COURSE OBJECTIVE: This course surveys the major developments in the history of the United States and its people since 1877.  It also includes examples of conflicting interpretations of the progress of that history and a program of historical research.

COURSE RATIONALE:  Students taking History1302 can expect to improve their reading and writing competencies, critical thinking skills, research skills, etc. all of which help students better succeed in ife outside academia.  This course also helps satisfy the 6 hour American history requirement mandated by the Texas legislature.

COMMON COURSE OBJECTIVES: Please consult http://www.austincc.edu/history.  For learning objectives specific to this section, please consult course learning objectives under HIST 1302 PCM on my website.

COURSE ORIENTATIONS:  Each student must do the online orientation at www.austincc.edu/rebhist.  If you do not, you will be dropped from the course.  PLEASE INCLUDE THE WORD "ORIENTATION" IN YOUR EMAIL TO ME TO AVOID HAVING THE INFORMATION DISCARDED AS SPAM.

If you do not orient by Thursday, September 25, 2008, you will be dropped from the course.

OFFICE HOURS:

      M-Th 8-9am, 10:30 - 12 npon, RGC Attache 216

Please note:  If you are planning to make a special trip to Rio Grande to see me during my office hours, please contact me at least the day before you plan to arrive.   If I have alredy scheduled that time with another student, or if I will be caleld away during that time, we can arrange a suitable alternative time for the visit.

OFFICE PHONE:  223-3399  or 223-3385

EMAIL: mrebhorn@austincc.edu Please note that book reports and term papers may not be submitted in email form.  You will need to send them by ACC mail or US post to me at 1212 Rio Grande, Austin TX 78701.  Or you may drop them off at my office at 216 Attache at the Rio Grande campus.

WEB ADDRESS: www.austincc.edu/rebhist

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This section is a self-paced version of the standard United States History survey course.   The student will be required to do the same amount of work and the same quality of work as students enrolling in the classroom equivalent of the course.   This self-paced course is designed for mature and capable students endowed with a great degree of self discipline and responsibility.  If this description does not sound like you, then you should consider dropping this section.  You WILL need maturity, ability, and self-discipline to successfully complete the requirements of any self-paced  course.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: The student's final course grade is determined by the quality and quantity of the student's work.   The following requirements are non-negotiable:

For the grades of D, C, B, and A.  The student must contact the instructor, either in person, by email or by telephone, twice during the semester: once after the completion of Test #3 and once after the completion of Test #5.   Anyone failing to make these contacts may not receive credit for the course.

For the grade of D:

In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all five tests and make an overall course average of 60% (18 correct out of 30 questions). Failure to meet these requirements will result in the grade of F.  There are no further requirements.

For the grade of C:

In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all 5 tests and make an overall course average of 70% (21 correct out of 30 questions).  There are no further requirements.

For the grade of B:

    Option One:   In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all 5 tests, and make an overall course average of 80% (24 out of 30 questions) AND complete one analytical book report described in the HIST 1302 (Self Paced)Learning Objectives' Handout.  An average means you may go below 24 on some tests and above on others, ending up with an average of 24.

    Option Two: In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all 5 tests, and make 24 or better on each test. In this case, no book report is required.

For the grade of A:

    Option One: In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all 5 tests and make an overall course average of 80% (24 out of 30 questions) AND complete two analytical book reports as described in the History 1302 (Self Paced) Learning Objectives.  An average means you may go below on some tests and above on others, ending up with an average of 24.

     Option Two: In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all 5 tests and receive 24 or better on each test, AND the produce one analytical book report as described in the History 1302Learning Objectives.

Please note: papers must be submitted by US mail to 1212 Rio Grande, Austi 78701, ACC intercampus mail or in person at my office, but not by fax or as an email attachment.

TEXTBOOK
Robert A. Divine, et al, America: Past and Present, Volume 2, 8th edition

DEADLINES:  All tests must be taken in the ACC Testing Centers at the RGC, NRG, RVS, CYP, PIN, RRH, EVC, FBG, SAC or SMC campuses.   The student MAY take the tests as early as he/she is ready; however, the student MUST take the tests by the following deadlines:

 Test #1: Monday, September 29, 2008
 Test #2  Thursday, October 9, 2008
 Test #3  Thursday, October 30, 2008
 Test #4  Thursday, November 13, 2008
 Test #5  Wednesday, December 3, 20068

You MUST turn in your analytical book report (s) by the deadline of Monday, November 24, 2008.

