2.33.1. Key abbreviations used

ECTS – European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
EP – Educational Program
GPA – Grade Point Average
EAEA – External Assessment of  Educational Achievements
AC – Attestation Commission
SEC – State Examination Commission
DAA – Department of Academic Affairs
FA –  Final Attestation
IET – Individual Educational Trajectory
IST – Individual study plan
KazNU, University – Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
CD – Catalog of disciplines
MES RK – Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan
RWS/RWM/RWD – scientific research work of student/master’s/doctoral students
DPSMEP – Division of planning and support of the educational process
C – Curriculum
IWS/IWM/IWD – independent work of a student / undergraduate / doctoral candidate
EMCD – educational-methodical complex of discipline
CMOOC – Center for massive open online courses
CPDC – Career and Professional Development Center

2.33.2. Glossary
Academic Mobility of Students (Academic Mobility) – transfer of students or researchers to study or conduct research during a certain academic period (semester or academic year) in another university (local or foreign) with obligatory transfer of completed study programs, disciplines in the form of academic credits at own university or for continuing studies at another university.
Academic Calendar is a calendar of learning and assessment activities, practices during the academic year with indication of the days of rest (vacations and holidays).
Academic Backlog – disciplines of the program curriculum stated in the record of academic achievements of the student as not studied or studied with unsatisfactory degree on final assessment.
Academic Term (Period) – period of study: a semester lasting 15 weeks.
The student’s academic rating (Rating) is a quantitative indicator of the student’s completion of the study programs of disciplines, based on the results of intermediate attestation.
Academic freedom is a complex of possibilities provided for the subjects of educational process for independent determination of the content of education of the elective component disciplines and additional types of training, for organization of educational activities in order to provide conditions for creative development of students, faculty members and for using innovative technologies and teaching methods.
Degree – the degree awarded by educational organizations to students, who have accomplished the appropriate study programs, according to the results of the final attestation.
Academic hour is a unit of measurement of the volume of study sessions or other types of academic work. One academic hour equals to 50 minutes. It is used at making the academic calendar (schedule of the educational process), the schedule of classes, at planning and accounting of the studied material, as well as at planning the pedagogical load and accounting the work of the instructor.
Academic credit (Credit, Credit-hour) is a unified unit of measurement of the volume of scientific and (or) academic work (load) of the student and (or) instructor.
Active handouts (hand-outs) are visual illustrative materials distributed during study sessions to motivate the student to creatively successful mastery of the topic (lecture notes, links, slides, examples, glossary, assignments for independent work).
Appeal is a procedure conducted to identify and eliminate cases of biased assessment of student knowledge.
Bases of practice are enterprises, organizations, institutions, educational institutions, research institutes and centers, or the university’s own structural units, where the students’ practices are organized.
Bachelor's degree (Undergraduate Study) is the level of higher education aimed at educating specialists with award of the "bachelor" degree on the relevant educational program with obligatory completion of at least 240 academic credits.
Bachelor (Bachelor) is a degree awarded to persons, who have completed an educational program of undergraduate (higher education).
University component (UC) is a list of academic disciplines and the corresponding minimum volumes of academic credits determined by the university independently for the completion of the educational program.
External Assessment of Academic achievement (EAAA) is a kind of independent monitoring of the quality of education.
The graduating chair is a faculty chair that carries out preparation and graduation of specialists on educational programs corresponding to its profile.
Attestation commission is a commission on educational programs or areas of education, created by order of the rector, to conduct the final attestation of students. It consists of a chairperson, who is not a faculty or staff member of the university, and members of the commission that should be leading representatives of teaching staff.
State Examination Commission is a commission formed by order of the university rector for conducting the state examination on the discipline "Modern History of Kazakhstan", composed of the chairperson and members of the commission. The chairperson of the SEC and its members, chosen from highly qualified instructors, are approved by order of the rector of the university based on the decision of the Academic Senate of the faculty no later than December 1 of the current academic year.
