Abbreviations / Acronyms
Organisations and terms which have been replaced, changed name, or cease to exist are marked with an asterisk *. They are included because they may continue to be referred to.
A
| ACE |
Adult Continuing Education |
| ACE |
Arts Council England |
| ACU |
Association of Commonwealth Universities |
| AGCAS |
Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services |
| AGR |
Association of Graduate Recruiters |
| AHRC |
Arts and Humanities Research Council |
| AHUA |
Association of Heads of University Administration |
| AIRs* |
accelerated & intensive routes (to Higher Education) - completed HEFCE-funded initiative |
| ALF |
Access to Learning Fund |
| ALI |
Adult Learning Inspectorate |
| AMOSSHE |
Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education |
| AMRC |
Association of Medical Research Charities |
| AMS |
annual monitoring statement |
| AOC |
Association of Colleges |
| API |
Age Participation Index |
| APL |
accreditation of prior learning |
| ASNs |
additional student numbers |
| AUA |
Association of University Administrators |
| AUCF* |
average unit of Council funding |
| AUDE |
Association of University Directors of Estates |
| AURIL |
Association for University Research & Industry Links |
| AUT* |
Association of University Teachers (now UCU) |
| AY |
academic year |
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B
| BA |
British Academy |
| BA/BSc |
Bachelor of Arts/Science |
| BAAS |
British Association for the Advancement of Science |
| BBSRC |
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council |
| BIS |
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills |
| BMA |
British Medical Association |
| BME |
black and minority ethnic |
| BPE |
Beacon for Public Engagement |
| BTEC |
Business & Technology Education Council |
| BUFDG |
British Universities Finance Directors Group |
| BUFVC |
British Universities Film & Video Council |
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C
| CABE |
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment |
| CAFAS |
Council for Academic Freedom and Academic Standards |
| CATE |
Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education |
| CATS |
credit accumulation & transfer scheme |
| CETL |
Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning |
| CFEE |
co-funded employer engagement |
| CHEAD |
Council for Higher Education in Art & Design |
| CHEIA |
Council of Higher Education Internal Auditors |
| CHEMS |
Commonwealth Higher Education Management Service |
| CHERI |
Centre for Higher Education Research and Information |
| CIF |
Capital Investment Framework |
| CIHE |
Council for Industry and Higher Education |
| CKE |
Centre for Knowledge Exchange |
| CNAA* |
Council for National Academic Awards |
| COI |
Central Office of Information |
| CPD |
continuing professional development |
| CRE |
Commission for Racial Equality |
| CUBO |
Conference of University Business Officers |
| CUC |
Committee of University Chairs |
| CURL |
Consortium of Research Libraries |
| CVCP* |
Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (now Universities UK) |
| CVU |
Council of Validating Universities |
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D
| DAPs |
degree-awarding powers |
| DBERR* |
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (now BIS) |
| DCMS |
Department of Culture, Media and Sport |
| DDA |
Disability Discrimination Act |
| DEFRA |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |
| DEL |
Department for Employment and Learning (in Northern Ireland) |
| DELLS |
Department for Education and Lifelong Learning and Skills (in Wales) |
| DENI* |
Department of Education (for) Northern Ireland (now DEL) |
| DfES* |
Department for Education and Skills (now BIS) |
| DH |
Department of Health |
| DIUS* |
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (now BIS) |
| DLHE |
Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education |
| DRC |
Disability Rights Commission |
| DSA |
Disabled Students' Allowance |
| DTI* |
Department of Trade & Industry (now BIS) |
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E
| EAUC |
Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges |
| EAZ* |
Education Action Zone |
| EC |
European Community |
| ECU |
Equality Challenge Unit |
| EEA |
European Economic Area (all EU member states plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) |
| EiC* |
Excellence in Cities |
| ELQ |
Equivalent or lower qualification |
| ELWa* |
Education and Learning Wales (now part of the Welsh Assembly Government) |
| EP* |
Electronic publication |
| EPSRC |
Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council |
| EQUALL |
Equal Opportunities, Access and Lifelong Learning (a HEFCE committee) |
| ERDF |
European Regional Development Fund |
| ESECT* |
Enhancing Student Employability Co-ordination Team |
| ESF |
European Social Fund |
| ESRC |
Economic & Social Research Council |
| EU |
European Union |
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F
| FACE |
Forum for Access and Continuing Education |
| FAQ |
frequently asked questions |
| FD |
foundation degree |
| FDF* |
