Lexicon - Definitions - A

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A.A.
Associate in Arts degree is a college transfer degree comparable to the freshman and sophomore levels at four-year institutions. Requires a minimum of 64 semester hours and a maximum of 65 semester hours of college transfer courses.

AACC
Central Piedmont is a member of the American Association of Community Colleges and is represented at its meetings. AACC publishes Community College Journal monthly.

A.A.S.
The Associate in Applied Science degree is granted for completion of planned programs of 64-76 semester hours to provide entry-level employment education. An AAS program must include a minimum of 15 hours of general education and a minimum of 49 hours of major courses with numbers 110-199 or 210-299.

A.F.A.
The Associate in Fine Arts degree is granted for planned programs of study consisting of a minimum of 64 semester hours and a maximum of 65 hours of college transfer courses with an emphasis on the arts.

A.G.E.
The Associate in General Education degree is designed for the academic enrichment of students who wish to broaden their education, with emphasis on personal interest, growth and development. The program may include both university transfer and non-transfer courses. Not a transfer degree.

APAC
Alternate name for the Overcash Academic and Performing Arts Center on Central Campus. See below.

A.S.
Associate in Science degree is a college transfer degree designed for students who want to major in engineering, computer science, and related programs of study at four-year institutions. Requires a minimum of 64 semester hours and a maximum of 65 semester hours of college transfer courses with an emphasis on the natural sciences.

AAWCC
American Association of Women in Community Colleges.

ABE
Adult Basic Education offers classes for adults 18 years old or older whose educational achievement is less than ninth grade, with special emphasis on those adults whose achievement is less than fifth grade. The program also provides experiences to meet social and personal needs of adult students.

ABLE
Adult Basic Literacy Education is a basic skills program for adults who want to read, write, or calculate at an adult level. The program also provides experiences to meet social and personal needs of adult students.

ACADEMIC ADVISOR
A member of the faculty in a specified program who works with students in that program to help them reach their educational goals.

ACADEMIC AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
see Overcash APAC

ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE
The status of students working for a degree, diploma, or certificate when their program GPA in any semester is below Standards of Progress required for the number of semester hours they attempted.

ACADEMIC ESL
See English as a Second Language or Adult English as a Second Language..

ACADEMIC INTERVENTION
The status of students working for a degree, diploma, or certificate when their program GPA in any semester is below Standards of Progress required for the number of semester hours they attempted.

ACADEMIC SUSPENSION
The status of students working for a degree, diploma, or certificate after they have been on Academic Intervention for two consecutive semesters of enrollment and their program GPA remains below Standards of Progress.

ACCESS
Access is a database creation and editing application produced by Microsoft. It is commonly included as a standard in the MS Office suite of applications. A free Snapshot "viewer" plug-in that allows users to view Access reports without having the software installed on their system is available through the downloads area of the Microsoft web site.

ACCOUNTABILITY
Requirement of both teachers and students to show mastery of a minimum level of skills. Various tests are used to provide evidence of mastery. Accountability is usually required of institutions by funding and governing bodies for resources used and for goods and services produced.

ACROBAT
Documents, images, and other forms of static content my be published as Adobe Acrobat documents. Acrobat files can generally be recognized by the unique portable document format *.pdf file extension. Viewing Acrobat files may require students to install the free "Adobe Reader" application.

ACT
One of a number of testing centers throughout the United States. CPCC's ACT Center is housed at the Harris Campus. It offers an extensive library of server-based and Internet-based training courses, in addition to being a provider of high stakes testing. Access more information at the ACT Centers website.

ADULT ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (Adult ESL)
English as a Second Language is a general term covering both Academic English as a Second Language (EFL) and Adult English as a Second Language (see LEP).  Academic English as a Second Language prepares nonnative speakers of English to function successfully in institutions of higher education and professional settings in the United States.

ADVANCEMENT STUDIES
See Developmental Studies.

ADVANTAGE CAROLINA
A project of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce in which over 400 business and civic leaders gave input to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the Charlotte economy. The objective of Advantage Carolina is to help ensure that Charlotte's economy continues to grow while the community remains uniquely livable. Five industry clusters that bring in new economic wealth have been identified: financial services, transportation, high growth manufacturing, professional services, and travel and entertainment.

ADVISEMENT WEEK
A week each semester, prior to registration, when students are encouraged to meet with their faculty advisors and program counselors.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE
A group of volunteers who meet regularly on a long-term basis to provide advice and support to one of CPCC's programs or discipline areas. Most committees have eight to twelve members, appointed by the President. Terms run from September 1 to August 31.

AHS
Adult High School program leads to a diploma granted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. Program completers must pass the N.C. Competency Test. Admission requires that an individual be 18 years old or older. Courses are identified with a prefix of HSD. Classes are free; however, students must purchase textbooks.

ALC
The Ruth Shaw Academic Learning Center is a multi-lab center, which provides tutoring assistance in academic subjects and offers computer workstations to currently registered CPCC students.

AMT
The Advisement Management Team is composed of advisement coordinators responsible for assisting advisors within their instructional divisions, Counseling and Advisement personnel, and representatives from all CPCC campuses. AMT addresses advisement issues.

APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES DIVISION
The instructional division formerly known as Technical Careers. Headquartered at Harper Campus. Name changed in summer 2004. Organization chart.

APPRENTICESHIP 2000
Apprenticeship 2000 is a consortium of area companies who use the European apprenticeship model in conjunction with CPCC to train/educate their employees for high-level jobs. Upon completion of the four-year program, Apprenticeship 2000 graduates are awarded an associate degree and a journeyman's certificate from the NC Department of Labor.

AREA CAMPUS
One of the six physical campuses of the College:  Central, Harper, Levine, North, Cato, and Harris.

ASPIRE
is the name of the bronze sculpture in Legacy Plaza in front of the Overcash Academic and Performing Arts Center on Central Campus. The artist is Greg Wyatt. The sculpture was commissioned and donated by Queen's Table of Charlotte, a philanthropic group.

ASSESSMENT
The ability to appraise or estimate the attributes of a person, group, or program. Tools of assessment can include checklists, inventories, observations, needs assessments, rating scales, and all types of tests.

ASSOCIATE DEGREE
A document issued to a student signifying completion of a two-year curriculum/program.

ATC
Advanced Technologies Center is a building on Central Campus. This building houses engineering technologies and computer programs. It opened in 1990. Address is 241 East Independence Blvd.