PNC Words to Know
Academic Deficiency A student who lacks college preparatory courses to be admitted directly into a degree program. For additional information, contact Admissions.
Academic Drop After approximately two semesters of poor academic performance (GPA), a student shall be academically dropped from the university for a minimum of one semester. For additional information, contact the Registrar's Office.
Academic Probation After approximately one semester of poor academic performance (GPA), a student will be placed on academic probation. For additional information, contact the Registrar's Office.
Advisor A staff member who advises on academic and career objectives; this person could discuss plan of study and career exploration. Advisors are differentiated into three divisions: freshman, college and faculty. For additional information, contact the Director of Advising.
Alumni Students who have graduated with a college degree. For additional information, contact the PNC Alumni Office.
Associate's Degree A degree awarded after the successful completion of approximately 70 credit hours (typically attending full-time over a 2-year time frame). For additional information, contact Admissions.
Attendance Is being present in a class session. For additional information, contact the Registrar's Office.
Bachelor's Degree A degree awarded after the successful completion of approximately 130 credit hours (typically attending full-time over a 4 to 5 year time frame). For additional information, contact Admissions.
Bursar The university office where student tuition and fees are paid; the office also cashes checks and sells stamps. For additional information, contact the Bursar's Office.
Career Services This office assists students with career searches, resume writing, service learning, volunteer activities, etc. They also do career fairs. For additional information, contact Career Services.
Chancellor The person who is head of one campus of a university in the Purdue system.
Change Check After tuition and fees are paid, the remainder of student aid (grants and loans) is disbursed to the student in the form of a paper check which is available in the Bursar's office at the start of the semester. Note: first time borrowers must wait until mid-semester for check. For additional information, contact the Bursar's Office.
Class Audit A student who chooses to visit a course with full cost and without receiving a grade or credit. For additional information, contact Admissions.
CODO CODO is an acronym for Change of Degree Objective. Students seeking to declare a change of major should complete a CODO form. For additional information, contact an academic advisor.
Conditional Admission Conditional Admissions is a code given to students who do not meet PNC's enrollment requirements; these students are expected to complete 12 credit hours with a grade of 'C' or better before having the conditional code removed. For additional information, contact Admissions.
Continuing Education A program within the university that provides credit and non-credit courses which are often taken for personal, non-vocational enrichment or for specialized training. For additional information, contact Continuing Education.
Co-requisite A course that is required to be taken at the same time as another course.
Counselor A person who provides guidance by helping students with academic advising, career information, and life-planning. For additional information, contact the Dean of Student's Office.
Credit Hour A credit hour is usually equivalent to one hour of class time during a given week and is a way to measure how much college work a student has completed or how many credit hours are needed to meet graduation requirements. For additional information, contact Admissions or your academic advisor.
Dead Week and testing Dead Week is the week before final exams. No course exams or tests should be given during Dead Week (with exception of lab exams) in order to allow students time to prepare for final exams.
Dean of Students This is the principal resource for the interpretation and regulation of policies and procedures as they apply to student life. This office provides services in academic advising, career counseling, disability accommodations, educational and personal counseling. For additional information, contact the Dean of Student's Office.
Deferment The form you fill out in order to acknowledge that financial aid payment (loans or scholarships) will arrive to PNC by the first day of the semester. This form needs to be completed for every semester. For additional information, contact the Financial Aid Office.
Direct Admission Direct Admission means that a student meets or exceeds PNC's enrollment requirements. For additional information, contact Admissions.
DISCOVER An online career skills test to offer guidance and information to help students make important career and educational decisions. For additional information, contact the Dean of Student's Office.
Distance Education A method of educating that does not take place in a traditional classroom setting and is facilitated through electronic transmission such as online courses. For additional information, contact an Academic Advisor.
Division Courses may be divided into divisions or sections, which may be offered at different times of day or different days of the week.
Drop/Add This is a 'time window' during which a student may change her/his semester schedule. For additional information, contact the Registrar's Office.
