Glossary of terms for schedule of classes
Each university has its own wording to talk about classes. Listed below are explanations of UW’s terminology.
TERM A term is a particular 4-month period within which sessions are defined and fees are arranged. It is also used with reference to work terms for students in the co-operative system of study. For undergraduate students, an academic year is usually 2 academic terms if you are in the regular system of study in which full-time students take 5 courses per term. UW has 3 terms: Fall (F) September to December, Winter (W) January to April, Spring (S) May to August. The breakdown of the 4-digit number for terms is as follows: 1069 represent the Fall (September) 2006 term. The first digit is the century; that is, “1” means the 21st century. The middle 2 digits represent the year; that is, “06” represents the year 2006. The last digit represents the first month of the term; that is, “9” represents September. For example, if you wish to find the Winter 2009 term, the first digit should be “1” since 2009 is in the 21st century. The next 2 digits should be the “09” in 2009. The last digit should be “1” since the winter term begins in January. Therefore Winter 2009 is represented by 1091. COURSE A specific set of classes for one subject area, identified by a subject name and number, e.g., Psychology 101. To complete your degree, you need to complete all of the required courses and a specified number of credits, with a satisfactory average. The specific requirements for your program/plan are listed in the Undergraduate Calendar available online at www.ucalendar. uwaterloo.ca/. You’ll notice that course names all have abbreviations, e.g., Psychology 101 is referred to as PSYCH 101. REQUIRED COURSE (CORE COURSES) A specified course that you must take in order to fulfill your degree requirements. ELECTIVE (NON-MATH COURSES) A course not specifically required for a degree but counting towards it, to be chosen freely by the student either from within a specified group of courses or more broadly from courses offered anywhere across the University. For some programs/plans, you must choose your electives from a specific list; in others, you may choose from any courses offered. Please refer to pages 6 and 7. UNIT The credit value associated with a course. Unit weights are used in the calculation of averages for academic standing. Most courses have unit weights of 0.5, but some have other weights, such as 0.25, 1.0, and 2.0. Most 4-year programs require 20 units (normally 40 courses) for a degree, and most 3-year programs require 15 units (normally 30 courses). You can find the specific number of units required for your program/plan in the Undergraduate Calendar. The Undergraduate Calendar is located at website: www.ucalendar. uwaterloo.ca/. related 2 meets), the system will automatically add them for you. The notes section may specify Auto Enrol for a particular section number, e.g., section 003. That means that if you select section 003 of the primary meet, you do not select related 1 or related 2 classes — you’ll be automatically enrolled in those classes. CLASS/MEET The times you actually meet for your course. There are several ¬different kinds of classes/meets: Lectures (LEC) — usually the main time you get together with the other students in your course when the instructor talks about the ¬ subject Labs (LAB) — usually held in rooms with special facilities where you’re typically guided by lab instructors ¬ Tutorials (TUT), discussions (DIS), seminars (SEM) — usually smaller group sessions where you’re expected to participate and ask questions Oral (ORL) — usually conversation classes associated with language courses where you practice speaking and comprehending Ensemble (ENS) — usually music classes involving group participation Studio (STU) — classes involving work in special facilities, such as Fine Arts courses Practicum (PRA) — supervised time in a work setting for you to practice routines and techniques related to the course ¬ Reading (RDG) — individual work on your own with guidance from the instructor Test Slot (TST) — time scheduled to hold possible mid-term or other tests CLASS ASSOCIATION Some courses have more than one section of the first kind of class (primary meet — e.g., lecture) and more than one section of the other kinds of classes (related 1 or related 2 meets — e.g., labs or tutorials). Sometimes the instructor wants to keep groups of students together so that you’ll be with the same students for your lectures and your tutorials. The Associated Class number appears in the Assoc. Class category on the Schedule of Classes and tells you which classes match, for example, which lab section goes with a particular lecture section. The Notes section may tell you to select related 1 and/or related 2 sections with the same Associated Class number as the primary meet section. For example, if you select a LEC section with an Associated Class number of 1, then you must select LAB or TUT sections that also have Associated Class numbers of 1. If the Associated Class number is 99, you may select any section that fits your schedule. IMPORTANT: : If the class notes section does not tell you to select related 1 or related 2 sections, then you leave those spaces blank for that course. You will be automatically assigned to sections for the related 1 and related 2 meets. CLASS ENROLMENT/SELECTION The process of selecting classes for a particular term. You’ll be selecting classes for the Fall term. Some courses have only one kind of class, usually a lecture. Others have several kinds of classes, and you’ll be selecting one of each kind of class for that course. For example, you may need to select a lecture, a lab, and a tutorial.
