@ Deane - Sorry, I was responding to SafeTex's specific comment. Having said that, strand is also used in this manner in the US, whereas thread does not seem to be in the UK.
@ SafeTex - I do not intend to post a separate answer. A previous question of tihomir's I answered is still open 7 months later
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/swedish-to-english/certificates-d...In any case, strand is really just an alternative to Deane's thread - the concept is the same.
Here is a definition from a different education context:
A strand is a consistent thread running through a course offer irrespective of its subject content.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bdV3KCL...