GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
Student Report
Name of the University: Michigan State University
Exchange semester: Fall 2012
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
When and how did you receive information from the exchange university?
o You have to fill in a housing agreement, application form and write a motivation letter when you are applying for the exchange program at Michigan
State University (MSU). When you were accepted as an exchange student at
MSU you received an email with all necessary information about the school including housing agreement, contact persons and a letter from a personal mentor at MSU. The same information was also sent to you by mail. I received the information in April. If you had questions the International office at MSU were really helpful. The contact information to them was included in the email.
And they were quick to answer any questions.
Any difficulties in preparing (application, housing, contact, courses, etc)? o The only thing that I found a bit difficult in the application process was to choose the courses that I wanted to take at MSU. The reason for this was that the course descriptions was short and had little information about the course. I therefore emailed the international office at MSU and asked for more information on the different courses. And in short time I received the necessary information. I also found that I could search for the different course codes on the internet and often found a more complete course description there.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
How did you apply for your visa? What problems, if any, did you encounter? o Applying for the visa required some work and you should start as soon as you receive your DS-2019. First you have to fill out the DS-160 electronic visa application form found on the web page usembassy.gov
then you had to register online for an appointment at the Embassy. Remember to read all the information given to you in the register process and have all the necessary documents with you when you are going to your appointment at the Embassy. I did all this already in May and did not have any problems.
How much did the visa cost? o The visa cost around 995 NOK, but this information is given to you in the application process.
Travel
How did you travel to your destination? Any problems? o I booked my flight with Delta. Then I flew from Oslo, Amsterdam, Detroit and then Lansing, there people from MSU were waiting to drive me to the school by car. The flights had no delays and it is also easy the change the flights date for a fee if you want to travel home at a different time.
Housing
Was housing provided by the university, or did you have to find your own housing?

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT o The school provided the housing; the only thing that you have to do is to fill in the housing application form when you are applying for the exchange program.
Any special issues or good ideas for prospective students? o If you get the chance I will recommend living at Owen, Mc Donnel or Holmes.
It is where most of the exchange students live, and I got friends from all over the world living at Mc Donnel.
Costs
Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food, transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
Books
NOK
3000 + NOK per semester
2000 NOK Food
Transport 0 NOK
Other NOK
More information about the housing and rent can be found on the page liveon.msu.
You can buy a bus pass for $35 or rent a bike for around $75 per semester.
The books were really expensive to buy, even comparing to the prices in Norway.
Culture and language
Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students? o No
How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture? o The international office arranged some trips such as to Chicago, Detroit and
Michigan Lake. It was also easy to rent a car and drive to different places or you could buy cheap bus tickets and go to Chicago, Detroit or other places by yourself.
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? o As an exchange student at MSU you meet many other exchange students from all over the world. So in addition to learn and experience the American culture
I learned a lot about other cultures. I have already planed to visit many of the people that I meet at MSU in their home countries, so I really think that it is an excellent opportunity to build an international network.
How do you think the exchange experience influences your future career possibilities? o I have always wanted to take my Masters degree abroad and maybe work in another country. My exchange experience has really ensured me that I want to do this.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
The school and its surroundings (give a short summary) o The school is really big with around 50 000 students. But it is easy to find your direction when you get to know the place. Outside the campus it is a street with

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT some restaurants and some shops. And if you take the bus you are in short distance to a mall.
Current faculty divisions and special areas o The campus is divided in different areas. But you will get to know this quickly when you get the map over the campus.
Study structure o You have a lot more “homework” to do. Depending on the course you are taking of course. But I found it a bit like high school were you always had some papers to turn in, presentations to do or other projects that you had to turn in. So comparing to BI it is a lot more work to do during the semester, but on the bright side you do not have the intensive last month there you study for your final exam that counts for 100% of the grade.
Course registration
Were you able to register for courses before arrival? o You have to register for courses when you are applying for the exchange program, but this is before you have received you approval of the learning agreement form from the international office at BI. So I had to change some of my courses when I arrived at MSU. I would advice you to get your learning agreement approved as fast as possible from BI, and then write the international office at MSU about changes that you want to do. Because if you wait until you arrive MSU many of the courses will be full and it can be difficult to find courses that you want to take.
When and how long was the period for adding/dropping courses? o Around two weeks after school start.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
12 August
13 August
8 December
10 – 14 December
Any special events/holidays: Thanks giving
Other:
Arrival
Was the administration and faculty well-prepared for your arrival? o Yes, on the same day of arrival they had a welcome dinner for the people in the residence. The following week they had a program for every day including information meetings, dinners, events and other activities.
Did the school’s students participate in the reception of the exchange students? o In the first week we had around 20 - 30 American students participating in our program. And they were all students that had been on exchange the previews semester/ summer.
Describe the introduction week? o It was a full schedule with things to do from morning to the evening. Every day we had information meetings followed by activities and then a joined dinner in the evening.
The International Office
Is there an international office?

