Rutgers Glossary

University Terminology and General Terms

College has a vocabulary of its own, and this list has been created to help as you begin to navigate the college experience.

 

Academic Terms

 

Credits - All courses at the 100 level and above are considered credited and count towards a student’s overall credit total and GPA.  Most courses are worth 3 credits, with labs worth 1 credit.  A student with 12 credits is considered full time.  Ideally to remain on track for graduation within 4 years a 15-credit semester is necessary (30 credits a year * 4 years=120 credits).

 

Dean:  The Assistant Deans.  They work closely with the student body and administrative units to assist students.  Duties include Graduation, handling special student populations (athletes, probationary students, etc), and student advisement for classes.

 

There is also the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs Dr. Joseph Schiavo, who handles the Scholastic Standing Committee and other responsibilities.

 

Graduation - Students need to complete three areas for Graduation: 120 Credits, all major requirements, all general education requirements.  Additionally, students must complete the diploma application during the appropriate time frame.  Final certification of all degrees is done by the Office of Academic Advising in concert with the department chairs.

 

Registration Information

 

Course Number - An identifier used for every course

 

 

Index Number - A five digit number unique to each course

 

Overload - students must have approval to register for 19.5 or more credits; the requirements vary depending on number of credits sought. Students must complete the appropriate form and have it signed before they will be able to enroll in additional courses, known as the Course Overload form.  This is not available to first semester Rutgers students (both new students and new transfer students), as they of yet do not have a Rutgers GPA.

 

If a student has declared a major, this form is approved and signed by the departmental advisor, department chair, associate dean, or dean (depending on the no. of credits and cumulative gpa — see form for details).  If a student has not declared a major, the form is signed by the associate dean.

 

Placement Testing - Arranged by the Office of New Student Programs.  For three areas:  English, Math, and Foreign Language.  They are necessary for courses in those aforementioned areas unless the student has transferred in the equivalent.  Results can be found in Degree Navigator at the very bottom under Placement after clicking on “My Course List.”  Students register online for placement exams, which are offered all year.

 

Pre-requisite override forms may be required for registration for a variety of reasons:

Registration Dates - For current Rutgers students, Registration for the next semester opens during two periods of the academic year:

Summer registration information is released during the Spring semester, usually in February

 

Students are able to register for classes up until the end of the add/drop period of the next semester.  The exact dates can be found on the academic calendar; additionally the Office of the Registrar emails all students information on registration.  Typically a month before registration occurs, the schedule of classes for the upcoming semester is released.

 

Repeat Option - students receiving a D or F in a course designated may repeat the course. All attempts at a course will be shown on a student’s transcript.  Students can use this option up to three times for three different courses.  The previous grade is ignored when computing the GPA, and only the new grade will be used.  The credits are only counted once.  Students must notify the Office of the Registrar before registering for the course that they need the repeat option attributed to their course.  Otherwise, both grades for the course will be averaged.  This is not used for courses with a “W,” that is withdrawn, since they never completed the course and received a grade for it.  There will be an “R” in the special codes section under “My Course List” in Degree Navigator.

 

Special Permission Number:

 

Special permission numbers are course/section related.  These numbers are needed by students to register for a course that is closed.  Additionally some courses specific to a Major will require either the special permission of the department or the instructor.  This information can be found on the Schedule of Classes when clicking on the course.

 

If a student is interested in a closed course, they must contact the Professor teaching the course (not a Dean!) and ask for a special permission number.  Asking for a special permission number is not a guarantee that they will receive one. Their request can be denied

 

Special permission numbers are course/section specific and may only be used once.  They cannot be shared among students.

 

Withdrawal Dates

Academic Standing

 

Academic Dismissal: 

 

The Scholastic Standing Committee may direct for students to be dismissed from the college if they fail to meet the conditions of their probation or continued probation status.  If a student wishes to return, they must complete the appropriate form.  Details regarding this can be found on form.

 

Academic Probation:

 

All students who have a cumulative grade point average of under a 2.00 at the end of either the Fall or Spring terms are placed on academic probation. This is provided that the student was either in his/her first term at Rutgers or had a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.00 at the conclusion of the prior full academic term. Students are sent a letter to their home address on file with the university notifying them of their academic probation status for the upcoming semester.

 

All students also will have an academic hold placed on their registration privileges and will only be able to make changes to their registration by visiting one of the Assistant Deans in the Academic Advising Office.

 

Students will be removed from academic probation if their cumulative grade point average is at least a 2.00 at the conclusion of the probation term.

 

Students on academic probation who do not earn a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.00 at the conclusion of the probation term will either be dismissed from the university or placed on continued probation dependent of the decision of the Faculty Committee on Scholastic Standing. Students will be notified in writing as to the decision.

 

Students who were on academic probation and who failed to raise their cumulative grade point average to at least a 2.00 may be placed on continued probation as opposed to being dismissed. Students are sent a letter to their home address on file with the university notifying them of their continued probation status for the upcoming semester.

 

Academic Warning:  All students who earned a term grade point average of below a 2.00, and who have a cumulative grade point average of a 2.00 or higher are placed on academic warning. Students are sent a letter to their home address on file with the university notifying them of their academic warning status for the upcoming semester.

