes somebody else’s words or ideas and uses them as his or her own without attribution.

Prerequisite Course

A

A class that must be completed before a student can enroll in a higher level class.

Register for Classes

A

After a student has been accepted at Snow College, he or she will register for classes at: https://badgerweb.snow.edu/dbprod/twbkwbis.P_GenMenu?name=homepage

It is suggested that when selecting courses a student should work with an academic adviser.  See https://www.snow.edu/offices/advisement/craniumcafeadvisors.html

Required Course

A

A class that must be taken in order for you to complete a degree.  General education courses are required courses.  Majors also contain required courses.

Semester

A

An academic period of 16 weeks in which college courses are taught.

Service Learning

A

Service that is rendered by students on behalf of an organization, business, or group.  The service is supervised by an instructor and contains components of learning as covered in a particular course.  See more at: https://www.snow.edu/academics/servicelearning/index.html

Social Science Division

A

Academic disciplines that include criminal justice, social work, education, home and family studies, sociology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology.

Student Body Officers (SBOs)

A

Elected student government representatives of Snow College.

Student Life Office

A

The offices that oversee student activities, wellness, Student Body Officers, and community engagement.  See more at: https://www.snow.edu/studentlife/index.html

Survey Course

A

An introductory course that is designed to provide a general overview of an area of study.

Syllabus

A

A document that contains an overview of a course, a schedule of topics to be covered, and a list of readings and assignments that are required to complete the course.  A syllabus is handed out for each class at the beginning of the semester.

Testing Center

A

Some examinations for courses and placement exams are proctored in our two testing centers.  Testing centers are located in the Lucy Phillips Building in Ephraim and the Washburn Building in Richfield.