This may shock some of you, but I have now completed my
first class at WU. I know what you are thinking, classes only started a few
weeks ago, how could one be over already? That is the magic of block schedules.
Now that I am getting used to my new classes, I thought it
was a good time to share a little about the differences between WU and USC. In
a lot of ways it is very different, but of course, there are lots of
similarities as well.
I’ll start with the campus. Both schools have beautiful
campuses, but WU’s is much smaller. This is because the university only offers
majors and courses of study in business and related topics. Anyone studying
art, history, science, or engineering goes to another university entirely.
Therefore, they need fewer buildings. They also don’t offer on-campus housing,
medical care, and there is only a small sports facility.
In South Carolina, the campus is designed to function as a
city within a city. You don’t ever need to leave. Here, you go to campus mostly
just for classes. It’s nice because it encourages the students to interact with
the city more, but I find myself missing the convenience and atmosphere at
Carolina sometimes.
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| No Historic Horseshoe this semester "University of South Carolina Horseshoe" by Dfscgt21 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons |
Since this campus is entirely new, however, it does have
some pretty cool futuristic technology. Like you get to lock your stuff up at
the library in lockers that use your ID card as a key. And all of the rooms
have electronic signs that tell you which class is meeting there. It is pretty
cool to see the new advancements.
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| WU's brand new campus |
The classes are also different. Although I haven’t found the
actual content to be too radical a departure from what I am used to. The focus is
on case studies, practical applications of concepts, and group work. Class time
is divided between lectures and discussions. All of that feels very familiar. I
have seen the resurgence of what I thought to be a long-lost technology though:
the flipchart. We use them mostly for group discussions. It’s just a different
way for us to present our ideas, but I haven’t used one in a long time.
We did have one unusual class session, however. My diversity
management class meets in blocks, and our latest lecture was about disability
in organizations. To help us have a more in-depth understanding of what living
with a disability is like, our lecturer provided us wheelchairs and had us try
to go around campus. It was a very eye-opening experience!
Since I am taking my classes in English, many of the other
students I'm meeting are also international students. And not just from Canada
and the US, from all over the world. While there have been international
students in my classes at USC, there have never been this many. Getting to hear
everyone’s diverse perspectives has been one of my favorite parts of taking classes
here at WU.
If there is one way that school is completely different here,
it is scheduling. At USC classes usually meet twice a week for an hour and a
half or three times a week for 50 minutes. Here classes usually meet once a
week for three hours. That is, if you sign up for classes that meet regularly.
I’m only taking one course with a regular schedule. The rest are some variation
of a block. One meets some, but not every Friday for a month and a half for
five hours. Another meets every day in a week for five hours. That’s the one I
am already finished with. In general, block classes meet a total of five times
and other classes meet about eight. So, it feels like I‘m in class less than
back at USC. But the content is interesting and the professors are engaging, so
I still feel like I am learning a lot.
So far I have enjoyed my classes at WU. Most of the courses
I am taking cover topics that don’t have their own class at USC, so it offers
me a chance to explore new areas of study. Plus, with my irregular class
schedule I have plenty of time to get out and explore the city. It all feels
very laid-back. I sometimes worry that I will have trouble re-adjusting to
round-the-clock classes at USC.
Each way of conducting classes has its strengths and
weaknesses. I doubt that I will ever be able to confidently say that I prefer
one way to the other. For now, I want to focus on taking full advantage of my
new classes and diverse peers, as well as the many travel opportunities my
irregular schedule affords me.
The great secret I have been hiding is that I’m not even in
class right now. After one whole month, it was time for Easter break. All
classes and activities have been put on hold for two weeks, so I am traveling.
My trip will take me through Bavaria to Prague, with stops in Munich,
Stuttgart, and many famous castles. I will try to write posts about all of that
and more very soon! And not to worry, I still have plenty to talk about from my
time in Vienna as well. Bis bald! (See
you soon!)
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