Student Report
Name of the University: Mount Allison University
Exchange semester: Fall / Spring, 2013
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
- When and how did you receive information from the exchange university, and did you
encounter any difficulties?
I got an e-mail from the university in april that said my exchange was approved and then I
received a information package in may containing useful information about the university.
I got e-mails and mail with all the information that I needed in good time, I did not
encounter any difficulties at all.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
- How did you apply for your visa, what did it cost and did you have difficulties?
You don’t have to apply for a visa, as long as you got the admission you automatically get one
and can stay for 6 months.
Travel
- How did you travel to your destination?
I travelled with United Airlines, arrived at the airport in Moncton where I got picked up by
someone from the international office who then drove me to the university.
Housing
- Was housing provided by the university? If not, did you receive support from the
school?
Yes, I lived in Hunton, one of the on-campus residences at Mount Allison. There are 8
different residences you can choose from if you want to live on campus. I got all the
information I needed to apply for housing by mail.
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent for a whole semester was about 13500 NOK. I spent about 4000 NOK on books. If you
are living in one of the residences you have to be on a meal plan, my meal plan was about
12000 NOK for the whole semester. I did not spend alot of money on transport at all. Most of
what you need is within walking distance and also taxis are really cheap here compared to
Norway!
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?
Although New Brunswick is bilingual, everyone here speaks English so the language was not
a problem at all. You get to know a lot of Canadians so you get a very real experience of the
country. You don’t get to see too much of the other parts of Canada though since the country
is huge and Sackville is quite far away from a lot of it.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
- The school (location, size, study structure, special academic areas etc.)
Mount Allison is a small school with around 2500 students. The school is located in a small
town named Sackville, New Brunswick on the east cost of Canada. The school has been
ranked as Canada’s number 1 undergraduate university 17 out of the past 23 years in
MacLeans Magazine, and the school generally has a very good reputation.
Since Sackville is such a small city, MTA is automatically a huge part of the surroundings,
and it is easy to become a part of it, both thanks to the students and the people who live there.
The closest city is Moncton, where you can go shopping and such, and which also has an
airport. Halifax is the biggest city nearby; it is about a 2 hour drive and is definitely worth a
visit!
Course registration
- When and how did you register for courses?
- When did the add/drop period end?
I registered for courses online on their platform “connect @ MTA” before I came here, but
registering for classes was allowed until the deadline on September the 13th which was about
two weeks after the semester started. The deadline for dropping a class was the 28th of
October.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
August 26th
September 2nd
December 2nd
December 2nd-14th
Halloween October
31st, Rememberance
Day November 11th
Other:
Arrival
- Describe the introduction week
The international students arrive first and attend a international orientation for three days
before the other students get here. During the international orientation there is tours of the
campus, different games and activites to get to know each other. There was also alot of
information about insurance and other things that you need to know. International orientation
was really useful and a lot of fun. After the international orientation is the orientation week
which is even more fun! All the Canadian students arrive and there is alot of stuff going on.
There was a barbecue, concerts, a comedian, parties and a lot of other activities to get to know
each other.
The International Office
- As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information?
Yes, Mount Allison provided me with all the information I needed and the international office
is great. They were more than happy to answer the questions I had both in person and by email.
Promoting BI and Norway
- What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at your
exchange university?
There was an exchange fair in November where I had a stand and handed out information
about BI and the exchange program and answered questions that people had about Norway.
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?
The relationship between the native students and the exchange students is great! Everyone is
really friendly and including. It is impossible to not make friends here. I already mentioned
the International orientation, but there is also a mentorship program you can sign up for if
you’re an international student. They will give you a mentor that will help you out if you have
any questions and all the mentors and mentees get together for trips and other events, this
semester there was a trip to Moncton and a Halloween party.
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?
The teaching is mostly theoretical, pretty similar to BI. You read before class and the
professor goes through the materal and related problems. The workload is different than BI.
There is more to do early in the semester, you have more assignments to turn in, mid-terms
and some classes have presentations. All the work you do counts in on the final grade which
are ranged from A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D- and F is a fail. To avoid a F, you
need a 50 % of all the available points in test, exams. I think this is actually better because it
makes the exam period a lot less stressful.
Course materials
- Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint, level
of course material etc).
You can get all the books you need at the bookstore here, they are kind of expensive
though. Most of the professors use Powerpoint and uploads the slides online. It is pretty
similar to BI, but everything is in English so it might be a little harder.
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 exams were based on both the lectures and the course material. What type of exam you
get depends on the course. You usually have mid-terms in all your classes. One of the classes
I was in didn’t even have a final exam. It had a mid-term and the rest of the grade was
determined by handing in papers, participation, a presentation and the mid-term. One of my
other classes had a final paper instead of a final exam. The typical final exam consists of 2
parts where the first part has multiple choice questions and the second part has short-answer
questions, but it depends on the class and your professor. The exams and how the final grade
is determined is definitely the thing that is the most different from what you are used to at BI.
It all depends on the class, but it is alot more of quizzes, presentations and handing in papers
here.
Library and technology
- Describe the facilities
The library is great, it has alot of room that you can use for studying and there is also a bunch
of computers there you can use. Overall the library and the facilities here are really good.
Description of courses
Course code & name
COMM 3211 –
Consumer Behaviour
COMM 3421 –
Production and
operations
management
COMM 3131 – Cost
accounting
COMM 3151 Taxation
ECON 2301 –
Economic issues in
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Bachelor
3-hour written
exam.
Bachelor
3-hour written
exam
3-hour written
exam
Bachelor
Bachelor
Final paper
Prerequisites
Approved
as
Comments
Canadian public
policy.
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 have been absolutely great! I got to meet alot of amazing people,
my English has improved significantly and I’ve had alot of fun.