Glossary

Brief definitions of some of the specialized or uncommon expressions and words found in this calendar.

Term	Definition
Academic Advisement Report	An unofficial degree audit. Available on RAMSS my.ryerson.ca to most undergraduate students.
Academic Standing	Statement of a student's overall academic performance at Ryerson; used to decide aa student's eligibility for academic distinction, promotion, graduation, and the like. There are five Academic Standings at Ryerson: Clear, Probationary, Required to Withdraw, Permanent Program Withdrawal, and Disciplinary Suspension. See Academic Standing Variation below.
Academic Standing Variation	An extra set of standards that Ryerson uses to decide the Academic Standing of students in a particular program.
Accreditation	Review at the provincial, Canadian or international levels by professional bodies of some university programs. For example, program accreditation is granted in fields such as business, nursing, interior design, architecture and engineering.
Advanced Standing	An Offer of Admission condition that recognizes the completion of similar post-secondary courses or programs by granting admission into a level higher than first semester. Also see Degree Completion and Direct Entry.
Aegrotat Grade	Credit granted by a Dean, in consultation with the instructor, only under exceptional circumstances when there has been acceptable performance in a course and some course work remains to be completed. From Latin, meaning "he/she is ill". Noted as "AEG" on the transcript.
Antirequisite	Courses that contain similar content and therefore cannot both be used towards fulfilling degree requirements. An antirequisite to a course contains significant overlap in content with that course. If a student has already completed a course's antirequisite, they will be blocked from enrolling in that course. They cannot use both a course and its antirequisite to fulfill degree requirements. Antirequisite courses are not necessarily equivalent to one another.
Articulation Agreement	Official agreement, between two or more post-secondary institutions, which enables students to transfer to Ryerson with advanced standing to complete degrees.
Audit (a class)	A student who is auditing a course is given special permission to attend lectures and learn the subject, but they do not get academic credit. From Latin, audire "hear" or "listen".
Basis of Admission	Academic requirements used to grant an Offer of Admission or Advanced Standing for a Ryerson program.
Billing Units	The measure used to calculate undergraduate tuition fees.
Challenge Credit	Credit for learning and experience outside of the traditional post-secondary environment, normally achieved through a successful challenge examination.
Collaborative Program	An academic program offered jointly by Ryerson and Ontario College partners.
Concentration	A concentration is an optional, structured plan of study within a program (6 to 12 core or professional electives) that provides an opportunity for advanced or in-depth study in a particular area of interest.
Convocation	The graduation ceremony where eligible students are conferred their academic award and are presented with their graduation award document (parchment). See Graduation.
Core Courses	Courses that comprise an essential knowledge base for a career or further study. In many programs these are labelled as Required or Professional courses.
Co-requisite	A course that must be taken concurrently with, or prior to, another course.
Course	Series of lectures, lessons, labs, etc in an academic subject area which has been approved for inclusion in one or more programs. A Ryerson courses has a unique course code, title and description. Course descriptions include number of hours, GPA weight, billing units, and requisites. See Course Outline.
Course Count	Normally, a one-term course has a course count of one, that is, “counts as one course”. A two-term course has a course count of two, that is, “counts as two courses”. Exceptions to the standard course counts are noted in the calendar. Course counts are used in the Academic Advisement Report.
Course Credit	Ryerson does not assign academic value to a course as course credit/course weight. Course academic value is a combination of the Grade point average points assigned to a course, the course count assigned to the course and the number of academic terms (course length) assigned to the course. Normally, for example, the GPA points assigned to a course of 1.0 and the course count of 1.0 will also align with the terms (course length) of 1 academic term. Please note: there are exceptions to this relationship.
Course Hours	The weekly course contact hours associated with a given course may include lecture, seminar, studio and laboratory hours and such activities as unsupervised studio and laboratory work, internship and independent study.
Course Intention	The first step in the enrolment process where students pre-select the courses they expect to take in the upcoming academic year.
Course Numbers	All current Ryerson courses are identified by a unique alpha-numeric code. The first three letters identify the subject area. The digits indicate whether the courses is a one- or two-term course; three digits signifies a one-term course and two digits plus the "A/B" qualifier signifies a two-term course.
Course Outline	Also called course syllabus; a detailed summary of course content and requirements which is distributed by the instructor at the beginning of the term in accordance with the Course Management Policy.
Course Substitution/Course Directive	The assessment and approval of a curriculum exception where one course is used as a replacement for another course or is used to fulfill the requirements of an elective group.
Credit Course	A course for which a grade is assigned and for which one semester or year of course credit is granted towards a certificate, diploma or degree.
Cumulative grade point average (CGPA) / Grade Point Average (GPA)	An average calculated as an indicator of overall academic performance; a criterion for graduation requirements, for academic distinction, for scholarships and awards, and for determining Academic Standing; calculated as the sum of the products of GPA weights and earned grade points, divided by the sum of the GPA weights, and rounded up to the next higher second decimal place.
Curriculum	The prescribed plan of study, approved by Ryerson Senate, leading to a certificate, diploma or degree. The courses that must be successfully completed for the fulfillment of a degree
Deferred Grade	An interim grade assigned during the investigation of academic misconduct (as described under the Student Code of Academic Conduct (opens in new window) ). The deferred grade will be replaced by an official course grade upon resolution of the matter.
Degree Completion Program	An undergraduate program in which students are admitted to a specially designed, discrete program, based on the completion of a public (often Ontario) college diploma program. Other admission criteria may be required.
Degree program	The complete set and sequence of courses, combination of courses and/or other units of study, research and practice prescribed by the University for the fulfillment of a degree. Degrees are granted for meeting the established requirements at a specified standard of performance consistent with the university’s Degree Level Expectations.
