“Dues aren’t paid, past tense. Dues get paid, each and every day. The only real measure of your value is the tangible contribution you make on a daily basis.”
– Journalist, Jeff Haden
Dear Student,
Please use the menu below to sample our Community Rules. As your instructor, my aim is to design and execute a course that is inclusive, equitable, enriching, and accessible to all students. And I take this aim very seriously. My job is not only to teach, but to also protect, encourage, and model ideal conduct for all students. Joining our community in part means understanding and respecting the Rules below. They apply widely to all of our lovely courses.
If there are any confusions, I warmly welcome you to contact me: adinh28@ivc.edu or a5dinh@ucsd.edu.
Students are expected to attend class every single session. Students with more than 2 unexcused absences with be at risk of a course drop, at the discretion of the instructor. Attendance will be recorded in the first 5 minutes of the class period. Any unexcused absence beyond the first 2 will result in a deduction of 5% from the "Participation" mark. This means a student who misses more than 4 class meetings will earn a zero in their Participation.
Online students are expected to "show up" by watching the recorded lectures, taking notes independently, following course policies with integrity, and completing all assignments (reading and writing) without any outside assistance.
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Please arrive to class on time, if not early. Important announcements are made within the first 15 minutes. Tardies will result in penalties to your Participation mark.
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No food or drinks are allowed during classroom instruction time. Water is acceptable.
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Laptops, tablets, and phones are acceptable. Please ask in advance for permission to record. Please be aware that some technology may be distracting. I encourage students to do their best to be present, and the course is designed to engage students effectively. Students actively disengaged will be gently reminded in class and may suffer penalties, mild to severe, to Participation.
Refrain from any oppressive behavior. Bullying is a serious offense.
Raise your hand to volunteer a contribution to the class or request assistance.
Do not speak over anybody who has properly asked to speak or during direct instruction.
Be acutely mindful of your words and actions.
Keep your hands to yourself at all times.
Tell the truth. No lies. No fraud.
Refrain from any oppressive behavior. Bullying is a serious offense.
When writing on discussion boards that are visible to other students, write mindfully of the potential impact of your words. Follow all language conventions Professor Dinh mentioned.
When disagreeing with other students, be sure to reply respectfully. You can do this by assuming positive intent from the other writer. Go the extra step to write graciously to other students.
Any videos or pictures posted online will not be allowed to be reproduced, copied, or otherwise redistributed outside of the course content. This includes text. Our goal is to protect our learning community.
No work will be completed by any other student except the one enrolled in the course. This includes any AI or external source of ideas. All added material much be properly cited.
Tell the truth. No lies. No fraud.
Laptop or Tablet
Loose Leaf Paper
Pen/Pencil
Internet Access
Sticky Notes
Personal Planner
3-Ring 1” binder for completed Schoolwork
6 Labeled Dividers placed into binder
Mechanical Pencil, refillable lead, and eraser
A : 85 - 100%
B: 75 - 84%
C: 65 - 74%
D: 55 - 64%
F: 0 - 54%
All questions regarding grades or academic marks must be asked during Community Time or via email. Asking questions about grades during or immediately before/after instruction will not be considered. Those intervals are essential for me to prepare and wrap-up instruction.
I usually do not round grades up, unless I have definitive evidence that the student has performed above and beyond. Please do not try in any way to persuade me. The grading practices I have implemented intend to be as equitable as possible.
Student must earn at least 65% in the total grade to be considered "passing".
Note: There will be no official penalty up to two (2) unexcused absences. Please know that the responsibility to keep pace with assignments, in the event of an absence, falls upon the student. Of course, if a student comes to Community Time, I am more than happy to summarize ideas. Every unexcused absence beyond the first two will be penalized 5% in participation.
In the event of a life emergency, please notify me ASAP. I will accommodate for any and all verified tragedies.
There are periods in our life when circumstances are particularly difficult. If you are chronically absent, I will reach out and attempt to schedule a meeting. If we cannot come to an understanding, I must unfortunately drop you from the course.
Assignments submitted past the established deadline will be given a grace period of 1 day (24 hours) with a 10% marking penalty. Meaning, if you submit an assignment 1 hour past the deadline, the raw score will be reduced by 10%. Any submissions beyond the grace period will not be accepted and will result in a failing mark (0%).*
Any student who does not show for an in-person assessment will need to arrange an appointment with IVC DTC (Testing Center). But note that you will need instructor permission to schedule a make-up. You have one (1) week from the original date of the assessment to complete the exam. Make-ups are only approved ahead of the assessment and only in the event of an extreme life circumstance. Remember, no lying.
Any extenuating circumstances will be considered (e.g. loss in the family, emergency medical note, etc.) at the discretion of the instructor.
