A

Academic Advising

On-campus help for students to: select courses and plan programs;obtain permission to take courses at other institutions;make sure graduation requirements are complete.

Academic Concession

A request for deferred status in a course due to illness, accident or family affliction at examination time. A student in this situation should immediately consult with Counselling Services, University Health Services or another health professional.

Academic Drop Date

Last day for dropping courses via WebReg without penalty of failure.

Academic Year

The Winter Session is made up of Fall and Spring terms (Fall term courses run from September to December; Spring term courses run from January to April); Summer Studies runs May-August and has several terms.

Admission

Before you can register for courses you must be admitted into a program. This is done through your application to the University. This process takes place before registration into courses.

Advanced Standing

Approval to register into a higher level of course work in a discipline when a student has mastered a lower level. Advance standing does reduce the number of units required for a degree.

Alumni

People who have graduated or attended a particular university or school.

Assigned Texts

The books chosen by the professor for your class. Make sure you have the full information before buying books as your professor may require a certain edition from a certain publisher (ex. Not just Shakespeare’s Plays but the 16th edition of the Collected Plays by W.W. Norton And Company).

Associated Section

Normally, a laboratory or tutorial that accompanies a lecture.

Audit/Auditor

To take a course for no academic credit. Auditors do not pay the full amount for a course, nor do they write examinations.

B

Bachelor's Degree

Generally, this is a first degree in an undergraduate program. At UVic, it normally takes 4 years to complete if you are studying as a full time student (4 years of classes from September-December and January -April). This typically means that you are enrolled in 4 to 5 classes per term,as you will need a minimum of 60 units to graduate with a UVic degree.

Bursary

Money awarded to a student based on financial need and reasonable academic standing.

C

Calendar

The academic calendar (catalogue) provides a list of courses, faculty and department information, academic policies, regulations,along with information about the university. The Calendar is available online.

Chair

The person who acts as the administrative head of an academic department or unit.

Co-operative Education (Co-op)

Full-time, paid work experience that alternates with academic terms.

Co-requisite

A specific course or requirement that must be taken at the same time as a prescribed course.

Course

A particular part of a subject area to be studied, such as English 115, which is part of the English program.

Course Challenge

Course challenge is intended to allow registered undergraduate students to receive credit in undergraduate courses on the basis of knowledge or experience acquired outside the University.

Counselling

Generally refers to one on one assistance with personal issues. In addition to helping with personal issues, Counselling Services can help with learning and career concerns and promotes success and wellness. A student would go to Academic Advising for assistance with matters like selecting courses or choosing academic programs.

Credit Unit

The unit value used to assign academic credit for a course, such as Economics 100 (1.5 units).

D

Dean

The person who acts as the head of a faculty.

Degree

The academic credential that is awarded to a student who has completed a particular course of study. There are three types of degrees: bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctoral degrees.

Degree Audit

The process of matching the courses taken to the specific program requirements- making sure that you are taking the right courses to earn your degree.

Discipline

A subject of study within an academic department.

E

Early Admission

A conditional offer of admission that is made prior to grade 12 graduation to current grade 12 students. Admission is contingent upon satisfactory completion of UVic admission requirements.

Elective

An optional course that is not individually specific to your program.

English Language Proficiency Admission Standard

In order to be admitted, a student must prove a minimum standard of skills for spoken and written English. This should not be confused with the Language Proficiency Index (LPI)

Exam Schedule

A listing of dates, times, locations of final exams posted in October and February.

Exchange

see International Exchange below.

Expanded Qualifications

Each year, UVic receives many more applications for admission than can be accepted. This admissions category recognizes for admission consideration (to the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Social Sciences) those students who have other attributes that demonstrate their ability to succeed at university.

F

Faculty

A group of related departments or schools. UVic has ten faculties: Business, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Human and Social Development, Humanities, Law, Graduate Studies, Science and Social Sciences.

Faculty Member

A member of the regular teaching staff.

Full- Time Student

An undergraduate student taking 12 or more units in the winter session.

G

General

A program which requires 9 units at the 300 or 400 level in each of two disciplines.

Grade Point

A numerical value given to letter grades used to rate academic performance.

Graduate Student

A student who has received a bachelor's degree or equivalent and who is enrolled in a program leading to a master's or doctoral degree.

H

Honours

A program which involves a high level of specialization in a discipline and requires 18 or more units in that discipline at the 300 or 400 level.

I

Interdisciplinary

Combining studies and research from different subject areas.

International Exchange

Opportunities for students to pursue some of their studies at another institution, often in another country, but still as a registered UVic student.

Language Proficiency Index (LPI)All undergraduate students, including diploma, certificate and unclassified students, must complete 1.5 units of first-year English. Registration in English courses is not permitted until a measure of English proficiency is submitted. The most common English proficiency measure is the LPI result. Students who can show equivalent proficiency in English may be exempt from this requirement.

Letter Grade

Instead of percentage grades, you will get a letter grade (A+, A, A-, B+, etc) on your UVic transcript. Check your course syllabus to see how you will be marked in each course.

Lower Level Courses

Courses numbered 100 to 299.

M

Master's Degree

Students working towards this designation (ex. MA, MSc, etc) are called "graduate students". Usually, this is the degree earned after a bachelor's degree that precedes a doctoral degree.