Foundation Degree Forward |
| FDGMP* |
Fund for the Development of Good Management Practice |
| FDS* |
First Destination Survey (now the DLHE) |
| FDTL |
Fund for the Development of Teaching & Learning |
| FE |
further education |
| FEC |
further education college |
| FEESS |
Further Education Early Student Statistics |
| FEFC* |
Further Education Funding Council (now the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency) |
| FEFCW* |
Further Education Funding Council for Wales (now part of the Welsh Assembly Government) |
| FOI |
Freedom of Information Act |
| FPE |
full-person equivalent |
| FTE |
full-time equivalent |
| FY |
financial year |
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G
| GCSE |
General Certificate of Secondary Education |
| GDP |
gross domestic product |
| GMP |
good management practice |
| GR |
generic research |
| GTP |
Graduate Teacher Programme |
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H
| HE |
higher education |
| HEACF* |
Higher Education Active Community Fund (now funded via our Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund) |
| HE-BCI |
higher education-business and community interaction (survey) |
| HE-BI* |
higher education-business interaction (now HE-BCI) |
| HEEON |
Higher Education Equal Opportunities Network |
| HEEPI |
Higher Education Environmental Performance Improvement |
| HEERA |
Higher Education External Relations Association |
| HEFCE |
Higher Education Funding Council for England |
| HEFCW |
Higher Education Funding Council for Wales |
| HEI |
higher education institution |
| HEIF |
Higher Education Innovation Fund |
| HEIFES |
Higher Education in Further Education: Student Survey |
| HEPI |
Higher Education Policy Institute |
| HEPS |
Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability |
| HEQC* |
Higher Education Quality Council |
| HEROBC* |
Higher Education Reach-out to Business and the Community Fund |
| HERRG |
Higher Education Regulation Review Group |
| HESA |
Higher Education Statistics Agency |
| HESDA* |
Higher Education Staff Development Agency |
| HESES |
Higher Education Students Early Statistics |
| HEW |
Higher Education Wales |
| HLSP |
Higher Level Skills Pathfinders |
| HMSO |
Her Majesty's Stationery Office |
| HNC |
Higher National Certificate |
| HND |
Higher National Diploma |
| HR |
human resources |
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I
| ICT |
information and communication technologies |
| IIP |
Investors in People |
| ILR |
individualised learner record |
| ILT* |
Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education |
| INSET |
In-Service Education and Training |
| IP |
intellectual property |
| IQER |
Integrated Quality and Enhancement Review |
| IRC |
Inter-disciplinary Research Centre |
| ISR |
individualised student record |
| IT |
information technology |
| ITT |
Initial Teacher Training |
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J
| JACCC* |
Joint Advisory Committee for Church Colleges (now the JACCUC) |
| JACCUC |
Joint Advisory Committee for Church Universities and Colleges |
| JACS |
Joint Academic Coding System |
| JCPSG* |
Joint Costing and Pricing Steering Group |
| JIF* |
Joint Infrastructure Fund |
| JISC* |
Joint Information Systems Committee (now Jisc) |
| JMAC* |
Joint Medical Advisory Committee (now UK Healthcare Education Advisory Committee) |
| JPPSG* |
Joint Procurement Policy and Strategy Group |
| JREI* |
Joint Research Equipment Initiative |
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K
| KIS |
Key Information Set |
| KPT |
key performance target (refers to HEFCE corporate plan) |
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L
| LAD |
Learning Aim Database |
| LEA |
Local Education Authority - The County council, Metropolitan District or London Borough with responsibility for education |
| LFHE |
Leadership Foundation for Higher Education |
| LGM |
leadership, governance and management |
| LLN |
Lifelong Learning Network |
| LSC* |
Learning and Skills Council |
| LTSN* |
Learning and Teaching Support Network |
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M
| MA/MSc |
Master of Arts/Science |
| MaSN* |
maximum student number |
| MRC |
Medical Research Council |
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N
| NAB |
National Advisory Board |
| NAO |
National Audit Office |
| NARIC |
National Academic Recognition Information Centre |
| NATFHE* |
National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (now UCU) |
| NCIHE* |
National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education |
| NCT |
national co-ordination team |
| NDPB |
non-departmental public body (otherwise known as 'quangos') |
| NDT* |
National Disability Team |
| NERC |
Natural Environment Research Council |
| NESTA |
National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts |
| NFER |
National Foundation for Educational Research |
| NIACE |
National Institute of Adult Continuing Education |
|
NIHEC
NSP
|
Northern Ireland Higher Education Council
National Scholarship Programme
|
| NSS |
National Student Survey |
| NTI |
New Technology Institute |
| NUS |
National Union of Students |