Department of Academic Affairs is the structural unit that organizes and coordinates educational and methodical work at the university.
Descriptors (descriptors) – description of the level and volume of knowledge, skills, competencies to be acquired by students upon completion of the study of an educational program of the corresponding level of higher or postgraduate education based on the learning outcomes, acquired competencies and academic credits.
Thesis (project) is a graduate qualification work, which is a generalization of the results of an independent study by a student of an actual problem corresponding to the profile of the educational program.
Distance education technology (DET) is a technology based on the use of technical devices and remote access tools that allow the educational process to be carried out through media. It is used for full-time and part-time studies.
Doctoral studies – postgraduate education, which educational programs are aimed at training specialists for scientific, pedagogical and (or) non-academic activities, with award of a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Doctor by profile in a relevant field of study with obligatory earning of at least 180 academic credits.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) – is the degree awarded to a person, who has competed a doctoral program of scientific and pedagogical direction and defended a dissertation in the Republic of Kazakhstan or abroad, recognized in the manner established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Doctor by profile (Doctor) is the degree awarded to a person, who has completed a doctoral program in the relevant field of professional activity and defended a dissertation in the Republic of Kazakhstan or abroad, recognized in the manner prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Additional types of training include military training and other types of training activities, which are determined by the student independently.
Doctoral dissertation is a doctoral student’s scientific work, an independent study, which contains theoretical principles, the whole of which can be qualified as a new scientific achievement, or statement of a scientific problem solved, or presents scientifically based technical, economic or technological solutions, introduction of which would make a significant contribution to development of the economy of the country.
Foreign scientific internship – departure of students of master’s and doctoral educational programs to foreign organizations of education and science for training and / or collecting material in order to carry out research (experimental research) on the topic of dissertation research.
Defense of a graduate qualification work is a public presentation by the student of the completed diploma work (project) / master's or doctoral dissertation at a meeting of the state attestation commission / dissertation council, based on which, a decision is made on the award of a degree.
An individual educational path is an independent choice, planning and studying by a student of the content of education according to the individual study plan as part of completion of an educational program of higher or postgraduate education.
Individual study plan (ISP) is a document, reflecting the educational path of the student, composed by the student for each academic year with the help of adviser, based on the educational program and the catalogue of elective disciplines.
Individual work plan of a master’s / doctoral student  is a document, reflecting the educational (theoretical study) and research work trajectory of studying an educational program, composed by the student for each academic year with the help of adviser, based on the educational program and the catalogue of elective disciplines.
Informational technology of distance learning is the technology of creating, transferring and storing educational materials on electronic media; information and telecommunication technologies for organizing and supporting educational process.
Informational-educational portal is an organized interconnected system of information resources and Internet services, which contains administrative-academic educational and methodological information that allows organizing the educational process with DLT.
Informational and educational resources are formalized ideas and knowledge of an educational nature, various data, methods and means of their accumulation, storage and exchange between sources and consumers of information.
Research practice is  a type of professional practice of master’s and doctoral students, which is carried out with the aim of getting acquainted with the latest theoretical, methodological and technological achievements of national and foreign science, modern methods of scientific research, processing and interpretation of experimental data, as well as consolidating practical skills of applying them in the dissertation research.
Inclusive education is a process, which provides equal access to education for all students taking into account special educational needs and individual opportunities.
Final Attestation is a procedure conducted to determine the degree, to which the students have mastered the volume of academic disciplines and (or) modules and other types of educational activities prescribed for by the educational program in accordance with the state compulsory standard of the appropriate education level.
Final Assessment is the assessment of students’ academic achievements in order to assess the quality of mastering of the study program on a discipline, which is conducted during intermediate attestation in the form of an exam. If the discipline is studied over several academic periods, final attestation can be carried out on the part of the discipline studied in this academic period.
Catalogue of disciplines is a systematic annotated list of all disciplines, containing brief descriptions of them, indicating purpose of the study, summary (main sections) and expected learning outcomes (acquired by students’ knowledge, skills, and competencies).
