General
There is no curve!
England
The education system at Warwick was semester-long classes, and first term we had six on-going classes. I really enjoyed this set up, because if you fell behind in the readings there was always time to catch up before mid-terms or finals. Also, if you favor one subject more than the other, you could reward yourself and study what you like for a bit...for example after some heavy accounting, I would like to read the interesting articles in our binder as bedtime stories. Furthermore, I want to point out here that I think that at WBS expectations were very clear first term, it was specified what was required to do well...which was not the case everywhere.
At Warwick, the grading system was based on percentages. 70% is considered distinction, so comparable to an A. Anything higher than 70% is superb comparable to an A+ or an A++. You then need a 50% to pass, as anything lower than a 50% is failing. This system was easy to adapt as I just had to re-adjust my thinking from 100% to 70%.
I would say that I like many was the most motivated at Warwick, being the first term, we were all fresh and committed to learning! Surprisingly, after a shaky midterm performance, I pulled it together for finals and made the Dean's List for first term. It was a really nice start to the new academic life.
Copenhagen
At CBS the class set up was not constant. We had some classes that stretched for a few weeks and then had some where we only had 2-3 sessions. We were actually there for two terms for a total of six classes. Furthermore, after coming from WBS, the limited or virtually no direction of expectations on papers or exam was half of the battle at CBS. For example, write about something from the course, make a point, ask a question...oh yeah and be able to talk intelligently about it. Yes, we had oral examinations in Copenhagen. We had one for corporate branding and the dreaded Corporate Finance. That is not a typo, we had an ORAL corporate finance exam that was worth 100% of our grade. We had to choose two questions at random (supposed to be one qualitative and one quantitative), prepare for 20 minutes with our class materials and then present / essentially teach the two professors on the topic and have discussion.
The grading system at Copenhagen was rather confusing. Here we go:
12 - A+
10
7 - C
4
2 - Passing
0
-3
Yes that is a -3 on the scale for extremely poor performance! It was never clear how many points achieved correlated to the number you received. For example, missing only ten points off is a 12?? I want to know what happened to the 1,3,5,6,8,9, and 11 in the scale!
After an intense schedule at WBS, lots of free time and duplicate classes impaired my motivation a bit. However, my performance remained constant plus I was able to travel a bit, learn a differing angle on a topic and actually started to like Accounting (thank you relax a little bit. I was very nervous about Finance and got two easy questions that the average Joe would have aced, but I choked a bit. Spend too much time trying to grasp the more difficult topics than the easy ones, but that is what happens when you have to study the entire text book!
Germany
The third term at Mannheim, we have to take a minimum of six classes each a week long. I do not like this system, as it doesn't give you the time to go in depth on a topic, nor does it give you time to reflect on what you are learning...and of course no time to catch up on readings. Most of the classes were similar to seminars or workshops because of the lack of depth. And of course because they emphasized the global factor, so we talked a lot about cultural differences, Hofstede, etc. Also, the work load during the week was intensive! Moreover, I think one week classes try to cram too much in with too little content.
In regards to the grading, here is the scale:
1 - Almost unattainable
1.3
1.7
2
2.3
2.7
3 - Average
4
5 - Fail
6
A 1.0 is highly unattainable, I think the German feeling that there is always room for improvement (as I have been told) comes out in the grading and the reluctance to give a 1.0. With this system, you have to think in the reverse since 4.0 is usually the best score possible and a 1.0 is very bad in the American system.
Not all of the Mannheim grades are in yet, but so far the grading is okay. The rounding that happens usually hurts the student in this grading scheme, as I myself have fallen victim - why is there no 1.5!! We had the choice between papers or exams and mostly I choose exams, because papers are so time intensive. However, cramming on Thursday for a detailed exam after class on Friday can be a bit arduous, so I think I will fare better with the classes that I wrote the paper for.
To answer my initial question from above, I personally think grades are important as that is a characteristics that I have always had stemming from grade school I guess. Grades are traditionally very important in Germany, and I have heard of instances of when even grade school transcript grades are asked for. Also, given the state of the economy in the U.S. I wouldn't be surprised if grades become more of an important factor in the hiring decision process to weed out candidates as there are fewer jobs.
Photos:
1 - Comparison of grading systems
