Mar 19, 2024  
2022-2023 College Catalog 
    
2022-2023 College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Glossary of College Terms


This catalog is a resource document containing information about program requirements and other college policies for which a student is ultimately responsible. It also contains information about the academic, student and community services the college offers.

This section defines many college terms that will help a student gain a full understanding of the information within the catalog.

Academic Probation: The semester following Academic Warning when a student’s term and cumulative GPAs are less than 2.0.  The student is limited to 8 credits. Refer to Policies and Procedures.

Academic Support: When a student fails to earn a semester or cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher. Refer to Policies and Procedures

Academic Warning: The semester following Academic Support when a student’s term and cumulative GPAs are less than 2.00.  The student is limited to 14 credits.  Refer to Policies and Procedures.

Articulation Agreement: A formal agreement between Hudson Valley Community College and a baccalaureate degree-granting institution. These agreements are established for specific academic programs and ensure transfer with junior standing upon completion of appropriate coursework and achievement of a minimum grade average.

Associate Degree: A title conferred on a student signifying completion of a two-year program comprised of 60 or more credits. For additional information, refer to Policies and Procedures.

Attendance: Attendance in class is necessary for successful completion of a course of study. To understand the college’s policy on attendance, refer to Policies and Procedures.

Certificate: A document issued to a student signifying completion of a specific series of skill courses. A certificate program is one year or less in length.

Change of Major: The process of changing a student’s matriculation in one program to a different program. To change majors, a student must be in good academic standing, and meet all prerequisites for the desired new program. A student should initiate the change by contacting his/her current academic advisor.

Contact Hours: The total hours of class and lab required per week in a course.

Continuing Education: The Office of Continuing Education is designed to offer students a viable and flexible alternative to the traditional full-time college degree. Advisors are available to assist with the selection of courses.

Corequisite: Any course which must be taken during the same term as the course that specifies the corequisite.

Course Description: Course description(s) tell students what is taught in the course, what the objectives are, and what they should be able to do upon completion. It also describes the required classroom hours, lab hours, clinic or co-op hours, credit hours, and indicates if a prerequisite/corequisite is needed.

Course Load Status: Regardless of matriculation status, a student who carries 12 or more credits during the Fall or Spring term is considered a full-time student. Anything less than 12 credits is part-time.

Course Withdrawal: If a student is unable to complete a course, for whatever reason, the student must withdraw from the course or risk receiving a grade of “F” for the course. For withdrawal procedures, refer to Policies and Procedures.

Credit: A unit of academic award applicable toward a degree, measured in term hours.

Drop/Add: The procedure whereby a student may change his/her class schedule, after initial registration, by dropping or adding a course without academic penalty.

Elective Course: A major requirement which a student may choose to take from a number of possible courses, as distinguished from specific required courses.

Enrolled Student: An enrolled student is one who has completed the registration process and whose specific classes have begun.

Full-Time Student: A student enrolled for 12 or more credits per term. Note: Full-time status for New York State scholarships is determined by enrollment in 12 or more degree applicable hours. A course in which a grade of “D” or better was previously earned is not counted toward the 12-hour full-time study requirement.

General Education Coursework: Courses which represent the common areas of knowledge and skills that pertain to educated persons and those which offer a coherent and broadly comprehensive academic foundation.

Good Academic Standing: The status of a student who has met or exceeded the requirements specified in Policies and Procedures. A student must be in good academic standing to be eligible for veterans’ benefits, intercollegiate athletics, the Student Senate and other campus activities.

Grade Point Index: The numerical average based on the credit hours attempted and grades earned for courses taken at Hudson Valley Community College. At the close of each term, a separate index is calculated to indicate the term, and cumulative average.

Humanities Elective: Courses from those branches of knowledge which are concerned with the human race and its culture.

In-State Resident: A legal resident of New York State for a minimum of one calendar year.

Learning Skills Courses: Basic courses which prepare students for college-level study.

Liberal Arts and Science Coursework: Courses which are intended to provide chiefly general knowledge and to develop students’ general intellectual capacities.

Major: A set of courses which awards a certificate or associate’s degree with a purpose such as preparing a student to enter the workforce immediately or to transfer to a degree program at another college.

Mathematics Elective: Courses which study number, form, arrangement and associated relationships, using defined literal, numerical and operational symbols.

Matriculated Student: A matriculated student has been accepted for admission to the college, has registered in a major and is pursuing courses toward a degree or certificate.

Micro-credential: Micro-credentials validate that specific skills or competencies have been achieved and are most often designed to meet market needs by aligning with industry standards. Micro-credential programs require fewer credits than a traditional degree or certificate program and are typically more narrowly focused.

Mid-Term Grades: Mid-term grades are indicators of a student’s progress. Mid-term grades are not recorded on official transcripts, but they may be used to determine the eligibility of a student to continue participation in intercollegiate sports or student activities.

Non-Degree Courses: A course that is not applicable toward a degree and is designated “ND” in the course description. ND units indicate the number of hours for which a student is charged tuition and the number of hours counted toward course load status.

Non-Matriculated Student: A non-matriculated student is one who has not yet been accepted for admission to the college, has lost matriculated status by not enrolling in coursework for one term, or has been suspended from a program because of failure to maintain good academic standing. Courses taken by a non-matriculated student may later count toward a degree, however, the student will not be eligible for financial aid.

Out-of-State Residents: Legal resident of a state other than New York, or of a foreign country.

Part-Time Student: A student enrolled for fewer than 12 credits per term.

Prerequisite: A course that a student must successfully complete for background information before enrolling in a particular course. For example, Nursing II has a prerequisite of Nursing I.

Program: (see Major).

Registered Student: A registered student is one who has scheduled classes. A student who registers but does not complete the payment process will not be granted credit, regardless of class attendance. A student is considered enrolled once their specific classes have begun.

Restricted Elective: Major requirements which may be chosen from a group of courses specifically identified for that major.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): The status of a student who has met or exceeded both the qualitative and quantitative measurements specified in Policies and Procedures. A student must meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements to be eligible for financial aid.

Science Elective: Courses which foster the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation and theoretical explanation of natural phenomena.

Social Science Elective: Courses which study society and the individual relationships in and to society.

Term: A 15-week period of instruction and a one-week period of examinations and outcome assessments.

Title IV Financial Aid: The student financial assistance programs authorized by Title IV of the Federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, consist of: Federal Pell Grant Program, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), Federal Direct Student Loans (including the Federal Direct Subsidized Loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and Federal Direct Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) Loans.

Total Withdrawal: The procedure whereby a student may withdraw from all coursework. The withdrawal process must be completed at the Registrar’s Office, Guenther Enrollment Services Center, by the deadlines published each term.

Transcript (student record): A student’s official academic record maintained by the Registrar’s Office. It shows all academic work attempted and grades earned, as well as transfer credits accepted from other schools.

Transfer Credit: Credit from coursework taken at a previous institution which is accepted toward a degree requirement at Hudson Valley Community College. Transfer credit is posted to the transcript of matriculated students only.