GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Curriculum Guide: A document containing required courses, criteria for entrance, and other relevant information about a particular major or minor. PMAA advisors distribute these to advisees according to major and/or minor interest and review the particulars with them as they work together to determine progress toward that major and/or minor.

Dropping or Adding a Course: Can be accomplished on myWCU from a student’s Enrollment Appointment date for the upcoming semester up until the end of the drop/add period of that semester. The drop/add period begins on the first day of classes each semester and typically ends on the fifth day of that semester.  

Enrollment Appointment: The date on which a student is permitted to begin scheduling their courses for the upcoming semester. This date can be found at the bottom right hand corner of each student’s myWCU Homepage. Students must see their advisor to discuss the upcoming semester before they can take advantage of this privilege. The enrollment appointment date is determined by the Registrar’s Office, based on the number of credits completed, and cannot be changed by the student’s PMAA advisor.

External Transfer: Transferring to WCU and directly into a particular major from another university. See Internal Transfer.

“i” course: Interdisciplinary Course; a general education requirement. In order to complete the requirement, students must choose and take one of these from the available list of course offerings.

Internal Transfer: Moving out of “pre-major” or undeclared status and into a particular major by submitting a completed Application for Change of Major form signed by PMAA advisor. Also known as “declaring a major.” Moving from one major to another is also considered an internal transfer. See External Transfer.

“j” course: Diversity Course; a general education requirement. In order to complete the requirement, students must choose and take one of these from the available list of course offerings.

Pass/Fail: After the completion of 30 credits, students may take some courses on a pass/fail basis. Students wishing to take a course this way must, by the end of the ninth week of classes, submit to the Registrar a pass/fail form signed by their PMAA advisor. See the WCU Catalog for more specific details.

Pre-Requisites: Courses that must be completed and/or grade point average requirements that must be reached before a student can take a particular upper-level course.

“w” course: Writing Emphasis course; a general education requirement. These are not the same as WRT120 or WRT200 courses, which fulfill a different general education requirement.  In order to complete the requirement, students must choose and take three writing emphasis courses from the available list of offerings. Sometimes these courses also simultaneously satisfy another general education or major requirement.

Withdrawing from a Course: Can be accomplished by completing a Drop/Withdrawal Form and submitting it to the Registrar’s Office. This is the only way a student may get out of a particular course after the end of the drop/add period. The course withdrawal period begins the day after the end of the drop/add period, and ends the last day of the ninth week of classes.