Returning Exchange Questionnaire Updated: July 2014

Welcome back exchange students! Completion of this questionnaire is a mandatory component of the student exchange program. In order for your exchange credits to be assessed, this questionnaire must be completed. The information you provide in this questionnaire is meant to promote the exchange program and serves to help future students prepare for their own exchange experience. So please use discretion when providing information, but feel free to share the tips, advice and insider’s info you have gathered along the way! Format: Please use Microsoft Word (or an alternative word processing application) to answer all questions and submit it via email to exchange@ecuad.ca as a PDF or DOC file.

------ Basics

------ Pre-Departure Research Did you find anything was particularly useful in preparing for your exchange experience? Can you suggest any good resources for future exchange students--useful websites, books, organizations?

1. Googling “what to bring to college” and looking at all the lists that can really help students who are moving into new housing, not just dorms. Just think: What do I need to bring there and what can/willing I buy there.

2. I personally like to use Kayak.com to book my flights. You can set up helpful alerts and get pretty specific with filtering your searches.

3. E-mailing the CCA staff, they are very attentive.

Immigration If applicable, what can you say about the immigration procedures? Did you have to get a Visa, or a residence permit? Was it expensive? Did you encounter any problems or challenges?

Being a Canadian citizen made it pretty easy to be an exchange student in the US. I didn’t have to leave my passport at the passport office to get a VISA on my passport. I did received a J-1 application form from CCA’s International Student Affairs, after filling it out and emailing it over. They snail mailed me the DS-2019, which is my proof of my J-1 Exchange Visitor status which I brought with me when crossing the border. Everything went pretty smoothly, the staff I was corresponding with in CCA were very responsive to any questions I had.

------ Arrival Housing How did you find your accommodation?

I found out that dorms were available. So I just applied for the dorms through CCA. They have several locations for not first-years (they have a designated dorm).

Did your host school provide student accommodation? If so, how was it?

Yes, sveral options, I was put into Webster Hall because everything else was taken since it was the fall term. it was alright, nothing really exuberant. My first thought was it was rundown, but it was nothing I didn’t get use to. It was above a high school in a pretty old building in downtown. My dorm room was kind of cramped. With the space available, I think it was meant for at most 3 people, even then it was pushing it. 4 people were meant to be in that room, but luckily, 2 of my other roommates either moved out or didn’t really come back that often, so that was alright. Each person had a bed, a drawer and a desk for basic furnishing. The building had all the amenities, a few studio spaces, shared kitchen, bathrooms, laundry, gym (a small room with some equipment) really good WiFi when it is up (it went down twice for a extended period, doesn’t happen often I’m told) and a lounge with TV. Purely facilities wise. All in all it was just ok, nothing big to dislike or like, just have to get use to it.

Did you plan your housing before your arrival, or did you find accommodation on-site?

Yes I planned, a little bit before I was accepted, and I accelerated the process after I got officially accepted. I got that process over with in under a week.

Did you make use of any temporary accommodation such as hostels? Can you recommend any? No, moved straight in on move in day. From your experience, would you recommend living on or off-campus?

I only had experiences kind of “on-campus” in the sense that I was with CCA students in a dorm, but the building was about 20 minutes away from both CCA campuses. They had shuttles to these campuses provided so it was pretty convenient. I had a great time in the dorms, made a lot of friends there at the dorms. Whenever I get bored I can just go and hangout with a random dorm mate and the dynamic is really nice, but that type of environment always depends on how sociable everyone living in the dorm are.

Which neighbourhoods would you recommend? Which ones should students avoid?

My dorm was actually situated in the downtown Oakland, which I do need to mention as an interesting case. Oakland is a city that is generally within top 5 on those “most dangerous cities in the US” lists. Even my friend who lived in San Francisco before warned me, so I was a bit worried about living there. I was told to avoid walking alone at all hours in Oakland, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. I had pepper spray on me at all times and just made sure I was walking with a smooth stride and with purpose. It’s very empty during off hours, like there is barely any nobody on the street, even if it’s downtown, it’s kind of creepy. Oakland these days have cleaned up pretty well though, it’s not as bad as everyone says, the gentrification movement is happening around there, though many of the original residents are not happy about it, solely safety wise, that neighbourhood has become a bit safer and becoming an pretty creative and community driven place. Others in San Francisco, I want to say things are generally ok in the morning, but still be cautious, don’t go to these places at night or too early in the morning.

