✦ Free Reference

IGNOU Glossary

Every IGNOU term new students get confused by — explained in plain English. Bookmark and share.

TEE: Term-End Examination — the written exam conducted by IGNOU at the end of each session (June & December). Worth 70% of your final course marks.
TMA: Tutor-Marked Assignment — the assignment IGNOU issues each session that you submit at your study centre. Worth 30% of your final course marks.
Grade Card: Your official IGNOU marks record accessible at gradecard.ignou.ac.in. Shows assignment marks, TEE marks and final course percentage.
Enrollment Number: Your unique 9 or 10 digit IGNOU student ID. Used to log in to samarth.ignou.ac.in and check your grade card.
Study Centre: The IGNOU-affiliated local centre where you attend counselling sessions, submit assignments and appear for practicals.
Regional Centre (RC): The regional office of IGNOU that oversees all study centres in your zone. Handles admission, re-registration and student services.
Programme Code: Short code identifying your degree — BCA, MCA, MBA, BAG, MEG, etc. Used everywhere on the portal.
Course Code: Code for individual subjects within a programme (e.g. BCS-011, MCS-021, ECO-02). Each course has its own assignment and TEE.
Grace Marks: Up to 5 marks that IGNOU may add to a course where you're marginally short of passing (e.g. 33% → 35% for UG). Awarded automatically.
Re-registration: Enrolling for the next semester/year of your ongoing programme. Different from fresh admission.
Backlog: A course you haven't cleared yet. You can reappear in the next TEE session without paying full course fees.
Re-evaluation: Requesting IGNOU to recheck your TEE answer script. Paid service; results may go up, down, or stay the same.
Aggregate Percentage: Weighted average across all courses in your programme, used to determine your final division.
First Division with Distinction: IGNOU's highest division — 75% aggregate or above.
First Division: 60% to 74.99% aggregate.
Second Division: 50% to 59.99% aggregate.
Pass: Aggregate below 50% but above the programme's passing threshold (35% UG / 40% PG).
Assignment Passing Marks: 35% for UG programmes, 40% for PG programmes. Must be cleared separately from TEE.
TEE Passing Marks: Same as assignment — 35% for UG, 40% for PG. Must be cleared separately.
Not Attempted / NA: Course you never appeared for. Different from failed — no score at all.
Practical: Hands-on lab/project component for programmes like BCA, BSC, BLIS. Has its own passing criteria.
Project Course: Final-year project like MCSP-060 (MCA) or BCSP-064 (BCA). Evaluated separately with viva.
Samarth Portal: IGNOU's student portal at samarth.ignou.ac.in for admission, re-registration, exam form and results.
eGyanKosh: IGNOU's free digital library at egyankosh.ac.in — download official study material for every course.
Exam Form: Form you must submit each session declaring which courses you'll appear for in the upcoming TEE.
Assignment Submission: Submit at your study centre before the deadline. Late submissions may not be accepted.
Hall Ticket: TEE admit card downloaded from the exam portal. Required to enter the exam hall.
Provisional Certificate: Temporary completion certificate issued after all courses are cleared, before the formal degree.
Convocation: IGNOU's annual degree-awarding ceremony held around March/April.
Credit: Unit of academic value. 1 credit ≈ 30 study hours. A 4-credit course = 120 hours of learning.
Session: IGNOU's academic term. June session and December session — TEE happens at the end of each.
Minimum Duration: Shortest time to complete a programme (e.g. 3 years for BCA). Cannot finish faster.
Maximum Duration: Longest time allowed. BCA has 6 years, MCA has 6 years, etc.
OPENMAT: Entrance exam for MBA and select PG programmes.
Common Entrance Test (CET): IGNOU's entrance for B.Ed., M.Ed., PhD and other selection-based programmes.
SLM: Self-Learning Material — the printed/PDF study books IGNOU provides for each course.
Counselling Session: Face-to-face or online classes held at study centres. Optional but recommended.
IGNOU Handbook: Official programme guide detailing courses, fee structure, evaluation and rules.
GPA: Grade Point Average — used in newer CBCS programmes (BAG, BCOMG, BSCG) instead of raw percentage.
CBCS: Choice Based Credit System — IGNOU's newer curriculum framework for BAG, BCOMG, BSCG and similar honours programmes.

Ready to calculate?

Try our free IGNOU Percentage Calculator — auto-fetches your marks from the grade card portal.

🧮 Open Calculator →