International Business
2010 Fall Semester - Partner Institution

Accreditation

The University of Alicante is recognized by the Spanish Ministry of Education as a degree granting institution of higher learning.

University of Alicante

Established in 1979, the University of Alicante is one of Spain's most modern and innovative universities. Heir to the historic rights of the University of Orihuela, whose studies had been suspended in 1834 after two centuries, the University of Alicante has become one of the fastest growing universities in Spain with an enrollment of 33,000 students and 32 degree programs. Every year, approximately 1200 students from all over the world attend the University of Alicante to study Spanish language and culture.

Located about 5 km outside of Alicante's city center and easily reached by bus, the all-inclusive campus is spread across more than 1,000 square meters (.62 square miles), over 70% of which are dedicated to green areas. It is one of the most all-inclusive and striking campuses in Europe, with green wooded areas, a beautiful lake and numerous facilities including a museum, art gallery, 24-hour library, indoor and outdoor sports stadiums, restaurants and three banks. Get involved in many cultural, academic and athletic activities. For example, you can participate in an intercambio, a language exchange program, take part in political science seminars or get involved in a variety of sporting activities including swimming, aerobics and intramural sports teams. Additional university services include a student health center, tutoring services, several dining facilities, and a campus bookstore.

Classroom Information

• International faculty from the University of Alicante will teach your language courses and electives.
• Periodic exams, homework assignments and final exams will be administered.
• Attendance in all classes is mandatory and monitored by each professor.
• Teaching styles in Spain can be very different from those found in the US or Canada. Be prepared to adapt to the different classroom structures and coursework expectations for your school.
• Class size ranges between 10 and 15 students for both language courses and electives. These smaller class sizes will enable you to receive more personalized attention from your instructors.
• You will be in class with international students from the US, Europe, Canada and other parts of the world. Due to the superior mastery of the language required for this program, you will not be in classes with host national students.

Grading

The Spanish grading system is based on a scale of 10, as opposed to 100 in the US system. It would be inaccurate to merely multiply a Spanish grade by 10 to find its US equivalent. Also, please keep in mind that grading varies from subject to subject. For example, in mathematics a student may receive a 10 for completing all the problems correctly, whereas in the humanities, a 7 on an essay is a very acceptable grade. Grading in Spain can be severe and grades of 9 and 10 are quite rare. In addition to listing a numeric grade for each course, transcripts from Spanish universities list a verbal grade. The University of Alicante has released the following chart to assist US Universities in interpreting the Spanish grading scale. Per the University of Alicante, interpretation of the Spanish grading scale is as follows:

Grading Scale for the Spanish Language & Culture Program

* Recently to raise academic standards in language programs, the University of Alicante has raised the minimum grade requirement to pass language courses from 5 to 6. This requirement must be met to advance to a higher language level.   

Grading Scale for International Business Program

Please note that these grading scales are recommended by CEA and the University of Alicante, but final credit and grade evaluation is ultimately determined by a student's home university. Also, please keep in mind that credit for a grade lower than a C at a foreign institution is rarely granted at most US schools. Again, final determination will be made by a student’s home university.