Uni speak - a guide to University terminology
A
Academic Standing: This is a status the University assigns you, determined by your level of academic performance during your degree. Good academic standing means that you are passing all or most of your courses and your progress through your degree is deemed satisfactory. Poor academic standing is assigned to students who fail more than half of their courses in a session and thus their progress is deemed unsatisfactory.
Advanced Standing: This is credit awarded toward a student’s current degree based on study completed through another tertiary institution (including TAFE), or within another program at La Trobe University, or relevant work experience.
Allowable Materials: Materials students are allowed to take into an examination. Click here for a full list.
Alumni: Any student who has graduated from a University is considered part of the Alumni network (or ‘Alumnus’ singular). For information on La Trobe’s Alumni membership and benefits, go to: Alumni Relations.s
APESMA: Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia. APESMA is the largest national non-profit organisation representing professional employees. Members may achieve La Trobe qualifications through specialised programs
Award: A degree, diploma, associate diploma or certificate of the university granted at the completion of a course of study. May also be used to describe prizes awarded to individuals by the faculties or Academic Board (i.e., Dean’s Commendation Award).
C
College: Accommodation provided for students who decide they wish to live on-campus. For example, La Trobe Bundoora has 5 colleges: Menzies College, Glenn College, Chisholm College, Graduate House, Waterdale apartments, and Barns Way. Regional campuses also have residential options. Accommodation Options
Census date: This is the last day on which a student may withdraw from a course or subject without financial penalty. Check which date is Census Date.
Compulsory subject: A subject which is required for completion of the degree. A compulsory subject usually needs to be taken at the stage specified in the degree program since is often a prerequisite for more advanced courses.
Conceded Pass: awarded to students who achieve a mark of 48% or 49% and meet specified criteria.
Conferral: This is the term used when a student is given (conferred) their award at a graduation ceremony.
Convocation: Also known as Graduation; the conferral of an award (for example, a Bachelors degree or Diploma) upon a student (known as a graduand at this time) in recognition for the completion of prescribed study, assignments and examinations.
Co-requisite: A subject which must either be completed successfully before, or studied concurrently with, the course for which it is prescribed.
Course: A course of study e.g. Bachelor of Arts, comprising of prescribed study, assignments and/or examinations and any other requirements and regulations as stipulated by the faculty or academic board. For a full list of La Trobe University courses, go to: Course Finder
Credit points are the amount of points a subject contributes towards your degree. For example, to qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 360 credit points, with at least 120 credit points at third year level.
D
Deferment: Delaying the start of a course for which you have been offered a place by 1 year. Your place is guaranteed for the following year. Check your enrolment pack for information on deferring studies.
Department: An area of study located within a school. For example: The Department of Politics is located in the School of Social Science, which is located in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science. Faculties
DVC: Deputy Vice-Chancellor. La Trobe University currently has two DVC’s, managing Academic and Research portfolios.
E
Elective: A subject which may be chosen according to the student’s interests. However, prerequisites are required for some subjects and some electives may have to be selected from a specified list.
Excluded subjects: These are subjects that students are NOT permitted to take. For example, science students may be excluded from doing specific subjects from certain faculties, schools or departments. Specific course exclusions are listed with course descriptions in printed and online handbook information.
Exemption: In specially considered circumstances, students may be given an exemption from completing a specific subject requirement of their program.
F
Faculties: The administrative structure of the university is based on faculties. La Trobe has 5 faculties. To see what each faculty has to offer, please see our Faculties page.
FEE-HELP: FEE-HELP is a loan scheme that assists students who are not Commonwealth Supported to pay their tuition fees. FEE-HELP replaces previous loan schemes including the Postgraduate Education Loan Scheme (PELS), Open Learning Deferred Payment Scheme (OLDPS), and Bridging for Overseas-Trained Professionals Loan Scheme (BOTPLS). FEE-HELP covers student tuition amounts up to $50,000. Click here.
H
HECS-HELP: A government scheme that assists eligible students to pay their student contribution amount. Going to Uni.
Honours: Honours is an optional extra year of study that may be completed as a part of your degree. Admission to an Honours program generally requires that a student maintain at least a credit average over their second and third years of study (NOTE: Some areas of study require a higher average to be accepted into an honours course. Check with your faculty/school for more information).
Hurdle requirement: A compulsory piece of assessment that must be satisfactorily completed in order to pass the subject. A student who has obtained 50 per cent or more in a subject but who has failed to meet a hurdle requirement shall be offered supplementary assessment in order to meet this requirement, unless it is impractical to provide this assessment.
