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Alphabetical List of Terms
Pick a letter. Any letter.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | W
Please note: in an effort to avoid confusion, this list does not include the full list of Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) terms.
A
Academic probation: Special academic circumstances for when you have a lower GPA than what is required for your extracurricular activities, scholarships, work-study, etc.
ADV-course: Short for advising designated academic courses, new first-year students are required to enroll in one during their first semester. The faculty member teaching the ADV-designated course is assigned as the student’s faculty advisor.
Area director (AD): A position on campus that oversees groups of resident assistants (RAs) and residence life assistants (RLAs) and residence halls. There are two ADs at Linfield.
ASLU: the Associated Students of Linfield University, Linfield’s student government.
ASLU-PC: the Associated Students of Linfield University on the Portland campus.
B
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.): A type of bachelor’s degree you can acquire – requires a world language (either two semesters of a beginning level or one semester of an intermediate level).
Bachelor of Science (B.S.): A type of bachelor’s degree you can acquire – requires two courses (at least 3 credits) of a science/math-based subject outside of your major.
BCMB: Short for the biochemistry and molecular biology major.
Biochem: Short for the biochemistry and molecular biology major.
Bite: Dillin Hall's menu or food calendar available on an app called Bite.
Blackboard: What most professors will use to assign papers, quizzes and other materials to their class. You can also (usually) look at your grades. Learn more about Blackboard.
BSU: Abbreviation for Black Student Union, the campus organization out of DEI programs, brings together and acknowledges individuals of all diversities while striving to give unique insight and education in Black culture.
C
Care referral: A form that can be completed by any member of the Linfield community, when there’s a concern about a student’s success. Concerns include, but are not limited to, a student’s academic, mental or physical well-being. Information submitted to the care team will be treated with the utmost discretion and in the interest of connecting the student to relevant support resources.
CAS: Short for the College of Arts & Sciences.
Cat Alert: Linfield’s emergency notification system. You can sign up for text message, voice message and email notifications through WebAdvisor.
Cat Camp: a fun interactive pep rally-type event where new students learn the history and traditions of Linfield.
Cat Compass: A platform faculty and staff utilize to complete many student interventions on campus, including care referrals, incident reports and bi-semester academic surveys (known as the Stoplight Survey).
Cat Connect: Where students can find jobs, internships or volunteer opportunities, both on and off-campus.
Cat Closet: a student-run thrift store on the McMinnville campus.
Cat Zone: the student section at home football games.
CatCab: Linfield’s Safe Ride program, a complimentary and reliable shuttle service for students. This service is sponsored by Linfield Public Safety (LPS) and the Office of Student Activities on the McMinnville campus.
CatDome: What our football fans like to call the Memorial Stadium and Maxwell Field.
CatNet: An identification (ID) assigned to each individual when first joining Linfield that is used to access many technology platforms throughout the university, including campus Wifi and email. Your CatNet ID is generally the same as the first part of your email address (before the @linfield.edu).
CERT: Linfield's Community Emergency Response Team program. Two online courses are held each year and include training such as disaster preparedness, fire safety, light search and rescue, and more.
Co-ed residence halls: Residence halls/dorms where all genders are allowed, and floors or wings are designated for male and female students.
Cohort: Commonly used in our nursing programs, a group of Linfield students who start a program together.
College: A higher education institution that commonly does not provide a graduate program(s).
Commencement Greens/Oak Grove: large lawn with trees in front of Melrose Hall and at the main campus entrance where Commencement takes place.
Common Application: Common App for short, a secure online portal where you can apply to nearly 900 four-year colleges in the United States and around the world, Linfield is one of them.
Convocation: The formal opening of the academic year. New students and families are welcome. Faculty and university administrators typically dress in their academic regalia (caps, gowns and hoods).
Cost of attendance (COA): The average costs – both direct and indirect – for educational expenses during an academic year. Tuition and fees are examples of direct costs while books and supplies are examples of indirect costs.
D
Dean’s List: An achievement for students that earn a semester GPA of 3.65 or higher when taking 12 or more graded credits in a semester.
DEI: Short for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. DEI works to create positive opportunities that promote awareness and acceptance through events, programs, trainings, gatherings and similar community initiatives.
E
E-House: Short for Emmaus House, home of Linfield's chaplaincy, on the McMinnville campus.
Entrance counseling: A mandatory information session, which takes place before you receive your first federal student loan. Entrance counseling explains your responsibilities and rights as a student borrower.
EMS: Short for Educational Media Services and located in the library, EMS supports classroom needs. Students may also check out some equipment for use.
Etrieve: A secure portal where you can access academic forms, such as major declaration, add/drop a specific course, change advisors, etc. with your Linfield CatNet login.
Exchange student: A student who lives outside of their country and is staying on campus for a semester or a full academic year.
