LionPATH
Penn State's New Student Information System
Glossary of Terms
Here is a guide to the new terminology used in LionPATH, including definitions of specific terms and a comparison to ISIS and eLion terms where applicable.
| LionPATH Terminology | Penn State/ISIS Terminology (if applicable) | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| # | Top | |
| 3C | Functionality that stores checklists, comments, and communications on student records. | |
| A | Top | |
| Academic Career (also called Career) | Level of Study (or Type of Degree) | Level of academic work a student is pursuing (e.g., Undergraduate, Graduate, Medical School, Medical School Grad, Penn State Law, Dickinson Law, Noncredit). Students can be enrolled in more than one career at a time (e.g., IUG, Grad-Medical). |
| Academic Institution | College or university requested; Penn State is PSU55. The PeopleSoft Campus Solutions product is a cloud-based product used by many other institutions of higher learning. | |
| Academic Level | Semester Standing | Level based on the total number of units completed (e.g., first semester, seventh semester). Enrollment in certain courses and tuition costs are impacted by a student's academic level. |
| Academic Organization | Campuses, Colleges and Academic Departments | Administrative entities in the university such as department, college, or campus used in the Academic Organization tree. They can be linked to courses, majors, and instructors/advisers for workload calculations (e.g., UPAG_ANSC is the department of Animal Science in the college of AG at UP). |
| Academic Plan (also called Plan) | Major, Minor, or Certificate | Field of study or curriculum pursued by the student; can be a major, minor, or certificate (e.g., BIOL_BS is the Bachelor of Science major in Biology). Students who delcare a minor or double major will have more than one academic plan. |
| Academic Plan Type | Major, Minor, or Certificate | Type of field of study pursued by the student (e.g., major, minor, certificate). |
| Academic Program (also called Program) | College | College that holds the academic plan by level (e.g., UGAG is the College of Agricultural Sciences for undergraduate students, GRAG is the College of Agricultural Sciences for graduate students). |
| Academic Requirements (also called Advisement Report) | Degree Audit | An interactive list of requirements for completion of the student's current plan. Requirements display as satisfied when the student completes the required courses, in progress, or not satisfied. |
| Academic Sub-Plan (also called Sub-Plan) | Option or Emphasis | A specific focus chosen within some majors (e.g., the Geography plan has a Human Geography sub-plan). |
| Action Reason | Action Reasons are associated with a specific marker and enable the user to enter a code which describes what took place (e.g., Service Indicator Reason, Enrollment Action Reason). | |
| Admit Term | Gen Ed Year | The term that the student is admitted to a career at Penn State. |
| Advisement Report (also called Academic Requirements) | Degree Audit | An interactive list of requirements for completion of the student's current plan. Requirements display as satisfied when the student completes the required courses, in progress, or not satisfied. |
| Advisor Center (Advisor Self-Service) | eLion pages for advisers | Central location of information needed to work efficiently with advisees which includes the student's schedule, grades, contact information, transfer credits, GPA, and access to the Class Search and Catalog. |
| Anticipated Aid | Financial aid that has been awarded but not yet disbursed to a student's account. | |
| Articulation Term | The term that transfer credits are posted to a student record. | |
| Attribute (also called Course Attribute) | Main heading of a category that provides broad information about a course (e.g., General Education, Bachelor of Arts, Cultural Diversity, First Year Engagement, Writing Across the Curriculum, and Honors). | |
| Attribute Values (also called Course Attribute Values) | codes such as GA, GH, H, Y, W, S | Specifics within the general attribute categories (e.g., attribute values within General Education include GA, GH, GS, etc.); many of these values were previously designated with a suffix (e.g., writing courses had the suffix of W). |
| B | Top | |
| Billing Career | The career used for billing purposes, if a student is active in more than one career. | |
| Breadcrumbs | Navigation or trail of steps used to locate the desired table or function (e.g., Main Manu>Self Service>Advisor Center). Allows users to take shortcuts to other pages, return to earlier pages to start again or refresh information, and to direct others to a desired location. | |
| Business Process Guide (also called BPG) | Document that describes key steps to accomplish various functions. | |
| Business Unit | Penn State has one business unit that is represented by PSU55. | |
| C | Top | |
| Campus Community | AMIA, ARISPA | Component that contains demographic information such as name, address, and contact information. |
