Glossary

Use this glossary to look up terms that are unfamiliar to you.

Advisor/Counselor/Coach/Navigator	A person at a high school or college who assists a student with choosing their program of study or courses, and may perform a variety of other tasks including assisting with enrollment into classes or assisting with college transfer.
Associate degree	A degree granted for the successful completion of a program of study, usually requiring at least 2 years of full-time college-level study. The degree is usually a minimum of 60 credits.
Bachelor (or baccalaureate) degree	A degree granted for the successful completion of a program of study, usually requiring 4 years of full-time college-level study. The degree is usually a minimum of 120 credits.
Career Studies Certificate	A career studies certificate program is defined as a program of study of not less than 9 or more than 29 semester credit hours. Career studies certificate programs are not required to include general education.
Certificate	A certificate program is defined as a curriculum of study less than two years in length that consists of a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 59 semester credit hours. A minimum of fifteen percent (15%) of a certificate’s credit hour requirement shall be in general education and must must include one (1) three (3) credit hour English class.
Common Curriculum	A transferrable program of study at the VCCS colleges that is very similar across the 23 colleges and if started at one college, may be completed at another community college. Common curricula are incorporated into transfer guides.
Credit/Credit Hour	Each course is assigned a certain number of credit hours, usually corresponding to how often class occurs and the length of the class. Many classes earn a student 3 to 4 credit hours. To be considered full-time, a student must be taking at least 12 credits per semester.
Credit for Prior Learning	The process of awarding a student credit for competency in subject matter that has been achieved through previous academic study or occupational experience.
Degree	A degree is the final result of a college education. It’s awarded when a student earns a certain number of qualifying credit hours. Examples of degrees include Associate, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Business Administration, a PhD.
Diploma	A diploma program is defined as a two-year curriculum of study that consists of a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 72 semester hours with an emphasis in a career/technical area. Exceptions to credit hour limits must be justified on the basis of documented business and industry requirements or standards. A minimum of fifteen percent (15%) of a diploma’s credit hour requirement shall be in general education. The general education requirements must include one (1) three (3) credit hour English class.
Dual Enrollment	Coursework taken by high school students under the protection of an agreement between a public school or district and a public institution of higher education, wherein a student takes coursework that both (1) counts toward high school graduation requirements and (2) is designed to result in earned college credit.
Freshman/First-year	Varies by institution, generally a student who has graduated high school or completed GED, may have taken no more than 30 credits of college coursework.
Grade Point Average (GPA)	This is a reflection of your academic achievement at school. The GPA is updated after each term’s grades are finalized and reported. A low GPA can lead to academic probation and can jeopardize financial aid. Some colleges have a minimum GPA threshold for transfer admission.
Guaranteed Admission Agreement (GAA)	An agreement between a two- and a four-year institution according to which a student is guaranteed admission to the four-year institution by earning a transferable associate degree (or specified associate degree) and satisfying specified academic benchmarks and criteria. A GAA may guarantee general admission to the institution only, or to a specific program of study at the institution. Students transferring under a general admission GAA are not necessarily entitled to be admitted to a specific program.
Guaranteed Program Admission Agreement (GPAA)	An agreement between two- and four-year institutions guaranteeing students earning a transferable associate degree and reaching specified academic benchmarks admission to a specific program of study.
Industry Credential	A competency-based, industry-recognized, portable, and third-party-validated certification or occupational license in a high-demand field.
Passport	A 16-credit hour set of VCCS courses, in which all courses are transferable and shall satisfy a lower-division general education requirement at any public institution of high education in Virginia and many private institutions. Taken individually, Passport courses may, but are not guaranteed to, satisfy general education requirements at the receiving institution.
Program (of study) or major	The collection of courses to complete for a degree. This usually includes general education or core courses and discipline-specific major courses.
Transfer Credits	Credits that can be transferred from one school and applied toward a degree at another.
Transfer Guide	Designed by each four-year institution, a transfer guide provides course requirements and recommendations, along with additional guidance, for students planning to complete an associate degree and transfer to the four-year institution in a specific major.
Transfer Student	Generally, a student who starts at one college, and may or may not finish a degree, and then moves to another college. The courses completed with a C or higher should apply toward the next degree. The definition may vary by institution and may require a minimum number of college credits completed before transfer.
Uniform Certificate of General Studies (UCGS)	The Uniform Certificate of General Studies (UCGS) is a 30-31 credit program in which all courses are transferable and satisfy lower-division general education requirements at any Virginia public institution, and many private institutions, of higher education. Taken individually, UCGS courses may, but are not guaranteed to, satisfy general education requirements at the receiving institution.