Policies

Communication Policy

I enjoy hearing from you. No question or concern is too small, and there's no such thing as a "stupid question." With that being said, please talk to me. Send me emails, come into our Zoom office hours, or let me know if you need to see me on campus. If something is going on in your life that may be hindering your ability to participate in our course, let me know. Issues arise in your lives, and I am sure they will arise in mine, so keeping communication open and consistent in key. I am happy to help!

Diversity Statement and Respectful Conduct

I want to acknowledge the stressors that are affecting us right now with the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent fight for social justice. I can only imagine how all of this is impacting you all as students and as human beings. With that in mind, I want to communicate my support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Let's make small first steps in the long road to moving the needle toward racial justice as a class by respecting and seeing each other.

I would like our class to be a supportive learning environment that values and builds on the richly diverse identities, perspectives, and experiences of our group. Please help me develop this environment by honoring the diverse identities of your classmates and letting your instructor know (via anonymous surveys or email, for example) if an assignment, comment, etc. makes you feel uncomfortable.

Both in the readings and in discussions, you will likely encounter cultures, ideas, and values that differ from your own. These are valuable opportunities to learn more about different perspectives and where they intersect with yours. We all see the world from a point of view informed by our experiences and backgrounds, and what we read and discuss can open new windows through which to understand both our course content and world around us. You are encouraged to contribute your ideas about course content freely, but please remember to demonstrate respect for your classmates and instructor. We all have unconscious biases that stem from our experiences, and recognizing and discussing them can lead to unexpected insights.

Conversely, disrespectful or threatening responses tend to shut down conversation and insight, and so these kinds of comments will be promptly addressed by your instructor. To keep our interactions safe and productive, please know that anyone who repeatedly engages in disrespectful or otherwise inappropriate behavior will be locked out of the discussion for the week and/or face student misconduct charges. Please join me in creating a comfortable and productive learning environment for us all.

Attendance Policy

Attending an online course is achieved by participating in the course, contributing to discussions, asking questions, proposing answers, submitting assignments, and collaborating with your peers. You'll have many opportunities to participate in the coming weeks.

In an online course like ours, it is incredibly important to submit your work on time. Submitting your work on time allows both your classmates and I to be able to review your work, provide you feedback and work as a team. Each due date will be clearly stated under the assignment in the appropriate week. Make sure to double check these dates regularly and maybe even input them into your personal calendars. You can also download the Canvas app, which can send you reminders of these due dates.

I do understand that life happens, and there might be a time when you can't submit your assignment before the due date. If an extension is needed, I am happy to talk to you about it on one to one basis, but, to remain fair to those submitting on time, these extensions are rare and lead to a 10% point deduction.

Campus Code of Conduct

Cuyamaca College has a clear Code of Conduct . Take a look!

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is using another author’s ideas or writing as your own. This is an English course and we will be doing an extensive amount of writing, so keep in mind that just as it is easy for you to find information to plagiarize, it is also easy for an instructor to catch acts of plagiarism.

We will learn how to document outside sources, even when we are paraphrasing. If you are caught plagiarizing, it will be reported to the Dean of Student Affairs, and it will be placed on your student record. In addition, you will fail that assignment, and you may fail the course. I consider using online assistance sites, like Grammarly and/or translation services, or other people in your household as forms of plagiarism. While you can of course use a dictionary to look up words, you should be writing on your own and in English, not writing entire sections or essays in another language and then translating them fully. Furthermore, taking anything from any website and changing the words using a thesaurus is still considered plagiarism and will not be tolerated. All of your work will be checked through VeriCite, which is featured in Canvas and checks your work against the work of other students as well as any information found on the internet.

Plagiarism not only hurts me but it hurts you as well. I am here to help you become a better writer, and I can’t do that if you do not give me your writing and ideas. I take reporting plagiarism very seriously, and I do not allow plagiarized assignments to be revised. Also, if you are caught plagiarizing, you will no longer be allowed to complete any extra credit activities.

Online Etiquette

Often referred to as "netiquette," here is a gentle reminder of the interaction practices and rules we'll follow in all our interactions in this course.

If you ever feel that someone is not following these rules, please send an email to me using the Canvas Inbox and describe your concerns.

View a text-only version of The Core Rules of Netiquette in a new window.