Registration Vocabulary

College Scheduler
This is the software that USU uses for course registration. It allows you to look at multiple possible schedules and find the best one for you!
Credit Hour
This is the unit of measuring educational credit, usually based on the number of classroom hours per week throughout a term. We recommend you take 15 credit hours per semester to graduate in 8 semesters (4 years). That means you will spend approximately 15 hours per week in class, and should expect to spend 30-45 hours per week studying outside of class.
Recitation
Some classes have a recitation. This is an additional required class that supports the main lecture part of your course. It is usually smaller than the lecture portion, and may include quizzes or Q&A with your instructor. Attendance at recitation is required.

Laboratory (Lab)
You may have a laboratory (lab) paired with a class. It may be scheduled separately, or linked together with your class.
Prerequisite
This is a requirement that must be met prior to taking a class. The College Scheduler system won’t allow you to register for a class if you don’t meet the pre-requisites.
Corequisite
This is a class that must be taken in the same semester as another course.

Hold
You may have a hold on your registration, which will prevent you from registering for classes until you pay a fine, satisfy a requirement, or meet with an advisor.
Course Level
This indicates the general level of difficulty of a course. 1000-level courses are generally first-year introductory courses, with 2000-level courses being sophomore level, and so forth. 3000- and 4000-level courses are considered “upper division” credits.
Department and Course Number
These are used to designate specific courses; for example, ENGL 1010 is in the English Department, and 1010 is the class level.

Section
This refers to a specific class; for example the USU 1010 Connections course has 80+ sections, each designated with a section number. USU 1010 001 is the first section of USU 1010 offered for a given semester. Sections with a letter in them are offered at regional campuses (T01 is a Tooele section, for example). Sections with a B as the second letter are broadcast courses, and sections with an O as the second letter are online courses.
CRN
Course Reference Number (CRN) - this five-digit number indicates a specific section of a course. Each section, recitation, and lab has a unique CRN that Banner uses for registration purposes.
Competency Courses

These general education requirements ensure that you have basic math and English skills. Courses and test scores that satisfy these requirements can be found in the General Catalog section about General Education.

  • Communication Literacy (CL) - includes the basic English classes
  • Quantitative Literacy (QL) - includes math or statistics

Breadth Courses

These general education courses introduce you to a variety of fields to make you a well-rounded learner. Courses and test scores that satisfy these requirements can be found in the General Catalog in the section about General Education.

  • Breadth American Institutions (BAI)
  • Breadth Creative Arts (BCA)
  • Breadth Humanities (BHU)
  • Breadth Life Sciences (BLS)
  • Breadth Physical Sciences (BPS)
  • Breadth Social Sciences (BSS)
Integrated Studies Courses
This general education requirement allows students to take one additional course from any of the following categories: QL, BAI, BCA, BHU, BLS, BPS, or BSS.
Depth Course
This University Studies requirement allows you to take two upper-division (3000- or 4000-level courses) outside of your field of study, again to make you a more well-rounded learner.

Elective Credits
Elective credits are credits 1000-level and above that are not required for university studies or for major or minor requirements. These credits count toward the 120 credits needed for graduation. Some majors do not need elective credits in order to meet the 120 required for graduation, while other majors leave room for some elective credits.
Matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university in a specific program of study. Most majors have certain academic requirements before you can be ‘matriculated’ into that program.
Undergraduate
A college student who is working toward an associate or a bachelor's degree.

Transfer of Credits
Some students attend more than one institution during their college career. When they move or transfer from one college to another, they also transfer accumulated credit hours from the former institution to the new one. The new institution determines which courses will apply toward graduation requirements.
Articulation
This is the process of determining how transfer credits will count at USU, and which courses or requirements those credits may satisfy.
Curriculum
A curriculum is composed of those classes prescribed or outlined by an institution for completion of a program of study leading to a degree or certificate.

Degrees
Degrees are rewards or credentials for the successful completion of a prescribed program of study. There are three basic types of degrees: Associate - generally obtained after two years of coursework, Baccalaureate or Bachelor’s - offered by four-year colleges and universities, and Graduate - Obtained after the bachelor’s degree, i.e., Masters or Doctorate.
Full-Time Enrollment
A full-time student is enrolled in 12 or more credit hours in a semester. Some scholarships require 15 or more credits to be considered full-time.
Earned Hours
Earned hours refers to the credits that you have completed on your transcript (it does not count the credits you are currently taking). You can view your transcript to see how many earned hours you have. Registration times are determined by the earned hours on your USU transcript.