Teaching and learning lexicon

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Calibration is where the unit leader discusses assessment and feedback with an external expert to calibrate their standards with sector norms. (Advance HE, 2017)  

Campus is the term for the physical location of the University.

Campus Community is an area within Campus Solutions which is a ‘one-stop-shop’ for some of the most commonly referenced student data.

Campus Solutions (CS) is the student administration system used at The University of Manchester.

Cap, capped, capping is the term used for course unit marks that have been limited in some way, usually due to referred assessment being taken and passed or as a penalty for academic misconduct.

Careers Service provides information, advice and guidance services to current students and staff of The University of Manchester and recent graduates (within three years) of The University of Manchester. Visit the Careers Service website.

Carry over / Carry forward / Carried Over is the term used when undergraduate students are permitted to carry over up to 20 credits into the following year of study, as defined by an Examination Board. This applies to FHEQ levels 4 & 5 only and is subject to teaching capacity not being exceeded.

Centre for Higher Education Research, Innovation in Learning (CHERIL) is based in the Manchester Institute of Education and provides University Senior Management with strategic advice on developments in teaching and learning across the sector and to identify agendas for research into higher education. More information about the Centre for Higher Education Research, Innovation in Learning.

Certificate of Higher Education is an undergraduate award of 120 credits, at FHEQ level 4, usually as an exit award or as an award for continuing professional development.

Classification is the process by which it is decided what award should be conferred on a student who has successfully completed the defined programme. For Bachelor honours degrees the classifications are ‘first’, ‘upper second’, ‘lower second’ & ‘third’ (N.B. no third class classification for Integrated Masters). For a Masters degree they are ‘pass’, ‘merit’ and ‘distinction’. There is no classification for an Ordinary undergraduate degree, nor for the award of diploma or the award of certificate.

Classification Review is the process by which students in the boundary of a classification, who have not met the requirements for ‘mark distribution’, are considered for the next classification based on the review of marks, overseen by an External Examiner. Note: marks do not change, just the classification

Clearing is the service offered by UCAS, that operates between mid-July and September, used when a prospective undergraduate student has received their A level results but has not been accepted on a course to try and secure a place at University.

Cohort is a group of students that commence a programme of study in a particular year.

Collaboration in the University context is defined as any research / commercial or taught programme activity that includes participation from an external institution/s or person/s.

Collaborative Learning Tools are a suite of tools used in Blackboard to engage students e.g. blogs, wikis, discussion boards etc. Read more about Using collaborative tools in Blackboard 9 (link leads to content on the original Teaching and learning site).

Collaborative Timetabling sets out to improve timetables for students and staff, and to optimise the use of the University Estate. See the University’s Collaborative Timetabling webpages. and also the Humanities Collaborative Timetabling page.

Collusion is when a student or students collaborate with another student or students, as an individual or group to gain a mark or grade to which they are not entitled. Students who allow another student to copy their work are also committing collusion and both the copier and the provider of the work are liable to be penalised. Read about Academic Malpractice: Procedure for the Handling of Cases.

Command Words are the question keywords, words such as argue, discuss, examine, explain, evaluate, outline etc, used in assessment/exam questions which tell the student what the examiner wants them to do.

Community Space for Turnitin and Grademark is an online (Blackboard) space for the benefit of academic and administrative staff. The online space supports individuals and Schools with online submission, plagiarism checking and marking.

Compensation is given where students have failed to achieve the required standard to pass a course unit, but have shown enough ability and they are within the compensation zone. The mark can be compensated for credit only. The original mark will stand (see special compensation).

Compensated credit / compensated pass is credit or a pass achieved as a result of compensation.

Compensation Zone is the zone in which marks fall for them to be considered for compensation.

Complaint is the term used for the procedure to allow students to express a dissatisfaction which merits a response. Read more about Student complaints.

Compulsory Course Units are course units which cannot be substituted and must be taken in order to achieve the intended learning outcomes of the programme. Compulsory course units are not normally compensatable but can be resat.

Conditional Offer the conditions stated in an offer letter which a prospective student must satisfy in order to study at the University.

Confirmation and Clearing is the term used to describe the period during which the University confirms whether an applicant has achieved a place at the University through achieving the required entry criteria, and those without places seek available spaces at University. This period encompasses the day when ‘A’ level results are published.

Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) is a unique reference number issued to international applicants wishing to study at the University of Manchester and monitored electronically by the UK Border Agency (UKBA). Any non-EEA (European Economic Area) or Swiss national student who needs to apply for immigration permission under Tier 4 (Student) of the Points Based system needs a CAS.

Consortium Awards is the process by which two or more awarding institutions collectively provide and deliver units on a programme of study. Students are given the option to register at one of the HEIs within the consortium and on completion of the programme the student will receive an award from the HEI they chose to register with (i.e. a single award from the registering Institution).

