Jargon Buster

Universities are full of jargon so here's a handy jargon buster to help you along. If there's any jargon missing, please email rthomas5@glam.ac.uk. Happy busting!

AHRB	Arts and Humanities Research Board - a central funding body for Arts and Humanities
AISPG	Academic Information Systems Planning Group
APC	Academic Policy Committee
APCCG	Academic Policy Committee Collaborative Group
Approval	A scheme achieves 'approval' if the University thinks it meets necessary requirements in accordance with University regulations and nationally recognised standards.
APT&C	Administrative, Professional, Technical and Clerical (Staff)
Area	A field (or collection of related fields)
ASF	Administrative Staff Forum
AT	The faculty of Advanced Technology
ATHENS	An authentication system that enables secure login to electronic information sources including e-journals and databases. All University staff and students, no matter where they are studying, will automatically be e-mailed their own ATHENS username and password set to their University e-mail box shortly after they have joined or enrolled in the University.
Award	A course of study leading to a qualification (i.e. Business Studies degree)
BCS	Budgetary Control Statement
Big Bang	The University's modular structure changing from semester long 12 credit undergraduate modules and semester long 15 credit postgraduate modules to year long 20 credit under and postgraduate modules. This is to increase the opportunities for consolidation of student learning, formative assessment, provide more space in the student curriculum for innovative methods of delivery and provide more opportunity for staff to undertake scholarly activity, research and third arm activities. The change will be a 'big bang' because the nature of student programmes would not permit a phased introduction across schools.
Blackboard	A flexible e-Learning software platform that delivers a "course management system, customizable institution-wide portals, online communities, and an advanced architecture that allows for Web-based integration with administrative systems".
BTEC	Business Technician Education Council or Business Technology Education Council
CATS	Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme
CCET	Community Consortium for Education and Training
CCIP	Wales Centre for Intergenerational Practice (based in Forest Grove)
CeLL	Centre for Lifelong Learning
CELT	Centre of Excellence in Learning and Teaching
CISPG	Corporate Information Systems Planning Group
Collaborative	Any arrangement to deliver an approved scheme with another organisation.
Credit	A unit of academic 'currency' based on learning hours.
CROESO	The aim of CROESO is to allow students registered at higher education institutions in Wales to gain access, without charge and throughout the year, to the buildings and collections of the libraries of other HE institutions in Wales.
DEFAG	Directorate External Funding Advisory Group
Department	The body responsible for developing and delivering a scheme. Same as school, centre or unit.
DIAG	Directorate Information Advisory Group
DQAC	Departmental Quality Assurance Committee
DRPC	Dispute Resolution Policy Committee or Departmental Research Programmes Committee in SOCS
DSE	Display Screen Equipment
EAP	Employee Assistance Program
E-College Wales (ECW)	Europe's largest on-line learning initiative.
EEMSG	Energy and Environment Management Steering Group - responsible for coordinating energy and environmental improvements at the University
ELAG	E-Learning Advisory Group - coordinates University e-learning activities, makes recommendations to Academic Board and Directorate on e-learning policy and resource issues and receives progress reports from e-learning project managers
E-Learning / E-Teaching	On-line learning and teaching using software such as Blackboard
ELWa	The National Council for Education and Training for Wales and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales are Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies, responsible for all post-16 education and training in Wales. Together these organisations are known as ELWa - Education and Learning Wales.
FE	Further Education
Field	A collection of related modules (or area of study) organised by one department. The head of that department is responsible for the field
Franchise	Another institution teaches and delivers a University of Glamorgan scheme, award or module that has been validated previously to run here and has been offered for at least one session
HASS	The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
HE	Higher Education
HEFCW/E	The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales/England
HESA	Higher Education Statistics Agency
HeSaS	The Faculty of Health, Sport and Science
ICT	Information and Communication Technology. The study of the technology used to handle information and aid communication
