College Vocabulary

As you move into and through your college experience, you’ll come across lots of terms and phrases that you might not be familiar with. We’re sharing some common college jargon here for you to reference as needed:

Advising/Advisor: The person who will help you know which classes you can take each semester. They can also help you find opportunities to learn outside the classroom.

Asynchronous: You complete the class and course work at your own pace (as long as you follow the due dates).

College (within a University): A college is where your major and (likely) required coursework are housed. For example, if your major is elementary education, you would take classes in the College of Education at Boise State University.

Course Catalog: List of all the programs, majors and minors available at the school and the classes needed to earn that degree. The catalog is specific to your starting year.

Discussion Class: Smaller class sizes with a mix of lecture and small group work, and likely in-class activities

FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (see Financial Aid Jargon cheat sheet)

Lab Class: Applying concepts you learn in lecture or discussion to hands-on, practical application

Lecture Class: Typically larger class sizes. The teacher is usually teaching the whole time as you take notes with little to no in-class activities.

Lower-Division Classes: Introductory coursework typically taken in your first and second year of classes. Many of these are prerequisite courses to upper-division classes.

Major: Your main area of study or focus of your degree

Minor: A secondary, smaller area of study that compliments your major

Office Hours: The hours professors/instructors make themselves available for you to meet with them

Prerequisites: Requirements you need to meet prior to taking a class. For example, I need to take ENGL 101 before I can take ENGL 102.

Professor or Instructor: This is who teaches your course. You don’t call them “teachers” in college.

Registrar: The office you go through for anything pertaining to registering for classes

Resident Assistant (RA): Often referred to as an RA, they live on your floor in housing and act as a mentor, resource and support, help build community, and help maintain safety in the residence hall.

Resident Director (RD): Often referred to as RD, they oversee all of the RAs and intervene for any major conflict or conduct issue. They work with the EAC for housing accommodations.

Student ID (and email): An ID and email specific for your school. You’ll likely need your student ID to access activities and sign up for necessary classes, financial aid, workshops, etc. All school and course communication will be through your student email.

Syllabus: Maps out your course, including instructor’s contact information, description of the course, course policies, materials information, major assignments, grading policies, attendance policies, etc.

Synchronous: Instruction for the class happens at the same time. For example, you may have MATH 157 on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9–10:15 a.m. in the Math Building. Another example, you may have PSYCH 101 on Thursdays at 2–4:45 p.m. via Zoom.

Transcript: A document that has courses taken, grades for each course, semester GPA, cumulative GPA, honors or awards. Official transcripts have to be ordered and are often required for a job, applying to graduate school, etc. Unofficial transcripts can be accessed at any time.

Upper-Division Classes: Advanced coursework typically taken in your junior and senior years of classes. They likely require a prerequisite class or other program requirements.