Constructive criticism is feedback designed to enable an individual to understand and learn from their mistakes and to build on demonstrated strengths.

Contact Hours are the hours of interaction with an academic member of staff.

Contextual Statement is a document written by a School / division as part of the submission for periodic review to introduce the School / division to the review panel.

Continual Monitoring is an ongoing activity within established school committees and teaching and learning management structures, to ensure that the standard of all programmes and the student experience is being maintained and/or enhanced, and to ensure that all resources are being used efficiently in teaching, learning, assessment and student support. The output of continual monitoring is a Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP), plus the programme committee minutes. These are then considered at School level and the School reports to the Faculty on the conduct and outcomes of its continual monitoring. In turn, the Faculty reports on the conduct and outcomes of continual monitoring to the institutional Teaching and Learning Group.

Continual Professional Development (CPD) refers to the process of tracking and documenting the skills, knowledge and experience that is gained both formally and informally as you work, beyond any initial training. It's a record of what you experience, learn and then apply. They can be accredited credit-bearing individual units/ programmes/ short courses, academic credit is awarded on completion (participants are given a transcript upon successful completion). Non-accredited non-credit-bearing individual units/ programmes/short courses are not awarded academic credit on completion.

Continuing professional development (CPD) is the ongoing process of learning by professionals in a particular subject area or role, which may be undertaken in the form of training, workshops, individual research or courses.  

Conversion Frameworks (Faculty) sets out the minimum expectations on Schools with regard to undergraduate and postgraduate taught conversion activities and provides some examples of how those minimum expectations could be implemented. Find out more about conversion frameworks.

Copyright is legal protection for an author/creator which restricts the copying of an original work they have created. Read about Copyright Guidance at The University of Manchester.

Core Course curricula can identify course units that are optional which are distinct from those that must be studied and called ‘core courses’. Core courses need not be compulsory course units.

Co-requisite is a course which must be taken at the same time as another course in a particular area of study.

Counselling - the University provides a professional counselling service free of charge for all students and staff.  The service consists of a team of professional counsellors with a wide variety and depth of experience in counselling and psychotherapy.

Course Unit a self-contained course unit of study on a particular topic, with defined level and credit values, aims and intended learning outcomes, mode(s) of delivery, defined assessment and possibly pre or co requisites.  Course units are the basic building blocks of a programme.

Course Unit Code the alpha / numeric code assigned to all course units to denote which discipline and level / year they belong to. The first four letters denote the discipline area, the first number denotes the year / level (1, 2 & 3 for undergraduate 7 & 8 for postgraduate taught) and the final number denotes the semester in which it is taught ( 1 is 1st semester, 2 is second semester, 0 is across both semesters) e.g. GEOG2131 is a 2nd year Geography undergraduate course unit being taught in semester 1.

Course Unit Information Publishing (CUIP) is a component in Campus Solutions for the management and maintenance of supplementary course unit information, for the purposes of publishing data online to both students and applicants (prospective students).

Course Unit Mark or mark is, normally, a numerical designation (0-100%), recorded as whole numbers, which is awarded to a student on completion of a course unit, which reflects the achievement of the defined intended learning outcomes.

Course Unit Marking Scheme the University approved marking scheme is between 1-100% and specifies pass/ fail and compensatable marks.

Course Unit Outline sometimes known as the course unit specification which specifies the essential information about an individual course unit in a single document.

Course Unit Selection is the process whereby students select their elective course units.

Course Unit Specification is the approved course unit description. It includes details on credits, level, intended learning outcomes and types of assessment.

Coursework are assignments completed and marked outside of examination conditions which may or may not contribute to the final mark of a unit. Types of coursework include essays, report, in-class tests, laboratory work, projects, dissertations, practical work, and presentations.

Credit is a measure of work required to successfully complete a course unit or programme. It is a means of quantifying and recognising learning whenever and wherever it is achieved. Credit is awarded to a learner in recognition of the verified achievement of designated learning outcomes at a specified level. One credit corresponds to a notional 10 hours of student workload.

Crucial Guide Live is a website providing essential advice, information and guidance for students at the University. Access the Crucial Guide.

CSV file is a comma separated values file which allows data to be saved in a table structured format and uploaded to various areas of Campus Solutions.

Cultural Awareness is the quality of awareness thatthe University has a very diverse community of students, from many different countries, nationalities, cultures and belief systems. Staff need to be sensitive to the fact that international students will be coping with linguistic, educational, cultural and social norms that are very different from those that they are used to. 

Curriculum is a planned sequence of learning experiences.

Customised Programmes are unique bespoke programmes designed in partnership with clients’ needs.