In
academia
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
, an audit is an
educational term for the completion of a course of study for which no assessment of the performance of the student is made nor
grade
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance
* Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage
* Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope
Grade or grading may also ref ...
awarded.
[flinders.edu.au](_blank)
Retrieved on 8 March 2010. Some institutions may record a grade of "audit" to those who have elected not to receive a letter grade for a course in which they are typically awarded.
In this case, 'audit' indicates that the individual merely has received teaching, rather than being evaluated as having achieved a given standard of knowledge of the subject. The term 'audit' is Latin, translating as, 'he/she hears'. In other words, the audit student has experienced the course, but has not been assessed.
Some students audit a class merely for enjoyment, including purposes of self-enrichment and academic exploration, with no need or desire of academic credit.
Sometimes this technique is employed by individuals who wish to take a specific course without the risk of under-performance resulting in a poor or failing grade. This may be helpful when reviewing a long-unstudied subject, or when first beginning or exploring the study of a discipline where one has little experience or confidence.
Auditing is generally an option at institutions of higher learning, such as
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
s and
universities, rather than
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary sch ...
or
secondary school.
See also
*
Academic administration
Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some ...
References
{{Reflist
Academic terminology
Types of auditing