Glossary of Terms
A
- AA
- Associate of Arts Degree. A degree awarded to students with a 2.0 or greater G.P.A., who have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours, including a general education core requirement of 36-credit hours. This degree is designed to transfer to a four-year college or university.
- AAS
- Associate of Applied Science Degree. A degree awarded to students with a 2.0 or greater G.P.A., who have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours, including a general education core requirement of 20-credit hours. This degree is designed to prepare students for immediate employment.
- Advisor
- A professional staff or faculty member with specific expertise in helping students with academic planning.
- Add/Drop
- The process used when registered students need to alter their class schedule, also referred to as “schedule adjustment.”
- AS
- Associate of Science Degree. A degree awarded to students with a 2.0 or greater G.P.A., who have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours, including a general education core requirement of 36-credit hours. This degree is designed to transfer to a four-year college or university.
- Audit
- Registration for and participation in all functions of a course, as required by the instructor. No grades are issued and no credit is earned for audited courses. Students can only audit course sections by completing the appropriate paperwork at a CSM campus.
B
- Browser
- A World Wide Web (WWW) interface. Popular browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and Firefox.
- Bursar
- Unique to higher education and is a Latin term meaning "official in charge of funds" or "keeper of the purse." The Bursar's Office is responsible for the billing and collection of tuition and fees, for maintaining student account information, and collecting delinquent accounts, and other college related charges. The Bursar's Office is here to provide the best possible service and information related to the student’s account. Billing dates, payment deadlines, payment options, and other important student services can be found by visiting the Admissions Web site or stopping by the Bursar’s Office in AD107 at the La Plata Campus, the Student Services Office in C105 at the Leonardtown Campus, or the Student Services Office in Room 101 at the Prince Frederick Campus. The Bursar's Office answers questions concerning, tuition bills, methods of payment, and refund check production.
C
- Call Center (formerly Information Center)
- The first contact for the college’s main phone lines. The Call Center also receives general e-mail inquires and responds, or forwards to the appropriate office for a response.
- Continuing Education
- Continuing Education encompasses all of CSM's courses and training that do not earn credits toward a degree program (AA, AS, AAS, etc.). It includes Kids' and Teen College classes, Corporate Center training, personal enrichment classes, driver's education, industrial and trades training, professional licensing and certification training, and much more.
- Continuing Education Unit (CEU)
- One CEU is ten contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education course under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction (as defined by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training).
- Cookies
- Small data files written to a hard drive. These data files contain information Web sites can use to track passwords, lists of pages visited, and the date a pages was last visited, etc.
- Core Courses
- Also known as general education courses. Core courses selected provide a broad educational experience so students may achieve a breadth of learning. Core courses are selected from the areas of writing, literature, fine arts, humanities, mathematics, science, history, social sciences, and interdisciplinary and emerging issues areas.
- Co-Requisites
- One or more courses that must be taken along with another course during the same semester, because the work in one supplements or reinforces what is taught in the other.
- Computer-Assisted Mathematics Courses
- These mathematics courses blend classroom instruction and Web-based instruction. Students meet on campus once each week and complete the course instruction and activities online during the week
- Course Number
- The four-digit number that identifies a specific course within each subject, e.g., ENG-1010.
- Credit Hours
- Also known as semester hours. They are determined by the number of hours of instruction per week over an academic semester. One credit hour is assigned for each 55-minute lecture period or two- to three-hour laboratory session per week. For example, a class meeting three days a week, from 8am to 8:55am on each day, would be assigned 3 credit hours.
- Credits
- Numerical unit(s) earned for completion of a specific course. Credits are related to the number of hours of instruction per week over an academic semester.
- Cross-listed Courses
- Equivalent courses that are offered for credit or continuing education, such as HTH-1100 and HTH-5140.
D
- Demographic Data
- Personal information, such as name, address, etc.
- Drop/Add
- See Add/Drop.
E
- Elective Courses
- Courses that students choose to complete as part of academic program.
F
- Financial Aid
- Scholarships, grants, loans and work assignments which are awarded to a student to help defray, in part or in whole, college-related expenses.
- Full-Time Student
- A student enrolled in courses with a total of 12 or more credits per semester.
G
- Grade Point Average (GPA)
- Also referred to as Quality Point Average (QPA). The ratio of grade points earned to the number of credit hours attempted.
- Grade Points
- Also referred to as quality points. The numerical value of a grade multiplied by the credit hours for a course (A = 4 points, B = 3 points, C = 2 points, D = 1 point). For example, a student earning an A in a 3 credit course earns 12 grade points.
H
I
- Information Center (formerly Express Counter, La Plata Campus):
- The location that provides informational and registration services, such as assistance with registration, change of demographic information, transcript requests, and enrollment verification requests.
- Intranet
- An online restricted-access network. An intranet enables an organization to share its resources without making them available to everyone with Internet access.
