ACADEMIC LIFE UCEAP New Zealand DEGREE STRUCTURE A

ACADEMIC LIFE UCEAP New Zealand

DEGREE STRUCTURE A New Zealand undergraduate degree is typically 3 years. The exceptions are architecture, law, medicine and engineering which are 4 -6 years. Other professional qualifications require graduate (what we call postgraduate) study. New Zealand US First year Lower division/Gen Ed Second year Upper division Third year Upper division/Graduate Fourth year Honours (additional researchbased undergrad year) Graduate 2

TERMINOLOGY New Zealand US Lecturer, academic Faculty, professor Course, paper Course outline/syllabus Syllabus Marks, results, grades Grades University, uni College, school Programme Program, degree Handbook Course catalog Tutorial (tute) Section Tutor TA Essay, report Paper 3

SEMESTER PACE The pace of the NZ semester is slow compared to UC 12 weeks of classes With 1 -2 week mid-semester break Followed by 3 -4 week exam period Most assessment in second half of semester Exams often worth 50% or more It may look like your Kiwi classmates are slacking off, but they’re not. They know when and how to buckle down. 4

INDEPENDENT LEARNING Compared to the US, NZ unis § Have few contact hours; 2 -5 hours per week, per subject § Students are expected to be very independent learners. Academics won't chase you up if you miss classes or assignments. Often lectures are recorded and available online § But don’t leave it to the last minute to watch them! The main forms of teaching are lectures (50 -500+ students), tutorials (10 -25 students), seminars (30+ students; half lecture, half tutorial) and labs/practicals. § Each tutor or lecturer has 1 hour of office hours per week, per subject. 5

ACADEMIC RIGOR NZ university classes are not easy § Psychology classes are notoriously tough § Exceptions are subjects designed for international students Don’t bother ‘grade grubbing’ UCEAP staff strictly enforce deadlines Grades are criterion-referenced rather than normreferenced (i. e. , curved) 6

COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS Many subjects have ‘completion requirements’ You must attempt and pass all pieces of assessment. 50% is a pass grade for all assignments and subjects. Plussage is used in some courses. For example: Online quizzes worth 10% Report worth 30% Final exam worth 60% + Maintain 80% attendance at classes where the roll is taken This means, you might get a percentage of 50%, but still fail the subject. It’s your responsibility to know the requirements of your classes. 7

GRADE TRANSLATION The New Zealand to UC grade translation table is available at www. uceapanz. com The password is ‘uceapanz’ 8

ACADEMIC CULTURE Academic culture is reasonably informal, many students address NZ academics (lecturers and tutors) by their first name. However, first name culture is not standard, some academics prefer to be called ‘professor’ or ‘doctor’. Most students commute to uni § they tend to live with their families or in rented accommodation. § they go home straight after classes. This can make it difficult to form friendship with locals. Kiwi students may have already formed their friendship groups, so they may be difficult to break into. § Join clubs to get to know local students. § Be prepared to travel away from campus to socialise 9

UNIVERSITY HEALTH & WELFARE All universities provide Disability Services, but the accommodations will not be identical to what you receive at UC § You need to register with the service, providing evidence from UC § Provide support services for ongoing physical or psychological conditions or learning/cognitive disorders. § Arrange academic and other accommodations § Private and confidential All NZ universities offer confidential medical and mental health services on campus (covered by your insurance). § You will have to pay up-front when you see a doctor off-campus NZ universities will not share your information with anyone without your written permission 10

DON’T PANIC! Nothing’s a disaster providing you communicate with us and your lecturers in time 11

MYEAP UCEAP New Zealand

UPDATE MYEAP

STUDY LISTS No Study List, no UC credit! Study Lists must be finalised by Week 3 You must take 100% of a full-time load, usually 4 subjects § No matter what your uni’s international office says! You may take one subject P/NP per semester (1/3 of your courses) NZ units per course UC quarter units Number of courses taken Auckland 15 6 4 Canterbury 15 6 4 Lincoln 15 6 4 Massey 15 6 4 Otago 18 7 3 Victoria 15 / 20 6/8 3 -4 Waikato 10 / 15 / 20 4/6/8 3 -4 14

CHOOSING SUBJECTS You must finalise your subjects with your NZ uni by Week 2 You must finalise your Study List on My. EAP by Week 3 As a guide: § First year subjects are introductory (equivalent to lower division) § Second and third year subjects usually have prerequisites § Third year subjects are very advanced § We recommend you take no more than two § Unless you’re studying engineering, do not enrol in fourth year subjects Just because a subject has been approved by your campus, it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to take it. 15

RECOMMENDED SUBJECTS Auckland § MAORI 190 Kapa Haka § ANTHRO 225 Anthro of Art & Performance § WINESCI 201 Introduction to Wine Science Waikato § Earth sciences § Maori/indigenous subjects Massey § § 139. 333 Creativity in the Community (W) 139. 223 Creative Processes (W) 150. 103 Engaging with Maori (PN) 199. 206 The Fauna of New Zealand (PN) VUW § POLS 114 Intro to Comparative Politics § POLS 111 Intro to NZ Government & Politics § DSDN 101 Design Visualisation Lincoln § WINE 101 Intro to the Winegrowing Industry § WINE 201 Viticulture § RECN 110 Concepts in Sport & Recreation Canterbury § CHCH 101 Strengthening Communities through Social Innovation § ANTA 102 The Cold Continent Otago § TOUR 101 Introduction to Tourism § MFCO 242 Studying Selfies 16

SUBJECT CHANGES Add or drop courses § Universities have individual deadlines § UCEAP deadline is Week 7 Change grade option from/to P/NP § Must normally be done before Week 8 https: //myeap. ucop. edu/Galileo/faq/Videos/UCStudents/trvid 3 flash/trvid 3. html