Third Blog

□    ACADEMIC DIFFERENCES: How does the academic system in the host country compares to MC?  specifically, how are the following things different:

o    Workload (# of tests/assignments/outside of class work)

o   classroom culture,

o   flow of the semester

o   expectations of students, and

o   faculty/student relationships

The Czech University System grades from a 1 to 4. A 1 is the best grade one can receive and 4 is a failure. They use a grading scale that can easily be converted from the Czech Grading scale to European or American Grading Scales. Anglo American University keeps class sizes small on purpose, limiting them at 25 students. They consider themselves to be the most international university ever with faculty from over 70 different cultural backgrounds and the main language on campus is English. They have a focus, like MC, on personalizing student’s experiences and building close relationships between students and professors. They seem to have a similar workload to MC from what I could tell by viewing a couple of syllabi. The classes seem to be reading heavy and test heavy. Most of the classes are done lecture style, not unlike the History classes here. Students are expected to try their best. 

□    CREDITS:

o   How many credits are classes normally worth?

o   Are credits/workload valued differently in your host country than here?

o   Can you find information on how many hours/week each class will meet?

o   How will your credits transfer?  (I’m not asking what your courses will substitute for, I’m asking X # of credits at your host institution = X # credits at Maryville College.)

I believe my class will be four times a week, but I honestly cannot tell. Classes through the CEA program are worth 3 American Credits. It says so on the CEA portal.

□    GRADES:

o   Are letter grades in host country equivalent to the U.S.?

Yes because they are WASC/ECTS certified.

□    SUPPORT:

o   What kinds of support services, academic resources, and tutoring available are available at your host institution?

I’m not sure what kind they have during the summer when I will be attending, but during the year they offer many tutoring services. They have an Academic Tutoring Center where you can schedule an appointment to receive assistance.

□    FULL-TIME STATUS:

o    How many credits do you have to enroll in to be considered full time at both your home and host institution? (You must be considered full time at both for financial aid and immigration purposes.)

o   What is the minimum number of courses you have to take to be full-time there and full-time here?

14 hours credit wise is the norm for a semester at Anglo American University and I believe at Maryville College it is 12 hours. I don’t know if this exactly applies to me because I am going to be taking a class and interning so there is no way I could take a full credit load.