*Does not apply to online courses.
Other than Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS) directed auxiliary aids and academic accommodations, the use of any electronic listening or recording device in any online classroom is prohibited without the explicit prior consent of the instructor (CA Ed Code Sec. 78907). It is in violation of South Orange County Community College District (SOCCCD) policies (BP 5401 & AR 5401) which address student conduct. It is also a crime to record any private communication, such as a classroom lecture, without the consent of all parties to the conversation (Cal. Penal Code § 632). Violation of such rules may result in disciplinary action. All content from this course is our intellectual property. This includes, but is not limited to, lectures, discussions, Canvas materials, etc. Any reference or use beyond class assignments is strictly prohibited. If using any course material for assignments you must acknowledge the source and cite it properly. This includes lectures, discussions, class activities, etc. Class resources may not be posted online or distributed to anyone outside of the course.
Academic Honesty and Integrity: Cheating and other forms of dishonest behavior are disrespectful to the educational process for all students and a breach of trust. As a result, the following guidelines shall be followed:
Students may not submit work that is not totally their own. No AI can be used to create, form, or correct ideas beyond simple spell checking.
Quizzes and exams must be taken individually.
Students must not consult outside sources (especially the Internet or any Large Language Model (LLM)) unless instructor approval is granted.
Students may be required to use the online program, Proctorio, which requires a camera and microphone to write a sample that is ungraded but to be measured against your midterm, paper, and final exam. Should the instructor find evidence of cheating, students may be required to use Proctorio for all assignments, including papers, which will become timed, take-home exams or proctored through Zoom by the instructor.
For AI policies, see below:
Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and may result in student discipline measures. Turning in any work that is not entirely your own, and not properly acknowledged as such, will result in failure of the assignment (0%) and subject you to further action by the college. Assignments can be checked via Canvas, which uses software known for accuracy in detecting plagiarism, including Proctorio and TurnItIn.
If the instructor suspects that the work is not entirely the original writing and/or ideas of the author, an in-person or virtual, conference may be required to demonstrate evidence that this work is your own.
By taking this class you are agreeing to abide by these policies regarding academic honesty and will agree to meet with the instructor should any violation be suspected.
If instructor allows the use of outside sources, do not risk severe penalties by failing to properly cite your sources, by having someone else complete your work, trying to google test answers without completing the assignments and understanding the lectures, using online sites like Quizlet/CourseHero, sharing answers on Discord, using AI, by reusing work for another course, or using any editing software beyond spellcheck.
Lastly, any student charged and found guilty of academic dishonesty forfeits any future opportunities for letters of recommendation or job references.
Review the college policy on academic honesty and dishonesty (http://www.ivc.edu/resources/policies/pages/honesty.aspx) and make sure you understand the class, school, and district policies.
I would be absolutely thrilled to write any student a letter of recommendation. This can be used for a job, college, or volunteer application. Please note that students must have at least a "B" mark in the class and be considered a student of good standing and moral character by the instructor.
Please give me at least 2 months advanced notice. And, though this may be hard to hear, I may decline the request if I feel that I cannot write a glowing recommendation. Any and all requests will be carefully considered.
If you have a learning or physical disability, please inform me during the first week of class. If you become disabled during the semester, please also let me know as soon as possible. The more I know, the more I can help and direct you to campus disabilities services. Captions and/or transcripts will be available for all media clips shown as required by ADA. All accommodations must be determined by our on-campus DSPS center.
On a personal note, if you qualify for disability assistance, please do not feel like you will be disserviced. I have devoted a career to working with DSPS students and English-Language Learners, and am happy to work with you! :)
All use of Artificial Intelligence software or writing/reading/dictation applications is strictly prohibited. While some classes are sympathetic to AI usage, this is not one of them. Students are not allowed to use Grammarly or any writing adjacent applications to complete any part of any work. Further, students are also not allowed to use any AI to read or summarize any part of any assigned reading, mandatory or extra credit.
This is not only a matter of academic and personal integrity. Artificial Intelligence is neither artificial nor intelligent. The Large Language Models (LLMs) used to predict and form ideas are generated by exploited labor across the world. Further, these LLMs are copying ideas and terminology culled from the internet, which has limited capacity to vet ideas. So AI is neither artificial nor intelligent. Lastly, AI is only made possible by draining massive amounts of water, electricity, and space. See here for more information.
For these reasons (exploited labor, lack of accountability, violations of academic integrity, and environmental drains), we will not use or endorse AI use of any manner to read, write, or think for us.
Professor Dinh shall investigate any and all instances of suspected AI usage. Students receive a zero and a citation on their IVC student record, until a conference can be held between instructor and student.