UCL Study Abroad Questionnaire

All UCL students who participate in the study abroad programme are required to complete this evaluation questionnaire at the end of their time abroad.

The deadline for submission is 1st July 2013.

NB. Students who are studying abroad during Term one only should complete the study abroad questionnaire by 31st January 2013.

The questionnaire covers all aspects of your stay abroad, and serves the following purposes:

1) To give you the opportunity to provide UCL with feedback about your experience of studying abroad, and to raise any concerns that you may have with us.

2) The completed questionnaires are made available to UCL students preparing to embark on their period of study abroad. Your practical experience and the information you provide will be of invaluable help to students who are preparing to go abroad, so please give detailed answers wherever possible.

NB. Any information of a personal or sensitive nature will be removed, and your questionnaire will be anonymised, before it is made available to other UCL students.

For Modern Language students the UCL Study Abroad Questionnaire has a course-unit value. As such, if the questionnaire is not submitted by the stated deadlines this will result in failure of the relevant course-unit.

Click on the button below to access the questionnaire.

Personal Details

Questions marked * are compulsory

Forename *

Surname *

Email *

Department *

Other - please specify:

Degree Programme (e.g. BA French and Russian) *

Year in which abroad *

Where did you spend your first semester abroad? *

Other - please specify:

Type of Placement *

Where did you spend your second semester abroad? *

Country: *

Other - please specify:

Type of Placement *

Before Departure

How would you rate your preparation by your department(s)?

Please give details/feedback and suggest any improvements:

How would you rate your preparation by the Study Abroad Team?

Please give details/feedback and suggest any improvements:

Did you attend the Pre-Departure briefing organised by the Study Abroad Team in March? Yes
No

If yes, did you find it useful? Yes
No

Please give feedback/suggest any improvements:

How would you rate your own preparation ahead of studying abroad?

Could you have done more to prepare yourself before leaving UCL? If so, please give details:

Could you have been better prepared by UCL? If so, please give details:

As part of your preparation, did you do any of the following (tick all that apply): Contact the Study Abroad Team
Discuss your options with your Study Abroad Tutor
Contact final year students who had returned from their year abroad
Contact third year students who were studying abroad at the time
Contact exchange students who were studying at UCL at the time
Contact the UCL Careers Service
Consult the resources in Moodle or on the Study Abroad website
Consult previous students' study abroad questionnaires
Consult your host institution's website

If you contacted the Study Abroad Team, what did you seek advice about? Did you find the advice useful?

Prior to departure, were you given clear instructions by your department on what was expected of you academically during your year abroad? YesNo

How did you prepare yourself for the academic aspect of your year abroad programme?

What advice would you offer to students prior to making a decision about where to study abroad?

What advice would you give to students preparing to go abroad? What things should they make sure to do ahead of beginning their year abroad?

Your Placement - University

Semester One

This section relates to your placement for the first half of your year abroad. You will have the opportunity to comment on the second half of your year abroad further on.

Name of your host university:

Location (city and country):

Was your university placement part of an ERASMUS or other exchange programme? Yes
No

When did you receive confirmation of acceptance from the host university?

When did your placement start?

How did you get to your placement? Please give rough details of the journey and costs:

Enrolment and Course Registration

Please describe the enrolment process at your host university. What formalities did you have to complete, and, in particular, what documents did you need to have in order to enrol? (e.g. carte de séjour, passport, nomination letter). As an international student, were you given any special help with enrolment?

Were any special orientation events/meetings provided for study abroad students? If so, please give details.

Is there any advice you would give to future students ahead of enrolling at this university?

Registering for Courses

How easy was it to finalise and register your course choices?

Please give details of the procedures and how to choose or change courses:

Was obtaining information about courses and timetables difficult or simple?

If difficult, what advice would you offer on how to obtain the information?

Academic Life

At your host university, who helped you with the academic or administrative aspects of your year abroad? Please tick all that apply: Departmental Coordinator
International Office / Erasmus Office
Individual Tutors
Other

Please give names of helpful individuals if possible:

Please indicate what kind of help you received (e.g. with course registration; general academic advice; specific assistance with coursework; specific assistance with dissertation preparation; instructions concerning coursework; instructions concerning assessment):

Please comment on the number of classes you took and how many hours a week that constituted in the classroom. Please also mention the amount of work you had to do outside class on average:

Please describe the nature of the classes (i.e. large lectures, smaller seminar groups etc.) What was the average lecture/class size?

Please describe the mode of assessment for the courses you took (e.g. written/oral exam, essay/project etc.) and its timing (e.g. mid or end of year). Were there coursework requirements (presentations, essays etc.)?

