Policies

Assignment Policy - Plan on submitting work on time.  

Every assignment in the course will have a due date. Students are expected to submit assignments on or before the assigned due date, which, in turn, allows me time to review your work and provide meaningful feedback. Due dates will be designated in the course to ensure time is provided to allow you to produce your best work.  Homework such as  Academic Writing Exercises, Research Module assignments, and Discussion Board responses are due by posted dates and times.. 

However, we all know that important things in life can sometimes get in the way of our classes. If there are things going on in your life that you anticipate affecting your ability to attend class or complete work on time, please contact me immediately so we can create a plan to ensure your success. If you recognize a due date might be a problem, advocate for your success by following these steps:

1. Think about a plan to make sure you don't fall too far behind.

2. Contact me right away to propose your plan.

3. Let's discuss your plan and come to an agreement!

As a way to recognize that things somehow can still go wrong during a fast eight-week semester despite our best efforts, all students are allowed three late assignment coupons, which allow you to submit a homework assignment late with no questions asked.  Just tell me you're using one of your coupons when you submit the work late.  

Two special considerations about late work are worth consideration:

First, our essay drafts such as Zero Drafts or Developed Drafts represent essays that are on the way to completion, and that we work together to craft through peer review workshops.  When Zero Drafts and Developed Drafts are submitted late, it is difficult to put students in workshop groups - the timing for these drafts is especially important.  Therefore, essay workshops aren't eligible for late assignment coupons.  Students submitting drafts late can use late assignment coupons for their drafts, but may not be allowed to participate in workshops - which means you won't get peer reviews and feedback on your drafts, and which also means you won't get points for participating in the accompanying workshop.  For this reason, please prioritize essay drafts as a student in English 1A. 

Second, final drafts of essays must be turned in by the day and time they are due.  This means if a paper is due at 11AM on Tuesday, anything after that is considered late, whether it’s thirty seconds late or two days late. I have had students in the past complain that they were in the process of uploading essays right at the deadline, but that the process of uploading took too long.  Sorry – that’s still going to be considered a late paper.  Canvas assigns peer reviews the moment the assignment due date/time closes, so if Canvas is still processing your paper, you're left out of the workshop rotation.  Anyone uploading an essay within ten minutes of the deadline is taking a risk that I highly recommend you avoid.  Don’t cut it that close!  

Attendance Policy

Although online courses do not require students to “attend” class at specific times, students must login to the course, contact the instructor and fellow students, and check email on a regular basis to succeed.  Since Canvas keeps records of student login times and the areas within the course that students access, I am able to tell whether and to what degree students are active.

I will drop students from the course who:

• Do not log in to Canvas by the end of the day on Wednesday, June 11

• Do not participate in a second workshop by the due date

• Do not show any course activity for seven consecutive days

• Do not respond to instructor emails for seven consecutive days

Often, students sign up for a semester of study with a planned vacation somewhere during that time.  Because this is an online class, that’s no problem as long as students can continue to get their work done during their vacation.  In fact, it’s one of the perks of operating online.  Students can do their coursework anywhere they like, as long as they are observing posted timelines and meeting course requirements.  If a student is planning to be somewhere for an extended time without regular Internet access, then that student should plan on taking English 1A another semester, or from an instructor who would approve that extended absence. This section requires ongoing access and participation for the entirety of the semester.

Communication Policy

I enjoy hearing from you. No question or concern is too small. You can email me at kfortin@sierracollege.edu.  When you do, please remember the following:

E-mail or Text?  There’s a Difference!

Writing is situational.  Any time you write, you should ask two questions:  Who is my audience? What is my purpose?  That determines your voice, your medium, your level of formality, whether something needs to be proofread or not, all that stuff.

