Policies

What You Can Expect From Me:

• Weekly communication will be send through announcements, usually 1-2 a week.

• Responses to all student questions within 24 hours

• Feedback on assignments within 48 hours, except for essays, which will be graded within a week

• Post a few times within weekly discussion to help guide conversation if needed

Feedback and grading comments

I will provide feedback and grading comments to help you improve your concept attainment and skill mastery in this course.  I encourage you to respond to my grading comments and ask questions or begin a dialogue about how to improve your work (if necessary). I will respond to your questions/comments within 24 hours (if not sooner).

Canvas Inbox

I will use the Canvas Inbox to message the entire class. Also, if you start to fall behind, I'll use the Canvas Inbox to check-in with you and learn how I can best support you.

Course Announcements

As needed, I will post announcements on our Canvas homepage. You are welcome to reply to my announcements as well.

Attendance

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.

Online courses turn the idea of attendance on its head. Online, you can "attend" class in your pajamas at 2 am in the morning, or sitting by the pool on a sunny day. Attendance is not marked by your body in a class, but rather by your participation within the class activities.

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 all discussions--the first reply each week is due on Wednesday;

• connect with me beforehand if you are going to be disconnected from the course for more than 3 days.

This course follows a weekly schedule. Each week you will interact with your peers in weekly discussions, and complete a series of activities and assignments. The weekly schedule allows us to learn from one another, and it keeps everyone on a path toward our learning goals.

Your participation is an important part of the success of this course, but we also recognize that you each have other courses, family and friends to visit with, and, because we are human, sometimes we are just swamped or under the weather. If you have reached a point where you can't meet a deadline, please contact me--we will work together to make a path to success.

GCCCD Policy on dropping and withdrawing:

• It is the student’s responsibility to drop all classes in which he/she is no longer participating (for online classes).

• It is the student’s responsibility to drop all classes in which he/she is no longer attending (for on campus classes).

• It is the instructor’s discretion to withdraw a student after the add/drop deadline (include date) due to excessive absences.

• Students who remain enrolled in a class beyond the published withdrawal deadline, as stated in the class schedule, will receive an evaluative letter grade in this class (A, B, C, D, F).

• Students who miss more than 8 hours of instruction (or 4 classes in our case) may be dropped from the course.

Campus Code of Conduct

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

Submission/Late Work

I want you here with us! Your perspective is valuable, and it wouldn't be the same without you. I am excited for you to contribute to discussions, ask questions, propose answers, submit assignments, and collaborate with your peers. You'll have many opportunities to participate in the coming weeks, and I am excited to see what you have to share! . 

My overall expectation is that you will submit your work on time. There are two reasons for that. First, submitting on time sets you up to be successful. It can be hard to catch up if you fall behind. Second, it allows me to give you timely feedback, so that you can continue to grow and improve. With that being said, I do understand that life happens, and there might be a time when you can't submit your assignment before the due date. Believe me, it happens to me! If an extension is needed, I am happy to talk to you about it. My goal is for you to do well, learn a lot and pass the class, so I would want us to work together to make that happen. 

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

In this course, I want to help you make choices reflecting integrity and responsible actions. Academic integrity means honesty in academic work. All work and all grades are results from the participants own effort. However, one may feel pressure by the amount of work needed to accomplish a task. Yet violating academic integrity policies can compromise one's academic career.

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.

Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas without giving the appropriate credit. In a writing class, it may be tempting to plagiarize. Maybe you feel like you don’t have time to do the assignment, or you are confused by the directions, or maybe you just don’t think you can do the assignment well. But here is the thing, remember that I want you to learn because I believe what you are learning is valuable beyond our course. You will have to trust me when I say that writing and communicating well will be really important skills for your future, no matter what career you pursue. Well, the only way I can help you improve your writing is if you submit your writing to me. Remember my late work and grading policy? I will work with you if you need more time, I am happy to answer any and all of your questions, I want you to revise. If you find yourself being tempted to plagiarize, talk to me instead. Let’s make our class meaningful to your learning and your experiences. 

AI Guidelines 

AI is a powerful tool that we use in so many aspects of our lives. While AI can be a creative tool that allows for us to speed up processes and hit "efficiency" it is not a replacement for critical thinking and course material analysis. Please note that if you copy and paste information from an AI source (like ChatGPT) and pretend it is something you have written, that is plagiarism and in the previous plagiarism section you can see what those consequences can be. 

That said there are going to be times where you can use AI to help with outlining or brainstorming for this class. When you are prompted to use AI I would like for you to site the source so that you get credit for your work, and you do not plagiarize the tools ideas. Please ensure that you cite such technology properly and that it accounts for a fraction of your total submitted work. Click on How to Cite AI, to help you with that process.

I would encourage you to take this time in our class to really challenge yourself to be the best human you can be. Remember that we are here to learn, not race to the finish line to be first. Because this course is run as an application-based learning model, you as a person must be the one to shine through.  

Diversity Statement and Respectful Conduct

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.

Expectations:

What you can expect from me:

1. I will provide you with a clear, organized course that is designed to ensure you meet our course outcomes in a meaningful way.

2. I will provide a variety of assignments to ensure your learning needs are met.

3. I will be actively present in your learning.

4. I will provide a supportive and safe environment for you to share and discuss ideas with your peers.

5. I will reach out to you when I sense that you need support.

6. I will treat you with dignity and respect and be flexible to support your individual needs.

7. I won't be perfect. I am human, and I make mistakes sometimes. I will view mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow.

What I will expect from you:

1. You will strive to be an active participant in this course and meet most due dates.

2. You will maintain an open line of communication with me so I understand how to support you.

3. You will contact me if you have a concern with meeting a due date.

4. You will strive to regularly contribute to collaborative activities to ensure other members of our community have ample opportunities to read/listen, reflect and respond to your ideas.

5. You will teat your peers with dignity and respect.

6. You will do your best to have patience with technology. There will be hiccups; expect them. We will get through them together.

7. You will give yourself grace. Expect to make mistakes. You are human, and you get stressed. Try not to get frustrated. You will learn, and we will get through it together.

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.