Please comment on the availability and approachability of teaching staff at your host university:

How would you rate the teaching at your host university:

How would you rate the selection of courses offered:

How would you rate the intellectual level of the material covered:

How would you rate the difficulty of the courses at your host university compared to UCL:

Please give details:

If you attended a university where the language of instruction was not English, did you experience any language difficulties? Yes
No

Did your tutors make allowances for your not being a native speaker? Yes
No

If yes, please give details:

Facilities

Please briefly describe the facilities available at your host university, with particular reference to:

Library provision:

Access to computers, internet etc.:

Clubs and societies (type, range, and cost):

Sporting facilities (type, range, and cost):

Other:

Summary

Why did you choose to spend your year abroad at this university in particular?

Are you glad that you did so? Yes
No

Would you recommend this university to future UCL students? Yes
No

Please explain why:

How would you rate the placement overall?

How would you rate the placement within the context of your degree programme?

Is there any specific advice you would offer to students considering a placement at this university?

Your Placement - Work Placement

Semester One

This section relates to your placement for the first half of your year abroad. You will have the opportunity to comment on the second half of your year abroad further on.

Placement location (city and country):

Name of your host organisation:

Nature of business (e.g. bank, NGO etc.):

How did you find your placement? Please describe the application process:

Approximately how long did your search take?

What advice would you give future UCL students on how to find a work placement?

The Placement

Please give a description of the work in which you were engaged. What tasks or responsibilities did your placement involve?

How many hours did you work per week?

What was your approximate salary per month?

Had you considered a career in this field of work beforehand? Yes
No

Would you consider a career in this field of work now? Yes
No

Please give details:

Summary

Why did you choose this type of placement instead of spending the year at a university?

Are you glad that you did so? Yes
No

Would you recommend doing a work placement to future students? Yes
No

Please give details:

How would you rate the placement overall?

How would you rate the placement within the context of your degree programme?

Would you recommend this employer to future UCL students? Yes
No

Is it likely that this post will be available again next year or in the future (please consult with your employers)? Yes
No

If your employer will be running this placement again in the future and would like to hear from other UCL students, please write their contact details and any other relevant information below:

Is there any specific advice you would offer to students who are considering undertaking a work placement during their year abroad?

Your Placement - Language Assistantship

Semester One

This section relates to your placement for the first half of your year abroad. You will have the opportunity to comment on the second half of your year abroad further on.

Name of the school at which you taught:

Location (city and country):

Dates of your placement:

Before Departure

Which country(ies) did you apply for? Which regions/cities did you apply for within those countries?

Did you obtain a posting in your first choice of area / second choice / third choice / none of these? First choiceSecond choiceThird choiceNone of these

When did you receive confirmation of your assistantship?

If you were put on a waiting list, when did you receive confirmation of a place?

When and how did you hear from your school?

Did the national agency organise an introductory course? If yes, when and where was it held? How useful was it?

The Placement

Were you contracted to teach at one or more schools? One school
More than one

If more than one, please give details of how your time was allocated:

How many hours per week were you contracted to teach? Over how many days?

What age group did you teach?

Was this what you requested? Yes
No

Please describe how your work was organised. Did you follow a curriculum? Did you work with teachers or on your own? In whole classes or small groups?

Was the school prepared for your arrival? Had they had assistants before? Did they know what to do with you?

Were you allocated a mentor teacher/supervisor? Yes
No

If yes, were they helpful? Yes
No

How would you rate the support you received from your school?

Please give details:

Do you have any advice for developing good relations with other teaching staff?

What teaching aids did you take with you? What did you find most useful?

Did you experience any problems in the classroom? If yes, please give details:

Summary

Why did you choose this type of placement instead of spending the year at a university?

Are you glad that you did so? Yes
No

Would you recommend a language assistantship to future students? Yes
No

Please give details:

How would you rate the placement overall?

How would you rate the placement within the context of your degree programme?

Had you considered a career in teaching beforehand? Yes
No

Would you consider a career in teaching now? Yes
No

Is there any specific advice you would offer to students considering applying for a language assistantship?

Accommodation

Semester One

This section relates to your placement for the first half of your year abroad. You will have the opportunity to comment on the second half of your year abroad further on.

What type of accommodation did you obtain? Accommodation provided by your host institution
Private accommodation

How did you obtain your accommodation? Please describe the application process, when you applied, and when you received confirmation:

What was the average monthly rent? What was included in this cost (e.g. bills, internet, food etc.)? Please give as much detail as possible about the costs associated with your accommodation:

How early could you move in?

Did you have to vacate the premises during the holidays? YesNo

How would you rate the accommodation provided?

