Mount 101 Guide

The Academic Skills section offers tips, advice, essential study skills, and other tools.

Track your Due Dates!

Keep track of your assignments’ due dates for every course. Each due date can be found in the course’s syllabus and you can add it to your electronic or physical calendar to see it at a glance. If using an electronic calendar, you can have electronic reminders to your email so that you don’t forget about any assignment.

Attend Class as Often as Possible

Courses can and do require class participation. If you are not in class, you cannot participate in class! Beyond your impacting your grade, college-level classes can cover a large amount of material in a short period of time. Being in class as much as possible will help you learn and master the content. Occasionally, life happenings will require you to be absent from class (family emergencies, illness, etc.), when this happens contact your professor and discuss how you might stay on top of the content and learn what was covered in class when you were out.

Check in with Your Professor

If you are unclear about information in class from readings to assignments, check your syllabus for your professor’s office hours. Visiting your professor during office hours can help clear up any confusions as you can directly ask questions to your professor. Your professors want you to be successful, so touch base with them!

If you are unable to make their office hours, contact your professors following their syllabus expectations and ask for an appointment. If emailing a professor is new or feels intimidating, consider the helpful tips found on Columbus State Community College's guide "Email tips for students."

Use the Learning Center

The Learning Center is an excellent resource if you need support with your study skills or organization, support in writing a paper or using a citation style, or academic coaching in a class. Utilize the Learning Center’s drop-in hours or schedule an appointment during weekdays in Seton Center, Room 156. More information about the Learning Center is listed on the Mount 101 Guide.

Consult a Librarian

If you don’t know where to start with research, don’t worry! Check out the Research Help section of the MSJ Library's website for all the ways you can get research support including appointments in-person or online, drop-ins without an appointment, chat, email, and phone.

 

A syllabus is an outline of information that will be covered in the class and expectations of being a student in the class. Syllabi can look different as each instructor has a slightly different organizing philosophy and structure.

Below are Parts of the syllabus

Course Materials lets you know what materials that you need to be successful in the course from technology to textbooks. If a textbook or book is required, it is helpful to order it as soon as possible in case you have any readings during the first week of classes.

Contact Information for your professor will inform you of the best method to get in touch, whether it is email or Blackboard message or something else. This section may also include any email norms that your professor is expecting such as subject lines. Professor request email norms serve for you to be more efficiently served and helps the professor stay organized. This section can include information about professor’s expected response time to any communications, where their office is located, and office hours. Office hours are scheduled times where professors are available to meet with you to discuss any course-related questions from assignments to readings as well as future plans like programs of study and graduation requirements. Office hours are drop-in times for you to meet with your professor on your academic concerns and curiosities.

Grading varies by professor. Some elect to distribute points while others use percentages for assignments. Assignments can be equal weight or be weighted. Typically, final exams are worth more than a single discussion post.

Course Schedule highlights when assignments are due. The syllabus is your notification about assignment deadlines. Take time to put those assignment deadlines in your calendar and set-up reminders about the assignments. Additionally, larger assignments that need more time to prepare and planning can be listed here with brief description. The syllabi tend to list the preparation that you need to do before that day’s class.  

Course Policies can include class expectations from how to submit assignments, attendance, late work policy, and what to bring to class. These are the professor’s expectation for the course, if you have any questions, reach out early to the professor.

University Policies are university-wide expectations that apply no matter which course you are in. Typically, these policies include academic integrity and/or resources that MSJ has available for its students.

Citing a source means that you show, within the body of your text, that you took words, ideas, figures, images, etc. from another place.

Citations are a short way to uniquely identify a published work (e.g. book, article, chapter, web site).  They are found in bibliographies and reference lists and are also collected in article and book databases.

Citations consist of standard elements, and contain all the information necessary to identify and track down publications, including:

• author name(s)
• titles of books, articles, and journals
• date of publication
• page numbers
• volume and issue numbers (for articles)

Citations may look different, depending on what is being cited and which style was used to create them. Choose an appropriate style guide for your needs.  Here is an example of an article citation using APA and MLA citation styles.  Notice the common elements as mentioned above:

Parts of a citation for a journal article:

Author = Mary Kay Jordan-Fleming

Article Title = Excellence in Assessment: Aligning Assignments and Improving Learning.

