The university has its own language that you need to learn to master-nothing complicated, but it is good to know from the start acronyms and terms related to course descriptions, class and lab attendance, course scheduling, and exams.
Here is a small glossary of useful words.
Academic Year (a.a.)
It does not correspond to the calendar year, but starts in autumn and ends in summer and is divided into two semesters. It is the period in which teaching activities (lectures and tutorials), examination and graduation sessions take place.
Course year
This is the year of the course of study in which you are enrolled (1first, second, third…)
Roll Call
This is the date when you can take an exam, at certain times of the year called exam sessions. In order to give the exam, you must register for an appeal by the deadlines in the calendar. Individual professors determine whether, in the event that you fail, you can appear at the immediately following appeal.
Athenaeum
Synonym for University
Educational activities
These are all those activities provided for by each course of study and which a student must undertake to achieve the expected cultural and professional training: teaching courses, seminars, practical or laboratory exercises, group teaching activities, tutoring, orientation, internships, projects, theses for master’s degree courses, study activities. They can be basic, characterizing, student’s free choice or practical training activities etc.
Self-certification
This is a written and signed statement that replaces original certificates.
Badge
This is the personal identification card that is mailed to the student’s address after matriculation, along with instructions for activating it.
It is to be shown at the time of the exam and is used to access libraries and study rooms and to use student services. The card also has banking functionality, which can be activated only if the student wishes.
Notice of Admission
This is the document that contains the necessary information for admission to study courses.
Notice Board
This is the physical or online space that contains notices and information for users.
Blended
This is the teaching mode that combines classroom lectures with distance learning (DAD) sessions.
Academic calendar
This is the document that contains the important dates of the entire academic year.
Degree Class (L/LM)
Degree classes are defined by the MUR, the Ministry of University and Research, and group courses of study by scientific areas that share a common level, objectives and essential educational activities. Within these classes, each university can independently define: the name of the degree course, the teaching and other educational activities.
The class is indicated next to the name of the course by the abbreviation L (bachelor’s degree) or LM (master’s degree) and a number: knowing it is essential because it allows you, among other things, to know which professional registers you can join or which public competitions you can enter once you graduate.
Bachelor‘s Degree (CdL)
The CdL can be three-year (3 years of course, access with baccalaureate degree and 180 CFU), vocational (3 years of course including one internship, access with baccalaureate degree and 180 CFU), master’s degree (2 years of course, access after bachelor’s degree and 120 CFU), single-cycle master’s degree (5 years of course, access with baccalaureate degree and 300 CFU).
Course of study (CdS)
These are all university courses. It is not synonymous with teaching.
Correlator
This is the lecturer who joins the supervisor in the examination of the dissertation and actively participates in the discussion of the dissertation.
Single course
The Athenaeum offers the possibility to enroll and take single teaching courses of one’s interest for one academic year, take their examinations and receive regular certificates. Minimum requirement to enroll is to have a secondary education degree. Graduates who need to take courses and pass exams required for admission to public competitions or for access to graduate schools may also enroll in single courses. People interested in specific subjects for the purpose of cultural updating and supplementing their professional skills may also enroll.
College Credit (CFU)
It is the unit of measurement of the effort required to earn a college degree and quantifies the time to be devoted to educational activities and individual study to acquire knowledge and competence in each discipline. One educational credit corresponds to 25 hours of commitment. Each teaching corresponds to a certain number of credits that the student acquires by passing the end-of-course tests, regardless of the grade obtained.
Curriculum
The same bachelor’s, three-year or master’s degree program may have several curricula, i.e., different educational paths, which include all the educational activities specified in the course’s educational regulations that must be carried out in order to obtain the relevant degree. Curricula replace, therefore, what were called degree courses in the old system.
Department
This is the structure that carries out teaching and scientific research functions and organizes teaching and training activities. All first-, second- and third-level educational tracks and Laboratories and Research Centers belong to the Department.
