Academic year in Russia typically consists of two semesters 17-18 weeks each. In Russian the system of measuring the academic work is different from compare with the American, British, or Unified European Systems. The School of International Business currently uses two marking systems: Russian and American.

In the American system, a five-year Specialist's Program consists of 150-160 semester credit hours plus a Diploma Project. Students carry in average 17-20 credit hours of course work each semester. A semester course consists of 2-4 hours of work with a lecturer/instructor per week and at least the same amount of independent study.

Students in all degree programs are graded according to a unified grading system. The percentage points corresponding to a particular grade and its verbal description are given below.

Russian system			American system
GRADE	PERCENTAGE POINTS	VERBAL DESCRIPTION	ALPHABETICAL SCALE	NUMERICAL CODE, POINTS
5	91-100%	excellent	A	4
4	76-90%	good	B	3
3	51-75%	satisfactory	C	2
2	0-50%	unsatisfactory	-	0
pass	51-100%	pass	Pass	-
fail	0-50%	fail	Fail	-