INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

OFFICE HOURS

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (From Academic Course Guide Manual/Workforce Education Course Manual/NCTC Catalog

GRADING CRITERIA

COURSE SUBJECT OUTLINE (Major Assignments, Due Dates, and Grading Criteria)

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered.  All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies as determined by the instructor.  It is the student responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval and judgement by the faculty member.  Approved college sponsored activities are the only absences for which a student should not be held liable and only when provided by a college official ahead of the absence.  Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work.  Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless they have reasons acceptable to the instructor.  A student who is compelled to be absent when a test is given should petition the instructor, in advance if possible, for permission to postpone the exam.  Student will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon recommendation of the instructor who feels the student has been justifiably absent or tardy a sufficient number of times to preclude meeting the course’s objectives.    Persistent, unjustified absences from classes or laboratories will be considered sufficient cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)

• Class Attendance:  Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class.  Be sure to sign in.  If you do not sign in, you will be counted absent.  You are expected to attend class regularly and punctually.  Students who are tardy or absent in organic chemistry class usually find it very difficult to keep up.  Do not fall behind.   If you miss class, it is your responsibility to catch up.   Check Angel for information about what was covered in class.

• Excessive absences may result in a student being dropped from the course with no credit awarded. Excessive absences will be defined as more than 2 consecutive classes for a daily class.

Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is __November 9, 2017____.

DISABILITY SERVICES (Office for Students with Disabilities)

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides support services for students with disabilities, students enrolled in technical areas of study, and students who are classified as special populations (i.e. single parents).

Support services for students with disabilities might include appropriate and reasonable accommodations, or they may be in the form of personal counseling, academic counseling, career counseling, etc.  Furthermore, OSD Counselors work with students to encourage self-advocacy and promote empowerment. The Counselors also provides resource information, disability-related information, and adaptive technology for students who qualify.

If you feel you have needs for services that the institution provides, please reach out to either Wayne Smith (940) 498-6207 or Yvonne Sandman (940) 668-3300.  Alternative students may stop by Room 170 in Corinth or Room 111 in Gainesville.

CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA (For classes in the Core)________           

           Communication

           Mathematics               

           Life and Physical Science

           Language, Philosophy & Culture

           Creative Arts

           American History

           Government/Political Science

           Social and Behavioral Sciences

           Component Area Option

REQUIRED CORE OBJECTIVES (For classes in the Core)

             Critical Thinking

               Communication

               Empirical and Quantitative

               Teamwork

               Personal Responsibility

               Social Responsibility

COURSE TYPE

 X              Academic General Education Course (from ACGM but not in NCTC Core)

           Academic NCTC Core Curriculum Course

           WECM Course

STUDENT HANDBOOK

Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the student handbook and published online.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, academic falsification, intellectual property dishonesty, academic dishonesty facilitation and collusion.  Faculty members may document and bring charges against a student who is engaged in or is suspected to be engaged in academic dishonesty.  See Student Handbook, “Student Rights & Responsibilities: Student Conduct ([FLB(LOCAL)]”. 

• Honesty in completing assignments is essential. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other kind of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in appropriate sanctions that may include failing an assignment or exam, failing the class, or suspension or expulsion.  A report WILL be filed with the college.
• If cheating or collusion is suspected, a conference between the suspected parties and the instructor will be scheduled and notation made in the student’s file.

CLASSROOM POLICIES

• Exam Administration:    Scheduled exams will begin promptly at your regularly scheduled class time.  While there may be instances when being late is unavoidable, no over-time can or will be permitted for test-taking.  All exam papers must be handed in at the end of the scheduled exam time.  No exams will be distributed to latecomers after the first person that finishes an exam leaves the room.  No cell phones are allowed during exams.  If yours rings or vibrates, etc., during an exam, your paper will be taken up immediately and your grade will suffer accordingly.  You cannot use your cell phone as a calculator during exams.
• Homework:  Homework will be assigned weekly from the problems at the end of each chapter in our textbook, You are expected to complete the homework assignments each day.  However, homework will not be graded.  The best way to learn to apply the material in this course is to work examples and homework problems.  Do not wait until right before an exam to do homework.  You must set aside time every day to work on organic chemistry.
• Study Tips:  Because over 10 million organic compounds exist, memorizing the structure, properties, and reactivity of all of them would be almost impossible. Luckily, a few fundamental ideas underlie all organic reactions. By understanding these themes and trends (not by memorizing them!), you should be able to rationalize unfamiliar reactions and mechanisms through analogy.
• Understanding organic chemistry requires a regular program of active studying. No substitution exists for using a pencil and paper to draw and redraw structures, write reactions, and explore stereochemistry. Attend all the lectures. Read the suggested reading material for each lecture and write down the main points. After each lecture, summarize the major ideas and concepts in your notes within 24 hours of the class. Supplement these notes with material learned by reading the textbook. When you think you understand the material, do the suggested problems. If you cannot complete the problems without referencing your notes or the textbook, put them down and study the concepts again. Master the material from the previous lecture before going to the next one. Finally, spend a few minutes each day in review. If you fail to do this, you may find your review before an exam a major learning experience and you could become overwhelmed by what seems like an unreasonable amount of material. You cannot cram for an organic exam!
• The course grade for 4 credit hours will consist of:

80% Lecture Grade and 20% Lab Grade. 

The lecture grade (80%) will consist of:

Five exams = 40%

Final exam = 25 %

Classwork and Quizzes = 10%. 

Attendance = 5%

Quizzes may be given at any time, either online via Canvas or in class.  No advance notice of in-class quizzes is given.  Online Quizzes not completed by the due date will receive a grade of zero.  One (1) quiz grade will be dropped at the end of the semester.

MISSED EXAMS:  If you miss an exam, you must make an appointment with the testing center on the Corinth campus right away to take a makeup exam (1 per semester only).  YOU MUST NOTIFY ME BY EMAIL of your intent to make up the exam, and let me know your appointment day/time so I can have the exam available for you.  The exam MUST be made up within 2 days; or BEFORE the next class period, whichever comes first.  If you do poorly on an exam, your final exam grade can be used to replace your lowest exam grade (for 1 exam only) at the end of the semester.  The final exam grade cannot be replaced. 

The final exam will be COMPREHENSIVE, covering all material in this course.

GRADING SCALE:

A = 90-100      B = 80-89     C = 70-79      D = 60 –69    F = <60

• Grades will be posted on CANVAS.  You are responsible for checking to see that your grades are posted correctly.  If there is a discrepancy, please bring it to my attention right away.  Do not wait until the end of the semester.
• The averages calculated on CANVAS may or may not reflect your actual grade.  Refer to the syllabus for the percentages for calculating your grade.

• Cell phones and pagers must be turned to SILENT during class. If you must take a call during class for emergency reasons, excuse yourself from class to take the call.  Use of iphones, ipads, laptop computers or any other means of accessing the Internet during class is not recommended.  If you disrupt the class, you may be asked to leave for the remainder of the class session.
• THE INSTRUCTOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ADD, DELETE, OR MODIFY ANY PART OF THIS DOCUMENT WITH PRIOR NOTICE TO THE STUDENT.

QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, or COMPLAINTS