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Guide to Acronyms

In these web pages, and in Common Awards documentation and discussions, you'll find a lot of acronyms, initialisms, and other abbreviations. *

Acronym

Description

AFHEA

Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy: successful completion of the University Teaching: Core Skills programme confers the right to apply for these post-nominal letters.

APL

The Accreditation of Prior Learning

APCL

The Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning

APEL

The Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning

APN

Academic Progress Notice

AQS

Academic Quality Service (the office in Durham University where the Common Awards administrative team is based).

ASE

Annual Self Evaluation

BoE

Board of Examiners

CAMB

Common Awards Management Board

CAMC

Common Awards Management Committee within each TEI (though note that this may not be the name of the committee used internally, within the TEI).

CASS

Common Awards Student Survey

CIG

Continuing Implementation Group: a committee drawn from MDT and the TEIs which works on changes to the Common Awards curriculum.

CIS

Computing and Information Services

CMS

Church Mission Society

CofE

Church of England

CYM

(Institute for) Children, Youth & Mission

DCAD

Durham Centre for Academic Development: the University department that delivers the University Teaching: Core Skills programme.

DI-AG

Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group

ERMC

Eastern Region Ministry Course

FHEQ

Framework for Higher Education Qualifications

FTE

Full-Time Equivalent (where, for example, two half-time students add up to one FTE)

GDPR

General Data Protection Regulation

GMH

Global Majority Heritage 

HEA

Higher Education Academy (also known as Advance HE)

KS

Key Skill: a category of the Programme Learning Outcomes for all Common Awards programmes.

LKC

Luther King Centre

LTH

The University's Learning and Teaching Handbook

MDT

Ministry Development Team (part of the Church of England's central bureaucracy). Formerly known as National Ministry Team. 

MOT

Module Overview Table (also known as the T4)

Moodle

Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment: the virtual learning environment used by the majority of Common Awards TEIs.

NMT

National Ministry Team (part of the Church of England's central bureaucracy). Now known as Ministry Development Team. 

NSS

National Student Survey

OfS

Office for Students

OIA

Office of the Independent Adjudicator

PER

Periodic External Review

QAA

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education

QaF

Quality and Formation panel: NMT's committee overseeing the quality of ordination training.

QSC

Quality and Standards Committee

SACs

Serious Adverse Circumstances

SCONUL

Society of College, National and University Libraries: scheme which allows many university library users to borrow or use books and journals at other libraries which belong to the scheme.

SCTEI

South Central Theological Education Institution

SEI

Scottish Episcopal Institute

SSK

Subject Specific Knowledge: a category of the Programme Learning Outcomes for all Common Awards programmes.

SSS

Subject Specific Skills: a category of the Programme Learning Outcomes for all Common Awards programmes.

SVC

Standard Validation Contract (between each TEI and Durham University)

SWMTC

South West Ministry Training Course

T3

Template 3: the programme regulations for each programme validated for delivery by TEIs.

T4

Template 4: the Module Overview Table for each programme validated for delivery by TEIs.

T5

Template 5: the curriculum mapping of each programme validated for delivery by TEIs.

T9

Template 9: the list of staff contributing the delivery of Common Awards programmes in each TEI.

T11

Template 11: the Church Pathways Form used by TEIs to seek approval from the CofE for programme and curriculum developments.

TEI

Theological Education Institutions

TEN

Theological Educators Network: partners in the organisation of the Common Awards Staff Conference.

TMM

Theology, Ministry and Mission

UKME

United Kingdom Minority Ethnic

ULO

University Liaison Officer

VLE

Virtual Leaning Environment (more commonly known as Moodle)

YTEP

Yorkshire Theological Education Partnership

* Both acronyms and initialisms are formed by selecting letters (normally initial letters) from other words. In an acronym, these letters make a new pronounceable word (like 'SCONUL'); in an initialism, these letters are pronounced as individual letters (e.g., 'TEI' – pronounced tee-ee-eye).