Policies
Although this is an online course, you can expect a high level of dedication, availability, and support from me, just as you would from the instructor of an in-person course. I am a real person, and I am here to help you.
I also expect you to dedicate the same amount of time and attention to this course as you would to an in-person course. This includes the following:
- reading all required material (on our Moodle site)
- watching all required videos (links from our Moodle site)
- logging in to Moodle regularly (at least once a day)
- checking your NC State email and forums regularly
- working on assignments steadily throughout the semester
- asking questions when you have them
- respecting your classmates
- being open to the sometimes unexpected challenges of an online course
In order to make sure you are fully engaging with this course, you should log in to our Moodle site at least once a day throughout the 5-week course. Whether it is a forum discussion, an assignment component, or a final assignment, you will have multiple things due every week.
This is an online course, so you do not have to attend a class; however, you should plan to log in and engage with this course daily. Please let me know in advance about any planned excused absences that will prevent you from participating in your weekly course responsibilities. Information about the university’s attendance policies and the definition of an excused absence may be found here.
Please note that I do not typically respond to emails or Moodle messages received from 5pm to 9am. Messages sent during these times will receive attention once I am back online. Please allow 24 hours for me to respond to your message(s) before emailing me again to ask if I’ve received/read your original message(s).
Students should check the syllabus and course materials first to see if their question is already answered there before emailing me. Write professional, but casual, messages (i.e., I expect complete sentences and won’t respond to texting-language like “i need 2 c u”). Messages need to include the course number in the subject line (e.g., ENG 333).
No Late Work will be accepted in this course, unless there is an excused absence.
Contact me at least 24 hours in advance if you fear that your assignment will be late because of an excused absence.
If you must submit an assignment late for an unexpected reason (for example, because of an illness or emergency), email me at least 12 hours before the assignment deadline to discuss your options.
Let me know if you need help! If you are struggling with an assignment and feel concerned that you won’t be to complete it by the required date, please contact me as soon as possible. This semester will go by quickly, and it can be very difficult to catch up if you fall too far behind. Please don’t delay getting help if you need it. I am happy to help you, but it is your responsibility to ask for help.
Instructor Follow Up for Late or Missing Work
I will not contact you about late/missing work or late/missing forum posts. It is your responsibility to keep up with your own work and to communicate with me when you are falling behind or struggling. This is an important aspect of learning how to communicate in your professional life.
I use the gradebook in Moodle to keep track of your performance. Review the Moodle gradebook throughout the semester and contact me as soon as possible if you feel that a score may be incorrect.
You can earn a total of 1000 points in this course with no opportunity for extra credit. All of these points come from forums, journals, and assignments. No additional participation or attendance points will be added to your final grade. You can see how much each assignment is worth here. Successful completion of the class requires that you complete all 6 major assignments in a timely manner. These assignments include:
- Professional Bio
- Email of Intent
- Micro-Literature Review
- Research Funding Proposal
- Conference Presentation
- General Audience Blog post
Please do not contact me during the last week of the semester with concerns about your grade; at that point, it will not be possible for you to do anything to improve your score. Instead, please contact me as soon as you become concerned about your grade so that we can discuss any issues you might be having in the course and make a plan to support your success
Grading Scale
This course follows the grading scale below.
97 ≤ A ≤100
93 ≤ A < 97
90 ≤ A- < 93
87 ≤ B < 90
83 ≤ B < 87
80 ≤ B- < 83
77 ≤ C <80
73 ≤ C < 77
70 ≤ C- < 73
67 ≤ D < 70
63 ≤ D < 67
60 ≤ D- < 63
0 ≤ F < 60
Incomplete Grades
Students will not be given a temporary grade of IN (incomplete) unless they have attended classes regularly for most of the semester, have completed at least 60% of required work, have missed required work as a result of factors beyond their control, and have submitted satisfactory documentary evidence. An IN grade not removed by the end of the next semester in which the student is enrolled or by the end of twelve months, whichever is earlier, will automatically become an F (unless the student can present a compelling, well-documented case for the extension). For the NC State policy on grading and IN grades, see http://policies.ncsu.edu/regulation/reg-02-50-03
In addition to the expectations listed on the Expectations and Attendance Policy, you are also expected to follow the academic integrity guidelines below. If any of these expectations are unclear to you, please feel free to reach out to me. I am more than willing to give you a hand.
Academic Integrity
The work you do in this course must be your own. This means that you cannot plagiarize (please see below) or allow another person to write or revise your assignments for you. There is a very strong difference between workshopping drafts and exploiting someone’s labor by copying their work. The materials you submit to this course must be done specifically for the assignments given. This means that you cannot submit a paper you wrote for another course or an email that you sent to an advisor last semester to fulfill the criteria for one of this course’s assignments. All work should be original and produced during our 5 weeks together.
Click this link to review the NC State Code of Student Conduct, paying particular attention to Sections 8 and 9.
You should adhere to the Pack Pledge at all times: “I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this test or assignment.”
Plagiarism
No plagiarism of any type will be tolerated in this course. Proper citations must be given for any sources used in your assignments, and sources must be used in accordance with assignment guidelines.
Any student who is found plagiarizing will receive a zero for that assignment, and the offense will be reported to university administration for further consequences in accordance with university regulations and policies.
We will discuss plagiarism in detail early in the semester, but you can review this resource if you need a reminder of what plagiarism entails and methods for avoiding it. If you have any questions or confusion about what constitutes plagiarism or inappropriate assistance, please contact me. I am a resource for you, and I am glad to help.
Please review the following statement from the university:
“Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with the Disability Services Office at Suite 2221, Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, 919-515-7653. For more information on NC State’s policy on working with students with disabilities, please see the Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Regulation (https://policies.ncsu.edu/regulation/reg-02-20-01).”
This course welcomes all students, regardless of race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religious beliefs, political preference, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, or national origin among other personal characteristics.
We all bring a different set of experiences and perspectives to the discussion, and research shows that embracing these differences can make us all more diligent and more thoughtful in our work. To learn more about this research, please check out the article “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter” by Katherine W. Phillips, published in Scientific American.
In my scheduling for this course, I have tried to avoid due dates that coincide with major religious holidays. If there is a conflict with your religious observances, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can work together to make arrangements.
Gender-Affirming Classroom
In an effort to affirm and respect the identities of transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer, and gender nonconforming students in the classroom and beyond, please be cognizant and respectful of the pronouns used in the Professional Bio assignment and the Meet the Team profiles (which are both written in third person). If you wish to be referred to using a name and/or pronouns other than what is listed in the student directory, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email.
University Non-Discrimination Policy
NC State University provides equality of opportunity in education and employment for all students and employees. Accordingly, NC State affirms its commitment to maintain a work environment for all employees and an academic environment for all students that is free from all forms of discrimination. Discrimination based on race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation is a violation of state and federal law and/or NC State University policy and will not be tolerated. Harassment of any person (either in the form of quid pro quo or creation of a hostile environment) based on race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation also is a violation of state and federal law and/or NC State University policy and will not be tolerated. Retaliation against any person who complains about discrimination is also prohibited. NC State’s policies and regulations covering discrimination, harassment, and retaliation may be accessed at http://policies.ncsu.edu/policy/pol-04-25-05.
All students at North Carolina State University (NC State) are responsible for conducting themselves in a manner that helps enhance an environment of learning in which the rights, dignity, worth, and freedom of each member of the academic community are respected. Violations of campus or University policies, rules or regulations, or federal, state, or local law may result in a violation of the Code of Student Conduct and imposition of sanctions. For more information please view http://policies.ncsu.edu/policy/pol-11-35-01.