Glossary of Terms

Assessment  

criteria  

For postgraduate research students, the role of the Assistant Supervisor is intended to be considerably more limited than that of the Principal Supervisor in terms of responsibility, but in some cases the Assistant Supervisor may have day to day involvement in the student’s supervision. Assistant Supervisors may be appointed to provide (where relevant) complementary expertise, such as specialised knowledge of a particular technique.

See also "Principal Supervisor", "Co-Supervisor" and "Lead Co-Supervisor".

A body consisting of University staff and external examiners where appropriate, with membership approved by the relevant College whose role is to take an overview of each student’s academic performance on a relevant course or programme based primarily on assessment results, and to make a final academic judgement on the appropriate outcome, e.g. on progression or the award of degree, diploma or certificate.

www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academicservices/staff/assessment/boards-examiners

A co-requisite course to 'Course X' must be undertaken in the same Semester or Academic Year (as specified) as 'Course

X'.

A student attending a course on a class-only basis does not sit assessment and does not receive credit for that course.

This is also known as “auditing” a course.

Principal Supervisor tends to deal with the administrative aspects of supervision. The supervisory arrangement of “Principal plus Co-Supervisor” is normally chosen when the student’s proposal involves interdisciplinary research.

See also “Principal Supervisor”, “Lead Co-Supervisor”, “Assistant Supervisor”.

Common

Marking

Schemes

The Common Marking Schemes are standard marking schemes which are used when reporting students’ assessment results. For every piece of summative assessed work, students will be assigned a mark against the relevant Common Marking Scheme. Separate schemes exist for undergraduate and postgraduate assessment, as well as for medical and veterinary degrees.

www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-

administration/exams/regulations/common-marking-scheme 

Each year of study of undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes is composed of courses. A course is a unit of teaching and learning formally offered within the University, which carries credit expressed in credit points (see http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/) and which may contribute to a University award (certificate, diploma or degree). A course will have: a course code (recorded on the University’s Student Record system), one or more components of assessment, a specified credit value, a specified credit level,

a named Course Organiser, and an identified host department/school/teaching organisation.   

Course

Organiser

A member of staff whose remit varies according to local School organisation, but in outline the Course Organiser is responsible for:

• general course management;
• assessment-related activities;
• advising and supporting students on course-related matters;
• monitoring and reviewing courses

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF www.scqf.org.uk/) credit level identifies the level of the

outcome of learning achieved (see http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/).

The University adheres to the Scottish Credit and

Qualifications Framework (SCQF www.scqf.org.uk/) within which credit points are used to quantify the volume of learning achieved. Two SCQF credit points are equivalent to one point in the European Credit and Transfer System (ECTS).

Degree

Programme  

Specification  

(DPS)

Degree

Programme Table (DPT)

Degree Regulations and

Programmes of

Study (DRPS)

Doctoral degrees are designed at Scottish Credit and

Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Level 12 and are allocated at least 540 SCQF Credit Points of which a minimum of 420 are at SCQF Level 12.

Examiners  

(external and internal)

in appropriate universities, although their content may differ. They also ensure that the assessment system is operated equitably and fairly in respect of the treatment and classification of students.

The roles, powers and responsibilities of External Examiners are set out in the External Examiners for Taught Programmes Policy

Internal examiners are teaching and honorary staff of the

University who teach Scottish Credit and qualification Framework level 7 to 12 courses which are awarded for credit and are listed

in the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study www.drps.ed.ac.uk/

Internal and External Examiners are members of the Board of Examiners. See Boards of Examiners.

Exclusion (see also

“Withdrawal”)

Information that is provided to students which can enable them to review what they know, understand and can do in their studies, and to identify areas for improvement.

www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academicservices/staff/assessment/feedback www.enhancingfeedback.ed.ac.uk/

Feed-forward can provide students with information they can use to make improvements to future assessments.  Examples include:

 the opportunity to get comments on a draft or outline, and so to take account of these in the final version;

• the option of a practice test (e.g. getting feedback on how well students answered multiple-choice questions); or
• what has sometimes been called 'pre-emptive' feedback - a pre-exam revision seminar, or a workshop focusing on past exam papers.

www.enhancingfeedback.ed.ac.uk

Home

institution

The first Honours year of an Honours degree programme, normally involving courses at Scottish Credit and

Qualifications Framework (SCQF www.scqf.org.uk/) level 9 or 10.  

