INDEX: A-B |C | D | E-G | H-L | M-P | Q-S | T-Z

Dean
the head of a faculty within the University.

Dean’s list
a listing of students who have achieved a specified grade point average announced at the end of the semester.

Default
failure to repay an outstanding debt as agreed.

Deferment
an authorized period of time during which a student loan borrower may postpone making payments on the principal or the principal plus interest.

Degree
a degree is any of a wide range of awards made by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study.

Demographics
common characteristics used for population segmentation. Typical demographic data points include age, gender, postal code, and income.

Denominational institution
schools / institutions which have religious affiliation.

Department
a department is the basic organizational unit in a higher education institution, and is responsible for the academic functions in a field of study.

Diploma
a postsecondary diploma is awarded for successful completion of a program intended to provide students with employment skills. A diploma is usually one to two years in length.

Discipline
a subject area or branch of knowledge.

Dissertation
substantial academic paper written on an original topic of research, usually presented as one of the final requirements for the doctorate.

Distance education
a formal learning activity which occurs when students and instructor are separated by geographic distance or by time, often supported by communications technology such as television, videotape, computers, email, mail, or interactive video conferencing.

Division
a grouping of several related fields of study that forms the basis for organizing educational programs in the college sector.

Doctorate
the highest academic degree conferred by a university on students who have completed at least three years of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s and/ or master’s degree and who have demonstrated their academic ability in oral and written examinations and through original research presented in the form of a dissertation.

Domestic Students
students who are either Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Double major
a course of study in which a student completes the requirements for two majors simultaneously.

Drop
before the change of registration deadline, a student may apply to have a course removed from his / her registration. Dropped courses do not appear on a student’s transcript.