Useful Terms

Applied Studies courses offer students the opportunity to earn academic credit for employment or volunteer experiences of 130 hours per term and offer significant learning at a level suitable for university credit. Students interested in Applied Studies should contact the Career Bridge Office for application packages and detailed information. Students wanting to drop a course to add an applied study, or students requiring full-time student status, must submit their application before the add/drop deadline.

Calendar year refers to the most recent academic year that a student was admitted (or readmitted). Students are governed by the program requirements of the Calendar in effect at the time of their most recent admission but are governed by the current Calendar in all other respects.

A concentration is a defined set of courses related to the major but generally over and above the minimum requirements for the major. It may be required or optional. If a concentration is required for a major, both the major and concentration must be completed as neither may stand alone. Concentrations are not available in all programs.

Co-operative Education is a career management training option available to all majors in any undergraduate degree program. Students become candidates for four-month, full-time, paid co-op work terms in corporations, government agencies, academia and other professional organizations. This is treated as a non-credit course recorded on your transcript and does not affect your degree requirements. Refer to the Applied Studies and Co-operative Education section in the Academic Calendar for more information.

A corequisite is a course that must be taken prior to, or in conjunction with, another course. For example, Drama 1000 is a corequisite for Drama 2010. This means that you should only register in Drama 2010 if you have already completed Drama 1000, or if you are registered in Drama 1000 during the same term as Drama 2010.

Credit hours are the weighting factor of the course when determining grade point average (GPA). Regular full-term credit courses carry a weight of 3.0 credit hours, while half-credit courses carry a weight of 1.5 credit hours. Some courses carry non-standard credit hours (e.g. Art 4048 is worth 6.0 credit hours). A uLethbridge student requires 120 credit hours to graduate with a four-year degree.

If you want to take a course in a different field, but are worried that you might not do as well as you would like, you can designate the course as Credit/ Non-Credit. When you designate a course as Credit/Non-Credit, you essentially have insured your GPA because you will not receive a letter grade in the course unless you receive a 'C' or higher. If you get less than a 'C' but still pass the course, then a 'CR' (Credit) will appear on your transcript. You still get credit for the course in your degree program, but a 'CR' does not bring down your GPA. If you fail the course, then 'NC' (Non-Credit) will appear on your transcript. This indicates that you did not receive credit for the course, but a 'NC' will not bring down your GPA. Open Studies students are not eligible to use a Credit/Non-Credit designation. See the Academic Schedule for the date in which you may designate courses as Credit/Non-Credit for the current fall or winter term or summer session. Also, see Academic Regulations in the Academic Calendar for more information and limitations associated with Credit/Non-Credit.

A cross-listed course is associated with two different Faculties or academic units and counts towards either disciplines. For example, Political Science 3245 is cross-listed with Women and Gender Studies 3245. The registration details can be found in the Women and Gender Studies section of the Timetable.

Electives are courses of your choice, but there may be some restrictions to which courses may be used toward your program. In general, electives can directly relate to your major or they can be subjects of study that fall outside of your major. Refer to your PPG as there may be other elective restrictions.

Equivalent courses can be substituted (one for the other) to meet the same course requirement. For example, prior to the 2021/2022 calendar year, Accounting 2100 was known as Management 2100. These two courses are equivalent; so if you took Management 2100 prior to 2021 and now take Accounting 210, you are repeating a course. The regulations that apply to repeated courses also apply to equivalent courses. Courses that are equivalent to other courses are denoted with an ‘Equivalent' course element in the course description. See Academic Regulations in the Academic Calendar.

A faculty or school is a formal subdivision within the university. Faculties/schools develop, approve and administer the programs and courses relating to the specific degrees/credentials they offer. At uLethbridge, there are five faculties: Faculty of Arts and Science, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Fine Arts, Faculty of Health Sciences and Dhillon School of Business. uLethbridge also administers graduate programs through the School of Graduate Studies.