When you and I use written communication between us, let’s keep in mind that idea that you are a college student communicating with your professor in an English composition course.  Let's practice a more formal, professional voice when emailing, including attention to 

You can text me if something urgent comes up.  Texting is an informal way to communicate on the fly.  My cell # is 425-418-6555.  I wouldn’t have included it if I didn’t intend for you to use it.  I don’t really care about spelling, punctuation, or voice here – just remember to include your name so I know who I’m texting with.

However, Sierra College e-mail will be our primary method of communication, so you will need to check yours regularly. Also, you can e-mail me through Canvas.  Whichever of these you are using, you should practice a formal, professional voice in your formatting  and editing for all e-mail messages.  You can still sound like you – but please need to do it without resorting to text abbreviations.  

It makes sense for you to think about text messages as something to use when you have a more urgent need - if it can wait, use e-mail. I check it every day.  

As I indicated in my introductory email to you, I am not likely to respond to texts or emails on the weekends, so for those of you who are waiting until Saturday or Sunday to seek clarification on an assignment, you may not receive a response.  I do understand that sometimes emergencies don't wait until Monday!  But there's a difference between unavoidable emergencies that happen on weekends and a lack of planning regarding when you access and complete your work.  

Academic Honesty, Plagiarism, and Student Rights & Responsibilities

Sierra College has an academic honesty policy detailed in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook. There are some really strict policies in place and it's totally normal to be confused about many of the rules including, but not limited to, what qualifies as plagiarism and what doesn't. 

I take plagiarism very seriously - and it's a critical consideration in a course that calls for original compositions as well as a focus on integrating and citing outside sources as part of an academic writing expectation. 

According to college policy, any form of plagiarism (which can be defined broadly as passing off somebody else's work as your own) is academically unethical and grounds for failure.  This includes copying homework from another student or using un-credited Internet or print sources.  This also includes turning in original work that you’ve done for another class or purpose.  This is called self-plagiarism.  Plagiarism includes using small 1-2 sentence sections of an Internet source or sources as well as entire paragraphs or papers.  This includes putting ideas from other sources into your own words and not citing that source.  I don’t distinguish between a sentence or two of borrowed text and an entire paper of borrowed text.  Any work found to have been plagiarized will result in a failing grade for the assignment with no opportunity to make that grade up. Further, all students who plagiarize will be reported to administration for academic discipline 

You can visit this website for more information about how to avoid plagiarizing. And, if you have any questions about whether or not you should cite something or how you should cite it, just ask me before you submit it. I totally know how tricky it is to figure out sometimes! If you have questions about any other information in the Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, please don't hesitate to ask me. 

AI

Additionally, because this course focuses on writing and the writing process as a central outcome - the thing that a student should know or be able to do - any use of Artificial Intelligence tools or AI-generated content during the writing process is prohibited.  Any indication that students have used AI tools for generating possible prompt directions, providing wording choices or means of expression, organizing content, or any other step in the writing process, will result a zero and no opportunity for resubmission on whatever assignment they use AI for.  Additionally, more than one instance of using AI will result in being dropped from the course and referred for academic dishonesty.  There's a purpose and utility for AI, but in a college course that asks you to practice and refine original performances of academic writing, this course is not the place for any use of AI.  

Last semester, the amount of AI-generated content was a big concern.  Several students in each section ended up with zeroes on essay drafts, discussion boards, even peer review workshop responses because they yielded to temptation and included Chat-GPT or other AI-generated content for a part of their writing process.   Please be aware that I'm not generous or forgiving with students who make this choice.  There won't be a second chance to re-write a paper for a grade if you use AI in this writing class.

Important Dates

June 16, 2025: Add/Drop/Refund Deadline

June 19, 2025: Juneteenth Observance; campuses closed

July 3-4, 2025: Independence Day Observation; campuses closed

July 15, 2025: Last day to Withdraw with a W grade

If you intend to drop or withdraw from the class, please do so through mySierra, otherwise you may risk receiving an F grade in the class. 

Online Etiquette

Often referred to as "netiquette," below 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.