Catalog Guide

Click on a link to be taken to the entry below.

Advanced Degrees

Au.D.-Doctor of Audiology
D.N.P-Doctor of Nursing Practice
D.P.T.-Doctor of Physical Therapy
Ed.D.-Doctor of Education
Ed.S.-Educational Specialist
J.D.-Juris Doctor
M.A.-Master of Arts
M.A.S.-Master of Accounting Science
M.A.T.-Master of Arts in Teaching
M.B.A.-Master of Business Administration
M.F.A.-Master of Fine Arts
M.M.-Master of Music
M.P.A.-Master of Public Administration
M.P.T.-Master of Physical Therapy
M.S.-Master of Science
M.S.Ed.-Master of Science in Education
M.S.T.-Master of Science in Taxation
M.S.T.-Master of Science in Teaching
Ph.D.-Doctor of Philosophy

Other Abbreviations

CRQ-Corequisite
GPA-Grade point average
PRQ-Prerequisite

*Academic dismissal: Dismissal from the university for reasons such as not maintaining the required grade point average (GPA), or for accumulating excessive hours of graduate grades of D, F, U, or WF.

*Academic probation: Academic status of a graduate-level student whose graduate GPA is below 3.00.

Accredited institution: A post-secondary institution that is accredited by the appropriate regional agency (New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or Western Association of Schools and Colleges).

*Admission (to the Graduate School): Formal acceptance by the Graduate School to pursue a specific graduate degree in a particular subject area or a Performer’s Certificate in music.

*Auditing: Registering for and attending a class regularly without necessarily completing the work required for credit; requires agreement of the instructor. (No grade points or credit hours are earned for audited courses.)

*Certificate of graduate study: A course of study, not linked to the pursuit of a degree, consisting of a coherent set of courses, fewer than for a major, addressing a specific theme. Completion of the requirements for a certificate of graduate study will result in an appropriate notation on the student’s academic record.

*Concentration: A course of study, typically interdisciplinary, linked to the pursuit of a specific graduate degree. Completion of the requirements for a concentration will result in an appropriate notation on the student’s academic record.

Corequisite (CRQ): A requirement, usually enrollment in a course, which should be undertaken at the same time as the course being described (if that requirement or its equivalent has not been completed previously).

*Correspondence course: A course, other than an independent study course, that does not involve significant real-time interaction between students and faculty, when such interaction would normally be a part of the same course offering on campus.

*Course load: All courses for which a student is registered, regardless of whether they are taken for credit or whether they are at the graduate level.

Departmental requirements: Courses or other requirements specified by a department as necessary for completion of a given course of study.

Dismissal: See Academic dismissal.

Drop: A procedure by which a course is deleted from a student’s schedule so the course does not appear on the student’s permanent academic record. A student may drop a course early in a term; this procedure must be completed by the date published each academic term. An administrative office may drop students from courses in which they are not eligible to enroll. See also Withdrawal.

Elective: A course in which a student chooses to enroll, as distinguished from a specific course required as part of a particular course of study.

Encumbrance: A hold placed on a student’s record as a result of an unfulfilled obligation to the university. This may prevent the distribution of transcripts and may prevent further registration. A student with an encumbrance preventing registration is not eligible to participate in course work and may not be enrolled in a course retroactively if the encumbrance is not cleared before the course is over.

Endorsement: The written notation entered upon the face of a teaching certificate designating additional specific subjects and/or grade levels which an individual is qualified to teach. Endorsements are earned by taking designated course work in a specific discipline area.

Enrollment: Registration in a course that subsequently appears on the student’s permanent academic record.

Entitlement program: A specific teacher certification program approved by the Illinois State Board of Education to be offered by an institution of higher education.

*GPA hours: The number of semester hours for which grades of A, B, C, D, F, or U are recorded.

*Grade point: The numerical value given to letter grades. A grade of D is equivalent to 1 point per semester hour, a C to 2 points, a B to 3 points, and an A to 4 points.

*Grade point average (GPA): A student’s scholastic average, computed by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the total number of GPA hours. For a graduate student or student-at-large, the GPA is based on all courses taken at NIU that carry graduate credit.

Graduate-level student: A graduate student or student-at-large.

Graduate student: A student admitted to the Graduate School whose admission has not been canceled or terminated and who has not been academically dismissed.

Half-session courses: Courses that are offered for the first or second half of an academic term, rather than a full term. They are distinguished by an F (first half term) or an L (last half) after the course number.

Hold: See Encumbrance .

*Incomplete (temporary): A grade (I) that may be assigned by an instructor when a student is temporarily unable to complete course requirements because of unusual circumstances. Left unresolved, a grade of I becomes on the academic record a permanent grade of incomplete (IN).

*International student: With respect to academic regulations in this catalog, any student who is not a U.S. citizen.

Major: A designated subject area in which one can pursue an extensive program of study leading to a graduate degree or to the Performer’s Certificate in music. Completion of the requirements for a major will result in an appropriate notation on the student’s academic record.

Option: An academic track within a program or specialization.

Prerequisite (PRQ): A requirement, usually completion of another course or its equivalent, which should be met before a student registers for the course being described.

Probation: See Academic probation .

Proficiency examination: A way for a student to receive course credit for individual or special study. Graduate credit may not be earned by proficiency examination.

Recognized institution: An institution in a country outside of the U.S. that is recognized by that nation’s Ministry of Education, or similar authority, as a post-secondary, academic-degree-granting institution.

*Reentry: Return of a student to study at NIU after a lapse in enrollment, into the same classification/program as that in which the student was previously enrolled.

*Reinstatement: A procedure by which a student who was formerly enrolled in the university but was academically dismissed is permitted to enroll again.

Semester hour: The university’s unit of academic credit reflecting a standard expectation of course activity.

Specialization: A subdivision of a graduate major representing a particular subject focus within the major. Completion of the requirements for a specialization will result in an appropriate notation on the student’s academic record at the time of the student’s graduation from the major program.

*Student-at-large: A student who holds a baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited U.S. institution (or the equivalent from a recognized foreign institution), who is not admitted to the Graduate School, but who has received permission from the Graduate School to register for graduate-level classes and who has not been academically dismissed.

Transcript: A copy of a student’s permanent academic record at a particular institution.

*Transfer credit: Course work completed at an accredited U.S. institution other than NIU, or at a recognized foreign institution, that is accepted in partial fulfillment of requirements for a graduate degree at NIU.

*Withdrawal: Formal action by which a student officially discontinues participation in a course; a record of enrollment remains on the student’s permanent academic record. This action must be taken by the deadline published each term on the Graduate School website, www.grad.niu.edu. See also Drop.

*See the more detailed discussion on this topic elsewhere in this catalog.