I think it might be one of those cases where you're either a) supposed to know what the author has in mind or b) supposed to get a sense of what he has in mind

I think it might be one of those cases where you're either a) supposed to know what the author has in mind or b) supposed to get a sense of what he has in mind from the article itself. Being a former university employee, I think I know what he means, though without a definition it is of course impossible to know for certain.