Source (Journal) Title =  Assessment Update

Volume and Issue = Vol. 29 Issue 1

Publication Date = Jan.2017

Page numbers = p10-12

Permalink/DOI (if electronic resource) =
10.1002/au.30084

In APA Style Citation

Jordan-Fleming, M.K. (2017). Excellence in Assessment: Aligning Assignments and Improving Learning. Assessment Update, 29(1), 10-12. https://doi.org/10.1002/au.30084

In MLA Style Citation

Jordan-Fleming, Mary Kay. “Excellence in Assessment: Aligning Assignments and Improving Learning.” Assessment Update, vol. 29, no.1, Jan. 2017, pp. 10-12. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1002.au.30084.

(Adapted from MIT Libraries' "Citing sources: Overview")

ACADEMIC ADVISOR: University staff member responsible for providing academic advising services to strengthen, nurture, empower, and educate students in making informed decisions that will guide their educational experience. The Advisor's role includes helping students plan their academic schedule and course load, serving as a resource for career exploration, education planning, and transfer advising.

ACADEMIC CALENDAR: A calendar of important dates associated with the college, such as semester start and end dates, holidays and deadlines.

ACADEMIC COURSE LOAD: The number of credit hours in which a student is enrolled during the semester. The normal load for full-time students is 12 to 18 semester hours of credit. 

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Academic honesty is expected of all students. Any dishonesty in the performance of course work, such as plagiarism, fabrication or cheating in other forms, will be reported and students will be disciplined.

ACADEMIC STANDING: A student is considered in academic good standing if his or her cumulative grade point average is 2.00 or higher in order to be eligible for graduation ( some degree programs require minimum GPAs higher than 2.0). Each matriculated student’s academic standing is evaluated at the conclusion of every Fall and Spring semester.

ACADEMIC SUSPENSIONS:  Students who receive academic warnings will be suspended if, after a subsequent semester, they fail to meet the minimum cumulative QPA requirements defined above AND they fail to achieve a minimum term GPA of 2.0 in the subsequent term. They will not be allowed to continue in his/her degree or certificate program at the College, and any courses for which the student is registered for upcoming semesters will be dropped.

ACADEMIC TERM (SEMESTER): Fall, spring and summer terms when classes are in session. The fall and spring semesters are approximately 14 weeks long.

ACADEMIC WARNING: Students who do not achieve good academic standing status at the conclusion of a semester will be placed on academic warning and must work with an advisor to plan action steps to improve his/her academic performance.

ACADEMIC YEAR: Academic years run from September to August, and include the Fall, Spring and Summer semesters. 

ACCREDITATION: Certification by an independent educational board that confirms that the college or university meets or exceeds a set of official standards.

ADD/DROP: A short period of time after a semester begins that allows students to change their course enrollment and/or course schedules.

ADMINISTRATION: University staff members responsible for management, budget, and supervision.

ALUMNI: Graduates, in the plural.

AUDIT:  Audited classes do not receive credit and are issued a final grade of AU, having no impact on the student’s GPA

BACCALAUREATE: A bachelor’s degree of at least 120 credits awarded by a college or university upon successful completion of a program of study.

BLACKBOARD: The application used to participate in class remotely including fully online, hybrid and we-assisted courses. 

BOARD OF TRUSTEES: An appointed group of people that oversees and is responsible for the policies and fiscal affairs of an organization.

CODE OF CONDUCT: The behavioral expectation that all MSJ students will act with integrity (exhibiting honesty, honor, and a respect for the truth in all of their dealings), contribute positively to the educational community including behavior that is conscious of the rights and safety of others, promote a productive and diverse academic environment and accept responsibility to themselves, others, and the community.

COMMENCEMENT: Graduation ceremony.

CO-REQUISITE:  A course that is required to be taken during the same semester as another course.

CREDIT COURSE:  An academic course numbered 100 or above in the college catalog that may be applied toward completion of a degree or certificate.

CREDIT HOUR:  A standard measure of the amount of instructional time required to successfully complete a course. For example, ENG 101, English Comp I, is a 3 credit-hour course, which means that it meets for 3 hours each week for one semester.

