| Panel | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||
A. Broad Education The American academic system, as a whole, is intended to provide a broad education for as many people as possible. There is no screening examination that directs a student at an early age into academic or non-academic area. A high percentage of the population completes secondary school, and secondary school is not as challenging as it is in countries where access to education is more limited. A high percentage of the population attempts some kind of post-secondary education, such as university studies. B. Specialization The U.S. educational system also produces specialists, people who have studied a limited range of topics in depth. Specialization comes later in the U.S. system than it does in some others. In most majors, it is not until the second (sophomore) year of undergraduate work that a student concentrates on the study of his major field. In a technical major, specialization begins immediately.
C. Education It is considered important in the U.S. to evaluate the work that students do. Therefore, there is a grading system that is used to rank and compare students' academic work. A student's grades receive considerable attention in competition for scholarships and fellowships, for admission to universities and graduate schools and for jobs.
D. Academic Honesty In general, in the U.S., independence and individual efforts are admired. In the academic world, independent thought is valued. The most serious offense in the academic world is that of representing another person's work as your own. Copying another person's work without acknowledging that someone else is responsible for it is called “plagiarism.” |
| Panel | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||
This discussion is limited to higher (post-secondary) education. If you have questions about primary and secondary education in the U.S., you can address them with any U.S. student or teacher. A. The Semester System B. Academic Advisor C. Credits D. The Grading System A grade may be defined as an indication of the professor's judgment of the quality of the work accomplished by the student in a course. Each grade carries a designated number of points per credit.
Academic Load Academic Year There are two devices outlined in the Registration and Class Schedule that give flexibility to students who want to maintain reasonably high grade point averages: 1. The Course Repeat Procedure available in undergraduate programs Under this option, students may retake a course in which they have received a low grade, and the grade earned for the most recent enrollment will be used in calculating the cumulative GPA. 2. Adding and Dropping Courses International students must remember that the U.S. Immigration regulations require them to be registered full-time (12 semester hours). You must go to the Registrar’s Office to add or drop any course. Each faculty member at the university has his or her own philosophy and methods of grading. Some use fixed grading scales whereby each assignment or examination that is graded can receive a fixed maximum of points. Others grade "on the curve," a system where a formula is used to assure that there will be a certain number of A’s, a certain number of B’s, and so on. Under this system the new students in the class are competing with each other for high grades. It is most helpful to learn the philosophy and method of grading that each of your professors use. If you receive a low grade and do not understand why, or you think the professor may have made a mistake, it is acceptable to ask the professor for the reason for the grade. However, it is not acceptable to "bargain" for a grade you do not deserve.
E. Grade Points Grade points are the numerical value assigned to each letter grade for comparative purposes. A = 4.00 Grade point average (GPA) is the average grade point per semester hour for a student. Grade point averages are computed for each semester and used as a basis for completing requirements for graduation or for permission to remain in school each succeeding semester. To compute the GPA:
Example: Chemistry A (4 hours) 4x4 = 16 Grade Points 47 credit hours / 17 = 2.77GPA
F. Grade Report You will receive a grade report from the Registrar’s Office each semester indicating your grades, grade points and earned credit hours, your grade point average for the semester and cumulative grade point average. If there are errors or you have questions, contact the Registrar’s Office. |
...