College Glossaries:
By subject: Academic Terms | Financial Aid Terms | Greek Alphabet | Residence Life Terms
College Terms: I - R
- Instructor: An instructor is often someone who is teaching at a college or university but who does not have a PhD. They often, however, have quite a bit of experience in their fields and are otherwise very qualified. Treat an instructor like a professor, since their roles -- and power -- in the classroom are often the same.
- Living-Learning Community (LLC): These are becoming more and more popular on college campuses. An LLC is a community where students who live together also take one or more classes together. There are often events in the hall that connect to what is being covered in everyone's coursework.
- Loan: Money your school (or a bank, or even a relative) is giving you but that you must pay back at some point. Some loans have no interest; some loans don't collect interest until you graduate; some loans have terms that are connected to your plans after graduation (loans that are forgiven over time for teachers, for example).
- Mortarboard: The term “mortarboard” usually refers to the academic cap worn during graduation and other ceremonies. Additionally, at a college or university, “Mortar Board” may refer to a national student organization that recognizes the highest academic achievers on campus.
- Office Hours: Professors are usually required to hold office hours on a regular basis throughout the semester, which is when students are able to drop in or make an appointment to meet with them. Often, if you can't make it to a professor's office hours, you can work with them to schedule a different time that works for both of you. If you can take advantage of office hours, you should! It can be a great opportunity to get feedback on your papers or other assignments, and a great chance to get to know your professors a little bit better.
- Pedagogy: A theory about, or style or method of, teaching.
- Professor: Most students come from high schools where their teachers were called . . . teachers. In college, most of your "teachers" are called professors. This indicates that you are 1) in a college environment, and, more often than not, 2) being taught by someone with a PhD. Drop the "teacher" reference the moment you start unpacking!
- Provost: A provost is one of the highest-ranking people on campus. The provost traditionally serves as the Chief Academic Officer of a college or university. Typically the #2 person on campus, a provost is in charge of many aspects of an institution.
- Room and Board: The cost of having a place to sleep (room) and food to eat (board) while at school. If you choose to live on-campus, this is usually a preset fee. If you choose to live off-campus, this may be an estimate. This may also change a bit, depending on which meal plan you select.
- Resident Adviser (RA): Usually an undergraduate student, an RA is in charge of smaller sections of a residence hall. You can go to them for help with adjusting to college, problems with your roommates, and advice on just about anything.
- Residence Council (RC): A small governing body that serves as a student voice and helps make decisions and plan programs for your hall community; a Residence Council is frequently the same thing as a Hall Council (HC).
- Residence Hall Association (RHA): This is typically the same thing as a Hall Council (HC) or Residence Council (RC).
- Resident Coordinator (RC): This term is a bit more fluid than the other titles you’ll see in your residence hall, and can mean someone similar to a Hall Coordinator (HC) or an Area Coordinator (AC). They usually oversee an area of your residence hall, or an area of your campus. They have more responsibility than, and may sometimes supervise, Resident Advisers (RAs).
- Resident Director: Resident Director is often the same as an Resident Coordinator (RC).
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