Introduction to the Essential Glossary for Student Success

Language is not static. It flows like a river in response to the riverbank and the rocks that border and run beneath it. In the same way, glossaries are dynamic expressions of current language usage. Developmental education and learning assistance have changed dramatically in recent years, and so must also the language used to describe and define them. 

This glossary is useful for the wide field of educators involved with promoting student success. It provides precise language and definitions to use when communicating with peers and more effectively influencing administrators, legislators, and the media. Some of these glossary terms are emerging with frequent use while others are declining. This is why this glossary is not static and future editions will continue to reflect the changes in language. 

Based on advice from some of the reviewers to make this glossary more accessible to readers, I reorganized it into different topical categories rather than a traditional alphabetical order. I hope this format will not only make it easier to locate a particular glossary term, but also discover related terms in the same category. The nine glossary categories are: (a) teaching and learning process, (b) antiracism and racism, (c) assessment, (d) copyright and academic integrity, (e) pedagogies for teaching and learning, (f) program management, (g) student-to-student learning, (h) transitional courses and programs, and (i) less acceptable glossary terms.

This third edition of the glossary of developmental education and learning assistance terms has dramatically changed since the last edition 14 years ago. For that reason, the name of this glossary has changed and reflects its use in the wider education community. These terms could be useful for educators working in learning assistance, learning centers, developmental-level courses, first-year experience courses and programs, orientation courses and programs, federally-funded TRIO and other equity programs, and instructors teaching first-year and subsequent courses in the general course curriculum. In recognition of the expanded scope of this glossary and broader utility for other members involved with postsecondary education, the glossary title has become more inclusive, Essential Glossary for Increasing Postsecondary Student Success: Administrators, Faculty, Staff, and Policymakers.