GUIDES TO THE UNIVERSITY

The 2023-2024 academic year will include the following three methods of delivering lessons:

• Synchronous Blended: Lessons will take place exclusively in synchronous mode in the classroom. However, at the discretion of the faculty, a limited number of lessons (for a maximum of one hour per credit) may be dedicated to distance learning to combine traditional teaching with the use of specific teaching methods. This standard model can be applied to both compulsory and elective courses.
• Advanced: Lessons will take place both in synchronous mode in the classroom and synchronous and asynchronous mode remotely. The Advanced mode implies the use of innovative teaching methods, combining exercises and tools of various kinds. The course structure and the activities will be communicated in detail in the course syllabus. The Advanced mode can be applied to both compulsory and elective courses.
• Fully Online: Lessons will take place exclusively in synchronous remote mode. This mode can be applied to elective courses and, in exceptional cases only, to compulsory courses.

Video recordings of lectures will not be available for any of the three teaching methods – neither in person, nor online, synchronous or asynchronous.
The teaching delivery method adopted for individual courses is indicated in the course syllabus that will be published in the website at www.unibocconi.eu/courses.

Regarding progressive changes in the learning methods used, using a computer is a compulsory condition to attend the lectures of some courses. Each student should therefore be equipped with a personal laptop PC. For further info, see paragraph 1.7.1. Student's personal laptop computer.

POSSIBLE EXCEPTIONS FROM IN-PERSON LESSON PARTICIPATION

One of the guiding principles of Bocconi's new educational model is that of ever-increasing inclusion. For this reason, in order to welcome and facilitate students afflicted with certain conditions that prevent them from physically attending lessons at the University, the following categories of students will be allowed to follow lessons remotely during the 2023-2024 academic year:

• students with serious certified illnesses that prevent them from coming to campus for a minimum period of 20 days;
• students unable to travel to Italy from their country of residence due to mobility restrictions (e.g. obtaining a visa);
• students participating in curricular internship programs both in Italy and abroad for the lessons scheduled during the period in which the internship takes place, provided that the internship has already been activated by the Internship Office at the time of the exception request; students may request online attendance for courses in the year of the program which includes the internship in the study plan. 

Video recordings of in-person lectures will be provided only for authorized students, and will remain available for 24 hours after the lesson.
The procedures for submitting your request will be published in the yoU@B Student Diary > Teaching widget, before the start of the semester.

Please note that there are no exceptions for exams which must still be taken in person.

During the academic year, teaching for the World Bachelor in Business will be organized in 2 semesters.
For the 2023-2024 academic year, teaching will be held during the following periods:

• Wednesday 30 August to Tuesday 5 September 2023: first day of activities, dedicated to "Welcome Week," the presentation of the program by the Dean of the Undergraduate School and by the Directors of the Bachelor of Science program.

1st semester:

• From Wednesday 6 September 2023 to Wednesday 6 December 2023;

2nd semester:

• From Monday 5 February 2024 to Friday 10 May 2024.

LECTURES

As a general rule, one credit point corresponds to 8 hours of lectures. For some general courses the Course Director can request to add up to a maximum of 2 additional hours for each credit point.

These complementary learning activities include practical exercises and other class activities that help the understanding of the subject matter discussed in the classroom without adding new topics to the course content.
Teaching activities may involve lectures delivered in the classroom or remotely in synchronous or asynchronous mode.

Class attendance at lectures is not compulsory. However, it is strongly recommended, as it meets the proposed educational model designed to favor gradual learning, the active participation of students in class, and the creation of a dialog between students and teachers.

Some courses may include attendance recording. Depending on the student's attendance, there may be different assessment methods for attending and non-attending students: when attendance is a decisive element for assigning the “attending” status to a student, the only method available for recording participation is through Attendance, the University online procedure. When courses include Attendance recording, students must record their attendance at lectures in accordance with the principles of the University Honor Code and the Students Code of Conduct.

For the 2023-2024 academic year, where attendance is a determining factor for attributing the ‘attending’ status to students, classroom and online attendance will be counted only when the lesson is scheduled remotely for the entire class. If there are students exceptionally authorized to follow lessons remotely (see par. 5.1 Teaching model and lectures), the recording of their online attendance will not be counted for lessons that take place in person in the classroom for the rest of the class.

Class groups for each course are allocated before the start of lectures.
To facilitate educational activities planning (class group numbers and classroom capacity) students cannot change their assigned class group.

For some courses, WBB program students share teaching with other BSc program students, specifically for BIEM.

