Academic Session: The university year is divided into the Regular Session, with classes from September to April, and the Summer Session with classes from May to mid-August. All sessions are divided into two terms, with each term including an examination period.

Academic Standing: All students are evaluated to determine whether they meet the standards for continuation. Each faculty and school sets its own performance criteria. Students who do not meet the minimum performance requirements are placed on probation or suspension.

Advanced Placement: Recognition of courses completed at another institution that fulfill course prerequisites at the U of M but these courses are not recognized as transfer credits and thus do not reduce the credit hours required to graduate.

Advanced Standing: Recognition for courses completed at another institution. Transfer of credits may also fulfill course prerequisites or introductory-level studies and reduce the number of credit hours required to graduate.

Attempts are the sum total of all completed credit courses, whether passed or failed.

Audit is participating in, and attending, a course (usually for personal interest) without receiving credit. Auditing students do not complete term work, laboratory assignments or exams. Reduced fees apply.

Authorized Withdrawal (AW) is extended to students who must withdraw from courses for medical or compassionate reasons. AWs are not included in the maximum number of voluntary withdrawals (VWs) permitted. AWs requests must be supported by satisfactory documentation and may be granted only by the faculty/school of registration.

Challenge for Credit: Students may be granted permission to Challenge for Credit (normally by writing the final exam) if they can demonstrate their competence in the subject (usually through previous study for which they did not receive university credit).

Co-operative work/study describes programs in which students alternate attendance at on-campus courses with periods of paid employment providing experience directly related to the academic program.

Co-requisite is a course that must be taken at the same time as, or prior to, another course.

Course numbering: The first three digits of every course number (that is, the digits before the decimal point) indicate the academic department or program offering the course. The last three digits (that is, the numbers after the decimal point) loosely reflect the level of contact with the subject. For example, course number 1xx are introductory, while courses number 3xx are much more advanced.

Credits or credit hours: Credit is a term used to designate the basic unit of recognition of academic work applied towards a degree. Courses are also assigned a credit hour value. A six credit hour course normally spans both terms, while a three credit hour course is normally completed within one academic term. Some faculties and schools assign credit hour values that vary from this pattern.

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA): The CGPA is the cumulative grade point total divided by the total number of credit hours attempted at the U of M which form part of the student's program and includes transfer courses.

Cumulative Grade Point Total: Unless otherwise stated in faculty and school regulations, the cumulative grade point total is the sum of the weighted grade points from the time the student enrolled in the faculty or school. This includes the original grades and subsequent grades of any subject repeated, substituted (where permitted), or graded "F-NP" (failure/no paper).

Deferred examination: Students may apply for a deferred examination when an exam is missed due to illness or other disability, or for compassionate reasons. Application must be made to the dean or director.

Elective is a course not specifically required for a degree but one that counts toward it. It is usually a course chosen from a list specified for the program.

Extra Attempts: The sum total of courses which are failed, repeated, or are extra to degree requirements. The number of extra attempts permitted varies from program to program.

Full-time student is a student registered in 60% or more of the credit hours of their full year program.

Grade Point Average is the weighted grade point total divided by the total number of credit hours.

Hold status: Students will be placed on "Hold" for outstanding obligations (financial or otherwise) to the university. No administrative or academic services will be provided until these obligations have been met. See General Academic Regulations and Requirements, Hold Status for details.

Honour List or Dean's Honour List: Full-time students earn a place on the Honour List upon attainment of a high sessional grade point average (normally at least 3.5 or B+), as defined by faculty/school regulations.

Incomplete: Students who are unable to complete their term work may apply to the instructor prior to the end of lectures for an "incomplete" grade and additional time to complete their work. Students will, however, write the final examination. The outstanding work must be completed within the time extension in order for the incomplete grade to be replaced with a final grade. See General Academic Regulations and Requirements, Incompletes.

Letter of Permission: U of M students may take courses at another recognized institution for transfer credit into their degree program. Students must obtain written approval from their faculty/school at least one month before classes at the other institution. See General Regulations and Policy, Letter of Permission.

Limited Access is a priority system that allows students the opportunity to register in a course at least once during their university careers by giving priority to students registering in courses for the first time. Students repeating failed courses, or who want to re-register in courses from which they withdrew voluntarily (VW), are subject to Limited Access provisions.

Major is the subject of academic study chosen as a field of specialization as required by some degree programs. The number of credit hours required for a major are prescribed within each program.

Minor is an option within some degree programs chosen as a secondary area of specialization. The number of credit hours defining a minor are prescribed within each program.

No Paper (NP) is a grade assigned when a student fails to write the final examination, or fails to complete a mandatory component of a course.

Part-time student is a student who is enrolled in less than 60% of their full year program.

Pass/fail grades are given in some courses and simply indicate whether the student has passed or failed. No numeric value is assigned to these grades and they are not included in grade point calculations.

Plagiarism and Cheating: To plagiarize is to take and use another person's thoughts, writings or inventions as one's own without acknowledging or giving the source of the ideas and expressions. Cheating includes the submitting work prepared by someone else but passing it off as one's own, or to copy the work or answers of another student. Both result in serious penalties. See General Academic Regulations and Requirements, Plagiarism and Cheating.

Practicum is supervised placement in a work setting external to the university where the experience contributes directly to the academic program.

Prerequisite is a term that describes a course that must be successfully completed before a student qualifies for further and more advanced courses in a department.

Probation: Students who fail to meet the minimum academic standing (as defined by their faculty/school) are placed on probation. During this period, a student must meet or exceed a specific academic grade point average. Failure to meet the minimum standard may result in academic suspension. See General Academic Regulations and Requirements, Probation.

ROASS policy: A policy detailing the Responsibilities of Academic Staff to Students. See Policies and Guidelines of the University, ROASS Policy.

Repeating a Course: Subject to faculty/school regulations, required courses graded "F" must be repeated, usually in the next session. Elective courses graded "F" may either be repeated or another elective substituted.

Residency Requirement: A term describing the minimum amount of coursework that must be taken at the U of M in order to qualify for graduation.

Sessional Grade Point Average (SGPA): SGPA is a GPA calculated on the basis of all final grades received in the session (e.g., Regular Session, Summer Session).

Section: Some courses are offered in more than one location and time; each of these offerings is called a "section."

Supplemental Examination: The privilege to rewrite a final examination. Supplemental examinations are offered only in some faculties/schools as described in their program regulations.

Suspension: Students may be suspended when they fail to meet the terms of their academic probation; when they exceed the maximum number of extra attempts permitted by their program; or as a penalty arising from a violation of regulations. Students may re-register or re-apply following suspension in accordance with the regulations of their faculty or school.

Term: Each academic session is divided into Term 1 and Term 2. In the Regular Session first term runs from September to December and second term from January to April.

Transcript is the official document prepared by Student Records of each student's academic history.

Transfer of Credit is the granting of course credit towards a U of M degree for courses completed at another institution or faculty. Transfer courses are evaluated by the academic unit that offers similar courses. Equivalency may be shown as a U of M course credit or as unallocated credit.

Transfer student: A student who has moved to the U of M after attending another post-secondary institution.

Voluntary Withdrawal (VW) is the action of dropping a course following the end of the registration revision period. Fee refunds are in accordance with the schedule in the fee guide. Each program has a maximum limit on the number of VW's. See also Authorized Withdrawals (AW).

Weighted Grade Point is the product of the hours of credit for the course and the grade point obtained by the student.

Weighted Grade Point Total is the sum of weighted grade points accumulated as the student proceeds through the program.