# The student glossary > Short, plain definitions of the words that show up in syllabi, registrar emails and study advice. Page: https://textdash.com/glossary - [Add/drop deadline](https://textdash.com/glossary/add-drop-deadline): The add/drop deadline is the last day in a term when you can add a course or drop one without it appearing on your transcript, usually with a full or partial tuition refund. After it passes, leaving a course usually counts as a withdrawal instead. - [Withdrawal deadline (W grade)](https://textdash.com/glossary/withdrawal-deadline): The withdrawal deadline is the last day you can leave a course after add/drop and receive a W on your transcript instead of a letter grade. A W usually doesn't count toward your GPA, but it does show that you started the course. - [Syllabus](https://textdash.com/glossary/what-is-a-syllabus): A syllabus is the document a professor shares at the start of a course that lays out what you'll learn, how you'll be graded, and when every assignment, test and exam is due. It's the closest thing a course has to a contract. - [Office hours](https://textdash.com/glossary/office-hours): Office hours are set times each week when a professor or teaching assistant is available, in person or online, to answer students' questions about the course. You don't need to be struggling to go. - [Reading week / fall break](https://textdash.com/glossary/reading-week): Reading week is a break of several days to a week in the middle of a term with no regular classes, common at Canadian universities. US schools usually call it fall break or spring break, and it's often shorter. - [Learning management system (LMS)](https://textdash.com/glossary/learning-management-system): A learning management system (LMS) is the website your school uses to run courses online: syllabi, readings, announcements, assignment submissions and grades. Common ones are Canvas, Brightspace (D2L), Moodle and Blackboard. - [Registrar](https://textdash.com/glossary/registrar): The registrar is the campus office that keeps students' official academic records, including course registration, grades, transcripts and graduation. It also publishes the academic calendar with key dates like add/drop and exams. - [Academic advisor](https://textdash.com/glossary/academic-advisor): An academic advisor is a staff member or faculty member who helps you choose courses, understand your program's requirements and stay on track to graduate. They're also the person to see before dropping a course or when grades slip. - [GPA](https://textdash.com/glossary/gpa): GPA, or grade point average, is the average of your course grades converted to points, weighted by each course's credits. In the US it's usually on a 4.0 scale; Canadian schools use 4.0, 4.33, 9-point, 12-point or percentage scales. - [Credit hour](https://textdash.com/glossary/credit-hour): A credit hour is the unit a college uses to measure a course's weight, traditionally about one hour of class per week over a semester, plus around two hours of work outside class. A typical US course is 3 credit hours. - [Prerequisite](https://textdash.com/glossary/prerequisite): A prerequisite is a course, grade or other requirement you must complete before you're allowed to enrol in a particular course. For example, Calculus I is often a prerequisite for Calculus II. - [Midterm](https://textdash.com/glossary/midterm): A midterm is an exam held partway through a term, usually covering the material taught up to that point. It's often worth a big share of the final grade, commonly 20 to 35 percent. - [Final exam period](https://textdash.com/glossary/final-exam-period): The final exam period, often called finals week, is the block of days at the end of a term set aside for final exams, with no regular classes. At many Canadian universities it runs about two weeks. - [Academic probation](https://textdash.com/glossary/academic-probation): Academic probation is a status a college or university places on a student whose GPA drops below the minimum for good academic standing. It's a warning: you can keep studying, but you need to raise your grades by a set deadline. - [Financial aid](https://textdash.com/glossary/financial-aid): Financial aid is money that helps students pay for college or university, including grants, scholarships, student loans and work-study. Grants and scholarships don't have to be repaid; loans do. - [FAFSA](https://textdash.com/glossary/fafsa): The FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the free US government form students fill out at StudentAid.gov to apply for federal grants, work-study and student loans. States, schools and some private programs also use it to decide their own aid. - [OSAP](https://textdash.com/glossary/osap): OSAP, the Ontario Student Assistance Program, is the Government of Ontario's financial aid program that offers grants and loans to eligible students paying for college, university or other approved programs. One application covers both Ontario and federal (Canada Student) aid. - [Active recall](https://textdash.com/glossary/active-recall): Active recall is a study method where you test yourself by pulling information out of memory, instead of rereading notes or highlighting. The effort of remembering is what makes it stick. - [Spaced repetition](https://textdash.com/glossary/spaced-repetition): Spaced repetition is a study technique where you review material at gradually longer intervals, such as one day, three days, then a week later, instead of cramming it all at once. It helps you remember things for longer. - [Pomodoro technique](https://textdash.com/glossary/pomodoro-technique): The Pomodoro technique is a time management method where you work in focused 25-minute blocks, called pomodoros, separated by 5-minute breaks, with a longer break after every four. It was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. --- **About Dash.** Dash is an AI sidekick for college and university students that you text over iMessage or SMS. It tracks every deadline and texts you before each one, answers questions about your campus, helps you study, and, with your yes, orders food, books things, makes phone calls and handles admin. Free to start. iMessage on iPhone and SMS on any phone. No app, no login. For students at colleges and universities in Canada and the United States. Dash never writes, answers or submits graded work. It explains, quizzes and plans. Dash is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by any college or university. Text Dash: https://textdash.com/start · Site: https://textdash.com/ · For AI assistants: https://textdash.com/llms.txt and https://textdash.com/llms-full.txt