Faculty, staff and students might seems like they are speaking a foreign language, but here is a key to some of the more common acronyms and terms related to to role of graduate contact.
| Acronym or Term | Explanation |
| AAG | The Graduate College Administrative Advisory Group is a group of departmental administrators whose work focuses primarily on the operational aspects of Graduate College policies and procedures. |
| Academic Catalog | The Academic Catalog lists the official current requirements for every program on campus. The Programs of Study are updated each January for the following academic year beginning in August. |
| AITS | Administrative Information Technology Services helps responds to emails with requests or issues about all administrative IT systems including Banner, HR Front End, Decision Support, OBFS Payroll and iBuy. In addition, they manage enterprise accounts and passwords, assist users with basic desktop or laptop issues, and direct users to appropriate campus or departmental resources for problems with networks or business processes we are not authorized to assist with. |
| AIDE | The Assessment of the Illinois Doctoral Experience- the 5 year review of doctoral programs, implemented by the Graduate College. |
| Banner | The campus wide integrated computer system. |
| Business Objects | A way for you to query the EDW to create reports for your unit or use pre-prepared reports that others have created. (need to attend training to access) |
| CITES | Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services is the provider of campus-wide computing, networking, communications technology, and instructional technology services supporting academic activities of faculty, staff, and students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
| COAR | COAR users have increased ability to make edits to Banner screens, (for example dropping a student from a course). Departments generally do not have COAR users. Graduate COAR functions are usually done at the Graduate College or at the Office of the Registrar. |
| Compass or Compass 2g | Illinois online course system. The homepage below offers student resources, faculty resources and a listing of courses using Compass. The Compass system is managed by CITES. See www.cites.illinois.edu/illinoiscompass/index.html for more information. |
| CONNECT | Recruiting system that works with ApplyYourself to inform students interested in applying to graduate programs. |
| CPT | Curricular Practical Training may be authorized under certain circumstances to allow F-1 students temporary off-campus employment. |
| DARS/DARwin | The program that accesses undergraduate academic history and audits it for degree completion, not used for graduate students |
| DGS | Director of Graduate Studies; in each department, the person, usually a faculty member, that oversees the graduate program in a unit or department; sometimes called the graduate coordinator. |
| EDDIE | The program that allows you to access EDW data using prepared reports that campus extracts on a regular basis. Log In to EDDIE |
| EDW | Enterprise Data Warehouse where data from all three campuses is stored. |
| EnterpriseID | The EnterpriseID may look the same as the NetID. The NetID and password are needed to set up the EnterpriseID. The EnterpriseID allows access to the statewide University of Illinois administrative system for official records in Student Services, Financial Aid, and Billing, also known as UI Integrate Self-Service. The EnterpriseID and password are needed to register for classes. |
| EPI | English Proficiency Interview; an English oral proficiency interview for new Teaching Assistants, administered by the Center for Teaching Excellence. |
| EPT | English Placement Test- used to determine English Proficiency; administered to all incoming international graduate students that score below 613 on the TOEFL. |
| FERPA | Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act was enacted to guarantee students access to their educational records and to prohibit dissemination of educational records without the student's consent. Anyone with access to student records should take the FERPA tutorial, found at https://registrar.illinois.edu/tutorial |
| GCP | Graduation Certification Process; used to certify degree requirements for graduate students. |
| Graduate Faculty | Faculty on tenure-track appointments or those granted term membership for the purpose of voting on doctoral examination committees. See www.grad.illinois.edu/gradhandbook/2/chapterv for more information. |
| GSAS | Graduate Student Academic Services, a unit of the Graduate College. |
| i-card | The i-card is the University's official photo ID. The i-card is used to access certain services and facilities, such as library borrowing, computer labs, printing and copying, campus recreation facilities, health care, residence halls and dining facilities, and student elections. It also serves as a library user card and a bus pass. |
| I-9 | The I-9 is the Employment Eligibility Verification form for international students that is required by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The I-9 is extremely important in the hiring process and not following the guidelines for completion can delay an employee’s start date. |
| ISSS | International Student and Scholar Services |
| NESSIE | Many students, particularly those with assistantships and fellowships, will need to complete payroll information in an online system called NESSIE at https://nessie.uihr.uillinois.edu/cf/. Departments will provide students with a special login and password to do this. Students will not be paid until information in NESSIE is complete. |
| NetID | The NetID and password gives access to sites and services specific to the Champaign-Urbana campus such as computer labs and e-mail. Student e-mail accounts are provided CITES. |
| NSLC | National Student Loan Clearinghouse; often called The Clearinghouse |
| OPT | Optional Practical Training, Optional Practical Training (OPT) allows F-1 students to work one year after completion of studies. Graduate students may apply for OPT after finishing all coursework but prior to thesis deposit. Contact ISSS for details. |
| PDL | PDL - Pending Degree List. Now also called the Degree Certification List. |
| UI Integrate Self Service | The program students use to input data to Banner, pay their student bills, access financial aid, register for classes, etc. |
| View Direct | The program that allows you to access EDW data using prepared reports that campus extracts on a regular basis. Log in to ViewDirect |
| Web for Faculty | The way faculty view Banner data, check class rosters, email enrolled students, see advisee records, and submit course grades. |