Glossary of Terms

Academic Advisor

An academic advisor is a faculty or staff member assigned to assist you with your academic planning. This faculty or staff member can help you navigate the requirements for completing your degree, registering for classes, choosing a major, and choosing courses. Students who work closely with their advisors often avoid costly mistakes.

Add/Drop Period

This is a time period during which you may make changes to your schedule without any academic consequences. The period may be only a few days or may be as long as two weeks. Students may want to check with their academic advisor before making a major change to their schedule. Students should also be careful about adding a new course after too much time has passed and they may have missed vital material at the beginning of the course.

Course Registration

This is the process through which you sign up for your courses for the following semester. You are encouraged to meet with your academic advisor before registering for courses to be sure you understand your course requirements. Registration takes place online through Regis Hub. You will have a designated timeframe for when they may register for their classes.

Course Wait List

A course wait list is a system for being added to a class once it is full. If you attempt to register for a class that is already at capacity, you may be added to a waitlist for that class. If another student later drops that class or is removed, the student on the waitlist will be added to the roster.

Dean’s List

The Dean’s List is produced each semester and is a list of those students who meet a certain academic standard. It is the college equivalent of an honor roll.

Degree Audit

A degree audit is an analysis of your academic progress toward a degree. It helps you monitor where you are and what you still need to do to complete your requirements. A degree audit is an advising document that maps out degree requirements and compares them against your transcript. It is an important tool for academic planning and course selection. This should be used in conjunction your academic advisor.

GPA

Grade Point Average, aka GPA, is a way of calculating your overall grade average. Regis calculates grades on a four point scale with four being equal to an A. Therefore, a 4.0 is an A+, a 3.5 a B+, 3.0 a B and so forth.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP/504 Plan)

These are education plans put in place to support students in the K-12 system. In college, students do not have such plans. Instead, we provide accommodations that help ensure equal access. For more information, contact the Office of Student Accessibility Services (OSAS).

Major

An academic major is an area of study in which a student chooses to specialize. A student needs to complete the courses required for that major to complete a degree. Many of your courses in college will be related to a major.

Minor

A minor is a secondary field of interest after a student’s major. Minors require multiple courses in an area, but fewer courses than a major. A minor is optional.

Pre-Requisite

Pre-requisites are courses that you are required to take prior to registering for an upper level course. Many courses may have no pre-requisites in order to take them.

Registrar

The Registrar is the office ultimately responsible for maintaining the permanent academic record for each student on campus. In addition to maintaining student records, this office is often also responsible for maintaining class lists and recording student grades.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Students receiving financial aid are required, per federal regulations, to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) towards their degree.

Syllabus

A course syllabus is an outline or overview of the course handed out by the instructor at the beginning of the course. The syllabus contains information about the course including requirements, expectations, textbook information, contact information for the instructor, objectives, assignments, and a daily schedule of assignments and topics.

Accommodated Testing Center

The Accommodated Testing Center is a space on the third floor of the Learning Commons reserved for students with documented disabilities to take exams. This area may be used as a study space for all students after hours.

Adirondack Portal

Adirondack is the Residence Life portal that provides access to housing assignment forms, information, and applications. This is where you will complete your “housing selection” process to choose where you will live each year. It is also the place where you will complete applications such as to express interest in staying late on campus if there is a housing break.

Baccalaureate

Annual tradition, part of Senior Week festivities, where graduating students and their families participate in a Mass, are blessed in their upcoming journey as graduates, and receive awards for their accomplishments in their time at Regis. Students wear academic regalia for this ceremony. Usually held the Friday before graduation.

Blue Lights

These lights, located throughout the campus, are marked by an easily seen blue light above them. These are emergency systems that connect to the Regis College Police Department.

Center for Ministry and Service

The Center for Ministry and Service, also referred to as Campus Ministry, CMS, and Ministry and Service. An office located in St. Joseph Hall Room 4 with the purpose of providing support to students through their years at Regis, providing opportunities for volunteer work, engagement, and spiritual formation.

Center for Student Engagement

The Center for Student Engagement is the office that oversees campus clubs and organizations, as well as organizes fun traditional, social, and co-curricular events for Regis students.