Elective component is a list of academic disciplines and corresponding minimum volumes of credits (or academic hours), independently selected by students in any academic period, taking into account their prerequisites and post-requisites.
Competencies are abilities to use knowledge and skills, acquired in the learning process, for practical purposes of professional activity.
Assessment of students learning achievements is evaluating the level of students' knowledge using various forms of assessment (ongoing, interim, mid-term and final) and attestation, determined independently by the higher educational institution.
Credit System of Education is education, based on the choice and independent planning by the student of the sequence of studying disciplines and (or) modules with accumulation of academic credits.  
Credit mobility is moving students abroad for a limited period of study or internship as part of continuing education at their own university with the aim of accumulating academic credits (after the mobility phase, students return to their educational institution to complete their studies).
Curator is an instructor, appointed to address the issues of education, organization of leisure, social conditions of students; it is possible for one person to perform the functions of both curator and adviser.
Summer semester is the academic period outside the academic year, organized with the aim of meeting needs of students in additional education, or for eliminating academic backlog or deficiency in the program curricula, for studying disciplines and earning credits by students in other educational organizations with compulsory transfer in their home institution of higher and (or) postgraduate education, for increasing the average grade point score (GPA), for mastering a connected or additional educational program, as well as for studying academic disciplines upon agreement of other universities in the framework of double diploma education, etc.
Master’s Degree Program is the level of postgraduate education aimed at preparing specialists with award of the “master” degree in a corresponding educational program with obligatory gaining of at least 60-120 academic credits:
– in 2-year master’s programs at least 120 academic credits for the entire period of study, including all types of educational and scientific activities of the graduate student;
- in 1-year master’s programs at least 60 academic credits, in 1,5-year master’s programs at least 90 academic credits.
Master is the degree awarded to persons, who have a completed master's educational program.
Master's thesis(dissertation) is a graduate qualification work of a 2-year master’s program student, which is an independent scientific study containing theoretical and / or practical exploration of an actual problem in the field of the chosen educational program, based on modern theoretical, methodological and technological achievements of science and technology.
Master's project is a graduate qualification work of a 1-1,5-year student, which is an independent study containing theoretical and / or experimental results that allow solving an applied problem related to the profile of the chosen educational program.
Methodological work service is a structural unit of the Division of methodological work and educational technologies, carrying out educational and methodical work at the University.
Module is an autonomous structural element of an educational program, complete in terms of learning outcomes, which has clearly formulated requirements to knowledge, skills, and competencies to be acquired by students, as well as adequate criteria for their assessment.
Modular training is a way of organizing the educational process based on the modular construction of the educational program, curriculum and academic disciplines.
Additional educational program (Minor) (minor) is a set of disciplines and (or) modules and other types of educational work, chosen by the student for study in order to acquire additional competencies.
Main educational program (Major) (major) is an educational program, chosen by the student to study in order to acquire key competencies.
Multimedia is a complex of hardware and software that allows the user to work in a dialogue mode with heterogeneous data (graphics, text, sound, video).
Research work of a student / master’s / doctoral student (RWS / RWM / RWD) is an obligatory integral part in preparation of qualified specialists in the university, an inseparable component of the integrated process: educational, scientific and innovative.  
Academic (Scientific and Methodological Council) is a body of collegial management of the educational and methodical work of the university.
Scientific supervisor / consultant is the academic mentor of the student. Under the guidance of the supervisor, the student performs his/her graduate qualification work (thesis /project, master’s thesis/project or doctoral dissertation)
The European System for Transfer (Transfer) and Accumulation of Credits (ECTS) is a way of transferring credits received by a student abroad to credits that are counted for their degree upon returning to their home organization of education, as well as for accumulation of credits in the framework of educational programs.
Educational program is an approved set of modules or course units necessary for awarding a specific degree / diploma.  When developing an educational program there should be regarded the outcomes that have to be achieved, as well as the structured set of procedures and learning situations that would lead to the achievement of intended outcomes.
