Course Objectives

Students will:

Attendance/Contact Policy

Attendance in this class is as important as it would be if you were attending on campus. You should be logging in to Blackboard at least 6 days out of every week. You must contact Dr. G. once a week by either submitting an assignment OR directly by email. Failure turn in assignments or contact Dr. G. by email will result in a "W" (withdrawal) if a withdrawal slip is signed before the deadline or an "F" if after the deadline or if no withdrawal slip at all, regardless of reason. It is your responsibility to have a CONTACT notify  Dr. G. using their email in the case of unexpected emergencies.  This individual is to regularly keep Dr. G. updated as to progress .

Repeated "Noncontact":  There are times when Dr. G. will request a reply to his email from individuals.  This may be occasioned by late work, revision of an assignment, lack of contact with him, etc..  In these cases you will be asked to reply, turn in an assignment, etc. by a certain date.  If no reply is forthcoming from you on that certain date, the Assistant Academic Director of the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH) will withdraw you automatically.  THIS IS NOT DONE ROUTINELY, but in some past cases, became necessary.  You will be given ample warning through email.

Note that technical difficulties do not excuse the student from the responsibility of participation and other assigned work!  You are responsible for maintaining your access to the internet and email.  Points will be deducted on a daily basis for not setting up a usable email account and maintaining it.

Assignment Policy

1. You may turn in any assignment earlier than the due date. ANY ASSIGNMENT SUBMITTED LATE WILL RESULT IN A point deduction. Most assignments will have additional points deducted if more than two days late. (See "Assignments Checklist" in Blackboard)... Assignments will not be accepted for credit and will be removed ONE WEEK after due dates.

Unfortunately, since you are doing a lot of research on the subject, your work must be turned in on time. If you are two assignments, including DBs, tests, etc. behind, it is suggested that you withdraw from the course, regardless of excuse.  Failure to do so may result in a final grade of "F." Generally, you must withdraw before the Drop Deadline for a "withdrawal passing." 

2. Since Assignments may be submitted earlier than the deadline, technical difficulties do not excuse you from the responsibility of submitting them on time. As in most online courses, technical difficulties do not excuse one from the responsibility of participation and other assigned work.

3. Some assignments will be completed on the Discussion Board and others through email (or Digital Drop Box if directed). See the directions for each in "Blackboard." . If I cant' read your submission or there is a mistake in uploading to Drop Box, I will notify you by email and you must resubmit within ONE DAY from my sending the email, letting me know by email that you have resubmitted.  If you do this, it will not be counted as late unless done repeatedly.

4. LATE ASSIGNMENTS are those submitted after the specified time of the specific due date. 

5. Your assignments will be typed using the word processing program Microsoft Word (*.doc) OR saved in Rich Text Format (*.rft). If you do not have this program, you can obtain it by purchasing MS Office at the U.C. Bookstore. In a special arrangement with Micosoft, you will obtain a software program that could cost you hundreds of dollars for only $7.50!

6. Put your name and the assignment in the upper-left hand corner of each page of the written assignment (e.g. Bill Smith ASC).

7. RETENTION OF WORK: All tests, assignments, exercises, reports, etc. will be kept by your professor. You will receive notification of the quality of work on most of the assignments. You have WITHIN ONE WEEK of the class's receiving the grade to review each assignment.

8. Assignment Revisions:  Revisions or rewriting of the the whole assignment or parts of it may be required by Dr. G..  The most common instances include:

a. If the original submission is done extremely poorly. 

b. If major sections of the assignment were omitted.

If a revision is required, Dr. G. will post "revise" in the Grade Post in the place of a grade for that assignment.  In this case, you revision will be graded on the "+2 day late" scale and MUST be resubmitted within 2 days of the posted notification.

9. "Extra" points:  These may be earned in two ways:  

a. Doing much better than expected on "Required" assignments.  In this case, your work was far superior to the class in general. 

b. Doing the limited amount of "Choice" assignments (see "Assignments Checklist"). Before "Choice" assignments will count, you must complete all "Required" assignments to Dr. G.'s satisfaction.  This does not mean that you can't submit a "choice" assignment before completing all of the "required" ones.

Grading Policy

1. I grade all assignments at once after the deadline, even if I received them early. It is more efficient to do so.

2. To access your grades in Blackboard, click "User Tools" "Check Grade" link. NOTE: NEVER look at the percentage--it is usually wrong. Go by the total points. On the "Class Calendar/Weekly Grade Scale" (link is under "Assignment Assistance") look in the right-hand column and you will see a weekly grade scale, based on points earned by the end of that week.

3. ASSIGNMENTS: 

There is a "Grading Criteria" link on each assignment page.  I will post the Grading Criteria codes pertaining to your assignment on the Grade Post. The Grading Criteria codes will remain posted on the Grade Post for 1 week after grading those assignments submitted on time.

Discussion Board Postings

An additional part of your responsibility is to post to the Discussion Board and, if directed, comment thoughtfully on your classmates' postings beginning the first week of classes.  PLEASE NOTE that you must have postings for the week submitted by the deadline posted on the Class Calendar. Any postings after this time will not be counted. 