Convocation

Annual tradition that marks the beginning of the academic year, it is usually held the second Tuesday of the school year at 12:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center.

Hall Closings

Our residence halls have specific time frames in which they are closed to all residents for staff to complete health and safety inspections. For our Thanksgiving break, spring break, and Easter break, students are required to leave their residence hall while also making sure their space is clean, windows closed, and adheres to Regis policies. The same expectations must be met with winter break although students will also be required to unplug their refrigerators. All belongings do not need to be removed during these short periods of time. These important dates are noted on our website.

Health and Safety Inspections

The Office of Residence Life has Resident Assistant and Professional Staff conduct inspections of every housing assignment in our residence halls at scheduled times each semester as well as before every hall closing for breaks. These inspections include entering each housing assignment and viewing the space to confirm that it is adhering to Regis policies and procedures as outlined in the Regis Student Handbook.

Liturgy

Weekly Sunday Mass celebration, usually held at 5 p.m. in the College Hall Chapel - although it is in the Catholic tradition, all students are welcomed.

Meal Plan

A meal plan is an account for your meals while you are at college. At the beginning of the semester, students select the meal plan that they prefer. You can choose the number of meals per week that you wish to eat in the dining hall. You are then billed for the appropriate amount at the beginning of the semester. You select your meal plan through the Adirondack Housing Portal.

Peace Room

One of the many sacred spaces available to students on campus. It is located in St. Joseph Hall Room 3, behind the Center for Inclusive Excellence. It is a space where students of all religions (or no religion) are welcomed to pray and meditate in silence.

Regis Student Handbook

The Student Handbook is a document that outlines all policies, procedures, and expectations that students, both resident and commuter, on-campus or online, must adhere to. This is very important to review before arriving to campus so that students are aware of how to be a positive member of the community.

Resident Assistant (RA)

Resident Assistants are students who are resources for other students in the Residence Halls. Resident Assistants are trained student leaders responsible for overseeing a floor or part of a floor in the residence halls on campus. They can assist with questions and be a resource in case any issues arise. They are also responsible for enforcing university policies and rules.

Resident Director

A Residence Director is a professional, university employee responsible for the management and daily operations of campus residence halls. Resident Directors are either pursuing or have completed their undergraduate and graduate degree(s), who oversee the Resident Assistants and are responsible for managing the overall wellbeing of the Residence Hall. Residence Directors live in the hall that they oversee.

Service Trip

Unlike Study Abroad, Service Trips are short term week-long travel opportunities with the purpose of building community, allowing students to volunteer and serve, and to live the values of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Service Trip locations change each year. Past trips have included service in Los Angeles/U.S. Mexico Border, New Orleans, Kenya, Puerto Rico, and more.

Alternative Financing

Alternative financing consists of options to help families pay costs not covered by financial aid. These include Parent PLUS Loans for parent borrowers of dependent undergraduate students, Private Loans borrowed via outside lenders, and Payment Plans.

Award Letter

A term for the financial offer from the school stating the types and amounts of financial aid that the school will provide if the student enrolls.

Bursar’s Office

The office at Regis that oversees your student account as it relates to paying for college. The bursar sends out your bill for each semester and is a resource located in the Center for Student Services on the second floor of College Hall.

FAFSA

FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is the starting point for almost all financial aid and needs to be completed each year.

Federal Direct Loans

A Federal Direct Student Loan is a type of aid funded by the federal government, is borrowed money, and must be repaid.

Grants and Scholarships

Grants and scholarships are a type of aid that do not need to be repaid and can be merit or need based.

Student Loan Requirements

Students planning to borrow a Federal Direct Loan (Subsidized or Unsubsidized) must complete and sign a Master Promissory Note (loan agreement) and Entrance Counseling, an online session to inform you of your rights and responsibilities when borrowing.

Verification

A process used to verify the information on submitted on the FAFSA. Students are selected either randomly, or due to conflicting data on the application.

Work Study

Work study is the portion of your financial aid package with a dollar amount containing how much you can earn through a part-time job on campus. Funds are provided to the university by the federal government to be distributed to students who have jobs on campus.