Policies

Communication Policy 🗣️

I enjoy hearing from you. No question or concern is too small.  With that being said, please talk to me. Send me an email or visit our in-person or Zoom office hours. If something is going on in your life that may be hindering your ability to participate in our course, let me know. Keeping communication open and consistent is key to your success. 

We have many resource referrals to assist our students, from personal counseling, to financial aid, to DSPS, to Cuyamaca Tutoring, to academic and career counseling, as well as resources for food and housing assistance.  Please contact me if you need assistance, and I am happy to provide you with referrals for really helpful resources available to our students. 

Attendance Policy 😀

I want you here with us! Your perspective is valuable, and it wouldn't be the same without you. 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.  

• To count as your attendance during the first week and to avoid being dropped, be sure to log into the Canvas course and complete the assignments in the Week 1 Module.

• Logging in to the Canvas class and carefully completing assignments two to three times a week for a minimum of 4-8 hours will help you engage and succeed (some students will require more time). Let me know right away if you can’t fully participate so we can discuss options and help you meet your goals.  

• You will be dropped from the course if you don't submit any work over a two-week period or are missing or have received zeroes on six or more assignments. 

Due Dates and Late Submissions ✨

Submitting your work on time allows both your classmates and me 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.

Assignment due dates generally fall on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday of each week, though sometimes assignments are due on different days due to a holiday or for discussion responses since our peers need a day or two to carefully read and respond to our work.  Assignments are to be submitted via Canvas no later than 11:59pm on their assigned due dates. I advise students to submit assignments earlier than the final deadline in order to avoid last minute conflicts. Note: Canvas does allow for multiple submissions, and unless otherwise directed, I read the most recent one.

If you know that you have work, travel, or family commitments that conflict with assignment due dates, it will be imperative that you plan in advance and submit the assignment early. 

Late Work: I do understand that life happens, and there might be a time when you can't submit your assignment before the due date; however, since each day represents missed instruction, you will need to keep up with the material and submit work on time to learn the material and do well in the class.  As a result, I accept up to two (2) assignments up to three days (72 hours) late with a 10% reduction to be fair to students who are submitting work on time.  

This policy is designed to help you when you really need it. Out of concern for your progress in the course, if you think that due to an extenuating circumstance, you may need to take advantage of this policy more than once during the semester, I ask that you reach out to me.

There are three exceptions to this policy:

• Peer Reviews cannot be submitted late as your peers require that feedback before submitting their final papers. 

• Tests cannot be submitted late (this includes quizzes, the midterm, and the final exam).   I do, however, drop your lowest quiz grade.

• Because of the faculty grade deadline after final exams, no coursework will be accepted past Monday, December 8th, at 11:59pm.

Campus Code of Conduct 🥇

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

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism 📚📖💻

Plagiarism is using another author’s ideas or writing as your own. All of your work will be checked through Turnitin, which is featured in Canvas and checks your work against the work of other students as well as any information found on the Internet.

Any attempt to obtain a grade by means other than honest effort will be considered a violation of academic integrity. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Presenting another person’s words, ideas or phrases as your own

• Cutting and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks or proper citation

• Restating the work of another writer without citing it

• Failing to put quotation marks around ideas which you cite but which you don’t put fully into your own words

• Presenting written work which was extensively written or rewritten by someone else as your own

• Cheating on a quiz, exam, or other non-collaborative assignment

• Doing work collaboratively which was designed to be done individually

Violations of academic integrity also include using Google Translate or other translation software to write responses in emails, posts, and/or essays. 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 using translation software to translate them fully.  In addition, online "tutoring" sites such as Studypool, Course Hero, and ChatGPT are prohibited and monitored closely. 

All essays must include quoted evidence documented in MLA format. Failure to cite in MLA format will result in the essay score being significantly lowered, and any acts of plagiarism (even copying 3 or more words from an author without quote marks and proper MLA citations), will result in a zero as well as being reported to the dean.

I am here to help you become a better writer, and I can’t do that if you do not turn in your own writing and ideas. I take reporting plagiarism very seriously, and any suspicions of plagiarism are referred to the Dean of Student Affairs. 

Students who plagiarize or violate principles of academic integrity . . .

• Will be reported to the English Department Chair and the Dean of Student Affairs

• Will receive a zero (0) for the assignment 

• May face additional penalties

Please see me if you need help organizing and supporting your ideas, as well as paraphrasing and quoting sources correctly because I want you to become a skilled reader and writer, and there are serious consequences for plagiarism in college. 

Principles of Community 🙌🏽

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. Our learning environment is founded on respect, trust, mutual support and a genuine quest for learning.  In addition to following the college’s Student Code of Conduct, students are also expected to maintain an open, respectful, supportive tone in all exchanges with me and with fellow students. Please help me develop this supportive environment by honoring the diverse identities of your classmates,  being open to listen to and appreciate differences in opinions, life experience, world views, values/beliefs, etc,  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 may 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.   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.

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 me an email using the Canvas Inbox and describe your concerns.

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