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT o Yes it is located on the campus.
As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information? In
English? o Yes you received information about everything you had to do. You were provided with a list of things to do when you arrived and one when you were leaving. In addition you received notifications about deadlines and other relevant information.
Promoting BI and Norway
What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at your exchange university? o I participated at the Study Abroad Fair.
Social activities
How was your relationship with native students? o I found it really easy to get to know the American students. Most of them were open and showed great interest in learning more about Norway when they got to know that I was an exchange student. You also live with many native students at the residence.
How was the relationship among the exchange students? o All the students in the exchange program become really close friends, and in one way many of us saw the group as a big family. We met every evening to a big dinner and in our spare time we had we were together playing cards, learning salsa, watching a movie or doing other activities.
Is there a student organization, and if so, are the exchange students a part of it? o There are many student organisations at MSU and everyone if welcomed to apply to be a part of them. They had a big event in the second week of school were all the students organizations had stands and you could get information about how to join them.
Are there any special activities and gatherings for exchange students? o The international office arranged many activities for the exchange students.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
Describe the teaching style. o Most of the classes consisted of 30 to 70 students some had as many as 300 students. In the smaller classes it was expected that you were participating in discussions presented by the professor.
Language of instruction? Any problems? o No
How would you evaluate the level of study in relationship to the level at BI? o Many of the classes that I chose had mandatory participation and the professor took participation notes. It was also more expected that you participated orally in the classes. In some classes all of this was contributing to you final grade in the course.
Is the teaching primarily practical or theoretical? o It depends on the classes that you are taking. But comparing to BI the classes were more practical.

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
Did professors use cases, group work or lectures (or a combination)? o In the courses that I chose it was primarily group work and lectures.
How is the workload compared to that at BI? o There is a bigger workload at MSU, but the material and tasks that you have to do is easier than the material and tasks at BI.
Describe the relationship between professors and students. o It is a closer relationship between the professor and the students at MSU comparing to BI, partly because the classes are smaller and the professor get to know each student. This may also because the professors see the students as customers rather than students, and are interesting in helping you with problems. They have office hours and are also open for scheduling appointments with you if you have questions or have something that you want to discuss.
Describe the relationship between the students in the classroom. o The classes last for one hour and twenty minutes and you do not have any breaks in between. So it is not that easy to get to know your fellow students in the spesific course.
Course materials
Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint, etc). o It depends on the course you are taking. I had one book in all of my classes, but
I know that some classes only used articles posted on the learning platform
Angel. Most of the professors use Powerpoint or overhead depending on the topic discusses in class.
In which language were the course materials? o English
How do you estimate the level of the course materials in comparison to BI? o It was easy to read and understand. Comparing to BI I would say that the course material were easier to learn because the books were closely linked to the information given by the professor and the language used in the books were easy to understand.
Were materials used for detailed knowledge or a broad overview of a subject? o Depends if you attend an introduction class or a more advanced class.
Exams
Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures? o The course material and the lectures were closely linked so the exam was based on both. But the professors told us that if we were to only focus on one thing we should focus on the things presented in the lecture.
How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)? o Final exam (include form: written, oral, home assignment, presentation, etc.)

My final exams were based only on multiple choice questions. o Mid-term exam

Multiple choice questions. o In-class quizzes throughout semester

Multiple choice questions. o Small assignments and/or papers

Yes o Presentations

Yes

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT o Group work

Yes o Class attendance

Yes o Class participation/debates

Yes o Activities outside of the classroom

In some of the courses you are required to participate in a research study.
Library and technology
Do students have easy access to the library and its resources? o It was one main library at the campus and also an own library for business students and one for law students.
Were computers provided around campus/in the library? o You could find computers in the residence, library and in some of the classrooms.
How is technology used in teaching or to distribute information? o They have an own learning platform called Angel that has the same functions as Its`learning.
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 Master/ Exam form Comments
FI 311 Financial
Management
Bachelor
Bachelor 1-hour and 20 minutes
Prerequisites Approved
Can be found as multiple choice exam. at http://schedul e.msu.edu
MGT 315 Managing
Human Resources
MGT 325
Management Skills
Bachelor 1-hour and 20 minutes multiple choice exam.
Bachelor 1-hour and 20 minutes multiple choice exam.
Can be found at http://schedul e.msu.edu
Can be found at http://schedul e.msu.edu
MKT 351 Retail
Management
Bachelor Mix between papers and one
1-hour and 20 minutes multiple choice exam.
Can be found at http://schedul e.msu.edu
Any other experiences/comments about your exchange experience?:
The most important thing to know before you are arriving MSU is to know that when someone screams; GO GREEN, you have to answer GO WHITE.