Academic Advisor - A person at a school that helps you choose the correct courses to fit your course requirements and achieve your academic goals

Accreditation - The certification that states that a school meets specified measures of educational quality.

Accredited College - A college that has been recognized as maintaining specified standards. Higher programs may require graduate from an accredited college.

Advanced Standing Credit - These credits are credits that are completed at a separate institution and are accepted towards completion of a degree or towards course requirements.

Alumni - A student who has graduated from a given college.

Application to College - The process in which a prospective student fills out their educational information and sends it to a college. The college reviews this information to decide whether to admit the prospect into the college.

Associate's Degree - A degree that is earned at a 2-year college.

Asynchronous Learning - Learning that involves people being online at separate times and conversing and participating with a time delay. This enables students to participate on their own time.

Bachelor’s Degree/ Baccalaureate Degree - A degree that is earned upon completion of an undergraduate program. Generally a 4-year program, it is earned at a college or university.

Blended Learning - Learning that involves both online and in-person activities.

Cable Modem - A device that is used to transmit data via coaxial cables. It is a type of Internet connection that is significantly faster than a telephone line modem and is roughly equal to that of a DSL connection.

Campus - The location of a university or college.

Certificate - An award for the completion of a specified number of units/courses in a vocational/technical program.

College - A college or university that grants higher learning degrees in particular fields of study.

College Financing - See college loan

College Loans - A loan from the government, a university or a financial institution to pay college tuition.

College Tuition - The fees for attending a college.

Commuter - A student who lives off campus and drives to campus to go to class.

Cooperative Education - An educational program where the student spends a portion of their education in a professional environment outside of the university. This type of education usually requires 5 years to complete.

Credits - A value that is assigned to a class and is often related to how many hours the course is per week.

Deferred Payment - The process of putting off payment of a debt until a later time. For example, deferring payment of a student loan until you’ve graduated.

Degrees - The certification that documents that a students has completed all of the requirements for a particular field of study. Degrees come in 4 forms: Certification, Associate, Bachelor's, and Graduate.

Department - A unit within an educational institution that is responsible for a particular field of study.

Diploma - A document received after completing a specified course of study.

Distance Learning - Also known as "Distance Education," it is a type of education in which student take courses and completes assignments online via their computers.

Doctorate - A degree that requires the highest level of education.

Dormitory - Housing that is only used by registered students of a specific college or university.

DSL - A digital subscriber line that is used to transmit data via telephone lines. It is a type of Internet connection that is significantly faster than a telephone line modem and is roughly equal to that of a cable modem connection.

E-Learning - Learning that is done via a computer.

Enrollment - The process in which students pick their classes and pay related fees.

Faculty - The faculty consists of all people who teach classes at a particular college or university.

Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) - Student subsidized, unsubsidized, and parent loans provided by the government.

Federal Financial Aid - Student loans or grants from the federal government based on financial need or specific qualifications.

Federal Financial Assistance - See federal financial aid

Final Exams - Often called "finals" for short, a final exam is a test that is often the last, and often largest, task for a particular class. It generally addresses all of the course material.

Financial Aid - Money for college tuition, books or other college expenses, which is available via grants, scholarships and loans.

Fixed Expenses - Expenses that are paid each month and that remain the same, such as mortgage, school tuition, car insurance, etc.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - An application for student financial aid programs like Federal Pell Grants, Federal Stafford Loans or Federal Work Study.

Freshman - A 1st year student at a college or university.

Grants - Financial aid provided by government agencies or private organizations that does not need to be repaid.

Household Income - The total income made by all individuals in a household. This includes: salaries, bonuses, child support, social security, unemployment, etc.

Lecture - A lecture is a class where a professor speaks about course material.

Liberal Arts - A group of studies that includes arts, humanities, language and literature.

Major - A college student's focus in their education for which they must complete specific courses in order to graduate.

Master’s Degree - A degree generally requiring 1-2 years of education in addition to a bachelor’s degree.

Modem - A device that transmits data over telephone wires. Regarding online learning, modems are used in order to use the World Wide Web, communicate online, and receive/send data via a computer.

Multicasting - Often used in online learning, it is an application that broadcasts from one computer to many computers online.

Non-Credit Courses - Courses that don't meet the requirements for a degree or certificate and are taken solely for educational purposes.

Non-taxable Income - Income that you cannot be taxed for by any branch of the government.

Online Learning - Education that occurs online via computer.

Prerequisite Courses - Courses that are required before a particular course or group of courses may be taken.

Private Institution - Private schools that rely on money received from private sources (donations, organizations, etc.), unlike public schools, which receive money from funding by the state or government.

Public Schools - Public schools receive money from funding by the state or government, unlike private schools, which rely on money received from private sources (e.g., donations, organizations, etc.)

Schedule of Classes - A list of courses offered by a college for a particular quarter, semester, or year.

Stafford Loan - A type of government student loan.

Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) - A government-sponsored corporation that purchases student loans on the secondary market.

Synchronous Learning - Learning that involves people being online at the same time and communicating with each other without a time delay.

Term - The time period for which a loan must be repaid.

Transcript - A private permanent academic record containing all courses, grades, honors, and status of a student. A school possesses each student's transcript and will not release the information without the student's permission.

Transfer Credits - Accumulated course credit that is transferred from one school to another and applies towards graduation requirements.

Tuition - The payment that is made to a university or college in order to be an enrolled student and attend class.

Undergraduate - A student who has not yet received their first high learning degree.

University - An institution that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in one or more fields of study.

Variable Expenses - The expenses that change on a monthly basis. These expenses can include: food, utilities, credit card purchase, etc.

Video Conferencing - A live video and voice communication between 3 or more locations.

Virtual Classroom - An online classroom where students and instructors communicate.

Vocational College - An institution that teaches skills in a particular line of work.