A victory lap is a term used in American and Canadian academics to describe one or more extra years of study needed beyond the traditional four years of secondary, or undergraduate studies. These added years are generally the result of switching midstream to a different major or program. In certain cases such as engineering and teaching and life science degrees, the victory lap is instead attributed to increased course load and stress.
Other slang terms used to represent this same idea include "jewel degree", "5th year senior", "super senior", and "Van Wilder" (in reference to the 2002 film National Lampoon's Van Wilder). Elsewhere, in places that victory laps are not available to students, the slang term "Super senior" is a derogatory term for high schoolers who are held back a year due to personal failings, unintentionally, and as such spend one year longer to graduate than anyone else taking the same courseload would.