The Summer School has existed since 1980. Between 50 and 70 students participate each year from mainly Ohio State, University of Cincinnati and Bowling Green State. The main objective of this program is to provide you with an overseas living experience. Just as important, you will walk away from the program having learned about European business, history, French language, sociology, the main problems the European Union is facing and its objectives.
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EXAMINATIONS AND CREDIT. Students are given a grade for each module. This is based on the results of tests, exams and project work. The grade and credit for the work is then transferred back to OSU according to a grade conversion scale.
SCHEDULE. The main classes are held Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The optional French course is held in the afternoons. The exact time and place will be decided on between the students and the instructor after the first class meeting, which typically takes place the second day of the program.
CLASSES. The French classroom is quite different from its American counterpart. In general, the professor-student relationship is less casual, classes are not as interactive, professors assume that you will study everything equally and do not speak in terms of �what you must know.� The grading scale is also very different. Students are evaluated on a scale of 1-20, scores above 16 are rare, but you can expect them to be transferred back according to OSU equivalencies. Since this program is mainly aimed towards an American audience, the instructors try their best to adapt their methods accordingly. All the same, do not expect everything to be the same as here, realize that when entering the French classroom you are bound to experience situations that will be both enlightening and confusing due to the differences between cultures and educational systems.
ACCOMODATIONS. Audencia houses students with carefully selected local French homes. The hosts provide continental breakfast and dinner from Monday morning until Thursday morning. Since many students travel on the weekends, we have found that this meal arrangement works best and helps avoid conflicts in the long run. The hosts are provided with a stipend from the program fee to compensate them for the expenses they will incur during your stay.
PRE-DEPARTURE READING. You may want to read the following books before you leave as they offer a good intoduction to the Frecnh culture and society.
Raymonde Carroll. Cultural Misunderstandings : The French-American Experience.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.
Philip Gordon & Sophie Meunier. The French Challenge: Adapting to Globalization.
Washington D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, 2001.
Let's Go Europe 2005. Travel guide by Let�s Go Inc.
