Academic calendar
Fall Semester 2026 runs Aug 31, 2026 – Dec 17, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Fall 1st-Half-Semester Courses 2026
- Fall 1 Accelerated Term 2026
- Fall Semester 2026Relevant now
- Fall B Intensive 2026
- Fall C Intensive 2026
- Fall 2nd-Half-Semester Courses 2026
- Fall 2 Accelerated Term 2026
- Fall D Intensive 2026
- Winter Intensive 2027
- Spring A Intensive 2027
- Spring 1 Accelerated Term 2027
- Spring 1st-Half-Semester Courses 2027
- Spring Semester 2027
- Spring B Intensive 2027
- Spring C Intensive 2027
- Spring 2nd-Half-Semester Courses 2027
- Spring 2 Accelerated Term 2027
- Spring D Intensive 2027
- Summer A Intensive 2027
- Summer 1 Accelerated Term 2027
- Summer 1st-Half-Semester Courses 2027
- Summer Semester 2027
- Summer B Intensive 2027
- Summer C Intensive 2027
- Summer 2 Accelerated Term 2027
- Summer 2nd-Half-Semester Courses 2027
- Summer D Intensive 2027
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 32 of 32 terms
A
- Airband
- A massive annual lip-sync and dance competition held in the fieldhouse.
B
- BB
- Boer-Bennink residence hall.
- BHT
- Bolt-Heyns-Timmer residence hall.
- BV
- Beets-Veenstra residence hall.
C
- Calvin Walk
- A romantic or intentional walk around the campus loop, often involving a stop at the seminary pond.
- Chaos Day
- An annual high-energy competition between the residence halls.
- Commons
- The main dining hall located on the west side of campus.
- CPI
- Calvin Prison Initiative, a program offering degrees to incarcerated students.
- CSI
- Center for Student Involvement, the hub for student organizations and leadership.
D
- DTR
- Define The Relationship; a serious conversation between two students about the status of their romantic pairing.
J
- Johnny's
- Johnny's Cafe, a popular retail dining spot in the basement of the Commons.
K
- KCEP
- Knollcrest Campus Events Board, responsible for planning major student activities.
- KE
- Knollcrest East, the on-campus apartment complex for upperclassmen.
- KHvR
- Kalsbeek-Huizenga-van Reken residence hall.
- Knollcrest
- The dining hall located on the east side of campus near the dorms.
N
- NV
- Noordewier-VanderWerp residence hall.
- NVW
- Noordewier-VanderWerp Hall, a residence hall complex named after early Christian Reformed Church leaders.
P
- Peet's
- The Peet's Coffee location situated within the Hekman Library.
R
- Ring by Spring
- The cultural expectation or pressure to be engaged by the spring of senior year.
- RVD
- Rooks-VanDellen residence hall.
S
- SA
- Student Association, the student government body.
- SAB
- Student Activities Board, the group that plans concerts and campus events.
- SAO
- Student Activities Office, the administrative office that supports student organizations and events.
- SASV
- Students Against Sexual Violence, a student organization focused on education and advocacy.
- SE
- Schultze-Eldersveld residence hall.
- SLC
- Service-Learning Center, which coordinates volunteer and community service opportunities.
T
- The Beltline
- East Beltline Avenue, the major road that physically divides the campus into East and West sections.
- The Bubble
- The feeling of being isolated from the outside world within the tight-knit Calvin community.
- The Fishbowl
- The glass-walled, highly visible study area on the second floor of Hekman Library.
- The Ring
- Knollcrest Circle, the main loop road that encircles the central campus.
U
- Upper Crust
- A made-to-order sandwich and salad shop in the Commons.
- Uppercrust
- The Uppercrust sandwich shop located in the DeVos Communication Center.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- CalvinAlert
- The university's emergency notification system that sends text and email alerts to the campus community.
- CFAC
- Covenant Fine Arts Center, the venue for concerts and large lectures.
- Chimes
- The official student-run newspaper of Calvin University.
- CIT
- Calvin Information Technology, the help desk for tech issues.
- commons_dining_hall
- Commons Dining Hall
- DeVos
- DeVos Communication Center, located across the East Beltline.
- Hekman
- Hekman Library, the primary research and study building.
- Hiemenga
- Hiemenga Hall, the primary building for humanities and social science classes.
- Interim
- The three-week academic term in January where students take a single intensive course.
- johnny_s_cafe
- Johnny's Cafe
- KnightCard
- The official student ID used for building access and meal plans.
- KnightGuard
- The campus safety mobile app used for emergency assistance and requesting virtual escorts.
- knollcrest_dining_hall
- Knollcrest Dining Hall
- Moodle
- The learning management system where students access course syllabi and submit assignments.
- NH
- North Hall, primarily housing the nursing and education departments.
- peet_s_coffee
- Peet's Coffee
- SB
- The Science Building, connected to DeVries Hall.
- Spoelhof
- Spoelhof University Center, housing admissions and administrative offices.
- The Bridge
- The pedestrian overpass crossing the East Beltline that connects the two sides of campus.
- The Crossing
- The pedestrian bridge over the East Beltline connecting the two sides of campus.
- The Rapid
- The Grand Rapids public bus system; Route 6 specifically serves the Calvin campus.
- uppercrust
- Uppercrust
- WAVE card
- A discounted bus pass for The Rapid (Grand Rapids public transit) available through the Service-Learning Center.
- Workday
- The online portal used for class registration, student employment, and finances.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Fall Semester 2026 runs Aug 31, 2026 – Dec 17, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 32 approved campus terms and 24 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.