College can be overwhelming at first, and you may hear new words that are not familiar from high school or are used in a different way. The following are generic definitions for some of the terms you might hear.
Academic Affairs: Academic Affairs is the part of a university that manages everything related to teaching and learning. This includes setting up courses, supporting professors and ensuring students get a good education.
Find out more about NIU's Academic Affairs.
Academic Probation: When a student's grades have fallen below a certain level their academic performance is closely monitored, often requiring them to improve their performance, and take other action to plan for improving their grades, to avoid more serious consequences like dismissal.
Learn more about Academic Probation at NIU.
Course credit: credit refers to the value assigned to a course indicating how much time and effort it requires. Course credit is typically earned upon successful completion of the course and contributes towards graduation requirements.
Department: A department is a unit that represents a specific area of study, like English, Biology, or Psychology, where students take classes and professors conduct research related to that field. Academic departments are organized into various colleges at a university, like the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, for example.
Learn more about Colleges, Schools and Departments at NIU.
General Education Courses: Sometimes called "gen eds" are courses that cover a broad range of subjects and are designed to develop essential skills in areas like writing, math, and the sciences. These are taken in addition to the classes you will take that are specific to your major.
Learn more about general education at NIU.
GPA: GPA, short for Grade Point Average, is a numerical representation of a student's academic performance, calculated by averaging the grades they receive in their courses.
Learn more about grade information at NIU.
Liberal Arts: Liberal arts refers to a broad range of subjects in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences that emphasize critical thinking, communication skills, and a well-rounded education.
Read more about Liberal Arts and Sciences at NIU.
Post-secondary: Post-secondary refers to any education you pursue after graduating from high school.
Provost: A provost is the senior academic administrator at a university, overseeing academic policies, curriculum, and faculty. They ensure the that the education and research and an institution is high quality.
Find out more about NIU's Provost.
Withdrawal: Withdrawing from a course means to officially drop it, typically before a certain deadline, so that it does not appear on your academic record and does not impact your GPA.
Read more about Academic Withdrawal at NIU.
