SPCH 1311: Introduction to Human Communication Course Syllabus

The North Central Texas College (NCTC) Course Syllabus provides the following as required by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB):

1. a brief description of the course including each major course requirement, assignment and examination;
2. the learning objectives for the course;
3. a general description of the subject matter of each lecture or discussion; and
4. any required or recommended readings. 

Contact information for the instructor is also provided. The Course Syllabus also provides institutional information to indicate how this course supports NCTC’s purpose and mission. Information specific to a particular section of the course will be included in the Class Syllabus and distributed to enrolled students. 

Course Name & Number: SPCH 1311 (Introduction to Human Communication)

Semester & Year: Spring 2021

Catalog Description: Introduces basic human communication principles and theories embedded in a variety of contexts including interpersonal, small group, and public speaking. [Rev 12-11-18]   

Instructor's Name: Professor Hawkins

Office Phone #: N/A

Instructor's Office #: N/A

Email Address: jbhawkins@nctc.edu

Office Hours: Monday: 2:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. and Wednesday: 7:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M. 
Join online or through the WebExt Meetings application
I will also be available for instant messages or phone calls through WebEx Teams application.
If you can't make these times we can always schedule a time that is good for both of us.

Textbooks & Materials: Communication in the Real World: An Introduction to Communication Studies. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing ISBN: 9781946135070

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA

Available for Free at: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/274

It is also available in the "Files" section of this course as a full-text .pdf or individual chapters .pdf

What is the audience requirement for this course? Due to the current situation with COVID-19, we are only requiring the speaker have 1 audience member for their speech if it is an asynchronous online course (no meeting times). The audience member can be anyone who lives at the speaker's residence, and must be shown at the beginning of the recorded speech video and the end of the recorded speech video with no editing. Synchronous speech courses (meeting times in WebEx) will have students present their speeches during class times. Let your instructor know if you live alone and cannot find anyone to be an audience member.

COURSE AND COLLEGE INFORMATION

Learning Outcomes: Students who successfully complete this course will meet the following learning outcomes:

1. Apply the principles of human communication including: perception, verbal communication, nonverbal communication, listening, and audience analysis.
2. Demonstrate how to establish and maintain relationships through the use of interpersonal communication.
3. Apply small group communication skills including: problem solving, group roles, leadership styles, and cohesiveness.
4. Develop, research, organize, and deliver formal public speeches.
5. Recognize how to communicate within diverse environments.

Foundational Component Area:  Communication

• Critical Thinking Skills (CT) - to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information
• Communication Skills (COM) - to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral, and visual communication
• Teamwork (TW)- to include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal
• Personal Responsibility (PR)- to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making    

 
 Institutional Learning Goals. A quality general education curriculum in all associate degree programs.

• Quality freshman and sophomore level courses in arts and sciences which parallel the lower division offerings of four-year colleges and universities.
• Quality technical programs leading directly to careers in semi-skilled and skilled occupations, and quality technical education programs up to two years in length leading to certificates and associate degrees.
• Quality programs and services in support of adult literacy and basic skills development as a means of workforce enhancement and expanding access to higher education.

Program Purpose Statement. NCTC seeks to implement its goal of providing quality freshman and sophomore level courses in arts and sciences that parallel the lower division offerings of four-year colleges and universities by offering a coherent sequence of courses with appropriate breadth and depth to prepare a student for transfer to a university.

Departmental Purpose Statement. The Department of English, Speech, and Foreign Language provides quality instruction to students pursuing their academic and career goals.

STUDENT SUPPORT and SERVICES

• Frequently Asked Questions-all you need to know as a new or continuing student
• Student Services page-all the offices and contact information you need!

• Advising FAQ's-all majors and programs!

• Meet Your Advisor/Coach
• Degree Plans and Online Registration
• Career Services and Completion Center
• Course Combination/Credit Hour Maximization Matrix
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• Navigating Your First Year at NCTC

• Affinity Groupsand Student Life & Organizations 
• Awareness, Community Resources, andWellness
• CARES Team and Counseling Services

• Financial Aid and Scholarships 
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• Student Success/Tutoring, TRIO, and OSD (Disability Services)
• Testing Services
• QLess and Signing into Virtual Lines  
• Keep track of NCTC campus and COVID-related updates 

Affinity Groups

Staff and faculty representing the Employee Resource Groups (ERG’s), along with academic advisors, counselors and success coaches, serve as mentors for NCTC’s student-centered ​Affinity Groups​.

