Understanding Course Lingo

Within your Program Requirements, you may come across different terms. It is critical that you understand and follow these terms so there are no surprises down the road when it is time to graduate.  

Common Terms

The following outlines some common terms used to help you along the way:

Course - means a full course equivalent or often referred to as "FCE". In order to achieve 1 FCE, you must take either 1 year long course (often spans two terms from September - April) or 2 half courses (spans only one term such as September - December).

FCE - stands for full course equivalent and is valued with a credit weight of 1.0 credits. An FCE can be fulfilled with either one course, or a combination of courses, as long as the value totals 1.0 credits.

Elective - refers to a course that you can choose based on your interests. 

Prerequisite - a course or set of courses that must be successfully completed, and at times with a specific grade or average attained, before continuing on to a designated course.

Corequisite - a course that must be successfully completed in conjunction with another designated course, either prior to, or at the same time. 

Type A, B, C, or D Courses - refers to a series of "types" of courses. You must select course(s) from that specific Type only. Type A courses are Humanities courses, Type B are Social Sciences courses, Type C are Engineering/Math/Natural Science courses, and Type D are Health and Behavioural courses. You can view the different Types of courses here. 

Biology List A or B Courses - refers to a series of Biology courses in which you can choose from to satisfy that stipulation of your program requirements. You can view the List A or B courses here. 

Core Group Courses - some program requirements reference "core group courses". This is a defined list of courses you can select from. You can view the Core Group courses here. 

Half Course - a course that is worth 0.5 credit weight. Normally a half course is only offered during one term and doesn't span more than that term (e.g. Fall term - September to December)

Full Course - a course that is worth 1.0 credit weight. A full course normally spans the full academic year, or two terms (e.g. Fall and Winter term - September - April)

1st Year Course - A first year course number starts with the number 1. A second year course starts with the number 2, etc. Therefore, PHYS-1101 is a first year course; CHEM-2301 is a second year course. 

"One of..." - means you can choose from "one of" the courses within the list of courses in your program requirements. 

Deciphering Course Codes

It is also helpful for you to understand how to decipher a course code. Every course has a course code associated with it. For instance, PSYC 1100 is a course code for Introduction to Psychology. The digits within the course code have meaning. 

1st digit - the first number in the course code normally refers to the year level for that course. Similar to the terms above, a first year course number starts with the number 1. A second year course starts with the number 2, etc. Therefore, PHYS-1100 is a first year course and HIST 3101 is a third year course.

3rd digit - the third number in the course code indicates whether the course is a one or two term/semester course. If the number is even, it signifies the course is a full course (two terms). For example, MATH 1180, PYSC 1100 all have a third digit that is even so they are full courses. If the third number is odd, it is a half course (one term). For example, COMP 1411 or BUSI 1011. 

Section Code

Each course code will have an assigned section code.  The section code is the two or three letter code listed after the course number.  Course codes can be used to identify several things.  This can include the specific term the course is offered, method of instruction, campus location, and to identify when multiple sections of a particular course are being offered.  However, as this is not always the case, we encourage you to review the delivery method found in the course timetable for each course regardless of section code.  

In-Person Thunder Bay Campus: Typically identified by a two-letter section code.  The first letter identifies the term.  The second letter identifies if there are multiple sections of the same course (FA, FB, FC etc.)

In-Person Orillia Campus: Typically identified by a three-letter section code.  The first letter identifies the term.  The second letter identifies if there are multiple sections of the same course.  The third letter identifies the campus (FAO, FBO, FCO etc.)

In-Person Barrie Campus: Typically identified by a three-latter section code.  The first letter identifies the term.  The second letter identifies if there are multiple sections of the same course.  The third letter identifies the campus (FAB, FBB, FCB etc.)

Distance Thunder Bay/Orillia: Typically identified by a three-letter section code.  The first letter identifies the term.  The second letter is generally a “D”, which stands for distance.  The third letter identifies if there are multiple sections of the same code (WDE, WDF, WDG). 

The following list will identify what the first letter of each section code means:

F - indicates the course will be offered in the Fall term (September - December)
W - indicates the course will be offered in the Winter term (January - April)
Y - indicates the course will be offered Year-Long in both the Fall and Winter term (September - April)
S- indicates the course will be offered in the Spring (May - June)
A - indicates the course will be offered in the Summer (July - August)
G - For graduate programs only - combined spring and summer term (May - August)

You are encourage to review the Academic Calendar for program requirements and regulations, and the Course Timetable to confirm course offerings, campus location, delivery method, and course location and time details.