ICMS policy and culture...

So a while back I said I'd comment on some differences between ICMS and the U of M... I'm not entirely sure whether its a difference in Australian and American culture, international and public school, or merely school population. Regardless, there are some similarities and differences I have had the opportunity to experience here. When I learned about the uniform policy I thought that was going to be the biggest change to get used to...well its not, to tell you the truth, I hardly think about it anymore. Heels and my uni are just part of going to class.

Starting off very basic... grading. This week is "midterms" but out of four classes I have... there is only one test. Instead of having a standard midterm, group project, homework assignments, and a final to determine grades, its a large case study or project and a final. Potentially a third component if you're lucky. Nothing is really graded until week 11, I guess even if I am failing my classes they won't know early enough to cancel my visa and kick me out before I plan to leave. They also have High Distinction, Distinction, Credit, Pass, Fail, and Fail Requirements instead of A, B, C, D, F. Supposedly the cut off for Distinction is 80% and still counts for 4.0 grade points. In the event that this is true, my term here may be a huge GPA booster.

The structure of the school is also very different for obvious reasons... there are 1200 kids, not 50,000+. Instead of 3 campuses spanning two cities and classroom and entire buildings for administrative offices or student unions, there are two buildings here connected by a short walk way. This includes resident rooms, the dean and general manager of the college, faculty offices, 14 classrooms, IT, student services, and dining facilities. Unlike the U, I can't complain about having to chase all over campus to find what I need, the only issue is the number of stairs you might have to climb. Its not necessarily any more organized, just much smaller in scale. I think I made the right choice in the U... I like my space and having options on campus. I miss walking around campus and being able to hang out in the mall, or find a bench to kill some time reading the paper. I like having my walk built into daily life instead of doing it just to get out of the same building I've spent the entire day in. This campus is beautiful and really easy to know straightaway, but its starting to suffocate me. I gave a tour of campus to the aboriginal students on Sunday (I've never been on a tour myself). The whole tour took 12 minutes... it takes me longer than that to show a residence hall at the U.

Onto lecturers... I've told a little bit about McRae (things are getting better by the way, she's not malicious in her personal attacks--I still don't approve of them but no longer take any notice or offence to them) but all of my lecturers use personal examples and disclose personal information on a regular basis. For instance... I know the marital/relationship status of each lecturer I have. I know where they live and have seen pictures of some of their significant others. I know one has two grown kids and lives with his "lady friend," another is divorced with a grown son, came from a family alcoholic parents, unsophisticated country folks, and has a first cousin that is a pedofile. Mind you this was not in the first "get to know each other" day of class... they openly talk about their personal lives as it relates to class topics or tangents. It was a little shocking at first... everyone in America seems to keep their personal and academic/work lives separate--myself included-- but I'm getting used to it. I don't know if this is common in Australia or just ICMS.

The demographics of students is also very different. Minnesota is mostly midwest kids from Minnesota or Wisconsin. There is the occasional out of stater, and a few international students. There isn't much cultural diversity, and when there is, these cultural groups tend to stay very separate. Australians seem to be a decent majority in the older terms, but our term is very mixed... many Asian and European students, a few Australians, and our lot of 60 from America. Despite the diversity, the separation of cultures is very similar to Minnesota. There is cross-over, but only in groups. A small group of Americans may befriend a group of Swedes, Germans, or Finlanders... but there are still barriers. In class, the Chinese students sit together, separate from the Koreans, and Americans, and Scandanavian, and European. Its very interesting to watch. Lunch is no different of course. There is some mixing, but not to the degree I imagined.

So that's what I've noticed... there has been a lot of discussion on the growth of ICMS (the college is just over 10 years old) and the changing culture. When it was a hospitality school, the culture was more inclusive and literally everyone knew your name (so I've been told). Its interesting to walk in and hear the perceptions of term 9 students verses term 3-4 and compared to new students. I may write a little bit about suburban life and coastal lifestyles vs. Minneapolis and Minnesota in the future. For now... its time for lunch.

Another language oddity... they call the letter z "zed" and h "ech" it confuses me sometimes.

Hope everyone is well back home... I'd never turn down a comment, email, or letter. Thanks to everyone who has been keeping in touch:)