Syllabus

10. How is the grade for the course figured and how can I learn my grade?

All major assignments must be written and turned in for a grade, and all tests must be taken in order as scheduled before you can receive credit for the course. You cannot pass the class if you miss a major document or fail the final exam. There is no extra credit work or late work. However, you can turn in a late document for attendance credit to avoid failing the course. The grade for the course is computed as follows:

• Discussion board posts (one discussion board post of at least 100 words and one response per week of at least 50 words per reading assignment at 5 points each): 120 points
• Class participation (reading and completing all module materials, logging in regularly):  50 points
  
• 20 quizzes in Blackboard Vista at 10 points each: 200 points
  
• Midterm examination (40 points objective, 100 points document): 140 points* 
• Memo/letter assignment (group or individual):  50 points 
• Resume/cover letter assignment (individual): 50 points
  
• Proposal assignment (group): 100 points
  
• Progress report assignment (group): 50 points
• Completion report assignment (group): 100 points
• Final examination (40 points objective, 100 points document): 140 points*
  

The course components total 1,000 points. The breakdown of these points and their corresponding letter grades is as follows: 

900-1,000 = A (90-100%) 

800-899 = B (80-89.9%) 

700-799 = C (70-79.9%) 

600-699 = D (60-69.9%)

0-599 = F (0-59.9%)

SAC no longer mails grades at the end of the term. They can be accessed on the World Wide Web.

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11. Who and where is the section instructor? 

 Dr. Dawn Elmore-McCrary
Office and phone: GH 130-A, 486-0667

I use Blackboard Vista IM and Chat to communicate with students enrolled in my classes.   I do not always automatically turn on IM when I log on, so please email me if you do not see me listed during office hour and want to chat or IM.

Monday 1:15-2:00 p.m. on campus; 7:45-9:00 p.m. online

Tuesday 4:00-6:00 p.m. on campus; 9:00-10:00 p.m. online

Wednesday 1:30-2:30 p.m. on campus; 8:00-9:00 p.m. online

Thursday 4:00-6:00 p.m. on campus; 9:00-10:00 p.m. online

I check email daily except on Saturdays. I check voice mail daily Monday through Thursday.

During campus office hours, I am accessible to you in person, by phone, or through email or Blackboard Vista chat/IM.

During online office hours, I am accessible to you through email or Blackboard Vista chat/IM.

Email: delmore-mccrary@alamo.edu

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12. How do I participate in class discussion? How do I participate in the collaborative writing groups?

You will have regular postings on the class discussion board. These count as your attendance in the class and also as points towards your final grade.

You will need to log into PALS. If you have not done this before, you'll find instructions at the portal about how to obtain your user name and password. Once there, click on My Courses. You will find a link there to the Blackboard Vista page for this class.  Click on either the Calendar or the Learning Module for the unit.. For each unit, you will have two participation assignments due:

• A discussion post due at midnight on Thursday and Sunday on what you read for the unit.  The post must be analytical in nature (NOT a summary). You will see a prompt in the description of the topic that asks you to respond to a question. You MUST give appropriate examples from the reading  to explain your points and provde evidence to support your topic sentence. Each post must be in paragraph form and at least 100 words long.  Do NOT use the word "you" unless it comes from a direct quote in the textbook.
  
• A post due at midnight on Friday and Monday in response to someone else's initial post.  This needs to have content that advances discussion on a point made in the original poster's work. Don't just say, "Good post!" or "I disagree with you."  Find something interesting in that person's post and comment on it with your own views. Explain why you agree or disagree. Tell the poster what in his or her work stood out to you and relate it to something in your own experience. Again, the response must be in paragraph form and at least 50 words long.  You may use "you" only if you are directly addressing the original poster. Avoid the general "you." For more information about how this works, refer to my lecture in the first Learning Module on point of view and formal writing.
  

You may respond to more than one person's post; however, the post you put up for credit must be at least 50 words long and turned in on time in order to count for points.