An ​Affinity Group​ is a population of students who have specific needs, barriers or systems they are needing to navigate not only within college, but within life. Providing mentorship, support and resources for identified Affinity Groups such as Black/African American students, veterans and active military, single parents, students with disabilities, adult learners, Latinx, LGBTQ+ and students who have experienced foster care and/or homelessness, enables us to make more impactful, meaningful connections with students who are in dire need of equity and understanding.

Career Services Center

In need of employment? NCTC Career Coaches meet one-on-one to provide training in writing resumes, job searches, interviewing, and more. The Skills to Succeed Academy is also a free interactive, online employability training program focused on building the skills and confidence you need to find the best career.

Completion Center

The Completion Center provides a variety of services for first-time in college students. These include academic success coaching, goal setting, course planning, student resources, career development, and job placement services for all new college students. Free online Success Seminars are also available through Student Lingo and new students will also enroll in a First Year Experience (NCTC 1001) course to get started on the right track!

Counseling and Advising

Academic Advisors and Counselors help students explore majors and programs offered, how to take the best combination of classes to meet your goals, assist with questions related to university transfer, and guide students towards academic and personal success, and more. At NCTC, you are assigned to a specific advisor or success coach based on your major or career interests. You can locate our advisors and their majors, along with contact information on the Meet Your Advisor page-and even schedule an appointment with them through their online calendar! 

Early Alert and CARES

The NCTC Early Alert program assists students who are at risk of failing or withdrawing from a course. Faculty and staff may refer students through the Early Alert process at any point in the semester in an effort to provide appropriate intervention and access to support services. Examples of behaviors that could prompt an Early Alert referral could be missing assignments, failing tests, excessive absences, or personal circumstances impacting academic performance. A student submitted as an Early Alert will be contacted by an academic advisor or success coach through text, phone, and/or via their NCTC e-mail address to discuss any current challenges as well as helpful resources and success strategies-we want our students to finish strong and know that education is a partnership!

The NCTC CARES Team is concerned not only about our students' academic success, but also their emotional and physical well-being. As a student, you have the ability to report concerning behavior which could impact your own safety or the safety of another NCTC student, such as stalking, harassment, physical or emotional abuse, violent or threatening behavior, or self-harm. Visit the NCTC CARES site to also locate campus and community resources, or email counseling@nctc.edu.  As always, if you feel there is an immediate threat to your own safety or welfare (or to another student), please call 911 immediately.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

EDI partners with the entire campus community to create, maintain and demonstrate NCTC’s commitment to an equitable, diverse and inclusive learning environment where NCTC students succeed. NCTC defines equity as encompassing the practice of acknowledging individual differences and systemic disparities when developing new programs and resources for our campus community, which may sometimes challenge our own beliefs and assumptions, in order to ensure balanced educational opportunities toward completion. Everyone Included. Everyone Belongs. Everyone Valued. Everyone Inspired.  

Financial Aid

The Office of Financial Aid provides students with information and guidance with applying for eligible types of financial assistance, such as the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Students who have any types of exemptions or tuition waivers will also work with the Financial Aid Office to have these funds applied to their accounts. Additionally, the Scholarship Office provides local scholarship opportunities through an online application process, and tips on how to secure other types of scholarship awards which can help finance educational goals.

Student Success Center

The Student Success Center is designed to help all students at NCTC develop tools to achieve their academic goals. The center links students to FREE tutoring, including a Writing Center, a Math Lab, and free online tutoring.  Student Success offers academic coaching, tutoring, including a Writing Center, and a Math Lab to assist new students acclimate to college by providing computer lab services for prospective students. First generation students can also participate in TRIO which offers specialized services.

Testing Services

The mission of NCTC Testing Services is to provide high-quality testing services that adhere to the professional standards and guidelines to meet the needs of students, faculty, and community members.