| Campus ID | Access ID (or User ID) | Penn State access ID (e.g., xyz123); can be utilized to search for student records. |
| Career (also called Academic Career) | Level of Study (or Type of Degree) | Level of academic work a student is pursuing (e.g., Undergraduate, Graduate, Medical School, Medical School Grad, Penn State Law, Dickinson Law, Noncredit). Students can be enrolled in more than one career at a time (e.g., IUG, Grad-Medical). |
| Career Number (also called Car Number) | A student's first plan is automatically assigned the career number of 0. Each additional major or certificate is given the next highest career number (e.g., a student enters the psych major, which is career number 0. A second/concurrent major would be car number 1). | |
| Catalog Number | Number associated with the subject in the course catalog (e.g., 110 is the catalog number for BIOL 110). | |
| Charge Priority | Set of rules that define how partial payments are applied to a student's account. | |
| Class | Section | Specific offering of a course; listed in the class schedule with a date, time, and meeting location (e.g., Section 001 of MATH 110). |
| Class Fee | Fee attached to one particular class section of a course, and assessed during tuition calculation. | |
| Class Number | Chemistry | Number used to schedule a specific section of a class. |
| Completed (on Transfer Credit tab) | Indicator that the transfer credit process has run, but credits have not yet posted because of a problem (e.g., student may not be term activated for the term the credits were trying to post). | |
| Consent to Do Business Electronically | Statement giving students the choice to complete tasks electronically through LionPATH. Federal law requires that individuals be given the right to opt out. Students who opt out would then handle their affairs in person or in writing. | |
| Course | Specific topic of a subject; described in the catalog (e.g., MATH 110). | |
| Course Attribute (also called Attribute) | Main heading of a category that provides broad information about a course (e.g., General Education, Bachelor of Arts, Cultural Diversity, First Year Engagement, Writing Across the Curriculum, and Honors). | |
| Course Attribute Values (also called Attribute Values) | Specifics within the general attribute categories (e.g., attribute values within General Education include GA, GH, GS, etc.); many of these values were previously designated with a suffix (e.g., writing courses had the suffix of W). | |
| Course Fee | Fee attached to all individual class sections of a course, and assessed during tuition calculation. | |
| Course ID | 6-digit number in the course catalog that is associated with a specific course (e.g., the course ID for ENGL 15 is 016510). | |
| Course Share Set | Code to define when courses can be shared among requirement groups (e.g., MATH 140 may count toward both a major prescribed requirement and a general education (GQ) requirement). | |
| D | Top | |
| Data Steward | Representative of the unit that "owns" the data requested (e.g., the owner of Admissions data determines who is given access to Admissions information). | |
| Delegated Access | Manage Access | Permission the student gives for others (parents, guardians, etc.) to be able to see information (grades, bills, etc.) that is considered confidential. |
| E | Top | |
| Effective Date | The date a change (change of major, curriculum change, etc.) goes into effect. By using effective dates, values are updated rather than deleted so there is an historical trail of activity. | |
| Empl ID | ID | 9-digit Penn State ID number that begins with 9. |
| Enrollment Appointment | Registration Date | Date a student can first enroll in classes. |
| F | Top | |
| Faculty Center (Faculty Self-Service) | Information center where faculty can review course information, class schedules, class rosters, and enter grades on grade rosters. | |
| Financial Responsibility Agreement (FRA) | Statement acknowledging the student accepts responsible for payment of University-related fees. Even if financial aid, employers, or parents provide the necessary funds, students are ultimately held accountable to ensure that payment is made. | |
| G | Top | |
| GCN | Ending code for graduate certification (e.g., Adult Ed certification is ADTED_GCN). | |
| GCT | Certificate | Ending code for certificate plan at the graduate level (e.g., the code for Applied Business Analysis is ABA_GCT). |
| GDMN | Ending code for a doctoral level minor plan (e.g., the plan code for the doctoral level minor in Business Admin is BA_GDMN). | |
| GMMN | Ending code for master's level minor (e.g., the plan code for the Criminal Justice minor at the master's level is CRIMJ_GMMN). | |
| I | Top | |
| Item Type | FNTX Code | Unique number used to post debits and credits to student accounts. Each item type contains unique general ledger information and rules related to charge assessment and payment application. |
