Glossary

Administrative Withdrawal: An administrative withdrawal occurs when an instructor or staff member has a student withdrawn from a course because of excessive absences, undue academic difficulty, or a serious non-academic issue.

Apply for Admission: The process of applying for entrance to the College in order to take courses. Admission applications are not required for non-credit programs.

Canvas: Canvas is a Web-based learning management system (LMS) designed to support online courses and provide a space for additional materials to supplement a face-to-face course. Canvas provides many tools and features that enrich the learning experience.

Career Studies Certificate (CSC) Program: A program of study that consists of between 9 and 29 semester credit hours.

Catalog: The Catalog includes information about admission to the College, enrollment, degrees and certificates, and academic policies.

Certificate Program: A program of study less than two years in length that consists of between 30 and 59 semester credit hours or a short-term, non-credit program through the Community College Workforce Alliance.

Class Schedule: The class schedule lists all the courses available for each academic semester including class times, location, course information and instructor information.

Concurrent Enrollment: When a high school or home school student enrolls in college-credit bearing courses at the College.

Co-requisites are courses that must be taken at the same time. For example, EMS 120  is a co-requisite for EMS 111 . In some cases, a student may be permitted to complete the co-requisite course prior to the other course.

Credit/credit hour: Each semester hour of credit given for a course is based on a specified number of minutes of formalized, structured instructional time with a total of 750 minutes of instruction being equivalent to 1 (one) credit hour. Courses may include lecture (instruction, discussion), laboratory (including clinical training, studio, or internship), out-of-class study/activities or a combination thereof depending on the discipline. (See VCCS Policy 5.3.0.2.)

Curricular student: A student who has satisfied all College admission requirements and has been placed in a degree or certificate program.

Declaring a Major (Curriculum/program placement): A major represents a degree-seeking student’s primary field of study. A student must formally commit to a major, and successfully complete the courses prescribed in order to earn that certificate or degree.

Degree Program: A degree program consists of a minimum of 60 semester credit hours and will take a full-time student two years to complete.

Developmental Courses: Developmental courses assist students in developing basic math and English skills necessary to succeed in college transfer courses and career/technical courses.

Drop: Students may drop classes and receive a full tuition refund through the first 15 percent of the semester or term. There are no academic consequences from this action, but there may be financial aid repercussions for this drop if the student no longer meets financial aid qualifications. The course will show on the student’s registration history as dropped but will not post on any unofficial or official transcripts and does not count as attempted credit.

Dual Enrollment: Provides high school students the opportunity to take college-credit bearing courses taught by College-approved high school teachers.

Enroll: Officially register as a participant/student in one or more courses.

Faculty Advisor: A faculty advisor provides academic advising and support to students within their discipline by helping them understand options, locate resources and, when necessary, identify alternatives. Once a student declares their major, they are assigned a faculty advisor.

FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

FERPA: FERPA stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. FERPA protects the privacy of student education records. All educational institutions that receive federal funding must comply with FERPA.

Full-time student: A student enrolled in courses totaling 12 or more credit hours in a semester.

Major: A major is a group of specialized and elective courses required by the College in order to receive a degree or certificate. Typically, as many as half of the courses are related to the specific area of study.

Math Module: Developmental mathematics is divided into nine topics called modules. Based on placement test results, students only complete the modules that cover material they have not already mastered and that are required for their major.

myTyler: A web portal that allows students to access Canvas, the Student Information System, student e-mail, library services, and the Virginia Education Wizard from one location, using one login.

Non-credit: Short-term professional and personal development courses offered through the Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA). All classes offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Continuing Professional Education (CPE). The number of CEUs awarded depends upon successful course completion and varies according to course length. For each hour of actual instruction, 0.1 CEU is awarded. For CPEs, students simply need to request them from CCWA before class.

Non-curricular student: A student who is not formally placed into one of the college’s majors but who is classified according to one of the following student goals or conditions:

• updating employment skills for present job
• developing skills for new job
• career exploration
• personal satisfaction and general knowledge
• transient student
• non-degree transfer student
• high school student (with college approval only)
• general or curricular requirements pending (with college approval only)

Online Course:

 In this mode of instruction, all coursework and interactions with the instructor and classmates are completed online. Online courses are recognizable in the course schedule by the “N” designation in front of the section number.  

The college also offers online courses through Shared Services Distance Learning (SSDL). SSDL courses are offered in partnership with other participating community colleges within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS).  The SSDL program allows JTCC students to earn credits while taking select online courses from other VCCS community colleges.  SSDL students have access to all JTCC student services as well as student services provided by the community colleges delivering the courses.  SSDL courses follow the delivering community college’s academic calendar. Please review course notes for start and end dates.  

Part-time student: A student enrolled in courses totaling less than 12 credit hours in a semester.

Pre-requisite: A pre-requisite indicates the knowledge and skills that a student must possess before taking the present course. For example, ENG 111  is a pre-requisite to ENG 112  and must be successfully completed prior to beginning ENG 112 .

Seated Course: A seated course is a traditional, in-person class that provides a face-to-face learning experience. Seated classes meet at a regularly scheduled time. Seated courses do not have any special designation in the course schedule.

Specialization: A specialization is an area of concentration within an approved major, varying from the parent major by 9-15 credit hours.

Student E-mail: After a student applies for admission to the college and enrolls in a class, a college email address is assigned to them. Once assigned, the college e-mail account must be used for correspondence with faculty and staff. It is accessed through MyTyler.

Student Information System (SIS): The Student Information System allows students to complete tasks such as registering for classes, paying tuition/fees, accessing personal information, viewing financial aid, viewing final grades, viewing/printing unofficial transcripts, and so much more.

Syllabus: A syllabus is an outline of course topics, objectives, and a summary of course policies. It is a contract between the instructor and their students, designed to answer students’ questions about the course and the instructor’s expectations.

Transient Student: A transient student is a student who is enrolled in another college or university, but takes a course at John Tyler Community College.

Videoconference Course: This is a method of holding meetings that allows students who are in different cities, countries, etc., to hear each other and see each other on computer or television screens. Class meetings are scheduled just like seated classes, but the instructor is connected to the class by a video network. Additional instruction may be in Canvas, Zoom, or other sources.

Video-enhanced Classes: Video-enhanced classes combine live video instruction and independent online learning. Students meet weekly in Canvas or Zoom with their instructor on the assigned day and time.

Virtual classes: Virtual class interact on their own schedules using discussion boards, weekly assignments, and other assignment submission technologies.

Withdraw: An academic withdrawal from a course occurs when a student removes themselves from a course after the drop period has passed but before the first 60 percent of the semester or term. There may be financial/financial aid repercussions for this withdrawal. The academic consequences from this action include receiving the grade of “W” for the course, which will appear on any unofficial or official transcripts. A grade of “W” will not impact your GPA and does not count as completed credit toward your degree.