Faculties and schools are similar, but faculties are typically larger and have more students

Undergraduate Students

At uLethbridge, any Undergraduate student enrolled in at least nine (9.0) credit hours (three courses per term) in a fall, winter, or summer term is considered full-time. Students enrolled in Co-operative Education work experience courses are considered to be full-time. Students receiving full-time government student loans for summer session will need to be registered from May through August in minimum of nine (9.0) credit hours (three term courses) to qualify. Some exceptions to provincial/territorial student loan regulations exist; please contact Scholarships and Student Finance for eligibility requirements. Government or other agencies may require more than these minimums per term for loans or scholarships for which only full-time students are eligible.

Graduate Students

For Graduate students, full-time status is declared at point of admission or via the approval process as outlined in each graduate degree program. Students enrolled in Co-operative Education Work Experience courses or Applied Research Studies courses are considered to be full-time.

Independent Study is individual study for course credit under the supervision of a professor. Course work may require independent library research or field work and a major term paper. To register in an independent study course, get an Independent Study Enrolment Form on the SEARS Forms page on the Lethbridge campus or your campus office in Calgary. You must obtain approval from the instructor who agrees to guide the study, the department, the advising office and the Dean’s Office. Your advisor will send the signed form to the SEARS Office on the Lethbridge campus or your campus office in Calgary before to the end of the add/drop period. For further information, consult the department or faculty member with whom you wish to pursue an independent study.

A 12-course requirement for all uLethbridge Undergraduate students. The requirement is based on the liberal education philosophy of uLethbridge and is designed to ensure that students acquire breadth of knowledge encompassing many disciplines.

A major is the specific area of study in your program and will determine many of your required courses. For each single degree, diploma or certificate, a major must be declared. Generally, unless otherwise specified, a student may declare only one major per credential sought, i.e., degree, diploma, or certificate. Refer to the Double Majors sections in the applicable faculty segments in the Academic Calendar. For the BASc., two majors must be declared (see Faculty of Arts and Science) in the Academic Calendar. For combined degrees, two majors must be declared, e.g., one major for each degree sought (see Combined Degrees) in the Academic Calendar.

A minor is a defined set of courses comprising a secondary focus of a program. It is generally not related to the major. A minor may be required or optional. Minors are not available in all programs.

Some courses cannot be taken in conjunction with another course or if the other course has previously been successfully passed as indicated by the mutual exclusion(s). When courses are mutually exclusive, students who are currently registered or who have earned a minimum passing grade in one of the mutually exclusive courses or equivalent may not subsequently register in a section of another course with which it is mutually exclusive. Students who are registered in or have previously passed a course listed as mutually exclusive may apply for a waiver to register from the Faculty/School offering the course.

Undergraduate Students

At uLethbridge, a student who is registered in less than nine (9.0) credit hours (three term courses) in a fall, winter or summer term is considered part-time. Students receiving full-time government student loans for the summer session should contact Scholarships and Student Finance for provincial/territorial student loan eligibility.

Graduate Students

For Graduate students, part-time status is declared at point of admission or via the approval process as outlined in each graduate degree program.

If you have the intention of completing some or all of your uLethbridge degree and then continuing on to a professional program at another university, you are considered a Pre-Professional Transfer Student. However, you would still have a uLethbridge program of study. Examples of this are Dentistry (Bachelor of Science) and Medicine (Bachelor of Science). Note: Pre-Professional Transfer programs are offered on the Lethbridge campus only. See Faculty of Arts and Science in the Academic Calendar for a comprehensive list of Pre-Professional programs.

Some programs will require you to complete additional requirements in order to qualify for admission to that program. For example, the Faculty of Education requires the completion of specific courses during which time you are considered a Pre-Education student. You must formally apply for admission to the Faculty of Education when you complete the admission requirements.

A prerequisite is a course that must be successfully completed before you can take particular course.

