STUDENT REPORT
Student Report
Name of the University: Bishop`s University
Exchange semester: Fall 2013
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
- When and how did you receive information from the exchange university, and did you
encounter any difficulties?
In March we received a information package (USB stick) about everything we needed
to know, from housing possibilities to selecting courses. If there is anything else you
need to know or is wondering about, they are also very helpful thru email.
We did not face any big problems here.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
- How did you apply for your visa, what did it cost and did you have difficulties?
If you are staying in Canada for only one semester you don’t need to apply for visa.
That said, you need your letter of acceptance from the school when you are going thru
the customs at the airport.
Travel
- How did you travel to your destination?
We travelled with SAS to New York, and then with Air Canada to Montreal.
From Montreal to the school a shuttle bus was arranged by Bishops`s University for a
small fee.
Housing
- Was housing provided by the university? If not, did you receive support from the
school?
Housing on-campus was provided by the university, but they also offer assistance if
you want to live off-campus.
We paid about 3000NOK per person each month to live in a building called Munster,
with a 24/7 quiet zone. The room has a reasonable size and is fitted with a small bed,
various drawers and a desk. You share toilet and shower with a fellow roommate, but
you have your own sink. This solution is quite nice and works really good. Living on
campus brings you close to the dining hall, the sports center and the classrooms.
However, the quality of the building/room is poor. Its old, loud (thin walls), and cold,
so you should really prepare for that if you want to live on-campus.
We talked to some of the other students, which lived off-campus, and they had some
fairly nice and large apartments to almost the same price.
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
STUDENT REPORT
The books are really expensive, but luckily most teacher post the relevant chapters
online. This saves you alot of money.
Also, if you have to buy a book you can deliver it back after the semester and get some
of the money back.
We would recommend to buy a “meal plan” which gives you the right to eat unlimited
amounts of food in the dining hall. The dining hall is open all day and provides you
several different types of food.
Taxi and buss is quite cheap compared to Norway and the buss takes you most parts of
the town.
In general, everything is cheaper than in Norway and we find the price level as low.
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
3000 NOK
1000 NOK
2000 NOK
200 NOK
4000 NOK
Culture and language
- Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
This is a English speaking university and the faculty talks excellent English.
Most of the other students are bilingual, talking French and English. We did not
experience much communication problems but, for example, things like the bus
timetables is in French and you can meet people off-campus who does not speek
English.
-
How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
There is a lot of busses which can take you to the nearest big cities, like Montreal and
Quebec. But the theachers keep attendance, so you are not “free” to take a day or week
off to travel. Still, some weekend trips is easy to organize.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
- The school (location, size, study structure, special academic areas etc.)
Bishop's University is a predominantly residential, undergraduate university founded
in 1843. They offer programs in arts, sciences, business, and education, and has about
2200 full time students.
Bishop's is located in the bilingual community of Lennoxville, a suburb of
Sherbrooke, the 5th largest city in the province of Quebec.
STUDENT REPORT
Bishop's 550 acre campus boasts 25 buildings including seven residences, two
libraries, two theatres, laboratory and athletic facilities. You can also find an arena, a
historic chapel, a music recital hall, 10 tennis courts, an outdoor pool, and a golf
course on campus.
Course registration
- When and how did you register for courses?
You can registrer courses online through their own webpage. This is fairly easy and
you can also find information about the courses and timetables on the same webpage.
-
When did the add/drop period end?
This period ended about 2 weeks after the official first day of class.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Thanksgiving
Other:
30. August
4. September
29. November
3-13. Desember
14. October
Arrival
- Describe the introduction week
The introduction week is much of the same as on BI.
This is a full week were you are divided into groups and were you get to meet fellow
students. This week is packed with social games, concerts, parties, and so on.
The International Office
- As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information?
We did receive all the information we needed and wanted, eventhough the
International Office is quite small (only one person works there).
Promoting BI and Norway
- What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at your
exchange university?
There were none of these types of activities, but we felt that the course instructors we
talked to were interested in knowing about Norway and our school.
Social activities
- How was the relationship with native students and that among exchange students?
STUDENT REPORT
Since the school is quite small there is a really good relationship between native
students and exchange students. It is a type of place were everybody knows
everybody. Also, the Canadian people are in general very friendly so it is no problem
to get friends.
-
Are there any special activities, student organisations, and gatherings for exchange
students?
There was a own “social activity group” for exchange students which put togheter
trips and other types of events.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
- Describe the teaching style (practical, theoretical, cases/lectures, formal/informal etc.)
The teaching was mostly lectures in the classroom, with a lot of participation from the
students. Each class had around 20-30 students.
-
How is the level and workload compared to that at BI?
The level was not tougher than BI, but you had to work a lot during the semester. The
professor corrected your assignments each week. This way of working was a bit more
like high school in Norway.
Course materials
- Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint, level
of course material etc).
Only one course had a book we were supposed to buy. The rest of the courses based
the course material on lectures and articles posted online. The books were really
expensive, so it was a good thing that we didn’t need to buy books in all courses.
Exams
- Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures?
It was based on the lectures. The lectures was the fundamentals during the stay.
-
How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)?
o Final exam (include form: written, oral, home assignment, presentation, etc.)
o Mid-term exam
o In-class quizzes throughout semester
o Small assignments and/or papers
o Presentations
o Group work
o Class attendance
o Class participation/debates
o Activities outside of the classroom
o Other – if other, describe.
STUDENT REPORT
All the courses had a lot of different evaluation during the semester. We had midterms in all the courses. In a couple of the courses we had presentations and class
attendance as evaluation. Also papers and group work was commonly used. Based on
this we only had one final exam in one course. This exam had 30% influence on the
final grade. You do most of the work during the semester.
Library and technology
- Describe the facilities
The Library and furniture was old. But it had a lot of computers and it was never any
problem to get a private group-room to work with projects. There was also a lot of
computers there, macbooks. I have nothing bad to say about the library and
technology.
Description of courses
Course code & name
Example:FIN123
Finance
BFN301A01 Capital
Budgeting
BFN352A01
Investment analysis
and portfolig
management
BFN 360A01
International Finance
BMG 315A01
International
Management
BMS 303A01
Forecasting
Techiniques
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
None
Bachelor
4-hour written
exam
No final exam
Bachelor
No final exam
Bachelor
No final exam
Bachelor
No final exam
Bachelor
3-hour written
exam
Approved
as
Elective
General
Finance
General
finance
Elective
General
finance
None
Elective
Some
knowledge
about Excel
Elective
Comments
Elective
Elective
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
- E.g. the experience from an academic, cultural and social point of
view, influences to your future career possibilities etc.
The exchange experience was definitively a good experience. We learned a lot
about ourself, and we feel that our cultural and social point of view has changed.
Of course it was far away and it was hard not to be able to take a weekendtrip
home. To sum up we are glad we now have international experience.