Glossary of Terms

admission
entry to a particular institution or program that is formally granted by the institution after a student meets set requirements

advisor/advising
person or act of directing a student toward the proper courses necessary to complete the student's educational goals

asynchronous communication or interaction
any act of exchanging information involving a delay between the sending and the receiving of the message

associate degree
degree program requiring 60+ hours of specified course work

bachelor's degree or baccalaureate
the degree of bachelor of arts or bachelor of science, typically requiring 120 hours of specified course work

bursar
campus office where student tuition and fee payments are made

campus
physical location of a college or university

campus coordinator
an ICN learner's primary contact at the Home Institutionan who assists with registration and provides on-campus support

correspondence course
a course in which all communication between student and instructor is done with printed materials via the US Mail

credit course
a class with specified learning goals which the student is required to meet in order to pass the course and that may be applied toward the fulfillment of degree requirements at a college or university

degree program
an organized sequence of classes that leads to the awarding of a college degree at the undergraduate or graduate level

delivery method
means by which a course is accessible to the student; can be television at a Receive Site, cable, videotape, via the Internet, or by U.S. mail

distance education
a formal learning activity which occurs when students and instructor are separated by geographic distance or by time, often supported by communications technology such as television, videotape, computers or mail

drop/withdrawal
student option for not continuing enrollment in a course. Student receives a full or partial refund of tuition and fees if the drop or withdrawal is completed by a certain date near the beginning of the semester

electronic mail (email)
a system of exchanging messages by means of computers attached to a network

electronic mail account or email account
an authorization that allows the sending of electronic mail messages over a particular system, such as one college's network

faculty
instructors of higher education course work; a group term: one college teacher is "a member of the faculty"

fees/costs
payment required for itemized services or materials involved with higher education classes

final exams
tests often given at the end of a course to assess mastery of course material

financial aid
money available from various sources and under various conditions to students needing assistance to pay tuition and educational expenses. The term covers both grants and loans.

graduate course
a credit course that may be applied to a graduate degree (that is, a master's or other professional degree, usually requiring at least 30 hours of work beyond the bachelor's degree)

Home Institution
the university or college in Indiana that processes your enrollment, maintains your records, issues your grades and grants credit, provides financial aid services, and grants your degree if you are degree seeking.

Indiana College Network (ICN)
a collaborative distance education service with participation from all of Indiana's accredited public colleges and unviersities and a growing number of private institutions that delivers educational courses and programs to learners at a distance

Indiana Partnership for Statewide Education (IPSE)
a cooperative venture formed in 1992 by Indiana's colleges and universities to deliver and support high-quality instructional programming for students wherever they are

Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System (IHETS)
a state-supported consortium of all higher education institutions in Indiana that operates and manages telecommunication networks and services for shared use in addition to operating the Indiana College Network

IHETS Receive Site
location equipped to receive televised distance education courses over the IHETS satellite network; students can view and participate in televised classes at these locations.

IHETS Television
a closed-circuit satellite network transmitting distance education courses from colleges and universities to students throughout Indiana and beyond (note: As of June 2006 IHETS Television is no longer an active delivery method)

IHETS Interactive

IHETS Interactive is a Web-based application that supports live video and audio as well as other types of interaction and collaboration. Students watch and listen to the instructor using a standard Windows PC and interact with the instructor and one another using the application’s audio and text chat features. IHETS Interactive classes can be taken at any location with a networked PC meeting the minimum technical requirements, including from home or work. Students who do not have regular access to a networked computer can participate from an authorized IHETS Interactive receive site.

independent study
courses delivered and completed primarily via US mail

Internet
the web of interconnections among computers that allow computer users to exchange electronic mail and access host computers at a distance, including host computers providing sites on the World Wide Web ("WWW" or "Web")

IPSE Member Institutions (not the same as ICN Participating Institutins)

• Ball State University
• Independent Colleges of Indiana
• Indiana State University
• Indiana University
• Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana
• Purdue University
• University of Southern Indiana
• Vincennes University

learning center
a place where students can use equipment and obtain services needed to participate in distance education classes, including computers and fax machines

learning center coordinator
individual at a Learning Center who provides information about learning opportunities, access to equipment, instruction in its use, and general help with course-related or program-related service needs, questions, and problems

library coordinator
a librarian at a college or university who provides library services and resources to distance education students taking courses originating from that institution

live interaction
ability for students to participate in classes offered at a distance using electronic technology (video or audio return communication for a TV class or "chat" mode on the Internet)

noncredit
a class that typically meets only once or just a few times and that contributes toward personal or occupational development rather than being applicable toward a college degree

open enrollment
courses which allow students to register at any time throughout the year. Open enrollment courses generally must be completed within a six month or one year period, depending upon the originating institution

Originating Institution
the college or university which produces and offers a specific course

parallel course
course that must be taken the same semester as another for full credit

prerequisite
requirements necessary before a student can take a particular class

professional development
courses offered to improve knowledge and skills in a specific professional areas, such as professional certification programs

registrar's office
campus office where student registration and records are compiled

registration
act wherein a student enrolls in a specific course

student services
services for students and prospective students, including counseling and help with course registration )

syllabus
outline of material a specific course will cover, on what schedule, with what assignments; usually distributed at the first class of the semester (plural: syllabi).

Teleresponse
a special device developed by IHETS for the satellite network to allow off-site, distant students to interact with the instructor and classmates via return audio communication

transferability
the extent to which a course taken from one campus may be accepted by another campus; variations determining full or partial transfer of the credit depend on such factors as whether the receiving campus offers an equivalent or similar course at comparable levels of academic expectation for learning; academic advisors and campus coordinators have information about whether and how specific courses will transfer to their institutions and degree programs

transcript
student record of grades, courses completed, and advancement toward a degree or toward the completion of a program

tuition
payment required for enrollment in a course

undergraduate course
a credit course that may be applied to an undergraduate degree (that is, a two-year college degree, often referred to as an associate degree, or a four-year college degree, often referred to as a bachelor's degree)

Virtual Indiana Classroom (VIC)
delivery method of the Indiana University Virtual Indiana Classroom network. The two-way video courses delivered via the IU interactive network are available solely at IU campuses

World Wide Web (WWW or Web)
an information system based on hypertext, in which you can follow links from one document to another; the millions of documents which make up the Web are located on computers all over the world and can be accessed via the Internet