1. Tenderloin District 2. Parts of Market Street, so the cross streets go below 10th is pretty seedy at night. I walked though 6th

street at night, it was pretty intimidating. 3. Mission District

Just follow “big city rules” wherever you go.

First week – orientation How was your arrival at the host school?

The move in date was before the orientation, so I moved in a few days before orientation. A student representative greeted me at the San Francisco Int. Airport. Then he gave me some directions as to the process of me doing everything. Options to get to my dorm and whatnot. I was already given those directions

before it though, so it was mostly a greeting and a refresher. I had to go pick up my keys, and get my ID card done in one campus, then go to the dorm.

Did the host school provide an orientation session?

Yes. Two days, one on each campus. They had one in Oakland and one in San Francisco. There was a lot of swag and food involved

How do students in the host school obtain a student card, copy card and building access card?

You have to go to the security office in the Oakland campus to get your picture taken and get your student card, which is a building access card, so I had to go get it along with my keys, otherwise I would not be able to get in the dorm room. The printing credits are attached to your online student account, so it will ask you for credentials on the computer when you print, so no physical copy card needed.

Were there any surprises about the school upon arrival?

Nothing stood out as really surprising. The way things are done are pretty familiar to how things are done in ECU.

------ Courses Registration Describe the course selection and registration process.

Since I was an exchange student, I got to pick my courses before the official registration date, it would technically be the second round, because most students already picked their spring courses during their fall term. I had to go through someone in the registrar office though e-mail to pick my courses. She was really responsive so no big deal. Regularily if the registration would to be open, it uses an online WebAdvisor site, the interface is almost exactly the same as insideECU.

Did you register in advance of arriving, or in-person upon arrival? How did the process work?

In advance through e-mail with registrar office staff. I just emailed her what courses I wanted after I got my login credentials to see the course listings on WebAdvisor. On orientation day, professors and acedemic consolers from different tabled up for a portfolio review and help students with their schedules, all of the transfer students had yet to officially register, so that was their time to register, and some exchange students as well. I finished however, but I still got some advise from a faculty member.

Can you think of any tips that would make this process easier for future students?

Ask for login credentials and a cca.edu email as fast as possible, you will need it to do everything, I think they forgot to give me that in the beginning, so everything was delayed a day or so. There are many opportunities to register, so don’t worry about it too much. But the earliest way to get it done is tough emailing the registrar with the registrar office.

Course structure How were the courses structured?

The classes I’ve attended are all twice a week, 3 hours each and 6 hours a week in total. One was 6 hours for the whole day, so kind of like core class, but they are all 3 credits. So I don’t know if there are ones that are once a week.

Were there any courses at all? Was it mostly open studio time? Were there lectures or seminars available?

It’s structured very similarly to ECU. There are studio courses and academic courses. I didn’t attend any lecture classes, but I took one small critical studies class.

Particularly for Design students, were courses project-based and modular (short term)? How long for each project/how many projects per semester or term?

Yes, there are 3 projects in every studio course I took. About a month or so for each. The initial 1 or 2 where generally shorter and the scope was not so big, and the last one is usually the biggest and took a longer time. My Glass Blowing class had 4 projects, it was really time consuming.

Did you work in teams or were assignments done individually?

Both, there is group work and individual depending on the scope of the project, mostly individual, but the end big project are group.

What language was used in class?

English Were there any courses you were required to take by the host school?

No Did you find the coursework more challenging? Was the workload manageable or overwhelming?

It was manageable until the end of the semester. It’s basically what I experience in ECU, probably a bit lighter towards the beginning.

Were there exams?

