Glossary
Academic and Administrative Calendar. The UCSC official calendar that lists key academic and administrative dates, including deadlines.
Academic Information System (AIS). An integrated database combining all relevant student information from the Offices of Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid, and other campus units.
Academic Senate. The faculty assembly that oversees academic policy, curricula, degrees, evaluations, and other academic matters. Responsibilities are shared with key committees, such as the Committee on Educational Policy.
Academic standing. The state of a student’s progress toward graduation.
Add by Petition. The process for receiving credit for a course attended in the current quarter but for which the student failed to enroll.
Chancellor. The chancellor is the chief campus officer, with full responsibility for the campus’s organization and operation, its internal administration, and its discipline.
Class level. Freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior. The level is determined by the number of credits completed, not by the number of years in attendance. Students advance from freshman to sophomore level when they have passed 44.9 credits, from sophomore to junior standing when they have passed 89.9 credits, from junior to senior standing when they have passed 134.9 credits.
Concurrent enrollment. (1) Regular UCSC courses taken through University Extension by qualified students prior to admission to UCSC or after graduation. (2) A maximum of 5 credits required for graduation taken through University Extension by a regularly enrolled UCSC student. (3) Enrollment required in both a credit lecture and credit laboratory course.
Credit by Petition. A student may petition to obtain credit for a course by passing an appropriate examination or completing an appropriate body of work (Academic Senate Regulation 6.7). This is considered challenging a course and is in lieu of regularly attending a course and completing the assigned coursework.
Cross enrollment. A program that permits UCSC students who meet certain eligibility requirements to enroll in one course on a space available basis at a California community college or state university.
Division. An administrative grouping of academic disciplines. There are five UCSC divisions: Arts, Humanities, Physical and Biological Sciences, the School of Engineering, and Social Sciences.
Lapse of Student Status. Student status lapses (an administrative cancellation) when a student fails to enroll in classes by the end of the third week of the quarter. The student may petition for reinstatement.
Leave of absence. An interruption of studies for one or more quarters with definite plans to return. Not official until the Withdrawal/Leave of Absence petition is filed with the Registrar.
MyUCSC. Personalized, secure web site with links to access enrollment information, financial aid awards, account summaries, and address information.
Preceptor. Title applied to the several administrative officers of a college who have continuing responsibility for advising students. References to the preceptor in this book usually refer to the academic preceptor.
Provost. The chief academic officer of a college.
Readmitted student. One who registers in a regular term at UCSC after an absence of part or all of the preceding regular quarter. A re-entering student must file a Readmission Application with the Office of Admissions. (This does not apply to students on an official leave of absence.)
Registration. The enrollment in classes and the payment of required quarterly fees. Payment is made by various methods, including payment in full, payment via the Deferred Payment Plan, and payment by financial aid funds.
Sponsoring agency. The department, committee, college, or the division sponsoring a particular course.
Student Identification Number (SID). Each student is assigned a unique seven-digit student identification number.
Transfer credit. Credit taken at another collegiate institution which is transferable to UCSC. Students may wish to obtain copies of records from prior institutions for their own files.
Transfer credit evaluation. The Office of Admissions determines how many credits taken at other collegiate institutions are transferable to UCSC, which general education requirements have been satisfied, and whether the Entry Level Writing and American History and Institutions requirements have been satisfied. Once the transcripts have been evaluated by the Office of Admissions, students may access the information on MyUCSC.
Transfer student. A student who attended a college or university prior to registering for a regular quarter for the first time at UCSC.
University. The entire University of California system, including all 10 campuses and facilities and all academic and administrative units that function for the total system.
Withdraw “W” Grade. Students may file a request to withdraw from a course at the college, and receive a grade notation of W.
Withdrawal/Leave of Absence Petition. Students wishing to withdraw from the university must file a Petition for Withdrawal/Leave of Absence at their college.
Revised 10/10/12
