Difference Between Undergraduate Teaching Systems in China and USA

中美大学本科教学体系比较

---- Work and Life on Campus in Missouri State University

in 2001-2002

Fred Yang

Nov., 2013

ContentsI. The U.S. Higher Education System: a Brief Overview 高校概况II. Admission 入学III. Division of Classes, deparments and Colleges 班级 ,院系的划分IV. Students Board and Loading On Campus 学生在校的食宿V. No Compulsory but Selective Courses Tutorial System 选课 ---导师制VI. Credit System and Credit Hours 学分制及学时VII. How to Conduct Classes—Heuristic Teaching 启发式教学VIII. Evaluation System 考试评价体系IX. All-round Development 学生的全面发展X. Facilities on Campus 校园设施XI. Part-time Jobs and Expenditure on Campus 学生打工收入和在校花费

I. Overview of U.S. Higher Education美国高等教育体系概述

More than 4,000 colleges and universities in U.S. A. Enrollments range from a few hundred or less to

50,000 or more. Tuition ranges from about $5,000 to more than

$52,000 a year. State and local governments, boards of trustees, and/or

private enterprises regulate;

little direct regulation by the federal government

1.1 Basic Distinctions in U.S. Post-secondary Institutions

美国高等学府的基本划分 Two-year:

Junior Colleges 专科Community Colleges 社区学院

Four-year:Liberal Arts College 文科Comprehensive University 综合性大学

Bachelor’s only 只招收本科生Graduate degrees 有研究生

Research Institution 高校研究机构

Both the world famous universities and community colleges are abundant in the USA.

(In this photo: MIT麻省理工 , Harvard, Yale, Long Beach City College)

1.2 College Calendars 大学学年制 Most colleges in U.S.A. follow the semester system: 2学期

Average 16 weeks long.Fall and Spring semesters.Maybe Summer semester, 8-12 weeks long.

Some colleges in U.S.A. follow the quarter system: 4学期Academic year is divided into four quarters of about 10 weeks each.May be some variation in the summer quarter.

A few colleges follow a trimester system, with three terms per year, about 12 weeks per term. 3学期

Academic year begins in the Fall (August or September).

1.3 Public and Private Colleges –Private colleges (私立学校 )

• Receive primary funding from various sources (e.g. student tuition; grants <政府补助 >, endowments<捐赠 >, gifts; support from

private organizations).

• Not under the same regulatory restrictions as public colleges.

• Some serve narrowly-defined student population (e.g. women only, African-Americans, Baptists).

• Broad range in sizes.

• Many of the U.S.’s most “elite” (精英 ) colleges are private. e.g. Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Columbia, Yale, etc.

• All students usually pay the same tuition.

1.4 Public and Private Colleges– Public Colleges (公立学校 )

• Primarily funded by state and local governments.

• Must maintain certain state-wide standards.

• Must serve the needs of the taxpayers of that state.

• Out-of-state students (including international students) pay higher tuition because they and their families are not and have not been taxpayers of that state.

• “College” is used generically to refer to any post-secondary institution.

II. Admission 入学 Objective criteria: standardized tests (SAT美国学术能力评估测验 7times/Y) and ACT 美国大学入学考试 4-6times/Y ), students’ high school GPA (grade point average) 平均分数 , and class ranking

Subjective factors: extracurricular activities, a personal essay, an interview

Easy Enrollment and Difficult Graduation

III. Division of Classes & Colleges 班级及院系的划分

No Classes and College Division for Students

Students have their classmates but different in meanings from ours

Colleges and Departments are Just for Academic Teaching but not for students

IV. Students Board and Loading On Campus 学生在校食宿

Not enough dorms for every student School dorms may be more expensive than

rooms rented outside campus Canteens and restaurants on campus

student dorm student canteen

V. No Compulsory but Selective Courses ---Tutorial System 选课 ---导师制

For most undergraduates in universities in China, we don’t have the tutorial systems.

In USA all the undergraduates have their tutors. The tutorial system is very helpful for freshmen.

Help freshmen to decide what major or lessons they will choose for their study

All the lessons are selective not compulsory, which is completely different from that in China

VI. Credit System and Credit Hours 学分制及学时

Credit system and credit hours

108 credit scores for bachelors degree, 12-15 hours a week

16 weeks a semester, 3 hours for one course each week

2 semesters a schooling year besides a short term in summer vacation which is about 4 month long

VII. How to Conduct Classes --heuristic teaching not duck-spooning

启发式而非填鸭式教学 Very useful teaching syllabus (teacher’s personal information,

name, title, office No., phone No., Email, everything about the course, time, classroom, textbooks, assignments, references, quizzes, etc.)

Little theoretic teaching A lot of classroom activities (pair-work, role-plays, group

discussions, debates, etc.)

Students involvement (Q&A, discussions, presentations, etc.)

More solutions to questions and problems Students have to spend much time preparing for class

VIII. Evaluation System 考试评价体系

Complicated evaluation system More fair for students Finals (or not) Many quizzes Students presentation and involvement in

class Assignments and theses

IX. All-round Development 学生的全面发展

Scores are not the only criteria to evaluate students

All-round development is very important

students take part in all kinds of extracurricular activities, sports/performance debates, etc.

There are all kinds of students organizations

X. Facilities on Campus 校园设施

Students activity center Building restaurants, bars, shops barbers, post offices, theaters, music halls,

Library reading rooms, bars, copy shops, computer centers, etc. help borrow books from other schools

Sports Facilities -- Sports grounds, gyms, stadiums, swimming-pools, arena,

Theaters, galleries Computer centers School shuttles, etc. Parking lots Facilities help disabled

A Stadium in MSU

The library in MSU

The Library In MSU

The students activity center in MSU

Arena in MSU室内运动场

XI. Part-time Jobs and Expenditure on Campus学生的在校花费和打工收入

1. Students expenses on campus 1). tuitions 2 ） rent, food, books, daily expense 1 ） tuitions = $ 500 X credit scores =$500X30=$15000 2 ） rent and food depends on your living condition and your food books about $500-900/year (used textbooks are encouraged) daily expense

XI. Part-time Jobs and Expenditure on Campus学生的在校花费和打工收入

2. Students scholarships, fellowships, part-time jobs

1 ） Scholarships: the money you get from the school but you have to work in order to get it, fellowships etc.

2) Part-time jobs, on campus and off campus part-time jobs for international students are limited to 20 hours

a week for native students they are unlimited on campus part-time jobs off campus part-time jobs

Thank you! Enjoy your life on Our

Campus here!