Please describe the type of accommodation you stayed in, its location and level of comfort. Did you have a single or double room? What were the kitchen and other facilities like? What was or wasn't provided (e.g. bedding, kitchen utensils)? Did you feel that the accommodation represented good value for money?

Did you live with local students, or with other foreign students? Were the halls a good place to practice your language skills and interact with local students?

Would you recommend this accommodation to future students? YesNo

Is there any other advice you would like to share with future students looking for accommodation in your host town/city?

If you stayed in private accommodation, please indicate whether this was a personal choice, or whether you did so because accommodation was not provided by your host institution: Personal choice
The host institution did not provide accommodation

How easy was it to find accommodation?

How long did it take you to find accommodation?

Did you stay in temporary/short stay accommodation while you looked for something permanent? If so, please give details:

Please give details of how you found your accommodation. When did you start looking, and where did you look? Please list any websites, agencies, newspapers or other resources which future students might find helpful when looking for accommodation.

Please describe the type of accommodation you stayed in, its location and level of comfort. Did you live in a shared flat/live with a local family/other? Did you have a single or double room? What were the kitchen and other facilities like? What was or wasn't provided (e.g. bedding, kitchen utensils)? Did you feel that the accommodation represented good value for money?

What was the average monthly rent? What was included in this cost (e.g. bills, internet, food etc.)? Please give as much detail as possible about the costs associated with your accommodation:

Did you live with locals, or with other foreign students? Were you able to practice your language skills and interact with local students in your accommodation?

Would you recommend this accommodation to future students? YesNo

If yes, please give the address of the residence and, if possible, contact details for the owner:

What type of accommodation would you advise future students to look for (private flat, shared flat/house, stay with local family etc.)?

Which parts of your host town/city would you recommend living in. Are there any parts of the town/city which should be avoided?

Is there any other advice you would like to share with future students looking for accommodation in your host town/city?

Finance

Semester One

This section relates to your placement for the first half of your year abroad. You will have the opportunity to comment on the second half of your year abroad further on.

In order to help future students to estimate the amount of money they will need to budget for while abroad, we would appreciate approximate answers to the following questions. Please give amounts in the local currency (where applicable).

How much money did you need on arrival (e.g. for housing deposits, rent and other start-up costs)?

1. Cost of Living

How much did you spend on the following items? Please state average amounts in local currency:

Rent (per month):

Bills (electricity, gas, water, internet, phone etc.):

Books (overall amount spent on books during your stay):

Food (weekly):

A (simple) meal (in a cafe or restaurant):

A coffee (in a cafe or bar):

A beer (in a cafe or bar):

A cinema ticket:

Local travel (weekly):

Entertainment (weekly):

Any other regular costs:

In total, how much did you spend per month on average?

How would you rate the cost of living in your host town/city when compared to London?

Please give details. Were there certain things which were more expensive than in the UK, and others which were cheaper?

2. Working

Is supplementing your income through part-time work a viable option? Yes
No

If yes, do you have any advice about what type of work to look for, or where to look? Please give the names of any employers or agencies you worked for, and any newspapers, websites or notice boards you would recommend:

Does your host institution help with finding part-time work?

3. Banking

Did you open a bank account in your host country? Yes
No

If yes, was it easy to open an account? Please describe the process and what documents were needed. Did you have to make a minimum deposit to open the account?

Which bank did you open an account with?

What type of account did you open? Were there any charges, and was it easy to withdraw money within your host country using this account?

No: If no, why not? How did you access money while abroad?

Would you recommend opening a local bank account? If so, which bank(s) or account(s) would you recommend?

General

Semester One

This section relates to your placement for the first half of your year abroad. You will have the opportunity to comment on the second half of your year abroad further on.

1. Social Factors (Opportunities and Ease of Meeting People)

How much interaction did you have with local students?

How much interaction did you have with other international students?

In your experience, what were the best ways of meeting people?

If you were studying in a country where the local language is not English, how often did you speak the local language?

2. Mobile Phones

Would you recommend getting a mobile phone with a local tariff as well as/instead of your English mobile? Yes
No

Please give details. Are there any mobile providers you would recommend?

Transport

Was local transport good or bad? Please give details of local transport you used:

What was the cost of local transport? Are there any special deals or discounts for students?

Did you travel more widely within your host country or within the region? How easy was it to travel, and was it expensive to do so?

Life in your Host Country

Please comment on the social life and entertainment in your host city/country, or any other aspects of life there which you would like to share:

Is there any advice you would give to someone preparing to live in your host city/country?

Did you experience any problems/difficulties while living in your host city which you would like to share with the Study Abroad Team?

Your Placement - University

Semester Two

This section relates to your placement for the second half of your year abroad.