absenteeism percentage (AP)

Proportion of students who were absent from the examination in relation to the number of students admitted to the examination, expressed as a percentage.

academic advising

Provide a professional advisory service to students related to their academic career, and personal, emotional, social and financial wellbeing.

academic analytics

The use of learner, academic and institutional data to improve organizational processes, workflows, resource allocation and institutional measurement.

accommodation

In a learning environment: An inclusive device, material, or support process that will enable students to accomplish a task more efficiently.

analysis

Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making.

assessment

Gathering information about the level of performance of individual students against set learning outcomes.

attrition rate, dropout

Attrition rate provides a measure of the proportion of students who 'drop out' of a qualification at an institution each year.

benchmarks

A standard or point of reference against which things may be compared.

CESM

The classification of the educational subject matter according to the 20 HEMIS categories.

cohort of students

Group of new students that enters a study programme together in a specific year for the first time.

credit transfer

Relocation of credits towards a qualification or part-qualification on the same or different level, usually between different programmes, departments or institutions.

credit value

Credit assigned to an instructional offering reflecting the fraction of the academic year which counts towards the qualification for which it is offered.

critical thinking

The ability to analyse information and to engage in reflective and independent thinking.

data analysis

Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making.

data analytics

Application of statistical techniques to data, usually to answer a particular question, and the results are used for modelling, interpretation, decision support, etc. Analytics: Data sets are usually large (e.g. all students taking a particular module; success rate of all students in the institution).

data coaching

Consulting services to help scale data expertise across an institution to drive systemic change.

demographics

Student gender, race (ethnicity), age, household income, home ownership and disabilities.

digital fluency

Knowing how to use the appropriate technology tools to achieve your objective.

entering student

A student registering for a qualification that they had not previously been registered at the institution.

evaluation

Analysis of information pertaining to an intervention to judge its effectiveness.

first time entering

A student who has not previously been registered at any post-secondary education institution.

formal time

The difference between the minimum total time and the minimum experiential time.

formative assessment

A range of formal and informal procedures conducted by educators during the learning process to assess and improve student attainment.

formative evaluation

An evaluation process during a programme’s implementation to improve its design and performance.

full-time equivalent (FTE) degree credit

Product of students who have obtained credit for an instructional offering and the credit of that instructional offering.

full-time equivalent (FTE)

The product of students enrolled for an instructional offering and the credit for that instructional offering.

graduate

A student that has fulfilled the completion requirements of a qualification.

headcount

The period of study identified by the head of department in relation to the registration details of a student.

language fluency

Knowing how to read, write, listen and speak proficiently in a given language.

learner analytics

The analysis and interpretation of student data in order to support student success effectively.

learning analytics

The measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs.

learning pathway

Sequencing of qualifications that allows students to move vertically, diagonally, and in some cases horizontally, through NQF levels giving learners recognition for full or partially completed qualifications or part-qualifications.

lesson plan

An outline of goals and objectives, activities designed to help students achieve those goals, and objectives and ways to assess whether students have actually reached those goals and objectives.

mentor

An experienced teacher who assists a new colleague, or an adult or a peer who provides psycho social supports to a student.

minimum experiential time

The minimum number of years of full-time study needed for the completion of the experiential part of an instructional programme leading to a particular certificate, diploma or degree.

minimum total time

The minimum total number of years of full-time post-secondary study needed for the completion of an instructional programme leading to a particular certificate, diploma or degree.

non-entering student

A student that reregisters for a qualification that they were registered for previously.

objective

A statement that describes what students will be able to do upon completion of a learning experience.

pathways

The ideal sequence of learning activities that supports students to complete their studies in the shortest possible time.

performance

Accomplishments against known standards.

performance evaluation

Evaluation of performance against set standards.

performance standards

Reflect the ideas, skills, and knowledge in a discipline that are important enough for everyone to learn.

persistence

The phenomenon of students remaining in the system despite setbacks.

portfolio assessment

A collection of materials designed to demonstrate progress over time.

predictive analytics

The analysis of historic data to forecast future events.

programme and qualification mix

List of formal qualifications approved by the Ministry for offering at an institution for funding purposes.

progression

Accumulation of sufficient credits to proceed to the next level of study for a qualification.

qualification type

The purpose and level of a qualification according to the Higher Education Qualifications Subframework.

reliability

The overall consistency of a measure. High reliability means the measure produces similar results under consistent conditions.

replicability

The extent to which assessment can be repeated with comparable results in similar settings.

retention rate

The percentage of students returning to continue their studies annually.

rubric

A document that describes varying levels of performance (from high to low) for a specific assignment.

school quintile

South African schools are divided into five groups (quintiles) depending on their location and economic contexts that impact on resourcing.

second language learners

Students studying through a language that is not their first language.

specialist or support professional

A position in which (a) there are no major managerial responsibilities and (b) the primary function is the provision of academic or institutional or student support services, and (c) the position requires an educational attainment equivalent to at least 4 years of higher education study.

stopout

A student that does a qualification in year n, does not return in year n+1 but returns in year n+i.

success rate

The FTE passed divided by FTE enrolled expressed as a percentage.

summative assessment

Assessment conducted at the end of a learning period to evaluate learning achievement.

summative evaluation

Evaluation that occurs at the end of a unit of study.

taxonomy

An orderly classification of items according to various levels (low to high, small to large).

teacher's guide

A supplement to a textbook which includes a collection of teaching materials, lessons, ideas, and activities to help you teach the subject.

throughput rate

Tracks a cohort of students registering for the first time at a tertiary institution and completing in minimum time (for example, minimum time + 1, minimum time + 2).

tracer study

A survey of graduates from an education institutions administrated some time after graduation.

transfer student

A new student to an institution that previously registered at another post-secondary institution.

validity

The extent to which the assessment measures what it has been developed to measure.