notice board style

[kudra]

This is from a lesson about "written style" in D+H chap. 15.

It is supposed to be an announcement up on a notice board at some fictional university in the Beijing.

计算机初级班招生

好消息：我系将于七月中开办一

期电子计算机初级班，学期为一

周(共40学时)。欢迎我校师生

报名参加学习。

学费：100元

报名时间：五月一日--七月一日

地点：计算机系一楼办公室

---------------------------------------

計算機初級班招生

好消息﹕我系將于七月中開辦一

期電子計算機初級班﹐學期為一

周(共40學時)。歡迎我校師生

報名參加學習。

學費﹕100元

報名時間﹕五月一日--七月一日

地點﹕計算機系一樓辦公室

My question is about the the sentence

学期为一周(共40学时).

It sounds like the course will last 1 week.

学期为一周

And all together be 40 study hours.

Does this mean that it will meet for 40 hours during that week, or

does 40学时 refer to 40 academic credits(hours)?

also would you translate the 1st part as

"The Department of Computer Science will offer a beginners computer course in July .."

or

"My department will offer ..."

or

"On behalf of my department, I announce that ...."

?

I think "The Department ..." sounds more like what you would see on a university message board in the US. The other 2, sound unnatural.

Comments? Corrections?

[kudra]

Thanks skylee,

so it is 40 hours of class time, like a full time job for 1 week.

I thought this was a bit much, but I suppose it is during a summer vacation? I am just trying to imagine students and professors taking 40hrs in 1 week to do a beginners computer class.

Also, (and I know I did not provide this context) if the message board is a general public message board, say outside next to the student cafeteria, then how would one know which department is refered to by "我系" ? I took a leap and assumed that "This Department" was the one implied by the "地點﹕計算機系...", although this is much later in the announcement.

It sounds like I am nit picking, but actually I am trying to understand the assumptions and conventions in this type of writing. Thanks.