From the classes I took, no. They are studio classes and a critical studies class. I’m pretty sure more academic classed will have them

Were you advised by teachers or the exchange coordinator of the credit available for the courses or program in which you were enrolled (either for individual courses or for the semester as a whole)?

Yes, they were listed with the listings I can view online.

Faculty What were your impressions of the faculty?

They were all nice and helpful, I felt they all knew about the subjects they were teaching, and some are very passionate, which also rubbed off on me as their student. I did not experience any bad faculty.

How would you describe the faculty/student relationship? Were instructors usually present during class hours? Did they have office hours? Did they schedule time to see students individually?

Yes, they have all that. There were two professors that went out of their way to help us and see us for feedback because they were really passionate about what they were teaching. One professor knew what he was teaching. He was fun and entertaining, but not exactly a good teacher and was not very responsive though e-mail. Due to the fact that he was working designer and traveling a lot while he is not teaching. I did not get any marks from him or personal feedback until I saw any marks until my final transcript.

Critiques How were critiques structured?

Same as ECU, Everyone present their work or presentation as the classmates listen to the presentation then critique as a class.

Were they individual or group critiques?

All group. Did they focus more on conceptual or technical aspects of the works? Which language was used during critiques? How would you compare them to Emily Carr critiques?

More conceptual, they seek o bring out the meaning in ideas and bring out their evocative effects to better the idea. Also technical critiques like feasibility or general adherence to project guidelines. So I would say the same as ECU. I felt pretty comfortable and knew what I was doing.

Grading What was the grading system used?

Same as ECU, percentage that translates to letter grades. How were grades assigned?

Same as ECU, though percentage distribution to weight of the projects, attendance, participation etc. How did you obtain your grades, and official transcript or other documentation? Transcript, I was e-mailed an unofficial one upon request. One official one was sent back to ECU. If you left before the end of term assessment period, what special arrangements were needed for you to receive credits/grades? Everything was posted online, or you can order an official transcript. The assessment was done way after

everything ended.

------ The School Campus Describe your host school’s campus.

There were 2 campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco. The one in Oakland is more for Visual and Media Arts. It’s open with multiple, 2-3 floor, mismatched buildings. Connected by winding and uneven paths. It’s full of trees, shrubbery and squirrels. Enveloped by nature. By stark contrast, the San Francisco Campus is located in the Design District. It’s surrounded by company buildings, Adobe, Zynga and many other companies and design consultancies. It’s contained in one big flat building with 2 levels. It’s very industrial and metallic, It used to be a Greyhound Bus station. I have half of my classes in either campus so I got to experience them equally, it was quite an interesting juxtaposition.

How would you compare it to Emily Carr’s? Bigger/smaller? How many buildings make up the school?

Bigger, and see previous answer. What were building access hours?

I couldn’t find the exact information online, but from what I’ve experiences and heard, towards the end of a semester (or maybe even throughout the term, I’m not sure), everything is 24 hours, excluding cafeteria, libraries and some classrooms. All studio spaces and computer labs are open and for use. Towards the finals many students stay overnight to finish their projects. I was one of them.

Was the school in a central location? Were there any problems or issues with its location?

There are two campuses, which are about 30 minutes away from each other by bus shuttle, even longer by public transit. It takes me a little less than an hour to get to the San Francisco campus from my dorm by public

transit. The shuttle does make things easier, but traveling is always a pain if people need to go there on weekends, miss the shuttle or the shuttle schedule does not exactly match their schedule.

Departments Was your host school divided into departments? Yes. Did you feel like departments were isolated, or did you see lots of “cross-pollination” between disciplines?

There are actually interdisciplinary classes that are requirements. Generally I would say isolated. Rumour has it there are tension between Painting and Illustration. I haven’t really taken any of the interdisciplinary classes. Though I was in classes with different majors, but in critical studies only. I actually didn’t really get to talk with them too much about their majors.

Were you able to branch out of your own department and work in other areas?

I did take class in glass blowing, and met some people from Glass Major. That’s about it. Rest of the work is all interaction design related.

Studios How would you describe the studio facilities and equipment? Great! I was never missing anything, it had all the essentials and more. Things are well stocked and working. Did you have your own studio space?

