Academic calendar
Fall 2026 runs Aug 15, 2026 – Dec 15, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Fall 2026Relevant now
- Spring 2027
Campus language
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Showing 65 of 65 terms
A
- AAPC
- American Academy of Professional Coders, the certifying body for the medical billing and coding track.
C
- Career Coach
- A staff member assigned to students to assist with resume building and job placement after certification.
- CBC
- Criminal Background Check; a mandatory requirement for students to begin their clinical externship.
- CBCS
- Certified Billing and Coding Specialist, the credential for the medical billing track.
- CCMA
- Certified Clinical Medical Assistant, the credential earned after passing the NHA exam.
- CEHRS
- Certified Electronic Health Record Specialist, a credential focused on digital medical records.
- CET
- Certified EKG Technician, a specialized certification for performing electrocardiograms.
- Check-in
- Regularly scheduled meetings with a success coach to ensure students are meeting their milestones.
- Check-ins
- Regularly scheduled meetings with instructors or career coaches to track progress.
- Check-off
- A practical skills assessment where a student must demonstrate a medical task correctly
- Check-offs
- Live skills assessments where students must demonstrate proficiency to an instructor via video
- Clinical
- The hands-on externship portion of the program completed at a healthcare facility.
- Clinical hours
- The hands-on portion of the program completed at a physical healthcare facility.
- Clinical Prep
- The specific module or phase dedicated to preparing students for their hands-on clinical placement.
- Clinical Site
- The physical healthcare facility where a student performs their hands-on training.
- Clinical-ready
- A status achieved once a student has completed all online modules and is cleared for their in-person training.
- Clinicals
- The hands-on externship portion of the program completed at a local medical facility.
- CMA
- Certified Medical Assistant; a common professional credential in the field
- Coach
- A career services professional assigned to each student to assist with resume building and job interviews.
- Cohort
- The specific group of students who start the program on the same date and move through the curriculum together.
- CPhT
- Certified Pharmacy Technician, the credential for students in the pharmacy tech track.
- CPT
- Certified Phlebotomy Technician, the credential for students in the phlebotomy track.
E
- Extern
- A student who has finished their online coursework and is currently working in a clinic for credit
- Externship
- The hands-on work experience phase required for graduation and certification eligibility.
F
- Fast-track
- The intensive 4-month timeline in which Stepful programs are designed to be completed.
G
- Grad
- A student who has completed the coursework and is moving into the externship phase.
H
- Huddle
- Live community or career-focused sessions hosted by Stepful staff for student support and networking.
L
- Live Sessions
- Mandatory real-time online classes that students must attend weekly.
- LMS
- Learning Management System, the digital platform where students access their coursework.
M
- MA
- Medical Assistant program, the primary training track offered by Stepful
N
- NHA
- National Healthcareer Association, the primary certifying body for Stepful programs.
- NHA Ready
- A status achieved after passing the final practice exams, indicating a student is prepared for the national test
O
- One-on-one
- Personalized coaching or tutoring sessions provided to students to help with coursework or job prep.
- One-on-ones
- Private coaching sessions with a Success Coach to discuss progress or career goals.
P
- PCT
- Patient Care Technician, a specialized healthcare training program offered by the school.
- Phleb
- Shorthand for Phlebotomy, often used when discussing the blood-drawing module of the course.
- Placement
- The process or the team responsible for finding a student a local clinic for their externship.
- Preceptor
- The clinical professional at an externship site who supervises and evaluates the student.
- Proctored
- Refers to the NHA exam being supervised, usually via a remote proctoring service like ProctorU.
- PT
- Pharmacy Technician program, a vocational track for retail or hospital pharmacy
S
- Scrubs
- The required navy blue uniform that students must wear during their clinical externship.
- Stepful Coach
- A dedicated mentor who provides career guidance and academic support.
- Stepful Community
- The digital space (often Slack or a proprietary platform) where students network and support each other.
- Stepful Fam
- The community-focused term used by students and staff to refer to the collective student body and alumni
- Stepful Family
- The collective term used by students, instructors, and staff to describe the supportive community and network.
- Stepfuler
- A common term used within the community to refer to a Stepful student or alumni.