Direct Entry	A post-secondary degree pathway based on the completion of a public (often Ontario) college diploma program. Other admissions criteria may be required. Entry is into Year 3 of a four-year program. In some cases, reach-back courses may be assigned.
Double Major/Plan	Offered only in the Bachelor of Arts degree. An approved scholarly focus in one program in two, combined, academic subject areas; English and History, English and Philosophy, History and Philosophy, consisting of 13-15 core courses in each Major area of study.
Earned (value)	Earned (value) of a course shows on the student transcript. Earned value refers to the Grade Point Average (GPA) points of the course (see Cumulative grade point average CGPA/Grade point average GPA). Earned value does not indicate course credit value or course weight value.
Faculty	An administrative and academic division within Ryerson comprised of departments and schools with related fields of study. The head of a Faculty is the Dean.The term faculty also refers to the academic teaching staff, professional librarians and professional counsellors of the university.
Failure for Non-Attendance (FNA)	A grade awarded by an instructor when the student has been absent from most course meetings and has submitted no work for grading.
GPA Weight	A numerical coefficient (multiplier) used to express a course’s relative importance in the calculation of the Cumulative Grade Point Average. Single-term courses normally have a GPA weight of 1.00. Multi-term courses normally have a GPA weight of 2.00. GPA Weight variances appear in the individual course descriptions.
Graduation	The receipt of an academic degree or certificate, marking the completion of studies. Students are required to apply to graduate, it is not an automatic process. The ceremony where degrees and certificates are conferred is called Convocation.
Graduation Variation	In addition to the standard graduation requirements that are applicable to all undergraduate programs, some programs stipulate additional requirements such as minimum GPAs in specific core courses, modified timespans or placement/internship requirements.
Graduation with Distinction	A distinction recorded on a graduating student’s transcript and graduation award document when an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher is achieved in an undergraduate program.
Internship	Opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and skills in a practical context; a workplace experience, integral to the degree, in the student's field of study.
Letter of Permission	A request for approval that is required for Ryerson students wishing to take courses at another institution for credit toward their Ryerson degree. Request must be submitted prior to taking the courses at the other institution.
Liberal Studies	Studies that develop the capacity to understand and appraise the social and cultural context in which the graduate will work as a professional and live as an educated citizen. Courses are indicated as follows, LL—Lower Level, UL—Upper Level, some language courses can be both LL and UL. If it does not say either "LL" or "UL", in the course description, it is not a Liberal Studies course.
Major/Plan	A scholarly focus in an academic subject area offering both breadth and depth such as Biophysics or Human Resources Management, normally consisting of 25 to 30 core courses.
Minor	A minor is a grouping of 6 or more courses, mainly outside the major, selected by a student from an established minor curriculum. Minors are noted on a student's Official Transcript.
Non-credit course	A course for which no credit is granted towards a certificate, diploma or degree. A grade may or may not be assigned.
Offer of Admission	The official letter of acceptance into a Ryerson program, confirming details such as the program, start term, entry level (first term or advanced standing), Basis of Admission, and other conditions.
Ombudsperson	An independent and impartial advocate appointed to investigate and resolve complaints from community members against the university; the word is derived from a Swedish term meaning "citizen’s representative".
Ontario College	A Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities approved, publicly-funded Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology or Ontario College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.
Pass-Fail Course	A course graded only as pass or fail, and is not used in the calculation of Cumulative Grade Point Average.
Post-baccalaureate program	Requires completion of a bachelor's degree program for admission consideration. Post-baccalaureate programs normally lead to a second bachelor's degree, a certificate or a professional credential.
Practicum	Workplace experience offered as part of an academic program under the direct supervision of a faculty member or workplace mentor.
Prerequisite	A specific course that must be successfully completed prior to enrolling in an advanced course.
Professional Studies	Studies that induce functional competence by presenting the knowledge and developing the skills characteristic of current practice in the career field.
Professionally-Related Studies	Studies that develop an understanding of the theoretical disciplines upon which the career field is based, or which synthesize the diverse elements of professional study.
Program	A balanced sequence of courses leading to the general intellectual development of the individual, and to the acquisition of knowledge and skills related to a particular discipline, career, profession, etc.
Program balance	The balance between the different kinds of courses in a program, usually expressed in the form of a ratio of credits, courses, hours, and frequently expressed in terms of the ratio of professional to general.
Program Department	The academic department responsible for the administration of one or more programs.
Reach-back Course	A course(s) from Year 1 or Year 2 of a four-year program that may be assigned to a direct entry student.
Semester	The teaching term – normal length in each semester is 12 weeks, with the exception of Bachelor of Engineering programs, which has a 13-week semester. At the end of a semester, students are evaluated, and awarded credits for successful completion of each course.
Senate	The academic policy making body of Ryerson University. The Senate consists of elected representatives of the faculty, librarians, students and alumni, and ex-officio members of the administration, including the Chancellor. Senate is chaired by the President.
Specialization	An optional, formally recognized designation showing successful completion of a required series of courses.
Teaching Department	The academic department responsible for the development, teaching and grading of a course.
Term	Ryerson has three Academic Terms in the year: Fall (September - December), Winter (January- April) and Spring/Summer (May- August). See Semester.
Time Span	The number of years normally given to complete graduation requirements.
Transcript	A record of courses taken and grades earned at Ryerson.
Transfer Credit	Credit achieved through an acceptable grade in an equivalent course completed at another post-secondary institution (as determined by the Ryerson course teaching department).

Resources:

ONTransfer.ca Glossary (external link, opens in new window)
https://www.torontomu.ca/senate (opens in new window) (see (PDF file) Senate Policy 2 for more information)