Syllabus

All readings, etc, outside of the textbook are posted as weblinks in the course. This is done to save you from having to buy an extra book for the course as readers are expensive. 

Connect

Access to McGraw-Hill’s Connect Plus system. Access is either included with the package available at the bookstore or may be purchased the first time you open an assignment via our Blackboard site. *Login to Connect by clicking one of the assignment links on our Blackboard course site. Our course is already linked to Connect. Do not go to the direct McGraw-Hill Connect website to register for Connect. You will only ever need to go directly through the McGraw-Hill Connect (connect.mheducation.com) website if Blackboard is down for some reason. 

Email

I will send any class-wide correspondence to your Crimson email address, as this is what is listed with the university. When sending me email concerning the course, please use the Gmail address created for your section (you need to know your section #). These emails are forwarded directly to all of my mobile devices, enabling me to view and answer them quickly. The address also allows me to locate your information quickly online. 

System Requirements and Student Technical Skills

This course requires a high-speed Internet connection and a compatible browser.

Participation in an online course requires knowledge of computer technology.

It is your responsibility to make sure you have adequate equipment (computer access) and Internet access to complete the required work. 

There are 4 components to your grade in this course: Exams, Quizzes, SmartBook Practice/LearnSmart Assessments (labeled hereafter as LS), and Journals. You have an enormous amount of control over your own grade in this class - take advantage of it!

Exams 

• There are 5 exams for this course, but your lowest exam score will be dropped at the end of the semester.
• Multiple Choice, active-thinking (apply the information) instead of passive-thinking (regurgitate information) questions.
• You are limited to 1 attempt and 1.5 hours for each exam (1 sitting - no logging out and back in - hitting "save" will close your exam but keep the time running).
• Contact me immediately if a problem occurs with your exam and I will reset it. A reset will involve an entirely new exam, not just a 2nd attempt on the original. If a reset is accessed, the 2nd score will replace the 1st. A reset is not a "do over"; it is for people who have computer or site issues during the exam. 
• If you begin the exam - or need to request a reset - after 3:30pm on Tuesday, you will not have the full 1.5 hours to take it.
• All exams close at 5pm on Tuesday, no exceptions. If you begin the exam after 3:30pm, you will be locked out at 5pm when all exams close. 
• Exams are not cumulative.

Quizzes - Limited to 2 attempts per quiz, unlimited time for each. 2nd attempt, if you need it, will build on your answers from the 1st. Connect will submit your highest score as the final attempt.

LearnSmart Assessments/SmartBook "Practice" (LS) - Unlimited attempts and time until due date. You will take one LS for each Chapter covered in the course, corresponding to the Chapters in the text. These assessments are located under the "Practice" tab in SmartBook, though they will load under the name "LearnSmart". Each assessment is designed to take you ~20 minutes and will be worth 5pts. The number of interest for Completeness is the progress bar in the upper right of your screen, which gives you "% done" - this is how you should measure the Completeness of the assignment. When you are at "100% done," you are finished with the assigned practice material in that Chapter. You have to get to 100% to complete the assessment. You might not see the same question again that you missed, but you'll encounter the information again until you prove you can answer a question correctly. This is why you can miss some questions and still get a "100% Complete" message, which means you're done with that assessment. 

Journals - 3 Journals will be posted during the semester. You must post 1 (one) original, initial journal entry for each topic (at least 2 complete paragraphs) and at least 2 substantial responses/comments (at least 3 full/complete, substantive sentences - ideas that contribute something and amount to more than just "I agree," "This is a good example," or "This happened to me too!" etc.) to journal entries others have made. For this reason, the original post is always due 1 week prior to the Module deadline; all responses are due by the Module deadline. *Use the submission box provided for your posts; no uploaded documents will be accepted for these assignments. **Please make sure your post has actually been submitted by finding it in the discussion thread! If I don't see a post from you, there is nothing for me to grade and you will receive a zero. 

Do not wait until the last few hours to submit your quizzes, assessments, and discussions.

Module work: I am very firm on deadlines. Please be vigilant. All due dates are listed in the Course Schedule on Blackboard. There is no excuse for not completing or submitting the work on time. If you know you will be away from a computer for any event (university-approved or personal), you should complete any work due in that time frame early (this includes athletic events). I strongly urge you not to wait until the last day to try to complete all assignments. I am vigilant about monitoring email for problems, but emailing me right before a deadline can result in you receiving zeros for work not begun. Work closes at the due time (you will be locked out if you are still working at 5pm).   

Module work will only be reopened with a valid emergency/medical excuse for which documentation can be provided. If you are granted an extension for a valid excuse, you will have 48 hours to complete the covered Module work. I will notify you by email when the extension is logged and let you know your deadline. If you request an extension, you will need to monitor your email closely for my response giving you the 48 hour deadline. If you miss any extended deadlines, the work will not be reopened. Traveling is not considered an emergency. 

You have several weeks to complete the work for each Module. I urge you not to leave it all for the last day. No work will be extended if you miss a deadline because your computer crashed or the site had issues right before the work was due or your connection wasn't working properly. It is your responsibility to make sure you have adequate equipment and Internet access to complete the coursework. Please take into account that technology can be fickle when we are trying to meet a deadline; requests received in the hours leading up to a deadline may be denied. 

Request deadline: Valid documentation of an emergency must be presented within one module of the missed work. You may request an extension of Module 1 work anytime during Module 2, etc. The opportunity closes when the current Module closes. All Module 5 extensions must be requested and verified prior to the date Exam 5 (the Final Exam) closes, and all Module 5 extensions will close with Exam 5. *All extension work will close when the current module closes, regardless of when the extension request was made or documentation was received.  No extensions are logged until I receive copies of valid documentation of an emergency. 

Missed exams: Please note dates/times of exam availability. If you miss an exam, you must be vigilant enough to realize that you have missed one and email me to request the make-up (there will be 1 make-up per exam (except Exam 5) - see Course Schedule on Blackboard). There is, however, a penalty* for missing the exam and taking a make-up. Same time limit & attempt rules as the original, but the make-up is only open from 8am-5pm on Monday.

*Penalty: If you sign up for and take a make-up exam, the highest grade you can make is a C. (All make-up exams are scheduled for 1 week after the original exam - Monday only, 8am-5pm)

Eligibility for Make-Up: If you did not use your 1 Attempt during the original exam time, then you are eligible for a make-up exam. If you logged into the exam, your Attempt has been used and you are not eligible for a make-up. The make-up is not a "do over" option.

• If you're eligible, you can request the make-up. No excuse necessary! If you sign up for a make-up exam and miss it, however, you have lost your opportunity and will receive a zero.
• A valid excuse (w/ documentation) will allow you to avoid the make-up penalty, but it must accompany the make-up request and be received prior to the make-up exam closing at 5pm. Being ill over the initial exam dates does not excuse you from requesting the make-up exam. 
• Your lowest grade of the 5 exam grades will be dropped. For this reason, NO exams will be reopened after the make-up exam has passed. Basically, if you are more than a week late to take an exam - for whatever reason - you should consider that exam your drop. If you miss/skip an exam and have an emergency later in the semester that causes you to miss a second exam, only one of the zero-scores will be dropped. I caution you not to use your drop lightly at the beginning of the semester - you may need it later on for unforeseen reasons! 

*Please note that I turn off the sound on my mobile devices and stop checking email at 5pm on a deadline date.