Center for Advising, Career and Student Success

Glossary of Academic Terms

ACADEMIC LOAD

Fulltime status is 12 units per semester, but students should complete 15 credits per semester to graduate in 4 years.

ACADEMIC PROBATION

Students falling below a 2.0 GPA in either the campus or cumulative GPA will be placed on academic probation.

ACADEMIC DISQUALIFICATION

Students on academic probation who fail to make satisfactory progress are subject to academic disqualification. Disqualified students are no longer eligible to enroll in CSUMB courses. Please see https://csumb.edu/policy/academic-standing-policy for more information.

BACCALAUREATE DEGREE (B.A. OR B.S.)

A degree awarded by a four-year college or university.

CLASS STANDING

Undergraduate students are classified as the following:

Freshman (0 – 29 units) Sophomore (30 – 59 units) Junior (60 – 89 units) Senior (90 + units)

CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT

Students may be considered continuously enrolled in the university so long as the absence from the university does not exceed one semester.

CO-REQUISITE

A set of courses that must be completed in the same semester.

COURSE NUMBERING

Lower division: 100 – 299

Upper division: 300 – 499 Graduate level: 500 – 699

DROP/ADD

Schedule changes during the first two weeks of the semester.

GENERAL EDUCATION (GE)

Courses which allow CSUMB students to fulfill the general education requirements articulated by the state and CSU system. See online catalog for listing of GE requirements. There are both lower-division GE requirements (39 units in specific areas) and 9 units of upper-divsion GE in areas B, C, and D.

GRADUATION WRITING ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENT (GWAR)

Students are required to demonstrate upper-division level competence in written communication by completing a "GWAR" course that is part of their major.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)

The average of all earned grades attempted at CSUMB and transferred from other colleges. GPA is computed by dividing the total number of grade points by the total number of graded units attempted.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

All students are responsible for knowing all graduation requirements which include GEs, MLOs and university requirements, and can check their Academic Requirements Report (see the video at right)

INCOMPLETE

An incomplete is a temporary grade used when a student is unable to complete work assignments during the semester, but has completed at last 80% of the course and is passing at the time of an extenuating circumstances. An incomplete contract is This is an agreement between the instructor of the course and the student. Requirements must be completed within one year.

Outcomes that must be met to complete the requirements of your major program of study.

PRE-REQUISITE

A course that must be completed prior to enrolling in another course.

SHOPPING CART

Where your chosen courses are stored before moving forward to complete the enrollment process. REMEMBER: Just because you have loaded courses to your shopping cart, does not mean you have enrolled in those courses.

SYLLABUS

A course outline of assignments, grading policy, course objectives and required textbooks for a course.

TRANSCRIPT

An official copy of a student’s academic record. Transcripts are available to order online through studentclearinghouse.org.

UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT

An unofficial copy of a student’s academic record. This document includes work in progress and can be accessed through your OASIS account.

UPPER DIVISION GENERAL EDUCATION (UDGE)

Nine units of General Education must be upper division and must be taken after a student has reached junior standing.