Exemplars: Samples of work from your Linfield Curriculum (LC) courses that you upload to Blackboard to demonstrate meeting the requirements. You won’t get a diploma until these are submitted.
Experiential learning: To “learn by doing” or learn through hands-on experience. Examples include internships or the simulation labs for nursing students.
Experiential Learning Center (ELC): Simulated patient settings where our nursing students learn, practice and refine their nursing skills.
F
Faculty advisor: Before your first semester at Linfield, you are assigned a faculty advisor who serves as a guide. Faculty advisors work with you to develop meaningful academic plans based on your individual goals.
FAFSA®: Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Completing this form allows a student to apply for financial aid at any institution of higher education.
Fall break: A two-day break from classes during the fall semester for McMinnville and Portland on-campus students. It’s generally scheduled mid-October.
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): Federal law that protects the privacy of education records, preventing your financial, conduct and academic records from being shared without your permission.
Federal student loan: Money that is borrowed from the federal government and must be repaid with interest. Repayment begins soon after a student is no longer enrolled in at least six credits.
Finals: Final exams that happen at the end of the semester.
First Scholars: Linfield's first-generation student mentorship program for new, first-year students.
Flex: Money on your meal plan that can be used in Dillin, at Wildcat Express and Starbucks, depending on your meal plan.
FML: short for Fred Meyer Lounge, in Riley Hall next to Starbucks, where many activities and gatherings take place.
Fraternities at Linfield (have houses):
- Pike: short for Pi Kappa Alpha
- Theta: short for Theta Chi
- Delta: short for Delta Psi Delta
FSL: Short for Fraternity and Sorority Life at Linfield. See also the list of FSL terms.
G
Game room: located on the third floor of Riley Hall where students can play games and gather.
Gender-inclusive bathroom: A common area bathroom open to all users regardless of biological sex or gender identity. Private stalls, with partitions going nearly to the floor and ceiling will enclose toilets, urinals, and showers with individual changing areas. These are available on the first floor of Campbell Hall and Mahaffey's third floor. There are also single-use all-gender restrooms in several buildings across campus (including some residence halls and academic buildings).
Gender-inclusive room/apartment: A residence hall room or apartment with roommates determined without regard to biological sex or gender identity. This option is available in Campbell Hall, Mahaffey Hall, and the college-owned apartments. Campbell and Mahaffey Halls have gender-inclusive bathrooms. College-owned apartments have private gender-neutral bathrooms.
Gender-neutral bathroom: A private bathroom with a locking outer door available in designated buildings throughout campus to be used by members of the community without regard to biological sex or gender identity.
Grade Point Average (GPA): A scale of 0-4.0 showing how well you’re doing in classes.
Graduate Resident Director (GRD): A graduate student who oversees one or more residence hall(s) and the RAs within the building(s).
Grant: Need-based financial aid that does not have to be repaid. These funds can come from many sources – the federal government, the State of Oregon and/or the university.
GLCS: The Department of Global Languages and Cultural Studies, located in Walker Hall.
The Greens: Blaine St. apartments on campus reserved for juniors and seniors.
H
HHPA: Short for both the building and the academic Department of Health, Human Performance and Athletics. The HHPA building is located at the corner of Linfield Avenue and Lever Street.
Housing Portal: a secure portal students log into to complete housing registration.
HPs: Short for the Hewlett-Packard Apartments.
Hui O Lōkahi: Formerly Hawai’i club, campus organization out of DEI programs that seeks to celebrate and perpetuate Hawaiian and Polynesian culture throughout the Linfield community. Hosts the annual Linfield Lū’au and Hō’ike.
I
Ice: Richard and Lucille Ice Auditorium, located in Melrose Hall, for performances, guest speakers and lectures, large campus meetings and some classes. It is also the largest theatre in McMinnville.
InfoCat: A secure website for coaches to use with an abundance of resources and information on athletic forms, dining services, etc.
IM field: Short for intramural field and located in front of Jane Failing Hall. It is used for many student activities in addition to intramural sports.
Interdisciplinary: the combination of two or more fields of study.
International student: All or most of their higher education will be attained on campus.
IPO: Short for the International Programming Office which provides opportunities for students to study abroad around the world.
Inside: Linfield's intranet site, inside.linfield.edu, full of resources for current students, faculty and staff.
ITS: Information Technology Services department, located in Malthus Hall on the northeast side of campus.
J
JAMS: Short for the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, located in Renshaw Hall and also home of the student media center, the hub for three student-run organizations – the Linfield Review (student newspaper), Wildcat Productions (video productions) and Linfield Pawdcast Network (podcasting).
Jan Term: Short for January Term at Linfield, which is a shortened semester that takes place during the month of January. Students can take up to five credits during this time (and housing is covered). Note that students are not eligible to receive financial aid during Jan Term.
