funkyab
10+ year member
CarAudio.com Elite
Uppsala Universitet in sweden does not require mandatory attendance in classes (except in a few very specialized discliplines) At Uppsala, as well as many other Swedish and north/western european universities, a larger emphasis is put on individual learning and reading, structured by the faculty, as opposed to lengthy and boring lectures. If you miss class you are required to submit supplementary assignments proving that you are familiar with the paterial that has been discussed during the period you missed. I think this is a great policy for several reasons. You do not feel as though you are being babysat by the attendance policy. Just to avoid the supplementary assignment is a good reason to be in attendance. University is free in Sweden (although beers cost 8 dollars) and i think this is an incentive for students to go to class. Some (of course not all) feel pressured in the U.S. to go to university by parents, society etc.. and may not feel as though this is not what they really want to be doing. Where university is free (and VERY RARE) for parents to help with living expences the students who are there really want to be there and their academic behaviour reflects that. I of course grew up in the states and got my undergrad at Indiana. Although i study at the graduate level, i see that the undergraduate students at Uppsala on average take their studies much more seriously and that the academic level is much higher than that of many schools in the U.S. Also, I am currently doing a research period at the university of Groningen in the Netherlands and i see a similar pattern, however students here are required to pay tuition (nominal to us standads) and have an 80% attendance policy. I feel here students do not take their academics as seriously as in sweden. And as far as student rowdy culture is concerned,,, Sweden wins by far... Hmmm...