| NVQ |
National Vocational Qualification |
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O
| OECD |
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| OFFA |
Office for Fair Access |
| OFSTED |
Office for Standards in Education |
| OGC |
Office of Government Commerce |
| ONS |
Office for National Statistics |
| ORSAS |
Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme |
| OSI* |
Office of Science and Innovation (now part of BIS) |
| OST* |
Office of Science and Technology (became Office of Science and Innovation) |
| OTTP |
Overseas Trained Teacher Programme |
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P
| PAC |
Public Accounts Committee |
| P4P* |
Partnerships for Progression (joint initiative between the HEFCE and the then LSC) |
| PCFC* |
Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council |
| PFI |
Private Finance Initiative |
| PGCE |
Postgraduate Certificate in Education or Professional Graduate Certificate in Education |
| PGR |
Postgraduate Research |
| PGT |
Postgraduate Taught |
| PHARE |
Poland and Hungary Assistance for Economic Restructuring |
| PhD |
Doctor of Philosophy |
| PI |
performance indicator |
| PPARC* |
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council |
| PPP |
public/private partnership |
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Q
| QAA |
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education |
| QCA* |
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority |
| QR |
quality-related research (funding) |
| QTS |
qualified teacher status |
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R
| R&D |
research and development |
| RAE |
Research Assessment Exercise |
| RAS |
Research Activity Survey |
| REF |
Research Excellence Framework |
| REFI |
Review of exceptional funding for institutions |
| RDA |
Regional Development Agency |
| RIN |
Research Information Network |
| RLN* |
Research Libraries Network |
| RRAA |
Race Relations (Amendment) Act |
| RSLG* |
Research Support Libraries Group |
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S
| SCONUL |
Society of College, National and University Libraries |
| SCOP* |
Standing Conference of Principals (now GuildHE) |
| SDF |
Strategic Development Fund |
| SENDA |
Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 |
| SFC |
Scottish Funding Council |
| SFEFC* |
Scottish Further Education Funding Council (now SFC) |
| SHEFC* |
Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (now SFC) |
| SIS |
strategically important subjects |
| SIVS |
strategically important and vulnerable subjects |
| SLC |
Student Loans Company |
| SME |
small to medium-sized enterprise |
| SORP |
Statement of Recommended (Accounting) Practice (accounting in HE institutions) |
| SPA |
Supporting Professionalism in Admissions |
| SRHE |
Society for Research into Higher Education |
| SRIF |
Science Research Investment Fund |
| STEM |
science, technology, engineering and mathematics |
| SWOUT |
sandwich year-out student |
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T
| TDA* |
Training and Development Agency for Schools |
| TDAPs |
Taught degree-awarding powers |
| TESS |
teaching enhancement and student success |
| TLTP* |
Teaching and Learning Technology Programme |
| TQA |
Teaching Quality Assessment |
| TQEF |
Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund |
| TQI* |
Teaching Quality Information (now public information about higher education) |
| TRAC |
Transparent Approach to Costing |
| TRAC(T) |
TRAC for teaching (a national framework for costing teaching, based on TRAC principles) |
| TTA* |
Teacher Training Agency (now the TDA) |
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U
| UACE* |
Universities Association for Continuing Education |
| UALL |
Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (formerly UACE) |
| UCEA |
Universities and Colleges Employers Association |
| UCET |
Universities Council for the Education of Teachers |
| UFC* |
Universities Funding Council (formerly University Grants Committee) |
| Ufi |
University for Industry |
| UGC* |
University Grants Committee |
| UKADIA |
UK Arts & Design Institutions Association |
| UKCISA |
UK Council for International Student Affairs |
| UKCOSA* |
United Kingdom Council for Overseas Student Affairs (now UKCISA) |
| UKERNA* |
United Kingdom Education & Research Networking Association (now JANET(UK)) |
| UKRO |
UK Research Office |
| UOA |
unit of assessment (in Research Assessment Exercise) |
| UUK |
Universities UK (formerly the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals) |
| UVAC |
University Vocational Awards Council |
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V
| VC |
vice-chancellor |
| VFM |
value for money |
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W
| WP |
widening participation |
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X
There are no entries for this letter.
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Y
There are no entries for this letter.
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Z
There are no entries for this letter.
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