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):  Complete Calendar at the end of Syllabus

Points                   Letter Grade Equivalent

90% or higher                         A

80-89.99%                              B

70 -79.99%                             C

60 – 69.99%                            D

59.99% or less                        F

** Grades are never rounded up in this course.  The student will receive the grade earned.  Every student has the ability to increase his/her grade with extra credit.

Weekly Quizzes- Quizzes will begin Week1 with the Intro to the Course Quiz, proceed to the weekly Chapter Quizzes, and end with the Course Post Test.  Traditional exams will not be used in this course.  Weekly quizzes will open on Sunday at 1am and close on Monday at11:59pm. At the end of the semester, the lowest Chapter quiz grade will be dropped.  The Intro to the Course and Course Post-test cannot be dropped.  Students who miss a quiz, FOR ANY REASON, will receive a zero.  There are no make-up quizzes in this course; therefore, it is essential that students plan weekly to complete the quizzes accordingly.

            ** Students are not allowed to use any resources such as the book, notes, internet, when taking quizzes.  These are comparative to exams, and should be treated as such.

Course Assignments: Two types of assignments will be given in this course:  Chapter Assignments (CA) and Analysis Assignments (AA). 

Class Assignments (CA)  will primarily encompass Chapter LearnSmarts & Connect Assignments (Connect/McGraw Hill)-  For each chapter, students will be required to access the ebook and chapter notes and complete a series of questions from the reading to show mastering of learning outcomes of each chapter. Students will generally be given one week to complete these assignments.  This category is designed to help students understand the chapter learning outcomes and prepare for the weekly quiz.

Analysis Assignments (AA) will provide students with a deeper understanding of major topics within the course.  These assignments will require students to use additional research assignments other than the textbook and notes to collected data/information and then analyze and apply the gathered information.   This category is designed for the student to gather and apply information to experience a higher level of application of major themes the learning outcomes of this course.

Late Work –Late assignments will not be accepted.  No assignments, quizzes, etc. will be re-opened for any student for any reason.  Please manage your time wisely, and leave enough time to deal with any computer problems that might arise and keep you from completing your course work as required.  Submitting early is the best rule of thumb.  Students are free to make unlimited corrections and/or resubmission before the due date; however, after the due date has expired, no resubmissions/corrections will be accepted.

All Assignments must be typed and uploaded as a doc or docx document.  I will not grade assignments that have been handwritten.  In Canvas I can only use the grading function if the document is a doc or docx.  If you are using a Mac, it is your responsibility to make sure the document has been submitted correctly.  Canvas will not recognize files uploaded as .pages, which will lead to the student receiving a zero.  I highly recommend that you use Google Chrome as your browser.  Safari should never be used with Canvas.

Discussion Boards- Students must post an original post at least three days before the assignment closes and response posts before the assignment closes.  Late discussion posts will receive a deduction of 3 points per each day late.  While students can include opinion in discussion board posts, this should always be secondary to incorporating the sources in to the discussion, as well as cite to where the sources are used.  Students are expected to behave in a professional manner at all times.  Standard grammatical rules apply, use complete sentences and paragraphs.

Availability: While this class is online and available at your convenience 24 hours a day (except when IT maintenance occurs), I am not available 24 hours a day.  Please remember that in a face to face class students do not have access to the instructor all day, every day.  You should not expect that in an online class either.  During the work week, Monday through Friday, I will attempt to check my email several times a day.  However, on the weekends I will check emails only during the times that I am available.  Additionally, if it is a holiday or spring break, do not expect that I will be online at all.  Therefore, it is my suggestion that you take a look at all assignments ahead of time to see if you need any clarifications before the weekend begins.  I do not check emails after 9pm in the evening.

Announcements:  All course information will be posted as announcements.  I will post several announcements each week to remind you what is coming due and I will also give more details and suggestions on assignments.  It is very important that students read all announcements in full.  Students are encouraged to set the notifications to receive announcements as they are posted.

** I have posted the instructions on setting Notifications.  I strongly suggest you set those up for better success.

Asking Questions: It is very important that you email me in canvas with any questions that you have.  Please remember that in a face to face class students raise their hand when they are confused.  In an online class an email is a hand raise.  If you do not email me with questions or requests for clarifications, then I can only assume that my detailed directions and announcements are keeping you on track.  I also encourage you to email me with any concepts in the reading that confuses you.  This is really my only chance to communicate with each of you and I love questions.  

Online Private Conferences:  I encourage students to schedule appointments as needed during the semester.  While you have full access to my on campus office hours, we can meet online in the "Conference" function where we can either live chat, talk one on one if we both have microphone access, and even by webcam if we both have access to webcam.  This option allows us to have a conversation in live time which makes answer questions about assignments, lecture topics, grades, etc. more coherent.  Sometimes emails are just not the best idea to get detailed information.  Appointments can be scheduled at various times during the day or evening. 

CONNECT ACCESS-  The textbook, Learn Smart, Chapter Quizzes, and Connect activities are all maintained within the McGraw Hill Connect System.  Students need to be enrolled immediately in Connect, which can be purchased at the bookstore, or online directly from McGraw Hill through Canvas.  Temporary access can be used directly from Connect McGraw Hill for 12 days from the first day of class.  Students must be enrolled within the first week of class, as assignments are due immediately.  Students who do not properly enroll in Connect will be dropped from the course.  Students will be given a warning by email and then dropped from the Course if the required materials are not purchased.

CANVAS ACCESS:  All students must have complete access to Canvas for the entire semester.  It is the student’s responsibility to have access to the internet at all times, as well as having all needed programs to complete an online course.  Students are not to give any other person access to his/her Canvas account.  Students can be removed from the course immediately up violating this rule.  Once a student has given another person access to his/her canvas account, the credibility of any work completed becomes questionable.

Computer Reliability and Programs Needed:  You have chosen to take an online course; therefore you should have regular and adequate access to a computer and internet connection/access in order to meet the deadlines.  Additionally, you will need to make sure that all assignments are typed and submitted to the drop box as either doc or docx files.  Canvas will not recognize any file designated as pages, which is a common issue with Mac users.  Please make sure you have saved your files correctly and uploaded to the drop box correctly.  I strongly suggest that you use Google Chrome as your browser, because students seem to have fewer problems, especially those of you who use Macs.  I strongly suggest you do not use Safari or Explorer, as students seem to have major problems when accessing Canvas.

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)

Additional Instructor-specific Absence Policy:  Students who do not meet Week 1 requirements will be dropped from the course for non-attendance.  

Attendance Check-In—Attendance Grade—It is very important that online students log in one or more times each week to obtain important course information as well as complete course requirements regularly.  Each week, an announcement will be marked: Attendance Validation.  Students must fully read the weekly announcement and then post their name by Reply to be counted present for that week.  Attendance will be taken at week end, and will count in the Analysis Assignment grade category.  Students who fail to log in for attendance will be counted absent for that week.  To avoid missing the attendance check in, students should not wait until the last minute.

Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is April 3, 2020.

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.

For support, please contact the counselors at (940) 498-6207 or (940) 668-4321.  Alternatively, students may stop by Room 170 in Corinth or Room 110 in Gainesville.

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

o        Communication

o        Mathematics             

o        Life and Physical Science

o        Language, Philosophy & Culture

o        Creative Arts

X         Government/Political Science

o        Social and Behavioral Sciences

o        Component Area Option

o        American History

X               Critical Thinking

X          Communication

o             Empirical and Quantitative

o             Teamwork

X                Personal Responsibility

X                Social Responsibility