 

Students will be removed from academic warning once they achieve a term grade point average during the next full academic term (either Fall or Spring) of at least a 2.00 provided that their cumulative grade point average is at least a 2.00 as well.

 

Scholastic Standing Committee - a judicial committee who oversees student progress, academic standing, and reviews the following petitions: Appeal for Academic Forgiveness, Appeal for Readmission, and Retroactive withdrawal.  These forms are submitted to our office.

 

 

Online Services:

 

Degree Navigator - A course auditing system used to assist in course planning.  Though helpful, it has quirks one must keep in mind while using.  Often students are under the impression Degree Navigator is the single authority on all requirements, though it is more of a guide.

 

My Rutgers - A gateway containing many useful links to various services including different campus offices, grades, course schedules, and email.  Students are notified of different alerts through this program, such as immunization holds.

 

Re-enrollment Application - Former Rutgers Students are able to return at any time to continue taking classes at Rutgers, but first they must complete this application. This pertains to any student who was not actively enrolled in classes for one or more semester, students who have graduated, or students looking to obtain a second degree.  Their student account is placed in an inactive state, and the re-enrollment application re-activates it.  For example, if they had attended Fall 2013, but did not attend Spring 2014, they would have to re-enroll for the Fall 2014 semester.  Re-enrollment is only for the Fall and Spring semester, as you do not have to be a Rutgers student to register for classes during the Summer or Winterim.  It is mandatory for all re-enrolled students to meet with an Academic Advisor after the date set (it will be in their email); they do not meet beforehand (even though some feel very strongly about this).  Students must pay strict attention to deadlines, as applications are not approved after it has passed.

 

Sakai - An online platform used by many courses which provides information on the course, grades, course work, etc…

 

Schedule of Classes - found through sis.rutgers.edu/soc.  You do not need any login information to utilize this.  Can be used by students on probation to view classes.  Additionally, this is what is initially released by the Office of the Registrar

 

School to School Transfer - Currently enrolled undergraduate students working toward a degree who wish to apply for admission to another school within the university should submit the online school-to-school transfer application at: https://www.ugadmissions.rutgers.edu/schooltoschool/

 

The following general eligibility requirements must be met:

School-to-School Transfer Procedures

Webreg - The bread and butter application used to add, drop, and withdraw from courses, accessible through a netid or RUID.  The following groups of students are unable to use this application:

 

Other:

 

Academic calendar - the academic calendar can be found on the registrar’s website: http://registrar.camden.rutgers.edu/calendars-catalogs. Our campus offers courses in the Fall, Spring, Summer, and Winter.

 

Access to Online Transcripts - Grades will not be given out over the phone, via email, or FAX.  The way students may find out their grades for a given semester after the end of the final exam period is to use the Online Grades Report. Grades are available approximately 48 hours after the final exam has been completed. Please note that the Online Grade Report may only be accessed with a valid NetID and Password. Mid-semester warning grades are also displayed on the Term Grade Report for undergraduate students.

 

Dean of Students - deals with a lot of “extenuating circumstances” type issues. Dean DiValerio’s office (located in the campus center) provides supportive services, advocacy, and education in an effort to ensure students to be successful both personally and academically. The Dean of Students Office also responds to student emergencies and crisis situations and serves as a resource to faculty and staff who have concerns about students. This office deals with problems generally beyond our scope.

 

Revision of Transfer Credit - The office on campus that evaluates college credit from outside of Rutgers University is the Office of New Student Programs (225-6689/campus center). Students who finished an associate’s degree in arts or sciences (not “Applied” arts or science) from a Jersey two-year school also should make sure their most recent transcript from the two-year institution claiming the student completed their degree is on file with the ONSP.

 

SAP Plan - Academic Progress is a requirement for all students receiving Federal, State, or University assistance while enrolled at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

Financial aid recipients must meet both a "qualitative" and a "quantitative" standard to maintain eligibility for aid. The qualitative standard is determined by the student's cumulative grade point average (GPA) at a specific grade level. The quantitative standard is based on a student's completion rate, or the successful completion of a minimum number of credits of the total credits attempted for each term of attendance at the University.

Advising deans will discuss SAP plans with students. Meetings generally take a full 30 minutes. GA’s do not meet with students to discuss SAP plans.

 

Scholarships and Financial Aid - Financial Aid is located in Armitage (225-6039). They can talk to students about grants, scholarships, loans, FAFSA, etc. Students receiving aid are encouraged to consult with them when planning to make adjustments to their schedule.

 

Term Bill - includes tuition, fees, etc., and they are handled by the Bursar’s Office in Armitage (225-6021). We do not deal with billings in our office. Sometimes students may have financial holds if they failed to pay a term bill, and those can be settled with Bursar’s.

 

Transient Credit - Matriculated students at Rutgers-Camden are expected to take all their courses at Rutgers-Camden, unless they receive permission in advance to take a course at another institution. Exceptions will not normally be given for courses needed to meet general curricular requirements. Exceptions may be granted if a student has only one term before graduation and needs a course that is not being offered during that term, or when a student’s major department authorizes taking an advanced or specialized course not available at Rutgers-Camden. Lower tuition, scheduling convenience, or traveling distance are not sufficient cause for taking courses elsewhere.

Form is on advising website: http://advising.camden.rutgers.edu/files/2012/07/TRANSIENT-FORM.pdf