No, there was a small space set up for interaction design seniors literally that term, because the interaction design department and major started just last school year. Everyone worked in there and it was also a classroom for interaction design related classes and the graphic design studio was next door, also in a small classroom.

Were there technicians on site? What equipment and supplies were available to you? Yes, for general tech problems. For us we used the “Hybrid Lab” a lot (similar to our WIP lab, but more

modern). It came with a very passionate and helpful technician. Also the Glass Blowing studios always had everything well stocked with a great technician.

Were you provided materials for free? What did you have to pay for?

Some free, some we had to purchase. For Glass Blowing there were some pretty specific tools we needed, so needed to purchase those. We had to pay a studio fee for using the glass studio. Post-its were offered fro free in design classes, the profs buy the, and they talked about getting Post-it to sponsor them because it’s used so much. Otherwise it’s general art materials we had to purchase, sketchbooks and such.

Did you encounter any deficiencies, shortages or problems that future students may want to be aware of? Nothing in particular.

------ City life Expenses How would you compare the cost of living in your host city to Vancouver’s?

Similar. Expensive. Were you able to stick to the budget you had made prior to your departure?

No, I used a bit more than what I planned. But I could have easily stick to my budget if I didn’t eat out so much and actually make my own meals.

Were there any costs at school that you did not expect (materials, transportation passes, campus athletic facilities, etc.)?

Transportation, I expected it, but that stuff is expensive, no luxuries like the U-Pass. Otherwise everything else is pretty standard.

Getting around How was it getting around the campus, the city, the region?

There is a subway system called the BART that’s pretty good. Big districts are pretty well connected in the Bay Area (Oakland and San Franisco mainly). Oakland and San Francisco transit are run by different companies with different prices, which can be a annoying, so I suggest getting a Clipper Card, their transit card, that is usable for both cities. The transit uses Buses are not as interconnected as in Vancouver, but still pretty good.

What mode of transportation did you use the most?

The school provided shuttles to travel to campuses and the dorm. Otherwise I would take the BART and bus. Some times I would use transportation service apps like Lyft and Uber, which pretty much replaces traditional taxis with superior service and cheaper prices. I’d highly suggest using them out as fast as possible instead of taxis, I had pretty good and fun experiences with them and I miss them so much now that I’m back in Vancouver.

Were there any special rates for students? Nope. Did you have the chance to travel during your stay? Yes, I went to New York after the term ended. I had a chance to go to LA during spring break, but that fell

through Things to do Tell others about the very best… Place to visit:

I’m not a touristy person generally. I’ll try to list a few. 1. Fisherman’s Wharf 2. Dolores Park 3. 16th and Valencia, “The Hispter Street” a lot of cool stuff. There’s a mural alley there that’s cool. 4. The Castro 5. Oakland Museum of California (always interesting exhibits, shows diverse topics) 6. The Exploretorium (like our Science World, but waaaay bigger) 7. Japantown 8. Events:

a. “First Thursday” in San Francisco (Art stroll) Happens every first Thursday of the month b. Part of Oakland Art Murmur “First Friday/ Saturday Stroll” in Oakland (Art stroll and gallery hop)

Happens every first Friday of the month, very close to the dorm. c. “NightLife” Every Thursday night at California Academy of Science 21+ Only d. “After Dark” Every Thursday night at the Exploretorium 18+ Only

Place to relax:

I generally relax in my room, that’s my preference. I don’t relax in parks and stuff. If you want to go way out there, Kabuki Springs & Spa is a nice Japanese hot spring/bath house and spa in Japantown. So have a relaxing time there!

