Jessica Ngo wants to get an upper hand in the business world,
and she is learning Chinese to help her do so.
But Ngo is not going about learning a language the way many
other students would.
Instead of enrolling in a Chinese class, she is auditing, or
sitting in on, the class for the sake of learning the material.
Students at UCLA audit classes for an array of reasons,
including the unit limit or the chance to take a class without
having to worry about the tests or the homework.
Students who audit a class do not receive credit, and the class
does not appear on their transcript.
But because she is interested in pursuing a business profession,
Ngo decided to take on the extra time commitment to learn Chinese,
a language that is becoming increasingly popular in the field, to
help her in future jobs.
“It’s good because you’re able to learn
without the grade, and you’re genuinely interested in the
class because you give up your time for it,” said Ngo.
“The pressure is off; there’s no stress.”
Some students said they like to audit classes that are
completely out of their field of study in order to vary their
schedule.
Anil Sharma, a second-year biology student, plans on auditing
two classes ““ a marketing and a macroeconomic class.
“I took a lot of business classes in high school and it
interests me a lot. It’s really practical stuff,” said
Sharma. “Since I’m a biology major, most of the classes
I’m taking are science and math classes, so this will be a
refreshing change.”
While Ngo admits auditing requires an extra time commitment, she
said it is worth it because she has learned a lot in the class
already.
“I think I learn more this way because it’s better
than cramming for a test and forgetting everything the next
day,” Ngo said.
Any student can audit a class by
e-mailing or talking to the professor of the class.
According to the Office of the Registrar’s Web site,
registered students and interested individuals can audit a class
with the consent of the instructor.
Ngo simply attends lectures and follows the exercises the
teacher has planned for the class. She repeats after the professor,
works with other students during class activities, and finishes the
worksheets handed out to the class.
But when it comes time to write her name on the roll sheet that
is passed around every class meeting, Ngo quickly passes it to the
person next to her.
For Catherine Bailey, a graduate student of anthropology, the
reason she audited a Spanish class was because she said she might
need knowledge of the language in future research.
“I’m a graduate student and I didn’t have time
to take a Spanish class, but I wanted to keep the language around
me. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but I’m
keeping my options open,” Bailey said.
French Professor Laurence Denie has had students audit her
French classes in the past. She said students have audited her
class either because they are over their unit maximum, they already
passed the class but still feel they’re weak in the subject,
or because they want to learn French for fun.
Denie said a student auditing a class can be both positive and
negative. She finds that students who audit classes don’t
always put in enough time, especially in a language class, where
student participation is key.
“The problem is they start out with good intentions, then
they get overwhelmed. But if they’re committed, it’s
wonderful,” Denie said.
Denie said she has had other professors audit her class to help
them in their research. Recently, she had a professor of
ethnomusicology take her French classes.
Students and professors alike who audit Denie’s class have
the option of taking the tests and doing the homework, but are not
required to do so. She said most turn in the essays because
it’s a good exercise for them.
Both Ngo and Sharma do not plan on going to section or taking
the tests for their audited classes, but both say they will either
buy or check out the textbook from Powell Library and do the
assigned readings.
For Ngo, going to section would require an extra commitment
every day, one that she said she does not have time for. For
Sharma, on the other hand, going to section would not be as
beneficial as lecture because he’s more interested in what
the professors have to say.
“Auditing a class gives me the opportunity to learn
something new that will captivate my interest,” Sharma
said.
Though auditing is popular with some students, others said they
would be unlikely to take a class for which they wouldn’t
receive credit.
Upon hearing about auditing, Christy Sakamoto, a fourth-year
history student, had a confused look on her face.
“It’s a waste of time; I don’t know who has
the time for it,” she said. “I wouldn’t consider
doing it.”
Joy Holland, a graduate art student, said she had not heard of
auditing either, but says she will consider it in the future.
“I’d consider auditing physics because I want to
take it, but I don’t think I would pass it if I took it for a
grade,” Holland said.