When you arrive at your college, you'll need to choose the classes that you'll be taking. This may be a bit confusing at first, Americans life choices which comes from our value of individuality. So we don't have a course of study that fits all. You may not be in the same classes as students in your same year or your same major. You will have a certain number of courses which are called electives. You can choose what you want.
Most colleges and universities will have a course catalog or a listing online of all of the courses offered in your program, and courses that you need to graduate. It's important to choose classes early because when classes the classes you want are full, then you can't take that class. You may need to choose another class that will fulfill the requirements but Not what you really want to learn. You'll have an academic advisor that will help you meet your career goals through choosing the right classes to take. Schedule an appointment early, so that the advisor can help you navigate the class options and requirements for graduation. If you get this wrong, you may be taking classes that you don't want to take or spend an additional year to complete all the requirements.
During this lecture, we're going to look at a specific course syllabus for a graduate course. This syllabus is from Professor Roger cell of Indiana University and used with His permission. Under the resources section you will find additional documents or links to documents that will help you discover academic requirements. The Course Syllabus sets clear expectations so that every student knows what They get from the class, what the professor will deliver and what will be required of students. It is like a contract or an agreement with students. The first thing you'll see is the course title and number.
The number of the course will correspond to the description of the course in the catalog. In undergraduate studies, the course number will correspond to the level of the course. Some are designed for freshman year, some for the sophomore year, that's your second year, and others for your junior year. That's the third year and finally your senior year. And so the number of the course will correspond to what your study is designed for. Most professors have office hours and expect you to call ahead for an appointment.
Don't be shy to call and get an appointment if you need to talk to your professor. At the same time realize that most professors are doing research In addition to their teaching, and so they do have very full schedules. The telephone number listed is often of the academic office and answered by an assistant. Americans generally don't give their cell phone numbers or home telephone numbers. The best way to contact a professor is usually by email. They often answer their own emails personally.
The Course Description tells you what the course will cover is often the same description that is in the course catalog. And if it's an elective course it will help you decide if you want to take that course. Notice the prerequisites for the course. Here proficiency in Microsoft Excel is needed. If you don't have a prerequisite skill, you will struggle with the course. An international student took the upper level course in our program without first taking the introduction.
Recourse, she struggled the whole semester. Because the upper level of course, build upon the more basic level, the level one course required course materials. Be sure to buy your books and other needed materials before the class starts. You will most likely be assigned reading the first day and you don't want to fall behind. On your reading, there will be lots of reading. You can get books and other materials in the College Bookstore.
Or if you have extra time, you might be able to get them a bit cheaper online. course learning outcomes, notice the course outcomes. None of the outcomes are focused on testing your knowledge. They are all to test your skills. The first two objectives ask the question, can you analyze this outcome will be assessed by your performance In discussion, case studies, group assignments and a final paper. The third objective will be tested by your use of Microsoft Excel.
Can you use the spreadsheet effectively with the course material before fourth focuses on using case studies, and participation in online discussions. The last objective assesses your understanding demonstrated by case study assignments. Notice again the American emphasis on inductive thinking and application based education, and not as much on theory, discussion forums. In this particular example, students are required to participate in online forums. In the classroom professors will grade you on how you contribute to class discussions. Dr. Carr's research five participants expressed their problems related to class participation.
They were not used to any kind of participation in class, because in India students are not required to do so. Nor is it part of the grade. One student commented there is pin drop silence in the classroom in India, the students do not have a say against the instructor and raising questions or putting up your points before the instructor that is out of the question impossible. That may or may not have been your experience in India. But if you were at a college where classroom discussion was limited, you will need to understand how professors evaluate your participation in discussion. In our resources, we have included Discussion rubric used by a professor at the University of Villanova.
It very clearly defines the basis of the discussion grade. The XLR assignment is to test a very practical skill. Although it doesn't count a lot, it will significantly impact your grade if you don't have or develop this, you know. The final paper although not as important as the papers you write for exams in India is waiting 40% of your grade would depend upon this paper. Notice again, the very explicit requirements for the paper, a minimum of 16 pages, double space, plus supporting tables and graphs, often attached in an appendix. It should use concise and professional language.
The focus here is on the American communication style. Remember, the professor doesn't want you to write everything you know, only what is relevant to the topic. And the fewer words to express an idea, the better. But the idea of itself should be developed fully. And that should take about here the professor says that should take at least 16 pages. It should be high quality, no typos or grammatical errors.
And it's important to cite sources. Plagiarism is very serious, and universities have explicit policies regarding plagiarism. In our next session, we're going to look more closely at plagiarism so that you can understand how to avoid it. Finally, the course schedule is spelled out. This is very helpful, enabling you to plan ahead, study it carefully and use a scheduling tool like Microsoft Outlook or a paper diary so that you can look visually at due dates and can pace yourself and complete all of your work by the end of the semester. It may look a bit overwhelming, but you will adjust.
You will get through it. And in a few years you'll be thankful for the learning experience.