IDEAL	A username and password set for login to e-journals and databases. All University staff and students, no matter where they are studying, will automatically be e-mailed an IDEAL username and password set to their University e-mail box shortly after they have joined or enrolled in the University
IP	Intergenerational Practice
ISeLS	Information Systems and E-Learning Services
Joint Programme	This is when the University teams up with another institution to deliver a university validated scheme, award, field or module
L&T	Learning and Teaching
Level	An indication of the relative value of the credit to the academic development of the student
LRC	Learning Resources Centre
LRPG	Learning Resources Planning Group
LTASC	Learning, Teaching and Assessment Sub-Committee
LTO	Learning and Teaching Office
MLE	Managed Learning Environment
Module	A credit related unit of work with specific learning aims, syllabus and assessment scheme.
Monitoring	An annual process used by the University to ensure that their schemes maintain the appropriate standards.
Morgannwg	Also known as B-Block
MSc	Master of Science degree
NFA	National Framework Agreement
NUS	National Union of Students
OPAC	The LRC's Online Public Access Catalogue. Use it to locate books, journals and other materials as well as checking loans, reservations and inter-library loans.
OSCE	Objective Structured Clinical Examination - a way of testing physical examination skills, used in the MSc Nurse Pratitioner Course
Outreach Validation	When another institution requests that a scheme, award, field or module be validated by the University
P/G	Postgraduate
PAL	Peer Assisted Learning
Partner Institution	Another institution that offers a University validated scheme, award or module
PASS	Peer Assisted Student Support
PHP	Personal Home Page (original name for PHP server-side scripting language)
PI	Performance Indicators
Programme	A student's pattern of modules that leads to an award
QAA(HE)	The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
QAC	Quality Assurance Committee
Quercus Plus	This is the new student management system. It is a fully integrated student and course administration system. It enables you to track the progress of applicants and students from the initial enquiry through to bestowing awards
RD1/RD2	This form is used to request a new post, a replacement post, maternity cover, sickness cover, a secondment, an extension to a fixed term contract or a conversion to a permanent contract.
Review	A process that is used by the University, at least once every seven years, to ensure than an existing scheme or department continues to be valid and meet its regulations and nationally recognised standards.
Rhondda	Also known as G Block
SAPS	School of Applied Sciences
Scheme	An award (or collection of related awards) that is organised by a department. The head of that department is responsible for the scheme.
SFC	Student Finance Centre
SME	Small to Medium Enterprise
SOCS	School of Care Sciences
Spam	Unwanted emails. (The majority of spam emails are sent out at random so, although it may appear they have been sent specifically to you, they haven't. DO NOT OPEN SPAM EMAILS).
SU	Students' Union
Taf	Also known as J Block
TQI	Teaching Quality Information
Trustees	The elected officers in the students' union. Elected by students, the trustees are there to represent students in many ways - education including academic appeals etc, welfare, sports and activities, equal opportunities and more!
Ty Crawshay	Also known as A Block
U/G	Undergraduate
UCAS	Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
UKLP	UK Libraries Plus is a co-operative venture between higher education libraries, which will enable part-time, distance and placement students to borrow material from other libraries in close proximity to where they live or work. Ask in the LRC for more details.
UNILANG	The University's centre for language learning
Validation	The process used by the University to judge if a proposed scheme, amendment to an existing scheme, or module meets its requirements in accordance with its regulations and nationally recognised standards.
Vision Statement	Sometimes called a 'mission statement'. A short paragraph which sets out the long term goal of a company or organisation. The University of Glamorgan's vision statement is: "To be a premier UK modern university. To advance within the wider international HE context, the economic, the social and cultural priorities of Wales".
VLE	Visual Learning Environment (see Blackboard)
WAG	Welsh Assembly Government
WALIA	A co-operative scheme operated by the Wales Higher Education Libraries Forum (WHELF). It offers researchers in higher education institutions in Wales the chance to use and borrow from library collections of other Welsh higher education institutions free of charge. Ask in the LRC for details.
WEFO	Welsh European Funding Office
WIHSC	Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care
WINPG	Web/Intranet Planning Group

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