Course Essentials 

Because this is an online class, your participation in class activities, such as discussion boards and assignments, are essential and will be graded. Meeting deadlines is essential to succeed in any class. All assignments must be submitted correctly and on time to be considered for point value. You are expected to spend up to 9 hours a week on a three-unit class, even if it's online. Time management is essential to success. An online class is NOT less work than a traditional class. In fact, it may be more work. Plan your time accordingly.

Course Participation, Timeline, & Management: As a student in an online course, staying connected is critical.  Therefore, you will be required to check your OCC email regularly and to login to Canvas at least 3 times a week.  It will be the student’s responsibility to be self-motivated and disciplined in order to be successful in this online course.  Time management is key. This course will follow a Monday-to-Sunday schedule.  We will begin each week as if you are coming to class, so in order to avoid feeling bogged down by work, it is recommended you read the week’s reading material at the beginning of the week.  By doing so, you will begin each week fully prepared to begin the online work associated with the week’s lesson. Canvas assignments will have specific instructions and due dates posted.  Weekly assignments should be completed in the order in which they are posted in the Weekly Module folder. Assignments may be done anytime within the time-frames given, but they must be completed by the end of the Monday-to-Sunday schedule.

Weekly Modules:  Each week there will be a folder posted on Canvas for that week’s work. The folder will contain: readings, lecture videos, other videos, assignments, weekly quizzes, and discussions. Students will need to open the weekly module and read the information for content and weekly assignments. There is a module checklist at the end of each module to help you track your progress.

Text Readings: Part of the preparation for online classes, much like a face-to-face class, includes completing required reading early in the week.  It is recommended that students take notes on the reading and write down any questions about the material.

Assignments: Each week will include one or more learning assignments. These assignments are hands-on experience created to help build your skills in conducting library research, evaluating, and using information. The points for the assignments will vary. Weekly assignments are due by Sunday night at 11:59pm PT unless otherwise noted.

Weekly Discussions:  Each week you have a discussion topic and questions. Your initial post is always due on Thursday night at 11:59pm PT.  The responses and interactions with your classmates need to be completed by Sunday at 11:59pm.  This will give ample opportunity for everyone to participate in the weekly discussion.  Late discussions are NOT accepted for point value. Although you may have access to submit a late discussion, you will not receive points if it is submitted past the deadline.

Discussions are where we get to interact in an online class. Contributions should be thorough, well thought-out, and of high quality.  Ask one another questions and have conversations in this space.  Discussions should be unique and original. Include short paragraphs (5-7 sentences) only with one line of white space between paragraphs. Discussion grading is based on thorough, quality, and complete contributions. If all parts of a discussion are not responded to then you may not receive full or any points. All discussion contributions should be individually submitted, partner submissions are not allowed. If a discussion is the same or too similar to another class member’s discussion contribution then no points will be given the first time and the student may be dropped from class and/or reported to the Dean of Students for subsequent plagiarism attempts. 

Research Diaries: Throughout the semester you will search for different types of sources (books, magazines, newspapers, scholarly articles, and films) on a topic of your choosing. For each of these five types of sources, you will develop a research diary that logs the findings of your library searches; provides a description of your process; and evaluates one of your results. These are especially critical assignments as they are the building blocks for your final project, the annotated bibliography (see more info below).

Annotated Bibliography: The final project of the class is an annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography will be built off of the work you do throughout the course, in particular the research diaries and citation work. You can save yourself a lot of time in the end by being thorough in your work of the research diaries. This assignment is worth 125 points.

See Honors Info for Honors Specific Assignments

All assignments are due at 11:59pm on the due date, unless otherwise noted. For late work submitted after this, 10% will be deducted for each week it is late.  **This does not apply to Discussion Boards or the final project - these must be completed by the due date.** 

Extenuating circumstances (i.e. death in the family, car accident, etc.) will allow for a grace period on core projects/assignments determined by the professor.  “Extenuating circumstance” will be defined at my discretion; documentation of extenuating circumstance may be necessary. This does not include technological failure a few hours before the deadline – start your assignments early and plan ahead. 

Please contact me if you are falling behind or if you are having issues - communication with me is critical to your success in this class!

Allow at least one week from the assignment due date to receive your grade and any feedback. Students are responsible for viewing and applying instructor assignment feedback, where applicable. You can view instructor assignment feedback in the “My Grades” section in your course. I will be leaving feedback so make sure you review it. If you make the same mistake on a later assignment, I will be less generous in grading it. Please note, incomplete assignments do not necessarily qualify for partial points. 

Please note that the course categories are weighted as follows:

Category Points Each Points Assigned Percentage of Grade

Assignments varies 385-435 30%

Research Diaries 30 150 35%

Class Discussions 10 130 20%

Final Projects 125 125-175 15%

Total 100%

Grades Based on Total Percentages: A = 90-100%; B = 80-89.9%; C = 70-79.9%; D = 60-69.9%; F = 0-59.9%

Final class grades are determined by assignments, research diaries, discussions, and final project. Please note that some of the Canvas related grade calculations may not be accurate. Your individual grades posted should typically be accurate and reliable.

Final grades are posted in the “My Grades” section in Canvas and on MyOCC within 2 weeks of the end of the semester or as required by administration deadlines.