Glossary
Accreditation of prior certificated learning (APCL)
Accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL)
Accreditation of Prior Learning (AP(E)L)
Admissions tutor
Advanced entry student
Advisor of Studies
Blackboard
Campus
Certificated Learning
Class Rep (Representative)
Class Reps Central
Clearing
Credit
Conditional offer
Conventional student
Degree Programme
Dissertation
Education and Library Board (ELB)
Exam Diet
Faculty
Faculty Office
Fresher
Freshers' Week
Joint Honours Degree
Journal
Local Education Authority (LEA)
Lecture
Lecturer
Matriculation
Module
Module Handbook
Module Coordinator or Leader
Personal Tutor
Plagiarism
Practicals and Laboratories
Prospectus
Reading List
Registry
Single Honours Degree
The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)
Semester
Seminar
The Student Loans Company (SLC)
Tutor
Tutorial
UCAS
Unconditional offer
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
Accreditation of prior certificated learning (APCL)
The recognition of previous official learning.
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Accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL)
The recognition of previous learning gained out with formal education systems from work, community, or voluntary experience.
Source: Education-Line (www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00001831.htm)
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Accreditation of Prior Learning (AP(E)L)
A combination of the recognition of previous certificated and experiential learning.
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Admissions tutor
A member of academic staff who assesses UCAS application forms. Each UCAS form is assessed by at least two admissions tutors.
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Advanced entry student
A student who enters into a degree programme out with the first year.
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Advisor of Studies
An academic member of staff who is assigned to a student to help them with all aspects of their degree programme. In some faculties, the advisors of studies also help students with personal issues.
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Blackboard
The software used in the University to create and administer virtual learning environments (VLE's).
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Campus
The collection of buildings which make up a certain part of a university (there are four campuses at the University of Dundee).
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Certificated Learning
Formal learning for which students have received official recognition in the form of a certificate or equivalent.
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Class Rep (Representative)
A student who is selected to represent the students of a particular module.
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Class Reps Central
The Blackboard VLE which has been created to support class reps.
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Clearing
The process operated by UCAS through which students who have not been awarded a place at a university are matched up with those places still available.
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Credit
A form of reward for completing a certain period of academic study.
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Conditional offer
An offer from UCAS which stipulates the conditions that a student has to fulfil to meet the entry requirements for the degree programme which they applied for.
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Conventional student
A student who enters their degree programme in first year.
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Degree Programme
The programme of modules that a student undertakes to complete their degree.
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Dissertation
A long report, usually around 10,000 words, which may include original research.
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Education and Library Board (ELB)
Where students who live in Northern Ireland should apply to for funding.
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Exam Diet
The period of time in which the main exams are held. There are two exam diets, one at the end of each semester and one resit exam diet at the end of the summer.
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Faculty
A group of similar academic departments. For example, the departments of Social Work, Education and Community Education are grouped together under the Faculty of Education and Social Work.
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Faculty Office
The office of a particular faculty which deals with specific administrative duties such as changes of address or medical certificates.
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Fresher
All students who are new to a university.
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Freshers' Week
The week before the start of the academic year in which a wide variety of events are run to welcome new students to a university.
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Joint Honours Degree
A degree where two subjects have been studied during the honours years, e.g. MA (Hons) Psychology and English.
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Journal
An academic magazine which contains articles about specific topics.
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Local Education Authority (LEA)
Where students from England and Wales should apply to for funding.
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Lecture
Where an academic member of staff delivers a prepared speech on a particular topic to a large number of students within a lecture theatre. Lectures are not usually interactive and students are expected to listen and take notes. Attendance at lectures is not usually recorded, but by not attending, students will miss out on important information.
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Lecturer
A member of academic staff who delivers lectures.
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Matriculation
The act of registering as a student with the University.
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Module
A unit of study which is taught and assessed as a discrete unit. Students are awarded credit for the successful completion of modules. Modules form the building blocks of students' degree programmes.
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Module Handbook
A booklet containing important details about a particular module such as a module overview, staff details, lecture overviews, a reading list, and details of the assignments and assessments. These booklets are normally distributed at the module introductory lecture. Students should read and understand the contents of each module handbook and make a note of important dates.
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Module Coordinator or Leader
The member of staff in charge of a particular module.
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Personal Tutor
An academic member of staff who students can go to for help with matters out with their degree programme. Not all faculties assign personal tutors to their students.
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Plagiarism
The unacknowledged use of another persons work (either copied directly, paraphrasing, or taking an idea) as if it was a student's own. Plagiarism carries extremely severe penalties.
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Practicals and Laboratories
Classes which enable students to put what they have learned in lectures and tutorials into practice. For example, students may be required to carry out experiments to prove a certain theory presented to them in a lecture. Practicals and laboratories tend to be associated with more science based subjects.
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Prospectus
A brochure containing information about a university, particularly details about their degree programmes.
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Reading List
A list of the resources (i.e. books, journal articles, newspaper articles, websites, etc.) that will help students explore a topic. Not all the books on a reading list should be bought; the library will hold most (if not all) of the resources. Also, not all the resources on the reading lists have to be looked at, students should choose a few key resources to either photocopy or take notes on.
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Registry
The central administration unit within a university, dealing with key processes such as matriculation, examinations, and graduation.
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Single Honours Degree
A degree where one subject has been studied during the honours years, e.g. MA (Hons) Psychology.
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The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)
Processes all applications for support from eligible Scottish students going into full-time higher education courses within a UK university.
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Semester
One of the periods into which the academic year is divided. There are two semesters per academic year.
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Seminar
Where a group of students meet in a room with an academic member of staff to discuss a particular topic. Seminars involve a more intensive discussion on a particular topic than tutorials. Typically, within a seminar students work within groups on a particular task.
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The Student Loans Company (SLC)
Administers loans to eligible students in higher education in the UK.
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Tutor
A member of academic staff who leads a tutorial.
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Tutorial
When a small group of students meet with a tutor in a teaching room to discuss a particular topic. Students are expected to prepare for a tutorial and participation is encouraged. Attendance at tutorials is normally compulsory.
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UCAS
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service deals with all the applications for full-time study at UK universities and colleges.
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Unconditional offer
An offer from UCAS which stipulates that a student has already fulfilled the entry requirements for the degree programme which they applied for.
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Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
Essentially an interactive website that users log into which aids learning by using various online learning tools. VLE's help to support conventional learning and each module at the University will have its own VLE.
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