I will form collaborative writing groups based on my best judgment and your preferences. Once I email you with your group members' names and email addresses, contact your teammates to begin working on the collaborative project. Start by selecting a web site and team roles. I will post collaborative strategies on the discussion board you can use to help you with the process of working together.  You can correspond by email, meet online in chat or IM, or fax work to each other; you may also choose to meet in person, but it is NOT required.

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13. How do I drop the course? How is attendance calculated?

Should you need to drop the course, you must initiate the process by filling in the proper form and turning it in to Admissions and Records office in Fletcher Administration Center 201 by Friday, October 2nd. This is the last day on which you can receive a recorded grade of "W."

Attendance is calculated by your participation in class discussion each unit. Missing any document, the midterm, or one unit's worth of  posting work (discussion board post/response) is equivalent to one week's worth of absence in this class. Quizzes DO NOT count toward attendance.

14. What college and instructor's academic policies govern the course?

San Antonio College does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability with respect to access, employment programs or services

1. Students are urged not to bring children to either a class or a lab. Minors under the age of twelve (12) must not be left unattended on campus
   
   
2. ADA Statement: "As per Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, if accommodation is needed contact the Office of DisABILITY Support Services, CAC 124C, Phone: (210) 486-0020.”
   
   
3. A Rapid Response Team responds to emergencies. If you have a disability that will require assistance in the event of a building evacuation, notify Disability Support Services, Chance Academic Center 124C, Phone: (210) 486-0020.
   
   
4. Academic Dishonesty:

1.       Students may be subject to disciplinary proceedings resulting in an academic penalty or disciplinary penalty for academic dishonesty.

2.       Academic Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism and collusion. For additional information refer to the "Student Code of Conduct" in the San Antonio College Bulletin.

3.       Students found guilty of an act of collusion may be subject to an academic penalty, including one or more, if not inconsistent:

4.       A requirement to complete additional academic work not required of other students in the course

5.       A reduction in grade

6.       Assignment of a grade of "F"' in the course

Academic dishonesty (cheating on a test or other class work, plagiarism) and collusion (the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing college work offered for credit) are serious offenses. Credit will not be given to any work suspected of exhibiting evidence of either or both.

             E. Students are required to silence all electronic devices (e.g., pagers, cellular phones,
         etc.) when in classrooms, laboratories, and the library.

       .      F. San Antonio College Attendance Policy:

1. Regular and punctual attendance is required. A student absent for any reason is responsible for all work missed.

2. Absences are recorded from the first day of class. A student absent the equivalent of two weeks of instruction may be dropped by the instructor with a grade of "W."

3. Both tardiness and early departure from class are forms of absenteeism. The instructor establishes the policy with regard for each.

4. For an evening class meeting once a week, the students may be dropped upon their second absence.

5. For eight-week flex term or summer classes, students may be dropped upon their second absence.

6. For short summer classes, students may be dropped upon the third day of absence.

7. Students with excessive absences who are withdrawn from the course may be withdrawn from ALL other courses for which they are registered.

.          G. Alamo Colleges DPS Emergency Phone Numbers:

Emergency Phone (210) 222-0911
General Phone (210) 485-0099
Weather Phone (210) 485-0189 (For information on college closures)

.      Students must also abide by the policies, procedures, and rules set forth in the "Student Code of Conduct" and all other policies set forth in the San Antonio College Bulletin and e-Catalog. (http://mysaccatalog.alamo.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=594)

Attendance begins on the first day of class regardless of when you enroll. Attendance is taken only by your discussion board posts and responses. Students who do not complete the orientation and at least one learning module by the end of the equivalent of two weeks of class will be dropped from the class. (Keep in mind this means within one week during a flex or summer term and within the first day for Maymester.) Students who miss six posts (three weeks' worth of class) will be dropped from the class with a WN or will fail the class if the drop date has passed regardless of the total number of points they have earned.

