U.S. History 1301 (PCM)
Andrés Tijerina, Ph.D.
Syn 48757 DIL 083
2012 Spring 12-WK (Feb. 13 – May 13)
OFFICE: PIN 1032 PH 512.223-8137 E-Mail: andrest@austincc.edu
HOURS: MW 3 - 5PM, TTHF 8 AM – 5 PM
BLACKBOARD: http://acconline.austincc.edu
SEE BLACKBOARD for:
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Test scores
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Syllabus
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Announcements
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Orientation received
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Report Approval
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the confidentiality of educational records. Grades cannot be given over the phone, through a fellow student, or by e-mail.
NOTE: Type PCM 1301 SYN 48757 on your E-Mail Subject line at the beginning of your subject to avoid your message being filtered out as Junk Mail. Students are responsibile to make themselves identifiable for course e-mails.
EXAMPLE:
Subject: PCM 1301 SYN 48757 Test #3
Message: This is John Doe. I have completed Test #3.
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COURSE OBEJCTIVE AND RATIONALE: This course surveys the major developments in the history of the United States and its people to 1877 and partially fulfills the legislative requirement. It also includes examples of conflicting interpretations of the progress of that history and a program of historical research. this course offers students opportunities to pursue historical topics of indiviual interest and enhance their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.
COURSE ORIENTATIONS: Each student MUST complete the Online Orientation within the FIRST WEEK of class. Please do not submit it before your official class start date to avoid confusion with other classes. Do not ask me if I have received until after the due date. If you do not submit the form as required, you MAY BE DROPPED from the course. To complete the on-line orientation, please read the Syllabus and Study Guide, then Click on the ONLINE ORIENTATION link at http://www.austincc.edu/tijnotes/orientationform fill it out, and click SUBMIT.
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.
TEXTBOOK: Montgomery/Tijerina, Building a Democratic Nation Volume I
WORKBOOK: Montgomery/Tijerina, A Student Guide for Building a Democratic Nation Volume I
OPTIONAL: Tijerina, How to Pass History: Basic Skills to Pass a College History 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 YOU MUST CONTACT ME, by email, phone, or in person TWICE during the semester: once after the completion of Test #3 and once after the completion of Test #5. The purpose of these contacts is to make sure that you understand your position in this course and what you need to do to meet your goals. If you leave a message (phone or email) make sure to 1.) tell me your full name 2.) tell me which class you are in 3.) indicate whether or not you are clear about your position in the course and that you understand what you need to do to make the grade that you are trying to achieve. Anyone failing to make these contacts may not receive credit for the course.
TEST SCORES: A test score is entered on your grade report as a number (e.g. 21) NOT as a percentage (e.g. 70%). You may get 70% correct answers on a test, but your test score is entered and it is calculated as a 21. Your semester grade is the average of the test numerical scores, not the average of the test percentages. The only percentage that is used in your semester grade is the overall percentage of all 5 test scores.
For the grade of D:
In addition to the two course contacts, the student must TAKE ALL 5 TESTS and make an overall course average between 60% and 69%. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the grade of F. There are no further requirements, but you should recognize that a D may not transfer to other colleges as a history credit. Most colleges require 70% to transfer a grade.
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%. 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% AND complete a B-Level Book Review, found on my web page a ONLINE RESOURCES.
Option Two: In addition to the two course contacts, the student must TAKE ALL 5 TESTS, and make 24 or better ON EACH TEST.
NOTE: This does not mean that you have to achieve an average of 24 for the 5 tests, it means that you have to make a 24 or better ON EACH TEST. It also does not mean that a 23 on only 1 of the 5 tests can qualify as 24 ON EACH TEST. It means 24 or better ON EACH TEST, all of them, every one, all 5.
For the grade of A:
In addition to the two course contacts, the student must TAKE ALL 5 TESTS, and make an overall course average of 80% AND produce one A-level Research Paper, found on my web page a ONLINE RESOURCES.
