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
Academic advising: A series of interactions between an advisor and a student to set up learning outcomes; develop effective study skills; set up academic improvement plans; understand program requirements, academic rules and regulations and course selection; choose or change degree programs, majors, minors and areas of specialization/concentration; discover other on-campus support services; investigate opportunities for exploring graduate studies, professional programs, or careers; and offer guidance and support for students.
Academic advisor: A staff or faculty member in an academic department or the Academic Advising Centre who assists students in planning their academic program and resolving any academic difficulties. Academic advisors in the Academic Advising Centre can help students develop effective study skills and concrete strategies for success; understand academic rules and regulations; explore, choose or change degree programs, majors, minors and areas of specialization/concentration; address academic difficulties and work with students to develop an academic improvement plan; get students connected to information about leadership and other opportunities; discover other support resources and personnel on campus. Departmental advising is specific to the students’ current program. Departmental advisors can provide answers to program-specific questions or concerns including assistance with course selection; gaining access to courses that are full; information on whether to pursue the thesis or essay stream; information on prerequisites and preclusions; inquiries about course substitutions/equivalencies; difficulties with course content; information on internships and placements; and opportunities for graduate studies. Consult the Academic Advising Centre website for a list of departmental advisors.
Academic departments: A branch of study and its administrative unit at the university, e.g. Economics, History.
Academic improvement plan: Students who are placed on academic warning are invited to the Academic Advising Centre to meet with an academic advisor to develop an academic improvement plan. Students must first complete an online exercise with information about academic warning, and academic and other issues they are experiencing. When the online exercise is complete, students make an advising appointment at the Academic Advising Centre where an academic advisor will help them develop a personal academic improvement plan to get back on course.
Academic Continuation Evaluation: The Academic Continuation Evaluation applies to undergraduate degree and special students. It is the end of term assessment in a student’s degree or special studies. See section 3.2 (Academic Continuation Evaluation) and section 6.6 (Academic Continuation Evaluation for Special Students) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
Academic status: Academic status is the outcome of the Academic Performance Evaluation (see above) and determines a student’s eligibility to continue in their degree, certificate or special studies.
Academic warning: One of the possible outcomes of the Academic Performance Evaluation process. The status Academic Warning signifies that the student’s performance with respect to the academic standards of the degree is deficient. The student may continue in the degree but must clear the Academic Warning by achieving a Good Standing assessment at the next Academic Performance Evaluation. See section 3.2 (Academic Performance Evaluation) and section 6.6 (Academic Regulations for Special Students) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
Bachelor’s degree: A university degree for which a student follows an undergraduate program. See section 3.1.6 (Types of Programs) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar.
C
Carleton Central: Carleton’s secure online centre for student administrative activities including: registration, student records, admission, fee information, requesting a transcript or certificate of enrolment, changing program elements, and more. It is accessible online.
Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar: The university’s online publication listing courses, program requirements, degree and university regulations. The calendar is the ultimate authority for university policy and regulations. Updates occur throughout the year and are available on the Undergraduate Calendar website.
Combined Honours: A program providing comprehensive training in two disciplines, also in some cases referred to as a double major.
Concentration/specialization: A Concentration or specialization is a set of courses within a program that provides a student with specific expertise, knowledge and/or practice and so further distinguishes their program in a recognizable way.
Continue in Alternate: One of the possible outcomes of the Academic Performance Evaluation process. This means that the student has not met the minimum standard for the program and cannot return at a later date; however, the student is eligible to continue degree studies in another degree program. See section 3.2 (Academic Performance Evaluation) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
Co-operative education: A program that alternates academic study terms with co-operative education terms – paid, on-the-job experience (only available in some programs).
Course load: The maximum number of credits in which a degree student may register, usually 2.5 per term in a fall/winter session or 2.0 in spring/summer. May vary by degree. The maximum number of credits in which a special student may register is 1.0 credit per term.
Credit: Each course has an assigned credit weight that is used in calculations related to progress and graduation. Most courses have credit weight of 0.5 or 1.0, but credit values range from 0.0 to 2.0 and higher. To obtain credit in a course, students must meet all the course requirements for attendance, term work and examinations as published in the course outline.
Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA): One of the key assessment tools for academic performance evaluation. Students may be assessed using Overall CGPA, the major CGPA, and sometimes the core CGPA. The CGPA is the ratio of the grade points earned on a set of courses to the total credit value of these courses. See section 3.2.5 (The Cumulative Grade Point Average) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
D
Debarment: One of the possible outcomes of the Academic Performance Evaluation process. A debarred student is not eligible for any studies at the university for at least three years. See section 7.0, Academic Performance Evaluation, of the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
Degree Audit Report: An audit is a student’s tailor-made map to navigating through their degree requirements. It records academic history and current academic status. The audit tells students their degree title (for example, BA Honours English); degree requirements; year standing (first, second, third, fourth); minors, concentrations/specializations added to a degree; courses completed or are currently registered in; grade for each course; Cumulative Grade Point Averages (CGPA); academic standing (for example, Good Standing); remaining requirements for graduation. A guide for reading your audit is available on the Academic Advising Centre website.