EFC An acronym for Estimated Family Contribution which refers to how much your family can contribute to your college costs, tuition, and books. For additional information, contact the Registrar's Office.
Elective An elective is a course students choose to take to fulfill their degree requirement, but the course does not need to fall into the major field of study. For additional information, contact the Registrar's Office.
Encumbrance Fee An additional fee charged to students who have not yet paid for the previous semester's bill or another miscellaneous item (i.e. printer units). For additional information, contact the Bursar's Office.
FACTS A payment plan you can sign up for online. This plan breaks remainder of tuition into manageable payments throughout the semester. For additional information, contact the Bursar's Office.
Faculty Members of the teaching staff at a college or a university, which may include, but are not limited to, lecturers, instructors, professors, and full professors.
FAFSA Free Application for Student Aid. It is a financial aid documentation that parents AND students (under 24) must complete to be identified as eligible for loans, grants, and or work study. For additional information, contact the Financial Aid Office.
Financial Aid Aid to assist paying for college which includes, loans, grants, scholarships and work study.
Financial Aid Probation When a student is at risk of losing financial aid, and different than academic probation, it is determined by a formula. If the number of classes completed with a passing grade divided by the number of classes attempted (including all withdrawals and F's) is less than 67%, then you are on financial aid probation. You have one semester to improve that percentage above 67% before not being able to use financial aid to pay tuition. For additional information, contact the Financial Aid Office.
Full-time Student This is a student enrolled for 12 or more credit hours per semester.
GPA This stands for Grade Point Average. It is calculated by dividing the sum of all index points by the sum of all corresponding semester hours. It is calculated either for a semester or for a student's entire period of matriculation. Index points are calculated from courses in which a student had earned grades of A, B, C, D, F and WF. For additional information, contact the Registrar's Office.
Graduation Audit A procedure in which the student's academic record is examined to assure that all university obligations and academic requirements have been met for a degree.
Grants Funds that do not need to be repaid as long as the individual stays within eligibility guidelines and are garnered from organizations and or the government. For additional information, contact the Financial Aid Office.
Honor Societies An organization of scholastic rank.
Intramural Sports Recreational sports played among students of the campus.
Lost/Found Items left somewhere on campus by students, staff, and faculty are taken to the campus police station to be claimed (found).
Matriculate To enroll as a member of a body at a college or university.
My PNC Portal This is a website allowing PNC personnel and students to gain access to SOLAR and WebCT, check email and view the latest calendar updates with one log-in. For additional information, contact Information Services Help Desk.
Non-Traditional Student This is a student who has been out of school five or more years, a student who is twenty-five years or older, a student who attends college part-time while holding a full-time or part-time job, a degreed student taking classes in pursuit of additional certifications or degrees, and a student who may have dependents such as children or elderly parents, etc.
Part-time Student This is a student who is enrolled for less than 12 credit hours per semester.
Pass/Fail Options A grade option (P/N) to receive credit without impact on the GPA: cannot be a major course requirement. Student must initiate this process through the Registrar's Office with course instructor and academic advisor's approval.
Plan of Study (POS) This is a four or five year plan of courses that will meet the requirements of the student's chosen degree. This plan can be created by the student and or with the assistance of an academic advisor.
PNC Assessment This is a test offered to new students to assess the level of reading, English, and or math in order to assist college advisors/personnel to register student for the appropriate courses. For additional information, contact the Student Success Center .
PNC Porter County (PPC) An off campus location in Valparaiso where classes are held. Enrollment Services are available on site.
Pre-requisite A course that students must successfully pass or demonstrate knowledge in before enrolling or taking a course.
Regional Campus Transfer This refers to a change of campus from a student's present campus to another within the Purdue University system.
Registrar's Office - This refers to an office on a university or college campus whose staff is responsible for maintaining and transferring all records and information pertinent to a student's academic achievement.
Resume A document that lists past education and work experience, as well as any important skills one might have. For additional information, contact Career Services.
SAR This stands for Student Aid Report and is a summary of a student's FAFSA information which reflects financial aid eligibility. For additional information, contact the Financial Aid Office.
