Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Student Handbook 
    
2022-2023 Student Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Definitions


symbol - Used to designate courses that satisfy the minimum general education degree requirements at all TBR institutions. A detailed listing for all TBR schools is available on the TBR web page (https://www.tbr.edu/academics/general-education-courses-community-colleges).

ACT Test - The ACT test is designed to assess high school students’ general educational development and their ability to complete college level work. The tests cover four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning.

Academic Calendar - Important dates, such as official registration, early registration, drop deadlines, holidays and exams that are located in the front of the catalog.

Accuplacer - An optional standardized test that may be used to challenge Learning Support placement.

Admission - The acceptance of an applicant for enrollment.

Advisor - A faculty member or Success Coach who meets with designated students each semester to help make curriculum choices and discuss progress toward achieving educational and career goals.

Advisory Committees - Groups of business and community representatives who make curriculum recommendations for career/technical programs.

Articulation Agreement - A curriculum agreement between CSCC and a four-year college or university to satisfy degree requirements both at CSCC and at the receiving four-year institution.

Associate of Applied Science Degree - The degree awarded upon completion of a two-year career/technical program. This degree is designed for students who seek immediate employment after graduation and is generally not designed for transfer to a four-year university.

Associate of Arts Degree - The degree awarded upon completion of the core curriculum for the associate of arts degree. It differs from an associate of science degree because it requires six hours of an intermediate foreign language sequence. This degree is generally designed for students who intend to transfer to a four-year institution to complete requirements for a bachelor of arts degree.

Associate of Fine Arts Degree - The degree awarded upon completion of the core curriculum for the associate of fine arts degree. This degree is generally designed for students who intend to transfer to a four-year institution to complete requirements for a bachelor of fine arts degree.

Associate of Science Degree - The degree awarded upon completion of the core curriculum for the associate of science degree. This degree is generally designed for students who intend to transfer to a four-year institution to complete requirements for a bachelor of science degree.

Audit (AU) - Indicates that the student elected to enroll in the course for no grade or credit. Audits do not replace grades previously issued. Students may register to audit courses beginning with the first day of classes for a given term.

Bad Check Handling Fee - This fee is the amount assessed students who write checks which are later returned to the college from a bank because the bank refuses payment.

Campus Access Fee - A nonrefundable fee charged to all students, faculty and staff for access to the campus and its facilities.

Cancelled/Cut Classes - Classes that are cancelled by the college due to low enrollment. Students are not financially responsible for cancelled classes.

Classification - A student’s status (i.e., freshman, sophomore, special, transient) in respect to progress toward the completion of a curriculum based upon the number of course credit hours attained.

College Locations - In addition to the main campus, courses and services are provided at the McMinn Higher Education Center located at 2345 Denso Drive, Athens and at the Monroe County Center located at 121 Grand Vista Drive, Vonore.

Concentration - At a community college, the student’s primary field of interest.

Continuing Education - Non-credit courses offered for business, professional or personal development.

Continuing Student - A student who has not been separated from the college more than three semesters and continues enrollment. To continue enrollment after being separated from the college three or more semesters, readmission is required.

Corequisite - A course that must be taken at the same time as another course.

Course - A subject or class in which instruction is offered within a given period of time for a semester and for which credit toward a degree is given.

Course Load - The course load is the total number of credit hours in which a student is enrolled for a semester.

Credit Hours or Semester Hours - A credit hour is the unit of measurement used to indicate the amount of work represented in achieving intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement. In general, one credit hour represents one hour of classroom or faculty-directed instruction and a minimum of two hours out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester, or the equivalent amount for a different amount of time or activity as established by the institution.  The full policy is available at: http://www2.clevelandstatecc.edu/about/policy-manual/policy-2-00-00-02.

Curriculum - The complete inventory of courses offered for study for a specific degree or program.

Deferred Payment - A payment plan which allows payment for fees in three or four payments.

Degree - The official recognition for completion of a curriculum.