A brief description written in non-technical language that should be easily understood by a reader lacking specific or technical knowledge of the subject area.

See guidance:

www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/lay_summary_in_theses.pdf  

Lead Co-

Supervisor

A supervisor for a postgraduate research student, where two supervisors bear equal responsibility for the student, with one of the two nominally the lead.

See also “Principal Supervisor”, “Co-Supervisor”, “Assistant

Supervisor”.

Adjustments that are made to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of learning and teaching for all students.

Further information is available on the Institute for Academic

Development website at: www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/institute-academic-development/learningteaching/inclusive/mainstreaming

Maximum

period of study 

This is the maximum period within which the student must have completed their programme of study, and have met the requirements for the award.

The maximum period includes any concessions, extensions, authorised interruptions of study and for some research degrees, the submission period.

Some University policies and regulations refer to students being accompanied by “a member of the University community”, for example, in the student academic appeals and student conduct processes. In these cases “member of the University community” includes current students and staff, including staff in the Edinburgh University Students’

Association and the Edinburgh University Sports Union.

Misconduct is where a student has not behaved appropriately. The Code of Student Conduct lists examples of student misconduct:

www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academicservices/staff/discipline/code-discipline

Named

certificate and diploma

A non-examining chair is the convener of a Board of

Examiners who ensures that due process is carried out by the

An assessment judgement is made based on the student’s verbal contribution. It can include a variety of activities:

• students making presentations which are part of the assessment of a course;
• student participation in tutorials;
• specific skills which are assessed orally, e.g. in languages;
• a viva voce examination.

The person primarily responsible for giving the research student help and advice to obtain good training in research, choosing a topic of appropriate scope and significance, organising the research, composing a thesis that meets the University’s expectations, and submitting it in the appropriate timescale.

See also “Assistant Supervisor”, “Co-Supervisor”, “Lead CoSupervisor”.

The sum of all the elements leading to a defined graduating curriculum. The undergraduate Certificate and Diploma of Higher Education are not defined graduating curricula and therefore are not programmes of study. See relevant Degree

Programme Table at www.drps.ed.ac.uk/

Recognition of

Prior Learning

(RPL)

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF www.scqf.org.uk/) defines Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as the process for recognising learning that has its source in experience and/or previous formal, non-formal and informal learning contexts. This includes knowledge and skills gained within School, College and University and outside formal learning situations such as through life and work experiences.

All applications for RPL at the University must be supported by evidence that the applicant’s prior learning:

• is closely similar in content to the course(s) from which exemption is sought;
• is at the same SCQF academic level as the course(s) from which exemption is sought;
• is sufficiently recent that the student’s knowledge remains active and up to date;
• has been undertaken at other universities or institutions of comparable standing.

Special circumstances are circumstances which are exceptional for the individual student, are beyond that student’s control and for which there is sufficient evidence to show that they had a significant adverse impact on the student’s performance in an assessment, or resulted in non-attendance or a non-submission for a scheduled assessment.   www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/special_circumstances.pdf  

A student is someone who has been admitted to the University to study for academic credit at Scottish Credit and

Qualifications Framework (SCQF www.scqf.org.uk/) level 7 or above and has commenced the matriculation process and has not otherwise exited the University (through successful completion, withdrawal or exclusion). Successful completion of studies occurs when the student has no further study to perform, and this precedes graduation.

Student

Support Officer

Students may be required to temporarily suspend their studies and activities on grounds of misconduct or to prevent danger to themselves or others.  This can be a total or selective restriction on attending the University or accessing its facilities or participating in university activities.   

Students may request to temporarily suspend their studies: this is called interruption of studies.

Unit of

assessment

Welcome Week