Student Report
Name of the University: University of utah
Exchange semester: Fall, 2014
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
- When and how did you receive information from the exchange university, and did you
encounter any difficulties?
In the beginning of February I received an e-mail from BI nominating me to a spot at the
University of Utah. In May I was contacted by the University of Utah , and at the same time I
also received a package with the acceptance letter as well as all the information needed. The
international office at BI as well as in Utah are very helpful. If I even came across any issues,
they helped me right away.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
- How did you apply for your visa, what did it cost and did you have difficulties?
With the package I received in May, I also received the visa application papers. The visa
application process might be diffuicult as there are several things you need to remember, and
several separate application processes. I would recommend starting this process as early as
possible, because you need to scheduale an appointment at the embassy in Oslo, and these fill
up quickly.
I paid around $120 for the embassy application, and about $180 for the SEVIS fee. And I aslo
had to pay the airfare to go to Oslo for my embassy appointment.
Travel
- How did you travel to your destination?
I travelled by plane to get to Salt Lake City. I flew Oslo-Oakland (California) and then to Salt
Lake City. I would recommend booking the tickets a while before leaving, as the prices rises
everyday and might become expensive. You might be able to get really good and cheap
tickets with Norwegian, at least I did.
Housing
- Was housing provided by the university? If not, did you receive support from the
school?
On your school application there is a question about housing, and this is what you use if you
wish to live on Campus. I did so. I lived in an “apartment” which consisted of 2 separate
bedrooms and one bathroom. It is also possible to get apartments on campus where you can
get a kitchen. If you decide to live on campus in a room/apartment without a kitchen you are
obligated to buy the mealplan. Then you have to eat at the dininghall where it is served food
from around 8am to 10pm. There is several mealplan options, depending on how many meals
per week you would like.
Costs
-
Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 5000
NOK 3500 (total for rent)
NOK 1500 (meal plan)
NOK 200 (taxi, trax (train)
free with student card)
NOK -
Culture and language
- Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
- How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
I did not experience any difficulties with the language with the faculty nor with the students.
The faculty knew that I was from Norway, and in all my classes I was allowed to bring a
dictionaty to tests if I wanted to. Sometimes though it was difficult to understand some of the
other exchange students, but this got better over time as their English got better.
The University offers classes where you can get to experience Utah first hand. It is mainly
hiking and outdoor classes as Utah consist of several (gorgeous) national parks. And it is also
easy to rent a car, or possibly take busses to see places.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
- The school (location, size, study structure, special academic areas etc.)
The campus is pretty big, and consists of 30 000 students. The school consist of several
different departments, who all have their own builing. The classes however tend to be
relatively small (ususally 40-80 students), this was different from what I was used to from BI
where we are usually over a hundred students in a big auditorium.
Course registration
- When and how did you register for courses?
- When did the add/drop period end?
Open enrolment for classes start in the end of July. I did the enrolment process though the
universitys website (cis) where I searched for classes, and got to pick which time I wished to
have my classes.
The add/drop period ends in the beginning of September, so I had two weeks to “test” the
classes, and drop and add new classes as I wished.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
August 19th
August 25th (Moday)
December 12th (Friday)
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Mon-Fri Dec 15-19
Fall break (one week, October)
Thanksgiving break (2 days, end
Other:
of November)
-
Arrival
- Describe the introduction week
During the introduction week there was a mandatory health and safety session which lasted
for about 45 minutes. Here they talked about laws in the U.S., and important information
about the visa. There was also an exchange student session, where I got to meet all the other
exchange students, and well as all the exchange coordinators. Document check-in is also
mandatory the first week.
The International Office
- As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information?
Yes, from both the international office at the University in Utah and the International office at
BI. And if I ever had questions, they were both fast and eager to help either through phone
calls or by e-mail.
Promoting BI and Norway
- What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at your
exchange university?
I attended a global exchange fair where I represented BI. I had flyers that were handed out, as
well as BI merchandise.
Social activities
- How was the relationship with native students and that among exchange students?
- Are there any special activities, student organisations, and gatherings for exchange
students?
I hung out the most with other exchange students, as well as international students. It is a little
hard to get to native students, as you are only there for a short period of time. Therefore it was
easier to get to know people that were in the same situation as myself. There were some
gathering throughout the semester for the exchange students, mostly for information and to
see how we were doing. There are also a lot of students organisations on campus, but since I
did not participate in any of these I do not know a lot about them.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
- Describe the teaching style (practical, theoretical, cases/lectures, formal/informal etc.)
- How is the level and workload compared to that at BI?
Since there was smaller classes, it was easier for the proffesors to interact more with the
students, and in some classes participation in classes counted toward the final grade. I also
experienced that the professors spoke more from experience rather than straight text book
material.
There was a lot more to do than what I was used to. Here in Norway and at BI we are used to
having one final exam at the end of the semester that counts 100% of the final grade. During
my exchange semester I had something due every week. This could be everything from essays
to surprise quizzes in class. And the final exam counted for approximately 25% of the grade
in every class. It varies from each class, but as I said I had something due every single week
from beginning to end. This helped me learn, and follow the lectures better though.
Course materials
- Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint, level
of course material etc).
Pretty much to what I was used to at BI. Had a text book in every class, as well as
powerpoints distributed by the teachers after class, and articles handed out in class. Books are
expensive, I paid around 3500NOK just to rent them for a semester, and they are even more
expensive to buy, and you get a really low price back when you want to sell them.
Exams
- Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures?
- 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.
The exmas were based on both the course materials and the lectures, it was a mix. The exams
were mainly multiple choice style (which is typical American), and they might have some
short answer questions as well.
Assignments were mainly essays or consisted of questions I had to answer, and I had 4 days
from when it was handed out to hand it in.
Two of my classes also had class attendance as a part of the grade (10%).
Library and technology
- Describe the facilities
The University of Utah opened a new library not too long ago, along with a brand new
business building. Which both are filled with new technology in which every student are
welcome to use.
Description of courses
Please list below all the courses you took while on exchange. Your comments are useful for
BI and for future exchange students, include information on the qacadmic level, challenges,
relevance to your studies, if the course was practical/theoretical, any enrolment issues, etc.
Course code & name
Example:FIN123
Finance
ECON3500
International
Economics
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
4-hour written
exam
5 assignments
1,5 hour midterm
2 hour final
None
ECON 2010
and 2020 (or
ECON 1010
and
instructor’s
Approved
as
Elective
Economy
Comments
STRAT4900
International
Management
Bachelor
1 assignment
3 (1,5 hours)
exams
ACCTG5140
International
Accounting
Bachelor
10 modules
3 assignments
1,5 hour
midterm
1 hour final
FINAN4550
International Finance
Bachelor
3 (1,5 hour)
exams
ECON3380
Manias, panics,
crashes
Bachelor
4 essays
1,5 hour
midterm
2 hour final
consent)
Full Major or Strategy
Minor status
in the School
of Business
OR Instructor
Consent.
Elective
C- or better
in (ACCTG
2020 OR
ACCTG
3600 OR
ACCTG
3601) AND
Full Major or
Minor status
in the School
of Business.
Elective
C- or better
in (FINAN
3040 OR
FINAN
3041) AND
Full Major or
Minor status
in the School
of Business.
none
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.
This was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. Not only did I make friends of a
lifetime all around the world, but I also gained academic experience along with it. Utah is a
great state surrounded by several gorgerous national parks, and also being known for having
the greatest snow on earth. It is a great school, with a great business department.