Glossary Introduction
This glossary is maintained and supported by a group of organizations involved in studentfinancial aid and in promoting access to higher education to Hispanics throughout thecountry: Cuban American National Council, National Association for College AdmissionCounseling, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, National CollegeAccess Network, National Council for Community and Education Partnerships, NationalCouncil of Higher Education Loan Programs, TG, and the U.S. Department of Education.These organizations created a workgroup of education, student financial aid, and Spanish-language experts, who drew upon and reconciled preexisting glossaries to develop asingle, easy-to-use reference tool that could facilitate the creation of more consistentSpanish-language materials about higher education and student financial aid. Use of theglossary is entirely voluntary.
A Word on the Translation Process
This glossary uses standard Spanish; consequently, the workgroup strove to avoidanglicisms and “Spanglish,” which might not be meaningful to some Spanish speakers.During the glossary’s development, however, challenges arose due to variation ineducation terminology used in different Spanish-speaking countries. Whenever feasible,the glossary seeks to accommodate these variations and to specify the region in which aparticular term is used.There are concepts represented in the glossary that are unique to the American highereducation and financial aid systems. Therefore, invention and compromise were requiredat times when translating terms that describe concepts having no precise equivalent in theeducation and aid systems of Spanish-speaking countries.Due to the variety of audiences and situations to which Spanish-language materials aredirected, the glossary offers synonyms from different linguistic registers (or levels of formality). When necessary, the glossary also provides contextual and usage notes. Wheremultiple terms are provided, we trust the translator to use the term that best applies to aspecific context and audience.Finally, in order to communicate a concept accurately, it may be necessary at times toinclude, in parentheses after the Spanish term, the original English term, or a definition inSpanish. For example: una escuela secundaria (high school, or grades 9-12), una instituciónpostsecundaria de dos años (community college).
Annual Review Process
Anyone wishing to provide input about the glossary should submit his or her comments toMaria Luna-Torres atmaria.luna-torres@tgslc.orgby February 15 of each year. Theinitiative participants will establish a workgroup annually to evaluate the comments andreview the glossary. An updated glossary will be released each year.
Postsecondary Education English-Spanish Glossary
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