Policies

My Communication Policy

My primary means of communicating with you as a group is through Canvas Announcements, which I will post on Saturday morning.

I'll send out weekly Canvas announcements to keep you up-to-date on the course. Please be sure to set notifications so that you see Announcements from me right away.  Announcements contain important information regarding assignments, deadlines, and other issues that directly affect your success in the course. 

I will contact you individually through the following methods:

• Canvas Inbox

• Email

I'll try to answer all messages I receive Monday through Friday within 24 hours, and any messages received on Saturday or Sunday, first thing Monday morning, if not sooner. 

I will leave feedback on assignments through the following methods:

• Assignment Comments Boxes, Rubrics, and Comments on Essays

I'll grade your work in a timely manner and provide feedback to help you improve your writing and understanding of the assignments. Most assignments will be graded within a week to two weeks of their due dates.

Weekly Schedule & Due Dates

This course follows a weekly schedule​. What is a week? For our class, a week is from Saturday to Friday. Each week you will be participating in activities, such as writing assignments, peer reviews, discussions, and other activities. The weekly schedule allows us to learn from one another, and it keeps everyone on a path toward our learning goals.

All course lessons will be on the pages and videos located in the modules on Canvas. I will be posting short recorded asynchronous videos that you can watch at any time. These videos will cover a variety of topics and can be viewed multiple times. I strongly suggest you read all pages and watch all posted videos in the modules. I create them to help you succeed in the course.

The course is designed to take about 12 - 13 hours per week. Please plan to log in to the course several times each week. We will have weekly due dates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. All due dates can be found on Canvas Calendar, located in the global navigation menu / on Canvas, the Course Summary located on the syllabus page on Canvas, and you can also see reminders for course assignments and events in the "To Do" and "Coming Up" lists on the Dashboard, course home page, or at the bottom of the Canvas app. Also, in each assignment box, the assignment due date and the last day you can turn the assignment in late is listed at the top of the assignment box and is highlighted in yellow.

Course Readings

This course follows a weekly schedule​. The readings for the class are the pages in the weekly modules; in these pages, you will find links to other websites.

I would bookmark the links to other website in the modules and save them in a bookmark folder in your browser entitled English C1000. That way you can find them easily.

Our other readings will be the book, The Boys of Riverside. We will start the book in week 3.

Class Participation 

Attendance is not marked by being in class, but rather by your participation within the class activities. For the first week of class, you must log into the course and complete all week 1 assignments or risk being dropped from the course.

Here are the brief "rules" we will follow to guide participation:

• Check in and interact in the course at least twice a week;

• Participate in discussion board assignments -- they will be due on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

• Contact me beforehand if you’re going to be disconnected from the course for more than one week.

• Please note that if you do not log into the course or contact me for one week, I will assume you are planning on dropping the course.

• Please be aware that missing a total of two weeks of class throughout the semester (not submitting any work for two weeks) without notifying me may result in you being dropped from the course. 

Peer Interactions / Collaborating with Your Peers

Interacting with your peers is a central component of this course. Please treat all your peers with the utmost respect by offering constructive feedback and creating an open forum where sharing is welcomed. Throughout the course, we will also follow the class netiquette guidelines located on Canvas. Please extend this respect to all participants—including me.  Please follow these netiquette guidelines when interacting with your peers.

What if I have problems with Canvas or submitting an assignment?

Technology can be so frustrating. It seems things always tend to go wrong right when we are ready to start our work.  I'd like to enhance your learning experience in this class by lowering your technology-induced frustration whenever possible, so I have included links to help / explanation guides throughout the course. 

If Canvas isn't working correctly, your electricity is out, you can't log into Zoom, or an assignment box is wrong, just send me a message through Canvas. If possible, I will fix the problem as soon as I can. If the problem is out of our control, we will just wait to turn in the assignment. So, don't worry! I will always try to help you and fix the problem. I want you to meet your course goals, not punish you or hold you back. So if there is a problem, just send me a message through Canvas. I will get to it as soon as I can.

Furthermore,  information can be found on the Canvas Overview and Technical Help page on Canvas. You can also click the Canvas Help Icon on the global (left) navigation menu to locate more support options and the Canvas Student Guides and Canvas Video Guides.

Late Policy. Can I submit late work?

Plan on submitting work on time. All assignments in this course have a due date and deadline, which can be found in each assignment box in yellow, the Canvas calendar, the To Do list, and the Course Schedule located on Canvas. It is important to your success in this course that you complete each assignment before or on the due date.

However, I realize that we are all living busy unpredictable lives, and you may not be able to complete an assignment on time. Therefore, you may submit your essays for up to two days after the assignment due date without losing any points. However, if you submit all four essays on time, you can earn four extra credit points.

Similarly, your other assignments like, discussion posts and group work, peer reviews, quizzes and exams may be submitted for up to two days after the assignment is due without losing any points. However, if you submit all of these assignments on time, you can earn four extra credit points.

If you are having difficulties completing an assignment, advocate for your success by letting me know as soon as possible, so we can identify the problem and come up with a solution. However, if you turn in all these assignments in on time, you can earn four extra credit points.

Course Disclaimers

Most college students are aware college courses often include “adult” topics. Therefore, please be advised that some of the material discussed in may be considered “mature” or “objectionable.”  Mature readings, videos, discussions, or writing assignments (involving sex, violence, or profanity) may be part of this course.   

Also, the best way to grow as a writer is to read other writers' work, so I may use your writing as a model/sample in our class or for future sections of English C1000. This is a great way for you to contribute to the growth and learning of your peers here at CHC.