The general course profiles are published on the Bocconi website at www.unibocconi.eu/courses.

The class timetable has been planned so that educational activities are mainly concentrated in either the morning or the afternoon, in order to make it easier for students to dedicate the other part of the day to individual study.

The timetable slot during the lunch break on Friday, in both the first semester and the second semester, is reserved for student group activities.The class timetable, any changes and information on how teaching activities are conducted are published in the yoU@B student Diary and on the University's website www.unibocconi.eu/classtimetable.

Students can view the personalized class timetable and the daily timetable from the student Diary once they are regularly enrolled in the current academic year.

During the graduation days listed below, lectures for all courses and all programs are suspended as follows:
 

• Friday 20 October 2023 and Saturday 21 October 2023;
• Friday 5 April 2024 and Saturday 6 April 2024.

During the partial exam periods listed below, lectures in all courses are suspended:

• 1st semester: from Friday 20 October 2023 to Tuesday 31 October 2023;
• 2nd semester: from Monday 11 March 2024 to Tuesday 19 March 2024.

In addition, lectures are also suspended on the following days:

• Wednesday 1 November 2023;
• from Friday 29 March 2024 to Thursday 4 April 2024;
• from Thursday 25 April 2024 and Saturday 27 April 2024;
• Wednesday 1 May 2024.

During office hours, students have the opportunity to consult with teachers. This gives students the chance to seek further explanations or clarifications of topics not fully understood during lectures.

The office hours timetable can be found on the website at http://www.unibocconi.eu/officehours or in the yoU@B student Diary.

If decided by the professor, the office hours may be carried out only upon reservation by the student: in this case the reservation can be made exclusively through the yoU@B student Diary.

At the professor’s discretion, students are invited to check in advance the office hours methods.

Faculty members may be assisted by teaching assistants, who provide assistance to faculty and students. This includes assisting students to understand the main topics of the course, case studies, projects and exercises and managing the online community.

Teaching assistants can also provide assistance in class during lectures including the use of software or discussion of cases.

For information about courses and teaching assistantship (teaching assistants), the following document can be consulted:
 

• Teaching assistants list 2023-2024 (available in September)

Information regarding the 1st semester will be available by the end of September and information regarding courses offered in the 2nd semester will be available by the end of February.

For many years, Bocconi has used a detailed evaluation system designed to monitor the educational quality of each course which is based on listening and the student's direct active input.
This includes:

• feedback from "class group representatives", appointed to represent the entire class group by liaising with the faculty, acting as their spokesperson with the task of presenting their observations and suggestions and outlining any difficulties that may arise during lectures. The role of class representatives is also to create an environment which favors successful interaction between faculty and students. For this purpose, the Course Director is invited to periodically meet with class representatives, and at the end of the semester, discuss with them the general outcome of teaching. Also, upon his/her own initiative, the Program Director can meet them to check their opinions on the methods of the different courses in which the educational path is structured. Further details on class representatives and student representatives can generally be found on the web site at http://www.unibocconi.eu/ in "Student Representation";
   
• gathering opinions through questionnaires includes the following surveys taking place in specific periods of the student’s academic career:
   

1. Mid-semester evaluation of teaching (so called "mid-term evaluation"): carried out voluntarily by students at the request of faculty members, to gather information on the teaching quality and course progress and shedding light on any problems in a timely fashion, allowing corrective action to be implemented before the end of the course;
    
2. End-semester evaluation of teaching: carried out close to the end of each teaching semester, it involves all curricular courses and all students enrolled in them (in case of no attendance or attendance to only a few lectures, students must fill out an ad hoc questionnaire reserved to “non-attending students”). This is the most important tool for students to express their opinions on how the various courses are organized and conducted. The evaluations provided, whose anonymity is protected, are essential for identifying which aspects should be corrected or improved for future editions of the courses in order to ensure increasingly higher quality standards. Questionnaires are completed electronically through the use of an online procedure, and can be accessed through a link on the yoU@B student diary and on the Blackboard platform;
    
3. Evaluation of the overall university experience questionnaire: addressed to the students who are about to complete their studies and primarily anyone who attended their fourth year at Bocconi. It aims to gather information on students' global impressions regarding their study experience and the program attended, as well as the quality and effectiveness of the main facilities at the University and some support services (e.g. international mobility, internship, Employer Relations & Career Services). These questionnaires are also completed electronically through the use of an online procedure and are compulsory, as they are part of the requirements for completing the procedure for registering for a graduation session. The online questionnaire procedure can be accessed for a specified period of time through a special link communicated to the student when registering for the graduation session.