University of Applied Sciences, Fulda

BA Degree
Number
Communication	1
Economics	2
Fine Arts	1
History	1
Marketing	2
Languages (English, German, Russian, and Translation)	6
Social Pedagogy	2
Social Sciences	2

The Procedure

The first step taken by the writer to collect the necessary data was to distribute a questionnaire (see Appendix 1), which consisted of almost the same questions used in the interviews later. In this questionnaire no range of choices
were provided. In fact, the questions were open-ended. The questions were divided into two parts: questions about the academic system and questions about the teaching methods. Each part contained questions only on the previous studies. The questionnaire was distributed electronically and collected electronically as well. After the collection of all the questionnaires, the writer was faced with a major problem which encouraged her to interview the subjects instead.
The answers given to the questions were too brief to be regarded as a sort of data on the basis of which some kind of generalisation could be possible. This was probably due to four factors. First, the timing of the distribution coincided with the busiest and most difficult part of the second term. Most of the interviewees had to write papers, give presentations, and, of course, at the end of the second term, a semi-major exam was expected. The students, therefore, did not have enough time to fill in the questionnaire very carefully. Second, writing about problems is usually more difficult than speaking about them. The interviews with the same students showed that they spoke a lot more in response to the similar questions. It is also a fact that interviews ensure a more friendly, trustworthy atmosphere than the elicitation of written responses. In many cultures it is difficult to submit a written criticism of a system of which one is a participant. This was later confirmed by questions from the interviewees about the confidentiality of the content of the interviews. Third, the questionnaire was too long. On the basis of this experience, the writer later tried to make the interview questions short but more general. Fourth, the questions were all about the previous studies. However, it did not make enough sense to many of the
interviewees to be asked about the system they know. They preferred to be asked more about what they thought about ICEUS.
The writer wanted to take an ethnographic approach to the study, but there were some obstacles to carrying out an ethnographic research. The first problem was the duration of the program. The participants in the program were to graduate after three terms. The first two terms were quite demanding, due to the hours of classes the students had to attend and the amount of work to be done. After the second term, students were expected to do an internship, which meant that during the summer holiday most of the students were busy with their internships. The third term was light with respect to classes; the students were supposed to use this time to write their Master's thesis and get ready for the major exam at the end of the term. Therefore, the time that the group was actually together only amounted to two terms or about seven months. Second, as was mentioned before, the writer stayed in Fulda only for the duration of the second term. This prevented the permanent contact necessary for the ethnographic observation.
Due to the above-mentioned problems, the writer decided to interview the fellow students. The interview questions (see Appendix 2) were written on the basis of the questionnaire. The writer tried to make them as general as possible and have them cover two areas: the familiar education system, that is, the system experienced in the previous studies (BA), and the surprises, frustrations, expectations and views about the current studies (ICEUS). In the first part, the previous studies, there were six questions, and in the second part, on ICEUS, five questions. In this part, a question about Fulda, the city in which the program
is offered, was added upon the suggestion of the advisor. This was because there were some discussions about the issue: Should a course on intercultural communication be offered in a small city which does not provide very many possibilities of practicing intercultural interactions.