Important terms that you will need to know as you progress through your UWI Life
Registration Terms to Know
Add/Drop
The period during which students may add or drop a course without penalty.
CRN
(Course Reference Number)
The number assigned to designate a specific class/section of a course.
Co-Requisite
A course that must be taken along with another specified course in order to ensure the attainment of complementary and/or interdependent competencies.
Core Courses
Courses that you are required to complete in order to be awarded a major or a minor.
Course Load
The number of credit hours carried each semester.
Course Code
An alphanumeric code used to identify a course e.g. HIST 2004 or ECON 1001.
Course Level
Defines the level of a course. For example, HIST 1001 denotes that History 1001 is a Level 1 course
Credit Hours
A unit which represents the number of hours a student spends in a class each week over the course of the semester.
Fee Assessment Invoice
Printout of the courses for which you have registered that lists each specific course. The amount of tuition and fees due for all courses registered and the payment deadline date are also indicated on the printout.
Financial Clearance
Approval given by Bursary officials when you have paid all the fees for which you are liable.
Financial Hold
Your registration will not be processed if you are indebted to the University. If you have any questions regarding your account, you may visit the Student Accounts Office, The Bursary located on the Ground Floor, Student Administration Building.
Hold
A hold is a block placed on a student’s record for failure to comply with obligations to the University. If you have a hold on your records, you may not register or, in many cases, obtain transcripts until that hold is cleared with the office imposing the hold.
Level
Denotes a student status as either Undergraduate or Graduate.
Pre-Requisite
A course that needs to be taken before you can register for another course or a more advanced course.
Year-Long Course
A course that spans Semesters I and II. You must register for this course at the beginning of the academic year i.e. in Semester 1 registration period.
Academic Terms to Know
Academic Advising
The process where your faculty provides information on courses for which you must register. The purpose of academic advising is to help students, particularly new students, in planning, monitoring, and successfully managing their chosen field of study, in relation to clear career objectives.
Academic Year
August 1st to July 31st
Advising Hold
An Advising Hold may be placed on your record if you are in a faculty that requires academic advising prior to registration. You must attend an advising session before your faculty advisor will clear you to register.
Degree Audit/CAPP Module
An online tool to help students and their advisors compare the student’s academic record to the requirements of a specific programme.
Department
Units that make up a faculty and have a specific specialization under the broader area represented by the faculty. (For example, Food Production is a department within the Faculty of Food & Agriculture)
Elective
Any course not required as part of your major. Course(s) which you may choose from a list provided by your department/faculty in your respective Faculty Regulations and Syllabuses booklet.
Faculty
The faculty is the “faction” to which students are grouped into. Each one has its own academic specialty. Lecturers are known as faculty members. Departments are grouped into divisions called faculties.
GPA (Grade Point Average)
Grade Point Average is the average obtained by dividing the total grade points earned by the quality of hours for which the student is registered for any stated period of time, excluding hours on the foundation courses, audited courses, and courses taken for preliminary credit.
Major/Minor
A major is the area in which you choose to concentrate most of your studies. A minor is a secondary area of concentrated study that relates to the major or is of purely personal interest. Minors are not mandatory.
Option
A prescribed combination of courses within a faculty or across faculties leading to a degree.
Programme
A selection of courses designed to achieve pedagogical goal(s) the taking of which is governed by certain regulations and the satisfactory completion of which (determined by such regulation) makes a candidate eligible for the award of a degree/diploma/ certificate.
Semester
Half-year term in a school year; normally a 13-week period of instruction.
Special
A prescribed combination of courses offered, which leads to a degree.
Transcript
Official record of coursework and grades housed in the Office of the Campus Registrar.
Student Life Terms to Know
DSSD
The Division of Student Services and Development, which provides holistic and developmental support and aid in the academic-social balance.
Full-Time Student
A student who is registered for not more than 15/18 and no fewer than 12 credits per semester in accordance with prescribed faculty regulations.
FYE
The First-Year Experience, an orientation program under the DSSD.
Guild of Students
The official student body representation of the UWI STA.
myUWI
(Student Portal)
A web service for students that can be reached directly at http://my.uwi.edu. For students, myUWI (my Student Portal) online provides access to online registration. myUWI also has information on student accounts, final grades, degree audits and personal information.
Part-Time Student
A student registering for fewer than 24 credits in a given academic year. These courses may be scheduled at any time of the day on the timetable
Undergraduate Student
A student pursuing a bachelor’s degree.
UWI ID
The University’s Identification Card. The UWI Student ID Card has many functions aside from identification, such as book rental and access passes.
Shuttle Service
A free transportation service dedicated to moving students to and from campus locations, e.g. Mt. Hope to Main Campus
Student Registration Number
A 9-digit or 8-digit identification number in the format yymdd. This number, which can be found on your offer letter, gives you access to the St. Augustine online system and identifies you as a UWI student while you are here.
UWI Student Email
All students, once registered and having received financial clearance, are automatically assigned a UWI student email account (firstname.surname@my.uwi.edu), which can be accessed via the Student Portal. This account must be used for all future email communications with the UWI.