I loved the program, but not the grading Past Review

By (Finace, Providence College) for

CIEE: Barcelona - Business & Culture

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Yes, loved it.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: ESCI and CIEE
The term and year this program took place: Fall 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

the rescedencia I lived in was Melon district. It was fine <br /><br /> The location was great

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Food, travel, and the exchange rate

Language

Language acquisition improvement?

I was in the beginners Spanish class. It was DEFINITELY geared towards kids that had taken spanish all throughout high school. Which everyone in the class had except 2 of us. It was very overwhelming and the teacher assumed I knew a lot of stuff which I did not. I think it made me nervous because everyone else was good as speaking and I didn't know how to pronounce things because the teacher never went over it.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

E-Commerce

Course Department: ESCI
Instructor: Kim H. Sorensen
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Terrible course. First year teacher and was very unfair. I am a very hardworking student and the teacher was very unreasonable. He said a homework assignment was "optional" and then a few weeks later told the class "optional" meant you HAD to do it, or you lost points. He was unclear like this all semester, and both American students and Spanish students were equally frustrated with his methods of teaching and grading. He didn't give us grades to the end of the semester, so we had no idea how we were doing in the class. Then he told us a homework assignment we completed a few weeks early counted as our midterm grade (After the fact). We worked very hard on a semester long project, when above and beyond and included everything he asked. The grade we received was barley passing. We confronted Kim about this and he's reply was "I think i graded it at 1 a.m. so I was tired" My group followed up with emails for him to reread our project and get a higher grade as deserved, and he refused.
Credit Transfer Issues: