The History Department welcomes
you to
our courses. We have an outstanding faculty and you will find
that many
of your classmates are also outstanding students. With a
collaborative
effort on the part of BOTH faculty member and student, your
experience
with us should be most productive and rewarding.
Students registering for History courses at Austin Community
College
need to be cognizant of the fact that the requirements and
expectations
for those courses may be higher than those for some other
courses in
the College. Our courses are intellectually challenging
and
require that the student is both academically and socially
prepared for
college-level work. Successful completion of our courses
requires a
student commit a significant amount of time, effort, and
personal
responsibility.
The following is a summary of some of the requirements that
are typical
for a History course at Austin Community College. By providing
you with
this information, we hope you will be better able to assess
your
readiness to enroll in these courses.
1. All ACC college-level History courses
presume that
the student has successfully completed the basic high school
U.S.
History, Economics and American Government courses. All
HIST 1301
and 1302 sections are taught moving forward from that base of
knowledge. Thus, students are expected to already have a
prior
knowledge of the fundamentals of U.S. History, the
Constitution,
function and structure of the U.S. and state governments, and
basic
economic concepts including tariffs, the Federal Reserve,
inflation,
depression, and supply and demand. Students who do not have
this prior
knowledge and experience may find the courses more difficult.
2. Each History course includes a
substantial reading
component of approximately 500 to 700 pages of material.
Students will
be expected to be familiar with the material covered in each
daily
assignment and to have read the appropriate sections of the
text PRIOR
to attending class. The textbooks used in the classes are
written at
the 14+ grade reading level. Therefore, unless you have
reading skills
equivalent to these requirements, you may find the courses
most
demanding.
3. In all classes, some type of writing
assignment is
a requirement for successfully completing the course.
Many
classes include essay questions on each exam. In
addition, many
classes require research papers, analytical book reviews, a
family
history, film reviews, and/or thought piece assignments as a
substantial portion of the final grade. These
assignments will be
graded for form (grammar, spelling, and punctuation) as well
as
content. If you do not possess these necessary writing skills,
we
recommend you postpone taking History courses until after you
have
completed ENGL 1301.
4. The normal mode of instruction is by the
lecture
method, supplemented in many cases by PowerPoint, video, and
internet
clips. The student has a responsibility to come to
class
prepared and able to take notes based on the reading
assignment, class
presentation, or lecture.
5. All History courses use behavioral
learning
objectives to assist the student in identifying the most
important
aspects of the material. These learning objectives are usually
contained in the course syllabus or in a separate “Study
Guide.”
They are not word-for-word identical to the test questions nor
do they
by themselves give the answers to test questions in advance.
Rather,
they highlight the salient topics and point the student to the
relevant
material that may appear on the test from both the lecture and
the
textbook.
6. Each instructor has attendance policies
and class
behavior policies to which the student must adhere.
These include
attending class regularly, arriving on time and staying for
the entire
class, regardless of other school activities and
responsibilities,
preparing for class by doing the required reading and
assignments, and
being respectful of fellow classmates and the faculty member.
Any
computers or electronic devices used during class time are to
be used
for class purposes in accordance with the instructor’s
directions. All
cell phones are to be turned off prior to class beginning and
are not
to be used during class time.
7. Since most college courses usually meet
only two
times per week (in some cases only once each week), the pace
of each
class may be more intense than what students experienced in
high school
where classes met five times a week. Students should be
especially
careful not to overload themselves by enrolling in more
classes than
they have the time in which to adequately study for the
courses.
8. These are college courses and all
students
enrolled in such courses will be treated as college students
regardless
of the location at which the class meets. All students
are
protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of
1974.
In compliance with this Act, instructors will not discuss
student
grades, academic progress, or class attendance and
participation with a
student’s parents, spouse, or significant other, unless the
student is
present.
9. Students enrolling in Distance Learning
courses
will need maturity, ability, and self-discipline to
successfully
complete the requirements. The student will be required to do
the same
amount of work and the same quality of work as students
enrolling in
the in-class sections. Distance Learning courses are designed
for
mature and capable students endowed with a great degree of
self-discipline and responsibility. There are many very fine
students
who find that their preferred learning style is classroom
lecture and
participation and that pedagogy better prepares them for
exams. If you
learn better via visual and audio means, then a classroom
section will
better fit your needs. Also, Distance Learning courses rely
very
heavily on multiple-choice tests. If you feel you are more
skilled at
taking essay exams, you might well consider enrolling in an
in-class
section.
In conclusion, we hope that sharing these expectations will
result in a
very successful and satisfying experience in your ACC History
courses.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any
questions.