University: term? semester? / grades? marks?
pls
with some documents it is useful to consider in which country the
translated version will be used, since in some cases the terminology will
be different. Right now i have some documents from a university student at
hand, and that is a suitable occasion to poll the collective brain here
about the following terminology:
University related time frames and term names:
When i was at university in Canada we had a school years that started in
September and consisted of a 4-month fall term, a 4-month spring term, an
intersession of two months length, and a summer term. What are the usual
start and end times of school years and terms within the school year in
other "English" countries? And what are the terms commonly called? (I have,
at one time or another, heard ""term", "form", semester", and "trimester"
but do not recall in which context.)
Evalution:
Aside from North American "grades" and British "marks", what other
expressions are in use in other countries (if any)? What are the statements
containing the grades/marks called that a student may from time to time
receive?
If i recall correctly, in Canada passing grades range from "A" to "D" (with
"D" being a marginal pass), while "E" is some kind of temporary failing
grade (open to mitigation or remedy) and "F" a decided "fail". In addition
there is an "N" for "not completed". Passing grades from "A", "B", and "C"
can furthermore be modified by "+" and "A and "B" by "-". I also seem to
recall that there was an "I" grade, but i don't know what that stands for
and don't trust my memory in this regard, anyway... And for GPA (grade
point average) calculations, the grades would be translated into numbers (9
on downward, if i am not mistaken).
In some countries, like Germany, points (at university apparently gradated
in tenths) are assigned after an evaluation, but i only remember the system
used in the lower grades of school, where the highest grade was "1" and the
lowest "6", and a different system at senior high school, with the highest
grade being "9" and the lowest "0". And from my work at universities in
Japan i remember
優, 良, 可, and 不可. So, obviously there is a wide variety of systems in
use.
I would very much appreciate (anecdotally or otherwise derived) information
about the grading/marking systems in, at least, the UK, Ireland, Canada,
the US, Australia, and New Zealand, if at all possible.
Many thanks in advance!
Regards: Hendrik
.
--
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Cary Strunk
Best of luck with this.
Cary Strunk
BJ Beauchamp
The GPA system only goes up to a 4.0. I believe that it is possible for a student to surpass it though (via honors courses). As for the abbreviations, most universities have their own set coding for classes. Here at mine, "I" stands for incomplete. (I/B+, for example). If you resign a course an "R" appears on your transcript. The community college I attended had a "W" for withdraw. There are also "S" and "U" grades for satisfactory and unsatisfactory. And then there is "pass/fail"...
As for time frames, generally it's just "Fall Semester" and "Spring Semester" (and "Summer Session"). At least here at my university it is...
Still chugging along in college,
BJ
--
--
BJ Beauchamp
University at Buffalo
/ Linguistics Major / Japanese Major /
---
I'm a soldier and that means
I am both defendant and judge
I stand at both ends of the fire
I'm a soldier つまり私は
被告人であり裁判官
火の両端に私は立つ
---
William Sakovich
[[And from my work at universities in Japan i remember 優, 良, 可, and 不可.]]
But these are affixed later according to a numerical grade based on the 100-point scale. Professors submit the numbers to the school and not the symbols.
- Bill Sakovich
pls
> Just wanted to add "quarter" to your list of university time frames.
> In some US colleges, students attend for three quarters, with the
> fourth being an optional summer quarter.
Noted. Thanks!
--- BJ Beauchamp <bj.bea...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The GPA system only goes up to a 4.0. I believe that it is
> possible for a student to surpass it though (via honors courses).
> As for the abbreviations, most universities have their own set
> coding for classes.
[snip]
I see... so this looks like a can of worms. :-)
> As for time frames, generally it's just "Fall Semester" and
> "Spring Semester" (and "Summer Session"). At least here at
> my university it is...
[...]
> University at Buffalo
Well, it'll be useful to have at least a few samples of that kind, even if
nothing close to comprehensive data. Thanks!
--- William Sakovich <sako...@gol.com> wrote:
> [[And from my work at universities in Japan i remember 優, 良, 可,
> and 不 可.]]
