This document contains the essential information you should know to function properly in this course.
Contact
My ACC Home page: http://www.austincc.edu/dws
Email: dws@austincc.edu
Office: Rio Grande Campus Portable Building (between Main Building and Annex)
Office Hours (unless otherwise announced in Blackboard):
7:15 - 9:15 pm Thursday (August 28 - December 11)
Office Phone (during above hours only): (512) 223-3248
Voice mail: To leave a voice message, dial (512) 223-1790
When the system answers, enter my voice mailbox number 23376 and press # to leave a message.
(I tend to check voice mail on an infrequent basis (once or twice a month during the semester). Use Messages in Blackboard or Email for a much faster reply.)
Campus Mailbox: Rio Grande Room 204
Intercampus Mail: Donald Skrabanek/RGC English
U.S. Mail: send to
Donald Skrabanek
English/Rio Grande Campus
1212 Rio Grande
Austin TX 78701
For more details, see the Contact document.
Course Textbook: Fiction 100, by James Pickering, 13th Edition
(However, any recent edition of this book should work fine. You are required to read the discussion stories and stories needed to complete the assignments and reading quizzes. Any source that allows you to do so is acceptable.)
How to Make a Grade
Your final grade in this course is determined by your successful completion of specified assignments, quizzes, and one or more exams at the end of the semester. The term completion means I have graded and accepted your work.
- To pass this course with a final grade of C, students must satisfactorily complete six assignments and an orientation quiz, score a cumulative 40 points on six reading quizzes, and satisfactorily complete a C exam.
- To pass this course with a final grade of B, students must satisfactorily complete six assignments and an orientation quiz, score a cumulative 45 points on six reading quizzes, and satisfactorily complete a C exam and a B exam.
- To pass this course with a final grade of A, students must satisfactorily complete six assignments and an orientation quiz, score a cumulative 45 points on six reading quizzes, and satisfactorily complete a C exam, a B exam, and an A exam.
- Be aware that the reading quizzes are available for a limited time. Once the due date for an assignment passes, the reading quiz associated with that assignment will become unavailable.
IMPORTANT: All students must complete Assignments 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8. Students must write only one of Assignments 5, 6, or 7.
To begin the exam process, you must satisfactorily complete six assignments and the Orientation Quiz, and score a cumulative 40 points on the six reading quizzes. When you have satisfactorily completed this coursework, I will issue you a C exam permit which you will use to enter an ACC Testing Center (or a pre-approved alternate facility) to write the C exam. Your C exam permit will be included with the return of your accepted Assignment 8.
To begin writing the B exam, you must have satisfactorily completed the C exam and scored a cumulative 45 on the six reading quizzes.
To begin writing the A exam, you must have satisfactorily completed the B exam.
The B and A exams are "take-home" exams; they are not written in the Testing Center.
All exams are written in sequence.
HOWEVER, if you have three or more late assignment submissions, you are not eligible to write the B exam or A exam, even if you have done the extra work required to qualify for those exams.
Be aware that there are penalties for submitting work late. These penalties can prevent you from writing the B exam or A exam or from completing the course.
For more details, see the How to Make a Grade section of the Course Guidelines document.
Submitting Work
All submissions must be double-spaced.
All submissions must be saved in the Rich Text Format (rtf) or Microsoft Word (docx or doc) format and must be properly named.
Include the required identifying information in the upper left corner of all submissions (NOT in a header).
Indent the first line of all paragraphs five spaces.
Follow assignment requirements. Meet minimum word length requirements.
Do not exceed the limit on direct quotes.
Assignments have specific due dates. Late submissions face penalties.
Submit and retrieve assignments using the Submissions button in Blackboard. If you use up the two slots for an assignment in Submissions, submit your work using Blackboard Messages. Attach the file to a message.
For more details, see the How to Format an Essay, How to Save and Name a File for Submission, and How to Send and Retrieve a File sections of the Course Guidelines document.
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