Educational Definitions

The terms below are used in the degree and certificate program and course descriptions throughout this catalog:

Additional Requirements: Non-disciplinary courses specifically selected to enlarge and enhance students’ essential knowledge
Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees are awarded at the completion of programs designed to prepare the graduate for employment. Public universities in Arizona now offer many AAS to BAS pathways. Visit www.aztransfer.com for more information or speak to your academic adviser.
Certificates of Applied Science (CAS) are awarded upon completion of specific program courses designed for employment skills.
Certificates of Proficiency (CP) are awarded for some shorter programs with a narrow focus to prepare students for specific employment-related skills.
Certificates of Completion are awarded to students from a specific division in some courses for successfully satisfying class requirements. For further information contact your instructor.
Clinical: An on-site work experience supervised by faculty allowing students to practice and demonstrate their developing client care skills and competencies. Students also participate in preceptorships when faculty assign them to a professional who instructs, supervises, and evaluates the students.
Co-curricular Activities at NPC are structured learning activities that support or complement the formal curricular programs offered by the college in its service areas. These activities are designed to enrich students’ learning experiences beyond the classroom and foster their academic excellence and success.
Co-requisite: Indicates a course that can be taken prior to or at the same time as the listed course.
Concurrent Requisite: Concurrent courses must be taken during the same semester.
Core Requirements: Courses specifically selected to educate the student in the essential knowledge of the individual program.
Discipline Studies Requirements: A subcategory of general education requirements that indicates acceptable subject areas in addition to Mathematics and Communications.
General Education Requirements: Courses, typically Mathematics, Communications, and others, from a predetermined list of disciplines that provide students with a broad knowledge base. If specific courses are required, those are listed in the degree or program description. (see General Education Course List/AGEC )
Internship: Work opportunities in which students fulfill limited-term positions within a company or organization in order to gain experience and develop career-specific skills.
Lab: A hands-on learning environment including synchronous access to the instructor (either face-to-face or virtually) applying scientific methods, practical skills and/or creativity in the acquisition of knowledge. Some examples: painting, pipetting, tying knots, curling hair, sawing lumber, and computer programming.
Lecture: A formal sharing of knowledge in a learning environment, either in person or via technology in connected classrooms, engaging the audience through exposition and active-learning methods (demonstrations and questions) while encouraging critical thinking and personal introspection.
Practicum: Field experiences in which students apply their learning in real-life situations and events. The purpose of practicum is to assist in the development of the essential skills, knowledge and dispositions of a profession through exposure to practical experiences in the field. Practicum includes both engagement in professional practice and reflective supervision with a college instructor to meet specified outcomes. The required number of hours and levels of supervision on site vary by program of study.
Prerequisite: Course that must be completed or satisfactory placement score achieved prior to enrolling in the course.
Required Electives: Courses specifically selected to supplement and expand the student’s knowledge base in the individual program.
Sunset Date: The date by which a degree and/or certificate must be completed after elimination or change of the program of study from the college catalog as established in a Teach-out Plan.
Teach-out Plan: A written plan created when a program of study is eliminated from the college catalog or substantively changed. Teach-out Plans identify courses and substitutions to allow students the opportunity to complete a specific certificate or degree after program deletion or change. To be eligible to follow a Teach-out Plan, students must maintain continuous enrollment and have identified the program of study prior to its deletion or change.
Transferable Electives: Courses that transfer to all three public Arizona universities as defined in the Course Equivalency Guide for the year in which the course is completed. You can access the Course Equivalency Guide here: http://aztransmac2.asu.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CEG.
Unrestricted Electives or Electives: Any unduplicated course(s) at the 100-level or higher that the student may wish to select.

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