Glossary

• Academic advisor - A professional staff or faculty member who assists students in identifying, developing and attaining their educational, personal and career goals.
• Academic calendar - A list of key dates associated with a specific term.
• Academic level - A student classification based on number of earned or awarded credit hours/units (e.g., freshman, sophomore, graduate).
• Academic load - A student classification based on the number of enrolled credit hours/units (e.g., full time, part time).
• Academic Probation - When a student fails to maintain a sufficient Grade Point Average, the student's status changes from Good Standing to Academic Probation. Students who do not bring their cumulative institutional GPA up to a 2.00 or higher, will be continued on Probation if the institutional GPA for that semester (Term GPA) is not 2.00 or higher. Students will receive notification of their Academic Probation through their Middle Georgia State University e-mail account and through their academic record available through SWORDS. Students on Academic Probation may register through their academic advisor for the semester following notification of placement on Academic Probation. A student petition is not required.
• Academic program - A college/school/program to which a student applies, is admitted and graduates from (e.g., College of Business [undergraduate], College of Education [undergraduate].)
• Academic Renewal Policy - In accordance with the USG Board of Regency Policy 3.5.3 Academic Renewal, undergraduate students who are either returning to a USG institution or are transferring to a USG institution may be eligible for Academic Renewal. Academic Renewal for the student signals the initiation of a new grade point average to be used for determining academic standing. This provision allows USG degree-seeking students who earlier experienced academic difficulty (GPA less than 2.50) to make a fresh start and have one final opportunity to earn an associate or bachelor’s degree. A student must be absent 3 years from an institutionally accredited institution then apply for academic renewal. The granting of Academic Renewal does not supersede financial aid policies regarding Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). All attempts will count in the calculating of your grade point average for meeting satisfactory academic progress for financial aid. The GPA will not always be the same as your institutional GPA where academic renewal has been awarded.
• Academic Standing - Students are expected to make reasonable academic progress; therefore, students must maintain a required cumulative institutional Grade Point Average of 2.00 or higher.
• Academic Suspension - A student who fails to maintain the required 2.00 cumulative institutional Grade Point Average after having been placed on Academic Probation, and does not achieve an institutional GPA of 2.00 or higher for that semester (Term GPA), will be suspended from the University. The first suspension is for one term; the subsequent suspension is for one year. Students will receive notification of their suspension through their Middle Georgia State University e-mail account, their academic record available on SWORDS, and by letter from the Office of the Registrar. When placed on academic suspension for the period of one semester, the student will be eligible to re-apply to the University through the Office of Admissions by the end of the next academic term. For example: should a student be placed on a one term academic suspension at the end of a spring semester, the one term suspension could be the summer term and the student could then re-apply for a fall admission. However, after a third suspension, students are not eligible for readmission to the university until they are able to meet an overall cumulative 2.00 grade point average (transfer + institutional GPA). Students may not petition academic suspensions.
• Adding [courses] - Increasing the credit hour load in a given term. Tuition adjusts when appropriate according to the new total number of credit hours elected.
• Additional Hour - The rate for each hour beyond the first hour up to the full time rate.
• Award Letter - This document is issued through your SWORDS account by the Office of Financial Aid. It lists all the amounts, sources, and types of aid in your financial aid package.
• Bursar's Office - Coordinates the billing, payments and refunds from student accounts, including tuition, fees and residence hall expenses.
• Campus - A physical location within an institution (e.g., Cochran, Dublin, Eastman, Macon, or Warner Robins Campus).
• Campus Logic - The streamline online verification process. Please Create an account and/or Login now to review and upload documents required for file completion through the following link: https://mga.studentforms.com/
• Catalog - The online Middle Georgia State University Catalog provides definitive information on university academic and administrative policies, degree requirements and course descriptions.
• Checkpoint - This is when your HOPE eligibility is evaluated. For current HOPE recipients, checkpoints occur every 30, 60, 90 credit hours attempted and every spring semester. For students wishing to be evaluated for HOPE, they may request to do so after attempting 30, 60, or 90 credit hours, but not every spring.
