Important Definitions

You will begin to hear these terms as you start your UWI experience. It is a good idea to make sure you know what they mean. Take some time to review these terms.

Terms that you need to familiarize yourself with:

ACADEMIC ADVISING

The process where your faculty’s Dean or his nominee provides information on courses for which you must register and assists, where necessary, in the selection of courses. The purpose of academic advising is to help students, particularly new students, in planning,
monitoring and successfully managing their chosen field of study, in relation to clear career objectives. Students are guided to accept responsibility for their learning, to be informed of the services provided for them, to access information, and to be managers of
their time.

ACCEPTANCE PACKAGE

Once you’ve been accepted, you will receive a package from us which will include your offer letter with your student registration number, information on fees, medical form, travel/passages information.

ADD/DROP
The period during which students may add or drop a course without penalty.

CRN (COURSE REFERENCE NUMBER)
The number assigned to designate a specific class/ section of a course.

CO-REQUISITE

A course which must be taken along with another specified course, in order to ensure the attainment of complementary and/or interdependent competencies.

CORE/REQUIRED COURSE(S)

Courses that you are required to complete in order to be awarded a major or a minor.

COURSE LOAD

The number of credit hours carried each semester.

COURSE CODE
An alphanumeric code (combination of letters and numbers) used to identify a course e.g. HIST 2004 or ECON 1001. The letter part of the code identifies the subject (e.g. History or Economics), while the first digit of the number part of the code identifies the level of the course (e.g. 2004-Level 2 or 1001 Level 1).

COURSE LEVEL
Defines the level of a course. For example, HIST 1001 denotes that History 1001 is a Level 1 course (at UWI marked by the first digit in a course number).

CREDIT/CREDIT HOURS

A unit which represents the number of hours a student spends in a class each week over the course of the semester. E.g. A student enrolled in MGMT 2003 (3 credits) will spend approximately 3 hours in class for approximately 13 weeks.

DEGREE AUDIT or CURRICULUM ADVISING AND PROGRAMME PLANNING (CAPP) MODULE

An online tool to help students and their advisors compare the student’s academic record to the requirements of a specific programme. Prior to a meeting with their academic advisor or any time throughout the year, students with access to degree evaluation can easily review their progress within their current programme. Or, if thinking about a change, they can try a ‘what-if’ comparison of their record against the requirements of another programme.

DEPARTMENTS

Units that make up a faculty and have a specific specialization under the broader area represented by the faculty. (For example, Food Production is a department within the Faculty of Science & Agriculture, Management Studies is a department in the Faculty of
Social Sciences; Liberal Arts is a department in the Faculty of Humanities & Education).

ELECTIVES(S)
Any course not required as part of your major. Course(s) which you may choose from a list provided by your department/faculty in your respective Faculty Regulations and Syllabuses booklet.

EVENING

A student who is registered to pursue a course of study for which classes are timetabled in the evenings from Mondays to Fridays from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm and on Saturdays from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

FACULTY
Lecturers are known as faculty members. Departments are grouped into divisions called faculties. For example the Faculty of Social Sciences consists of the departments of Management Studies, Economics and Behavioural Sciences; the Faculty of Science &
Agriculture consists of departments of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Food Production, Physics, Chemistry and Life Sciences.

FEE ASSESSMENT INVOICE
A printout of the courses for which you have registered listing each specific course, the amount of tuition and fees due for all courses registered and the payment deadline date.

FINANCIAL CLEARANCE
Approval given by Bursary officials when you have paid all the fees for which you are liable.

FULL-TIME STUDENT
A student who is registered for not more than 15 to 18 and not less than 12 credits per semester in accordance with prescribed faculty regulations.

HOLD
A hold is a block placed on a student’s record for failure to comply with obligations to the University. Examples of holds are: transcript holds, advising holds, immunization holds, accounts receivable holds, etc.

LEVEL
Denotes a student status as either Undergraduate or Graduate.

MAJOR/MINOR
A major is the area in which you choose to concentrate most of your studies e.g. French, History, Physics, Management Studies. A minor is a secondary area of concentrated study that relates to the major or is of purely personal interest. Minors are not mandatory, and there are a limited number of minors available at UWI. For more information on minor programmes, check your faculty’s Regulations and Syllabuses booklet.

mySTA (my ST. AUGUSTINE ONLINE)
A web service for students accessible at http://www.mysta.uwi.edu. In addition to providing access to online registration, my-STA also has information on student accounts, final grades, degree audits and personal information.

OPTION
A prescribed combination of courses within a faculty or across faculties leading to a degree.

PART-TIME STUDENT
A student registering for less than 24 credits in a given academic year.

PRE-REQUISITE
A course that needs to be taken before you can register for another course or a more advanced course.

REQUIRED/CORE COURSE(S)
A course(s) that you have to take to fulfill your specific degree programme.

SEMESTER
Half-year term in a school year; normally a 13-week period of instruction.

SPECIAL
A prescribed combination of courses offered which leads to a degree.

TRANSCRIPT
Official record of coursework and grades housed in the Office of the Campus Registrar.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
A student pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Undergraduate students cannot enroll in graduate level classes. An undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree can be a stepping stone to postgraduate programmes, such as Master’s, MBA, PhD programmes.

UWI STUDENT ID CARD
The University’s Identification Card. The UWI Student ID Card has many functions aside from identification; it serves as a library card and an access card to other buildings on campus.

UWI STUDENT REGISTRATION NUMBER

A 9-digit or 8-digit identification number in the format YYMMDD. This number, which can be found on your offer letter gives you access to the St. Augustine online system, and identifies you as a UWI student while you are here.