I
In Absentia: An award is conferred upon a graduand in absence (not attending the ceremony).
Intermission of studies (Leave of absence): A period of leave taken from your studies after you have commenced them. Intermission may be granted in all undergraduate and postgraduate courses, and faculties set policies regarding the administration of this process. To find out more or download a form, click here.
L
Learning Management System (LMS, formally WebCT): The Learning Management System is web based and allows you to locate learning materials and activities related to your studies from any location with internet access.
M
Major: The primary discipline area chosen for a degree program. A major is a sequence of subjects that are designed to link together to provide thorough training in one specified discipline or specialisation; usually it occupies approximately half of the total program. Some degree programs allow you to undertake 2 majors.
Minor: A secondary discipline area which may be a required part of a degree. A minor is the part of a program that focuses on one discipline or specialisation, but does not involve as many subjects as a major.
P
Plagiarism:the reproduction of someone else’s words, ideas or findings and presenting them as one’s own without proper acknowledgment. Students found guilty of academic misconduct may receive penalties ranging from a requirement to participate in academic counselling or a reduction in marks for an individual piece of assessment for minor cases, through to suspension from the University in serious cases or repeat offences. For information on how to avoid plagiarism through proper referencing click here.
Postgraduate: A University qualification undertaken after a Bachelor's degree (eg. Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Postgraduate Diploma, Master, Doctorate). Coursework programs frequently involve lectures or seminars and, depending on the level of qualification, a minor thesis. Postgraduate research includes a Master's or Doctoral qualification undertaken after a Bachelor (honours) degree, or equivalent. Research qualifications are awarded following the completion of a major thesis, involving original research, under the supervision of a senior academic.
Practical: Generally, laboratory sessions (usually in science or engineering programs) where experiments or other type of laboratory work are undertaken.
Prerequisite: A subject which must be completed before enrolling in another subject or the next level of courses e.g. completing a Level I MATH subject before progressing to Level II MATH subject.
Program: The combination of approved subjects, completion of which leads to the award of a degree or diploma.
S
School: Areas of study within a faculty. For example the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science consists of the following schools: Historical and European Studies; Communication, Arts, and Critical enquiry; and Social science. Each school is made up of departments, e.g. the department of English is located in the School Communication, Arts, and Critical Enquiry. Please see Schools for a full list of our schools.
Semester: The academic year is divided into 2 semesters - usually late February to mid June and late July to November. For more information please see Calendar.
Student Guild: Formerly Student Union.The Guild provides its’ members of the University with access to a range of entertainment, social & cultural activities, sporting & recreational opportunities, welfare & support services and also with access to benefits and discounts for members. The Guild is governed by a Board made up primarily of current students, and there are relevant Student Associations for each campus.
SRC: Student Representative Council. The SRC provides advocacy for students through representation on University committees and Boards.
Study Abroad: The Study Abroad Program at La Trobe involves undertaking a semester or a year of study at La Trobe for credit towards your home degree, including Master’s by Research and PhD. The La Trobe Study Abroad Program allows students to live, study and work within the University's unique and diverse cultural setting. For more information click here.
Study load: The total number of Credit points taken in a term.
Subjects: The individual classes/elements of your degree; (eg MATH1031, PSYC3001etc). Students normally take a number of subjects within a semester, and these combine to give a study load.
Subject quota: A subject quota is the maximum amount of students a subject can enrol each year. If you come across a subject with a quota, please contact the faculty administration in order to get more details about how to enrol in such subjects.
T
Testamur: This is the term used to describe the actual degree or award. It is a testament from the university that the student has achieved the requirements of the degree or award.
Tutorial: Usually a small discussion group that is offered to complement the material presented in lectures.
U
Undergraduate: A single bachelor’s degree is an undergraduate program, which usually takes three or four years of full-time study to complete. Your degree program will consist of a number of subjects. Subjects are units of a degree program, such as “Introduction to American Literature” or “Marketing Theory and Practice”, and are normally one semester long (depending on degree structure). To complete your degree and be award its title, you must complete a predetermined amount of credit points.
Unit code: Unit codes are written (usually) as three letters followed by one digit followed by three letters, e.g., NSG3PIN. The first three characters usually indicate the discipline (in this case, Nursing). The fourth character indicates the year level of the unit (in this case, third year). The last three characters of a unit code usually denote an abbreviation of the unit name (in this example, Philosophies in Nursing).
V
VC: Vice-Chancellor, the senior manager of the University. La Trobe University’s current Vice-Chancellor is Professor Paul Johnson
Are there other terms or words you think should be added to this list? Email your suggestions to studentengagement@latrobe.edu.au