ACADEMIC YEAR - An expression normally used to describe the period between the start of the fall session (September) and the end of the winter session (April).

ADMISSION - Approval to register in a program of studies at the University.

ADVANCED STANDING - Recognizing a course previously completed with success in another academic institution as part of the student’s program of study at the University of Ottawa.

ANNUAL GRADE POINT AVERAGE (AGPA) - Measure of the student's performance over all courses taken during an academic year (May through April).

AUDITOR - Status of a student who has been authorized by one of the faculties to take one or more courses without obtaining credits. Auditors are not entitled to write examinations, nor to hand in assignments and may not change their status after the deadline has passed for course changes for the session in which they are enrolled.

AWARD - In financial aid, a generic term referring to either scholarships or prizes given for academic or other kinds of achievements.

BACHELOR; BACHELOR’S DEGREE; BACCALAUREATE - An undergraduate degree conferred upon completion of a three- or four-year program of studies.

BURSARY - Non-refundable financial aid granted to students to enable them to pursue a program of studies.

CALENDAR - The official description of programs of studies, degree requirements, courses, and faculty and university regulations.

CAREER COUNSELLING - A process by which a counsellor, or another qualified professional or experienced person, helps students learn about and select a program of studies, and prepare for a career.

CERTIFICATE - An independent undergraduate program requiring at least 30 credits and entitling the student to a diploma called “undergraduate certificate” and conferred by the Senate of the University.

COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAM - A program (major or minor) that does not allow direct admission, but is instead taken in addition to a student’s main program.

COMPULSORY COURSE - Any obligatory course taken to fulfill core-education and program-specific requirements.

CONCENTRATION PROGRAM - An undergraduate program, usually three years in length, designed to provide students with a solid base in a single discipline.

CONFLICT - A conflict occurs when the scheduled time slot for one course overlaps partially or completely with another course.

CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION; CO-OP - An academic stream offered in certain honours bachelor's programs where academic sessions alternate with paid work terms (placements).

CORE COURSE - Compulsory courses common to students in related programs.

COREQUISITE - A course that must be taken at the same time as another course, but that can also have been passed in advance.

COURSE - A set of teaching and learning activities whose calendar definition has been approved by Senate.

CREDIT - The numerical value assigned to an academic activity. Except for CO-OP work terms, intensive practicums covering extended periods and research projects, a credit generally represents 45 hours of work, including class attendance (lectures, labs, practical training), online presence, personal work, practical assignments and exam preparation.

CUMULATIVE GRADE POINT AVERAGE (CGPA) - Measure of the student's performance over all courses that make up his or her program of studies.

DIPLOMA GRADE POINT AVERAGE (DGPA) - Special measure of the student's performance required by certain bachelor's programs and taking strictly into account a sub-set of courses imposed by the program.

DISCIPLINE - A branch of knowledge or instruction, or a general subject such as psychology, philosophy, or geology.

DISCUSSION GROUP (DGD) - A class during which guided group discussions provide further exploration of various aspects of the subject matter covered during lectures.

ELECTIVE - A course chosen from all courses offered by the University of Ottawa. Electives are a part of the degree requirements but are not part of the core-education or the disciplinary program of studies (including compulsory and optional courses)

EXAM - Official exercise designed to evaluate knowledge and skills and to cover the contents of a course or a program of studies

EXEMPTION; EXCEPTION - Permission to replace a course normally required in a program of studies by another course with the same number of credits.

FACULTY - Any one of the University of Ottawa’s ten main academic administration units (Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, etc.).

FULL-TIME - Status of a student registered for 12 credits or more during a session.

GENERAL BACHELOR; GENERAL BACHELOR’S DEGREE; GENERAL BACCALAUREATE - Undergraduate degree requiring the equivalent of three or four years of studies and, respectively, 90 or 120 credits with the required cumulative grade point average (CGPA). Offered in Arts, Science and Social Sciences, the general bachelor’s provides a basic university education in either of two streams: three-year (with or without a minor) or four-year (with a major or a double minor).

GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA) - A measure of academic performance corresponding to the sum of the final grade values times the number of credits for each course, divided by the total number of credits attempted.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE of CREDITED COURSES (GPACC) - Measure of the student's performance considered during a faculty transfer, a change of program or a re-admission.

GRADE REPORT - Document that presents the academic results obtained by a student during an academic session.

GRADUATE STUDIES - University studies beyond a bachelor’s degree, which lead to a graduate studies certificate, a diploma, a master’s, or a doctorate.

HONOURS BACHELOR; HONOURS BACHELOR’S DEGREE; HONOURS BACCALAUREATE - An undergraduate degree requiring the equivalent of four years of studies and at least 120 credits with the required cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and diploma grade point average (DGPA), except in specific cases approved by the Senate (i.e. Bachelor in Journalism) .

HONOURS PROGRAM - An undergraduate program, usually four years in length, comprising a coherent set of compulsory and optional courses that are successively more advanced, designed to provide students with a solid base in one discipline and prepare them for graduate studies. Honours programs usually require a higher standard of achievement than do general or concentration programs.

FRENCH IMMERSION STUDIES- An academic stream offered in certain honours bachelor's programs and where a specific number of courses must be taken in French, with or without a language-learning support component.

IMMERSION COURSE - A course that allows students to enhance their abilities in their second official language. Three credits are granted for the regular content course taken in their second language and three additional credits for the accompanying language course, for a total of six credits.

INFOWEB - The University’s secure online services system, where students have remote access by computer to a variety of services and can make many transactions related to their academic life. Both a student number and password are required to access InfoWeb.

INTEGRATED PROGRAM - A program in which the degree requirements of two separate bachelor's degrees are completed, thus leading to two separate diplomas.

INTERNATIONAL and NATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM- Program available to students at the University of Ottawa who are interested in studying at another Canadian university or abroad for one session or an entire academic year.

JOINT HONOURS PROGRAM - A four-year undergraduate program allowing students to specialize in two related disciplines (e.g. philosophy and political science, or psychology and linguistics).

LABORATORY (LAB) - A type of class during which students perform practical work in groups or in a laboratory, and put into practice the material covered during the lectures.

LANGUAGE-LEARNING SUPPORT - Language-proficiency development activity associated with a disciplinary course taken in one’s second language as part of an immersion course.

LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION - The language in which teaching activities are conducted in a course or in a program.

LECTURE - A course in which the subject matter is communicated orally to a class with low student interaction.

LETTER OF PERMISSION - A written document in which the University authorizes a student to take courses at another institution and to transfer the credits from such courses to his or her University of Ottawa program.

LEVEL OF EDUCATION - The level of university education a student is pursuing. Undergraduate – bachelor, undergraduate certificate, professional degree. Graduate – graduate studies certificate, diploma, master’s, PhD.

LIMITED-ENROLLMENT PROGRAM - Program for which the University restricts the number of students who can register.

MAJOR - Intensive training in a main discipline or field of study, consisting of 42 credits in the discipline or field of study, of which 18 must be for courses at the 3000 level or above and at least 6 credits must be for courses at the 4000 level.

MATURE STUDENT - A person who does not meet the formal admission requirements and who enters university at least two years after high school.

MINOR - Introductory-level training in a branch or sub-branch of a particular discipline or subject, consisting of 30 credits, of which at least 6 must be at the 3000 level or above.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM - A program requiring students to take courses in at least three disciplines.

OPTION - A set of courses chosen within a specific field of study to gain a certain degree of expertise (e.g. engineering management option). An option normally requires a minimum of 18 credits in a given discipline.

OPTIONAL COURSE - A course included in the program requirements, which must be chosen within a given disciplinary field or a specific list of courses.

PART-TIME - Status of a student registered for fewer than 12 credits during a session.

PREREQUISITE - Course that must be passed before another course.

PREUNIVERSITY COURSE - A course that must be taken by students who do not have the required educational background to enroll directly in first-year university courses.

