Associate of Arts (AA). A liberal arts degree fulfilling the general requirements taken by college freshman and sophomores. Students must complete 90 quarter credits in courses numbered 100 or above and meet specific distribution requirements.

Associate of Applied Science (AAS). A degree designed for students in professional-technical programs.

Academic. Pertaining to a liberal arts program of study, opposed to a professional-technical one.

Academic calendar. A two-year calendar indicating quarter start and end dates, holidays to be observed by Highline campus, and other non-class days.

Adding or dropping classes/courses. Making changes in the student schedule by enrolling in additional courses or withdrawing from courses.

Advising. The process of determining with an adviser which courses the student needs to take to meet his or her educational goals.

Associate of Science, Option 1. A degree for students interested in biology, environmental science, chemistry, geology, and earth science.

Associate of Science, Option 2. A degree for students interested in engineering, computer science, physics, and atmospheric science.

Audit. Taking a class (and paying the tuition and fees) without getting grades or credit; if you audit a class it will appear on your transcript records with a grade of "N."

Certificate of Arts and Sciences (CAS). A certificate in academic transfer studies (45 credits) for personal reasons. Not intended as a substitute for the AA degree.

Cooperative Education. A program combining a specific program of study with related employment that allows college credit to be given for work experience.

Core classes or requirements. Specific courses required by or applicable to a certain degree.

Credit or credit hour. The unit measurement for the amount of work and/or time required for a course. A five-credit class will usually meet five hours a week. Also known as “quarter hour.”

Credit Maximum. You may register for 18 credits per quarter through Web registration. Students who wish to enroll for 19 or more credits must see their adviser. A permission signature is required on the "Add/Drop Request" form and needs to be submitted to the Registration office (Building 6).

Elective. Student-selected courses that apply to degree and/or certificate credit requirements. Such courses are often selected from a prescribed list.

Entry codes. Required for permission and prerequisite classes, entry codes are five-digit random numbers. Once an entry code is used, the computer will not accept it again. They authorize you to register for classes requiring permission or for courses for which the prerequisites have not been met. Call the coordinator—extensions are listed in the class schedule in the "Credit Classes" section under each individual department, or contact your faculty adviser for a code.

Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA). The Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) denotes associate degree programs that are recognized by the Inter-College Relations Commission (ICRC). The Associate of Arts, Option A and the Associate in Science degrees are DTA degrees.

General Educational Development (GED). A program for adults who have not graduated from high school and want to earn a certificate of high school equivalency.

Grade points. The number obtained by multiplying the numerical value of the grade received for a course by the number of credit hours earned in that course. For instance, if you earn a 3.6 grade in a five-credit course, you earn 18.0 grade points for that course.

Graduation. Ceremonies take place in June. Students completing degree requirements may participate. More information.

Personal Identification number (PIN). Your PIN is a six-digit number. It is your birth date and serves as a private access code for registration. For security purposes, Highline recommends students change their PINs to another easily remembered number.

Prerequisite (prereq.). Generally a COMPASS score or completion of a specific class that is required before enrolling in a course.

Professional-technical. A program of study intended to prepare a student for employment in a certain field rather than for transfer to a four-year college or university. Also referred to as “vocational.”

Quarterly class schedule (quarterly). A schedule of classes—listing times, locations, special fees, and instructors for all classes offered by Highline—is published before each academic quarter.

Registration Blocks. A student's registration will be blocked if there are any debts owed to HCC. This block prevents a student from registering for classes or receiving an official grade transcript. Therefore, it is important that all prior HCC financial obligations are paid prior to registration.

Repeating a Class. Except for specially designed development classes, students may not repeat a class more than two times. Upon completion of a repeated class, submit a repeat request form to the Registration office in Building 6.

Student Enrollment Verification. All Stafford loan deferments are reported electronically using the "Student Loan Clearing House." No paperwork is required. Insurance eligibility letters are available online.

Student Identification number. A unique number assigned to a student for tracking, data entry, identification, transcripts, and for conducting other college business.

Student information kiosk. Computer terminals located in Building 6 with online services offering admissions, registration, and records activity.

Transfer credits. Credits earned at one college that are accepted toward a degree at another college.

Waitlist. When a course section is full, students may place themselves on a waitlist for that class. As positions become available, those on the list will automatically be registered, in the order their names appears on the list. Students must check their schedules regularly to see whether they have been added to a waitlisted class. The waitlist is closed the day before the quarter begins. As of the first day of classes, students must have a signed authorization from the instructor to enroll in a closed class.

This page was last edited 03/06/2008