College Terms You Should Know

Academic Advisor

An academic advisor is a faculty member who guides and advises students in matters such as deciding on a major, developing a degree plan, and selecting courses. Each students is assigned an academic advisor.

AMSC Catalog

The AMSC Catalog contains information about academic programs (listing of programs of study, course courses and elective courses, etc) policies (attendance, withdrawals, testing, etc), andprocedures (dropping and adding courses, applying for financial aid, receiving disability accommodations)

Class Load

A normal class load is 12 to 18 credit hours of academic work per semester. However, in order to complete the 60 hours of the core curriculum in two years, students must enroll for at least 15 hours of credit per semester.

College Transcript

A College transcript is a history of a students academic experience, including courses taken, or transferred from other institutions

Course Program of Study (CPoS)

Course program of study/major (CPoS) is the process that is run to identify courses within a student's program of study/major. Courses that do not apply towards a student's program of study/major will be ineligible for federal financial aid.

Cumulative GPA

Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) refers to the overall GPA, which includes dividing the number of quality points earned in all courses attempted by the total degree-credit hours in all courses attempted in which a grade of "A", "B", "C", "D", "F" or "WF" has been received.

Credit Hours

Credit hours are the number of hours for which a student is given credit for completing a course. Credit hours are associated with the number of hours per week that he course is scheduled (i.e. Music Theory--3 credit hours, Calculus II-- 4 credit hours)

Degree Plan

A degree plan is a listing of the courses that you must take in completing your major in order to receive a degree from Atlanta Metropolitan State College.

Division Chairperson

AMSC has five academic divisions that are supervised and lead by a Division Chairperson. The academic divisions are Business, Humanities, and Fine Arts, Learning Support, Natural Science and Mathematics, and Social Science.

Good Academic Standing

Good Academic Standing refers to a cumulative grade point average that reflects acceptable academic progress for the number of credit hours you have attempted. Students who are not in good standing for three semester are suspended for one semester.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Grade point average (GPA) is the sum of the quality points earned (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0) divided by the numbers of hours attempted for courses taken during a semester.

Course of Study

Course of Study refers to to a series of courses in an academic division related to a specific field of study such as: Humanities and Fine Arts: English, Music etc; Social Sciences: Criminology, Psychology, Social Work, etc. See AMSC Catalog for other Courses of Study

Prerequisites

A prerequisite is a course that must be successfully completed prior to enrollment in another course (See the AMSC catalog for prerequisites.)

The Regents' Test

The Regents' Test assesses the competency level in reading and writing of all students enrolled in undergraduate transfer degree programs leading to the baccalaureate degree in University System of Georgia institutions.

Syllabus

A syllabus is an outline of information related to a course that is provided by an instructor. It is given to students at the beginning of the semester. It provides information such as the name of the textbooks, required projects, required reading and research, schedule of exams, and other information about the course.