Last day to Withdraw: Last day to drop a class with a grade of “W” is April 5th. 

Instructions for Withdrawing from a Course - https://www.nctc.edu/current-students/drop-withdraw-course.html

Scholastic Integrity – Plagiarism: Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but not be limited to cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion. See Student Handbook “Student Rights & Responsibilities: Student Conduct [FLB- (LOCAL)]” #18.

Disciplinary Actions [Student Handbook, #5] “When cheating, collusion, or plagiarism has occurred beyond any reasonable doubt, the instructor may give the student or students involved an “F” on a particular assignment or in the course. [See Scholastic Dishonesty FLB (Local)] The instructor shall make a written report of the incident and the planned action to his Department Chair. The Department Chair shall report the incident and action to the appropriate instructional dean who shall review the case, notify the student and, if necessary, take further action. This may involve either probation or suspension of the student or students in question. If such disciplinary action is deemed necessary, the Dean of Student Services shall be notified, and the action shall be taken through that office.”

Plagiarism, which should be avoided at all costs, includes the following student actions:

1. Turning in someone else's ideas, opinions, theories, or work as your own;
2. Unintentionally or inadvertently turning in someone else's ideas, opinions, theories, or work as your own as the result of failing to document sources both internally and in the Works Cited;
3. Copying words, ideas, or images from someone without giving credit; Failing to put a quotation in quotations marks;
4. Giving incorrect information about the source of information, quotations, or images;
5. Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit;
6. Copying so many words, ideas, or images from a source that it makes up the majority of the student's work, whether or not the student gives credit.

Please be aware that I take plagiarism very seriously:  You may not have another person write, type, edit, or revise any parts of your assignments.  You may not use someone else’s assignments or buy one from a “professional” source.  You may not use the material on the internet or in print sources without documenting it.  Failure to follow the proper guidelines for documentation constitutes plagiarism. 

Considering the severity of the issue, if you ever have any questions or concerns regarding plagiarism, please consider this an open invitation to visit with me about the issue. If I discover that a student has committed intentional plagiarism, the assignment that has plagiarized materials will receive a zero, and I will recommend to the English Department Head that the student fails the course.

Student Rights & Responsibilities:  NCTC Board policy FLB (Local) Student Rights and Responsibilities states that each student shall be charged with notice and knowledge of the contents and provisions of the rules and regulations concerning student conduct.  These rules and regulations are published in the Student Handbook published in conjunction with the College Catalog.  All students shall obey the law, show respect for properly constituted authority, and observe correct standards of conduct.

Student Success:  At NCTC, student success​ is progress towards collegiate goals, reached in an affordable and timely manner, under professional guidance, empowering students to serve skillfully in their chosen role within their community. The Student Success Center is designed to help all students at NCTC develop tools to achieve their academic goals.  This program also links students to FREE tutoring, including a Writing Center, a Math Lab, and free 24/7 online tutoring and helps new students acclimate to college by providing computer lab services for prospective students.  All students are invited to visit the Student Success Center on the Corinth Campus, rooms 170, 182, or 188; on the Gainesville Campus, rooms 114 or 111; on the Flower Mound Campus, room 111; and on the Bowie Campus, room 124.

Tobacco-Free Campus:  NCTC restricts the use of all tobacco products including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, electronic cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco on campus property. NCTC is aware that tobacco use influences underage students, which cumulates unsightly tobacco litter and interferes with assuring clean air for all who come to NCTC. NCTC recognizes the health hazards of tobacco use and of exposure to second-hand smoke. Information on a tobacco cessation program is available for students, faculty, staff who wish to stop using tobacco products. We would like to "thank you" for your help in making our campuses Tobacco-Free. For questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Vice President of Student Services at 940-668-4240.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION and OTHER AREAS OF CONSIDERATION

Basic Needs: Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the Dean of Students for support. Furthermore, please notify me if you are comfortable in doing so. This will enable me to direct you to additional resources for support.

College 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's responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval and judgment 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. A student will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon the 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 adequate cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)  

For online coursework, the expectation is that students log in regularly and submit assignments in a timely manner.  Logging in daily is preferable, but at a minimum every 48 hours.

