Academic calendar
Term 1 runs Sep 3, 2026 – Nov 4, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Term 5 2026
- Term 1Relevant now
- Term 2
- Term 3
- Term 4
- Term 5
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 33 of 33 terms
A
- AS
- Associate of Science; a common two-year degree path students discuss in forums.
- ASG
- Associate Student Government; the representative body for the student voice within the university.
- ASO
- Academic Support Office; the department handling high-level academic issues.
- AY
- Academic Year; the calendar used to track terms and financial aid cycles.
B
- BS
- Bachelor of Science; the four-year degree track for Computer Science, Health Science, or Business.
D
- DF
- Discussion Forum; the weekly requirement to post a response to a prompt and reply to at least three classmates.
- DSS
- Disability Services System, the office providing accommodations for students with documented needs.
F
- Foundations
- The initial set of courses (such as UNIV 1001) that students must pass to be officially admitted as degree-seeking students.
G
- Guardian
- The specialized secure browser required to take proctored exams through ProctorU.
L
- Learning Journal
- A weekly private writing assignment submitted to the instructor to reflect on the unit's material.
- LJ
- Learning Journal; a weekly private reflection assignment submitted directly to the instructor.
- LOA
- Leave of Absence; a formal period where a student steps away from studies.
M
- M.Ed.
- Master of Education; the advanced degree program often discussed by graduate students.
- Moodle
- The Learning Management System (LMS) that serves as the virtual campus and classroom.
O
- OER
- Open Educational Resources; the free, digitized textbooks and materials used instead of traditional paid books.
P
- PA
- Peer Assessment; the process where students grade the work of three other classmates.
- Peer Assessment
- The mandatory process where students grade the work of three peers each week using a provided rubric.
- Peer-graded
- A term used to describe assignments evaluated by fellow students rather than instructors.
- Peer-grading
- The act of evaluating other students' work, a core part of the UoPeople pedagogy.
- ProctorU
- The third-party online service used to monitor students during high-stakes, proctored exams.
S
- Self-Quiz
- An ungraded practice test available in each unit to prepare for the Graded Quiz.
- SGA
- Student Government Association, the representative body for the global student population.
T
- The 9th Week
- Final exam week; the period following the eight units of instruction.
- The Forum
- The mandatory weekly discussion board where students post responses and reply to peers.
- The Guide
- The Learning Guide; the weekly document outlining all readings, assignments, and tasks.
- The Hub
- The university's internal social networking platform (powered by Yammer/Viva Engage).
- The Portal
- The Student Portal; the administrative site used for course registration, payments, and checking grades.
U
- Unit
- A one-week block of study; courses are typically structured into 8 or 9 units.
- UoP
- A common student shorthand for the university, though often discouraged to avoid confusion with the University of Phoenix.
- UoP
- A common (though unofficial) shorthand used by students to refer to University of the People.
- UoPeople
- The standard abbreviation for the University of the People used in all official and student communications.
W
- WA
- Written Assignment; the primary weekly essay or project submitted for peer review.
Y
- Yammer
- The official internal social media network for students to socialize and network (now technically Microsoft Viva Engage).
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- Assessment Fee
- The fee paid at the end of each course to take the final exam; UoPeople charges this in place of traditional tuition.
- Course Forum
- The specific forum within Moodle used for asking the instructor questions about course content.
- Course Resource
- The zero-cost digital textbook or collection of readings provided for each course.
- Course Selection
- The registration window where students must manually 'reserve' their spot in specific classes for the upcoming term.
- Drop Period
- The first week of the term during which a student can withdraw from a course without it appearing on their permanent transcript.
- Exam Week
- The four-day window (Thursday to Sunday) at the end of the term when final exams must be completed.
- Foundations
- The initial set of courses (usually UNIV 1001 and one other) that all new students must pass to be fully admitted.
- Grace Period
- The short window (usually until Sunday night) to submit assignments before the new Unit begins on Thursday.
- Graded Quiz
- The weekly assessment that contributes to the final course grade, usually taken in Units 3 and 6.
- Grading Week
- The period following the final exam (Unit 9) when instructors finalize grades before the next term begins.
- Guardian
- The specific secure web browser required by ProctorU to maintain exam integrity.
- Late Registration
- A brief period after the main registration window where students can still add courses, often subject to limited availability.
- Late Start
- A specific registration status for students who enroll in a course after the initial registration period has closed.
- Learning Guide
- The weekly document that outlines all readings, assignments, and tasks for the current unit.
- LIRN
- The Library and Information Resources Network; the digital library used for research and academic papers.
- LOA
- Leave of Absence; a formal request to skip one or more terms while maintaining active student status.
- Moodle
- The virtual 'campus' or Learning Management System (LMS) where all classrooms, assignments, and lectures are located.
- Moodle
- The Learning Management System (LMS) where all course materials, forums, and assignments are hosted.
- OER
- Open Educational Resources; the free, digital textbooks and materials used in place of traditional paid textbooks.
- ProctorU
- The external service used to monitor and record students during their final exams to ensure academic integrity.
- Program Advisor
- The dedicated staff member assigned to a student to assist with administrative issues and degree planning.
- Self-Quiz
- An ungraded practice test available each week to help students prepare for the Graded Quiz.
- Term
- An 8-week academic period; the university operates on five terms per year rather than traditional semesters.
- Term Start
- The specific Thursday when new course materials become visible in Moodle.
- The 9th Week
- The final exam period where students must complete their end-of-term assessments.
- The Library
- The University of the People Library, a comprehensive digital collection of journals and databases accessible via the portal.
- The Portal
- The self-service administrative hub used for checking grades, requesting transcripts, and paying assessment fees.
- The Portal
- The Student Portal; the administrative site used for registration, payments, and viewing grades.
- UoPeople Time
- Deadlines are strictly set in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), regardless of the student's local time zone.
- UTC
- Coordinated Universal Time; the strictly enforced time zone for all assignment deadlines.
- Yammer
- The official social networking platform used as the 'student lounge' for peer interaction.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Term 1 runs Sep 3, 2026 – Nov 4, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 33 approved campus terms and 31 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.