Student Report
Name of the University: Western Michigan University
Exchange semester: Spring 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
- When and how did you receive information from the exchange university, and did you
encounter any difficulties?
I received an information package from WMU around mid October. The whole
process went very smooth. The International Office at BI was also very helpful in the
process.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
- How did you apply for your visa, what did it cost and did you have difficulties?
You have to submit an online application and then schedule an appointment at the U.S.
Embassy in Oslo. The whole process may take a few weeks. The costs are
approximately NOK 2000.
Travel
- How did you travel to your destination?
I flew from Oslo to New York. Stayed one night in New York and then flew from
New York to Kalamazoo with a transfer in Detroit. The university provides
transportation from the airport to the university when you arrive in Kalamazoo.
Housing
- Was housing provided by the university? If not, did you receive support from the
school?
Housing is provided by the university. You will stay in a dorm and most likely have a
roommate. The standard is decent, but nothing special. I will recommend staying in
Davis Hall, Zimmerman Hall, or French Hall as these have the most international
students and are not as noisy as many of the other dorms. They are also connected to
the best dining hall – Bistro 3.
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 4300
NOK 2160
NOK 4500
NOK 300
NOK 500
Rent and most of the food are paid to the university upfront. Cost of books are about
the same as in Norway. Buses around the city is free with your student ID.
Culture and language
- Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
Not any major problems. A few of the other international students have a little limited
English.
-
How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
Spring Break is a great opportunity to travel around the U.S.. Personally I went to
Florida. Kalamazoo is also very close to Chicago, Detroit and not too far from
Toronto, Canada. These places are suited for weekend travels. As the semester finishes
early there's also opportunities to travel after the semester.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
- The school (location, size, study structure, special academic areas etc.)
- The university is located slightly outside downtown Kalamazoo. You can walk
downtown (about 30 minutes) but there's buses that will take you downtown from
campus every day except Sundays. Around 25,000 students attend WMU. The campus
is big and there's shuttle buses running every weekday that will take you around
campus. Dining halls are located in different buildings around campus. My personal
favorites were Bistro and Bigelow. The Recreation Centre is also a great place. It has a
gym, two indoor soccer courts, eight basketball courts, two tennis courts, squash
rooms and a swimming pool. It's free to enter with your student ID. The university is
known for it's great aviation college and it's supply chain management program is
ranked second in the U.S.. The winter in Michigan can be quite harsh, so bring winter
clothes.
Course registration
- When and how did you register for courses?
I registered for most of the courses in mid December. I recommend doing it earlier as
quite a few courses had already filled up. If you are missing any courses during the
Introduction Week they are very helpful at WMU and will help you fill up your
schedule.
-
When did the add/drop period end?
The add/drop period ended January 23.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
January 7
January 12
April 23
April 27 through April
31
Spring Break March 9
through March 13
Arrival
- Describe the introduction week
The first day we were divided into different groups (similar to "Faddergruppe" in
Norway). There were no special events (except a ski trip that was cancelled due to bad
weather). The group leaders did not arrange any events or happenings. There's a
scheduled bus trip to Walmart which I strongly recommend attending. Here you will
be able to buy all the basic stuff you'll need. I think that the introduction week during
the fall semester has more happenings since there's more exchange students coming in.
The introduction week lasted only two days and consisted of a lot of information
meetings. It's more a way of getting you settled at WMU, than having a lot of social
events.
The International Office
- As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information?
Yes. The international office at WMU is helpful and will answer your inquiries
quickly. If you have any questions you can also stop by the International Office almost
whenever you want to.
Promoting BI and Norway
- What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at your
exchange university?
None. There was no exchange fair or similar happenings.
Social activities
- How was the relationship with native students and that among exchange students?
It was somewhat hard to make native friends, but the ones I made were really nice and
eager to talk about their country and culture. The relationship between the exchange
students was great. There weren’t too many exchange students during spring semester,
but we did a lot of fun things. We spent a weekend in Chicago and one in Toronto.
We also made a soccer team and came second in the intramural championship.
-
Are there any special activities, student organisations, and gatherings for exchange
students?
There are dinners for international students hosted by a church on campus. Didn't go,
but was told that it's pretty good. Also, there was an international festival. This was a
pretty cool event. International students make food from their home country and dress
up in their national outfits.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
- Describe the teaching style (practical, theoretical, cases/lectures, formal/informal
etc.)
The teaching style is more practical than at BI. In the economics classes there was
almost no use of calculus. Some of my classes only contained of 20-40 students and in
these classes the teacher interacts more with the class. In other classes with more
students the teaching style was quite similar to BI.
-
How is the level and workload compared to that at BI?
The workload at WMU was about the same as at BI, but more spread out through the
semester. There were quizzes and midterms almost every week. The level of the
classes was a little below what I'm used to from BI. Especially the 2000-classes are
quite easy.
Course materials
-
Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint,
level of course material etc).
In most of the classes we used one book. In a couple of classes the material was
handed out by the professor and there was no need to purchase a book. There level of
the course material was similar to the English course literature that we have at BI. In
ECON340 and MGMT2800 articles handed out by the teacher was very important.
Exams
- Was the exams based on the course materials or on the lectures?
In most of the classes the lectures were based entirely on the book. This meant that if
you attended and paid attention in class there was almost no need to study the book.
-
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 Class attendance
o Class participation/debates
o Activities outside of the classroom
Library and technology
- The library is quite good. You can access computers like at BI. The biggest library is
called Waldo Library. It gets really congested during the last weeks of the semester, so
during this time I recommend going to the library in Sangren Hall. It's smaller, but
completely new and not that many people know of it.
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 acadmic level, challenges,
relevance to your studies, if the course was practical/theoretical, any enrolment issues, etc.
Course code & name
MGMT2800 Intro
Supply Chain
Management
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
2-hour written
midterm and 2hour written
final
None
Approved
as
Logistikk
None
Elective
ECON3100 Labor
Economics
ECON3200 Money
and Banking
Bachelor
Bachelor
Quizzes and 3
midterms. 2hour final exam.
None
Elective
ECON3450
Government, Business
and Society
Bachelor
Two 2-hour
midterms and 2hour final exam.
None
Elective
BUS2200 Introduction
to Global Business
Bachelor
2-hour midterm
and 2-hour final.
None
Elective
Comments
Easier than
the logistics
class at BI.
Everything
is multiple
choice.
Interesting
class.
A little
hard to
understand
what you're
supposed to
learn.
Lot of
bonus
points.
Didn't have
to take the
final exam.
Everything
is multiple
choice.
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
- All in all my semester in Kalamazoo has been a great experience. I've met new people from all
over the world and made good friends. Living in the U.S. has also been good. It has not been
too academically challenging, but the experiences will be very useful in the future. I think
having international experience will increase my attractiveness on the labor market in the
future.