Words and terms you should know
A.A. - Associate in Arts. A general degree offered at PC in a variety of majors.
A.S. - Associate in Science. A degree in a math/science-related major offered at PC.
Advisor - Someone who assists students in developing a program of study within a major of his/her expertise.
Assessment - Tests in reading, writing, and math used for placement.
Bachelor’s degree - A degree granted by four-year colleges and universities.
Catalog - Official Porterville College publication with information about majors, regulations, and policies.
Certificates of Achievement or Completion Certificates - are awarded after completion of requirements in a specific technical or vocational area of study.
Class schedule - A listing of courses offered each term. It includes class hours, instructors, and room assignments. It is published each term.
Closed/Open classes - Closed class: no seats left - enrollment has reached capacity. Open class: seats remaining - enrollment has not reached capacity.
Community Service classes - Fully feefunded classes that carry no college credit value.
Counselor - A professional staff member assigned to assist students with personal, career, and educational planning and development.
Credit by Examination (challenge a class)- To receive credit without having to take the class.
Credit/No-Credit grading - A grading system allowing a course to be taken for a grade of credit/no credit, rather than for a letter grade of A,B,C,D,F.
Electives - Courses taken by the student which do not fulfill any specific requirement but provide units toward graduation.
Full-time student - A student enrolled in 12 or more credits.
General Education or Breadth - Certain groups of courses required of all degrees regardless of major.
Lower Division - The first 2 years of college work, i.e. freshman, sophomore. Only lower division work is offered at a community college.
Major - The major field of study a student plans to pursue, i.e. Business, Criminology. Major requirements are listed in the college catalog.
Prerequisite - A requirement which must be completed prior to enrollment in a course. If required, it is listed in the course description in the catalog.
Transcript (record) - Offi cial copy of a student’s record produced by Admissions and Records.
Transfer course - Courses numbered 100- 299 are transferable. At the end of each course description in the catalog it will note if the course is transferable to a UC or CSU.
Waiting List - You can request to be placed on a waiting list for a closed class. Waiting list students must show up for class the first day to be considered.