6.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
The information in this chapter refers to teaching methods held in person.
The teaching method for each first semester course 2021/2022 a.y. will be available in the respective Syllabus starting from 3 September 2021.
Any other communications will be provided to students in the yoU@B Student Diary.
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6.1.
Teaching periods
During the academic year, teaching for Bachelor of Science Programs will be organized in 2 semesters.
For the 2021-2022 academic year, teaching will be held during the following periods:
First year
- Monday 30 August to Saturday 4 September 2021: first days of activities, dedicated to "Welcoming first-year students" the presentation of the program by the Dean of the Undergraduate School and by the Directors of the Bachelor of Science Programs.
First, second and third year
- 1st semester: from Monday 6 September 2021 to Saturday 4 December 2021;
- 2nd semester: from Thursday 3 February 2022 to Saturday 7 May 2022.
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6.2.
Lectures
As a general rule, one credit point corresponds to 8 hours of lectures. For some general courses in the first two years of Bachelor of Science Programs 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.
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.
Attendance
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 the 'Attendance' recording method; depending on the student’s attendance, the assessment methods may be different for attending and non-attending students.
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6.3.
Class Groups
Educational activities are organized into class groups. For the 2021-2022 academic year, there are 22 class groups for compulsory courses of the first year of studies, 23 for the compulsory courses of the second year, 22 for the compulsory courses of the third year. For each course, the class groups of the BSc programs held in Italian have about 120 students each. The class groups of the BSc programs taught in English have about 105 students each; this number is different depending on the program and year of studies. The WBB and the BAI programs are an exception, which has class groups with fewer students.
The number of class groups can be slightly different one year of studies to another.
Specifically:
Bachelor of Science Program
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Class groups
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Language
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CLEAM
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from 1 to 8
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Italian
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CLEF
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9 and 10
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Italian
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CLEACC
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11
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Italian
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CLEACC |
12 |
English |
BESS
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13
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English
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BIEM
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from 15 to 18
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English
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BIEF
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21 and 22
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English
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BIG |
23 |
English |
BEMACS |
25 |
English |
BAI |
27 |
English |
For all compulsory courses of the year of studies the student is enrolled in, each student is allocated a single class group before the start of lectures.
Each class group is assigned a specific classroom for most of the courses. All students belonging to the same class group attend lectures in the same classroom and have the same faculty members.
To facilitate planning of educational activities (class group numbers and classroom capacity) students cannot change their assigned class group.
The class groups remain the same for the entire academic year.
Students are advised to follow the indications given by faculty members during lectures on sign-up methods for the individual groups and for running of the learning activities. If registration is required, students may consult the yoU@B Student Diary for a list of activities and sign-up methods.
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6.3.1.
E-learning classgroup
There is also an e-learning class group for some courses.
In the e-learning class groups, traditional educational activities in class are replaced, by participation in specific on-line activities, both asynchronous (i.e. students' individual activities) and synchronous (i.e. video-conference).
Online activities are set and scheduled by the Course Director. They may include, for instance:
- participation in synchronous activities with faculty and other students. Such activities may consist in debates or question and answer periods regarding course subjects, on-line real-time exercises/on-line lectures, etc.;
- on-line consultation of specific material (slides, documents, etc.);
- participation in on-line forums;
- drafting of electronic documents, both individually and with other students, which may be based on material available on-line.
For further information, check the course profiles.
Participants
Since e-learning is the only opportunity which allows students to participate virtually in the course, this method provides new services and options compatible with the increased mobility required to study abroad and/or to take part in internships in Italy and/or abroad.
Such learning methods are offered only to students unable to attend lectures regularly; however, the traditional methods are given preference and are recommended by the University since they are the most effective.
Method of choice
For method of choice see "Administrative rules, procedures and deadlines".
Course profiles and exam assessment methods
If a course includes both traditional class groups and e-learning ones, the course profiles are identical. However, due to different teaching approaches, faculty can diversify supplementary exercises and/or other related activities by offering e-learning students alternate activities.
The exams are held at the university, following traditional methods (in class); the exam calendar is the same for the two class groups. Distance exams are not offered by the university.IMPORTANT: about the exams topic in the 2021/2022 a.y, please see the 'Important red note' in the Exams chapter.
For information relating to credit points, language of instruction, semester and BSc Programs offering these courses, please check the course profiles published on the website at: www.unibocconi.eu/courses.
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6.3.2.
Math Crash Courses
Math Crash Courses are dedicated to students in their first year of a program. They are offered using blended learning, i.e. part of the course is online and part is in class.
The online parte of the course is held starting from July. In-class teaching is held during Welcome Week with 12-15 hours of class, depending on the BSc program.
Students should complete the online portion of the course before the in-class portion.
Math Crash Courses are designed to reinforce a few mathematical concepts at a pre-university level. This helps students to start university with greater confidence and comprehension. The main topics covered in the online part include: sets, special sets, exponentiations, roots, polynomial algebra, equations, inequations and coordinate geometry. The main topics covered in the in-class part are different from the topics covered in the online part and more focused on the student’s specific BSc program.