| iTWO | User-friendly reporting tool to access the data stored in the LionPATH Data Warehouse (additional access must be requested and approved). | |
| L | Top | |
| Location | Location | Off-campus site that offers classes in conjunction with a nearby Penn State campus (e.g., Cranberry Twp). |
| M | Top | |
| Milestones | Marker of a deadline or culmination of achievement (e.g., the latest semester a student may be in DUS or DUS Max time). | |
| Model Status | Column heading on the Transfer Credits tab to let the user know where the recording of transfer credits stands (e.g., "posted" signifies the transfer credits have been posted on the student's record). | |
| My Queries (also called Query) | eDDS Report | Report of customized data (e.g., list of students in IST that do not have an assigned advisor); only designated LionPATH personnel may create queries. |
| N | Top | |
| National ID | SSN | Identification code used by countries to track information on their residents for payroll, identification, benefits, and other purposes (e.g., U.S. residents use the Social Security Number; German residents use the Social Insurance Number, UK residents use the National Insurance Code). |
| NCT | Ending code for a noncredit certificate (e.g., the code for the noncredit AutoCAD certificate is ACAD_NCT). | |
| ND | Ending code for nondegree (e.g., the plan code for Dickinson Law Nondegree is LWD_ND). | |
| O | Top | |
| Other Credit | Units earned by non-course means (e.g., portfolio). | |
| P | Top | |
| Page | Screen on which data is displayed or entered. | |
| Past Due | 1 day or more past the due date of a charge. | |
| PCT | Ending code for a post-baccalaureate graduate certificate (e.g., ABE_PCT is the code for a certificate in Adult Basic Education). | |
| PeopleSoft Campus Solutions | LionPATH | Name of Oracle's vendor product that provides the software background of LionPATH. |
| Plan | Major, Minor, or Certificate | Student's area of study whether major, minor, or certificate; the code will reflect the degree (e.g., baccalaureate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders would be CSD_BS). |
| Plan Requirement Term | Program Year | The term (not year) the student entered the major, minor, or certificate. |
| Planner | Student resource that allows them to organize future courses they need or desire. | |
| PMAJ | Pre-Major/Common Year | Code for pre-major; typically a first or second year student that has not yet entered a specific major. |
| Posted | Transfer credits or test scores have been added to the student's record. | |
| Preferred Mailing Address | Address type can be submitted only by staff due to returned mail or by student request. It is used first for mailing a paper check refund. | |
| Pre-Matriculant | Paid Accept Status | Student who has been offered and accepted admission to Penn State. |
| Pre-Registration Activity Guide | Folder of items to be completed prior to registration [e.g., Update of Contact Information, Consent to Do Business Electronically (done annually) and the Financial Responsibility Agreement (done each term)]. | |
| Prerequisite | Evidence of knowledge or successful completion of coursework required prior to enrolling in a higher level or more complex course. | |
| Production | Refers to the live LionPATH system. | |
| Program (also called Academic Program) | College | College that holds the academic plan by level (e.g., UGAG is the College of Agricultural Sciences for undergraduate students, GRAG is the College of Agricultural Sciences for graduate students). |
| Program/Plan Stack | ARUSAM and ARUGI | Historical summary of a student's educational journey; each addition or change is dated with the day the change became effective (e.g., the date the student was matriculated, the original program (college) and plan, adding or changing to another program/plan, etc. through graduation). |
| Q | Top | |
| Query (also called My Queries) | Report of customized data (e.g., list of students in IST that do not have an assigned adviser); only designated LionPATH personnel may create queries. | |
| R | Top | |
| Requirement Term | Gen Ed/Program Year | Term the student begins in the career, program, and plan; may be a different year for each. |
| Reserve Capacity | Control | Partial restriction of enrollment to those who meet a specific requirement (e.g., in a ceramics course of 25 students, 10 seats are saved for students in the Art major and the other 15 are open to any student). |
| S | Top | |
| Schedule Builder | Interactive tool that allows users to create and select the optimum schedule, adding courses by subject, by attribute or from the planner. Breaks can also be entered to avoid conflicts with activities such as work, practice, or rehearsals. Once classes are selected, the user can see all the possible combinations and select the one most desired. | |
| Service Impact | Action triggered as the result of a positive or negative service indicator applied to a student's record. | |
