Definitions for:

1. Students
2. Academic Year
3. Courses
4. Course Loads

Students

Simon Fraser University does not classify students as either full time or part time although there are varying course load requirements for many types of financial aid.

Student means a person who is presently enrolled in a credit course or who is designated by resolution of the senate as a student.

Continuing Students

• Undergraduate
  • A person who is enrolled for one or more of the last three terms and who is eligible to continue.
• Graduate
  • A person who is enrolled in the current term and is eligible to continue.
  • On leave is a person who is not enrolled in the current term but is eligible to enroll when their approved leave ends.

Former Student

A person who had enrolled at the institution, and is not currently eligible to continue (eg. graduated, required to withdraw, discontinued).

Special Audit Student

A person who is not admissible to the university through the normal admission process.

Visiting and Exchange Student

A person whose “home” institution is not SFU but has been admitted to SFU for the purpose of taking courses to transfer to their home institution or to take part in an approved research term.

Non-Credit Student

A person who is enrolled in only non-credit courses and/or programs.

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Academic Year

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Courses

Additive Credit

In courses deemed to have additive credit, the units do not count towards the total units required for a degree. Co-operative Education practicum courses typically have additive credit.

Approved

This category identifies the specialization of a student who is formally approved by the department or signing authority for that specialization and may be granted at the department’s discretion or signing authority. This must be done by the 61st unit. Advising for approved students is the responsibility of the department offering the approved specialization(s).

Blended Courses

Blended courses at SFU have at least one quarter and no more than three quarters of student learning integral to the course occuring in the online environment, replacing in-person instruction.

Corequisite

A corequisite is a requirement which must be satisfied before, or while taking a course.

Course Numbering

Each subject is divided into courses usually offered in term length units. Each course is identified by a subject name followed by a course number, the number of units, and course title, e.g. ENGL 103-3 Introduction to Drama. The first course number digit represents the division of the course; the fourth digit indicates the units. For example, ENGL 103-3 is a first division course offering three units.

Credit Courses

These courses carry units and count toward the total required for a degree, certificate or diploma, subject to the regulations governing the credential.

Credit-Free Courses

These courses carry no credit and do not count toward a degree, certificate or diploma. At times, they are termed 'non-credit courses'.

Credit Hours

See “Units” below.

Distance Education Courses

Many courses are available as distance education courses. The majority of these are print-based. Some may also have audio and/or video support. Increasingly, educational technologies (e.g. computer conferencing) are being incorporated as courses are developed and revised. The program parallels the campus term system of the university, with the same 16 week period for course completion.

Division

Division relates to undergraduate courses: those numbered 001 to 299 inclusive are lower division courses; those numbered 300 to 499 are upper division courses. Graduate courses are numbered in the 500 to 999 series. In certain instances, upper division courses may be completed in the lower levels and lower division courses in the upper levels. Refer to specific regulations pertaining to requirements for degrees, certificates or diplomas.

Elective

Any undergraduate course not used to satisfy the program requirements as specified in the Calendar. Normally, an elective will also be a course outside the subject area of a declared program of study; or any undergraduate course designated as Writing (W), Quantitative (Q) or Breadth (B-Humanities, B-Social Sciences, B-Science) that is not required to fulfil program requirements.

Lectures, Tutorials and Laboratories

Although there are variations among departments, instruction in lower division courses combines a large lecture section with small tutorial groups. The large lecture enables as many students as possible to hear the very best teachers. The small tutorial groups provide more personal instruction and an opportunity for discussion of readings and lecture material. A typical course consists of two lectures and one tutorial a week. Notable exceptions are the sciences and languages, where a laboratory may be involved.

Obligation to Declare Majors, Minors or Other Areas of Specialization

Students are expected to obtain formal approval to enter an area of specialization by the time they have earned 60 units. 'Specialization' is a term used to cover programs such as majors, minors, double majors, honours, extended minors, etc. 'Department' refers to the faculty, department, school or unit responsible for a program. There are some other programs (e.g., post baccalaureate diplomas, certificates) which may have additional instruction regarding procedure since the students in these programs fall outside the usual flow of units.

Prerequisite

A prerequisite is a requirement which must be satisfied before taking a course.

Program Requirements

The courses used to satisfy the program subject or field requirements (e.g., major, joint major, honours, minor, double minor, certificates, or any combination thereof) as specified in the Calendar.

Subject

A subject (or 'discipline') is a body of knowledge with arbitrary boundary lines, e.g. philosophy, chemistry or psychology. For convenience, professors of a subject are usually grouped together in a department.

Undeclared

This category will be used for any student who, prior to the successful completion of the 61st unit, has not recorded an intended specialization. Academic advising for undeclared students is available from Academic Advising and Student Success.

Units

Units (formerly known as credits) are assigned to each course and should reflect student workload, including both time in classes (or synchronous online activities), and other aspects of academic effort. Requirements for credentials (e.g., degrees, diplomas and certificates) are partially expressed as units.
 
Each unit would generally comprise 2-3 hours of the combination of in-class and self-study time per week on average, such that a 3-unit course would generally comprise 6-9 hours per week on average, or approximately 78-117 hours over 13 weeks*.
 
Courses with laboratories or a significant experiential learning component may require additional student work and should be expected to require some additional time. It must be recognized that learners vary in the self-study time needed for their courses.
 
*courses that do not follow typical term dates complete the same number of hours in fewer weeks.

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