All these deadlines will be strictly enforced!  There will be no extensions for these deadlines, and you will NOT receive credit for any work (either tests, retests, or A-Level or B-level Objectives) submitted after the foregoing deadlines.

TESTING POLICY:  Each unit has a 30 question multiple choice test that focuses on the learning objectives found in the History 1302 (Open Campus) Learning Objectives handout.  There are sample questions at the end of the Learning Objectives handout.   You MUST score 21 correct answers out of 30 (70%) to pass each test.   (Remember it is your overall course average which determines your final grade.  In that sense, you may fail one test and still pass the course if the average of all 5 grades is 21 or better.)

The first test is the map test.  The other four tests, over chapters in the textbook, are much more difficult.  DO NOT JUDGE THE DIFFICULTY OF THE COURSE BY THE FIRST (MAP) TEST!!!

If you do not pass the test the first time you take it, then you may retest once.   There are two restrictions on the retest:

     1.The highest grade possible on the retest is 70.  Therefore, if you have passed the test the first time, there is no point in retaking it.   YOU  CANNOT make a score higher than 70 on the retest.

     2. You must retest BEFORE the deadline date for the test.   You may NOT retest after the deadline date even if you  took the test for the first time before the deadline date. Also keep in mind that ACC Testing Center policy prohibits anyone from retesting a test on the same day they took it for the first time.   Therefore if you feel you may need to retest, you should take the test for the first time AT LEAST two days before the deadline date.

After you test or retest, the Testing Center will give you a "feedback" form with your score.  KEEP THIS FORM!!!  If, as very occasionally happens, your test is delayed in the intercampus mail, the feedback form is your proof that you completed the test at the appropriate time.   DO NOT THROW AWAY ANY FEEDBACK FORM UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED YOUR FINAL GRADE AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER!!!!

WITHDRAWAL POLICY:  If you fail to meet the test deadlines, you ARE SUBJECT to being withdrawn from the course by the instructor.   This is at the discretion of the instructor.  If you determine during the course of the semester that you will not be able to successfully fulfill the requirements for this course, YOU MAY WITHDRAW YOURSELF!   The deadline for withdrawing is Monday, November 24, 2008.   No withdrawals or reinstatements may be made after this deadline.

COURSE COMPLETION VERIFICATION:  Each Student is REQUIRED to CONTACT the instructor, either in person or by telephone, after they have completed test #3 and test #5.  The contact after test #5 will serve as a course completion verification and must be done no later than December 9, 2007.  During this conference, we will verify your test scores, review any projects submitted for and A or B, and determine your course grade.  FAILURE TO COMPLETE THIS CONFERENCE REQUIREMENT MAY IMPERIL THE PROMPT REPORTING OF YOUR GRADE!!!   This is as much a requirement of the course as any other grading requIrement.

INCOMPLETES:  The grade of I (Incomplete) will only be awarded for medical reasons verified by a satisfactory letter from a physician.   All Incompletes must be completed within four weeks in the following semester.   There are no exceptions to this policy.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities.  Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus they expect to take the majoirty of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM: The free and open exchange of ideas is vital to the pursuit of learning.

STUDENT PRIVACY:  The federal government requires that student privacy be preserved.  Thus, the posting of grades, even by the last four digits of the social security number, is forbidden.  All communication will remain between the instructor and the student, and the instructor will not be able to share details of the studentís performance with parents,  spouses, etc.

SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY:  Any form of scholastic dishonesty by the student will automatically earn the grade of F for this course.  This includes both cheating on tests as well as plagiarism on the book reports. A handout containing further information on plagiarism may be obtained in any Learning Resource Center. College policy reads:

"Acts prohibited by the College for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work.  Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework."

LAST WORDS OF CAUTION:  If you use the RGC Testing Center for this self-paced course, please be sure to mark the Testing Center Student Request Form for "self-paced".  Otherwise, you may receive my classroom test that is slightly different from the test you are prepared to take.   (A quick way to tell the difference is the self-paced tests all have 30 questions and my classroom tests have 25.)