Students are persons studying in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral PhD programs – undergraduate and graduate students.
Compulsory component (Core Component) is a list of academic disciplines and corresponding minimum volumes of academic credits, which are established by the state educational standard and are mandatory for study by students within the program curriculum.
Orientation week is the week, preceding the start of the academic year, which is devoted for giving to the first-year students the information on rules of credit technology of education.
Curriculum (C) is the academic document, approved by the Academic council of the university, which is developed based on the Classifier of the Republic of Kazakhstan of areas of preparation of specialists with higher and postgraduate education and the State general standard of higher and postgraduate education. It regulates structure and volume of the particular educational program by cycles of disciplines, indicates the list and the minimum amount of credits of the disciplines of the compulsory component disciplines and of all types of practices and final attestation.
Main study program (MSP) is an academic document on a compulsory component discipline of the main curriculum of an educational program, which is approved by the Academic Senate of the university and determines the discipline’s content, volume and recommended literature.
The Office of the Registrar is the academic service, which records the entire history of the student’s academic achievements, provides organization of all types of knowledge assessment, and calculates his /her academic rating.
Grade "I" (Incomplete) – discipline is not completed.
Grade "AU" (Audit) – discipline listened.
Pedagogical practice is a type of professional practice, aimed at consolidating theoretical knowledge gained by students in the process of studying at a higher educational institution, and at acquiring pedagogical skills and mastering the best practices of professional and organizational work on the profile of the future pedagogical specialty in an educational institution.
Threshold GPA score is the annually established level of the average assessment of academic performance, which is required for passing to the next year of study.
Credit transfer is a procedure for recognizing the equivalence of the content of a discipline, studied in another educational institution or according to another curriculum, to the discipline of the current approved curriculum of the educational program, with introduction of the discipline and the grade obtained on it in the student’s transcript.
Re-registration period (Add / Drop Period) is the period when the student may change his/her individual study plan by dropping some course(s) and registering for other one(s).
Retake of the discipline (retake) is a repeated study of the discipline, on which "unsatisfactory" ("F") final grade was obtained.
Pre-graduation practice is a type of professional practice carried out before the beginning of writing a graduate qualification work to collect the necessary material for performing bachelor's graduation work.
Post-requisites (post-requisites) are disciplines and (or) modules and other types of academic work, the study of which requires knowledge, abilities, skills and competencies acquired upon completion of the study of this discipline and (or) module.
Prerequisites (prerequisites) are disciplines and (or) modules and other types of academic work, containing knowledge, skills, competencies necessary for the completion of the studied discipline and (or) module.
Mid-term exam (Midterm Examination) is the assessment of educational achievements of students conducted on the 10th week of the academic period.
Diploma Supplement is a pan-European standardized supplement to the official document on higher education, which was developed according to the standards of the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO and serves to describe the nature, level, context, content and status of the study passed and successfully completed by the holder of an educational qualification.
Industrial practice is a type of professional practice aimed at consolidating theoretical knowledge on the disciplines of core and major cycles through practical, real fulfillment by the student of the duties of a specialist, at acquisition of practical skills and gaining advanced experience of professional and organizational work on the profile of the future specialty. In the process of industrial practice, the student is being directly prepared for professional activities in all areas of real production activities.
Intermediate attestation of students is a procedure carried during the examination session in order to assess the quality of acquisition of the content of a part or of the entire volume of the academic discipline by the students after completion of its study.
Registration to a discipline (Registration) is a procedure of recording students for academic disciplines of the upcoming academic period/year.
Program Curriculum (PC) is an academic document developed by the university independently based on the educational program and individual study plans.
Interim examination is the assessment of students’ academic achievements upon completion of a section (module) of one academic discipline according to the academic calendar.
