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Planning Glossary

Following are definitions of the terms used with Academic Planning. 

Academic goal 

A degree, diploma, certificate, or similar credential of significance that is offered by the institution. It is typically granted at the successful completion of a program of study. Which credentials are offered and which are recognized varies by institution.

Corequisite

A requirement that specific courses be taken and completed together, in the same term. For example, courses in science and language may have lab components that must be taken with the lecture or classroom course. 

Course requirement 

An item that is audited for degree progress. It might be one or more courses that must be completed, or it might be a list of courses (or sets of courses) from which you can choose to satisfy the requirement. One course might satisfy multiple requirements.

Placeholder

Visual flags that prompt the student to take action and select an appropriate course option. When the student clicks the placeholder, they can type to search the course catalog. 

Plan 

A living record describing an academic pathway, edited and viewed on the Planning canvas. It orders the activities that the student will complete to reach an academic goal, as agreed by the student and advisor. It guides the student not only in what courses to take, but in what sequence to take them, to ensure on-time completion of their credential.

Plan library

The collection of all the plans that the user created or has had shared with them. A student sees only their own plans; an advisor sees plans for all their students.

Prerequisite

Often called a “prereq”. A requirement to complete a specific course, experience, or level (which might be determined by testing) before the given course may be scheduled.

Primary plan

The plan that the student has started and is currently following to track progress toward completion. For example, if considering a different major, the student will develop another plan for that, but they will make it primary only if they decide to commit to that path. Either the student or the advisor may make a plan primary, which is done by clicking the Start icon next to its title. All starts and stops to a plan are captured in its change log.

Template

A prebuilt or starter academic plan, which is a set of recommended items to be taken to satisfy academic goal requirements (including pre-reqs and co-reqs). For example, a template for a pre-med major might show that freshmen must complete a set of courses and pass a set of milestones by Spring, or they must complete them during Summer, in order to advance. The items are organized by term, in a set sequence and grouping. Template structure and usage varies by institution.

Template library 

The collection of all the templates that the institution has created or imported. A student sees only the templates that their advisor shares with them; an advisor sees all templates as well as which ones have been shared with each of their students.

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