Diagnostic Testing - Testing to determine the beginning level of learning support when ACT scores or Accuplacer scores are not at the required minimum college level.

Distance Learning - Courses that are delivered in an alternative format that include two-way audio/video, telecourses, videotape and Web-based options. It is designed for students who need flexibility in scheduling and instructional methods.

Dual Credit - Courses taught at high schools by the high school teacher with an articulation agreement between the high school and Cleveland State that gives the student an opportunity to earn college credit at Cleveland State.

Dual Enrollment - Courses taught by instructors who have been approved by Cleveland State to teach college courses on our campus, at a high school or via other delivery for college credit.

Early Registration - The earliest opportunity to register for classes via the Web. Check the academic calendar located in the catalog or schedule of classes for dates.

Elective - A subject or course from which a student may choose that is required for a specific degree program.

Fees - The amount of money owed for courses taken. Fee payment deadlines must be met to prevent schedules being dropped.

Freshman - Classification of degree-seeking students having accumulated less than 30 college-level credit hours.

Full-time Student - A student enrolled in 12 or more credit hours of coursework in a given semester.

Grade Point Average (GPA) - An average obtained by dividing the total number of grade points (A-4; B-3; C-2; D-1) earned by the total number of hours of coursework attempted. The college-level GPA does not include grades earned for Learning Support courses.

Grant - Financial assistance that does not have to be repaid.

High School Equivalency (HSE) Diploma - An alternative credential that can be earned when a student does not have a regular diploma from an accredited high school. Testing includes 5 subjects and all are timed. The state of Tennessee approves the GED test and the HiSET test as approved high school credentials that are earned in Tennessee. Colleges may accept other state approved high school credentials.

High School or GED Equivalency Requirement - Requirement for applicants to provide proof of high school graduation or appropriate equivalency test scores, as defined by state regulations.

Holds - A block that prevents students from registering, receiving transcripts and/or receiving financial aid awards. Holds can be placed on student accounts for various reasons, including failure to meet requirements, or outstanding parking tickets or library fines.

Identification Card Replacement - There is no charge for the initial student identification card required of all students. Replacement cards are made at a cost of $5.00 each.

Incomplete (I) - Indicates that the student has not completed all the work of the course for a reason acceptable to the instructor. A student must resolve the incomplete within eight weeks from the beginning of the succeeding semester, excluding summer. Unresolved incomplete grades will become an “F” on the student transcript. Students requesting an “I” grade must complete the Incomplete Agreement Form with the instructor.

Institutional Academic Scholarship - Scholarship awarded to high school seniors who have demonstrated meritorious performance.

Job Placement - The Work-Based Learning Coordinator provides job placement services to help career/technical graduates find jobs after graduation and help current students find jobs while enrolled.

Late Registration Fee (Non-refundable) - This is the amount which must be paid if a student fails to complete registration during the day or days specified for this purpose.

Learning Support Program - A program of studies in various areas designed to give the student background prerequisite to college level studies to include English/writing, mathematics and reading.

Loan - Financial assistance that must be paid back, usually within a specified time.

Major - The student’s program of study. Students whose primary goal is to transfer to a four-year college or university should enroll in the college transfer/university parallel program. Students whose primary goal is to seek immediate employment after graduation should enroll in a career/technical program.

Matriculated - To admit or be admitted into a college.

Maximum Credit Load - A student may register for up to 20 credit hours per semester. Any schedule with more than 20 hours must have signed approval of one of the academic deans.

No Pass (NP) - A grading option that indicates a student did not earn credit in a particular course. This grade is not computed in the grade-point average. Students may not change from the P/NP option to another grading option once this option has been exercised.

Non-credit Course - Any course that does not offer college credit upon completion.

Out-of-state Tuition - An additional fee charged to students who are classified as non-state residents of Tennessee and are enrolled in courses for credit or audit. This fee is in addition to the maintenance fee(s).

