Academic Differences

The classroom culture in France is very different from America. The grading system is very tough. The scale is from 1-20 with 20 being almost unattainable. However, an “a” ranges from 14-20 so there is still some room to succeed. Whatever letter grade I earn in France will directly transfer to my transcript for Maryville College. Students rarely speak up in class aside from a few questions, but since this is a language class I am sure there will be plenty of speaking.

The academics overall are rigorous. The credit system is also different. In France, the number of contact hours total is used which is then converted to credit hours. So, the number of hours seems high like 35 for example, but that translates to15 credit hours. In the American system this would be about 3. My class will meet every day throughout the week for about 4 hours. The number of credits that will transfer are6, but these 6 WILL count for both of my language Gen. Eds.

The professors usually lecture, but again since this is a language class there will be more discussion and practice. Because I have at least 6 credit hours, I will be a “full time” student for the summer semester. French universities are less of a community than American ones. While we have on-campus housing, tutoring centers, and busy dining halls, French universities usually do not. I have looked to see if Universite de Savoie has any academic support, but I cannot find any. I am assuming they do not and that more responsibility is put on the student.