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article 152 ter
\"Llamado a concurso para proveer cargo de investigador\"

Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

COU

English translation:

COU (equivalent to A-level)

Added to glossary by Cecilia Gowar
Mar 26, 2016 18:21
8 yrs ago
29 viewers *
Spanish term

COU

Spanish to English Other Education / Pedagogy CV
COU stands for "Curso de Orientación Universitaria". This is the definition: "El Curso de Orientación Universitaria (COU) era una enseñanza no obligatoria en España perteneciente al sistema educativo diseñado en Ley General de Educación de 1970 y constaba de un solo curso, equivalente al último de bachillerato de la LOGSE."
Does anybody know how to translate it into (UK) English?
It is part of a CV.
TIA!!
Proposed translations (English)
4 A-level
Change log

Mar 31, 2016 12:30: Cecilia Gowar changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/22354">Cecilia Gowar's</a> old entry - "COU"" to ""A-level""

Discussion

Kenneth Shockley Mar 27, 2016:
From ProZ - 2011 For years now in Spain, finishing what used to be COU is now the same as finishing "Bachillerato", which ends at 2nd Bachillerato. This was discussed in March 2011 in ProZ and the conclusion then was: "Keep name in SP and explain that it is equivalent to UK A levels": http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/education_pedag...
Cecilia Gowar (asker) Mar 26, 2016:
Sorry Kenneth... I had not realised it was you that had posted "A Level", which I had also thought about.... I am not decided yet but thanks everybody for your help so far.
Kenneth Shockley Mar 26, 2016:
Yes, it's the highest level of secondary education, and as Charles said, it's "post-compulsory" secondary education. It is not mandatory. I only said "A-level" because you seemed to be asking for UK English and although it's not the equivalent of COU in terms of length, it ends at the same point: once you've done your A-levels, the next step is university.
Cecilia Gowar (asker) Mar 26, 2016:
@ Kenneth Thanks for your input. My problem is that there is no equivalent in the UK (not even in Spain now since it does not exist anymore). So I would put an explanation between brackets as I had thought and others suggested, but I do not even now WHAT to say.... would "highest level of secondary education" be right?
Kenneth Shockley Mar 26, 2016:
@Charles COU means "Curso de Orientación Universitaria". If it wasn't a preparation for university study, then they certainly made a mistake in giving it that name. "Selectividad" is the Spanish University access test, so if they pass that, the next logical step is university study. I taught at a school for 13 years that only went up to 3rd BUP and didn't add COU until the last few years I was there - although it is true that most schools had COU included. A-levels is not the exact equivalent of COU in terms of when it begins, but it does end at the same point COU did and COU did (at least in theory) take the student to the point where they were "ready" for university - once they've passed selectividad.
Charles Davis Mar 26, 2016:
After completing EGB at 14, some people left school, some went on to FP (vocational training) and many went on to BUP. Those who started BUP and couldn't cope sometimes stopped after 1º de BUP, but it was very rare to complete BUP and not go on to COU. It was certainly seen as part of the same package.
Charles Davis Mar 26, 2016:
Personally I don't see any point in translating it at all. A literal translation of the words doesn't really convey an accurate idea of what it was. It was a continuation of BUP, preparing people for selectividad. It wasn't really a preparation for university study as such, except in the sense that secondary education is inherently a preparation for university study. I would simply put the Spanish term with something like "final year of post-compulsory secondary education" in parentheses.

Proposed translations

1 hr
Selected

A-level

If you're asking specifically for UK English, although of course, this is indeed pre-university, this term is used quite often in the UK.
" A-level: Pre-University qualification in the UK, ideal for students who know what they want to study at University" - Cambridge Education Group

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Note added at 1 hora (2016-03-26 19:45:01 GMT)
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The difference between (what used to be known as) COU and A-level is that while COU was a 1-year pre-university course, the UK's A-levels are generally spread over 2 years, but they are both pre-university courses.

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Note added at 1 hora (2016-03-26 19:54:40 GMT)
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curso_de_Orientación_Universit... The University Orientation Course (Spanish: Curso de Orientación Universitaria) or COU was an academic level taught in Spain, its curriculum set by the Education Act 1970. It consisted of one single annual course, equivalent to the second year of the current bachillerato system
Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-level

http://www.cambridgeeducationgroup.com/courses.htm

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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I used the word in Spanish, which was my original idea, and explained in brackets that it was "equivalent to A levels". The short explanation fitted the context in my case. Thanks to everybody!"
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