---
title: "Key Definitions"
type: "wiki"
space: "Registration Services"
author: "Gerald Encabo"
created: 2022-04-06T19:42:27Z
updated: 2022-04-06T19:58:57Z
tags: ["faq"]
url: "https://students.senecapolytechnic.ca/spaces/110/registration-services/wiki/view/6013/key-definitions"
---

# Key Definitions

**Academic year**

Three consecutive terms of study beginning in September and concluding in August of the following year.

**Course**

An individual unit of instruction offered at a postsecondary institution.

**Domestic student**

A student who is a Canadian citizen or person with permanent resident status.

**Fees**

Funds owed to Seneca prior to registration, including the tuition deposit, tuition, ancillary fees and, if applicable, program fees.

**Full-time postsecondary program**

A sequence of courses leading to an Ontario college credential offered in two-to-eight arranged semesters.

**Full-time student**

An individual who is registered in at least 66.66 per cent of the assigned course requirements for a specific term or at least 70 per cent of the scheduled contact hours of an approved postsecondary program.

**International student**

A student attending a postsecondary program or course on a valid study permit, who is not a Canadian citizen or person with permanent resident status.

**Mature applicant**

A mature student applying to a postsecondary program.

**Mature student status**

An individual applying to a certificate, diploma or advanced diploma program who has reached, or will reach, the age of 19 years on or before the start of the program.

**Ontario college credential**

A credential awarded upon successful completion of a certificate, diploma, advanced diploma, degree or graduate certificate program that meets the minimum requirements included in the Framework for Programs of Instruction Minister’s Binding Policy Directive.

**Ontario Secondary School Diploma \(OSSD\)**

A provincially recognized credential earned on successful completion of secondary school requirements established by the Ministry of Education. Also known as a Secondary School Graduation Diploma \(SSGD\) or a Secondary School Honours Graduation Diploma \(SSHGD\).

**Overload registration status**

Assigned to a student who, during a single semester, is registered in more courses or credit hours than is required by their program.

**Part-time student**

An individual who is registered in less than 66.66 per cent of the assigned course requirements for a specific term and less than 70 per cent of the scheduled contact hours of an approved postsecondary program.

**Prerequisite**

A course that must be completed before taking a course.