Distance Learning Glossary

From accreditation to ZFU: distance learning is full of technical terms, and many of them decide over money, time, or recognition. Here are the most important ones, compact and free of marketing language.

Reference

The Key Terms From A to Z

36 terms, each explained in two or three sentences and linked to the matching in-depth articles.

Accreditation: External quality review of a degree programme or university, in Germany via the Accreditation Council, in Austria via AQ Austria, in Switzerland via AAQ. Without accreditation, an academic degree is worth little. More in the article on accreditation of distance degrees.
AZAV: German certification under the Accreditation and Licensing Ordinance for Employment Promotion: courses with it can be funded via an education voucher from the employment agency.
Bachelor: The first academic degree in the Bologna system, usually 180 to 210 ECTS. The basis for any master. An overview of all levels is in the article on academic degrees.
Berufsreifeprüfung: Austrian exam route equivalent to the Matura that opens access to all fields of study without an upper secondary school certificate.
Blended learning: A mix of online study and on-campus phases. Most of the programme runs remotely, complemented by selected sessions at a study centre.
Consecutive master: A master that builds on a bachelor in the same field. Its counterpart is the postgraduate, non-consecutive master, which requires work experience.
Credit transfer: Bringing earlier achievements into a degree: ECTS from other programmes, vocational training, continuing education, or work experience can replace modules and shorten the degree.
Diploma supplement: English-language annex to the degree certificate explaining contents, level, and grading system. Important for applications and recognition abroad.
Distance course (Fernlehrgang): Non-academic distance education leading to a certificate, subject to ZFU approval in Germany. No academic degree. The distinction is explained in distance degree or distance course.
Distance degree (Fernstudium): An academic degree at a university that runs mostly location-independently and leads to a bachelor, master, or MBA.
DQR: German Qualifications Framework: assigns qualifications to eight levels. Meister, Techniker, and Fachwirt sit on level 6, the same as the bachelor.
ECTS: European Credit Transfer System: credit points measuring the workload of a degree. One point equals 25 to 30 hours.
Enrolment: The official registration at a university. Only with it does student status begin, including rights such as exam admission.
Exam access qualification: A university's own entrance exam through which professionally qualified applicants without Abitur demonstrate their ability to study. Content and procedure are set by the respective university.
Exmatriculation: The termination of enrolment at a university, at your own request, after graduation, or by the university, for instance after finally failed exams.
FernUSG: German Distance Learning Protection Act: governs contracts for approval-required distance education, including withdrawal rights and statutory cancellation options.
Higher education entrance qualification: The formal key to a degree: classically Abitur or Matura, alternatively an advanced vocational qualification, work experience with an entrance exam, or exam routes such as the Berufsreifeprüfung. The routes without Abitur are shown on distance learning without Abitur.
Leave semester: An officially approved study break during which enrolment continues. Rules and fees differ by university.
Master: The second academic degree in the Bologna system, 60 to 120 ECTS. Usually requires a first university degree.
MBA: Master of Business Administration: a continuing-education management degree for professionals, often open to applicants without a business first degree.
Module: The basic unit of a degree: a thematically closed teaching unit with fixed ECTS that ends with an assessment.
Numerus clausus: Admission restriction based on final grades. Rare in distance learning: most distance universities admit without restriction.
Online exam: An exam taken from home, usually with technical supervision (proctoring) via camera and screen sharing. More in the article on exams in distance learning.
On-campus phase: Mandatory or optional in-person sessions such as seminars, labs, or exams. Number and location differ greatly by provider.
Postgraduate (non-consecutive) master: A master programme for professionals that does not build directly on a subject-specific bachelor, such as the MBA. Usually with its own admission rules and higher fees.
Probationary study: German admission route for professionally qualified applicants: those who pass the first semesters remain regularly enrolled.
Doctorate: The path to a doctoral degree via independent research. The prerequisite is usually a master or equivalent degree.
Standard period of study: The intended duration of a degree according to the study regulations. In distance learning often flexibly extendable, sometimes for additional fees. Realistic durations are shown in how long a distance degree takes.
Studying alongside work: Umbrella term for study models that work next to a job: distance learning, evening and weekend models, or blended learning.
Study letter: The classic teaching material of distance learning: didactically prepared learning units, today usually digital and complemented by videos and an online campus.
Sur dossier: Swiss admission procedure in which the university reviews applications without formal entrance qualification case by case, usually based on training and work experience.
Part-time study: A study model with a reduced load per semester. It extends the duration but lowers the weekly burden alongside a job.
University certificate: Continuing education at university level with ECTS but without an academic degree. Often creditable towards a later degree.
Withdrawal right: Legally provided for distance education contracts in Germany: within the withdrawal period, the contract can be dissolved without giving reasons. Details are governed by the contract under the FernUSG.
Workload: The total effort of a module or degree in hours, including self-study and exam preparation. The basis of the ECTS calculation.
ZFU: Germany's State Central Agency for Distance Learning: reviews and approves distance courses that require approval. What the seal means is explained in the article on ZFU approval.

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