• Class - A specific course offering for a given term in which a student enrolls (e.g., MATH 1101-001).
• Class schedule - Comprises all classes in which a student has enrolled in a single academic term including dates, times and locations.
• Consortium Agreement - These agreements explain terms, conditions, and responsibilities of transient students either attending Middle Georgia State as a transient student or a Middle Georgia State student attending another institution. Please note that consortium agreements do not serve as payment and your host school may demand payment prior to the Middle Georgia State disbursement.
• Core curriculum - General education requirements (core curriculum) Refers to those requirements that apply to all students within a particular college/school/program (such as the College of Arts and Sciences), regardless of major. Such requirements, in addition to major requirements, must be fulfilled at the time of graduation. The USG outlines general education learning goals that serve as guides for each institution to develop its own general education learning outcomes. Every institution in the USG will have a core curriculum of precisely 42 semester hours and an Area F of precisely 18 hours. All students must meet the core requirements of the institutions from which they receive their degrees.
• Corequisite - A course that must be taken simultaneously with another course.
• Cost of Attendance - Often referred to as COA, the cost to attend school, including tuition and fees, books, supplies, room and board, transportation, and personal and miscellaneous expenses. The COA is determined by MGA and SGA (Student Government Association) using federal guidelines. The COA is NOT a bill; it is an estimate of potential expenses.
• Course - An approved term- or session-length curriculum, identified by a subject and a four-digit number (e.g., ENGL 1234).
• Course section number - This three- or four-character identifier refers to a specific section of a course (i.e., a class) and its specific meeting pattern and location.
• Credit hours - Credit/units earned for the successful completion of a course in an academic term.
• Default - The status of a loan when payment is 270 days (9 months) late. If this happens the lender can declare the entire amount owed, including interest, as immediately due and payable. Defaults are reported to credit bureaus and can stay on your credit record for seven years. If you have defaulted on a federal student loan, you may not be eligible to receive any additional federal financial aid.
• Deferment - The option to postpone repayment for a period of time, under certain conditions, with permission from the lender. If you are an eligible half-time student, your loans are automatically deferred.
• Degree (vs. major) - A major is the area of study within the larger college degree program. For example, students may earn a bachelor of arts (BA) degree in the College of Arts and Sciences, with a major in English.
• Degree audit - A report that displays a student's progress toward graduation. It tracks students' various degree requirements, and lists courses that fulfill each requirement students still need.
• Direct Loan/Federal Direct Loan Program - Fixed rate education loans that are provided for undergraduate and graduate students attending college in an eligible program at least half time. These loans may be deferred while the student is attending school at least half time and they adhere to annual and aggregate loan limits set forth by the Department of Education.
• Disbursement - When financial aid funds are applied to your account. This is reflected on your SWORDS account.
• Drop/add period - The period after enrollment during which a student may add or drop classes and change credit designations without an instructor’s signature.
• Dropping [courses] - Decreasing the credit hour load in a given term before the drop/add deadline. There is no academic penalty and tuition adjusts when appropriate according to the new total of credit hours elected.
• Education Loans - Money borrowed by a student or parent from a lender from the Federal government to fund post-secondary education; these require repayment with interest.
• EFC - Expected Family Contribution - Amount considered reasonable for your family to contribute to your education expenses according to the FAFSA calculations which are determined by the Federal Department of Education.
• Elective hours - Hours students choose to take because of interest. Elective hours are credit hours that students need toward graduation but are not used to fulfill other requirements.
• Entrance Counseling - Online counseling that assists you in understanding your repayment rights and responsibilities, options for repayment, and debt management skills when applying for a Direct loan. Completing Entrance Counseling is a federal requirement. This may be completed at studentaid.gov .
