Not sure about some of the jargon and terms your Red Raider is using? This page can help. NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list, and academic policies are subject to change. For complete, up-to-date information, review the TTU Undergraduate Catalog or give us a call or email with questions: 806-742-3630 or parent@ttu.edu. 

 

A

Academic Advisor - A university employee who is committed to helping students make informed and responsible decisions regarding their academic goals. 

Academic Standing:

•  Academic Good Standing
  • Cumulative Institutional GPA greater than or equal to 2.0. 
  • Eligible for all extracurricular activities as governed by the rules of the specific activity.
• Academic Warning
  • Cumulative Institutional (TTU) GPA is less than 2.0 for a student's first term in attendance, or per the standing guidelines as outlined.
  • Eligible for all extracurricular activities as governed by the rules of the specific activity.
  • May not enroll for more than 16 hours without academic dean approval.
  • Should seek to take one course for grade replacement.
  • Midterm grades will be required.
  • Seek regularly scheduled advice and counsel from an academic advisor or the academic dean.
  • If student is placed on Academic Warning following first semester at TTU, the student must complete an Academic Recovery Plan, Enroll in a PADR course and pay a nonrefundable course fee.  For more information on PADR, please visit: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/padr/index.php
• Academic Probation
  • Cumulative Institutional (TTU) GPA is less than 2.0 for the term following Academic Warning, or per the standing guidelines as outlined.
  • Eligible for all extracurricular activities as governed by the rules of the specific activity.
  • May not enroll for more than 16 hours without academic dean approval.
  • Should seek to take two courses for grade replacement.
  • Midterm grades will be required.
  • Regularly scheduled advice and counsel from an academic advisor or the academic dean.
  • Complete a College Academic Strategy Course, or an Academic Recovery Plan, or enroll in a PADR course and pay a nonrefundable course fee.
• Academic Suspension
  • Cumulative Institutional (TTU) GPA is less than 2.0 for the term following probation, or per the standing guidelines as outlined.
  • Term of suspension is one full academic term (fall, spring, summer).
  • Students are not allowed to attend TTU, nor appeal for immediate reinstatement.
  • Registration hold will be placed on records.
  • Student must apply for readmission for a term following the suspension in a timely manner to allow for complete processing and consideration of reinstatement:
  • If student took coursework elsewhere, a minimum GPA of 2.0 on the transfer work will be required.
  • Readmission decision to be determined by the student's Academic Dean. If the student is approved for readmission following completion of the suspension term, the student is reinstated and eligible to attend courses and participate in all extracurricular activities as governed by the rules of the specific activity and subject to the conditions established by the Academic Dean or committee granting permission to attend classes. If readmitted, the Student must follow the Advising/Registration/Grading requirements for Academic Probation status.
• Academic Dismissal
  • Cumulative Institutional (TTU) GPA is less than 2.0 for the term following a suspension, or per the standing guidelines as outlined.
  • Term of dismissal is one full calendar year.
  • Students are not allowed to attend TTU, nor appeal for immediate reinstatement.
  • Registration hold will be placed on records.
  • Student must apply for readmission for a term following the suspension in a timely manner to allow for complete processing and consideration of reinstatement:
  • If student took coursework elsewhere, a minimum GPA of 2.0 on the transfer work will be required.
  • Readmission decision to be determined by the student's Academic Dean.  If the student is approved for readmission following completion of the suspension term, the student is reinstated and eligible to attend courses and participate in all extracurricular activities as governed by the rules of the specific activity and subject to the conditions established by the Academic Dean or committee granting permission to attend classes. If readmitted, the Student must follow the Advising/Registration/Grading requirements for Academic Probation status.
• Permanent Academic Dismissal
  • Cumulative Institutional (TTU) GPA is less than 2.0 for a fourth consecutive term, or per the standing guidelines as outlined
  • Dismissal is permanent.
  • Students are not allowed to attend TTU, nor appeal for immediate reinstatement.
  • Registration hold will be placed on records.

Academic Terms: 

• Fall Semester (16 weeks) 
• Spring Semester (16 weeks) 
• Summer Term I (4 weeks) 
• Summer Term II (4 weeks) 

Academic Year - Begins on July 1 and concludes June 30 of the following year. 

Alumni - Individuals who have attended or graduated from a particular college or university.

Attendance – Student is present in class, either in person or online. Some professors take attendance daily, some will take attendance randomly, and others will not take attendance at all. Attendance may or may not count toward a student's final grade--this will be specified in the syllabus.

Authorized User – students may add third parties, such as parents or family members, as Authorized Users to view and pay the students tuition and fee bills. This is done in Raiderlink.

Award Letter - An official notification that a student has been accepted, which outlines the student's financial aid award package. 

B

BlackBoard - A learning management system that connects instructors and students in and out of the classroom that can be used to share documents, submit assignments and assign grades.

Board of Regents – Appointed by the Governor, this is the governing body for the Texas Tech University System. 

C

CA – Community Advisor, student employees who work in University Student Housing to assist students living in the residence halls.

