UTB/TSC LINGO

UTB/TSC LINGO
You should become familiar with the commonly used terminology below. Understanding this information will help you
successfully navigate the UTB/TSC system.
A: the best grade you can possibly earn. It counts four points per credit hour toward your GPA.
Academic Advisor: a trained professional who can help you plan your class schedule and chart your academic progress.
Academic Probation: a warning to the student that his or her academic progress is unsatisfactory.
Academic Load: the number of credit hours being taken for a certain semester. For a full-time undergraduate, the
minimum is 12 credit hours per semester. The average load is five to 18 credit hours. You need approval from your
academic advisor to take more than 18 credit hours per semester.
Adds and Drops: adding or taking classes out of your schedule after registration.
Alcohol: State laws apply on campus, so university policy maintains the age limit guidelines. You must be 21 to drink
beer or any other alcoholic beverages. No alcohol is allowed on campus or in student housing.
All-nighter (or pulling an all-nighter): staying up all night. The U.S. Surgeon General has determined that too many allnighters may be hazardous to your health and GPA.
Alumnus or Alumna: what you will become after graduating from UTB/TSC. Alumnus is masculine and alumna is
feminine.
Athletics: the department that offers sports. The proper name is the Office of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Attendance: Each instructor enforces the attendance policy of the university. A student may be dropped after six
unexcused absences for Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes and four unexcused absences for Tuesday-Thursday classes.
B: a good grade. It counts three points per credit hour toward your GPA.
Bookstore: Barnes & Noble, place to find what you need to buy on campus: books, supplies and many other essentials
for college life.
Boredom: a psychological state, often resulting in a feeling of indifference, dissatisfaction or lack of personal growth.
Easily avoid this by getting involved.
Bachelor’s Degree: A student receives this degree upon completion of his or her undergraduate studies, which takes
about four years.
C: still a passing grade. It counts two points per credit hour toward your GPA.
Classification: Undergraduate students are classified as freshman, sophomores, juniors or seniors based on the number
of academic credit hours earned. This classification is as follows: freshman (0-30 credits), sophomores (31-60 credits),
juniors (61-90 credits) and seniors (91 credits and above). Freshman and sophomores are referred to as lower-division,
junior and senior are designated upper-division.
Chair: full-time professors who have been given administrative duties as head of their department in addition to their
teaching responsibilities.
Cheating: Suppress any temptation to cheat. The penalties are stiff if you are caught.
CLEP: College Level Examination Program, an examination that offers academic credit in humanities, social sciences,
natural sciences or Spanish. More information can be obtained through the Office of Testing, Tandy 216.
Code of Conduct: the body of rules and regulations that govern students’ behavior to maintain a standard of personal
discipline in harmony with educational goals.
Community: one of the most essential elements of UTB/TSC. It means that everyone feels that they are part of a family.
Community Service: an activity for the good of the community, e.g., distributing food, walk-a-thons, beach clean-ups,
donating goods to the poor.
Commuter: student who needs to drive to campus.
Core Curriculum: courses you must take before you can take your major classes.
Counseling Center: where professionally trained counselors assist students in solving personal, social and professional
problems.
Credit: what a student receives upon completing a college course. Credits are based on the number of hours spent in a
class per week.
D: barely passing grade. It counts one point per credit hour toward your GPA.
Deadline: the due date for a course assignment, paper, project, etc.
Dean: senior academic officer of a college or school.
Dean of Students: responsible for regulations, activities and discipline of students.
Doctorate: Upon completion of a master’s degree, a student can earn a doctorate for gaining additional graduate
credits.
Dress Code: UTB/TSC has no dress code.
Electives: courses not taken as prescribed and not included in the student’s major and minor sequence. They may be
chosen as free electives to complete hours required for graduation. It is often wise to choose electives from advanced
courses related to your major or minor.
F: failing grade. It counts as zero points per credit hour toward your GPA.
Flunking Out: This occurs when you fail your classes. Try your best to avoid it.
Fraternity: a social, honorary or professional student organization in which members share common interests and are
considered “brothers”.
Freshman 15: a casual term used to describe the 15 extra pounds of weight a freshman tends to gain during the first
year in college. Exercise and proper eating habits can help remedy this problem.
GPA: stands for grade point average. It is calculated by dividing the number of credit hours taken into the number of
grade points received. Adding those points together and dividing by the total number of semester hours results in a
GPA.
Grade Reports: Grades are available by telephone at the end of the semester or may be picked up as a transcript at the
Office of the Registrar.
Grading System: The grade point average (GPA) is the single most frequently used evaluation of a student’s classroom
performance. In computing this average, the following point system is used: A is four points per credit hour; B is three
points per credit hour, C is two points per credit hour, D is one point per credit hour and F is zero points per credit hour.
Greek: one who is a member of a fraternity or sorority.
Greek Week: one week devoted to friendly competition between fraternities and sororities.
Headache: a physical feeling which might result from the lack of sleep, stress, academic or social pressures, etc. Remedy:
1. take time out to relax; 2. get involved; 3. talk to someone; 4. go see a friendly staff member at the UTB/TSC Student
Health Center (free service).
Help: something we all need but are often too shy to ask for. There are lots of places and people at UTB/TSC who want
to help. Many of them are listed in this booklet.
Homesickness: everyone experiences it at one time or another, and it is experienced by most new students who leave
home for the first time. Symptoms include a need for home-cooked meals and interactions with family, friends and pets.