| Service Indicator | Hold | Hold or marker placed on a student record. There are positive indicators that pinpoints a student characteristic (e.g., Dean's List) and negative indicators that deny services (e.g., a hold to prevent scheduling classes). |
| Shopping Cart | A "holding" place for classes that a student wants to schedule for the coming term. The student can make selections and then enroll in those classes (if seats are available and requirements are met) once his/her enrollment date arrives; this does not reserve a space in the class. | |
| Shopping Cart Appointment | Date that the student can begin to put classes desired for the next term into the holding place known as the Shopping Cart. | |
| Student Center (Student Self-Service) | eLion Pages for Students | Central location where students see their schedule, grades, transfer credit details, academic history, and can update demographic information. Students can also search for classes, plan future courses or enroll, and request a degree audit, among other things. |
| Student Group | Category of students with similar characteristics (e.g., Schreyer Honor students). | |
| Student Services Center (Staff Self-Service) | Central location where administrative and other staff can view student schedules, name, address and contact information, messages, dates and other information. | |
| Subject | Broad name of an area of study (e.g., Mathematics). | |
| Sub-Plan (also called Academic Sub-Plan) | Option or Emphasis | A specific focus chosen within some majors (e.g., the Geography plan has a Human Geography sub-plan). |
| Swap | Exchanging one class for another in the same term; must be done prior to the end of the drop/add period. | |
| T | Top | |
| Term | Semester | Period of study in an academic year (e.g., spring, summer, fall). Each term is represented by a 4-digit code [e.g., 2168. The first digit (2) is the millennium (2000s), the second two digits (16) are the year (2016), and the last digit (8) represents the month of the year (the eigth month is August, the beginning of the fall term]. The first digit will always (in our lifetimes) be 2; the last digit will be 1 (spring), 5 (summer) or 8 (fall). Usually, the term is written in words as well. |
| Term Activated | A back office enrollment process where students expected to return to Penn State are "opened" to allow for enrollment. | |
| Test Credit | Units earned by exam (e.g., AP exam). | |
| Third-Party Contract (TPC) | Contractual relationship between a third party (employer, government agency, military education center, etc.) whereby the third party agrees to pay tuition and/or fees on behalf of one or more students. | |
| Total Cumulative Units | Total Credits | Combined number of all graded and non-graded credits (including transfer credits) on a Penn State record used in evaluating entrance to majors not under administrative control. |
| Tuition Calculation | Process that calculates and assesses tuition and mandatory fees based on student enrollments. | |
| Tuition Group | Students are grouped by like characteristics for the purposes of calculating tuition. | |
| Two-Factor Authentication | Secure ID/2nd Sign On | Using a second layer of security (Penn State login plus DUO) for access to secured sites. DUO can use a variety of devices: cell phone, office phone, or fob. |
| U | Top | |
| UCT | Certificate | Ending code for a certificate at the undergraduate level. |
| UMNR | Ending code for a minor (e.g., HIST_UMNR would indicate a history minor). | |
| Unit | Credit | Credit |
| Units Not for GPA | Credits that are not included when the GPA is calculated (e.g., transfer, late dropped, satisfactory/unsatisfactory credits). | |
| Units Toward GPA | Credits that are included when the GPA is calculated (e.g., all classes taken at Penn State for a grade of A through F). | |
| Units Toward GPA-Taken | Cumulative Credits | Credits earned with a letter grade at Penn State (includes F's); used in calculating GPA and evaluating entrance to administratively controlled majors. |
| Update Academics | ETM/Change of Major | Electronic application that allows students to request entrance, additions, changes and deletions of majors, minors and certificates (some plans require Dean's Review). |
| Update Campus | Change of Campus | Electronic application that allows students to request a change of their campus; not needed for summer classes. |
| W | Top | |
| Wait List | Tool used to keep track of who was the first to request any openings when a class is filled; a queue for enrollment. | |
| Waiver | Used to reduce tuition or fees for a student who meets specific criteria (e.g., Employee Grant-in-Aid). | |
| What-If Course | Found under the "What-If Report", this feature demonstrates how a particular course would be reflected on the student's audit. | |
| What-if Report | Alternate audit | Audit used to consider how a student's progress fits within a major, minor, or certificate other than the one(s) in which a student is currently enrolled. |
| X | Top | |
| XFR | TR | Beginning code for a transfer course (e.g., XFRGA signifies a course transferred to Penn State to meet the General Arts (GA) requirement). |