Student’s independent work (SIW) is a work within a specific list of topics reserved for independent study, provided with educational and methodological literature and recommendations, controlled in the form of tests, assignments, colloquiums, reference papers, essays and reports. Depending on the category of students, it is divided into independent work of a student (SIW), independent work of a master’s student (IWMS) and independent work of a doctoral student (IWDS). The entire volume of students’ independent work should be confirmed by assignments, requiring daily independent work of the student.
Student’s independent work under supervision of the instructor (SIWSI/MSIWSI/DSIWSI) is an independent work of the student carried out under supervision of the instructor (IWSI). It is the extracurricular work of a student with the instructor of the discipline held in accordance with the approved schedule.  Depending on the category of students, it is divided into a student’s independent work under supervision of the instructor (SIWSI), a master’s student independent work under supervision of the instructor (MSIWSI) and a doctoral student’s independent work under supervision of the instructor (DSIWSI).
Syllabus is an academic program of a discipline, which includes description of the discipline being studied, its goals and objectives, its brief content, topics and duration of their study, assignments for independent work, schedule of consultations and students’ knowledge assessments, instructor’s requirements, students’ knowledge assessment criteria and list of recommended literature.
GPA (Grade Point Average) is the average mark of academic achievements of a student for a certain period on the chosen program (the ratio of sum of multiplications of the number of credits and the numeric equivalents of the final grade points for all types of academic work to the total number of credits for these types of work for a given period of study).
Calculation of the average score (GPA): the sum of multiplications of the numeric equivalents of grades to the number of credits assigned to the discipline, divided by the total number of credits.

GPA calculation sample:

Chemistry 4.0 x 3 = 12.0
Informatics 3.0 x 2 = 6.0
Physics 0.0 x 6 = 0.0
Sum of products = 12 + 6 + 0 = 18.0
Total number of credits = 3 + 2 + 6 = 11
GPA = Sum of products / Total Credits = 18.0 / 11 = 1,64

Transcript (Academic Transcript) is a document, which contains a list of studied disciplines and (or) modules and other types of academic work during particular period of study with indicating credits and grades.
Ongoing assessment is a systematic evaluation of students’ knowledge in accordance with the discipline study program, conducted by the instructor at study sessions and extracurricular classes during the academic period.
Standard study program is an academic document of the compulsory component discipline of an undergraduate educational program, which determines the content, volume, and recommended literature.
Tutor is an instructor, conducting study sessions and acting as an academic consultant of the student related to the study of a particular discipline.
Educational practice is a type of professional practice, conducted for junior students, during which the educational and practical content of the educational process are being combined in the framework of core disciplines at the very beginning of the formation of a future specialist.
Education-methodical work is the university’s activity on providing of the educational process with psychological, pedagogical, didactic, methodological and educational material objects in order to achieve its teaching, educational and developmental goals.
Educational achievements of students are knowledge, skills, habits and competencies of students, acquired by them in the learning process and reflecting the achieved level of personal development.
Educational-methodical complex of discipline (EMCD) is a document, which includes: syllabus of the discipline, brief lecture notes, assignments for laboratory, practical and seminar sessions, assignments for the SIW / SRM / SDI , educational and practical material for independent work by topics and types of classes (cases, collections of tasks, articles for analysis, etc.), the map of methodological support of the discipline.
Advisor is an instructor, who performs functions of the academic mentor of the student of a particular educational program, and assists in choosing a learning path (making up the individual study plan) and in completing the educational program during the study period.
Elective disciplines are academic disciplines, which are included in the university component and the elective component within the scope of established academic credits, reflecting the individual preparation of a student, taking into account the specifics of socio-economic development and needs of a particular region, as well as traditional scientific schools of a higher educational institution.
Point-rating alphabetic system for assessment of academic achievements is a system for evaluation of the level of academic achievement in points corresponding to the internationally accepted alphabetic system with numerical equivalents, and allowing to rate students.
Examination session is a period of final assessment of the degree of completion of an educational program by students.
Electronic journal of attendance and performance is an online journal in the «Univer» system of  KazNU, which is filled out by instructors constantly throughout the academic period.