Academic calendar
Academic Year 2025-2026 runs Jul 1, 2025 – Jun 30, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Academic Year 2025-2026Relevant now
Campus language
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Showing 39 of 39 terms
B
- BCO
- Business Office Technology program
- BCT
- Building Construction Technology; refers to the trade program and its students.
- BMO
- Business Office Technology, the program for administrative and clerical training.
- BOM
- The Business Office Management program.
C
- CET
- Center for Employment Training, the primary name for the institution.
- Check-off
- The process of an instructor verifying and signing off that a student has mastered a specific competency.
- Clocking
- The mandatory daily practice of recording hours; students must 'clock in' and 'clock out' to meet graduation requirements.
- Clocking in
- The mandatory daily attendance ritual where students use a time clock to simulate a real workplace environment.
- Competencies
- The specific skill-based tasks students must demonstrate mastery of to pass their program.
- Competency
- A specific skill or task a student must master and have signed off to progress in their program.
- Competency-based
- The learning style where students progress by proving they can do a task, not by how many hours they sit in class
- Culinary
- The student-run food service provided by the Culinary Arts program, often serving as the primary on-campus lunch option.
E
- EDD
- Employment Development Department, the state agency that often refers students to CET for retraining
F
- FAFSA
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid, used by students to secure Pell Grants for vocational training.
H
- Hands-on
- The primary mode of instruction, emphasizing physical practice over classroom lectures.
- HI
- Health Information Technology program.
- HVAC
- Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, a core technical trade program.
I
- I-BEST
- Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training, a program that combines technical training with basic literacy and math support.
- I&E
- The Industrial and Electrical Technician program.
- I&M
- Industrial Maintenance and Machining program.
J
- Job Developer
- The staff member students work with closely for resume building and interview prep.
- Job Ready
- A status indicating a student has completed their technical competencies and soft-skills training and is cleared to interview.
M
- M-1
- The specific vocational student visa category for international students attending CET programs
- MA
- Medical Assistant, one of the most common program tracks at CET campuses.
- MOP
- Medical Office Professional program, a common administrative track.
O
- OIC
- Opportunities Industrialization Center, the historical movement from which CET originated.
- Open Entry
- The policy that allows students to start their vocational program on any day of the year rather than waiting for a semester
P
- Placement
- The final phase of the program where students work exclusively on finding a job with staff assistance.
S
- Self-paced
- The instructional style where students progress through competencies as fast as they can master them.
- Shop time
- The hours spent doing hands-on work rather than classroom theory.
- Skill Set
- A specific module or unit of training that a student must master before moving to the next level
T
- TABE
- Test of Adult Basic Education, the mandatory assessment test students take during the admissions process
- The Break Room
- The designated area for students to eat and take breaks, as CET campuses are commuter-based and do not have traditional dining halls.
- The Breakroom
- The designated communal area for student meals and breaks, as CET campuses do not feature traditional cafeterias.
- The Floor
- The practical workspace where students perform manual trade tasks, simulating a real job site.
- The Lab
- The clinical practice area where Medical Assistant students perform simulations
- The Shop
- The hands-on laboratory or practical training area where students practice trade skills.
W
- WIOA
- Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, a common federal funding source students use to pay for tuition.
- WLD
- Welding Fabrication program.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- Alexandria
- The CET campus located in Alexandria, Virginia.
- CET Alexandria
- The campus location serving the Northern Virginia and Washington D.C. area.
- CET Coachella
- The campus location serving the Coachella Valley and Riverside County region.
- CET El Centro
- The campus location serving the Imperial Valley region.
- Clock Hours
- The actual time spent in training; students must complete a specific number of hours to meet graduation and financial aid requirements.
- Clocking in
- The daily requirement for students to record their attendance using a time clock to simulate a professional work environment
- Colton
- The CET campus location serving the Inland Empire/Southern California area
- Competency-based
- The grading model where students progress by mastering specific skills rather than earning letter grades
- El Paso
- The CET campus located in El Paso, Texas.
- FA
- Common shorthand for the Financial Aid office or the process of securing tuition assistance.
- Financial Aid Office
- The department that handles FAFSA and the 'Ability to Benefit' testing for enrollment.
- Front Office
- The central administrative area for admissions and student records.
- Human Development
- A required portion of the curriculum focused on soft skills, interviewing, and professional behavior.
- I-10
- The Individualized Training Plan that tracks a student's specific progress through their competencies.
- I-20
- The Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status required for international students to attend CET.
- I-9
- The employment eligibility verification process that is integrated into the curriculum to ensure students are 'job-ready'.
- I-9 Training
- A component of the curriculum where students learn to complete employment eligibility paperwork as part of job readiness.
- I-BEST
- Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training, a system that provides extra support for students to learn basic skills while training for a career.
- I-Train
- The system often used to manage student records and state-funded training accounts.
- Job Developer
- A staff member assigned to each student to provide direct assistance with resumes, interviews, and employer connections.
- M-1
- The specific vocational student visa required for international students attending CET
- M-1 Visa
- The specific vocational student visa category that CET is authorized to support for international students.
- Market Street
- The CET San Jose - Market Street location, often used to distinguish from the main Sobrato site.
- Moodle
- The Learning Management System (LMS) used by students to access digital coursework and resources.
- Open Enrollment
- The 'start anytime' policy where students can begin their program any day of the year rather than waiting for a semester.
- Open Entry
- The 'start anytime' policy allowing students to begin their program any day of the year
- Orientation
- The mandatory introductory session for new students to learn about the 'CET Model' and clocking procedures.
- Placement
- The critical final stage of the program where the school tracks and assists with the student's transition into a full-time job.
- San Jose Main
- The flagship campus and headquarters located on Vine Street in San Jose
- Self-paced
- The instructional model where students progress as they master skills rather than following a fixed calendar.
- Skill Area
- The specific classroom or zone dedicated to a single trade's instruction.
- Sobrato
- The Sobrato Center for Nonprofits in San Jose, which serves as the flagship headquarters for CET.
- Sobrato Center
- The facility in San Jose that houses CET administrative offices and nonprofit partners
- Student ID
- Required identification used not just for security, but often for scanning into the time-clock system.
- TABE
- Test of Adult Basic Education, the mandatory entrance assessment used to determine a student's starting level.
- The Annex
- Secondary training spaces or classrooms located near the main campus buildings.
- The Floor
- The active training area where students perform practical competencies.
- The Lab
- The clinical or computer-based training area for medical and office programs.
- The Shop
- The designated hands-on training area for technical trades like welding or automotive repair.
- The Timecard
- The physical or digital record of hours that students must maintain to prove program completion.
- The Vine
- Student shorthand for the main San Jose campus location
- Time Card
- The record of a student's accumulated hours, critical for maintaining financial aid eligibility.
- Vine Street
- The common name for the main San Jose headquarters campus located on Vine St.
- VTA Pass
- The transit pass provided or subsidized for students at the San Jose campus for local light rail and buses.
- Work-like environment
- The official philosophy where the campus operates like a job site (e.g., professional dress, punctuality, and 'clocking' hours).
- Year-round
- The schedule convention where classes continue through the summer without a traditional long break.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Academic Year 2025-2026 runs Jul 1, 2025 – Jun 30, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 39 approved campus terms and 46 local details are included in full.
- Are all approved campus terms included?
- Yes. The complete approved glossary is available in the scrollable, searchable campus-language section.
- Where does this guide come from?
- Calendar dates, campus terms, and local details come from DormWay's approved campus reference library.