• Exit Counseling - Online counseling that reminds you of your repayment rights and responsibilities, options for repayment, and debt management skills when graduating or dropping below a half-time status. Completing Exit Counseling is a federal requirement. This may be completed at studentaid.gov .
• FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid - An online form completed by students and parents or legal guardians to apply for federal aid, along with some state programs. Visit the FAFSA website at studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa .
• Federal Financial Aid - Money offered by the federal government to assist eligible students in funding their post-secondary education. Federal Financial Aid includes some scholarships, grants, and all Direct loans.
• Fees - A fixed sum charged to your account for services offered. For more information regarding Tuition & Fees , please visit Bursar .
• FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) - A federal law designed to protect the privacy of education records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records and to provide guidelines for protection from inaccurate and misleading data.
• Financial Need - The difference between the student's Cost of Attendance (COA) and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
• Forbearance - A period of time when you're allowed to postpone or temporarily reduce the amount of your loan payment due to temporary financial hardship. For more information, contact your lender.
• FSA ID - Students, parents, and borrowers are required to use an FSA ID, made up of a username and password, to access certain U.S. Department of Education websites. Your FSA ID is used to confirm your identity when accessing your financial aid information and electronically signing your federal student aid To obtain or read more information, visit https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/fsaid
• Full time - Full time as an undergraduate student in a full term, for tuition purposes, is defined as 12 or more credit hours.
• Full-time status - To be considered a full-time student, undergraduate students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours in a single fall or spring term. Full-time status may affect eligibility regarding housing, tuition, health insurance, etc.
• Grace Period - A feature of Federal Loans that gives you six months after you leave school or drop below half-time status before you must start making monthly payments on your loan. If you choose to let the interest on your Unsubsidized loan accrue, the interest and principal payments will begin at the end of your grace period.
• Grade Point Average (GPA) - Academic Standing is based on this average. The GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of academic credit hour quality points a student has earned by the total number of grade point average hours (GPA hours) the student has attempted.
• Grants - Money available to eligible students based upon financial need, past academic performance, service to the community or special areas of study. Grants do not require repayment
• Half-Time - For all undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, limited-graduate, and provisionally-admitted graduate students, half-time is at least six credit hours. For all regularly-admitted graduate students, half-time is at least three credit hours.
• Hold - A hold can prevent a student from enrolling in classes, returning to school, obtaining an official transcript or receiving a diploma. Students can check for any holds in SWORDS and follow up with the office that applied the hold.
• HOPE - Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally - Program that is paid for by the Georgia Lottery for Education that offers Scholarships, Grants, and GED vouchers. HOPE eligibility is based on academic merit and is evaluated at specified checkpoints. For more information, please review All About HOPE .
• Interest - The fee that is charged on an annual basis in exchange for lending the money. The interest rate, usually expressed as a percentage of the loan amount, may stay the same for the term of the loan (fixed rate) or it may change periodically (variable rate).
• Learning Support - Learning Support (LS) is a program for students who need additional preparation in mathematics or English (reading/writing) to increase their chances of success in their majors. Freshmen students must be evaluated for Learning Support placement in English (reading/writing) and mathematics.
• Major restriction - A restriction placed on certain courses in order to ensure that students with a particular major have access to those courses.
• MPN - Master Promissory Note - The legal document you sign when you enter into an agreement with a lender for a Direct, Parent PLUS, or Graduate PLUS Loan. This document explains the terms and conditions of your loan and it is good for 10 years from the date you sign it. This means you may not have to sign a new application or MPN for additional loans from the same lender. You will, however, have the chance to review, reduce, or decline the loan amount on subsequent loans. To complete a MPN for a Direct, Parent PLUS, or Graduate PLUS loan, visit studentaid.gov .
• Office of the Registrar - Assists students in the processes of enrollment and offers services such as transcripts, enrollment verifications and withdrawal.
• Origination Fee - The fee charged by the federal government and deducted from loan proceeds prior to disbursement.