Jonasson Hall: Large room in the garden level of Melrose Hall, just underneath Ice Auditorium, for events, meetings and various gatherings.
K
Kaltura: Linfield’s web-based (or “Cloud”) streaming server. It allows faculty to easily create and share video and music files with students.
Kanopy: Rent movies or films, located in Nicholson Library.
L
LAB: short for Learning Across Boundaries, LAB is where common threads of the Linfield experience intersect in a collaborative space for experiential learning, service and project opportunities. Each year LAB hosts an annual summit and various training initiatives for the Linfield community.
LABS: Linfield Associated Business Students.
LAM: Short for Linfield Anthropology Museum, located in Walker Hall.
LCs: The Linfield Curriculum, Linfield’s version of graduation requirements, sometimes referred to as Modes of Inquiry. They include:
- INQS: Inquiry Seminar
- CS: Creative Studies
- IS: Individuals, Systems, and Societies
- NW: Natural World
- QR: Quantitative Reasoning
- VP: Vital Past
- UQ: Ultimate Questions
- UD: Upper-division – one 300-level course outside of major
- MWI: Major Writing-Intensive – course within major with emphasis on writing
LEAD: Short for Leadership and Ethics Across Disciplines, a minor offered at Linfield to all undergraduate students.
Learning Support Services (LSS): a place available for all students where you can find academic support including tutoring and coaching. LSS works with all students as they develop self-determined behaviors, learn self-advocacy skills, and create a network of support.
LPS: short for Linfield Public Safety, the campus safety department.
LSS: Learning Support Services (see academic-related terms).
LULA: Abbreviation for Linfield University Latinx Adelante, the campus organization out of DEI programs that strengthens and supports the Latinx community.
LUP: Abbreviation for Linfield United in Pride, the campus organization out of DEI programs lays the groundwork for a healthy queer and trans community through event programming and weekly meetings designed to be both fun and educational.
M
Mac: Abbreviated word for the town of McMinnville.
Mandatory reporter: When an RA, faculty and/or staff member at Linfield is told something that is potentially a Title IX violation, it is part of their job to report it.
Master Promissory Note (MPN): A binding legal document that you must sign when you get a federal student loan. It lists the terms and conditions under which you agree to repay the loan and explains your rights and responsibilities as a borrower.
Matriculation: the official word for entering a college and paying an enrollment fee.
Midterms: Exams that happen halfway through the semester.
Memorial Hall/Stadium: The building that is connected to the Maxwell Field (football field).
MEPN: Master's Entry into Professional Nursing, a new pathway to earning a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree.
MFAC: Short for Miller Fine Arts Center, located on the south side of campus near the library. MFAC is home to the art department.
MSN: Master of Science in Nursing degree.
Multicultural Center: Where students can gather for events and celebrations. It is a safe space designated to support students from diverse backgrounds. Located in Withnell Commons by the mailroom on the McMinnville campus and in Building 5 on the Portland campus.
Multidisciplinary: The combination of more than two branches of learning.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA): A second form of authentication that verifies a user's identity before granting them access to university resources. This verification happens when signing into Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and other applications.
My Apps: Linfield’s single sign-on application hub with links for accessing Blackboard, Email, Microsoft Office applications, and more.
N
National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH): An honor society within Residence Life for students who have been involved in RHA or the greater Residence Life department for at least two years and have at least a 3.0 GPA.
Nelnet: How you sign up for payment plans and pay your tuition/see your balance.
Nurses' Lounge: Student lounge located in Building 5 on the Portland campus.
O
OCE: Short for Online and Continuing Education.
One-on-one: A discussion between an RA and a student about their academic standing and/or participation in activities.
P
Paracurricular: A personal skill or creative activity course.
Paracurriculum: A group of personal skill and creative activity courses the university has established.
PDX: Abbreviation for Portland and often used when referring to Linfield's Portland campus.
Pedagogy: Faculty often use this term to describe different methods of teaching.
Peer Hearing Board (PHB): A carefully selected group of students and faculty members that work together to discuss and determine responsibility for cases.
Peer mentor: Before your first semester at Linfield, you are assigned a peer mentor who serves as a guide along with your faculty advisor. A peer mentor will help you select and register for courses in your first semester.
Peer Resource Network (PRN): A peer mentoring group on our Portland campus that connects a community of past, present and future nursing students.
Pio: short for Pioneer Hall, the original building on campus that once housed the entire college.
Polisci: Short for the Department of Political Science, located in Walker Hall.
Prerequisites: courses and/or credits that are required before enrolling in a particular program.
Prayer/Meditation room: Located on the second floor of Riley Hall, a prayer and meditation space available to all students and all faith traditions.
Provost: The top administrator overseeing Linfield's academic programs. At Linfield, the provost is also the vice president for academic affairs and oversee the deans of the college and schools.