Grading

In general, I will consider the quality of your writing when grading your discussion. I will use the following criteria to evaluate your work:

• Does your answer indicate a good understanding of the question being asked?
• Does your answer indicate mastery of the material?
• Do you defend your views using studies discussed in the reading assignments and commentaries? (Identify the studies by the names of the researchers.)
• Are your arguments well organized, and is the sequence of ideas logical?
• Are your arguments superficial, or do they demonstrate careful thought?
• Is your work neat and free of typographical and spelling errors?

More specifically, evaluation of postings & responses, ONLY IF DIRECTED, is on four levels, depending on the type of Discussion Board assignment:

1. Student's immediate posting. It is obvious that there is more chance to be original if yours is one of the first postings. Should reflect personal involvement in the topic when appropriate.

2. Ideas:

• 100-90%--Exceptionally  creative/original/insightful, well-developed ideas based on some type of research or reading that is stated with relevant and accurate data/information to back up the response, when appropriate; evidence of synthesis and generalization of the material within the comments. 

The meaning of "Original"-- Dr. G. cannot judge if your post is based on your referring to those who have posted before you. Also, some DBs will have more than one appropriate choice for sources, interpretation, etc.. Therefore, "original," when appropriate, refers to using sources or websites different from others who have posted, a different interpretation of the same source from those who have posted, etc.. 

• 89-80%.-- Well-developed ideas with relevant and accurate data/ information to back up the response and fairly original, when appropriate.
• 79-60%.-- Developing ideas with data/information to back up the response, when appropriate
• 59-01%.--Poorly developed ideas 
• 0 %--No response or tasteless/inappropriate response ONLY IF DIRECTED.

PART 3 BELOW ONLY IS RELEVANT IF YOU WERE DIRECTED TO RESPOND TO ANOTHER STUDENT'S POST.

If directed to respond to your classmates' posts, your response(s) must be spread out over the week.  Please do not wait until the deadline and post and respond on the same day. With some Discussion Boards you may be required to both POST your work AND RESPOND/REPLY to another student's posting.

3. Level of involvement referring to responses ONLY IF DIRECTED:

• Top level-- responds thoughtfully to classmates' postings with correct number of responses when directed.

• Mid level-- responds to classmates' postings 

• Low or no level--does not respond or responds inappropriately to classmates' postings

I will be looking for IN-DEPTH THINKING OR ON THE DISCUSSION BOARD. Simply stating that you agree with another student does NOT constitute "in-depth thinking"!

For given Discussion Boards at end of term, I may look at the responses from other students that each student's comments generate. If the original comment was not very thought provoking, other students are not likely to react to it.
 

U.C. Code of Conduct

Students are expected to follow the mandates of the University of Cincinnati Code of Conduct. You may view this information online at the following site: http://www.uc.edu/conduct.html 

Grading Scale

The Grade Scale is posted on the Class Calendar/ Weekly Grade Scale

Note:  You must complete ALL of the assignments, tests, and discussion boards to be eligible to receive an "A" or "B" regardless of the total number of points earned.  To receive a "C" the same requirements are as above (for "A" & "B")---the exception you can miss only one discussion board and one test. All work must be completed by the announced deadline day during final exam week or the grade will be calculated on the basis of the points earned up to that time. No "IP"s (incompletes) are generally given.

Grade Scale**: A =  Must complete all of the assignments, tests, discussion boards, with an average between 90% or above. /  B =  Must complete all of the tests, Stress Management Program sections, and other assignments with an average between 80% and 89%.. /  C = Must complete all as in "A" and "B" requirements, with the exception of one of the tests and one discussion board with an average between 70% and 79%. /  D =  Work on the the tests, Stress Management Program sections, and other assignments must average between 60% and 69%. /  F = Work on the tests, Stress Management Program sections, and other assignments average below 60%.           **Pluses (+) and minuses (-) will be assigned.

Incomplete Policy / Course Withdrawal

"IP" (incomplete) grades will NOT generally be given. You will receive a grade based on the total points earned by your class's final exam day deadline. Anyone withdrawing from any class must first contact me via email to receive a "W." Remember that you're dealing with computers and must officially withdraw from a class. You should be aware of the following: 

"W" to indicate an Official Withdrawal with Participation ;  "WX" to indicate an Official Withdrawal without Participation  ; 
"F" to indicate an Official Withdrawal Failure  ;  UW  Unofficial Withdrawal for students not attending course but has not withdrawn officially.

This grade must be given to a student who stops coming to class but does not officially withdraw. The "WX" grade is equal to an "F" in calculating your grade point average.

IMPORTANT:  It is unfortunate if emergencies arise; however, you may be given an "F" for a course grade or withdraw from the class if missing 2 weeks total  throughout the quarter with or without contact regardless of reason.

EMERGENCY CONTACT PERSON: First of all, have someone who can contact me via email IMMEDIATELY in the case of emergencies such as medical problems, hospitalization, or technical problems with your computer.  Do not wait even a couple of days to do this. I should be apprised of the situation on a weekly basis if necessary.

3. Course Documents:  Readings & Resources /  etc.