Glossary

BSc, BA, MSc, MA

Abbreviations for Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Arts: graded study courses.

Catalogue Data

Details concerning the learning goal, content, lecture notes and literature of a course unit. As elements of the final diploma, details from the fields "Diploma Supplement (Summary Description)" are reproduced in the transcript in the original language and in English. These details are compulsory for all course units.

Category

Organisation of the credits to be gained in studies corresponding to the course regulations. A minimum number of credits must be gained per category.
Examples of categories: basic year, optional subjects, practical work, Master thesis.

Correction Phase (Course scheduling)

During this phase the course cheduling data for the coming semester should be checked, corrected or confirmed by the lecturers.

Lecturers will be informed personally by e-mail. The dates can also be found here.

Course

Individual lectures, exercises et al. which may be given for teaching tasks.

Course Catalogue ["VLV"]

Includes all course units with additional details per study course and semester. It is published at www.courses.ethz.ch as well as in myStudies. The essential content is the classification of course units in categories, the number of credits and the form and mode of performance assessments.

Course Unit

The sum of courses (e.g. lectures and exercises) that belong together, are examined as a unit and give credits.

Diploma (request for)

In graded programs students have to request for their diploma. This has to be done through myStudies and is possible if the minimum of credits defined for the program an each category have reached. In many programs the diploma can requested  even if credits in specific categories are still missing (normally the bachelor or master thesis). For the definitive diploma all credits have to be reached.

Diploma Supplement

Anyone awarded a Bachelor / Master degree is given, in addition to the diploma and certificate, a document (Diploma Supplement) which describes the educational system of Switzerland, the ETH Zurich in general, as well as the study course and course units listed in the certificate (see also Transcript of Records).

ECTS Credits

Accounting units which are gained in the university education system through performance certificates and which should facilitate changing from one university to another, also cross-border. ETH Zurich awards credits for course units or examination blocks which students have successfully completed. In Europe the introduction of a performance points system has been agreed in the framework of the Bologna Process (ECTS = European Credit Transfer System).

Electronic Registration; Bewerbung Bachelor, eApply

• Bewerbung Bachelor (in German only): Online registration for people with the Swiss "Matur" (completion of secondary school certificate) or foreign upper secondary school leaving certificate for study on Bachelor degree at the ETH Zurich.
• Prospecitves for Master or MAS programs apply online on eApply. Students following a Bachelor program on ETH Zurich may directly enrol to a consecutive Master program if this ist forseen in the corresponding Master regulation.
  

Enrolment [„Fach belegen“]

Students enrol for individual courses or course units through the web-application myStudies.
Only when the enrolment has taken place is the student concerned visible for lecturers in eDoz.

ETH Credits

ETH credits exist in only a few non-graded diploma courses and the PhD programs. The majority of non-graded study courses at the ETH Zurich have no credit system. Please note that these Credit Units may not have to follow the rules defined by the Bologna Process and may be different from one program to another.

Examination Block

An examination block comprises several examinations which must be taken and passed within the same examination session. The result of an examination block is always calculated as a weighted average of the marks of the individual examinations.
If the average mark is not sufficient, the whole examination block must be repeated.

Examination Session

The ETH Zurich defines two examination periods each lasting several weeks per study year. They take place during lecture-free times. The dates and deadlines are established by the Rector.
Examinations which take place during this time are session examinations and are organised centrally by the examination office.

Examination Timetable

The examination office of the rectorate draws up the relevant plan for session examinations. This determines the students to be examined, the examiners, the examination subjects and the method, duration, date, time and place of the examinations, as well as the permitted aids.
Semester examinations are not organised centrally; in this area the lecturers are competent and responsible for planning and implementation.

Forms of Performance Assessment ["LK-Form"]:

Forms of performance assessments in graded study courses:
Session Examination: A performance assessment during the officicial examination session. Organised centrally by the examination office, the result is always in the form of a mark. Students are obliged to register centrally.
End-of-Semester Examination: An examination at the end of the semester, normally in the last week of the semester. Organised by the examiners themselves, the result is always marked. Students are obliged to register centrally.
Marked or Unmarked Semester Performance: The results, for example, of a piece of work done or talk given during the semester. May be marked or unmarked, but this will be identical for all students following the same course. Students can not register for the examination but have to enrol the course.
No Performance Assessment: If no performance assessment takes place, no results can be set and no credits are awarded.

For more details see here.

General Rules on Performance Assessment at the ETH Zurich [Allgemeine Verordnung über Leistungskontrollen an der ETH Zürich (AVL)]

Establishes the principles for conducting all performance assessments in the graded study courses. Here supersedes the General Examination Provisions (GEP) of the ETH Zurich. Can be found at www.rechtssammlung.ethz.ch.