• Pell Grant - This is a federal grant for students who have a low EFC and are undergraduate students. This grant pays a certain percentage based on your EFC and the number of credit hours you are enrolled.
• Prerequisite - A course or requirement that must be taken before taking a more advanced course.
• Principal - The original amount borrowed or the amount outstanding at any time on the loan. Interest is charged on this amount.
• Registration Time - Designated time for a student to start enrolling in classes. Generally designed so that senior students enroll first, followed by junior, sophomore and freshman students. Students can locate their registration time in SWORDS.
• SAP - Standard of Academic Progress - The standards of academic progress required by the Higher Education Act in order to receive federal student financial aid. These standards are determined and published by the school. The SAP appeal form will be available through Campus Logic.
• SAR - Student Aid Report - Document you will receive after your FAFSA is processed. Please be sure to review this document to see if corrections need to be made to your FAFSA. Your SAR will contain your EFC.
• Scholarships - Money for college that does not have to be repaid. The money can come from many sources including the government, community groups, schools and corporations. Awards can be based on hobbies, artistic or athletic talent, academic merit, and majors. Visit the Financial Aid Scholorship page for details.
• Service Cancelable Loan - Student loans which will not have to be repaid if certain conditions are met that are agreed upon when applying for the loan. Visit our Loans information page for more details.
• Session - A subset of a term during which courses are scheduled (e.g., summer session I, or II).
• Special Circumstances - If your financial situation has changed dramatically since the previous fiscal year, you may complete a special circumstances application and submit supporting documentation (listed on application) to have your income reconsidered based on unemployment, change of employment status, medical reasons, loss of non-taxed income, or separation or divorce. You can request professional judgement via Campus Logic.
• Student Identification Number - Student Identification Numbers are assigned to all students. They are system-generated and unique, and they are used as the primary student identifier on campus.
• Subject - A specific area of instruction in which courses are offered within an academic department/organization (e.g., ENGL, HIST, MATH).
• Subsidized - The government pays the interest on the Direct loan for you while you are in school at least half time and during your grace period.
• Syllabus - Course outline provided by the instructor that lists requirements, grading criteria, content, expectations and other relevant information.
• Term - An administrative time period within which sessions are defined, students are billed and student statistics are accumulated. There are three terms: fall, spring and summer. Also called a semester.
• Transient - A student taking courses at an institution other than the home institution. Permission must be granted before registration. See your academic advisor and financial aid counselor for details.
• Tuition - The amount charged to your account for instruction per course up to 15 credit hours. For more information regarding Tuition & Fees , please visit the Bursar .
• University College - The University College (UC) at Middle Georgia State University has been designed as an opportunity for traditional students who do not meet the current admission standards and place in Learning Support, to have access to academic and student support services in order to remediate and develop the foundation for successfully completing collegiate course work. Admission is based on selected criteria and the UC is housed on the Cochran campus. Students admitted to the University College are required to participate in academic support services offered by the Student Success Center.
• Unsubsidized - Interest accrues on your Direct loan while you are in school. You have the option to pay on this interest while you are in school, but are not required to do so.
• Verification - The process to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA is accurate. You will need to submit documentation that supports income and other information that you reported on your FAFSA.
• Verification of Attendance - The process by which your instructor verifies whether or not you have been in attendance for the courses you have requested financial aid. This normally occurs during the first two weeks of the class period. Financial aid will not disburse for courses in which you are not verified in attendance.
• Withdrawal [from term] - Formally discontinuing all studies at the university for a given term once the term has begun. The withdrawing may have a financial consequence. Withdrawing from a term is not the same as withdrawing from a course.
• Withdrawing [from courses] - Reducing the credit hour load in a given term after the drop/add deadline. You will be assigned a W or WF grade on your academic record based on the date of withdrawal. Withdrawing from a course is not the same as withdrawing from a term.
• Work Study Programs - Provides part-time jobs for undergraduate and graduate students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay education expenses. For more information, please visit our Student Employment information page .