Q
Quiet hours: Courtesy hours on campus in all residence halls where noise levels are expected to stay low.
R
Reading Day: The Monday of finals week that is reserved for students to study for exams. No classes are scheduled on Reading Day.
Res life: short for Residence Life. Follow on Instagram: @linfieldreslife.
Residence Life Assistant (RLA): Assistants to the Residence Life professional staff as well as mentors/leaders for RAs.
Residence Hall Association (RHA): A student-led organization that provides engaging opportunities and leadership opportunities. Follow on Instagram: @rhalinfield
Resident Assistant (RA): A student on campus who lives in the residence hall (dorms) and enforces all community guidelines as well as being a mandatory reporter.
ROG: short for your Registration and Orientation Group and lead by a ROL (see below) during orientation when you first arrive at Linfield.
ROL: short for your Registration and Orientation Leader, a peer advisor who will guide you through orientation when you first arrive at Linfield.
S
Scholarship: financial aid that does not have to be repaid. Scholarships can be awarded based on merit and others may be offered based on financial need.
Self Service: A secure portal you can use to pay tuition, register for classes and find other important information.
Screening rooms: Areas in Nicholson Library where you can watch movies.
SHWCC: The Student Health, Wellness, and Counseling Center, located in Walker Hall.
Six Pack: The grouping of six dorms/residence halls behind Dillin – Elkinton Hall, Larsell Hall, Anderson Hall, Terrell Hall, Hewitt Hall, and Frerichs Hall.
Snack Shack: Located in Building 5 on the Portland campus offering free snacks for nursing students who are in need of a little pick-me-up.
Sororities at Linfield:
- Phi Sig: short for Phi Sigma Sigma
- A Phi: short for Alpha Phi
- Zeta: short for Zeta Tau Alpha
- Sigma: short for Sigma Kappa Phi
Sound rooms: below Renshaw Hall in the student media center.
SoB: Short for the School of Business.
SON: Short for the School of Nursing.
SOAN: The combined Department of Sociology and Anthropology, located in Walker Hall.
SRR: The Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities provides a fair and impartial process for alleged violations of university policies.
“The Streak:” refers to the Wildcat football team's streak of winning seasons – the longest of any level of college football.
Streak Street: On home football game days, Lever Street turns into "Streak Street" where vendors, activities and games are set-up for some pre-game fun.
Student employment: Students may be awarded Federal-Work Study or Campus Employment funds. These funds do not impact student bills as they are paid to the student if they work on campus. Accepting this offer on your financial aid package does not obligate you to work on campus, it only provides you the opportunity to work if/when you find employment.
Study rooms: Private rooms you can check out in the library to study, work on group projects, etc. There are also some in residence halls like Potter that do not have to be reserved.
The Suburbs: apartment-style housing for juniors and seniors living on campus. The suburbs are made up of Blaine Street apartments (The Greens), College Ave Apartments (The Whites), Dana Hall, Hewlett-Packard Complex and Newby Hall.
Swipe: a noun/name for your ID card used for building access as well as Wildcat cash (paying at Dillin, Starbucks or Wildcat Express).
Syllabus: A document your professor hands out that has important dates, assignments, necessary materials and other important information about the courses you’re taking.
T
Third Street: The award-winning main street and downtown area in McMinnville.
Transfer student: A student who moves to Linfield after previously attending another university or college.
U
University: A higher education institution commonly providing a graduate program(s).
V
VBMC: Short for Vivian Bull Music Center, located on the south side of campus near the library. VBMC is home to the music department.
Verification: a process where Linfield University is required, per federal law, to verify the accuracy of information on a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). Students who receive a verification worksheet in their award folder must complete it and return to Linfield’s Office of Financial Aid.
W
WEB: short for Wildcat Events Board, a student-led group that coordinates a variety of social, cultural and recreational activities for students throughout the school year.
WebAdvisor: A secure portal you can use to look at your schedule, GPA, emergency contact information, etc.
Wellness Trail: A one-mile trail around an open grass field located behind Nicholson Library and Miller Fine Arts Center (MFAC).
The Whites: College Avenue apartments on campus reserved for juniors and seniors
Wildcat Cash: General money that can be loaded on an ID card.
Wildcat Express: located in Dillin, you can use a swipe at Wildcat Express for snacks, smoothies and coffee.
Wildcat Food Pantry: Located on the first floor of Riley Hall where free non-perishable food is available for all students who need it.
Wildcat Guardian: Linfield's campus emergency safety app that connects students with LPS and other emergency services.
The Writing Center: A location in Nicholson Library on the McMinnville campus where you can go to for help editing, writing or drafting papers. The Portland campus offers writing support and individual consultations for our nursing students as well.
WSET: Short for Wine and Spirit Education Trust. Linfield is an approved program provider for WSET which provides courses and certification in WSET.