Term refers to a period of study (for more information, see the Glossary). Students should consult the Academic Schedule at the front of this Calendar to learn the specific dates for the start and end of each term.
Course refers to a unit of study (called a course or course equivalent) normally studied for one term. A course normally carries a weighting of three credit (3.0) hours. The University offers some units of study which deviate from this norm.
1.Applied Studies
An opportunity for students to gain University course credit for volunteer or employment experience. See Applied Studies and Co-operative Education.
2.Independent Study
A course for which credit is earned through individual study under the supervision of an instructor. This option may be elected as early as the first term or as late as the last, depending upon the capability of the student for undertaking academic work with minimum guidance. Course work may require library and/or field research and/or a major term paper.
Students wishing to improve their grade in an Independent Study course must repeat the section with the identical title (for more information, see Academic Regulations, Repeat of a Course).
For further information, students should consult the department or the faculty member under whom they wish to pursue an Independent Study (see also the Independent Study sections in Faculty of Arts and Science, Independent Study; Faculty of Education, Independent Study; Faculty of Fine Arts, Independent Study; Faculty of Health Sciences, Independent Study; and Dhillon School of Business, Independent Study).
A course that is offered regularly at the University of Lethbridge, but whose content may vary with different offerings. Each Series has one number (e.g., Anthropology 3900, English 3700) and different offerings in the Series are indicated by the title of the course, as listed in the current term timetable. Students may take more than one offering of a Series course for credit if the offerings are distinct (i.e., if each offering taken has a different title).
Students wishing to improve their grade in a Series course must repeat the section with the identical title (for more information, see Academic Regulations, Repeat of a Course).
A Series course may be specified as a required course in a major or program.
A course that is not offered regularly at the University of Lethbridge and whose content varies with different offerings. Any Faculty or School may offer Topics courses. Each Topics course is identified by the number 1850, 2850, 3850, or 4850, and different offerings are indicated by the title of the particular section, as listed in the current term timetable. Students may take more than one offering of a Topics course for credit if the offerings are distinct (i.e., if each offering taken has a different title).
Contact hours for Topics courses may vary according to the nature of the course. Check the specific Topics offering for complete information.
Students wishing to improve their grade in a Topics course must repeat the section with the identical title. From time to time, Topics offerings are made into regularly scheduled courses and listed in the Calendar. In this case, students must complete the regularly scheduled course that corresponds to the particular Topics offering in order to improve their grade (for more information, Academic Regulations, Repeat of a Course).
A Topics course cannot be specified as a required course in any major or program.
5.Cross-Listed
A cross-listed course is a single course originating from two different Faculties or Schools or two different departments within the same Faculty or School. Cross-listed courses appear in the Calendar and on student’s academic records in the dual form, for example, Management 2070/Economics 2070.
6.Online
Courses may be offered online or have online components. Such courses are identified in the current term timetable. The course information listed in the Calendar (e.g., credit hours, course description) applies to all offerings of that course.
7.Placeholder
a.Active Student Status
A Placeholder course (e.g., New Media 4999) that enables students not registered in credit courses to maintain active student status in their program. No credit hours are attached to this Placeholder.
b.Continuing Student Status
A Placeholder course (e.g., Agricultural Studies 3999, Environmental Science 3999, Visiting 9999, Exchange 9999) that enables students registered elsewhere to maintain continuing student status for registration purposes. No credit hours are attached to this Placeholder.
c.Full-Time Status
Professional Semester I and Professional Semester II Placeholder courses (i.e., Education 3599 and Education 3699) that facilitate block-registration arrangements to be finalized by the Faculty of Education. For student loan/scholarship enrolment verification purposes, 15.0 credit hours are attached to this Placeholder.
1.Subject and Course Number
The subject identifies the course discipline, and the course number identifies the course level (see Course Numbering System).
2.Course Title
A descriptive title is given for each subject and course number. The title of a given course may occasionally change. A change in course title does not constitute a new course. Accordingly, students who repeat a course with the same subject and course number, regardless of the course title, are bound by the regulations given in Academic Regulations, Repeat of a Course.
Special regulations apply to Topics and Series courses (see Series and Topics).
3.Credit Hours
The weighting factor of a course when determining GPA. Regular full-term credit courses carry a weighting of 3.0 credit hours, while half-credit courses carry a weighting of 1.5 credit hours. Some courses carry non-standard credit hours (e.g., Art 3040 is worth 6.0 credit hours). A student requires a minimum of 120.0 credit hours to complete a standard undergraduate four-year degree at the University of Lethbridge.
4.Contact Hours
There are two types of contact hours: (1) hours per week, and (2) other hours per term. ‘Contact hours per week’ are regularly scheduled weekly meeting times, while ‘Other hours per term’ are meeting times that are scheduled at irregular times over the term.
Contact hours per week: a-b-c
a - number of required lecture or studio* hours per week
b - number of required laboratory hours per week
c - number of required hours per week in a different setting (e.g., tutorial)
Other hours per term: d-e-f
d - number of required lecture or studio* hours per term
e - number of required laboratory hours per term
f - number of required hours per term in a different setting (e.g., tutorial, field trip, rehearsal)
All contact hours may be delivered by a number of means, including, but not limited to, the following:
•a regular University classroom
•a University computer lab
•online
•an off-campus location
*Studio courses are identified as such in the offering note for the course.
5.Prerequisite(s), Corequisite(s), Mutual Exclusion(s), Recommended Background, and Other Registration Restrictions
Some courses require an appropriate background of knowledge as indicated by the prerequisite(s), corequisite(s), and recommended background. A prerequisite must be completed successfully before a student is eligible to register in a given course. A corequisite must be taken prior to or in conjunction with another course. Students who have previously passed such a course will be deemed to have met the corequisite requirement.
A student lacking the prerequisite or corequisite for a particular course may apply for a waiver of prerequisite/corequisite from the Faculty/School offering the course.
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). 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.
For some courses, a recommended background is listed instead of, or in addition to, prerequisite(s) and corequisites(s) so that the student may judge his or her own academic preparation.
Prerequisites, corequisites, and recommended backgrounds are normally expressed in terms of Alberta high school subjects, one or more courses, admission to programs offered by the University of Lethbridge, year of standing, and/or other special requirements.
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.
Although students may choose to have their program requirements governed by the Calendar in effect at the time of their most recent admission to the University (see Admission, Year of the Calendar), all students are bound by the current Calendar with regard to prerequisites, corequisites, mutual exclusions, and recommended backgrounds for individual courses.
6.Equivalent
Equivalent courses can be substituted, one for the other, to meet any specified course requirement. The regulations that apply to repeated courses also apply to equivalent courses. Students should note, in particular, the calculation of GPA (see Academic Regulations, Repeat of a Course).
Note: A course offered at a given level (2000-, 3000-, 4000-level) will be used to meet requirements only at that level.
7.Substantially Similar
Substantially similar courses contain a high percentage of similar course content but are not deemed equivalent. Students cannot use a substantially similar course to replace another course specified as a prerequisite. Students completing substantially similar courses must complete more than the minimum number of courses required in the program (see Academic Regulations, Substantially Similar Course Limits).
8.Grading
Grading indicates what type of grade will be awarded as defined in Academic Regulations. The standard grading mode employed by instructors is a letter grade; the alternative grading mode is Pass/Fail. Credit/Non-Credit, which is at the discretion of the student, is not a grading mode.