I have never done print work before and I was wondering what is the difference between CV CVU CVC etc?

When dealing with print and pantones there are different representations of a color printed on coated, uncoated and matte finished papers. If you have a pantone swatch book you can see there is a bit of difference.

if you see CV, CVU, or CVC this is a computers representation of the color.

CV = computer video (electronic simulation)
CVU = computer video - uncoated
CVC = computer video - coated