Part-time Student - A student enrolled in less than 12 credit hours of coursework in a given semester.

Pass (P) - A grading option that indicates that the student has successfully completed a course. Credit indicated by “P” counts toward meeting graduation requirements but has no effect on the QPA.

Prerequisite - A course requirement that must be met before enrolling in a particular course.

Principal Scholarship - Scholarship awarded to high school seniors who have demonstrated meritorious performance and are nominated by the high school principal of the school the student attended.

Proficiency (PR) - A grade that the student earned by taking a proficiency examination. Effective with the 2001-2002 catalogs, a grade of “A” or “B” will be assigned and will be computed in the QPA.

Quality Point Average - The scholastic standing and progress of a student is expressed in terms of a Quality Point Average (QPA), which is calculated for the semester and cumulatively. The semester QPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points by the total number of quality hours (excluding withdrawals) attempted during the semester. The cumulative QPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points earned by the total number of quality hours (excluding transfer hours and withdrawals) during the student’s entire academic career.

Readmission - A student returning to the college after an absence of three or more consecutive semesters. A new application is required.

Registration - Announced opportunities for students to register for classes.

Repeated Course (RE) - Indicates that the student has completed a course. When computing the QPA of a student who has repeated one or more courses, the college will count only the last grade received in the repeated course(s) and count hours attempted only once provided that the number of repeats in any single course does not exceed two (three attempts totaled). If a student repeats a course more than twice, the grade in the third and subsequent attempts shall be used in determining the QPA.

Residency - Upon admission to Cleveland State Community College, students are classified as resident or non-resident for fee payment purposes by the Office of Admissions in the Enrollment Services Center. For additional information, contact the Enrollment Services Center.

Schedule Adjustment Period - A designated time for students to add or drop courses without permission of instructor or dean. This is prior to the date at which a dropped course is assigned the grade of “W”.

Scholarship - Financial assistance that does not have to be repaid. Most scholarships have specific application criteria.

Semester - The 15-week period in fall and spring during which courses meet and final exams occur. There are also summer terms during which a student may complete a semester of coursework.

Special Student - Any non-degree seeking student.

Sophomore - A degree-seeking student who has completed 30 or more college-level credit hours.

Student Activity Fee - A nonrefundable fee charged to all students enrolled in credit courses at any site. This fee is used to support a variety of student activities.

Student Success Coach - Coaches new students through the transition to college and assists with admissions, financial aid, academic planning, advising and registration processes. The Success Coach serves as the freshman advisor for new degree or certificate seeking college students until the student transitions to their faculty advisor.

Syllabus - The outline of course objectives, contents and requirements.

Technology Fee - Fee established for the purpose of providing technology improvements.

Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR-The College System of Tennessee) - The governing board for 39 Tennessee institutions of higher education, including 13 two-year colleges and 26 Tennessee technology centers.

Tennessee Board of Regents General Education  - This symbol is used to designate courses that satisfy the minimum general education degree requirements at all TBR institutions. A detailed listing for all TBR schools is available on the TBR web page (https://www.tbr.edu/academics/general-education-courses-community-colleges).

TN eCampus - An accredited program delivered completely online by the Tennessee Board of Regents community colleges and participating locally governed public universities.

Traffic Fines - Fees charged to students, staff, faculty or visitors who receive a citation for illegal parking or other traffic violation.

Transcript - An official record of academic history, provided by high school or other colleges previously attended.

Transient - Any student who is regularly attending another college or university while taking courses at Cleveland State Community College for application to a degree at the home institution.

University Parallel Program - A curriculum designed for transfer to a four-year college or university after graduating with an associate of arts or science degree.

Video Courses - Courses whose instructional delivery uses videotaped instruction.

Web Courses - Courses whose instructional delivery uses the internet.

Withdrawn (W) - A grade indicating that a student has officially withdrawn from a course or courses during the official withdrawal period as published in the academic calendar. Courses dropped during this period will receive the grade of “W”.