- Stepfulian
- A term occasionally used by the community to refer to a Stepful student or alum.
- Success Coach
- A dedicated staff member who provides 1-on-1 academic and career support
- Sync Session
- Live, instructor-led online classes that occur at specific times each week.
T
- The 4-month mark
- The transition point in the program when students move from online learning to clinical placement.
- The 4-month sprint
- A student term for the intensive, fast-paced online portion of the Medical Assistant program.
- The 80 hours
- The specific amount of hands-on externship time required to graduate the Medical Assistant program.
- The Cohort
- The specific group of students who start the program on the same date and progress through the curriculum together.
- The Dashboard
- The online learning management system (LMS) where students access their curriculum and track progress
- The Exam
- Common shorthand for the NHA CCMA national certification test
- The Externship
- The 80-hour hands-on clinical training phase that follows the online coursework.
- The Guarantee
- Stepful's tuition refund policy for students who do not find a job within six months of certification.
- The Hub
- Occasional student shorthand for the main dashboard or resource center.
- The Kit
- The medical supply box (containing stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, etc.) mailed to students for home practice.
- The Lab
- The mandatory in-person clinical training sessions held at partner locations.
- The NHA
- Commonly used to refer to the final certification exam rather than the organization itself.
- The Portal
- The online learning management system (LMS) where students access their curriculum, submit assignments, and track progress.
- The Slack
- The primary digital 'campus' where students, instructors, and career coaches communicate daily.
- The Voucher
- The prepaid code provided by Stepful to cover the cost of the NHA certification exam.
V
- Voucher
- The prepaid code issued by Stepful that allows students to register for their NHA certification exam at no extra cost.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- 1-on-1 Coaching
- Personalized career services including resume building and mock interviews provided to all students
- 1-on-1s
- Personalized coaching sessions with career or academic advisors to discuss job placement or course progress.
- 1:1 Coaching
- Personalized career services sessions focused on resume building, LinkedIn optimization, and interview prep.
- 1:1s
- Scheduled private meetings with instructors or career coaches for personalized feedback.
- 80 hours
- The specific number of hands-on clinical hours required to complete the Medical Assistant program.
- 80-hour requirement
- The specific number of in-person hours a student must complete at a clinic to graduate.
- Background Check
- A required screening process that must be cleared before a student is eligible for clinical placement.
- Canvas
- The virtual 'campus' or Learning Management System where all coursework and grades are housed.
- Canvas
- The Learning Management System (LMS) where all online coursework and modules are hosted.
- Career Coach
- A dedicated staff member who assists students with resumes and job interviews after certification.
- Career Coaching
- The mandatory one-on-one support sessions focused on resume building and interview preparation
- Career Services
- The department responsible for helping students with resume building and job placement after certification.
- CBC
- Criminal Background Check, a required logistical step before a student can be placed in an externship.
- Certification Prep
- The final phase of the program dedicated to intensive review for the national exam.
- Certification Voucher
- A prepaid code provided by Stepful that covers the cost of the national certification exam for eligible students.
- Check-ins
- Regular mandatory meetings with instructors to track progress through the 4-month program.
- Checkr
- The third-party service Stepful uses to conduct mandatory student background checks.
- Clinical Clearance
- The process of submitting vaccinations, drug tests, and background checks required before starting an externship.
- Clinical Coordinator
- The Stepful staff member who manages the logistics of placing students in local clinics.
- Clinical Hours
- The specific hours logged at a doctor's office or clinic to satisfy graduation requirements.
- Clinical Placement
- The logistical process where Stepful's team coordinates an in-person training site near the student's location
- Clinical Site
- The physical healthcare facility (clinic or hospital) where a student completes their hands-on training.
- Clinical Site
- The local healthcare facility where students perform their hands-on training
- Clinical Skills Lab
- In-person training sessions required for students in hybrid programs to practice physical medical tasks.
- Clinicals
- The hands-on training portion of the curriculum, often used interchangeably with 'externship'.
- Cohort
- The specific group of students who start and progress through the program together on a set schedule
- Compliance
- The phase where students must submit medical records, vaccinations, and drug tests for externship approval.
