Glossary of Terms
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Academic Integrity | Academic honesty, including observation of ethical standards. |
| Academic Integrity Module (AIM) | An LMS module in which all commencing undergraduate students are enrolled which is designed to provide:
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| Academic Misconduct | Engaging in practices including but not limited to cheating in tests, examinations, essays or other assessable work, plagiarism, unauthorised collusion, fraudulent or unethical research and scholarship practices. |
| Academic Referencing Module (ARM) | A set of referencing resources provided by the Library that detail examples of how to cite material and create references using the following four referencing styles:
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| Academic Referencing Tool (ART) | A tool that will providing detailed examples of the following four referencing styles:
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| Assessment Criteria | Used to measure the degree to which a student has achieved the intended learning outcomes for the subject. |
| Award | A degree attained at the completion of a course of study. In the case of a double Bachelor degree, a student is enrolled in one course of study leading to two awards. |
| Capstone Subject | Any subject teaching, evaluating and providing feedback on a FGC of a course, that consolidates learning from across the course, and evaluates the level of student achievement towards achieving the standard set for Capstone. |
| Commencing Student | A student who is beginning a new course at the University for the first time. |
| Competency-based Assessment (CBA) | The gathering and judging of evidence in order to decide whether a person has achieved a standard of competence. Commonly applied in VET programs. |
| Consequential Feedback | Takes into account the utility to the student, of feedback given, in terms of future subject or course learning experiences. |
| Constructive Alignment | A principle used for devising teaching and learning activities (including assessment tasks) that directly address the intended learning outcomes. |
| Content Management System (CMS) | A system that stores data or content that allows easy access for multiple people to share. |
| Core Subject | A subject that must be studied in order to complete the requirements of the course and/or Major. |
| Cornerstone Subject | Any subject teaching, assessing and providing feedback on a FGC of a course, specifically designed to provide commencing students with a firm grounding in the core threshold knowledge and skills required to learn successfully in more advanced subjects, and evaluates the level of student achievement towards achieving the standard set for Cornerstone. |
| Course | A program of prescribed study leading to one or more qualifications (e.g. Bachelor Arts) and in which a student may study one or more Majors. |
| Course Information Management System (CIMS) | An enterprise system that allows for the approval, storage and publication of course and subject information from single source data. It also allows for multi-user accessibility and contains workflow functionality. |
| Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs) | Brief statements defining what students are expected to demonstrate they know and can do by the end of a course. |
| Course Map | A visual display of a course and Major of study that shows the subjects at each year level a student is required to complete in order to receive the award and Major. |
| Credit Points | The amount of points a subject contributes towards a course. For example, to complete a Bachelor of Arts, students must complete a minimum of 360 credit points, with at least 120 credit points at third year level. |
| Criterion-referenced Assessment | Student's work is assessed with reference to written criteria derived from explicit learning outcomes. |
| Design for Learning (DfL) | The term used to describe an ambitious program of undergraduate curriculum review and renewal across the University as outlined in the document Design for Learning: Curriculum Review and Renewal at La Trobe University. DfL involves rethinking and redesigning the way we teach, assess, give feedback, and provide academic support for the success of all undergraduate students. |
| Elective Subject | A non-compulsory subject that is completed as part of a course of study to fulfil credit point requirements but which does not contribute to the Major(s) being studied. |
| e-Portfolio | An electronic portfolio used to allow students to collect and store evidence of achievement; experiences; assessments; and other documents associated with their learning and personal development. |
| Faculty Graduate Capabilities (FGCs) | The faculty-specific definitions of the six La Trobe University graduate capabilities, plus definitions of any additional faculty-specific graduate capabilities (e.g., ethical awareness). |
| Formative Assessment/Evaluation | Process aimed at monitoring student progress against standards and providing them with feedback comparing their progress to the standards in order to help students improve their learning and achievement. |
| Graduate Attribute | Known as a 'Graduate Capability' at La Trobe University. See Graduate Capability. |
| Graduate Capability | Bachelor-degree level learning outcome and employability skill. |
| Inquiry/Research Quiz (IRQ) | An online self-assessment activity designed to alert commencing students to the information literacy skills needed to start research in the academic environment. The tool helps students determine their level of skill, provides formative feedback for those who need to improve their skills, provides further information to more able students, and helps academic staff determine the level of skill within the cohort. |
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) | Brief statements defining what students are expected to demonstrate that they know and are able to do at the end of a defined period of learning. |