A program is the broad category that defines your degree/diploma/certificate and all the requirements you need to meet in order to graduate. These may include, but are not limited to, required courses, course level requirements and Lib Ed Requirement (for Undergraduate students). See Programs Offered at uLethbridge for a comprehensive list. To understand your program better, you’ll want to know:

• faculty/school
• major(s)
• minor(s) (if applicable)
• concentration(s) (if applicable)
• specialization(s) (if applicable)
• Pre-Professional Transfer Program (if applicable)

While not required, this is a course that would be advantageous for a student to completed before taking another particular course.

At uLethbridge, a student may repeat a course previously taken. A grade may be improved by completing either the course or its equivalent.

• Students who want to improve their grade in an independent study, series or topics course must repeat the section with the identical title.
• Courses that are equivalent are denoted with an ‘Equivalent’ course element in the course description and include courses that have been renamed or renumbered, and topics or series courses that have been regularized.

If a student repeats a course, the grade for each attempt is recorded on the transcript, the grade and credit hours of the attempt with the highest grade will be used to calculate the GPA. Graduate students may not have grades and credit hours for more than one attempt calculated in the GPA. Students who have repeated a course must submit a Repeated Course Form (available on the SEARS Forms page). A student may not use a Credit/Non-Credit designation to replace a previously earned grade. See Academic Regulations in the Academic Calendar.

A required course is a course that must be successfully completed to gain a credential and is within the direct area of study to the major.

A specialization is a secondary focus of a program, but is generally related to your major and involves an experiential component. Depending on your program, a specialization may be required, optional or not available. Students will be eligible to receive an endorsement on their official transcripts upon completion of a specialization.

Substantially similar courses contain a high percentage of course content that is the same. Students who complete substantially similar courses should be aware that they must complete more than the minimum number of courses required in their program. For example, if you are in a 40-course program (with 120.0 credit hours) and you take two 3.0-credit courses that are considered substantially similar, you will have to complete an additional course (total of 41 courses or 123.0 credit hours) in order to fulfill your program requirements. See Academic Regulations in the Academic Calendar.

A prerequisite or recommended background that specifies year of standing indicates that students are expected to have attained a certain level of academic or intellectual advancement prior to registering in a particular course.

For some courses, students may not exceed a defined year of standing prior to registering in the course. These courses are closed to students who have taken more than the specified number of courses or who are beyond the determined year of standing at the time of registration. These limits are applied when a course is targeted to a specific group of junior students.

A student's year of standing is generally dictated based on the following number of completed (or transferable) course credits (see below). Courses enrolled in for the current term will be counted as "completed" and counted towards a students year of standing when registering for a subsequent term, however, prerequisite checks are done following term deadlines (see Academic Schedule) and any withdrawals, drops, or non-passing grades that drop a student below a required year of standing may result in a course being dropped from registration.

• First Year Standing: 0.0 to 29.5 credit hours
• Second Year Standing: 30.0 to 59.5 credit hours
• Third Year Standing: 60.0 to 89.5 credit hours*
• Fourth Year Standing: 90.0 to 119.5 credit hours
• Fifth Year Standing: 120.0 or more credit hours

*Note: Students admitted through the post-diploma route or with an after degree program generally begin at a minimum of third year standing (equivalent to a minimum of 60/0 credit hours). Consult with an advisor if you are unsure on your year of standing.

An undergraduate thesis course is a 6.0 credit hour course that is linked to your declared major. Students who complete all requirements and satisfy the academic standards required for the undergraduate thesis course for their declared major are eligible to receive the ‘Honours ‘Thesis’ designation on their official transcript and degree parchment.

To register in an undergraduate thesis course, pick up an Undergraduate Thesis Course Form at your advising office. You must obtain approval from the Supervisory Committee, Department Chair or Program Coordinator, and Dean. The signed form must be delivered to the SEARS Office before the end of the add/drop period. The SEARS Office will register you in the first term of the course by the end of add/drop, and in the second term of the course just prior to the next registration period.