However, after being in Korea for about 2 weeks, I realised that my Korean speaking skills is extremely limited. Even though I've done Korean Intermediate I back at Monash, I still feel communicating with other people in Korean is a huge challenge. Understanding Korean is one thing, but speaking Korean is a whole new level.
I talked with one of my buddies in my KUBA group, and she mentioned that some terms (especially if you're in the Biomed/Life Sciences field) can get very technical.... However she did advise me to talk to the professor and see if he is able to accommodate me by providing resources in English...
I emailed my professor for the Microbiology II unit. The good thing about KU email is that you can see if the professor's opened your email or not. Even though I can see that he's read my message, he still hasn't replied to my email.... up until this day LOL. And as much as I tried to stay positive about it, I decided to look for other alternatives....
Firstly, I had to look through my study plan, and see if there were any English courses that I have gotten approval from my faculty. Unfortunately, there wasn't any options left from my study plan, because it was either going to be taught in Korean, or it clashed with my current timetable.
That's when I went into..... PANIC MODE!!!!!!!!
I decided to change my Microbiology unit a week before uni started.. howeverrrrr the period for me to change my units was the week after uni started.... And I was already panicking because I wasn't sure if I can get units approved on time....
Anyway, I remembered the pre-departure presentation that Monash gave.. They mentioned the steps that I needed to take in order to change my unit.
1. Inform the faculty adviser ASAP.
2. Email them the unit syllabus to the faculty adviser and get it approved
3. Obtain an updated study plan from the faculty
4. Inform Monash Abroad about these changes
5. Make sure unit enrolment is correct
So I started looking up for other units that I can take and managed to find two really interesting units, which are Healthcare Strategic Management and Stem Cell Biotechnology. The first one sounds appealing as it was related to public health, while the latter was all about stem cells, which is a topic that I have always found interesting ever since first year of uni.
Informing the faculty adviser
After that, I started emailing my faculty adviser and seeked advice about my unit enrolment. I was worried about two things: the effect on my HECS, and whether the units will be approved on time. Just to fill in the gaps, HECS is a loan scheme that seeks to help Australian students with their university fees.
Anyway, there are certain deadlines that you need to meet with HECS. For example, if you withdraw the unit after the deadline, you will incur a HECS debt, and in addition to that, you'd also have to incur academic and financial penalties from the university. And since I was planning to change the unit, I was scared that I will incur a debt and have to pay the penalties. BUT THANKFULLLLLLY, changing a unit doesn't affect my HECS according to my faculty adviser, so that's one worry down.
Emailing unit syllabus to faculty adviser
Next, I had to get approval for the two new units. The reason why I had two options was because last year, when I was compiling my study plan, there were some units that wasn't approved. In addition, it took foreveeerrrr for my faculty adviser to approve my units last year.
However this year, we have a new faculty adviser and a completely new system for Biomed students to communicate with the faculty. In a way, it's a much efficient system because I always get a quick response from my faculty, usually within one business day. Anyway, I emailed my faculty adviser on Wednesday aaaanddd the next day........ BOTH MY UNITS WERE APPROVED!!! I was really pleased about that, because one, they replied me within the timeframe that I wanted and two, both units were approved!!!!!
Anyway, I had to request for my study plan to be updated so that I can forward it to Monash Abroad, and once again, they replied me within a business day.
Thank. You. Biomed. Faculty.
Add/Drop Period at KU
After getting unit approvals for two units, it was time for me drop my Microbiology II unit and add either Healthcare Strategic Management or Stem Cell Biotechnology unit. And since the first week of uni was orientation week, I was able go to the first class and test the waters. I managed to go to the first Healthcare Strategic Management class. And amazingly enough, the professor was super kind and accommodating to the only foreigner in that class.... aka me. Also the unit sounded so interesting, because it involved management (which I have never done in my life) and public health. That was when I decided to sign up for the class.
For exchange/visiting students, add/drop period started on Tuesday, 6th September at 6.30pm. AND THANKFULLYYYYYY I managed to get into the Healthcare Strategic Management class!!!! For most of my friends, however, it was a complete nightmare. They couldn't get into the classes they wanted, and I think it was mainly due to the popularity of the class I guess. They had to fill in an additional form, just so that they can get into the classes that they wanted. :-(
Anyway, this is my OFFICIAL timetable! (I have Wednesdays off, which is a weird break in the middle of the week, but I'll be fine lol.)
Emailing faculty adviser and Monash Abroad
After confirming my units at KU, it was time to advise my faculty adviser on the unit that I was taking, which was Healthcare Strategic Management. They emailed me back within one business day, and my unit enrolment with Monash was confirmed.
Last but not least, I had to inform Monash Abroad about my unit change and I had to email them the updated study plan. And that was the end of the course registration drama.
I didn't think this post would take up so much space... but it did lol. Anyway, this is probably the last admin-related stuff that I'll talk about soooo more sightseeing posts coming your way very soon! Until next time :)
No comments:
Post a Comment