Glossary of Terms Related to Student Enrollment
American Indian
American Indian student is defined as an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe.
American Indian Descendent
A person qualifies as an American Indian descendent when documentation proves lineage of the first or second generation.
Cancellation of Classes
The Vice President of Academic Affairs reserves the right to cancel any course for which there is not sufficient student enrollment.
Conduct Suspension
A student who is suspended from the College for non-academic reasons will receive a “W” grade in the subjects carried. A statement of suspension will be recorded on the student’s permanent record, which is filed in the Office of the Registrar.
Course
A course is a unit of instruction offered in a single quarter.
Course Challenge
Students may request to receive credit for a course by special examination. This process is called a “course challenge.” The challenge must occur within the first two weeks of the quarter in which the course is offered. The cost of credit for a challenge follows the course fee schedule. Students obtain a “Request for Course Challenge” document in the Enrollment Services Department. See “Course Description” at the end of this catalog for designation of challengeable courses.
Credit
A credit is the unit used in computing the amount of work required within a course and for graduation. SKC functions on the quarter system; one credit is equivalent to 10 hours of classroom instruction and 20 hours outside the classroom. Classes such as a laboratory, shop, or field experience, may require more than 10 credit hours for one credit.
Credit Load
The maximum student credit load per quarter is 18 credits. A full-time load is defined as 12 through 18 credits. Students are encouraged to take 15 credits per quarter and should reflect the requirements of major area of study. Permission is required to take more than 18 credits. Concurrent enrollment in another college must be approved by the Registrar.
Curriculum
A curriculum is a combination of courses which constitute a program of study leading to a certificate or degree. Lower-division courses are freshman and sophomore-level courses generally numbered 100-299. Upper-division courses are junior and senior-level generally numbered 300-499.
Directed Study Request
A directed study is an existing course with an approved syllabus but which because of exceptional circumstances, a student is unable to take as part of a regularly scheduled class. Policies for directed study are outlined in the college catalog. Generally, Directed Studies are implemented to accomodate time conflicts in student registration for required courses.
Elective
An elective is a course offering, which can be filled by a course of the student’s choice. Some electives occur within a particular area of study. Some require advisor approval; others place no restrictions.
Full & Part time classifications are used for tuition and fee charges:
Full-time: A student who is enrolled for 12 or more credit hours per quarter.
Part-time: A student who is enrolled for 11 or fewer credit hours per quarter.
Grading
The evaluation of a student’s work is based upon the point system. Grades are issued at the end of each quarter after a student’s credentials and financial obligations to the College have been met.
| Grade |
Grade Interpretation |
Points/Credits |
| A |
High Degree of Excellence |
4 |
| B |
Above Average |
3 |
| C |
Average |
2 |
| D |
Minimum |
1 |
| F |
Failure |
0 |
| Pass/Fail Grading Options |
|
Points/Credits |
| P |
Pass |
0 |
| I |
Incomplete |
(See SKC Policy) |
| W |
Withdrawal from Course |
0 |
Grade Point Average (GPA)
The GPA reflects a student’s overall academic standing. The grade point is calculated by dividing the total credits attempted by the total grade points earned. That number is then divided by the total credits completed.
Grade Challenge
Once a grade has been reported by the instructor to the Registrar, the grade will not be changed except in extreme circumstances. A student who believes they have been given an erroneous grade should first attempt to resolve the issue with the instructor involved. If a student is not satisfied, a grade challenge may be initiated. See the Student Handbook for additional information.
Honor Roll
An honor roll is maintained for full time students who attain a 3.0 GPA. The high Honor Roll is attained by achieving a 4.0 GPA. The Registrar announces by publishing the names of the students making the Honor Roll at the end of each quarter.
Honor Roll Disclaimer: Salish Kootenai College Enrollment Services Department makes every effort to ensure that any and all information printed or distributed is correct at the time of publication. However, it accepts no responsibility for misspellings, misinformation, and/or omission of names and will not reissue any updates.
Hybrid Class
SKC defines a hybrid class as one in which part of the class is on campus and part of the class is online. The amount of time spent on campus is at the discretion of the instructor.
Incompletes
When the quality of a student’s work is satisfactory, but some essential requirement of the course has not been completed due to unforeseen circumstances, the student may apply to the instructor for an incomplete grade (indicated as an “I” grade). Any incomplete grades not satisfied revert to an “F” grade. Incomplete work will only be considered for degree conferment if finalized and accompanied by submission of completed and signed incomplete forms to the registrar’s office within one week of the end of term date. All late submissions will be processed in the following term and have a conferment date at the end of that following term.
Independent Study
Independent study credits are granted to students for work on an individual basis in a specific area of interest and must be approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs and the instructor involved. In general, a project will represent 30 hours of student work for each credit earned. The student is responsible for developing a suitable problem or project. The student should create a project plan and contact the appropriate instructor who will approve and supervise this project. An ‘independent study” is not an alternative means of taking a standard catalog course. (also see Directed Study)
Online Class
An online class is one in which the total class content is taken over the internet and students may never come to the campus.
Pass/No Pass Elective Courses
A maximum of nine (9) credits of pass/no pass elective courses may be counted toward an Associate degree. Some courses are only given as a pass/no pass option. It is the responsibility of the student to take this into account when planning for graduation.
Prerequisite/Corequisite
A prerequisite is a course, which should be completed prior to enrolling in the selected course.
A corequisite is two or more classes that students enroll in during the same quarter.
Prerequisite and corequisite courses are indicated in the each course description in the catalog and in the quarterly schedule.
Quarter
SKC operates on a quarter or term system consisting of four quarters in a year: summer, fall, winter and spring. Each quarter is ten (10) weeks in length. Summer classes are only offered according to departmental request.
Repeating Courses
Courses may be repeated at full cost. The better grade will be used to evaluate the transcript for graduation.
Special Topics
Special topic courses (numbered 180, 280, 380, 480) are not a regular part of the College’s curricula.
Student Classification
At the end of each quarter, students are classified as follows. Note that credits toward student classification must be credits required in the student's academic degree.
- Freshman: A student who has earned fewer than 45 credits.
- Sophomore: A student who has earned at least 45 credits but fewer than 90.
- Junior: A student who has earned at least 90 credits but fewer than 135.
- Senior: A student who has earned at least 135 credits.
Transcript
A transcript is an official record of a student’s coursework and grades that is maintained by the Office of the Registrar.