Thing to eat:

I am a huge food tourist. If there is a way to share my map, I would totally do it, I have so many. I’ll name a few big ones and hidden gems

1. In-N-Out Burger (a must in general if you are on the west coast) 2. Fisherman’s Wharf’s seafood places (They are famous for clam chowder in sourdough bread bowl) 3. Bi-Rite Creamery (famous ice cream place with interesting flavours) 4. Dojima Ann (no frills Japanese food. Basic. Fantastic) 5. Ghirardelli (chocolates and ice creamery. Their main shop near Fisherman’s Wharf, you get a free

sample when you walk in) 6. Off the Grid (food truck gathering that happens all over the bay area, Google for more details) 7. Dos Pinas (Mexican place near the SF Campus, great food, I grew to know it very well) 8. Ike’s Place (Great and interesting sandwiches, always use Dutch crunch roll) 9. Umami Burger (Really good burgers) 10. Spice Monkey (Near my dorm, expensive, but good) 11. Little Bistro (Kitty corner of my dorm, grab good sandwiches and coffee) 12. 16th and Valencia ( a lot of really good restaurants, take your pick)

Souvenir to bring back home:

Get Ghirardelli Chocolates, San Francisco’s famous chocolates. Then get some Wine form Napa Valley. There is this really nice card store that has pretty postcards, called Avent-Card if you want unique cards that’s not San Francisco scenery. A lot of local artist go to the art crawls to sell their hand-crafted things, those are fun to check out and bring home. You can always walk around in Fisherman’s Wharf or SF Chinatown and you can load up on cheap cliché souvenirs if you’d like.

------ In Retrospect Is there anything you wish you had known in advance of your exchange? Could you have been better prepared? Is there anything you wish you would have done differently while on exchange?

Go to more events and talks, there are tons of events and conferences on Interaction Design in San Francisco, I just never had time or my schedule clashed. It’s just a great place for interaction designers to get an idea of the directions they can take their careers.

Do you feel like you picked the right school for your art, design or media practice? Definitely, it has a huge advantage of being situated in San Francisco, the home of Silicon Valley. There are many industry professionals there that are teachers. They provided a lot of networking opportunities as well as discounts to design lectures. Their carers department is really active, providing job and internship opportunities. I’m still subscribed to their newsletter.

How has the exchange experience influenced your practice?

I definitely have set a wider goal for myself now that I have been in CCA, I’ve applied to bigger tech companies and had interviews and even though I didn’t succeed, I know what I can do to improve. What is lacking in ECU is the opportunity to connect with people who are in need of Interaction Designers, and CCA provides to the fullest. They do have a similar mindset to ECU however, they value the incubation of good ideas and user-centered design. Now that I have more exposure to these types of environments in SF, I know more certain about the industry standards. Moreover, it cemented my love for video games and video game design. I had a fantastic professor that is a game designer in a play theory course. She gave her students the opportunity to go to a “Game Jam”(make a video game in 48 hours) she was hosting. It was great, and now I can say I’ve made 2 video games, and one I am still continuing to develop with classmates I met in CCA.

What is the best advice you could give a student who is going on exchange?

Say “yes” to everything, don’t miss any opportunity. Not just going to events and opportunities, but saying yes to meeting people. I went in with the thought “nobody knows me here”, and I really came out of my shell and was socially exhausted, but I never had a dull moment.

What was the most important learning experience (i.e. related to your studies and/or practice) at your host school?

Learning about what possibilities I had and how high I can aim. Some of the projects done there are pretty big with partnerships to existing companies.

Thanks everyone! We look forward to reading your essays and learning about your exchange experience.

A picture is worth a thousand words… If you have them, attach a few pictures you took of your host school and its facilities.

(max 10 images)

figure 1. Oakland Campus. Forested Path

figure 2. San Francisco Campus. Front door.

figure 3. The Sculpture Graveyard. A very interesting place, people leave their unwanted works there for

people to take if they like them.

figure 4. One of the classrooms during class. My favourite professor sitting on the table.

figure 5. The Student Lounge. Big sectional couches, for gathering, projects and napping like a burrito.

figure 6. Graphic Design Studio/Classroom. Cool piece on the wall, clean and nice studio space.

figure 7. Interaction Design Studio/Classroom. Working on our ideas.

figure 8. Dormates. Studying and eating Burger King.

figure 9. My little nook that I lived in for 4 months. Took this picture after I set my stuff down.

figure 10. The shuttle. Big air-conditioned tour buses to take us to campus or back to dorm.