>
> But these are affixed later according to a numerical grade based on
> the 100-point scale.
Thanks for reminding me! Yes, the evaluation method was linked to grading
in percent, for which i collected all sorts of notes from each class,
homework set, and test.
> Professors submit the numbers to the school and not the symbols.
Oh, i wasn't aware of that - where i worked i had to fill in both
percentages and grades myself and submit the sheet to the faculty office
(who knows, perhaps this is one of the thousand little things where Okinawa
is different).
Many thanks for the offerings so far. :-)
Awaitingly: Hendrik
William Sakovich
submit the sheet to the faculty office (who knows, perhaps this is one of
No sheets any more. The school mails me a UB stick, I think they're called,
with Excel files. I input the numbers and mail the stick back in the stamped
envelope they provide.
- BS
David J. Littleboy
>
> The GPA system only goes up to a 4.0.
FWIW, like Spinal Tap's amplifiers going to 11, MIT grades on a 5-point
scale (or used to, anyway).
David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan
Karla
I went to university in the US fairly recently and these are the terms we used:
Grades were A-E, with A being at the top of the scale (4.0) and E being a fail (0.0). B, C, and D could get a +; A, B, C, and D could get a -. Classes taken as pass/fail got grades of S/U (satisfactory/unsatisfactory). Other grades that might show up were I (incomplete, a temporary grade), N (noncredit), W (withdraw before a certain date, usually during the first half of the course) and Z (a withdraw after that date). Z could also indicate that you signed up for the class but never showed up and never withdrew officially.
As far as defining some other terms - "semester" is usually used for an academic year divided into two parts, "trimester" for three parts, and "quarter" for four parts. US universities also assign "credits" to classes. One credit equals one hour of class time a week in the semester system. So a three credit class might meet three times a week for an hour each time. A full-time student averages of 15 credits each semester, with most classes being three credits. You need a minimum number of credits, split in a particular way, in order to graduate.
I worked at both Admissions (as a tour guide, woo!) and Advisement at my university so this question is right in my area of "expertise". ;) If there's any other way I can help let me know.
--
Karla Butler
カーラ・バトラー
roy.b...@gmail.com
>student to surpass it though (via honors courses).
In high schools AP (Advanced Placement, allegedly college level
classes) or other honors classes are often calculated as a 5.0 on what
is normally a 4 point scale, which can bring the total GPA above 4.0,
but I have never heard of this in college/university.
Jim Breen
> I would very much appreciate (anecdotally or otherwise derived) information
> about the grading/marking systems in, at least, the UK, Ireland, Canada,
> the US, Australia, and New Zealand, if at all possible.
Australian universities typically divide the year into two semesters (March
to June, July to November), which are usually called (believe it or not) First
Semester and Second Semester. There is also sometimes a "Summer Semster"
(December to February) which is mainly used for special courses. (In this
part of the globe, the university year is the same as the calendar year.)
Students are typically given marks out of 100 for the subjects (sometimes
"units") of study, with 50 being the dividing line between a pass and a fail.
These marks are sometimes referred to as "grades" colloquially. The higher
bands are usually given labels such as "High Distinction" or "Second Class
Honours", which vary a little between universities. The Monash summary
can be seen at:
http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/service-centre/key-to-results.html
GPA is gradually being calculated and reported here, mainly to facilitate
international comparisons. The page above shows how the GPA is
calculated at Monash.
Oh and the results for a year of study are usually called something like
"Statement of Results".
HTH
Jim
--
Jim Breen
Adjunct Snr Research Fellow, Clayton School of IT, Monash University
Treasurer: Hawthorn Rowing Club, VCA Secondary School, Japanese Studies Centre
Graduate student: Language Technology Group, University of Melbourne
pls
Ah... progress...
--- "David J. Littleboy" <dav...@gol.com> wrote:
> [...] MIT grades on a 5-point scale (or used to, anyway).
MIT scale noted... thanks!
