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Higher Ed Jargon Reduction

College and university webpages are often filled with higher education terms that are inaccessible to first-generation students. Discover tools to reduce higher ed jargon and simplify messages.

First-generation college students experience a sense of unfamiliarity and uncertainty around navigating college as soon as they begin interacting with institutions. Once accepted, they receive an influx of communication about important topics such as financial aid and course registration. They are directed to institutional webpages that are often filled with inaccessible words and higher education jargon.

Do you speak higher ed?

Consider how unfamiliar words like "prerequisite," "syllabus," and "registrar" would be to someone with no experience in higher education. Not only does this make completing tasks confusing and more difficult, it can also reinforce feelings of not belonging that often hinder first-generation college students’ transition.

More on this topic

This resource is part of the Clearly Communicate Price and Financial Aid Roadmap. Access the Roadmap for stepwise guidance with additional tools and research.

A study found that 70 percent of students were confused by higher education terms on community colleges’ institutional websites. While this study focused on community college students, the results would likely be similar if replicated at four-year institutions.

There will be a learning curve for first-generation college students as they acclimate to their institutions. Institutions need to make the language used in initial interactions less confusing so these students will be more likely to be successful.

What is the Gunning Fog Index?

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill completed a “translation exercise” for some of their most accessed campus resources for incoming students. They used the Gunning Fog Index (GFI) to evaluate their communications. The GFI is an online tool that generates a score indicating…

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