Late Work

I do not accept late work. Discussion posts and responses have a one-hour grace period to account for differences in time and posting. If a true emergency arises, contact me privately. I am the sole determiner of whether a situation is an emergency, and each student gets only one emergency per term.

Discussion board posts may be put up late for attendance purposes only (meaning you will not be dropped but also will not earn points) within 24 hours of the due date. After that time, the threads will be locked.

Internet/Email Access

SAC students taking Internet courses must maintain access to their courses at all times by maintaining a good operating computer and reliable Internet Service Provided (ISP). As an Internet student, you are committed to having regular web access or, if your service is interrupted, to have alternate web access available. Realize that your instructor is NOT going to accept lack of access as an excuse for late work or missed exam/quiz access. Each student must have a backup plan in place and be ready to carry it out if web service is interrupted for any reason.

Each student must also have at least two email addresses. One of the two addresses must be the PALS account assigned by the college. The other may be any other email address that only the student can access and contains the student's name in the sender field. Federal privacy regulations require that any email address used for class purposes belong only to that student. Therefore, a family address or one shared with friends is not acceptable.

Extra Credit

There is no extra credit. Do your work on time to the best of your ability in order to do well in the class.

Academic Dishonesty

Students caught engaging in any form of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, collusion, and cheating on a test) will receive a grade of F in the class and be referred for disciplinary action. When in doubt, always cite your source and ask the professor for guidance. It may be tempting to present information from online sources as your own, but avoid this. Also do not present ideas from "study aids" such as Cliff's Notes, Sparks Notes, or Gale sources (or any free or bought research paper) as your own. Remember if you can find it or buy it, so can your professor. Do your own work; it's ultimately rewarding and will teach you far more than plagiarism.

Textbooks

Textbooks are required for the class and will be used on a regular basis. Students are responsible for purchasing their textbooks in a timely manner and keeping them until after the final examination period.

Quizzes

Quizzes open at 12:30 a.m. on the first day of each applicable unit. They close at midnight on the last day of each unit.

Quiz passwords are posted in a file on the front page of the course. You will have access to that file after completing the orientation successfully.

Working Ahead

You may always work ahead up to two units on your reading, discussion board posts, essay drafts, and responses during each half of the course (pre- and post-midterm). Quizzes will be open only during the time period specified for each module. Generally it is not a good idea to get too far ahead because then you miss out on class interactions and questions that might help you do better on assignments.

1. Have you finished grading yet?

I'll let everyone know when I have finished. A big announcement will be on the front page of the class. Every time I have to stop to read an email that asks me this, I could be grading your assignment! The person who asks gets moved to the end of the grading queue.

2. How am I doing in your class?

One of your responsibilities as a college student is to keep track of your own points and average. Blackboard Vista makes this easy for you with My Grades. Not only does it record your points for every assignment as each one gets graded, but I also have it set up to keep a running total of your points all semester long and also to give you your average automatically at midterm. Anytime you want to know how you are doing in the class, take the following steps:

1. Add up all the points you have earned to date.
2. Add up all the points possible to date.
3. Divide the first number by the second number (points earned by points possible).
4. Move the decimal point two places to the right. This will give you your average expressed as a percentage.

Keep in mind that the more points you have attempted, the more accurate your average will be. There is no need to freak out if you blow or miss a couple of quizzes or posts, for example, because they are worth a small percentage of your grade. However, if this is a consistent pattern, those issues can add up. Keeping track of your average as we go will allow you to know exactly how you are doing and where you need to focus your efforts to improve.

I am always happy, however, to discuss ways in which you can improve your writing, reading, or study habits with you.

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Updated 8/23/09 . For further information, contact Dr. Dawn Elmore-McCrary at delmore-mccrary@alamo.edu.

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© 2005, Dr. Dawn Elmore-McCrary,  San Antonio College English Department