--- Karla <dream...@gmail.com> wrote:
> There was a spring semester and a fall semester. Optional classes
> held in the breaks between semesters were sessions - a summer
> session and a winter session.
> Sometimes "intersession" was thrown around but I don't think
> it was the official term.
OK...
> Grades were A-E, with A being at the top of the scale (4.0) and E
> being a fail (0.0). B, C, and D could get a +; A, B, C, and D could
> get a -.
Ever so slightly different from school to school, it seems...
> Classes taken as pass/fail got grades of S/U (satisfactory/
> unsatisfactory). Other grades that might show up were I
> (incomplete, a temporary grade), N (noncredit), W (withdraw
> before a certain date, usually during the first half of the course)
> and Z (a withdraw after that date). Z could also indicate that
> you signed up for the class but never showed up and
> never withdrew officially.
OK...
> As far as defining some other terms - "semester" is usually used for
> an academic year divided into two parts, "trimester" for three parts,
> and "quarter" for four parts. US universities also assign "credits" to
> classes. One credit equals one hour of class time a week in the
> semester system. So a three credit class might meet three times a
> week for an hour each time. A full-time student averages of 15
> credits each semester, with most classes being three credits.
I see. At my university a one-term course (Sep-Dec or Jan-Apr) would have
1.5 credits (at 3 hours a week) and a two-term course (Sep-Apr) 3 credits.
In the intersession or summer term one could get the same number of credits
with a somewhat lower number of hours but higher intensity/frequency of
classes.
Many thanks!
--- "roy.b...@gmail.com" <roy.b...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >The GPA system only goes up to a 4.0. I believe that it is possible
> for a student to surpass it though (via honors courses).
That rings a bell, somehow...
> In high schools AP (Advanced Placement, allegedly college level
> classes) or other honors classes are often calculated as a 5.0 on
> what is normally a 4 point scale, which can bring the total GPA
> above 4.0, but I have never heard of this in college/university.
All noted. Thanks!
--- Jim Breen <jimb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Australian universities typically divide the year into two semesters
> (March to June, July to November), which are usually called (believe
> it or not) First Semester and Second Semester. There is also
> sometimes a "Summer Semster" (December to February) which is
> mainly used for special courses. (In this part of the globe, the
> university year is the same as the calendar year.)
OK...
> Students are typically given marks out of 100 for the subjects
> (sometimes "units") of study, with 50 being the dividing line
> between a pass and a fail.
> These marks are sometimes referred to as "grades" colloquially.
> The higher bands are usually given labels such as "High
> Distinction" or "Second Class Honours", which vary a little between
> universities.
Ah... i hadn't even gotten to those designations. I wonder whether
"1st class general", "1st class major", and "1st class honours" are
understood to meant the same thing at different universities...
> The Monash summary can be seen at:
> http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/service-centre/key-to-results.html
>
> GPA is gradually being calculated and reported here, mainly to
> facilitate international comparisons. The page above shows how
> the GPA is calculated at Monash.
>
> Oh and the results for a year of study are usually called something
> like "Statement of Results".
I seem to recall the term "official transcript" (short for "transcript of
grades", maybe?) where i spend my time gathering grades/ marks/ points. And
in other contexts this aggregate information was called "records", and the
data was stored and managed by the "Records Office". (Maybe "transcript"
simply meant any annual or semi-annual excerpt from the records - i am not
sure.)
Many thanks, as well!
Last time i translated a document containing grades (marks) and notes, i
called the university in question and asked whether they had any "official"
explanation of how those grades translate into percentages, and they were
able to tell me, so i added an appropriate translator's note to the
translation.
Also i just noticed that somewhere in Japan the system was changed
recently, so there is yet another point to pay attention to, in some places
a
優 from 2005 will not match one from 2009:
http://poran11.sblo.jp/article/4537984.html
Maybe this system is typical nowadays?
http://okwave.jp/qa/q2049549.html
Thanks to all who have contributed so far... m(_ _)m
Hope there's more. (^^)
Regards: Hendrik