At the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, an academic year consists of two semesters, referred to as the fall and spring semesters. Each semester spans a 17-week period, during which 14 weeks are allocated for classes, 2 weeks for end-of-term exams, and 1 week for make-up exams.
This article, prepared to inform our stakeholders, provides detailed information about the "Course Process," which constitutes the third phase of the educational activities during the fall and spring semesters.
Determination and Announcement of the Semester Course Schedules:
The course schedule is prepared by a committee assigned by the relevant Department Chair. The schedule, which covers all the weeks of the active academic semester, includes information such as the day, time, and classroom for each course to be taught. It is published on our faculty's website before the course registration process.
For the first program (I), courses are held between 08:30 and 17:00, and for the second program (II), courses are held between 17:00 and 22:00 on the specified days and times during the week. There are no classes held on weekends, religious, national holidays, or administrative holidays.
The duration of a class hour is 45 minutes, with 15-minute breaks between consecutive classes.
Courses listed in the curriculum of our undergraduate programs are taught with a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 6 hours per week (the number of class hours may vary depending on the course).
Courses
In our Departments of History, Turkish Language and Literature, and Sociology, courses are taught in 100% Turkish, while in the Departments of Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English Language and Literature, and English Translation and Interpreting, courses are taught in 100% English. In the Department of Psychology, courses are taught in 70% Turkish and 30% English.
Theoretical courses in our undergraduate programs are held in classrooms with a capacity of 60 to 90 students, and in amphitheaters with a capacity of 120 to 160 students, located in our faculty’s four-story classroom building. All classrooms and amphitheaters, which have fixed seating arrangements, are equipped with central heating via natural gas, online-connected presentation computers, and projection devices, contributing to an ideal environment for educational activities.
The application and laboratory courses in the Departments of Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Psychology are conducted in our laboratory building, which consists of four floors and is fully equipped with all necessary tools and equipment for educational, research, and development activities.
In the courses held in the faculty's classrooms, the instruction by the course instructors is combined with student presentations, debates, and interactive teaching methods to carry out educational activities.
At the beginning of the academic semester, courses are taught using materials such as books, articles, etc., as announced by the responsible faculty members to the students.
In accordance with relevant legal regulations, the following compulsory courses in higher education programs are taught online as part of the distance education program: Turkish Language I, Turkish Language II, Principles of Atatürk and Revolution History I, Principles of Atatürk and Revolution History II, English I, and English II. Students enrolled in these courses must mark the course code in the "My Courses" section of UBYS and join the classes online through Microsoft Teams using the provided link. Since these courses are taught online, students do not need to be physically present at the faculty. The exams for these courses are conducted in the faculty's classrooms.
The following application courses are not taught in classrooms: (Department of History: Seminar I and II), (Department of Turkish Language and Literature: Graduation Thesis I and II), (Department of Physics: Graduation Project I), (Department of Chemistry: Research Project I and II), (Department of Mathematics: Graduation Project I and II). The topics of these application courses are determined at the beginning of the academic semester by the student, advisor, and the responsible faculty member. The work conducted by the student is reported and submitted to the responsible faculty member at the midterm and end of the semester.
Apart from the aforementioned application courses and distance education program courses, other theoretical courses are taught in face-to-face education methods in our faculty’s classrooms.
Under the "Eduroam" system, which is implemented in universities that are internationally affiliated, wireless internet access is provided free of charge for our students in the common use and activity areas of our faculty.
Anyone who engages in speech or actions that suggest any form of discrimination, disrupts the class order, records or broadcasts without permission from the course instructor using visual or auditory devices, or shares content from these areas on written/visual media, virtual platforms, or social media accounts, will be subject to the relevant provisions of the Student Disciplinary Regulations.
The national credit value of courses in the curriculum of our undergraduate programs is equal to the course hours in which the course is taught. Students are required to attend the classes, practices, and laboratory sessions of the courses they are registered for, as indicated in the course timetable, including the specified day, time, and classroom.
Attendance is recorded on a course-by-course basis. The maximum absenteeism hour for each course is calculated individually, based on the weekly course hours, the number of weeks in the academic semester, and the maximum absenteeism percentage.
Based on the student lists downloaded by the course instructors from the University Information Management System, attendance records are maintained by having registered students sign the attendance sheets. If a student exceeds the maximum absenteeism limit for a course, the responsible instructor will apply a (DZ/NA) absenteeism grade. Students can track their attendance status via the "Student Attendance Status" section of the University Information Management System portal.
A student with a health report is treated as absent during the period they cannot attend classes.
Students who are not registered for a course are not allowed to attend the course, participate in practices, or take the exams.
In cases where the attendance requirement was previously fulfilled, the decision on whether attendance will be mandatory for a repeated course is made by the Faculty Board.
In an academic semester, the attendance requirement for theoretical courses is 70%. For a two-credit course, the student must attend 8.4 hours; for a three-credit course, 12.6 hours; for a four-credit course, 16.8 hours; for a five-credit course, 21 hours; and for a six-credit course, 25.2 hours. Students who do not attend these hours will receive an absenteeism grade (DZ/NA).
The maximum absenteeism hours for theoretical courses are shown in the table below:
| Maximum Absenteeism Rates in Theoretical Courses |
| Weekly Course Hours |
X |
Number of Weeks in the Academic Semester |
= |
Total Course Hours Per Semester |
Maximum Absenteeism Percentage |
Maximum Hours of Course Absence |
| 2 |
x |
14 |
= |
28 |
%30 |
8.4 |
| 3 |
x |
14 |
= |
42 |
%30 |
12.6 |
| 4 |
x |
14 |
= |
56 |
%30 |
16.8 |
| 5 |
x |
14 |
= |
70 |
%30 |
21 |
| 6 |
x |
14 |
= |
84 |
%30 |
25.2 |
The ratios may vary depending on the number of weeks in the active academic semester.
In the active academic semester, the attendance requirement for practical and laboratory courses is 80%. For a 2-credit course, 5.6 hours; for a 3-credit course, 8.4 hours; for a 4-credit course, 11.2 hours; for a 5-credit course, 14 hours; and for a 6-credit course, 16.8 hours of absence are allowed. If a student exceeds the maximum allowed absence, a "non-attendance" grade (DZ/NA) will be applied. The maximum allowed absence hours for practical and laboratory courses are shown in the table below:
| Maximum Absenteeism Rates in Practice and Laboratory Courses |
| Weekly Course Hours |
X |
Number of Weeks in the Academic Semester |
= |
Total Course Hours Per Semester |
Maximum Absenteeism Percentage |
Maximum Hours of Course Absence |
| 2 |
x |
14 |
= |
28 |
%20 |
5.6 |
| 3 |
x |
14 |
= |
42 |
%20 |
8.4 |
| 4 |
x |
14 |
= |
56 |
%20 |
11.2 |
| 5 |
x |
14 |
= |
70 |
%20 |
14 |
| 6 |
x |
14 |
= |
84 |
%20 |
16.8 |
These rates may vary depending on the number of weeks in the active academic semester.
