Life as a student in the US

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Life as a student in the US
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Overview

• Degree structure
• Course structure
• Course scheduling
• Syllabus
• Assignments
• Papers
• Grading

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Degree structure

• General education requirements (CORE)
• Degree type requirements (BS, BBA, BA, )
• Major requirements
• Minor requirements

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General education requirements (CORE)

• Communications
• Writing
• Oral presentation
• Mathematics
• Natural Science
• Perspectives on the human condition
• Social science
• Humanities
• Political economics
• Ethics
• Library and information skills

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Degree type requirements (BS, BBA, BA, )

• BS CORE plus
• Science (2 additional courses)
• Mathematics (one additional course)
• Major courses

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BBA CORE (including BA323 Business ethics) plus

• AIS 101Effective Personal Computer Use
• ACCT 261262Accounting Concepts and Uses (6)
• AIS 310Management of Information Systems or AIS
  316Accounting Information Systems (3)
• BA 325Financial Management (3)
• BA 330Legal Environment of Business (4)
• BA 343Principles of Marketing (3)
• BA 360Operations Management (3)
• BA 390Organization Theory and Behavior (3)
• BA 462OCorporate Strategy (3)
• ECON 324Intermediate Macroeconomics (3) or ECON
  350Money and Banking (3)
• Major classes

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Major requirements (Petroleum engineering)

• Complete the following program (major)
  requirementsES 201--Computer Techniques--3
  creditsES 208--Mechanics--4 creditsES
  331--Mechanics of Materials--3 creditsES
  341--Fluid Mechanics--4 creditsES 346--Basic
  Thermodynamics--3 creditsGE 261--General Geology
  for Engineers (3)     or GEOS 101X--The Dynamic
  Earth (4)--3-4 creditsGEOS 370--Sedimentary and
  Structural Geology for Petroleum Engineers--4
  creditsPETE 103--Survey of Energy Industries--1
  creditsPETE 104--Fundamentals of Petroleum--1
  creditsPETE 205--Fundamentals of Drilling
  Practices--1 creditsPETE 206--Introduction to
  Petroleum Production--1 creditsPETE
  301--Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties--4
  creditsPETE 302--Well Logging--3 creditsPETE
  303W--Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties
  Laboratory--1 creditsPETE 407--Petroleum
  Production Engineering--3 creditsPETE
  411W--Drilling Fluids Laboratory--1 creditsPETE
  421--Reservoir Characterization--3 credits

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Major requirements (Petroleum engineering) 2

• Complete the following program (major)
  requirements
• PETE 426--Drilling Engineering--3 creditsPETE
  431--Natural Gas Engineering--2 creditsPETE
  456--Petroleum Evaluation and Economic
  Decisions--3 creditsPETE 466--Petroleum Recovery
  Methods--3 creditsPETE 476--Petroleum Reservoir
  Engineering--3 creditsPETE 478--Well Test
  Analysis--2 creditsPETE 481W--Well Completions
  and Stimulation Design--3 creditsPETE
  487A--Petroleum Project Design--1 creditsPETE
  487BW,O--Petroleum Project Design--1 creditsPETE
  489--Reservoir Simulation--2 creditsEngineering
  elective--3 creditsTechnical elective--3
  credits
• Complete the following program (major)
  requirementsMATH 202X--Calculus--4 creditsMATH
  302--Differential Equations--3 creditsMATH
  310--Numerical Analysis--3 credits
• Complete the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (as
  approved by the Board of Architects, Engineers
  and Land Surveyors).