Class Schedule - An online listing of courses offered for a specific term. 

College - Group of academic departments and/or programs administered by a college dean.  List of TTU colleges:

• Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources
• Huckabee College of Architecture
• College of Arts & Sciences
• Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration
• College of Education
• Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering
  Honors College
• College of Human Sciences
• College of Media & Communication
• Online
• J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts
• Graduate School
• School of Law
• School of Veterinary Medicine
• Texas Tech University - Costa Rica
• University Libraries
• University Studies

Commencement Ceremony - Event held at the end of the spring, fall, and summer II semesters to recognize candidates for graduation. 

Corequisite - Two or more courses that must be taken together during the same semester. 

Course Catalog - TTU's official publication of academic policies and procedures, programs of study and course offerings for a particular academic year. 

Course Reference Number (CRN) – course reference number for finding and registering for courses each semester. 

Credit by Examination - Method of earning academic credit outside of traditional course offerings. 

Credit Hour - Standard unit of measuring coursework. 

D

Dean - Highest administrative officer of a college. 

Dean's List - Published list of students who have achieved a specific level of achievement established by the university. The list is published at the conclusion of each semester. To be eligible for the Dean's List, a student must be a full-time student and complete the semester with no failures and earn a semester grade point average between 3.5 and 3.9. 

Declaring a Major/Minor - Indicates that a student wishes to pursue a particular major and/or minor. Some majors have specific admission requirements. 

DegreeWorks - DegreeWorks allows current students, along with their academic advisor, to monitor progress toward degree completion and plan future academic coursework.

Dining Plan – Students select dining plans from Hospitality Services to meet their dining needs. Dining Plans come with Dining Bucks that decline as students use them to purchase meals at on-campus Hospitality Services locations.  Students access their Dining Plans through their ID Cards.

Diploma - Document provided by the university certifying that the student has earned a degree.

Dual Enrollment - Typically refers to high school students who are receiving high school credit while also enrolled in college-level credit. 

E

eRaider account - eRaider is a single username and password that is required to access many resources at TTU. It allows the student to access email, the Internet, Raiderlink for registration and information, enroll in computing short courses, take advantage of online training, create a personal website, download free software, and much more.

F

Federal Work-Study - A program that provides jobs for eligible students and allows them to earn money to help pay for educational expenses. 

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) - A federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. This means third parties, including parents, do not have access to grades and other student records without the student's permission.

Full-time - Full-time status for undergraduate students in a regular semester is 12-18 credit hours. 

G

General Education Curriculum - Courses required of undergraduate students regardless of the student's major. Also referred to as core classes. 

Grades – The instructor of record determines grades for a course.  How those grades are achieved is included in the course syllabus. 

• A = Excellent
• B = Good
• C = Average
• D = Inferior (passing, but not necessarily satisfying degree requirements)
• F – Failure
• P = Passing
• PR = In Progress
• I = Incomplete
• W = Withdrawal
• R = A course repeated to remove a grade of I in undergraduate courses
• CR (Credit) and NC (No Credit) are given in certain circumstances
• The grades of A, B, C, and D carry with them grade points of 4, 3, 2, and 1, respectively, for each semester hour of credit value of the course in which the grade is received. All other grades have no assigned grade points.

Grade Point Average (GPA) - Only courses taken and grades received at Texas Tech University are used in calculating grade point averages. The current grade point average is determined by dividing the total number of grade points acquired during that semester by the total number of semester hours of all courses in which the student was registered in that semester, exclusive of courses in which grades such as DG, I, P, CR, and PR are received.

H

Hold - Prohibits students from functions such as registering for courses or receiving a transcript or diploma. Most holds are due to an unpaid financial obligation or failure to complete a required process. 

Homecoming - An annual tradition of the university to welcome alumni and families back to campus. 

Honor Societies - Qualified students are provided the opportunity to participate in honor societies. 

Hours – Number of hours a course is taught a specific semester. i.e., in a 3-hour class a student will be in the classroom for the course 3 hours a week generally, in a 4-hour class the student will be in class for 4 hours in a given week. These hours determine how much credit is given for a completing a course. 

I

“I” Incomplete Grade - An “I” grade may be given to a student only in the event of serious illness or justifiable hardships with the approval of the faculty members and the dean of the college for which the class resides. 

ID Card - Student's official university identification card. Student dining plans are accessed with their ID cards.

Independent Study Day – Day scheduled each Spring and Fall semester after the conclusion of all courses and before semester finals begin. Also called “Dead Day.” 

Intercession - A period between two academic sessions or terms sometimes utilized for brief concentrated courses. TTU has Fall, Winter, and May intersessions. 

Internship - Work at a business or agency related to a student's major and/or career plans for which credit hours are awarded. 

IT Help Central - TTU technical support that assists students with university technology needs. 

J

K

L

M

Major - Collection of courses and requirements that is designated as the student's primary area of specialization. Appears on the student's transcript. 

