| Term/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|
| Academic year (or academic session) |
The 12-month period, beginning in September, during which courses are taught and assessed.
[a further definition of academic year is used at the University in relation to systems and data reporting, beginning in August]
|
| Academic standards |
The standards that individual degree-awarding bodies set and maintain for the award of their academic credit or qualifications. These may exceed the threshold academic standards. They include the standards of performance that a student needs to demonstrate to achieve a particular classification of a qualification, such as a first-class honours degree classification in a certain subject or the award of merit or distinction in a master’s degree. |
| Academic quality |
How, and how well, the higher education provider supports students to enable them to achieve their award. It covers learning, teaching and assessment, and all the different resources and processes a provider puts in place to help students progress and fulfil their potential. |
| Award |
The degree, certificate, or diploma which is conferred on the student following completion of their studies with the University. |
| Credit |
A measure of the amount of learning completed by a student, awarded in recognition of achievement of learning outcomes at a specified level and allocated per module. Each credit denotes approximately 10 hours of learning and assessment.
e.g. a standard Undergraduate course will usually be 120 credits per year, and a standard Postgraduate Taught course will usually be 180 credits per year. Further details can be found in the University's Qualifications Framework.
|
| Credit Level |
An indicator of the relative complexity, demand and/or depth of learning |
| Degree Classification |
Refers to the specific category of degree awarded to a student in a Taught Programme, as defined by the University's regulations. Examples include First Class or Upper Second Class (2:1) for undergraduate degrees, and Distinction or Merit for postgraduate degrees. |
| EEARS |
Educational Enhancement and Assurance Review |
| Formative Assessment |
Formative assessments are assessments that are used to assess student understanding, provide feedback on learning and inform teaching strategy. The assessments do not count towards the overall module mark, but support learning. |
| Learning outcomes |
What a student is expected to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate at the end of a period of learning. Learning Outcomes are described at both module and programme level. |
| Micro-credential |
A unit of learning that is credit-bearing against a recognised level of the Qualifications Frameworks. Whilst there is no upper or lower limits of credit that a micro-credential carries it is not normally an award in its own right on the Qualifications Frameworks. |
| Module |
A self-contained unit of study, with a coherent and explicit set of learning outcomes and, usually, its own assessment which forms part of the curriculum. |
| Monitoring |
The routine collection and analysis of information that focuses on an area of work, project or programme/course, undertaken while the area of work, project or programme/course is ongoing |
| OfS |
Office for Students |
| PACER |
Periodic Assurance and Continuous Enhancement Review |
| Programme |
Comprises the approved curriculum followed by a student for a specified award upon which the student is registered.
Programme can also be referred to as 'course'.
|
| Progression |
Refers to the formal path that students follow within a course which involves studying at specific levels and meeting required standards, typically facilitated by earning a required number of credits to advance to the next stage. For example, moving from the first year (Qualifying Stage) to the second year (Part I) in a program. |
| PSRB |
Professional, statutory or regultaory bodies (PSRBs) is a general term used to describe those organisations that work with the University in the approval, monitoring and review of programmes that lead to a professional or vocational qualification and which exist to ensure that national standards within the professions are met. |
| QAA |
Quality Assurance Agency |
| QM |
Quality Manual |
| QSC |
Quality and Standards Committee |
| Quality Assurance |
The process for checking that the academic standards and quality of higher education provision meet agreed expectations |
| Quality enhancement |
Deliberate steps taken at provider level to improve the quality of students' learning opportunities. |
| Summative Assessment |
Summative assessments are assessments that count towards a module mark, progression decision, or the overall award classification. |
| Threshold academic standards |
The minimum acceptable level of achievement that a student has to demonstrate to be eligible for the award of academic credit or a qualification. For equivalent qualification, the threshold level of achievements is agreed across the UK |
| UoNO |
University of Nottingham Online |