Glossary
College Administrator Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential college administrator terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key college administrator vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in college administrator training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Academic probation
- Status for low grades.
- Accreditation
- External quality review.
- Degree audit
- Check of graduation requirements.
- Enrollment management
- Planning recruitment and retention.
- FERPA
- Student records privacy law.
- Financial aid
- Grants, loans and work-study.
- IPEDS
- Federal college data system.
- Provost
- Chief academic officer.
- Registrar
- Office of academic records.
- Retention rate
- Students who return.
- Faculty and administration decision-making.
- Strategic plan
- Long-term goals.
- Student affairs
- Offices supporting student life.
- Title IX
- Sex discrimination law.
- Yield
- Admitted students who enroll.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free College Administrator practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see College Administrator training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.