Has anyone worked at a US public university and a Canadian one? How do they they compare, regarding level of students’ preparation, cheating and plagiarism, grade inflation, amount of work expectable, et c.? I’m going to be teaching in BC next year and have no idea what to expect-- whether a UC is closely comparable to UBC or if there are unexpected differences (like the grade scale-- sheesh! That’s confusing looking!). Any warnings or anything I should know? Are the students better or worse behaved with attendance and cell phones and such or about the same? Can I expect them to do the assigned reading and crazy things like that? Do they come out of high school knowing how to write well, or just so-so? How IS the Canadian high school experience, as far as preparing 1st year college students. Is “He’s going to university” a better sentence than “he’s going to college”?
I expect you will be pleasantly surprised. I haven’t worked as an educator in either system, but I’ve had a lot of contact with Canadian kids and I have found them to be better educated and better mannered that American kids.