Registering for Classes

Today Macee and I went back to the school together and I had my advising appointment.I really like my advisor.  He's super nice and he likes to just sit there and chat with me during our meetings haha  For the moment, I have decided on 4 classes in addition to the 5 Japanese classes I'm required to take.  I don't think I will be able to take all 4 of those classes but I wanted lots of options to work with during drop/add.

Ok I'm going to take this opportunity to explain how signing up for classes at Toyo works for exchange students.  So if anyone interested in studying abroad there in the future reads this blog it might be helpful for them.  I don't know if this is the typical way schools work for foreigners in Japan, but this is how Toyo Uni does it:


First of all, we had to take a placement test at the beginning of the year that split us into three levels: J1-beginner, J2-intermediate, and J3-advanced. Unless you test out of all three levels, it is required for you to take 5 Japanese language courses: Integrated Japanese, Kanji Literacy, Listening Comprehension, Reading and Composition, and Project Work.  These classes are taught between 9:00am and 12:10pm Monday through Friday.  This is the set time for everyone regardless of level. 

After that, there are two packets of classes that we were given at orientation.  Timetable A is all the classes offered that are taught solely in Japanese.  Timetable B lists the classes that are taught in English or with partial support in English.  Unlike most classes in American universities, which require you to attend the same class multiple times per week, classes taken at Toyo are typically taught only one day a week.

You decide what classes you want to take and then write the class information (ie course code, course title, teacher name, etc) on the Registration Form.

Then for the classes you want to take, you also must fill out these permission forms to give to your teachers that basically explain that you are an exchange student and you want permission to take their class. (We were given these forms at orientation as well) They are really simple to fill in. You just write the course title, the day and period of the class, and the room number.  All the other information is already printed onto the sheet.

After that, you take your registration form to a meeting with the advisor that the school assigns to you and your advisor signs off on it.  Then, you take the registration form and the permission forms to the GIO (Global Initiatives Office) aka the study abroad office.  They file the registration form and give you a copy to keep.   They also make copies of your permission forms for their own records, but give the originals back to you to give your teachers on the first day of classes.

The first week of class is a "trial period" or what we call "drop/add" at home.  If there is any class that you want to change, you just go back to the GIO and make the change on your original registration form.  


And that sums up the registration process!