TRiO Student Support Services
Terms to Know
- Junior College = 鈥�2-Year鈥� College = Community College
- 鈥�4-Year鈥� College = University or College
- Associate鈥檚 Degree: Usually about 64 credits or two years of study. Typically falls into three main categories; Associates of Arts (AA), Associates of Science (AS), and Associates of Applied Science (AAS).
- Bachelor鈥檚 Degree: Usually about 128 credits or four years of study. Typically falls into two common categories; Bachelors of Arts (BA), and Bachelors of Science (BS).
- Accredited: A process of validation in which colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning are evaluated. Degrees and certificates from unaccredited colleges do not transfer or have much respect in the academic and business world. Many online or 鈥渕ailin鈥� colleges are not accredited.
- Articulation Agreement: Agreement between institutions that facilitate the transfer of students from the two-year institution to the four-year institution. The two institutions agree upon which classes will be required and which courses/programs will be accepted at the four-year institution.
- Certificate vs. Certification: A certificate is recognition for completing or participating in something. Certification is official notice or approval.
- Credit Hour vs. Quarter Hour: the ratio is about 1.5 credit hours to quarter hour, ex: 64 credits or 96 quarter hours to earn an Associate鈥檚 Degree. Whether a school offers credit hours or quarter hours is based on if their academic year is broken into semesters, trimesters or quarters.
- Duel-enrollment: Enrolled in two schools at once
- Internship: Paid or non-paid work experience
- Transcripts: Official record of credit earned and college courses
- Transfer Equivalency: The list of what a course at one school will transfer as to another school; based on the articulation agreement.
- Transfer Student: A student changing schools; usually only if you have more than so many credits (30 is standard). You can change schools and transfer credits under the 30 credit
- WUE and WICHE 鈥� Western Undergraduate Exchange and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Ed. Usually offering lower tuition rates to students from other participating states. States included: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.