Diploma supplement
This is the document issued in conjunction with the graduation parchment that certifies (in Italian and English) the academic course.
Department Director
He is the faculty member with scientific and administrative responsibility for the Department.
Double Degree
This is a degree recognized in two countries and jointly awarded by two partner universities to students who have pursued courses of study partly in one and partly in the other university.
Erasmus+
This is the European Union’s program that allows students, undergraduates, doctoral students and postgraduates to experience study and training placements at European partner universities, with subsequent recognition of the work done in their academic careers. Requirements and modalities for participation in Erasmus+ are outlined in the calls for applications that are published each year between February and March.
Examination
It is the time of verification of the preparation achieved by the student for each teaching in his or her curriculum. The exam may be written and/or oral and is to be taken at the conclusion of the lectures. The outcome of the exam is evaluated by a score in thirtieths (from a minimum of 18 to a maximum of 30, with possible honors). Passing the exam earns the corresponding course credits.
Graduation Examination
This is the test that students must take at the close of their education. The grade is expressed in hundredths (from a minimum of 66/110 to a maximum of 110/110 with possible honors).
Attendance
This is the student’s participation in the educational activities provided by the various courses of study. Attendance may be compulsory or recommended, depending on the teaching regulations of individual courses.
Matriculation
This is the administrative procedure to be followed in order to enroll in the first year of a university course that ends with the assignment of a matriculation number, a personal identification code assigned to the student that is listed on every document or certificate related to the university career.
Enrollment
After matriculation, to gain access to the CoSs, it is necessary to enroll by making full or deferred payment of tuition fees.
University transcript
This is the document in which exam results are recorded.
Study Manifesto
This is the document that, each year, defines how a course of study will be conducted. Consulting it is important because it indicates:
- entry requirements
- official plan of studies, with the list of courses activated for the academic year to which it refers and the corresponding amount in credits (CFUs)
- any propaedeuticities
- enrollment and attendance arrangements
- periods of the beginning and conduct of educational activities
- Deadlines by which to submit any individual study plan proposals
Master’s degree
This is a postgraduate, first- and second-level undergraduate degree.
Matriculation
Upon enrollment, each student is assigned a code consisting of a few digits: this is the matriculation number. Each matriculation number identifies only one student within the University and is listed on every document or certificate related to the university career.
Weighted average
This is the average value of the grades of the exams taken and is updated periodically on the student’s personal page each time a new exam is recorded. The average is obtained by multiplying the exam grade by the number of credits awarded (exam coefficient), adding the coefficients obtained and dividing the result by the number of total credits obtained. Then there is the weighted average in hundredths, which is used to calculate the starting grade on the graduate examination and is obtained by multiplying the weighted average by 110 and dividing the result by 30.
MUR
It is the Ministry of University and Research. It has the task of promoting, in implementation of Article 9 of the Constitution, scientific and technological research, as well as the development of universities and institutes of higher education at the university level. It is possible to consult the total educational offerings of all Italian universities through the portal www.universitaly.it
Module
Modules are the activities (lectures, tutorials, labs, seminars, individual study) required to acquire certain skills in a discipline. The activities provided for each teaching may involve one or more modules. Each module entitles the student to a certain number of credits, which grows as the number of hours of lectures required to complete it increases.
Educational Objectives
The set of knowledge and skills that characterize the cultural and professional profile that the degree program aims to train.
Additional Formative Obligations (OFAs)
With the reform D.M. 270/2004, access to single-cycle bachelor’s and master’s degree programs requires verification of the student’s initial knowledge. If gaps emerge, additional educational obligations (i.e., additional activities: courses, seminars…) are assigned to be fulfilled in the manner and within the timeframe established by each course of study.
Course switching
This is switching from one course to another in the same university, obviously of the same level.
