Mar 28, 2024  
2023-2024 Catalog & Student Handbook 
    
2023-2024 Catalog & Student Handbook

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Administrative Withdrawal: An administrative withdrawal occurs when an instructor or staff member has a student withdrawn from a course because of excessive absences, undue academic difficulty, or a serious non-academic issue.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

Asynchronous Classes: Classes that have no scheduled Zoom or on-campus meetings. Reliable internet access is required to complete course activities and assignments. Students will access course material using Canvas, and it will be made available on or before the first day of the class session. Regular weekly assignments with established due dates are provided in Canvas. 

Bimodal Classes: Classes that offer in-person meetings on either the Chester or Midlothian campus and synchronous meetings via Zoom. Students are required to attend classes on-campus or synchronously via Zoom on the specified days and times. Students may switch between these attendance options throughout the semester. Reliable internet access and a Zoom-capable device are required for synchronous instruction.  

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.

CCWA (Community College Workforce Alliance): 

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 the session, instructional modality, class times, location, course information and instructor information.

Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA): The workforce development partnership between Brightpoint and Reynolds community colleges, serving the training needs of the region with a comprehensive suite of programs, courses, and services. The partnership combines the strengths of the two colleges in order to provide the highest quality of training in four cities and 12 counties throughout Central Virginia.

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

Co-requisites: 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 (or Foundational and Support) Courses: Developmental/foundational/support courses assist students in developing basic math and English skills necessary to succeed in college transfer and career/technical courses.

Direct Enrollment: Process that simplifies and streamlines math and English placement utilizing a survey completed upon application and with the assistance of Navigators and Advising Center advisors.

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.

Face-to-Face Classes: Traditional, in-person classes that provide a face-to-face learning experience and meet at a regularly scheduled time and place. These classes may be located on either the Chester or Midlothian campus.   

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.

Foundational and Support Courses: See Developmental Courses.

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

Hybrid Classes: Classes that require in-person meetings at either the Chester or Midlothian campus on the specified days and times. Due to shortened in-person meetings, students must complete some required activities outside of class. Regular weekly assignments with established due dates are provided in Canvas. Reliable internet access is required.  

Hyflex Classes: Classes that offer students the choice of meeting in-person, in synchronous meetings via Zoom, or attending asynchronously and completing all coursework and assignments on Canvas. Students may switch between these attendance options throughout the semester. Reliable internet access and a Zoom-capable device are required for synchronous and asynchronous instruction. 

Major: A major is a group of specialized and elective courses required by the college in order to receive a degree or certificate. 

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

Non-credit: Short-term workforce, 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)

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 in a designated location on campus at a regularly scheduled time. 

Shared Services Distance Learning (SSDL) Program: A program where each participating Virginia community college is eligible to receive or deliver online courses from or to other SSDL member colleges. Brightpoint SSDL students have access to all Brightpoint Community College 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.  

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

Student email: 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 email account must be used for correspondence with faculty and staff. It is accessed through MyBrightpoint.

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.

Synchronous Classes: Classes that meet on specific days and times via Zoom. Your instructor will facilitate live online lectures and discussions. Attendance via Zoom is a required component of the course. Students may attend class from anywhere using a computer or mobile device. Reliable internet access and a Zoom-capable device are required.    

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

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.

Zoom: A video software platform used to provide synchronous remote instruction.