Section IX - Glossary
Accreditation - The designation given to an educational institution or program that voluntarily meets the criteria set by the membership of an accrediting agency or association.
ACTE - The Association for Career and Technical Education
ACT - American College Test
Ad Hoc Committee - A committee that meets as special needs arise.
Admission - Acceptance into a KCTCS institution and/or program, based on submission of an application for admission and supporting documents. (Section IV)
Advanced Standing - Students with previous college experience.
Approval (Program)
- Academic - The official action taken by KCTCS Council which defines and ratifies an academic degree program.
- Administrative - The official action taken by the Chancellor, the KCTCS President and Board of Regents and the Council on Postsecondary Education, as appropriate, which authorizes an institution to offer a degree program.
- Agency/association - The official action by an agency or association that indicates that an educational program meets minimum criteria for the preparation of graduates in an occupational area. (Example: Kentucky Board of Nursing)
ASSET - A paper and pencil testing and advising program for placing students into appropriate courses within postsecondary institutions. Phased out as of December 31, 2016.
Articulation - An agreement between two or more educational institutions.
Certificate Program - A Certificate Program is designed to prepare students for entry-level technical employment in one year or less and includes competency-based technical courses related to a specific occupational title (range 12-36 credit hrs. generally). The curriculum of a degree program must be approved by the KCTCS Curriculum Review Committee and Senate Council.
CEU - One Continuing Education Unit represents ten (10) hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience of a non-credit nature under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction.
CLEP - College Level Examination Program.
Community Service - Those activities that provide services to the general community or special sectors within the community, but do not result in the awarding of CEUs.
COMPASS - A computerized test for placing students into appropriate courses within post-secondary institutions. Phased out as of December 31, 2016.
Continuing Education - Those instructional activities that do not result in academic credit and which meet the criteria for awarding either institutional or individual continuing education units (CEUs).
Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) - The assembly, authorized by the Kentucky Legislature, whose membership is appointed by the Governor, with authority to coordinate Kentucky’s postsecondary education institutions.
CPP - Career Planning and Placement.
Credit Hours - A unit of measurement which equates to the number of hours of contact per week (or a ratio thereof) for a sixteen (16) week semester, or the equivalent time for a session of different length. (Section V 2.0)
Curriculum - An approved sequence or series of courses leading to a specific educational credential (certificate, diploma, degree). A curriculum must be approved by KCTCS Curriculum Review Committee and Senate Council.
Credential - An official document issued by a KCTCS institution certifying that a student has completed an academic program and conferring upon the student the rights and privileges of that credential.
Degree Program - An approved sequence or series of courses and/or achievements which, when completed, leads to competence in a field of study and the awarding of a degree. The curriculum of a degree program must be approved by the KCTCS Curriculum Review Committee and Senate Council.
Diploma Program - A diploma program is designed to prepare students for technical employment within a one- to two-year period. The curriculum of a degree program must be approved by the KCTCS Curriculum Review Committee and Senate Council (range 36-68 credit hours).
Dual Credit - To receive both college and high school credit for a course.
Elective - Any college level course not specifically required in the student’s program.
Full-Time Equivalent (F.T.E.) - Mathematical formula used to convert the number of full-time and part-time faculty, students, etc. to an equivalent number of full-time faculty, students, etc., respectively.
GED - General Education Diploma.
General Education - That part of a curriculum in an academic program which is deemed essential for the education of all students and, therefore, is required for graduation.
Glossary - A list of difficult, technical or foreign terms with definitions.
Kentucky Community and Technical College System Board of Regents - The governing body for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS).
Mid-term - The mid-point of a semester or other academic session as indicated in an approved academic calendar.
Non-degree Student - A student who is enrolled but is not a credential seeking candidate. (Section IV, 1.1.4)
Non-resident Student - A student who, for fee assessment purposes, is not a resident of the Commonwealth of Kentucky according to the CPE Policy on Classification of Students for Fee Assessment Purposes at State-Supported Institutions of Higher Education.
Option - A course sequence developing a different specialization within a designated major. An option must be part of an approved degree program and must be approved by the KCTCS Council.
Period – The 18-week timeframe identified in the student administration computing system which encompasses the earliest possible start date and the latest possible end date for a particular semester.
Pilot Program/Option/Course - A program, option or course approved by the KCTCS Council for a specified period of time.
Policy Manual - KCTCS Board of Regents and Administrative Policies and Procedures.
Readmission - A second or subsequent acceptance into a college and/or program, based on submission of required documents, prior to registration for and enrollment in a credit course in that college and/or program. (Section IV 2.0)
Registration
- The process by which a student officially enrolls in class(es);
- The period during which a student may officially enroll in class(es)/program(s). (Section V, 1.0.1)
Repeat Option - The process by which a student retakes a course with the intention of improving the official grade. (Section V, 1.0.1.2)
Resident Student - A student who, for fee assessment purposes, is a resident of the Commonwealth of Kentucky according to the CPE Policy on Classification of Students for Fee Assessment Purposes at State-Supported Institutions of Higher Education.
SAT - Scholastic Aptitude Test.
Semester - An academic term consisting of fifteen (15) weeks of class time and a six day final examination period. (Section II, 1.0)
Session (academic) - An academic period that may vary in length. (Section II, 1.1)
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) - The regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices among the diverse institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Latin America and other international sites approved by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees.
Student Load - The number of credit hours in which a student is enrolled in a specified academic period. (Section V, 2.0.2)
Technical Standards - Standards established within a particular program.
Transfer Student
- An applicant with previous non KCTCS academic credit seeking advanced standing;
- A student enrolled in a university parallel or pre-baccalaureate program. (Section IV, 1.1.3)
Transient Student - A visiting student who has been or is attending another post-secondary institution. (Section IV, 1.1.5)
Withdrawal - The process by which a student is disenrolled from one or more classes or a college. (Section V, 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 3.0.1, 3.0.7)