Enrollment in the Crash Courses is not needed. However, both completing the on-line portion and attending the in-class portion is highly recommended. There is no exam at the completion of these courses. The class timetable and the class group are available in the yoU@B Diary.The course profiles of Math Crash Courses are published on-line at www.unibocconi.eu/courses in Crash Courses (Math).
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6.3.3.
Repeating class group
Some courses also include repeat class groups for students who are behind normal academic progress, i.e., students who have not yet passed their exams for the previous year or years. If they wish, these students must attend the lectures in the class group dedicated to them.
For the course profile and learning methods for repeating class groups, students are advised to follow the instructions given by the faculty. Detailed information on teaching in these courses (course syllabuses, exam methods, faculty office hours) can be requested at each Department.
Students who wish to attend these courses can sign-up for the class groups they are interested in until the maximum number of places available is reached.
The list of repeating class groups along with any sign-up methods (code of the activity, deadline to sign up and number of places available) is published on the website at www.unibocconi.eu/classtimetable.
If students are required to sign-up, they can view the activities they can sign up for in their yoU@B student Diary.
Students admitted to these class groups receive a personalized message via yoU@B student Diary.
In order to allow students to also attend lectures for courses for which no repeating class groups are scheduled, students who have not yet passed their exams for the previous years can attend lectures, if scheduled, in class groups for previous year. In this case students must contact the Secretary's Office of the Department and the Course Director in advance.
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6.4.
Class timetable
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.
In the first semester of the first year, for example, CLEAM students have lectures on 3 mornings (Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays) and 2 afternoons (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) per week, while students enrolled in the other programs have lectures on 2 mornings (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) and 3 afternoons (Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays) per week.
In the second semester, those students who had lectures on 3 afternoons and 2 mornings in first semester will have lectures on 3 mornings and 2 afternoons, and vice versa for the second group.
Unlike the first year, the following years are structured in a more complex way as the study plan also includes major compulsory courses/courses to be chosen by the students (in the second and third year of studies) and elective courses in the third year of studies.
For all programs, except for the BIEM, BIEF and BIG, the class timetable includes timetable slots - different for the first and second semesters - completely dedicated to major compulsory courses/compulsory courses chosen by the students, foreign languages and elective courses. This ensures that these specific typologies of activities do not clash with each other. However, some elective courses have changed typology from compulsory courses or major compulsory courses/compulsory courses chosen by the students and can have lectures scheduled in the timetable slots dedicated to these typologies.
For BIEM and BIEF, due to the high number of compulsory courses/compulsory courses chosen by the students, it is not possible to have timetable slots completely dedicated to these typologies.
Also for BIG, due to the high number of compulsory courses/courses chosen by the students, it is not possible to have timetable slots completely dedicated to these typologies different from the slots dedicated to elective courses.
In addition,due to the complexity of the timetable structure, it is not possible to exclude any lecture overlaps between elective courses due to the high number of courses (for further information, see paragraph 9.3 Choice of Elective Courses).
Students are therefore always recommended to verify the class timetable for elective courses before choosing the courses to be included in their study plan.
In addition, there may also be some complementary learning activities scheduled aimed to review some of the concepts dealt with during the normal teaching sessions. In general, they are held at different times from lectures (usually in the evening).
No educational activities are generally scheduled during the lunch break on Fridays, both in the first and second semester, this period being reserved for student group activities.
The general class timetable and any changes are published on the yoU@B student Diary and on the University's website at www.unibocconi.eu/classtimetable.
After students have enrolled in the academic year, they can view the personalized class timetable and daily timetable from the student Diary.
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6.5.
Suspension of lectures
During graduation days listed below, lectures for all courses and all programs are suspended as follows:
• Friday 15 October 2021 and Saturday 16 October 2021;
• Wednesday 20 April 2022, Thursday 21 April 2022 and Friday 22 April 2022.
During the partial exam periods listed below, lectures in all courses are suspended:
• 1st semester: from Friday 15 October 2021 to Tuesday 26 October 2021;
• 2nd semester: from Monday 14 March 2022 to Tuesday 22 March 2022.
In addition, lectures are also suspended on the following days:
• From Saturday 16 April 2022 to Tuesday 19 April 2022;
• Monday 25 April 2022.
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6.6.
Office hours
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, which provides a direct link to the page.
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.
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6.7.
Teaching assistants
For some courses, faculty members are 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 2021-2022 academic year
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.
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6.8.
Gathering the opinions of current and graduating students
For many years, Bocconi has used a detailed evaluation system designed to check 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 Internet site at http://www.unibocconi.eu/ in "Student Representation";
- gathering opinions through questionnaires (generally made through an on-line procedure in the yoU@B Diary) includes the following surveys taking place in specific periods of the student’s academic career:
- 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;
- end-semester evaluation of teaching: carried out close to the end of each teaching semester, it involves all curricular courses in the degree programs and all students enrolled in them, no matter the course attendance (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;
- evaluation of the overall university experience questionnaire: addressed to all the students who are about to complete their studies. 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 facilities at the University and support services (e.g. international mobility, Career Service, Funding and Housing). 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.
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