Hour: received for each hour of class per week per semester. 128 hours are the minimum requirement for a degree plan
in a major.
Internship: work experience that contributes to the student’s major.
Intramural: athletic events offered for all students. They include a selection of different sports.
Involvement: something to do. There is plenty to do on campus if you get involved. A listing of organizations can be
obtained from Student Life, www.utb.edu/studentlife.
I-20 Form: immigration form issued by the university that states your program of study, the length of time you can stay
in the USA and if you should be a full- or part-time student.
I-94 Form: small white paper stapled to your passport issued at the port of entry. It states official date of entry to the
USA.
LE: stands for Learning Enrichment. It assists in individualized instruction, laboratory work, small group seminars,
programmed instruction and individualized tutoring at no cost to the student. It is Located in Mary Rose Cardenas Hall
North, Room 122.
Major: a specialized field of study that a student chooses to pursue throughout his or her college career.
Master’s Degree: a degree awarded to a graduate student once he or she has completed the first level of graduate
school.
Midterms: tests administered midway through the semester to assess your academic progress.
Minor: concentration of usually three years of work, usually 18 hours in a subject related to your major field.
Munchies: an overpowering urge that compels you to attack the vending machine.
No-parking Signs: posted around campus, these must be obeyed to avoid parking tickets.
Passport: document in the shape of a small book that establishes citizenship.
Plagiarism: a serious offense, the act of stealing another person’s words or ideas and using them as one’s own. If caught
plagiarizing, the offender is often released from college or placed on academic probation.
Prereq: abbreviation for prerequisite. A prereq is a course or series of courses which must be successfully completed
prior to taking another specific course. Students should make sure that they meet all prereqs listed in the Course
Schedule before registering for a course or they may be dropped from that course.
President: the administrative head and spokesperson of UTB/TSC. The current president of UTB/TSC is Dr. Juliet V.
García. Her office is located at Gorgas Hall.
Registrar: processes and maintains student transcripts and other official records affiliated with attendance and
accomplishments. The Office of the Registrar is located in Tandy 105.
Registration: the process of enrolling in college classes.
Road Trip: traveling to any destination by car for pure recreational purposes.
Rush: a specific period of time in which a fraternity or sorority has the opportunity to take in new members.
SEVIS : Internet-based electronic immigration system to monitor international students and scholars.
School Colors: orange, white and blue.
Scholastic Probation: a consequence of not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (S.A.P.) requirements. In order to
remain in good standing at UTB/TSC, a student must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.00 (equivalent to a C average). Any
student failing to meet this standard may be placed on scholastic probation. For more detailed information, see
www.utb.edu/vpaa/sap.
Scorpion ID: a student identification card that also is used for library, test and computer facility admission as well as
admission to sporting events, among many other campus activities. Replacement cards may be obtained in the
University Boulevard Library for a low price of $10. Don’t leave home without it!
Scorpiontation: a great program designed to introduce UTB/TSC to all new students and assist them in adjusting to the
college surroundings by making them feel at home, www.utb.edu/scorpiontation.
Semester: The school year is composed of semesters. UTB/TSC has five semesters: fall, spring, May, Summer I and
Summer II.
Sleep: Try to get some every night, no matter what you have to do.
SGA: stands for Student Government Association, an organization composed of students to represent students. SGA is
the voice of the student body. It represents their needs, interests and opinions to ensure their rights as citizens of the
UTB/TSC community. For SGA meeting times and other information, visit www.utb.edu/sa/sga.
Social Life: the social life at UTB/TSC is what you make of it. There are special events scheduled throughout the year. If
you look, there is always something new and exciting to do. For an activities calendar, visit www.utb.edu/studentlife.
Spring Break: the week long break from classes, during which many students travel to sun-drenched areas of the
country and many to South Padre Island, Texas.
Statement of Charges: an important slip of paper listing the courses for which you are registered. It is proof that you are
enrolled at UTB/TSC. Keep it handy.
Sting’em: a hand signal that resembles a Scorpion.
Student Life: the department in charge of coordinating extracurricular nonacademic activities for the students. This
might include social or philanthropic activities.
Student Health Services: where students go for treatment of a minor illnesses and injuries. There are professional
nurses and doctors on staff who will assist your problems.
Student Union: the place on campus where students socialize, eat and relax.
Syllabus: a document prepared by the teacher to outline the basic requirements for that class. It usually includes a
reading list, dates and descriptions of exams, policies regarding attendance, etc. It may also include the professor’s
office location, office hours and telephone number.
Transcript: the official record of your academic grades, credits, honors, etc. received throughout your college career.
Tuition: the money you pay to attend UTB/TSC.
UPC: stands for University Programming Council. It is responsible for-planning campus activities, such as weekly movies,
concerts, lectures and much more.
Undergraduate Catalog: refers to the booklet published by the Office of the Registrar. This publication discusses
admission requirements, which are particular to each college or school, lists faculty, describes content of courses offered
by the colleges or schools, and illustrates degree requirements, among other things.
University Boulevard Library: located on University Boulevard near the Education and Business Complex. It has three
floors with books, computer facilities, study areas, magazines, tapes, films and several other helpful aides.
Visa: a sticker on your passport giving you permission to enter the USA. It indicates type of visa with your name, date of
issue and expiration. Very important!
W: withdrawal from classes without a grade.
Work-study Program: jobs on campus offered to students who need financial aid. Not available to international
students.