Academics 101

Houghton CollegeTransition Orientation Program

Terminology• Course – A program of instruction within a given subject area containing both a course

number and name, such as;– BIBL 101 – Biblical Literature– HIST 251 – East African History– FREN 461 – Advanced French Conversation

• Credit Hours – Each course has an assigned number of credit hours (usually between 1 – 4) based on the number of hours spent in class per week. They are sometimes referred to simply as “credits” or “hours.” Each student must accumulate at least 124 credits to graduate (BMus students need 128). The average students takes between 12 – 18 credits a semester.

• Integrative Studies (IS) – Also known as “general education” courses, IS courses are required of all students, regardless of major. Students typically have several options for fulfilling their IS requirements. For example, there is an IS requirement of 1 literature course for all students. This may be fulfilled by taking English Lit, American Lit, Lit and Wisdom, etc.

• Academic Records Office – Located on the 2nd floor of Luckey Building, the ARO handles such things as scheduling, changes to student registration, student records, transfers, academic transcripts, etc.

What to do in class?In the U.S. college classroom is it acceptable to…

– Ask your professor questions? – Sleep? – Eat? – Participate actively in discussion? – Challenge your professor? – Skip class? – Bring your computer? – Check facebook?– Send text messages?– Leave to use the restroom/washroom? – Just sit there like a bump on a log?

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

NO

NO!

NO!!

USUALLY NO

USUALLY YES

NO

How to interact with your professors

1. How should I address my professor?A. “Dr. Smith” B. “Professor Smith” C. “Bob” D. “Hey Dork-face!”

2. How should I ask my professor for extra help?A. Call their home in the eveningB. Visit their office during office hoursC. Ask just before class startsD. Meet them for lunchE. Send them an email

Okay for some profs, but let them initiate!

Which of the following are good things to do if you are struggling in a class?A. Talk to your professorB. Get help from other students in your classC. Drop the classD. Visit Student Academic Services (2nd floor of

Chamberlain)E. Talk to BrianF. Transfer out of HoughtonG. Nothing

I need help!

maybe

Misc. Stuff

• Final Exams– Don’t book your flight home until you’ve looked at

your final exam schedule!

• Mayterm• Advising & Registration• What to wear to class

Academic Integrity• This is a common area of confusion for internationals• Academic integrity is taken very seriously at Houghton, and at all

higher education institutions in the U.S.• Academic dishonesty may include any of the following;

– Obtaining aid or information without giving due recognition to the sources from which the aid or information was obtained.

– Giving aid or information when it is clearly inappropriate to do so, such as providing answers for an exam or writing a portion of a paper for someone else.

– Copying (or even asking to copy) another student’s work in order to claim as your own on an exam or other assignment.

– Plagiarism – using ideas, words, or phrases from any source without citing that source.

– Purchasing or downloading papers or parts of papers off the internet in order to claim as your own work.