NOTE: You do only the B-Level Review or the A-Level Paper, not both. The Book Review and Research Paper are NOT allowed unless you qualify with an average of 80%. You cannot use the Book Review or the Research Paper in order TO RAISE your average up to 80%. The Book Review and Research Paper are done over and above the course average of 80%.
STUDY GUIDE: See the STUDY GUIDE on Blackboard to see which chapters are covered by each Test. Also, see the ONLINE RESOURCES on my web site athttp://www.austincc.edu/tijnotes/ for the A-Level Research Paper and the B-Level Book Review. The Study Guide is not a Pre-Test, nor does it guarantee that you will know the answers for the test. The answers are in the textbook. Read it first, take notes, study your textbook notes, then review the study guide.
DEADLINES: All tests must be taken in the ACC Testing Centers at the RGC, NRG, RVS, CYP, RRC, EVC, SMC, PIN, SAC, or FBG campuses. The student is responsible for complying with Testing Center procedures and hours posted at http://www.austincc.edu/testctr/
You may take the tests on the day of the deadline, or as early as you want to after the course has officially started, however, YOU MUST take the tests by the following DEADLINES:
ORIENTATION
FORM
Friday, Feb. 17, 2012
(NOTE: Orientation is a form submitted by e-mail, not in person)
Test #1 Friday, Feb. 17, 2012
Test #2 Friday, Mar. 2, 2012
Test #3 Friday, Mar. 23, 2012
Test #4 Friday, Apr. 13, 2012
Test
#5
Friday, May 4, 2012
REPORT APROVAL: You must have the topic for your A-Level Research Paper and the B-Level Book Report approved by me on or before Friday, March 9, 2012. Do not submit your topic until AFTER you have passed Test #2 to assure that you are able to attain 80% minimum average.
NOTE: Your report will not count unless I approve the topic in advance by e-mail REPLY.
YOU MUST SUBMIT your B-Level Book Review and your A-Level Research Paper by the deadline of Monday, May 7, 2012. E-mail the report as an attachment, preferrably MS WORD. Confirm that you receive my reply to acknowledge receipt. My e-mailed confirmation is the only creditable record that the student submitted the report. Your report will not be graded unless you have a REPLY e-mail from me acknowledging that I received it by the deadline.
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 deadlines. A DEADLINE means you can take it BEFORE or ON that date, but not the next day.
TESTING POLICY: Each TEST has 30 question that are focused on the LEARNING OBJECTIVES in the STUDY GUIDE for your course listed on my website. The STUDY GUIDE lists the chapters covered by each TEST. You MUST score 21 correct answers out of 30 (70%) to pass each 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. 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 determine during the course of the semester that you will not be able to successfully fulfill the requirements for this course, YOU SHOULD WITHDRAW FROM THE COURSE! The deadline for withdrawing is Monday, April 23, 2012. I DO NOT RETROACTIVELY WITHDRAW STUDENTS FROM THIS COURSE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!
COURSE COMPLETION VERIFICATION: Each student is REQUIRED TO CONTACT THE INSTRUCTOR, either in person, by telephone or email, 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 Monday, May 7, 2012 at 9 A.M. If you leave a phone or email message, make sure that you indicate that you are clear about your position in the course. I will respond to verify your message. FAILURE TO COMPLETE THIS CONFERENCE REQUIREMENT MAY HINDER 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.
NOTE: Academic dishonesty WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! The college policy states: "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." Any student found guilty of academic dishonesty (cheating or plagiarism) will automatically be assigned a failing grade for the course.
STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: 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 where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: Learning is a skill. The more you practice, the easier and more enjoyable learning becomes. Learn all you can. Ask questions. Challenge yourself. Stay informed. While we will not meet as a class I do want to remind you that in our discussions and conferences there are bound to be differing viewpoints. These differences enhance the learning experience and create an atmosphere where students and instructors alike will be encouraged to think and learn. On sensitive and volitile topics students may sometimes disagree not only with each other, but also with the instructor. It is to be expected that faculty and students will respect the views of each other when expressed in clasroom discussions. We will, therefore, vigorously defend the principles of free speech so every student should feel comfortable in expressing his or her opinions.