Attestation: Official affirmation that a degree or transcript is genuine. Usually signed by a recognized expert or witness.

Audit: To take a class without receiving a grade or credit toward a degree.

Authentication: Process of determining whether something is, in fact, what it is declared to be. Incoming students are often required to provide a document of authentication for academic transcripts or previous degrees when applying to a program of study in the United States.

Baccalaureate degree: The degree of "bachelor" conferred upon graduates of most U.S. colleges and universities.

Bachelor's degree: Degree conferred by an institution of higher learning after the student has accumulated a certain number of undergraduate credits. Usually a bachelor's degree takes four years to earn, and it is a prerequisite for studies in a graduate program.

Campus: The land on which the buildings of a college or university are located.

Carrel: Individual study area usually reserved for graduate students in a library; available on a first-come, first-served basis (sometimes for a fee).