SIS is situated a 15 minute walk from Barcelona's city center. 

There are two buildings where you may have class (see below), located a 20-25 minute walk away from each other. 

You may also take the bus, which will take you from one building to another in a 10-15 minute ride.

Alternatively, it's a 25 minute walk (approximately) between the two campuses. 

In Spain, as most students live with their families and commute to school, campus life is treated quite differently than in the U.S. There are not nearly as many clubs and activities as you would find on a U.S. campus. There are, however, many things to do around the city. We encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities to meet locals and integrate into the local community! 

*** Please note: During the May, June, and July terms, you will have two class sessions per day, with a maximum of five absences (equivalent to two days)

ATTENDANCE AT SIS

In addition to impacting a student’s performance and inability to partake in coursework and discussion, the impact of absences is the following: 

For semester and summer term *:

• • If the student misses 20%+ of the sessions during the term, this will automatically result in a participation grade of 0, which will significantly impact the final grade. You will be informed at the beginning of the term exactly how many class sessions this amounts to.

  • If the student misses 25%+ of the sessions during the term, this will result in an automatic fail for the course. Students will be informed at the beginning of the term exactly how many class sessions this amounts to.

*This policy applies exclusively to students enrolled in the SIS, SIS+UPF, SIS+INT program. If you are participating in a different program, a different policy may apply. You will be informed about the policy on the day of the Academic Orientation. 

ATTENDANCE DETAILS & PUNCTUALITY

• • At SIS students are deemed responsible for managing their absences and for the impact that they have on their final grade, and no distinction shall be made between justified and unjustified absences. In other words, missing class because of illness, personal travel, visit from family or friends, etc. all count equally as an absence. Students are responsible for notifying the faculty about recovering all the content missed in class. 

  • Exams, quizzes, and presentations will not be rescheduled or retaken due to absences and an absence on these days will result in a 0 on said assessment. Students are obligated to attend all scheduled or unscheduled assessment activities and the responsibility for tracking these dates lies solely upon the student.

  • In cases of extenuating circumstances impacting attendance, such as hospitalization, severe illnesses, religious observance or significant family/personal emergencies, a petition will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis by the Academics team. Submission of adequate documentation, such as a medical certificate/note and time of recovery is essential. Although a doctor's note does not guarantee an exception, it will support your argument in the case of asking for an excused absence of extenuating circumstances.  

  • Missed participation points cannot be made up.  

  • Instructors will record attendance at the start of each class session. Arriving to class fifteen (15) minutes or more past the official class start time is considered an absence and students may not have access to the classroom. 

  • Arriving to class within fifteen (15) minutes of the class start time will be noted as late and might have an impact on the student’s participation grade, but this is at each professor's discretion. 

ACCESS TO STUDENTS’ ABSENCES

• Students may access their attendance records via the MOODLE platform for self-monitoring purposes. 

• In each course, on the left column, go to Attendance - name of the course and check your absences. 

  • • P: Present

    • L: Late

    • A: Absent

    • ?: Attendance wasn't taken on that session

• Transferring Credits: It is the responsibility of the student to confirm that they will get the appropriate credit from their home institution for any courses they take at SIS. As you register for classes or during the add/drop period, be sure you are in touch with your advisor at home to ensure you will be getting the credits you need. Once grades are sent to your home institution, it is up to your school to decide how it appears on your transcript. Some schools may transfer grades as pass/fail, while others assign a letter grade.

• Spanish Levels: Please click here to view our guide to Spanish Language levels at SIS.

• Accessing your Home University's Catalogs/Online Databases: You should be able to access your home university's databases for e-journals, articles, and e-books. If you cannot access these databases you should reach out to your home university. 

• Tutoring: If you have questions, feel free to ask your professor before or after class. If you think you need extra help, please fill out the SIS Tutoring request and we will organize some tutoring sessions within a week.

In order to add, drop or change courses you will need to fill out the following add drop form during the Add/Drop period, you can find the dates of this in your Team Up calendar. Please bear in mind the Academics team is prioritizing those cases with academic request from your home institution.

In order to prioritize the course changes you are requesting, we need to receive an official stamped/signed academic document from your home university justifying that these changes are necessary to earn credits from your university or meet the requirements for graduation. The program recommends that you request this academic document from your home university as soon as possible in order to have it ready to attach to the add-drop form when the add drop period opens.

Once we receive your completed form, your changes will be processed. Submitting the request doesn't guarantee the change, changes will be official once you receive the Academics Team's confirmation. If you haven't received the confirmation yet you still need to attend the classes you were initially enrolled in. 

After the changes are made to your course schedule, the Academics Team will update you on your courses via email within a few days after the Add/Drop period  (note that no changes will be allowed after the Add/Drop period closes). 

Take into account that changes will only be allowed for academic purposes, and changes can only be made when there is availability in the desired course(s). We cannot guarantee that all requests will be accommodated as there is limited space in classes. Please be reminded that you will only have one opportunity to complete this form, therefore, you must ensure in advance with your home university that you are selecting the necessary courses to obtain credits. 

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Please keep in mind that you only have one opportunity to fill out this form with your request for changes , once you submit your request, the form will be closed and you won't be able to access it again (This does not apply to summer students). Note that it is the students' responsibility to make sure that all courses added are approved by their home institutions and, therefore, all changes will be accepted and credits will be transferred by their home university. It is the student's responsibility to make sure that dropping credits does not affect you in any way (financial aid, etc) at your home university. 

If you are a SIS+INT student, please remember to communicate your change request to the academic department in advance before filling out the form. This is to obtain approval for the change as your courses are assigned based on your internship schedule and cannot be easily modified.

Please note that to change between Spanish levels, you have to talk to your Spanish professor (don't need to fill out the form). If the add-drop involves dropping Spanish to take an elective or adding Spanish instead of an elective, please fill out the form.

If you need to print something for your SIS classes, you can print them on the student printer, located in the staff office on the 4th floor. There are detailed instructions just next to the printer, and the Student Life team is always available during office hours to assist you. 

Please note that the office is only open during office hours:

Monday-Thursday: 9am-2pm; 3pm-6pm

Fridays: CLOSED except for February 16th, March 5th, and April 12th

Please note that you may only print at SIS/the Barcelona SAE office if it's required printing for class.