Graded Course of Study [gestufter Studiengang]

The concept "graded course of study" indicates a course with several study grades, each leading to a conclusion. The first study grade leads to a Bachelor's degree, the second to a Master's.

myStudies

Web application through which students among other things enrol for their course units. The overview of performance for Bachelor / Master students is also a component of myStudies (formerly known as elektronische Einschreibung).

Occupation (place and time) [Raumbelegung]

Place, date and time of a course. Must be reviewed by the lecturers during the course scheduling phases or amended by the schedule coordinator.
After the release of the course schedule, amendments to room occupation can only be notified via the room management service.

Oral Sesssion Examination: Definitions

Duration per person: the duration of the oral session examination per person, also as a member of a group. The duration per group is calculated from the oral duration per person x the size of the group.
Minimum duration per group in the case of 1 person: together at an oral session examination.
Minimum duration per group in the case of 1 person: the duration of the oral session examination when in the case of an incomplete group only one person is examined.
Oral before written: an indication of whether, in the case of both an oral and a written session examination being carried out, the oral examination may be carried out before the written.

Performance Assessment Information ["LK-Info"]

Performance assessment details. These details must be known for graded study courses for the beginning of the semester. They must be monitored by the chief examiners before the semester begins.

Performance Assessment, Performance Examination

The concept of performance assessment includes all procedures by means of which the performance of students is measured and assessed. For example, examinations, reports, presentations etc are forms of performance assessments. Where performance is satisfactory, the corresponding credits are set out by the study secretariats in the form of a(n) (Intermediate) Certificate.
Performances are assessed with a mark (marked) or with passed/failed (unmarked).

Performance Overview

Students in graded study courses are shown their performance overview in myStudies. This includes the credits to be reached per category of the study course, as well as the credits already obtained along with the results of the corresponding performance assessments (marks or passed/failed).
Results will only be displayed in the performance overview when they have been validly set out by the study secretariats in the form of a(n) (intermediate) certificate.

Providing Department ["Anbieter-Departement"]

A department which is responsible and competent for a course unit.

Release (of the course schedule)

The course schedule is normally published on the two last weeks of the preceding semester in the course catalogue.
Pay attention to phase of importance to lecturers during course scheduling.

Repetition of an examination requires a new course re-enrolment

Means that a repetition of an examination is only possible if enrolling (= participating) for the course a second time. In this case no registration for repetition is possible in the same semester. (relevant especially for End-of-Semester exams)

Room Management

The equipment of rooms can, among other things, be checked at www.rauminfo.ethz.ch.
During the planning phase of the upcoming semester rooms are booked directly by the timetable coordination service. Lecturers notify their wishes in good time via eDoz ("Timetabling" functions). Changes during the current semester take place through the room management service of the Rectorate raumreservation@rektorat.ethz.ch or through the Web application "Raumanfrage".

Schedule Coordination

In every department there is a person responsible for the timetable of the department's study courses, or for the entire range of teaching made available by this department.
The person responsible is indicated in eDoz (Timetabling) for every course.

Semester Course

A self-contained course unit given in one semester. The performance assessment may take place in the examination session (marked), at the end of the semester (marked) or during the semester (marked or unmarked). See also Year Course concerning this.

Semester Performance

Performance assessment during (marked or unmarked) or at the end of the semester (end-of-semester examination marked).

Semester Programme Structure

A hierarchical representation of the semester programme. Corresponds in the case of graded study courses to the regulations or the index of courses (IOC).
Example:Study course Mathematics BSc-> Basic Year -> Complementary Subjects

Session Examination

Performance assessment during the examination session.

Student Administration

Every study course (and consequently every student of the ETH Zurich) has a clearly defined student administration office which is competent for all that is of importance administratively for the teaching of the course concerned.

Study Semester

The semester for which the student is officially enrolled.

Study Regulation

Brings together in one document for the graded study courses all provisions which, for diploma study courses hitherto, have been divided between the two documents Curriculum and Diploma Examination Regulations.

Teaching Task [Lehrauftrag]

A teaching task extends over one semester and is newly applied for every semester by the competent Department to the Rector.
If a teaching task is necessary, the lecturer's name will first be published when an application has been made to the Rector by the competent Department. Access to course units in the current semester within eDoz is only possible if the teaching task has been applied for. During the timetabling phase for the coming semester the status of the teaching task is not taken into account, i.e. also lecturers without a teaching task have access to the timetabling via eDoz.

Transcript of Records [Lerninhalte]

Part of the Diploma Supplement. A list of the course units that the student has enrolled for during his/her study. The Transcript contains details such as title, summary description, language, number of hours or type of course.
The student is given the description of the course unit in the same semester in which he/she has enrolled for it.

Year Course ["Jahreskurs"]

Thematically related material given over two semesters which is examined at the end of the second semester. The performance assessment can only take place during the examination session; the result is marked. See also Semester Course.
As a rule, mutually independent performance assessments can take place for both semester courses of a year course. Whether the year course is examined or not is decided by the regulations of the study course concerned.