GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
Student Report
Name of the University: Univeristy of Texas at Austin (UT)
Exchange semester: Fall / Spring, 2013
Please note that this is a rough guideline for writing the report. Your final report should be
written as an essay (not simply “Yes”/”No” answers) and in English. Student reports are
published on the BI website, see www.bi.edu/outgoing. Please let us know if you do not want
your report to be published.
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
- When and how did you receive information from the exchange university?
- In October/November I recieved an information package containing most of what you
need to know before arriving in Austin. In addition the school recommended a service
that easily helped you find housing (www.studyabroadsupport.com).
- Any difficulties in preparing (application, housing, contact, courses, etc)?
- Everything was pretty easy, but there is a lot to do (financial statement, insurance,
insurance waiver, healt documents ect.), so the sooner you start preparing, the better.
The university website didn’t really have any information about the courses except the
name of the course, so I recommend reading the previous student reports and
searching the web to find more info. about the teachers and courses.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
- How did you apply for your visa?
- You first have to apply online, then you get an interview at the embassy. Everything is
very easy, but it takes time.
- What problems, if any, did you encounter?
- I had no problems.
- How much did the visa cost?
- I think I spent about 1000 kr on my visa +/Travel
- How did you travel to your destination? Any problems?
- I flew with British Airways: London - dallas - austin. No problems. I also registrered
for a pickup by the exchange organization (by students) before I arrived, so that a
student picked me up at the airport, helped my get some necessities (sheets, comforter,
pillows, towel, etc.) for my first night in Austin. Check out www.planetlonghorn.com
for more information.
Housing
- Was housing provided by the university, or did you have to find your own housing?
- You have to find housing on your own. But check out Planet Longhorns group on
facebook to see if any students from UT is going on exchange too and is looking to
sublease their place. Also www.studyabroadsupport.com is a really good website too.
- What support did you receive from the school in locating housing?
- Not much. The only thing they gave me was a link to studyabroadsupport.com.
- Any special issues or good ideas for prospective students?
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
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www.studyabroadsupport.com
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
NOK 5300
Books
NOK 2000
(one time
expence)
NOK 2000
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 100.
Buses are free
for students.
and buses go
down town
thursdaySaturday
evenings both
ways.
NOK 1000
Culture and language
- Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
- No, everyone speaks english
- How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
- The international office had some field trips to i.e. Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, but I
recommend going their by yourself instead (either by bus or renting a car). It’s
cheaper and way much more fun. Also, www.studyabroadsupport.com arranges a
weekend trip to New Orleans one of the weekends in January. I dind’t go, but I really
regretted it, cause everyone said it was so much fun!
Cultural and social effects from the exchange experience
- How do you think the exchange experience will affect you from a cultural and social
point of view?
- How do you think the exchange experience influences your future career possibilities?
- I believe I have become more open to new cultures, boraden my vocabulary and I now
have friends all over the world. In the case of my career opportunities I believe an
exchange stay shows that I have the courage to do completely new things and that I
am not affraid of possibilities or new environments, that I take chances and can do
much on my own.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
- The school and its surroundings (give a short summary)
- The campus is very big and it has everything you need. several libraries, about 5 gyms,
(including leisure and swimming pools, basketball courts, racing tracks etc.) The
campus is very nice, both old and new buildings and easy to get around.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
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Current faculty divisions and special areas
The university has every bachelor/master program you can think of, and each has it’s
own building. So there are only business students a McCombs.
Approx. number of students (graduate and undergraduate) and number of exchange
students
there are about 50 000 students at UT, and I believe about 300 exchange students (70
business exchange students). In addition, there are a lot of international students.
Study structure
Like high School; tests every week, manditory attendance, pop-up quizes, hand-ins
etc. Not like BI!
Course registration
- Were you able to register for courses before arrival?
- Yes, and exchange stuents even get a head start on registration. I registrered in
october/November, but you have to confirm them when you get there, and during the
first weeks there is a add/drop period.
- If not, when did you register? Any difficulties?
- If the school has a lottery or bidding system, describe this system and your experience
in detail.
- No such system.
- When and how long was the period for adding/dropping courses?
- I believe the add/drop period lasted for about 2 weeks, but you could drop a cours until
end of March.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
January 3rd
First day of the semester:
January 14th
Last day of classes:
May 3rd
Examination period:
May 6th - May14th
Any special events/holidays:
MLK (Jan. 19th) and
Spring break March
11th-15th
Other:
Arrival
- Was the administration and faculty well-prepared for your arrival?
- Yes. The first week we went to all the orientations where we got most of the
information we needed. We could also ask our exchange coordinators at McCombs if
we had any questions. The International office also arranged a bus trip to Target so the
exchange students could get averything they needed for their place (lamps, plates,
groceries, etc.)
- Did the school’s students participate in the reception of the exchange students?
- No, only exchange students.
- Describe the introduction week?
- Orintations with the information you needed to registrer for classes and how to get
around UT and Austin in general.
The International Office
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
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Is there an international office?
Yes, very helpful staff.
As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information? In
English?
Yes, I feel I recieved a lot of information and most of what I needed. The only thing I
missed was more housing information and more info. about the courses.
Promoting BI and Norway
- What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at your
exchange university?
- There was one exchange fair for UT students going abroad. I had class that day, so I
was not able to attend.
Social activities
- How was your relationship with native students?