Study plan
This is the set of exams and educational activities that one must complete in order to graduate. It includes both compulsory subjects and those that can be chosen by the student, broken down by year. Course manifestos indicate the year in which the individual study plan must be handed in, which for bachelor’s degrees, is generally the second year. It is mandatory to have submitted at least one study plan before handing in the application for graduation. Plans are approved by special committees, composed of faculty members from the degree program who serve as contact persons for students who need advice in the compilation phase.
Propedeuticities
Indicates the requirement to take examinations which, due to their introductory nature and preparation for deeper knowledge, must necessarily be given before one can take others included in one’s study plan. Propedeuticities provided by individual degree courses are indicated in the study manifestos.
Final proof
This is the paper or report that concludes a three-year degree program, on a topic agreed upon with one of the faculty members of one’s course. The modalities of the final examination are indicated in the Teaching Regulations of each course.
Ongoing test
It serves to test the knowledge acquired on part of the examination program and takes place before the end of class and covers the program so far. A negative outcome of the in itinere tests does not preclude access to the actual exam, however, passing it may result in a reduction of the exam syllabus.
Speaker
It is a lecturer who follows the student in the development of the final bachelor’s degree paper or master’s thesis. The student contacts the discipline lecturer directly to agree on the topics to be addressed.
Seminars
These are complementary educational activities, which allow students to study certain topics of a teaching course in greater depth and acquire credit. They provide for the participation of a limited number of students, with mandatory registration and attendance.
Online services
Intended for students, online services are accessible from the portal or from one’s personal page. The services are both administrative (matriculation, test admission for restricted courses, paperwork, certifications) and educational (filling out study plans, registering for courses and exams, dissertations, workshops, competitions).
Examination Session
Period of suspension of classes during which examinations can be taken. There are usually three sessions: summer, fall and winter. Each session has multiple exam appeals. Provisions on exam appointments can be found in the Study Manifestos of each degree program.
Scientific Disciplinary Sectors (SSD)
These are groupings of subjects that are homogeneous in terms of scientific and educational content, established by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR). The subjects that make up degree programs fall under specific scientific-disciplinary sectors, which are indicated next to the name with acronyms composed of letters and numbers. Knowing the scientific-disciplinary sector of a teaching allows you to know whether, for example, you can include it in your individual study plan or whether it is useful for admission to certain public competitions, such as those aimed at a teaching career in secondary school. SSDs are particularly important for the recognition of credits earned by a student when transferring from one course of study to another (or from one university to another).
Student Athlete
This is the student who is competitively active at the national and international level.
Out-of-coursestudent
This is the student who, at the end of the legal term of the course, has not passed all the required examinations and acquired the credits stipulated in his or her study plan.
Current Student
This is the student who has taken all the required exams within their respective years and is therefore in good standing with their study plan.
Part-time student
Some degree programs give the opportunity to enroll on a part-time basis to students who are unable to attend classes continuously due to work, family care, personal health problems, or artistic or sports activities. For such students, there is a reduction in the annual teaching load and fees to be paid.
Thesis
This is the written paper on an original project or research to be submitted and discussed at the end of the master’s and single-cycle master’s degree programs. The thesis must be done on a topic related to a teaching included in one’s syllabus and under the guidance of a lecturer, who has the role of supervisor. The thesis can be discussed only after having taken all the exams included in one’s course and having accrued the required credits. The discussion is evaluated by a grade expressed in one hundredth of a percent, ranging from a minimum of 66/110 to a maximum of 110/110 cum laude.
Internships
It is an educational activity that allows to get in touch with the world of work during or at the end of the course of study. All courses of study provide a period of internship at institutions or companies affiliated with the University of Rome “Foro Italico,” to be carried out preferably during the final year. This activity allows for the acquisition of credits (curricular internship). The Formative and orientation internship, on the other hand, is aimed at graduates who have finished their studies no more than twelve months ago and is designed to facilitate professional choices and employment with training in direct contact with the world of work (extra-curricular internship).
Transfer
This is the procedure for changing universities. It is not synonymous with course change.
Tutors
These are the reference teachers of a CdL to whom students can turn for any educational needs.