Academic calendar
Academic Year 2026-2027 runs Sep 1, 2026 – Aug 31, 2027. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Academic Year 2025-2026
- Academic Year 2026-2027Relevant now
Campus language
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Showing 29 of 29 terms
A
- Academic Expert
- The person assigned to provide content-specific support and grade assignments (formerly called tutors).
- AU
- The standard abbreviation for Athabasca University used by students and staff.
- AU Press
- The university's open-access scholarly publishing house.
- AUFA
- Athabasca University Faculty Association, the union for academic and professional staff.
- AUGSA
- Athabasca University Graduate Students' Association, representing graduate students.
- AUPE
- Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, representing support staff at the university.
- AUSU
- Athabasca University Students' Union, representing undergraduate students.
C
- CASA
- Council of Alberta University Students, a provincial advocacy group AU belongs to.
- Challenge
- The process of 'challenging for credit' by taking only the final exam to skip a full course.
- Contract
- Short for 'Course Contract,' the specific 6-month timeframe a student has to complete an individualized study course.
- Contract Date
- The hard deadline by which all assignments and exams for a course must be completed.
F
- FB
- The Faculty of Business, often used in student forums to refer to business-specific services.
- FGS
- Faculty of Graduate Studies, the administrative body for master's and doctoral programs.
- FHSS
- Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
- FST
- Faculty of Science and Technology.
G
- GS
- Grouped Study, the traditional semester-based course format with fixed start and end dates.
I
- Individualized Study
- The self-paced course format where students work independently without a fixed cohort.
- IS
- Individualized Study, the self-paced course format where students start on the first of any month.
M
- Moodle
- The Learning Management System (LMS) where almost all course materials and forums are hosted.
- MyAU
- The primary student portal used to access grades, course materials, and registration.
P
- PLAR
- Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition; a method to earn credit for non-formal learning or work experience.
- ProctorU
- The third-party online service used for supervised, remote exam invigilation.
S
- Self-paced
- The individualized study model that allows students to start courses monthly and work at their own speed.
T
- The Calendar
- The official University Calendar, which students treat as the definitive source for all academic rules and deadlines.
- The Landing
- AU's internal social networking and collaboration platform for students and staff.
- The Voice
- Refers to 'The Voice Magazine', the official student-run news and culture publication.
- The Voice
- The Voice Magazine, the official student-run publication of the AUSU.
- Tutor
- At AU, this refers to the assigned instructor or academic subject expert who grades assignments, not a peer tutor.
U
- Unclassified
- A student taking courses for personal interest or professional development without being enrolled in a specific degree program.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- AAC
- Academic and Administrative Centre, the primary administrative hub located in Athabasca, Alberta.
- AC
- Common shorthand for the Academic Centre building.
- Academic Centre
- The main administrative and faculty building located on the physical campus in Athabasca.
- AMO
- The Academic and Main Office building located at the physical Athabasca campus.
- APC
- Academic and Professional Centre, the primary administrative and academic building located in Athabasca.
- Athabasca
- The main administrative headquarters and central campus hub located in the town of Athabasca, Alberta.
- Bow Valley
- The university's Calgary satellite office, located in Bow Valley Square.
- Bow Valley College
- The location of AU's physical presence and student services hub in Calgary.
- Brightspace
- The current Learning Management System (LMS) where students access their online course materials.
- BVS
- Bow Valley Square, the university's satellite office and hub in downtown Calgary.
- Contract Date
- The hard deadline by which a student must complete all coursework and exams for a specific course.
- Course Contract
- The six-month period an undergraduate student has to complete an individualized study course.
- Course Coordinator
- The academic staff member responsible for the overall design and management of a specific course.
- Course Extension
- A paid three-month addition to a course contract to delay the completion deadline.
- Degree Works
- The web-based tool used by students to track their progress toward graduation requirements.
- ERC
- Educational Resources Centre, the hub for course material production and distribution.
- Exam Request
- The formal application to write a final exam, which must be submitted at least 10 days in advance.
- Extension
- A paid three-month period added to a course contract if a student cannot finish on time.
- First of the Month
- The standard start date for all individualized study courses at AU.
- GCB
- Shorthand for the Governing Council Building.
- Governing Council Building
- The administrative hub housing the university's executive offices.
- Invigilation
- The act of having an exam supervised by an approved individual or service.
- Letter of Permission
- A required document for AU students who wish to take a course at a different university for transfer credit.
- LOP
- Letter of Permission, required to take a course at another institution for credit toward an AU degree.
- Main Campus
- The physical administrative headquarters located in the town of Athabasca, Alberta.
- MyAU
- The central student portal used for registration, checking grades, and managing finances.
- Open Entry
- AU's policy allowing students to start most courses on the first day of any month of the year.
- Peace Hills
- The university's Edmonton satellite office, located within the Peace Hills Trust Tower.
- Peace Hills Trust Tower
- The university's primary satellite office and hub located in downtown Edmonton.
- PHTT
- Peace Hills Trust Tower, the university's satellite office and hub in downtown Edmonton.
- PLAR
- Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition; a process to earn credit for non-formal learning or work experience.
- ProctorU
- The online service used to supervise and invigilate exams remotely.
- Science Building
- The facility housing science laboratories and faculty offices in Athabasca.
- Science Lab
- The physical laboratory building in Athabasca where students attend mandatory in-person lab components.
- The 1st
- The standard start date for all individualized study courses every month.
- The 1st of the Month
- The standard start date for all AU courses; registration must be completed by the 10th of the previous month.
- The Archives
- The Thomas A. Edge Archives & Special Collections, located at the main Athabasca site.
- The Hub
- The university's satellite administrative office located in downtown Edmonton.
- The Landing
- The university's internal social media and community platform, serving as a digital 'campus center'.
- The Main
- The Athabasca University Building, the primary administrative headquarters in Athabasca.
- The Science Building
- The physical facility in Athabasca that houses science labs and faculty offices.
- Tutor
- The academic staff member assigned to a specific course to provide instructional support and grading.
- University Main
- The original administrative building on the Athabasca physical site.
- Withdrawal
- The process of dropping a course, which has different academic impacts depending on if it is done before or after the 30-day mark.
- Write Site
- The university's online writing coaching service for assignment feedback.
- Write-on
- The act of taking a physical exam at a partner college or an AU office rather than online.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Academic Year 2026-2027 runs Sep 1, 2026 – Aug 31, 2027.
- How much campus context is included?
- 29 approved campus terms and 46 local details are included in full.
- Are all approved campus terms included?
- Yes. The complete approved glossary is available in the scrollable, searchable campus-language section.
- Where does this guide come from?
- Calendar dates, campus terms, and local details come from DormWay's approved campus reference library.