3. DEFINITIONS:

In these Regulations, unless the context requires, following expressions shall have the meanings hereby assigned to them, respectively:

3.1

Academic Calendar: A schedule of the whole academic year (including fall, spring and summer semesters, semester starting date, holidays during the semester, semester termination date, Mid-Term exam week, Final exam week, Result notification date etc.)
3.2
Accreditation Councils: A council established either by the Act of Parliament or under clause 10(e) of the HEC ordinance 2002 to carry out accreditation of institutions including their departments, faculties, and disciplines by giving them appropriate ratings.
3.3
Board: Means Advanced Studies and Research Board as constituted under section 7(1) of the Statutes of the Balochistan Universities Act - 2022 (as amended).
3.4
 Center: Means a Center on the Campus Affiliated with the University.
3.5

Credits Hours: A uniformly recognized measure of time and effort expended to acquire knowledge, skills, competencies, and recognition that a learner has successfully completed the prior course of learning, corresponding to the qualification at a given level. One credit hour is equal to one hour of student – teacher contact per week for the aforementioned purpose.
3.6
Departmental Admission Committee: Means a committee constituted by the Competent Authority for MS/MPhil and PhD admissions.
3.7

Examiners:  Means the Examiners appointed as per these Regulations.
3.8

Graduate level: As defined in the National Qualifications Framework, this is equivalent to level-7 and level-8 qualifications.
3.9
Head: Means Chairman/Chairperson of Department or Director of Center or Institute, or Principal of the constituent college.
3.10

h-index: Measured by Web of Science.
3.11

Institution: Means a Department, Center, college, or an Institute of the University.
3.12
Intra-disciplinary Qualifications: Refers to sub-disciplines occurring within one of the ten broad disciplines defined by UNESCO's International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED-F-2013).
3.13
Level 5 Degree Programs: Defined and mentioned in the National Qualifications Framework, including Ordinary Bachelor which includes associate degrees.
3.14

Level 6 Degree Programs: As defined and mentioned in the National Qualifications Framework including Bachelor (Hons): BS, B.E., B Arch., BSc (Eng), BSc (Agri), B.Tech (Hons), LLB, B.Com, MBBS, DVM, BDS, Pharm D etc.
3.15

Level 7 Degree Programs: As defined and mentioned in the National Qualifications Framework including MS, MPhil, MBA, MSc (Eng.), ME, M. Tech., LLM etc.
3.16
Level 8 Degree Programs: As defined and mentioned in the National Qualifications Framework, this includes PhD.
3.17
MS/MPhil: Stands for Master of Philosophy/Master of Science.
3.18

National Qualification Framework: An approved framework of Pakistan’s national qualifications classifying them into eight hierarchical levels that is from level-1 to level-8, based on learning outcomes i.e., skill, competence and knowledge specified against each.
3.19

Research Scholar: Means a scholar enrolled in MS/MPhil or PhD degree program.
3.20
Related Subjects: Means subject(s) conducted by institution other than the one in which the scholar is enrolled.
3.21

Supervisor: Means a supervisor appointed for a research scholar.
3.22
Secretary: Means Registrar of the University.
3.23
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A framework of seventeen goals established by United Nations in 2015 addressing various social, economic, and environmental challenges to be met by 2030.
3.24
Thesis: Means a thesis report encompassing original research performed by a scholar. 
3.25
University: Means the University of Balochistan, Quetta.

All other terms and expressions shall have the same meanings as assigned to them under schedule Section-2 of the Balochistan Universities Act - 2022 or explained in these Regulations.