English-Spanish Glossary
Glossary Introduction
This glossary is maintained and supported by a group of organizations involved in student financial aid and in promoting access to higher education to Hispanics throughout the country: Cuban American National Council, National Association for College Admission Counseling, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, National College Access Network, National Council for Community and Education Partnerships, National Council 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 a single, easy-to-use reference tool that could facilitate the creation of more consistent Spanish-language materials about higher education and student financial aid. Use of the glossary is entirely voluntary.
A Word on the Translation Process
This glossary uses standard Spanish: consequently, the workgroup strove to avoid anglicisms and "Spanglish", which might not be meaningful to some Spanish speakers. During the glossary's development, however, challenges arose due to variation in education terminology used in different Spanish-speaking countries. Whenever feasible, the glossary seeks to accommodate these variations and to specify the region in which a particular term is used.
There are concepts represented in the glossary that are unique to the American higher education and financial aid systems. Therefore, invention and compromise were required at times when translating terms that describe concepts having no precise equivalent in the education and aid systems of Spanish-speaking countries.
Due to a variety of audiences and situations to which Spanish-language materials are directed, the glossary offers synonyms from different linguistic registers (or levels of formality). When necessary, the glossary also provides contextual and usage notes. Where multiple terms are provided, we trust the translator to use the term that best applies to a specific context and audience.
Finally, in order to communicate a concept accurately, it may be necessary at times to include, in parentheses after the Spanish term, the original English term, or a definition in Spanish. For example, una escuela secundaria (high school, or grades 9-12), una institucion possecundaria de dos años (community college).
Click here to view or download the introduction to the glossary.
Click here to view or download the glossary.
Click here for an online searchable database of the glossary.