Degree student: A student registered in a program leading to the completion of an undergraduate degree.
Discipline: The university equivalent of a “subject” in high school. It is a branch of instruction or learning: e.g. the disciplines of history and economics.
Discredit: If a course registration in any term results in a student exceeding the allowed number of discredits for the program, then the student will be Suspended, Dismissed from Program, Continued in an Alternate Program or Debarred as of the end of the following winter term.
Dismissed from Program: One of the possible outcomes of the Academic Performance Evaluation process. In this case, the student has not met the minimum standard for the program and will never be eligible for readmission to that program. See section 3.2 (Academic Performance Evaluation) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
F
Faculty: a) A major teaching division of the university, which is usually further divided into departments, schools or institutes, and headed by a dean. Carleton has five undergraduate faculties: the Faculty of Arts and Social Science; the Faculty of Public Affairs; the Faculty of Science; the Faculty of Engineering and Design; and the Sprott School of Business. b) The academic teaching staff of the university.
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FIPPA): FIPPA legislation guarantees the right of members of the public to access university controlled records, with some exceptions, and provides individuals whose information is held by the university with the right to access and make corrections to their personal information when necessary. The legislation also mandates that personal information held by the university be safeguarded from unauthorized collection, use and disclosure and that we protect personal information in accordance with the standards set out in the legislation. For more information, consult the Privacy Office website.
G
Good standing: One of the possible outcomes of the Academic Performance Evaluation process. The status Good Standing signifies that a performance evaluation has found that the student fully meets the academic standards prescribed for the student’s program and is eligible to continue in that degree. See section 3.2 (Academic Performance Evaluation) and section 6.6 (Academic Performance Evaluation for Special Students) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
M
Major: A discipline or area of specialty studied in some depth as part of a degree program. For example, in the Bachelor of Arts degree, Carleton offers over 30 different majors. In some cases, students can also opt to pursue two majors throughout the course of their degree (see section 3.1.7 of Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar).
Minor: A set of courses in a discipline or field that either introduces or extends knowledge of that discipline or field. It provides a grounding in that area and may complement a main area of study. Each minor requires 4.0 credits.
N
No decision: One of the possible outcomes of the Academic Performance Evaluation process. No decision is an outcome if a student has not attempted a minimum of 4.0 credits since the last Academic Performance Evaluation or since admission to the student’s current degree program.
P
Personal information: Factual or subjective information about an identifiable individual. It includes, but is not limited to, details such as one’s name, address, gender, age, marital status, health information, education, employment history, and financial data. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act legislation in Ontario protects personal information from unauthorized collection, use and disclosure.
R
Registration: The process of selecting, enrolling in, and paying for courses for the academic session.
Rules and regulations: A set of Senate approved rules, regulations and policies which govern all students’ academic progress and conduct. See the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar.
S
Special student: A student with permission to register in courses without being admitted to a degree. Any eligible person interested in pursuing learning opportunities as a non-degree student may apply for special student studies. Registration in credit courses is subject to course enrolment limits, prerequisite requirements and/or departmental approval.
Standing in courses/grading system: Standing in a course is determined by the course instructor, subject to the approval of the faculty Dean. Standing in courses will be shown by alphabetical grades. The system of grades used, with corresponding grade point is below. See section 5.4 (Grading System) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
- A+ = 12
- A = 11
- A- = 10
- B+ = 9
- B = 8
- B- = 7
- C+ = 6
- C = 5
- C- = 4
- D+ = 3
- D = 2
- D- = 1
- F = 0
Suspension: One of the possible outcomes of the Academic Performance Evaluation process. The status Suspension signifies that the student must leave his or her degree for at least one year. Suspension occurs if certain conditions apply. See section 3.2 (Academic Performance Evaluation) for the list of conditions and section 6.6 (Academic Performance Evaluation for Special Students) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
Stream: A pattern of courses within the program that guides the student’s studies and is distinctive from other patterns, but does not result in a designation on the diploma.
T
Three failures of a course (engineering): A student in the Bachelor of Engineering program must leave the degree with the status Continue in Alternate (CA) or Dismissed from Program (DP) if the student fails one course on three occasions. See section 3.2.3 (Three Failures of a Course (Engineering)) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
Transcript: The official record of the student’s academic history at the institution.
Transfer credit: When a student is considered for admission, credit may be granted for individual courses successfully completed at another recognized, degree-granting institution if the individual courses are relevant to a student’s proposed program and the appropriate academic department recommends such action. Each application is evaluated on its own merits.
U
Undergraduate student: A student admitted to and pursuing an undergraduate program.
Y
Year standing: Students in degree programs are given a year standing according to the number of credits completed with passing grades and counting towards their degree. See section 3.1.8 (University Year Standing) in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.
Year status for engineering students: In the Bachelor of Engineering, year status is defined in the Academic Regulations and Requirements for the Bachelor of Engineering Degree in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar. Year status in engineering is used in some course prerequisites to limit access to only those students who have sufficient preparation. See the Academic Regulations and Requirements for the Bachelor of Engineering Degree in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar for more information.