IU terms and abbreviations to know

A&H – courses categorized as Arts and Humanities by COAS (see below)
Academic probation – when a student’s cumulative grade point average for a semester falls below 2.0

AI – associate instructor

Audit – taking a class not for credit

B-School – the Kelley School of Business

Big Ten – the collegiate athletic conference that IU is a member of. The other schools in the Big Ten are Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Northwestern and Iowa.

Bursar – the office that bills tuition and room and board fees. The Bursar’s office is located in Room 011 of Franklin Hall, 601 E. Kirkwood Ave.

Campus Access card – In addition to being a photo ID, library card, bus pass, residence hall meal card and debit card, this card provides access to other convenient services.

COAS – the College of Arts and Sciences; sometimes called simply “the College”

FIG – Freshman Interest Groups. Students in these groups live in the same dorms and enroll in a few of the same courses; they are designed to ease the transition from high school to college.

GLBTSSS – the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services; provides support, information and advocacy for potential and current students as well as concerned parents and curious parties. The office also offers counseling services and programming throughout the year.

GPA – Grade point average

Greek system – the sororities and fraternities that make up about 17 percent of the IU student population. The houses’ names are combinations of letters from the Greek alphabet.

HPER (pronounced “hyper”) – The School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation; commonly used to refer to classes offered through the school and the recreation and sporting facilities that are located in the same building

IMU – Indiana Memorial Union; often referred to as “the Union,” located at 900 E. Seventh St.

IUAA – IU Alumni Association; students can become members even before they graduate (see SAA)

IUSA – IU Student Association; IU’s student government

IUSF – IU Student Foundation; a nonprofit organization that raises funds for the University; IUSF sponsors IU Sing and the Little 500 bike race

J-School – School of Journalism; located in Ernie Pyle Hall

Little 5 – the famous Little 500 bicycle race and the week of events surrounding it

Little 50 – an annual team relay foot race that is held around the same time as Little 500

MAC – Musical Arts Center, located at 101 N. Jordan Ave., across from Read Center dorm. This venue is the site of Jacobs School of Music opera performances and IU Ballet Department shows.

N&M – courses categorized as Natural and Mathematical Sciences by COAS

Office hours – times that your professors set aside each week to be available to answer questions you have about their classes

OneStart – onestart.iu.edu; a site that gives you access to your student e-mail account, schedule, transcript, grades and other University services

Oncourse – oncourse.iu.edu; an online portal for IU faculty and students to use to keep in contact for classes. Professors and students can post resources, set up message boards and more on pages made for each particular class.

RHA – Residence Halls Association; the student government body that represents students living in the dorms and on campus

RPS – Residential Programs and Services; the division that handles all things related to a student’s living environment, including dorm rooms, meal plans and programming

S&H – courses categorized as Social and Historical Studies by COAS

SAA – IU Student Alumni Association; promotes development of leadership and organizational skills

SAB – Student Athletic Board; allows students to become involved with IU athletics without being athletes

SID – Student ID number; used to access transcript or schedule online; sometimes required by professors when taking tests

SPEA – School of Public and Environmental Affairs

SRSC – Student Recreational Sports Center, located on Law Lane; 204,000 square-foot facility offering more than 400 workout machines in addition to other programs and courts for working out

TA – Teacher’s Assistant

UD – University Division; the part of IU most freshmen are automatically admitted into and remain in until they are accepted by the school of their major

UITS – University Information Technology Services; deals with all things computer and technology-related on campus

Webmail – webmail.iu.edu; IU’s e-mail service

WTS (pronounced “wits”) – Writing Tutorial Services; available to all students who need help writing papers

X – If you know you are going to fail a class, you can request an X; the stipulation is that you have to retake the class to replace the X. The “X” grade replacement can only be used to replace up to 15 total hours for undergraduate students.