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Selecting your classes
AUTO ENROL (SEE ALSO CLASS ASSOCIATION) The term used in the Notes section to indicate that you enter a class number only for the first kind of class (primary meet). If there are other kinds of classes, such as labs and tutorials (related 1 and
CLASS NUMBER A 4-digit number that identifies a particular kind of class and the section (e.g., 1597 LEC 001; 1879 LAB 101). CLASS SECTION NUMBER The 3-digit number that identifies a particular section of each kind of class (e.g., LEC 001, TUT 102). NOTES Text listed under the chart headings of some courses in the Schedule of Classes. The notes give you important instructions for selecting the classes for that course. PRIMARY MEET The main type of class for the course. It’s the first kind of class listed for every course, and the class section number begins with a “0” (e.g., LEC 001). QUEST The online system you use for selecting classes. RELATED 1 The second kind of class listed for a particular course. The class section number begins with a “1” (e.g., LAB 101). RELATED 2 The third kind of class listed for a particular course. The class section number begins with a “2” (e.g., TUT 201). SCHEDULE OF CLASSES The online list of classes offered for a particular term, with details such as times, locations, and instructors. The Schedule of Classes can be found at website: www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocour/CIR/SA/under.html
Subject
FACULTY (ACADEMIC GROUP) ACTSC Actuarial Science MAT AFM Accounting and Financial Management ART ANTH Anthropology ART AMATH Applied Mathematics MAT ARTS Arts ART BIOL Biology SCI BUS Business MAT CHEM Chemistry SCI CHINA Chinese ART CLAS Classical Studies ART CM Computational Mathematics MAT CO Combinatorics and Optimization MAT COOP Co-op Orientation VPA CROAT Croatian ART CS Computer Science MAT DANCE Dance AHS DRAMA Drama ART DUTCH Dutch ART EARTH Earth Sciences SCI ECON Economics ART ENGL English ART ENVS Environmental Studies ENV FINE Fine Arts ART FR French ART GEOG Geography ENV GER German ART GERON Gerontology AHS GRK Greek ART HIST History ART HLTH Health Studies AHS HRM Human Resources Management ART ISS Interdisciplinary Social Science ART ITAL Italian Studies ART JAPAN Japanese ART JS Jewish Studies ART KIN Kinesiology AHS KOREA Korean ART LAT Latin ART MATH Mathematics MAT MTHEL Math Electives MAT MUSIC Music ART PACS Peace and Conflict Studies ART PHIL Philosophy ART PHYS Physics SCI PLAN Planning ENV PMATH Pure Math MAT POLSH Polish ART PORT Portuguese ART PSCI Political Science ART PSYCH Psychology ART REC Recreation and Leisure Studies AHS RS Religious Studies ART RUSS Russian ART SCI Science SCI SE Software Engineering VPA SMF Sexuality, Marriage & Family Studies ART STAT Statistics MAT SOC Sociology ART SOCWK Social Work ART SPAN Spanish ART SPCOM Speech Communication ART STV Society, Technology & Values ENG WS Women’s Studies ART Note: for a complete list of course abbreviations (subjects), see www.quest.uwaterloo.ca/help/glossary.html. SUBJECT DESCRIPTION
Explanation of codes
CAMPUS/LOCATION CGC/G Conrad Grebel University College REN/R Renison College STJ/J St. Jerome’s University STP/P St. Paul’s College UW/U University of Waterloo main campus WLU/L Wilfrid Laurier University DE/HOME Distance Education — no on-campus classes DE/WEB Distance Education (online) — no on-campus classes TYPES OF CLASSES DIS Discussion RDG Reading ENS Ensemble SEM Seminar LAB Laboratory STU Studio LEC Lecture TST Test Slot ORL Oral Conversation TUT Tutorial PRA Practicum Note: A complete list of types of classes can be viewed on: www.quest.uwaterloo.ca/help/glossary.html. DAY OF THE WEEK M Monday T Tuesday W Wednesday FACULTY (ACADEMIC GROUP) AHS Applied Health Sciences ART Arts ENG Engineering ENV Environmental Studies IS Independent Studies Th F Thursday Friday
MAT REN SCI STJ VPA
Mathematics Renison College Science St. Jerome’s VP Academic & Provost
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