Masked Rider – TTU's primary mascot, who wears a mask and a cape and rides a black horse.

Minor - Collection of courses indicating additional specialization in an area of study beyond the major. Requires less hours to complete than a major. Appears on the student's transcript. 

N

O

Office Hours - Hours set aside by professors to meet individually with students. Professors include office hours on each course syllabus and may post them on their office door. 

Official Academic Transcript - A student's official academic record and the university's official record of credit and degrees awarded, including the courses taken by a student and the grades received in each course. Must be ordered through the Raiderlink and cost money to obtain.

P

Prerequisite - Specific requirement that must be met prior to enrolling in a given class. Prerequisites may consist of courses, test scores or enrollment in a specific program of study. May result on a hold on the student's account.

President's List - Published list of students who have achieved a specific level of achievement established by the university. The list is published at the conclusion of each semester. To be eligible for the President's List, a student must be a full-time student and complete the semester with a 4.0 GPA. 

Probation Status - Indicates unsatisfactory academic progress. Students failing to maintain a 2.0 GPA will be placed on academic probation. Students on academic probation may not enroll for more than 14 credit hours per semester. 

Provost - Chief academic officer of the university. 

Q

R

Raider Red – TTU's costumed mascot, who sports a big red mustache and wears a cowboy hat.

Raider Success Hub - is the one-stop-shop for student success. Students can connect with academic advisors, financial aid counselors, career advisors & their Success Team, schedule appointments, view class schedule, alerts & holds, and explore majors, minors & careers.

Raiderlink – Raiderlink is the online campus connection. Raiderlink provides class registration, financial services, campus calendar, campus announcements, search engines, local weather forecasts, and links to many other University services.

Red Raider – Name for student, staff, faculty, alumni, and others connected to the university.

Red Raider Family Network - A portal for parents, family members, and supporters of Texas Tech students where they can receive FERPA access to student records and emailed information to help them support their students.

R-Number – 8-digit ID automatically issued by the TTU System rather than using a student's Social Security Number. Asked for on most official forms including scholarship applications.

RRO (Red Raider Orientation - orientation event designed to assist first year and transfer students and their families in making a successful transition to university life at Texas Tech. 

S

ScheduleBuilder – Tool used to plan schedules each semester. Often taken to advising appointments to streamline the process.  

Semester/Term - Instructional period of 15 weeks plus a final examination period offered twice a year, Fall and Spring. Summer terms are usually offered in May, June and July and vary in length. 

Student Activities Fee - All full-time undergraduate students will be charged per semester for this fee. These funds will be directly allocated toward the co-curricular experience. 

Student Government Association (SGA) - Serves as the voice of the students at TTU. The organization is responsible for planning and implementing activities of common interest to students, representing student opinion to the college community and promoting a high standard of conduct. 

Student Schedule - A list of courses students are enrolled in for the semester, time/day of class meetings, instruction method and class location. 

Student Success Specialist – Student Success Specialists are staff members in each College who help support student success in and out of the classroom. They help students connect to resources on campus. 

Student Union (also called The SUB) – building located at 15th and Boston that house dining options, study spaces, meeting rooms, the Allen Theatre, a games area, and other places for students to hang out.

Syllabus - Document describing the objectives, outcomes, assessment activities and structure of a course that is made available to students during the first week of classes. 

T

TA – a graduate student who works with a TTU faculty member in a classroom capacity.

TechAlert - TTU's emergency notification system that calls, texts and emails. 

Transfer Credit - Courses taken at another accredited institution and accepted toward degree requirements at TTU. 

Transfer Student - Student who has completed 24 or more transferable college credit hours after high school graduation. 

Transportation & Parking – campus office which deals with parking (including vehicle, motorbikes, and bicycles) for students who live on campus as well as commuters. They run, in conjunction with Citibus, a bus service to help students get to and from commuter lots and between classes. 

Tuition - The amount of money that must be paid for classes. Other fees may be assessed in addition to tuition. 

U

University System – A collection of different separate universities connected under the Texas Tech University System umbrella.

Unofficial Academic Transcript - A student's unofficial academic record and the university's official record of credit and degrees awarded, including the courses taken by a student and the grades received in each course. May be downloaded through Raiderlink, can be obtained as many times as students would like throughout the semester, and is free each time. 

Upper Level Courses - Undergraduate courses numbered 3000 and 4000 level. Must complete 39 hours to graduate. 

V

Victory Bells – Housed in the East tower of the Administration building, these bells are rung by members of the Saddle Tramps and High Riders, two student organizations that support TTU Athletics, after athletic victories or other momentous occasions such as Commencement. 

W

Withdraw - A student no longer plans to attend any of their classes. Must complete a formal process.

XYZ

 

Other helpful sites

TTU Undergraduate Catalog

A History of Texas Tech

TTU Majors and Colleges

Tip: The simplest way to find more information is to Google "TTU" and then the topic. For example, if you want to know about the Texas Tech Band, Google "TTU Band" and you'll find the Goin' Band from Raiderland page.