Higher Education

How well do you know your college terms? Take this AJC quiz

May 4, 2018 Athens - Students wear decorated caps during the 2018 spring undergraduate commencement ceremony at Sanford Stadium in Athens on Friday, May 4, 2018. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM
May 4, 2018 Athens - Students wear decorated caps during the 2018 spring undergraduate commencement ceremony at Sanford Stadium in Athens on Friday, May 4, 2018. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM
By AJC staff
June 14, 2019

"FERPA," "registrar," "matriculation" and even "dean's list": Part of a long list of academic jargon that make it hard for students who can't understand it (including native English speakers).

Colleges and universities across the country continue to produce instructions and forms — from handbooks and guides to websites and policies about everything from academic honesty to sexual harassment —that are puzzles of almost comically complex words and phrases.

>> READ | A surprising barrier to college success: Dense higher education lingo

>> MORE | Say what? Edu-speak obfuscates simple language

Now some institutions, including UGA, are taking steps to address this problem. During the past academic year, it produced a handbook (there's also an online version) using simple and clear English, that was mailed to more than 400 incoming freshmen who were the first in their families to go to college

Read more about how schools are simplifying the language of college for college students here, and take our quiz to test your knowledge of college terms. Will you make the dean's list or is remediation required?

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