Academics 101
Houghton College
Transition Orientation Program
Terminology
•
Course – A program of instruction within a given subject area containing both a course
number and name, such as;
– BIBL 101 – Biblical Literature
– HIST 251 – East African History
– FREN 461 – Advanced French Conversation
•
Credit Hours – Each course has an assigned number of credit hours (usually between 1 – 4)
based on the number of hours spent in class per week. They are sometimes referred to
simply as “credits” or “hours.” Each student must accumulate at least 124 credits to graduate
(BMus students need 128). The average students takes between 12 – 18 credits a semester.
•
Integrative Studies (IS) – Also known as “general education” courses, IS courses are required
of all students, regardless of major. Students typically have several options for fulfilling their
IS requirements. For example, there is an IS requirement of 1 literature course for all
students. This may be fulfilled by taking English Lit, American Lit, Lit and Wisdom, etc.
•
Academic Records Office – Located on the 2nd floor of Luckey Building, the ARO handles such
things as scheduling, changes to student registration, student records, transfers, academic
transcripts, etc.
What to do in class?
In the U.S. college classroom is it acceptable to…
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Ask your professor questions? YES
Sleep? NO
Eat? USUALLY NO
Participate actively in discussion? YES
Challenge your professor? USUALLY YES
Skip class? NO
Bring your computer? YES
Check facebook? NO!
Send text messages? NO!!
Leave to use the restroom/washroom? YES
Just sit there like a bump on a log? NO
How to interact with your professors
1. How should I address my professor?
A.
B.
C.
D.
“Dr. Smith”
“Professor Smith”
“Bob”
“Hey Dork-face!”
Okay for some profs,
but let them initiate!
2. How should I ask my professor for extra help?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Call their home in the evening
Visit their office during office hours
Ask just before class starts
Meet them for lunch
Send them an email
I need help!
Which of the following are good things to do if you
are struggling in a class?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Talk to your professor
Get help from other students in your class
maybe
Drop the class
Visit Student Academic Services (2nd floor of
Chamberlain)
E. Talk to Brian
F. Transfer out of Houghton
G. Nothing
Misc. Stuff
• Final Exams
– Don’t book your flight home until you’ve looked at
your final exam schedule!
• Mayterm
• Advising & Registration
• What to wear to class
Academic Integrity
• This is a common area of confusion for internationals
• Academic integrity is taken very seriously at Houghton, and at all
higher education institutions in the U.S.
• Academic dishonesty may include any of the following;
– Obtaining aid or information without giving due recognition to the
sources from which the aid or information was obtained.
– Giving aid or information when it is clearly inappropriate to do so,
such as providing answers for an exam or writing a portion of a paper
for someone else.
– Copying (or even asking to copy) another student’s work in order to
claim as your own on an exam or other assignment.
– Plagiarism – using ideas, words, or phrases from any source without
citing that source.
– Purchasing or downloading papers or parts of papers off the internet
in order to claim as your own work.