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Major requirements (Accounting)

• Complete ENGL 314W,O/2.
• Complete the following program (major)
  requirements
• ACCT 330--Income Tax--3 credits
• ACCT 342--Managerial Cost Accounting--3 credits
• ACCT 361--Intermediate Accounting--3 credits
• ACCT 362--Intermediate Accounting--3 credits
• ACCT 414--Governmental and Nonprofit
  Accounting--3 credits
• ACCT 452W--Auditing--3 credits
• Complete two of the following
• ACCT 401--Advanced Accounting--3 credits
• ACCT 404--Advanced Cost Accounting and
  Controllership--3 credits
• ACCT 430--Advanced Taxes--3 credits
• ACCT 472--Advanced Auditing--3 credits
• AIS 473--Applied System Design--3 credits

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Minor requirements

• Optional for BS and BBA degrees
• Required for BA degrees
• Example General Business
• Complete the followingBA 151--Introduction to
  Business--3 credits
• Complete four of the followingACCT
  261--Accounting Concepts and Uses I--3 creditsBA
  307--Personnel Management--3 creditsBA
  325--Financial Management--3 creditsBA
  343--Principles of Marketing--3 creditsBA
  360--Operations Management--3 creditsBA
  390--Organizational Theory and Behavior--3
  creditsECON 200--Principles of Economics--4
  credits

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Course structure

• Each credit is 15 hours of class time
• Laboratory courses have additional required lab
  time
• The average class is 3 credits (3 hours a week
  for 15 weeks)

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Course scheduling

• Fall term is September through mid-December
• Spring term is mid-January through mid-May.
• Maymester is the last two weeks of May
• Summer session is either (whole) May-August or
  (1st half) May-June or (2nd half) July-August
• Day classes usually meet for an hour every
  Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or for 90 minutes
  every Tuesday and Thursday
• Evening classes usually meet for 90 minutes
  Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday

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Syllabus

• The syllabus is the detailed course description
• It includes
• Detailed schedule of topics
• Details on the grading policy
• Detailed schedule of readings
• Detailed schedule of assignments
• Other instructors policies
• E.g. attendance rules

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Assignments

• Each professor sets his/her own assignments and
  policies they must be described in the syllabus
• Written assignments may not be directly quoted
  from any published source (including the
  internet)
• Often no late assignments will be accepted if
  they are, you will almost always receive a lower
  grade on them because they are late.
• If you are sick or have another good reason that
  you cannot do an assignment, let the professor
  know as soon as possible.

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Papers

• Papers may be assigned daily, weekly, due at the
  end of the class, or any combination.
• Term papers (due at the end of the class)
  usually required library or other research, and
  are designed to required several weeks to write.
• The majority of the writing must be your own
  words. Quotations taken from other sources must
  be in quotation marks () and attributed in the
  notes to the paper.
• Sometimes professors may require a specific style
  of formatting (e.g. the American Psychological
  Association formal).
• The UAF Writing Center provides free help.

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Grading

• Grades A, B, C, D, F, I, W
• Each professor sets his/her own grading policies
  they must be described in the syllabus
• Usually a combination of daily/weekly quizzes,
  midterm and final exams, daily/weekly papers,
  final papers, final projects.
• Often late assignments are not accepted

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Examples of course grading structure (1)

• Final examination (100)
• This is very unusual in the US

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Examples of course grading structure (2)

• Weekly lab assignments (30)
• Midterm exam (30)
• Final exam (40)

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Examples of course grading structure (3)

• Midterm exam (40)
• Final exam (60)

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Examples of course grading structure (4)

• Daily in-class tests (35)
• Midterm exam (25)
• Final exam (40)

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Examples of course grading structure (5)

• Daily short papers (50)
• Daily class discussions (50)

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Examples of course grading structure (6)

• Weekly computer-based tests (30)
• Final presentations (35)
• Final papers (35)

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Examples of course grading structure (7)

• In-class discussions (20)
• Monthly papers (20)
• Final paper (60)

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In-class behavior that differs from China

• Turn cell-phones off do not text in class
• Do not talk to other students while the professor
  is talking
• Do not read newspapers, magazines, or any
  non-class-related materials in class.
• Eating and drinking in class are usually OK (if a
  professor doesnt want you to, he/she will
  usually say so at the beginning of class)
• If you have a girlfriend/boyfriend, dont touch
  each other during class