PROBATION - The status of students whose standing is below the required minimum for their program of studies but who are allowed to continue their studies on the condition that they raise their grade point average to the required minimum within a specified period.

PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM - An undergraduate program of studies, for the most part, providing training that meets the requirements of professional associations or colleges (medical, engineering, teaching, etc.). All of the programs contain a large proportion of discipline-specific courses. Length of studies varies from one discipline to another (one year for education, three years for law and medicine, and up to four years for engineering and commerce). Professional degrees in law, medicine and education all require preliminary university studies.

PROFICIENCY TEST - An assessment tool and exercise to evaluate the background of a person in a given branch of knowledge with or without regard to specific academic learning.

PROGRAM OF STUDIES - A set of courses or other work that must be successfully completed before qualifying for a degree, diploma, or certificate from the University.

RABASKA - Web application enabling students to explore program and degree course requirements, to perform various course-related activities (registration, replacement, etc.), to view courses completed successfully, courses remaining and those to be re-taken,, etc. to earn their degree.

REGISTRAR (Office of the) - The unit responsible for registration and admission, the maintenance of academic records, and the publication of course descriptions, timetables, and calendars.

REGISTRATION - A formal notice in which students show the courses they are taking in a session. Registration requires the approval of the appropriate academic unit (except online transactions using Rabaska).

REGULAR STUDENT - A person who has been admitted to a program of study leading to an undergraduate degree, diploma or certificate at the University of Ottawa, and who is registered for one or more courses in that program.

RETAINED CREDITS - Credits for courses completed in one program of studies at the University that are recognized as part of the requirements of a new program to which a student has transferred and are counted in the determination of the grade point average for the new program.

SCHOLARSHIP - A scholarship is non-repayable financial assistance that is awarded based on academic merit or some other achievement.

SCHOOL - An academic and administrative unit offering a professional training program (e.g. School of Translation and Interpretation, School of Nursing).

SECOND-LANGUAGE CERTIFICATE - An official University of Ottawa certificate describing the student’s linguistic profile (reading and listening comprehension as well as written and oral expression) received after successfully completing the independent learning course offered by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute and the Second Language Proficiency Test.

SECTION - A time-block in which a course is offered.

SESSION - Period during which the University's academic activities take place (Fall session: September to December; Winter session: January to April; Spring-summer session: May to August). In general, the fall and winter sessions run 15 weeks each, including the exam period. The spring-summer session breaks down into sub-sessions with a varying numbers of weeks.

SESSIONAL DATES (IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES) - A list of the dates corresponding to important deadlines or events during the academic year for different sessions (i.e., fall, winter, spring-summer sessions).

SESSIONAL GRADE POINT AVERAGE (SGPA) -Measure of the student's overall performance for all courses in a given session.

HONOURS BACHELOR'S with SPECIALIZATION - Degree conferred upon completion of a program requiring in-depth training in a single discipline or in an interdisciplinary area of studies with a minimum of 54 credits in the discipline or interdisciplinary area.

SPECIAL STUDENT - A person who is allowed by the University to register for undergraduate courses in order to obtain university credits, but who is not seeking an undergraduate degree, certificate or diploma from the University.

STUDENT CATEGORY - Classification of students as regular students, special students and auditors.

TELECONFERENCE COURSE - A course given on an interactive video system and transmitted via telephone connection to a location off campus.

TIMETABLE - An online database of the courses being offered during a specific session, by an academic unit, and including the description, sections, location, time of classes, and the names of professors for each course.

TRANSCRIPT - An official and confidential document issued by the University of Ottawa at the student's request which indicates all courses and corresponding results for which a student is officially registered at the University.

TRANSFER CREDITS - Credits for courses completed at another university, which are recognized and counted as part of the requirements of a program of studies at the University of Ottawa (see also Advanced Standing).

UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES / STUDENT - University studies leading to a bachelor’s degree or an undergraduate certificate; a person pursuing such studies.

WORK TERM - A study-related work experience (paid or unpaid)