- Drug Screen
- A mandatory medical test required by most clinical sites before a student can begin their externship.
- Exam Voucher
- A prepaid code provided by Stepful to cover the cost of the national certification test.
- Externship
- The 80-hour mandatory clinical placement required to graduate and sit for the NHA exam.
- Externship Placement
- The process where Stepful's placement team coordinates with local clinics to find a site for a student's hands-on training.
- Externship Site
- The physical medical facility (clinic or hospital) where students complete their hands-on training.
- Fast Track
- The accelerated 4-month timeline for completing the Medical Assistant program.
- In-person Skills
- The requirement for students to practice certain tasks (like phlebotomy) at a physical site.
- Job Guarantee
- The policy promising a full tuition refund if a student does not secure a job within six months of certification
- Live Classes
- Synchronous Zoom sessions held twice a week that require mandatory attendance for program completion.
- Live Lectures
- Mandatory synchronous online classes that occur at specific times, distinguishing the program from self-paced courses.
- Live Sessions
- Scheduled real-time online classes that students must attend as part of their weekly curriculum.
- NHA Exam
- The final certification test taken at a proctored site or online after completing the 4-month course
- NHA Portal
- The external website where students must register for their official national certification exam.
- NHA Proctoring
- The specific technical and environmental requirements for taking the certification exam via remote proctor.
- Onboarding
- The mandatory first week of the program focused on setting up tools like Slack and Canvas
- One-on-One
- Personalized video sessions with instructors or career coaches for academic or professional help
- One-on-Ones
- Scheduled private coaching sessions focused on academic progress or career readiness like resume reviews.
- Placement
- The logistical process of being assigned to a local clinic for hands-on training.
- Placement Coordinator
- The staff member assigned to help students secure a local clinic for their externship.
- Placement Team
- The department responsible for finding and vetting local clinics for a student's clinical externship.
- Proctored Exam
- The final NHA exam which must be taken under strict supervision, either online or at a testing center.
- ProctorFree
- The remote proctoring software used to monitor students during their final and certification exams.
- Proctortrack
- The remote proctoring software used to monitor students during their final exams.
- ProctorU
- The online service used to monitor students during their remote NHA certification exams.
- Slack
- The digital hub used for all student-to-student and student-to-instructor communication.
- Slack
- The primary communication hub used for class discussions, instructor announcements, and peer networking.
- Soft Launch
- The initial period of a cohort where students get acclimated to the portal before heavy coursework begins.
- Stepful Academy
- The overarching name for the digital learning environment and curriculum.
- Stepful Dashboard
- The internal student portal used for tracking program progress, clinical requirements, and career milestones.
- Stepful HQ
- The corporate office in New York City, though students primarily interact with the school online.
- Sterling
- The background check service students must clear before they are allowed on an externship site.
- Success Coach
- A dedicated mentor assigned to each student to assist with study schedules, motivation, and the job search.
- Success Manager
- A dedicated staff member assigned to support students through their academic journey and certification
- The Classroom
- The live Zoom sessions where synchronous instruction and lectures occur.
- The Dashboard
- The central online learning management system where students access assignments and grades.
- The Hub
- The centralized student resource center for career services and administrative support.
- The Platform
- The proprietary online learning management system where students access coursework and submit assignments.
- The Portal
- The online Learning Management System (LMS) where all coursework and assignments are hosted
- The Slack
- The primary digital 'campus' where students, instructors, and career coaches communicate.
- The Waitlist
- The period students may experience while waiting for a clinical site to open up in their specific geographic area.
- The Zoom Room
- The virtual classroom where live, instructor-led sessions and workshops take place.
- Voucher
- The prepaid code provided by Stepful that covers the cost of the national certification exam.
- Weekly Modules
- The structured units of online coursework that students must complete on a set schedule.
- Zoom
- The virtual classroom space where live lectures and workshops are conducted.
- Zoom
- The video conferencing platform used for all live, synchronous instructor-led class sessions
- Zoom Room
- The virtual classroom where live, mandatory instruction sessions take place.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Fall 2026 runs Aug 15, 2026 – Dec 15, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 65 approved campus terms and 73 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.