Mar 19, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2017-2018 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED]

Glossary of Academic Terms


Academic Probation
A condition of attendance under which students are allowed to remain at the university with the understanding that they meet set academic standards within a set period of time. Failure to meet the standard results in dismissal from the university.

Add and Drop
The process of changing a course schedule by dropping or adding a course during the prescribed time at the beginning of each semester.

Adviser
Faculty or staff member who can provide information and assistance on academic concerns.

Audit
Students register and attend class, but do not take examinations. No credit hours are earned, and the cost of the class is less than regular tuition. “AU” will appear on the grade record.

Bachelor’s Degree
The degree received after completing a specific program of undergraduate study and fulfilling all graduation requirements.

Certification
A recognition of professional achievement bestowed by an outside organization.

Class Standing
A measurement of achievement based on the number of credit hours earned. Students with 90 or more credits are seniors. Juniors have 60 or more credits, and sophomores have at least 30 credits.

College
An administrative division of the university housing academic departments, degree programs and other administrative units. At UW-Stout these are: Arts, Communication, Humanities and Social Sciences; Education, Hospitality, Health and Human Sciences; and Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics Management.

College Parallel Program
A program of study offered at Wisconsin Technical Colleges and UW System Colleges in which the courses meet the requirements and standards of courses offered at the university.

Concentration
A component within a degree program that examines a selected area of the student’s chosen professional field in greater detail. A concentration may be part of the university’s planned offerings or designed by the student.

Cooperative Education
Cooperative education is a learning approach that integrates college studies with working experiences in industry, business, government and public service. Under the plan, students leave campus (3 to 12 months) for the rigors and responsibilities of actual employment situations. The objective of the Cooperative Education Program at UW-Stout is to offer an additional option for learning and to give students a realistic education, which effectively combines academic classroom learning with experiential learning.

Credit Hour
UW-Stout defines a credit hour as an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that reasonably approximates: [1] At least 750 minutes of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of 1,500 minutes of  out-of-class student work for one semester credit hour, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time (e.g. compressed courses); or [2] At least an equivalent amount of work as required in part one [1] of this definition for other academic activities as established by UW-Stout, including distance education, online, hybrid, or other indirect faculty instruction, laboratory work, internships, co-op experiences, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours. This definition of the semester credit hour applies to all academic credit bearing activities at all levels (graduate and undergraduate). 

Credit Load
The number of credits a student registers for during a semester.

Degree Audit
A report that indicates the students’ progress in meeting all of the requirements for a specific degree program.

Degree Program
A planned program of study leading to a bachelor’s degree.

Degree-Seeking Student
A student who has been admitted to a degree program and is seeking a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

Disadvantaged
Deprived of basic social rights and security through poverty, discrimination, or other unfavorable circumstances.

Educationally Disadvantaged
Deprived of a socially adequate education through poverty, discrimination, or other unfavorable circumstances.

Elective
A course taken at the choice of the student. If the electives are in the general education component of a degree program, they must be general education courses.

Emphasis
A designated group of courses within a degree program that affords increased exposure to a specific area in the student’s chosen professional field.

Full Time Student
An undergraduate student who enrolls for at least 12 credits during the fall, spring, or summer terms.

General Education Program
The General Education Program provides the core of what it means to be a well-educated university graduate. The goal is to promote human excellence through a broad foundation of skills and knowledge required to realize a meaningful personal, professional, and civic life. The General Education Program is intended to enable students to contribute to and live responsibly in a diverse, interconnected, and technologically sophisticated global community.

In accordance with the General Education Program, general education courses should be accessible to a broad audience and should further the goal of providing a well-rounded education regardless of career aspirations or program of study.

Global Perspectives
A university requirement that helps students develop an understanding of the deeply interconnected nature of the world, see local, regional, and global connections, and thus, how their own behaviors, ideas, and activities are globally situated.

Good Standing
Maintaining an academic record that meets UW-Stout’s requirements; eligible to continue at or return to the university, or to transfer to another institution.

Grade Point
The numerical value given to letter grades, based on an “A” receiving four points, a “B” three points, and so on.

Grade Point Average (GPA)
The numerical value assigned to a student’s scholastic average, computed by dividing the total grade points by the total credit hours attempted.

Grant
Financial assistance that does not have to be repaid.

Hold
A barrier placed on a student’s ability to register for classes as a result of unpaid monetary obligation or other action by the university.

Incomplete
The grade assigned only if a student is temporarily unable to complete course requirements because of unusual circumstances.

Independent Study
One-on-one activity between instructor and student where the focus is on individual attention. 

Interdisciplinary
Drawing on two or more disciplines in a single course or program.

Internship
Work in a company or agency related to a student’s degree program and career plans, usually for academic credit and often also for payment.

Major
A planned program of study leading to a bachelor’s degree. Term is often used interchangeably with degree program.

Major studies
A component within a degree program that provides fundamental education for a particular career discipline.

Minor
A sequence of related courses consisting of 15 or more semester hours of credit, in a particular field to complement a major and enhance the primary degree.

Practicum
Directed work experience related to a program of study.

Prerequisite
A course or experience that must be successfully completed before enrollment in a designated course.

Professional Development Certificate
An alternative academic credential for individuals seeking to obtain new knowledge and skills or to update their knowledge and skills in a specific area.

Professional Electives
Required credits that are not prescribed by the program by designation of a specific course, but that are professional and specific in their content as they pertain to the major.

Program Director
The program director is responsible, with the advisement of the program committee, for the total curriculum of the major program and aids students in meeting all requirement for that program.

Racial and Ethnic Studies
A university requirement that prepares students for being engaged citizens in a highly diverse society and to come to appreciate, understand, value and respond respectfully to cultural diversity. Through the study of U.S. cultures other than those from a European origin, we hope to discourage racism and thus reduce its effects.

Readmission
An appeal procedure for students who have been dismissed or suspended, administered by the Dean of Students.

Re-Entry
An enrollment procedure followed by students who were previously enrolled in good standing at UW-Stout but whose attendance was interrupted for two or more consecutive semesters.

Registration
The process of enrolling in and paying for courses each semester.

Selectives
A group of courses from which a student must choose a prescribed number of credits to meet a program requirement.

Semester
A unit of time, generally 15 weeks long, in the academic calendar.

Specialization
A specialization is a program of study, with carefully constructed learning experiences, defined outcomes, and specified evaluation procedures. Students may enroll in the specialization as a stand-alone program or in addition to their undergraduate or graduate major.

Suspension
To be excluded from the university as a penalty for failure to meet academic or behavioral standards.

Teaching Major/Minor
A state-approved program for teacher certification for teaching at the secondary and/or elementary level.

Transcript
A copy of a student’s permanent academic record.

Transfer Credit
Academic credit earned at another accredited institution and accepted toward a UW-Stout degree.

Tuition
The amount of money that must be paid for a course.