Glossary of Terms

To help clarify what we mean by some of the terms used, we developed a glossary of commonly used terms in the Office of the Registrar. You can also find a Catalog-specific glossary here. If you have suggestions on terms to add, please contact us

Term

Definition

Academic calendar

Calendar of key deadlines for adding or changing your registration

Academic standing

The four statuses that indicate a student’s academic progress as defined by Academic Regulation 22.

Academic Regulations

The rules that govern how the academic world of OSU works, from admission to graduation

Advisor

A campus professional who helps you with the logistics of getting your degree and who provides you with resources and opportunities to get the most out of your time as a student

Apostille

Students who apply for jobs or admission to universities in other countries often need a notarized diploma or transcript in order to submit them to the Oregon Secretary of State to obtain an Apostille. Obtaining a notarized diploma/transcript is the first step in the Apostille process.

Audit

To register for a course but without receiving a grade or credit hours for your attendance and participation.

Catalog

A comprehensive resource that contains information about academic programs, courses, academic regulations, and colleges

CIM

Curriculum Inventory Management, the proposal system for creating new, and making changes to existing, courses and programs

Classroom attributes

Room attributes are features in classrooms. These may include writing surfaces, seating types/arrangements, or technology in the classrooms. Each attribute is assigned a code in Banner. These codes are used when assigning general purpose (GP) classrooms to sections, either through the room scheduling software or manually. These codes should be provided by the department as soon as possible after a course is created to ensure that instructors have the best chance at being assigned a room that will work for their teaching style.

Commencement

OSU’s annual ceremony to celebration graduates

Confidentiality

A status students may request; this restricts the release of any directory information to anyone who does not have a legitimate educational interest

CORE

The Cooperative Open Reporting Environment, a central university reporting tool that generates multiple reports involving student, class, enrollment, and other university data

Credit hour

The number of credits associated with the number of hours the class meets. This determines student enrollment status type (e.g. full time, half time, part time).

CRN

This stands for Course Registration Number. This is a unique, 5-digit code assigned to a particular section of a course in a particular term. You can enter this CRN when you go to add or drop a course.

Crosslist

When two or more courses are linked together, sharing the same content and enrolled students

Dead week

The week before finals week in a term

Degree conferral

This refers to the graduation date that appears on your diploma and transcript.

Department scheduler

A faculty or staff member from a department, school, or college who is responsible for adding, removing, and editing courses from the schedule. They are trained on the processes and rules involved with scheduling and should serve as a resource in their departments for questions about scheduling. Any changes or questions to scheduled courses should be directed to the department scheduler, who may then relay those to the Schedule Desk in the Office of the Registrar. There is often only one department scheduler for any given subject code, but any given scheduler may be responsible for many subject codes. Backup department schedulers are also sometimes identified within a department. The department scheduler is also responsible for requesting use of general purpose classroom space for events outside of regularly scheduled classes (review sessions, guest speakers, thesis defenses, etc.).

Dependent (VA)

A child or spouse of a veteran or military member

Digital badge

Digital badges are verified proof of competency and document specific skills gained through learning. Digital badges are dynamic endorsements so you can decide how to use them, e.g., add as a link to your resume, embed in your e-portfolio, and share on social media sites such as LinkedIn.

Directory information

A list of information about each student that may be released to any inquiry unless a student has requested confidentiality

Fee code

Some courses require additional fees because of materials and experiences required for the course. These fees are driven by a fee code.

FERPA

The federal regulation that outlines students' rights regarding their education record.

Graduation

When a student completes all their degree requirements

Hybrid course

A course that meets both in-person and virtually

Institutional Awarding

The process of granting undergraduate degrees without requiring students to apply for graduation.

Instructor of record

The instructor who shows on the course listing; this is the only person who can submit final grades

Linked course

A course that requires registration in another course. These include labs, recitations, and studio courses.

Microcredential A microcredential is a set of courses in a focused area of study. Microcredentials are narrowly focused on specific skills and competencies and when completed, provide validation of the skills and competencies achieved. Microcredentials are made up of at least three courses and eight credits.

MyDegrees

The software that measures a student’s progress through degree requirements

Name-in-use

Often called “preferred name,” this refers to the name you use regularly that is not your legal name. You can change this by submitting a Biographical Information Update.

No-show drop

An instructor sets their course as this and it will appear in the Schedule of Classes as a no-show drop course. The instructor informs the Office of the Registrar to drop a student after the student does not show for class.

Notary

A process that ensures documents—especially diplomas and transcripts—are authentic

Override

Some courses require that you receive permission from a department. That permission requires an override to allow you to register.

Petition

A form that allows you to contest an Academic Regulation

Preflight As students search, the Schedule of Classes notifies them of barriers that may impact registration, including holds, lack of prerequisites, major/minor restrictions, or other permission requirements. Based on student profile information and academic history, if there is something that will prevent someone from registering for a course, they will see a warning message (preflight) before they add their class to their Scheduler cart.

Readmission

When a student previously attended OSU, but has not been enrolled at OSU for four consecutive terms (excluding summer).

Reinstatement

 

The process that renews a student’s active status at OSU after being away from the university on Academic Suspension

Repeatable courses

Courses for which you can earn credit multiple times, up to a defined limit stated in the catalog (e.g. PAC, MUS). These courses are designated as repeatable in the Schedule of Classes and Catalog.

Repeated course

A standard course that is not listed as repeatable for credit, but that a student has repeated, likely to attain a higher grade. The second attempt of a standard course is the attempt that will count toward your earned credit and GPA calculations.

Residency

A designation that indicates one’s physical presence in Oregon. More information on residency and help establishing residency can be found through the Office of Admissions.

Roll grades

The act of transcripting grades following the conclusion of a term

Schedule of Classes

A tool that allows students to search for classes by a number of different search parameters. Built into this is a scheduling tool where students can create a registration cart of classes for which they wish to register.

Section

One offering of a specific course. Some courses offer multiple sections that meet at different times and locations.

Transcripts

 

The official document showing a student's coursework and the grades received for each course.

VA benefits

Financial benefits provided for military-connected students and eligible family members

Verification of enrollment

An official document used to verify enrollment status for purposes such as: health insurance coverage, auto insurance discounts, loan deferments, etc.

Waitlist

If a class listed as having a waitlist in the Schedule of Classes is full and closed, students can add themselves to the waitlist. Seats open when they become available, beginning with Phase 2 of registration through the last day to add classes without departmental approval. Students receive an email to their OSU email when a seat becomes available.

Withdraw from term

 

This withdraws a student from all courses for the term. You can find the deadline in the Academic Calendar. In order to withdraw from the term, you will need to take a survey to confirm your withdrawal from the term. Withdrawing from the term does not mean you are leaving OSU entirely. You may return to OSU as long as you are in good academic standing and you maintain an active student status.

Zones

This refers to scheduling time capacities. Zones are established to reduce student course scheduling conflicts.