CURRICULUM:  A set of courses focused in a particular field, e.g., accounting, criminal justice, and early childhood education.

DEAN:  A member of the administrative staff responsible for supervision and management of a division of the college.

DEGREE/CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS:  A list of courses, subject areas and credit hours needed to obtain a specific degree or certificate.

DEGREE PROGRAM:  A program of study leading to a degree.

DISTANCE EDUCATION:  An option for earning course credit on-line or at off-campus locations. See also ONLINE LEARNING.

ELECTIVE: A course in a program of study that may be selected from a variety of courses in the designated discipline.

FACULTY: An employee of the university who delivers academic instruction.

FAFSA (FREE APPLICAITON FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID): A required standardized application that includes detailed financial data and is used to determine eligibility for all financial aid programs. Student Financial Services staff are available to assist students throughout the FAFSA application process.

FEES: Charges by the university for specific services to students.

FINANCIAL AID: Funding from various sources provided to students to assist in defraying expenses of college.

FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT: A student whose parent or guardian did not attain a 4-year bachelor’s degree.

FULL-TIME (STUDENT):  Student registered for 12 or more credits. The normal load for full-time students is 12 to 18 semester hours of credit.

GPA (GRADE POINT AVERAGE) / CUMULATIVE GPA:  Used to compute student academic standing.

HYBRID/BLENDED FORMAT COURSE: Hybrid courses require both in-person meetings and online components. This does not reduce the rigor of the course and students are still required to complete all weekly assignments and attend all on-campus class sessions.

INCOMPLETE GRADE: The grade of Incomplete (I) indicates that a major requirement of the course has not been completed.  

INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY: The approach used to teach course content (face-to-face, online, or hybrid).

INTERNSHIP/COOPERATIVE EDUCATION: A program designed to give students real work-place experience in their intended careers before graduation.

MATRICULATION:  Formal application to and acceptance in a degree or certificate program.  

MID-SEMESTER GRADES:  At mid-semester of the Spring and Fall terms, students will be graded by each of their professors. These grades will not become part of a student’s permanent record but are used to indicate his/her performance through the first half of the semester. 

MIDTERM:  The point midway through an academic term.

NON-CREDIT COURSE: A course that is non-credit bearing and cannot be used to satisfy an academic requirement for any degree or certificate program.

NON DEGREE SEEKING STUDENT: A student enrolled in courses for credit who is not recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or formal award.

ONLINE COURSE:  A course where most or all of the content is delivered online.

ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAM:  A program that allows students to fulfill all their degree requirements by completing courses online.

ONLINE LEARNING:  The option of earning course credit online. Some degree and certificate programs feature a significant number of courses that can be completed partially or entirely online.

ORIENTATION:  The formal process of welcoming new students to the college and providing them with information on the resources, services, and departments they may access to assist them to be academically successful. 

PART-TIME STUDENT:  Student enrolled for 11 credits or fewer in the Fall or Spring Semester.

PASS/FAIL: Instead of earning a letter grade (A – F), you will earn a grade of ‘Pass’ or ‘Fail.’

PLACEMENT TEST:  A test which determines a student’s level of learning in a subject, typically English or Mathematics, before they begin a college program.

PLANNED COURSES: The formal process of determining the order semester courses have to be taken in to earn a degree or certificate.

PREREQUISITE: Skill or course required for entry into a course or program of study.

PROBATION:  Formal notice that a student is not in good academic standing. 

STEM: The acronym for science, technology, engineering and math; scientific and technical fields of study.

STAFF: An employee of the university who does not teach or facilitate academic instruction.

TBD (TO BE DETERMINED):  An instructor and/or a room has yet to be assigned for a course.

TRANSCRIPT: Permanent record of a student’s academic grades. Available through the Registrar’s office.

TUITION: Charges by the university to a student for registration in credit courses.

WITHDRAWAL FROM A COURSE: The formal process of notifying the university of the decision to discontinue attending a course.

WITHDRAWAL FROM COLLEGE: The formal process of notifying the university of the decision to discontinue attending all classes.

The above higher ed glossary with links to Mount St. Joseph University related information was inspired by and modeled after the helpful Glossary of Academic Terms from the Springfield Technical Community College Library.