| Internal Course Map | A visual display of a course and Major of study that shows the subjects at each year level a student is required to complete in order to receive the award and Major which shows where:
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| La Trobe University Graduate Capabilities | High level learning outcomes that are defined in discipline or field-specific terms, and to be assessed against agreed standards of student achievement in:
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| Learning Outcomes | Statements of what students are expected to demonstrate that they know and are able to do at the end of a period of learning. |
| Learning Management System (LMS) | The Learning Management System is a web based system that allows students to locate learning materials and activities related to their studies from any location with Internet access. |
| Level | Achievement toward the standard set for a FGC. – i.e., Standard Not Met, Standard Met, or Standard Exceeded. |
| Major |
The main discipline area(s) of a course. A major is a sequence of subjects that are designed to link together to provide thorough training in one specialised area. It is defined as where the subjects taken in a particular faculty defined sequence:
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| Marking scheme | An indication of the expected standards for levels of achievement of the assessment criteria. |
| Midpoint Subject | Any subject teaching, evaluating and providing feedback on a FGC of a course against the standard set for mid course for a FGC. |
| Minor |
Secondary discipline area(s) of a course. A minor is a sequence of subjects that focus on one discipline. It simply does not involve as many subjects as a major. It is defined as where the subjects taken in a particular faculty defined sequence:
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| National Quality Council (NQC) | A Committee of the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education which oversees quality assurance and ensures national consistency in the application of the Australian Quality Training Framework standards for the audit and registration of training providers. |
| Normative assessment | Also known as Norm-referenced assessment. Awarding grades based on a predetermined distribution. The most common form assumes grades/marks are distributed according to a standard normal distribution curve. Each student's grade in the subject is determined in part by how well other students in the subject do. |
| Open Day Map (ODM) | Generic course maps that pertain to specific courses for the use of prospective students, providing them with a highly informative, unambiguous, thorough, and self-contained conceptual road map of any course in which they may express interest. |
| Personal Learning System (PLS) | A system which allows an individual to engage in and manage their own learning. |
| Point | Refers to any of three instances in time - Cornerstone, Midpoint or Capstone – where a level of achievement for a FGC will be determined for a course. |
| Program | The combination of approved subjects that make up an award, degree or diploma. See Course. |
| Standard | Component criteria comprising a FGC against which a student's achievement is evaluated. |
| Standard Met | A level of achievement toward the standard set for a FGC that indicates that the student has met the set standard. |
| Standard Not Met | A level of achievement toward the standard set for a FGC that indicates that the student has not met the set standard. |
| Standard Exceeded | A level of achievement toward the standard set for a FGC that indicates that the student has exceeded the set standard. |
| Student Information System (SIS) | A University enterprise system database designed to manage student data including personal, enrolment and assessment data. |
| Subject | A unit of study within a course. |
| Subject Database | A database allowing the approval, storage and publication of subject attributes. |
| Subject Intended Learning Outcome (SILO) | Brief statements defining what students are expected to demonstrate they know and can do by the end of a subject. |
| Subject Learning Guide (SLG) | The guide given to students for each subject that provides detailed information about the subject including week by week activities and assessments. |
| Summative Assessment | Making judgement about student achievements against explicit standards and translating that judgement into a grade; typically used at the end of a subject. |
| Teaching | In the DfL context, Teaching includes curriculum design and development, teaching and learning activities, assessment and feedback, and evaluation of or research on any/all elements. |
| Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) | TEQSA defines itself as 'Australia's regulatory and quality agency for higher education. TEQSA's primary aim is to ensure that students receive a high quality education at any Australian higher education provider'. |
| Unit Database (UDB) | See Subject Database. |
| Vocational Education Training (VET) Quality Framework |
The VET Quality Framework is aimed at achieving greater national consistency in the way providers are registered and monitored and in how standards in the VET sector are enforced. The VET Quality Framework comprises: |
| Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) | VRQA defines its role as 'to provide regulation that ensures quality education and training is delivered by the providers it registers in Victoria, and promote informed choice when it comes to your education and training decisions'. It is responsible for the regulation of education and training providers and qualifications in Victoria. |
| Vocational Education and Training (VET) | Defined by 'the Good Universities Guide' as education and training that focuses on providing skills for work. VET provides the skills to help people to:
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