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Mark
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 500
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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 Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2003 3:27 am Post subject: Re: nice summary |
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| Mark wrote: |
As for the difference between NA and Britain, yeah, it's quite different.
. . .
Mark |
This part was good too. Though, I wasn't clear sometimes whether you were presenting the differences from a British, or from a North American, perspective?
Interesting stuff![/quote]
I was looking at the differences from a NA (specifically, Canadian) perspective. I've had no first hand contact with the British system, however I have had friends go over to study there.
I guess it's also important to note that each Canadian province has its own system. So colleges can be a bit different from province to province. In BC, as I said, community colleges can grant Associate degrees. In Ontario, my home province, colleges couldn't grant degrees and Associate degrees don't exist. So, colleges tend to be more vocational in focus.
Does the American post-secondary system vary at all from state to state or is it uniform across the country?
Cheers,
Mark |
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Canuk girl
Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 60
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2003 5:04 am Post subject: from ont. |
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| Hey there... from one Ontarian to another... my b/f and I are here in Japan, we both came on WH visas, he because he has a college diploma... me because I wanted to get here quickly. You need to have a degree if you want to work full time on a Working Visa. |
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J-Pop
Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 215
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2003 10:54 pm Post subject: Re: from ont. |
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| Canuk girl wrote: |
| Hey there... from one Ontarian to another... my b/f and I are here in Japan, we both came on WH visas, he because he has a college diploma... me because I wanted to get here quickly. You need to have a degree if you want to work full time on a Working Visa. |
This seems to answer the original question. That WH visa is NICE.
I wonder why the USA doesn't have a similar agreement with Japan? |
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J-Pop
Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 215
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2003 12:10 am Post subject: oich's questions |
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Hello oich,
First of all thanks for your post!
| oich wrote: |
| Well, that turned out to be a lot longer than I thought it would be, and probably incoherent. I would love to hear from some North Americans about their system, which is as confusing to me as ours is to you. Am I right in my definition of 'minors' and 'majors'? '101's? Just why would someone studying for a theatre degree have to study Spanish? |
Informative--and coherent. Not so easy to be brief on some of these things, is it? 
I've sort of been waiting (hoping?) for someone else to jump in, but . . . since no one else has, I'll give it a go. I may not succeed, but I'll try.
| oich wrote: |
. . . Americans I've known have said they did courses in lots of subjects during their degree (i.e. 'I did a Spanish class and a math class while studying for a theatre degree'), which strikes me as bizarre - if you're going to university to learn theatre stuff, why would you have to learn subjects that have nothing to do with it? |
A basic aim of much of the American schooling experience: students should acquire a "comprehensive," general education--not simply be "specialists." The original guiding principle was, an "educated" person should be conversant in a number of areas, not just one, or two.
So, in overall terms (warning: this is a generalization!), from what I understand, the American system of education more closely resembles the Germanic one, in THIS regard: well-educated Germans often have a good working knowledge of a number of different subjects, they are (typically) "generalists."
Most "4-year" degrees (a BA, or BS) require approximately 2 years worth of "general" courses. History, English Literature, often a foreign language, several other subjects (depending on the individual school). The idea, again, is to provide students with a broad exposure to "the basics," those ideas & facts that an "educated" person might be expected to know.
THEN (typically) after these "general" courses (about 2 years), the student chooses a "specialization" = a MAJOR (another 2 years, approx). Not all schools require a MINOR, but most schools do (or they allow you to do a MINOR). Typically, but not always, the idea of a minor, is to provide an opportunity have not only a "specialty" (a major) but also a "sub-specialty" (a minor).
For example, someone might have a Business Administration Major, along with an accompanying Accounting (or Economics) Minor. In this case, the person would have taken substantially more courses (classes) in the major area of specialization, than in the minor (the second lesser, specialization). BUT, the major and minor may, or may not, be related. They usually are--but not always.
If someone wants to put in the extra time (& money) it is possible to have a "double-major." Thus, using the example given, someone might spend an extra year (maybe less) to take sufficient courses (in sequence) so to fulfill the requirements for a second (Accounting) major. In this case, the person would have two majors: 1. Business, 2. Accounting.
OTOH, the British system takes a more "specialized" approach throughout one's schooling. I think this fits with what you write, yes?
| Quote: |
| . . . in America do you start with a 101 course, then go up to a 200 then higher? |
Overall = yes. But it can vary from school to school. The last two digits (01) usally are the same though. What I mean, at one school, the first course (intro. to the subject) might be 201, or 301, then the following courses increase. For example, 201, then 210, then 301, then 310, then . . . This is referred to doing the courses "in sequence."
| Quote: |
| This is just my (probably ill-informed) belief, but I think I'm right in saying that obtaining your degree in America (and graduating high school) is done by studying a whole bunch of disperate subjects (initially in a '101' course, then getting progressively higher), and being given a grade at the end of each course. Then if the average grade you got in all of your different courses is above a certain total, you've passed. Is this anything like correct? |
YES, bascially. We call this a GPA (Grade Point Average). This is a cumulative, on-going average of all courses taken at that university (college). Some schools further break this down into your "overall" cumulative GPA, AND a GPA for your major field of study.
Employers, too, sometimes want to know the GPA in your major, not just your cumulative (overall) GPA. Typically, on transcripts, each individual course you took is listed (English 201, English 320, for example), along with a brief description of the content of the course "Twentieth-Century European Philosophy" (for example) AND the individual grade you were assigned for that course.
Grades: 4.0 =usually the highest grade you can achieve. This corresponds to an "A," or 100%. How these grades are assigned can vary from course to course (instructor to instructor) & school to school. The grade for each course is usually based on daily or weekly assignments, examinations & (sometimes) attendance. The American GPA is almost always based on the 4.0 model. Here is an example of what this might look like.
So (very roughly) starting from the HIGHEST (the very best):
93-100% = A = 4.0
90-92% = A- = 3.5
87-89% = B+ = 3.25
83-86% = B = 3.0
80-82% = B- = 2.75
(and so on, to a D-, the lowest "passing grade" possible).
At the end of each course, the instructor for the course assigns you a grade (either %, or "letter grade" (A, or B, or C, or D, less than D- you fail the course, no credit assigned. This is considered a "0" & is figured into your GPA, & will thus adversely affect your overall GPA).
Wow. I'm stopping now! I apologize if this seems like a BOOK!
But, it's like if you start to explain one thing -- then you have to explain something else!!
Anyway, I hope that helps answer some of your questions.
Regards, |
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BenJ
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 209
Location: Nagoya
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| Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2003 5:20 am Post subject: |
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I:d just like to add to the original query about college graduates and getting work visas that my partners employer has offered to sponsor her for a full working visa if she finishes her 2 year Diploma (she is currently on a WHV)... the theory behind that the company is able to sponsor their teachers if they have a 1-yr certifcate and 3 years experience, or a 2-yr diploma and 2 years experience.
I mentioned this before and it was disputed as not being legitimate but I guess like anything in Japan, there are at least two sides to every story. |
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