Scholarship Award money that is applied to a student's tuition over one year. For additional information, contact the Financial Aid Office.
Sinai Forum A forum of professional speakers who discuss current happenings. This is free to PNC students. Open to the public with a paid ticket. For additional information, contact PNC-Porter County .
SOCAT A test out exam for C&IT 107 (Computer Literacy). The current cost is $50 and is offered throughout the year. For additional information, contact Continuing Education.
SOLAR An acronym for Student Online Academic Resources. Each student has access to her/his account. He/she may review any personal information, register for courses, conduct business with the Bursar's Office, and review financial aid information etc. For additional information, contact Information Services Help Desk.
SOLAR Registration The ability to register online with an advisor's clearance. For additional information, contact an academic advisor.
sSs Tutors Peer tutors who provide free one-on-one or group tutoring in a variety of subjects for sSs students. These tutors go through an intensive training program. For additional information, contact Student Support Services.
Student Government Elected by the student body, SG has 10 members, which includes a president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary who represents the student body on the PNC campus. For additional information, contact the Student Government.
Student Organizations (Clubs) Over thirty clubs are currently active at PNC. Clubs are sanctioned by the Student Government and must have a constitution, by-laws, club advisor, etc. Anyone interested in forming a group or participating should contact the Office of Student Activities.
Student Photo ID A card that serves as proof of an individual's status with Purdue North Central. For additional information, or to have a photo taken, contact the Media Services Department.
Student Success Center A location where students are able to access a variety of supplemental assistance and instruction; formerly known as the Learning Center .
Student Support Services (sSs) A federally funded program which assists students to meet the challenges of academic life, to make personal and career decisions, and participate in extracurricular activities. For additional information, contact Student Support Services.
Syllabus A course document provided by the instructor that describes the overall course content and expectations including, but not limited to, information such as instructor name, office hours, contact number, grading and course policies, etc. For additional information, contact course instructor.
TBA The abbreviation used for To Be Announced.
The Portals Contest An annual writing and art contest held at PNC. Entries are published in a paper literary journal entitled Portals.' For additional information, contact the English and Modern Languages Department.
The Voice The student newspaper written and organized by students. Editor and co-editors are paid positions. For additional information, contact the Office of Student Activities.
Traditional Student A full-time student between the ages of 18-24, who generally enrolls in college after graduating from high school.
Transcripts A copy of a student's academic record including courses taken and grades received. For additional information, contact the Registrar's Office.
Transfer Student A student who began college education at another college other than PNC. For additional information, contact Admissions.
Tuition The cost of course charges and fees, and does NOT include textbooks. For additional information, contact the Bursar's Office.
Tutors PNC students or faculty members who provide FREE assistance to other students in specific subjects. For additional information and tutor schedules, contact the Student Success Center .
University Village Apartments An off-campus housing development located directly across from PNC on Highway 421. Students and the community may rent apartments. The development is owned and operated by South Coast LLC. For additional information, contact University Village Apartments.
Vice Chancellor An assistant to the Chancellor.
Waitlist The list you request to be placed on when a class is full. If a seat opens in the class, an automatic update is completed and you are notified via email that you have been placed in the class. For additional information, contact an academic advisor.
Wash/Rinse Cycles The cancellation of a student's class schedule for non-payment or non-deferment of tuition. For additional information, contact the Bursar's Office.
WebCT The software that some instructors use for course information. Included could be quizzes, tests, grade book, chat lines and any homework or notes. For additional information, contact Information Services Help Desk.
Withdrawal To complete paperwork to withdraw from a class. For additional information, contact an academic advisor or the Registrar's Office. Refunds are time sensitive and students must submit completed paperwork to the Registrar's Office within the first few weeks of the semester. For additional information, contact the Registrar's Office, Bursar's Office, and Financial Aid Office.
Work Study A federally funded student aid program in which eligible students may earn up to $1000 per semester (for 2007-2008) working on or off campus. Monies are earned in the form of an actual paycheck, and not applied toward tuition. For additional information, contact Financial Aid or Career Services.