J
K
L
- Lecture (LEC):
- LEC is the code to denote a traditional classroom course. Students meet on campus according to the published schedule of classes.
- Lab (LAB):
- English and Math Courses: A computer-assisted course in which students use a computer in a lab to plan, develop, and revise their assignments. No previous typing experience is necessary.
English: Computer-assisted courses in which students use a computer in a lab to plan, develop, and revise their assignments. No previous typing experience is necessary.
Math: These mathematics courses blend classroom instruction and Web-based instruction. Students meet on campus once each week and complete the course instruction and activities online during the week.
Other Disciplines (usually Biological/Physical Science): “Hands-on” experience in a laboratory setting.
M
- MOL (MarylandOnline)
- MOL is a consortium of Maryland community colleges. Through MOL, online courses are shared among participating institutions.
N
O
- Official Transcript
- A printed record of a student's academic history, issued by the Registrar's Office that is marked "Official" and is enclosed in a sealed envelope and has been marked "Unofficial if Opened."
- Online Services (formerly Student Online Express Services)
- The internet-based service provided for students where they are able to access their personal records and registration activities at the college. A personal Login ID and Password are required to access this service.
- OWL (Online Writing Lab)
- For certain English courses, students use the Online Writing Lab to submit their essays to a writing tutor.
P
- Part-time Student
- A student completing fewer than 12 credits each semester.
- Placement Tests
- A test given to determine the appropriate skill level at which to "place" a student in particular courses. Students are required to take placement tests in reading, writing, and mathematics by the time they have completed 9 credit hours at CSM. Appropriate scores on the SAT or ACT examination, or completion of college level English or mathematics courses, may exempt a student from taking a placement test.
- Prerequisites
- Specified conditions or courses which must be completed prior to enrolling in a particular course.
Q
- Quality Points
- See Grade Points.
- Quality Point Average
- See Grade Point Average.
R
- Required Courses
- An academic program’s mandatory courses.
S
- Section Number
- The five-digit number after the course number used to identify each unique section offered for a specific course, such as HST-1010-11111.
- Semester Hours
- See credit hours.
- Self-Paced Course (SEL)
- A computer-based course that allows students to work at their own pace under the guidance of a faculty member. Students are required to attend the orientation session, generally on the La Plata Campus, and may choose to complete class assignments in a college lab or from home or any other appropriately equipped site. There is no fixed attendance schedule. Students may enroll in these courses monthly and are required to complete each course within a defined time frame.
- Student ID
- Your unique 7-character numerical identifier on the CSM system. Typically preceeded with a zero (0) and followed by 6-digits.
- Subject Code
- The three-letter abbreviation used to identify a particular subject, such as, BIO for biology.It precedes the course number, for example, BIO-1020.
T
- Telecourses (TEL)
- Telecourses are instructor-facilitated courses with course content delivered through the combination of audiovisual and print media (television, video, DVD, CD, textbooks and study guides). Students may be required to take proctored exams or on-campus assessments at a testing center.
- TeleWeb courses
- TeleWeb courses integrate telecourse delivery (TV, videos, DVDs, or CDs) with dynamic online activities, resources, and tools. Students view lessons through telecourse delivery and use the Internet to participate in class discussions and instructional activities. (Students may be required to take proctored exams or on-campus assessments at a testing center.)
- Transfer Credit
- Credit completed at another accredited college or university that has been evaluated and accepted by the College of Southern Maryland.
- TBA
- This abbreviation indicates that some information is "to be announced" such as room location, time of section meeting, or instructor.
U
- Unofficial Transcript
- A printed record of a student's academic history that contains all courses both past and current that is not marked "Official" and is not enclosed in a sealed envelope marked "Unofficial if Opened."
V
W
- Web-based (WEB) courses
- Web-based (online) courses are designed to bring campus-based classes to students' computers. The instructor provides information posted on a course Web site that guides the student through course content, prompts discussions, and helps students keep pace with assignments. Due dates for assignments, a logical learning pattern, and start/end dates that correspond with a semester create a classroom that is available at a convenient time and place. Students may be required to take proctored exams or on-campus assessments at a testing center.
- Web-enhanced courses (WEBEN)
- Web-enhanced courses are instructional methods, such as lectures and cooperative education experiences that use certain Blackboard CE (WebCT 6) tools, such as email and discussions.
- Web-hybrid (Blended) courses (WEBHY)
- Web-hybrid courses blend on-campus instruction with Web-based instruction. Students meet on campus according to the published schedule of classes then complete approximately half of the course instruction and/or activities online. Web-hybrid courses create flexible learning options while allowing students to meet face-to-face with instructors and other students.
- Blackboard CE (WebCT 6)
- A course management system that facilitates the creation of sophisticated Web-based educational environments. It is the course management system used by CSM for the delivery of Web-based, Web-enhanced, TeleWeb, and Web-hybrid courses.
- Withdrawing
- Dropping a course after the published schedule adjustment period, resulting in a grade of “WD.”
X
Y
Z
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