Among the acronyms you may hear in your colleagues' conversations are:
AC – Academic Council is the university committee that oversees (1) academic standards and policies for the admission, retention, and graduation of students; (2) academic policies and programs necessary to achieve the educational aims of the University; (3) curricula and methods of instruction necessary to implement academic policies and programs; (4) general policy and regulations for the conduct of intercollegiate athletics and other formalized intercollegiate activities; and (5) University policies regarding student privacy and student records.
ASWU – Associated Students of Willamette University (ASWU) administers WU student fees to help support various services including the ASWU Shuttle Program, Collegiate Readership Program, ASWU Sound, and other student-led organizations. ASWU’s most visible function is that of allocating funding to clubs and approving the creation of new clubs through the COSO committee. ASWU also allocates a percentage of student body fees to the Willamette Events Board and the Collegian to enrich student life with programs, events, and information.
BAC - Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) provides information and advice to the dean and the president and the faculty at-large about budget planning and priorities in the College of Arts & Sciences.
CC - College Colloquium
CDSJ - Council on Diversity and Social Justice (CDSJ) serves to deepen the University's commitment to diversity.
CAS – College of Arts & Sciences
FC – Faculty Council (Promotion and Tenure Committee) (1) makes recommendations to the President of the University with respect to faculty retention, promotions, tenure, salary increases, leaves of absence, sabbaticals, and grants-in-aid for research; (2) establishes committees to consider matters pertaining to the professional development and well-being of the faculty and makes appropriate recommendations to the CAS faculty and/or the President of the University, and; (3) nominates the CAS faculty members to special committees.
FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 is a federal law that protects the privacy of student educational records.
FRC – Faculty Resources Committee reviews applications and makes recommendations to the Faculty Council for the Junior Faculty Research Leave Program and Sabbatical Leave Program. The FRC also reviews applications and awards funds for Conference Travel Expenses and Atkinson Research Expense Grants.
FTE - Full Time Equivalent (in reference to teaching)
G/L – General Ledger refers to the University’s finance and accounting system. Faculty members are assigned internal account numbers within the GL to be used for university purchases depending on purpose (e.g., course instruction, departmental budget, start-up, external grants, etc.)
IACUC – Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee reviews university research protocols involving the use of vertebrate animals and oversees the institution’s animal care and use.
IRB - Institutional Review Board is the campus ethics committee that reviews, approves, and monitors behavioral or biomedical research involving human subjects.
LARC - Liberal Arts Research Collaborative is a program funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that provides faculty-student collaborative research opportunities for students in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
IEI – Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion Committee actively promotes and increases awareness of, and a shared commitment to, inclusiveness, equity, and diversity throughout Willamette University, by working to foster inclusive excellence in pedagogy, curricular reform, and faculty recruitment and retention practices.
MOI - Modes of Inquiry
NW5C – Northwest Five Consortium is a consortium of five highly selective, liberal arts colleges in the Pacific Northwest -- Willamette University, Whitman College, University of Puget Sound, Reed College, and Lewis and Clark College.
OFFRR – Office For Faculty Research and Resources assists faculty members to secure external grants and awards for their research, scholarship, artistic creation and performance, and identifies resources to support faculty career development.
OIE - The Office of International Education (OIE) is Willamette's study abroad office. The OIE also provides advising, programming, advocacy and other services to all international students, visiting professors, language assistants, and faculty.
PAWS – Same as WU Print Services
PPP - Shorthand for Personnel Policies and Procedures in Section 2 of the College of Arts & Sciences Faculty Handbook.
QR - Quantitative Reasoning
QUAD Center – The Center for Quantitative Understanding, Analysis, and Design supports students and faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences in their efforts to develop and apply quantitative reasoning or “QR” skills.
RCO – The University’s Research Compliance Officer works with the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President and Executive Assistant to the President, and Vice President for Administrative Services, and University Legal Counsel in a number of efforts to enhance research compliance and policy throughout the University.
Rick's - Cafe in the basement of the College of Law named in honor of Rick Wollenberg JD’78.
SAGA – Student Academic Grants and Awards Office provides students with financial and professional support for research, completion of their undergraduate education, and funding for graduate and international study. SAGA also assists students to successfully compete for merit-based awards and scholarships.
SAI - Student Assessment of Instruction refers to the course evaluation forms (SAIs) given to students at the end of each semester and also the summary reports derived from student course evaluations (SAI summary report).
SCRP - Science Collaborative Research Program supports Willamette student-faculty collaborative research in the natural sciences.
SSRD - Student Scholarship Recognition Day is an annual campus event organized to allow students to present their research and creative projects to their fellow students, faculty, family, and the public.
SVPASA - Senior Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs is the administrative leader of the University’s Academic Affairs Unit.
Title Nine - Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on gender (including sexual harassment and sexual violence) in educational programs which receive federal financial assistance. Areas of the institution where Title IX may have application include athletics, student recruitment and admissions, financial aid, scholarships, course offerings and access, employment, and residential housing services. Title IX also protects all students and employees from unlawful sexual harassment in school programs and activities, as well as sexual assault, which are both forms of unlawful discrimination under Title IX.
TIUA - Tokyo International University of America is a one-year, residential program in partnership with Willamette University that provides intensive English language instruction and university courses for students from Japan.
TIU – Tokyo International University is an institution of higher learning located in Kawagoe City in Saitama Prefecture, Japan with a satellite campus, Tokyo International University of America at Willamette University.
UC – Putnam University Center. Known on campus as the UC, Putnam University Center houses numerous services and activity offices for students as well as the College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office.
Virtual EMS - Virtual Event Management System. Through Virtual EMS (VEMS) University Students, Faculty, and Staff can view available locations, request campus facilities, and track their event status in real-time.
WEMS – Willamette Emergency Medical Services is a professionally licensed EMS agency dedicated to protecting the safety of students, faculty, staff, and guests on campus.
WISE - Willamette Instructional Support Environment is an online learning and collaboration system that provides course sites for official university courses and project sites for committee work, student organizations, collaborative research projects and other university-related activities.
WITS - Willamette Integrated Technology Services provides the computing, telecommunications, multimedia, audio-visual, networking, and classroom technology services necessary for the academic and administrative needs of the university community. WITS supports technology-equipped classrooms and provides equipment for check-out.
WU – Willamette University