- Great, I met a lot of americans through Planet Longhorn. I also had an American
roommate.
- How was the relationship among the exchange students?
- Super! We had so much fun, and everyone was always included and invited.
- Is there a student organization, and if so, are the exchange students a part of it?
- Planet Longhorn, everyone that wants to join can join. Primarily it is made up of UT
students going abroad or who has been abroad and exchange and international
students.
- Are there any special activities and gatherings for exchange students?
- Planet Longhorn arranges parties and cultural excursions every week. All of the
exchange students attended these. Also studyabroadsupport.com owns a house in
west-campus for exchange and internationals to lease. There are about 7 people who
live there, but the best thing is that there is a party there at least every thursday!
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
- Describe the teaching style.
- Very different from teacher to teacher (like any other school), some were very
interested in hearing the students thoughts, some were not... But, keep in mind that
this is not like BI and much more like high school.
- Language of instruction? Any problems?
- English, no problems.
- How would you evaluate the level of study in relationship to the level at BI?
- a lot more work through the year, but I would say that it is easier than BI, just a lot to
do.
- Is the teaching primarily practical or theoretical?
- theoretical, but it depends on the teacher.
- Did professors use cases, group work or lectures (or a combination)?
- A combination of all the above.
- How is the workload compared to that at BI?
- There is a lot more to do, but the material is easier in comparisson.
- Describe the relationship between professors and students.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
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-
More formal than in Norway, but again; it depends on the teacher. Every teacher has
office hours, where you can talk to the teacher if you have any problems or anything
you want to discuss with the professor.
Describe the relationship between the students in the classroom.
American students are eager to get to know exchange students, and you always talk to
the person you sit next to.
Course materials
- Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint, etc).
- All of the above - depends on the professor.
- In which language were the course materials?
- English
- How do you estimate the level of the course materials in comparison to BI?
- About the same.
- Were materials used for detailed knowledge or a broad overview of a subject?
- Both, again, this depends on the teacher.
Exams
- Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures?
- mostly on lectures, so GO TO CLASS!
- How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)? (precentages of overall grade)
o Final exam - written 20-35%
o Mid-term exam - written (usually 2 or 3 midterms per course) 20-25 %
o In-class quizzes throughout semester - 5 %
o Small assignments and/or papers - 10-15 %
o Presentations - 15 %
o Group work - depends on the size of the work
o Class attendance and participation/debates- about 5-10 %
o Activities outside of the classroom - Not in any of my classes.
Library and technology
- Do students have easy access to the library and its resources?
- Yes, there are several libraries at campus.
- Were computers provided around campus/in the library?
- Computerlabs at McCombs. Same system as BI (use your student ID for printing etc. )
- How is technology used in teaching or to distribute information?
- All information go through Blackboard (same as itslearning and @BI)
Description of courses
Please list below all the courses you took while on exchange, including as many details as
possible. Your comments are extremely useful for BI and for future exchange students,
include information on the level of difficulty, relevance to your studies, if the course was
practical/theoretical, any enrolment issues, etc.
Course code &
name
Example:FIN123
Finance
Master/ Exam form
Bachelor
Bachelor 4-hour written
exam
Prerequisites Approved Comments
as
None
Elective
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
FIN 357 Business
Finance
Bachelor 3-Hour Multiple statistics (or Elective
Choice
taking it this
semester)
P R 305
Fundamentals of
Public Relations
Bachelor 3-Hour Multiple None
Choice
OM 335 Operations Bachelor 3-Hour written
Management
Statistics
Elective
Different from Finance at
BI, more theory, less
calculations. Not the most
interesting course.
Medium level of
difficulty. 4 multiple
choice/fill in the
blank/work out exams
through the year
Ok as a fill-up course. Not
too interesting, but easy to
get an A and the lecturer is
ok. Exams are very much
based on lectures. The
smallest comments he
makes can come as a
question on the test. 3 MP
exams + one optional.
Very interesting and good
course. I had professor
Vasdueva in this course, It
was his first time teaching
it. He was very structured,
but was not good at
explaining. Therefore I
almost dropped the course
after the first two months,
but learning it on my own
was better. He gives
homework, wich is a really
good way of letting the
students know how they
are doing in the course and
the exams are also based
on the homeworks. This is
also a course you have to
take at BI if you do not do
it while on exchange. same
as Logistikk.
3 Work out exams, group
homeworks and individual
homeworks.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
I B 372
Bachelor 3-Hour Multiple None
Fundamentals of
Choice
Business in the EU
Elective
I B 350 Interational Bachelor 3-Hour Multiple None
Trade
Choice
Elective
Messy lectures. the
teachers are two brothers
(Roberts) and guest
lecturers. Used PP with
way too much information
on too keep track in class.
This year they decided not
to have a book in the
course, but use the EU
treaties and lectures as the
course material. Good
course and commited
teachers. definitively
usefull course.
Very interesting and good
course. I had Professor
Gerber who was very
dedicated and interested in
her students. Good
material. Heavy workload,
but interesting material.
Worth the work, this is a
course I know I will get
use of what I learned.
Any other experiences/comments about your exchange experience?:
Austin is an awsome city. Be sure to go downtown to 6th street as much as you can and
experience all the city has to offer with reataurants, foodtrucks, South Congress, Zilker
Park, Barton Springs and much more!