Email Correspondence: I reserve 24 hours to respond to students’ emails. Emails sent to me become my personal property, and I may disclose them to third parties if I determine it’s necessary. Emails constitute correspondence between instructor and student; therefore, remember your audience when sending me emails. 

Gender Identity: This course affirms people of all gender expressions and identities. If you prefer to be called a different name than what is on the class roster, please let me know. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records, and so I may call you by your preferred name and pronoun. 

Grading Policy & Procedures. Grades in this course are based on the following point scale:

• A  90-100% 
• B  80-89.999%
• C  70-79.999%
• D  60-69.999%
• F  59.999% and below

Major Speech Assignments: All major speech assignments are required. If you fail to turn in the major speech or the group project, you cannot pass the course. I reserve the right to administratively drop any student who does not submit all major speech assignments.

Late-Work Policy: A major speech is due on the day listed on Canvas.  If you need an extension, contact me in advance of the due date to make this request. I reserve the right not to evaluate any work submitted more than five days late.

Class Business/Group Informative Presentation (200 pts. or 20%) - We will have a short (3-5 minutes), collaborative course-concept informative speech presentation. These speeches will be completed in groups of 2-3 students. 

Persuasive Speech (225 pts. or 22.5%) – The student is tasked with persuading their audience to act for or against a chosen ethical issue by using the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence organizational pattern. He/she is asked to also deliver the speech fluidly and fluently by paying attention to the necessary and fundamental aspects of verbal and nonverbal communication while using a diversity of visual support materials. There is also a research component that requires verbal and written citation of at least 6 diverse, authoritative sources with an outline and bibliography. Finally, the student will choose a peer’s speech to evaluate and offer constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement. 

Weekly Chapter Quizzes (210 pts. [15 pts. each] or 21% [1.5% each]) – Each week there will be a quiz that assesses the content knowledge of the student over the chapters/lecture materials covered. These quizzes could involve True/False, multiple choice, short answer, and/or essay questions. 

Intercultural/Interpersonal Relationships Narrative (200 pts. or 20% [10% each]) -  Each student is tasked with constructing a narrative essay that incorporate theories from different areas of the communication spectrum: interpersonal, intercultural, identity, small group, spatial and nonverbal, organizational, and even relational communication. Each theory should be properly ascribed to its theorist(s), briefly paraphrased, and then applied to their own examples of how that theory can be seen within their own life (be it in their jobs, their families, their choice of entertainment, and even their socio-political engagement) through a personal story. 

Unit Reflection Discussions (140 pts. [35 pts. each] or 14% [3.5% each]) - The course will be organized into four unit sections: Unit I: History & Overview of Communication, Unit II: Public Speaking, Unit III: Communication Theory, and Unit IV: Communication Applied (See more detailed schedule copied below). At the end of each unit section we will have a discussion forum to assess and measure the understanding of each student through application of concepts and online interaction with the class. 

Extra Credit & "Rounding Up" Policy: From time to time I provide extra credit, announced in class or through Remind. Extra credit is graded in the last four weeks of the semester and students should not rely on it to significantly impact their grade. However, this instructor does not "round up" your grade at the end of a semester. An 89% is a B. Otherwise, the whole concept of grade distinctions loses its meaning. Students are encouraged to "round up" their own grades by completing extra credit to push them over any "rounding up" margins. 

Professionalism: Your college courses are also opportunities for you to learn what it means to be a “professional” in your field. Therefore, I expect you to act like a “professional” student in this course. Consider these suggestions:

• • Prepare and participate meaningfully in online discussion boards.
  • Be assertive. (An assertive student exhausts all available resources of information before contacting me. In other words, read the assignment sheet carefully before e-mailing me to ask how many sources are required in your paper, and if you are unsure how to cite a source, look it up in your handbook or a credible, online source—such as The Purdue Owl or the LaunchPad handbook.)
  • Consider the quality (and effort) of required outlines, notes, and weekly assignments.
  • Turn in assignments on time and as assigned.
  • Mind the quality and tone of email correspondence.