2022-2023 Catalog 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
2022-2023 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Glossary


Administrative Withdrawal: An administrative withdrawal occurs when an instructor or staff member has a student withdrawn from a course because of excessive absences, undue academic difficulty, or a serious non-academic issue.

Apply for Admission: The process of applying for entrance to the college in order to take courses. Admission applications are not required for non-credit programs.

Canvas: Canvas is a Web-based learning management system (LMS) designed to support online courses and provide a space to supplement a face-to-face course. Canvas provides many types of tools and features for enriching the learning experience.

Career Studies Certificate (CSC) Program: A program of study that consists of between 9 and 29 semester credit hours.

Catalog: The Catalog includes information about admission to the College, enrollment, degrees and certificates, and academic policies.

Certificate Program: A program of study less than two years in length that consists of between 30 and 59 semester credit hours or a short-term, non-credit program through the MECC Workforce Development Center.

Class Schedule: The class schedule lists all the courses available for each academic semester including class times, location, course information and instructor information.

Concurrent Enrollment: When a high school or home school student enrolls in college-credit bearing courses at the College.

Co-requisite: Co-requisites are courses that must be taken at the same time. A student is also permitted to complete the co-requisite course prior to the other course. For example, MTH 163  is a corequisite for EGR 120 . A student may take MTH 163  before enrolling in EGR 120 , or he/she may take the courses at the same time.

Credit/credit hour: Each semester hour of credit given for a course is based on the “academic hour,” which is 50 minutes of formalized, structured instructional time in a particular course weekly for fifteen weeks. Courses may include lecture (instruction, discussion), laboratory (including clinical training, studio, or internship), out-ofclass study/activities or a combination thereof depending on the discipline.

Curricular student: A student who has satisfied all college admission requirements and has been placed in a degree or certificate program.

Declaring a Major (Curriculum/program placement): A major represents a degree-seeking student’s primary field of study. A student must formally commit to a major, and successfully complete the courses prescribed in order to earn that certificate or degree.

Degree Program: A degree program is two years in length and consists of a minimum of 60 semester credit hours.

Developmental Courses: Developmental courses assist students in developing basic skills necessary to succeed in college transfer courses and career/technical courses.

Drop: Students may drop classes and receive a full tuition refund through the first 15 percent of the semester or term. There are no academic consequences from this action, but there may be financial aid repercussions for this drop if the student no longer meets financial aid qualifications. The course will show on the student’s registration history as dropped but will not post on any unofficial or official transcripts and does not count as attempted credit.

Dual Enrollment: Provides high school students the opportunity to take college-credit bearing courses taught by college-approved high school teachers.

Enroll: Officially register as a participant/student in one or more courses.

Faculty Advisor: A faculty advisor provides academic advising and support to students within their discipline by helping them understand options, locate resources and, when necessary, identify alternatives. Once a student declares their major they are assigned a faculty advisor.

FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

FERPA: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. FERPA protects the privacy of student education records. All educational institutions that receive federal funding must comply with FERPA.

Full-time student: A student enrolled in courses totaling 12 or more credit hours in a semester.

Hybrid Course: Hybrid classes are seated courses that meet for approximately half of the time of a traditional class. The other half of the instructional time is replaced with out-of-class activities, which may include use of technology. Hybrid courses are recognizable in the course schedule by the “R” designation in front of the course number.

HyFlex Course: HyFlex courses offer maximum flexibility for students, allowing students to choose whether to attend class in person, on Zoom, or complete assignments asynchronously online. There will still be due dates and deadlines like any other type of course, but students can move between delivery methods (attending one week in person and the next online, for example) based on their own needs and availabilities. HyFlex courses are shown in the course schedule with the “F” designation (such as ENG 111  F1).

myMECC: A web portal that allows students to access Canvas, the Student Information System, student e-mail, library services, and the Virginia Education Wizard from one location, using one login.

Non-credit: Short-term professional and personal development courses offered through the Workforce Solutions department. All classes offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Continuing Professional Education (CPE). The number of CEUs awarded depends upon successful course completion and varies according to course length. For each hour of actual instruction, 0.1 CEU is awarded. For CPEs, students simply need to request them from the Workforce Solutions before class.

Non-curricular student: A student who is not formally placed into one of the College’s majors but who is classified according to one of the following student goals or conditions: • updating employment skills for present job • developing skills for new job • career exploration • personal satisfaction and general knowledge • transient student • non-degree transfer student • high school student (with college approval only) • general or curricular requirements pending (with college approval only) • restricted enrollment (with college approval; auditing a course)

Online Course: In this mode of instruction, all coursework and interactions with the instructor and classmates are completed online. Online courses are recognizable in the course schedule by the “W” designation in front of the course number.

Online SSDL Course: The College also offers online courses through Shared Services Distance Learning (SSDL). SSDL courses are offered in partnership with Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC). These courses allow students to earn MECC credit while taking an online course with a NVCC instructor, as well as use the MECC Testing Centers to take proctored assessments. SSDL courses have access to all MECC services, as well as services provided by NVCC. Students enrolled in SSDL courses will receive a letter from NVCC and an invitation to participate in an online orientation, and a MECC liaison provides support during the semester. SSDL courses follow the NVCC academic calendar. Please review course notes for start and end dates. All SSDL courses have a section number that begins with the letters “E.”

Part-time student: A student enrolled in courses totaling less than 12 credit hours in a semester.

Pre-requisite: A pre-requisite indicates the knowledge and skills that a student must possess before taking the present course. For example, ENG 111  is a pre-requisite to ENG 112  and must be successfully completed prior to beginning ENG 112 .

Seated Course: Traditional, in-person classes that provide a face-to-face learning experience. Seated classes meet at a regularly scheduled time. Seated courses do not have any special designation in the course schedule. Specialization: A specialization is an area of concentration within an approved major, varying from the parent major by 9-15 credit hours.

Student E-mail: After a student has applied for admission to the college, a college email address is assigned to them. Students must use their college e-mail account for correspondence with faculty and staff. It is accessed through myMECC.

Student Information System (SIS): The Student Information System allows students to complete tasks such as registering for classes, paying tuition/fees, accessing personal information, viewing financial aid, viewing final grades, viewing/printing unofficial transcripts, and so much more.

Syllabus: A syllabus is an outline of course topics and a summary of course policies. It is a contract between instructors and their students, designed to answer students’ questions about a course and the instructor’s expectations.

Transient Student: A student who is enrolled in another college or university, but takes a course at Mountain Empire Community College.

Videoconference Course: This is a method of holding meetings that allows students who are in different cities, countries, etc., to hear each other and see each other on computer or television screens. Class meetings are scheduled just like traditional on-campus classes, but the instructor is connected to the class by a video network. Additional instruction may be in Canvas or other sources.

Virginia Placement Test (VPT): The VPT may be used to determine whether a student may benefit from developmental coursework prior to enrolling in college-level classes. Placement tests in English (writing and reading) and mathematics are generally required for all entering students seeking admission to degree and certificate programs, as well as some career studies certificate programs.

Withdrawal: An academic withdrawal from a course occurs when a student removes themselves from a course after the drop period has passed but before the first 60 percent of the semester or term. There may be financial/financial aid repercussions for this withdrawal. The academic consequences from this action include receiving the grade of “W” for the course, which will appear on any unofficial or official transcripts. A grade of “W” will not impact your GPA, and does not count as completed credit toward your degree.