Major

Your area of specialization within in a degree program (ex. You may be working towards a B. A. degree with a major in Pacific and Asian Studies).

N

Net Link-ID

This is a unique personal identifier which is used as your "username" (ex, jsmith) for various services like: the central UVic e-mail system, access to a number of student computer labs, the Library gateway, WebCT and Web Board.

Your Net Link-ID will also be the key to access future electronically-enhanced services at UVic.

O

Ombudsperson

An independent, impartial and confidential resource who is there to help students with problems such as grad appeals, complaints about professors, admissions and re-registration appeals and housing difficulties.

P

Plagiarism

When you cheat by copying or reproducing other people's ideas or material and try to pass it off as your own as new and original work without crediting this source.

Probation

A trial period for a student whose registration is subject to academic conditions.

Prerequisite

A course that must be completed before taking a prescribed course.

PADRE

Program Advice & Degree Review outlines the program requirements needed for degree completion and matches a student's course record against those requirements.

Part-Time Student

An undergraduate student registered in fewer than 12.0 units of study in the Winter Session, or fewer than 6.0 units of study in Summer Studies.

Permission

A course with PERM under Registration Restrictions (RSTR) in the timetable requires permission from the Department. Registration is done through the Department.

Personal Identification Number (PIN)

A unique number which is created by students as part of the security access to Web View and WebReg.

PhD

In most instances this is the the designation for most doctoral degrees and is the abbreviation for "Doctor of Philosophy".

Prerequisite

A preliminary requirement which must be met before registration in a prescribed course.

Primary Section

A term used with course registration that normally refers to the main lecture class.

Professional Programs

A specialized professional program entered after a bachelor's degree is fully or partially completed- such as UVic Law.

Program

The series of courses of study organized to fulfill the requirements for a particular degree.

Q

R

Reading Break

Five days in the middle of term (November and February) when no classes are held. Reading break is designed to give you time to study and complete assignments.

Registered Student

A person enrolled in at least one credit course at this university.

Registration Restriction: Registration in a course or section is limited to a certain kind of student based on factors such as program, year and degree.

Regular Student: A student who is registered as a candidate for a UVic degree, or in credit courses leading to a diploma/certificate.

S

Scholarship

A student award based on academic merit or excellence. Repayment is not required.

Section

Many popular courses are divided into multiple classes or sections with different professors and time slots. There may be several sections (Section Y01, Y02, Y03) of the same course (French 100). Some courses include both a lecture section and lab section. In this case you are required to attend both lecture and lab.

Seminar

A small discussion group, either a focused part of a class (where the class is divided into discussion units), or a limited-enrollment class where discussion is emphasized.

Session

Period of time during which the University offers courses, i.e., Winter Session, Summer Studies.

Student Loan

A sum of money that must be repaid. Loans to university students are obtained through the government.

Student Transition Centre

A helpful service that provides information and programs for UVic students to support them in their transition into the university and later, into the next stage of their lives.

SUB

Student Union Building

Syllabus

At the beginning of a course the professor will give you a syllabus, or course outline, which will include information on what you will study, when assignments are due, and how grades will be assigned.

T

Teaching Assistant (TA)

A graduate student who assists the professor by helping in a laboratory, grading papers, leading discussion sections, tutoring or lecturing.

Term

A unit of time within a session. A term in the Winter Session consists of 13 weeks, in the Summer Studies, approximately 3 weeks.

Transcript

A copy of a student's academic marks.

Transfer Credit

Credit assigned for courses successfully completed at the post secondary level. For BC Colleges consult the current BC Transfer Guide.

U

Unclassified: Refers to the year in which certain students (non-degree) are registered.

Undergraduate Degree

The first level of degree a student can receive at UVic is a bachelor's degree (ex BA, BSc, BEng). A bachelor's degree normally requires a minimum of 60 units of coursework.

Undergraduate Student: A student registered in an undergraduate Faculty or in a program leading to a Bachelor's degree or an undergraduate diploma.

Undergraduate Students' Society (UVSS)

All undergraduates are automatically members of the UVSS. This organization represents all undergraduate students as all matters are carried out by elected student representatives. Students can participate by joining committees, participating in elections, and attending the meetings.

Unit

Positive numerical value used in assigning the value of a course, such as English 115 (1.5 units).

U-Pass

This pass provides you with unlimited access to Greater Victoria public transit routes.

Unit Value

A unit value of 3.0 is given to a full year course, commencing in September and ending in April. A one term course (either September to December or January to April) normally has a 1.5 unit value.

Upper Level Courses

Courses numbered 300 to 499.

V

Visiting Student

A student who is not formally admitted to a UVic degree program but is permitted to enroll in credit courses for a specified period on the basis of a Letter of Permission from another institution.

W

Wait-Lists

This is a course registration term that is when a requested course section is full. The option to be on a wait list may be offered and the student may still have the opportunity to register in the course section. Students who are on a wait-list will automatically be registered as places become available.

Web Reg (Web Registration)

Web registration allows students who have been been admitted to UVic to register for courses via the internet.

Web Timetable (Web TT)

Provides students with current course timetable information via the Web, including current information on open sections and the number of wait-listed students

Web View

Web access to student records on-line. Important information like your admission status, grades, class time-table and tuition fees can be viewed.

X

Y

Year

The level within a program of study, or the level of the course. For example, First year student, First year course (Physics 102).