ABD: All But Dissertation

AFAIK: As Far As I Know

BTW: By The Way
CC: Community College
ESL: English as a Second Language
FTE: Full-Time Employee
FWIW: For What It's Worth
HBCU: Historically Black College or University
Hu: A gender-neutral pronoun used by some members ofthe forums and despised by
others.
IMHO: In My Humble Opinion
IRB: Institutional Review Board (An organization at each university that reviews
research projects that use human subjects.)
NB: Nota Bene (Latin for note well)
OP: Original Poster
OTOH: On The Other Hand
PITA: Pain In The A * *
RAE: Research Assessment Exercise (For UK research -- determines the selective
distribution of public funds by the four higher-education funding bodies in the UK.)
RI: Top-tier Research University
SC: Search Committee
SLAC: Small Liberal Arts College
RA: Research Assistant
RI: Research Intensive University
RU: Research University
TA: Teaching Assistant
TT: Tenure Track
VP AA: Vice President for Academic Affairs

Annually Renewable: This term, or the phrase "with the possibility of renewal for
subsequent semesters," are sometimes found injob descriptions for non-tenure-track
instructor, lecturer, adjunct, and visiting positions. Ph.D.'s often view these positions as
"foot in the door" opportunities. Sometimes they can be, but often they won't lead to
anything more than another short-term contract.

Content management system (CMS): A content management system is the software

used to provide the electronic resources necessary to teach a class, whether via "distance
learning," (see below) or in a classroom. Blackboard and WebCT are major vendors of
this type of software. Being familiar with at least one of these systems is helpful when
interviewing for positions that stress teaching.

Evidence of Excellence in Teaching: Here's another open-ended term found in many job
ads, allowing you to submit in your application whatever you can come up with to
demonstrate your teaching skills. If your institution has a system in which students
evaluate course instructors and your marks are high, you can submit those. You can ask
one of your recommenders to write extensively about your teaching. You can offer
examples of your work itself (for example, syllabuses), but bear in mind that hiring
committees don't like to deal with lots of extra volume in an application. What they look
for is evidence that others view your teaching as excellent.

Faculty Lines: The term refers to the number of full-time faculty positions an institution
supports and is often used in context of a new position.

Forthcoming, under submission, and in preparation: Manuscripts go through several

stages of preparation for publication, so there are different phrases that you should use to
describe these stages on your CV. "Forthcoming" indicates an article has been completed
and accepted for publication. "Under submission" -- or "under review" -- is used when a
manuscript has been completed and submitted, but not accepted. "In preparation" shows
that although your article has been neither completed nor accepted, it is in progress.

Provost: The senior academic administrator of an institution is often called the provost,
or sometimes, the vice president for academic affairs. In most institutions, the provost is
the chief academic officer for the entire institution.

R01: The ROI is the oldest research grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health
and is given for health-related projects in the biomedical sciences. Its dollar value is
limited only by what the NIH determines to be the needs of the project. The grant pays
for, among other things, the salaries of the principal investigator (the person who wrote
the grant, also known as the "PI") and key personnel, laboratory equipment, and other
costs.

Soft Money: Sometimes the occupant of a position that is partially or wholly financed by
"soft money" (i.e., grants) is responsible for raising the dollars for the position. At other
times, someone else has the primary responsibility for fund raising. In either case, such
positions are usually thought of as less secure than those supported directly by the
employing organization itself.

Standing Faculty: All the faculty members who have tenure or are on the tenure track --
i.e., those with the titles of professor, associate professor, and assistant professor -- are
considered members of the standing faculty.

Summary: "I have applied for an assistant professor's position. The department is asking
me to write and submit a two-to-three page summary. I have no idea what should be
included in the summary." A summary in ajob description normally means a summary of
your research experience or expertise. It's another term for a research statement. In the
summary, you might discuss your current research and future plans. If you aren't sure
about something you are asked to submit for ajob application, contact the department
and ask.