COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This is your online syllabus. Read it completely in order to have the information you need for a successful semester. Once you read through this course description and study guide, and submit the Student Information Form, you will have completed the orientation for this class.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: History 1301surveys American history from pre-Columbian era through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
This section is a Distance Learning 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 Distance Learning course is designed for mature and capable students endowed with a great degree of self-discipline and responsibility and knowledge of personal computers and the Internet. If this description does not sound like you, then you should consider dropping this section and adding a classroom section of the course. You WILL need maturity, ability, and self-discipline to successfully complete the requirements of any Distance Learning course! The web site for ACC's Distance Learning office is http://dl.austincc.edu .
You are, for the most part, on your own. However, I am available via e-mail, phone, or personal visit. If you have questions about the course, don't hesitate to let me know!
COURSE RATIONALE: For complete information, go to the history department web site, which is accessible from my web page.
TEXT: Roark, James L. et al. The American Promise, 4th edition, volume 1. ISBN: 0-312-45292-6. The 4th edition is on "in-library use only" reserve at some of the campus libraries, inlcuding my home campus, South Austin. The 3rd edition may also be available and will be adequate for your needs.
NOTE: An online tutorial for the textbook is provided at the publisher's web site and I STRONGLY suggest you utilize this study tool. Chapter summaries and quizzes are available, and many students find these tools helpful.
Click here to go to the web page.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Learning objectives for this class in particular are found in the Study Guide, which you can access from my web page. This is what you need to use to study for the tests. Departmental objectives can be found at the departmental web site. Feel free to ask me questions if there is material you do not understand.
TESTING: There are five (5) multiple choice tests; each test has thirty (30) questions. Scantron answer sheets will be provided by the Testing Center. Tests must be taken at an ACC Testing Center; they are not taken via computer. In order to use any ACC Testing Center, you must present a valid ACC ID. The tests will be on file at the following campus testing centers: Riverside, Rio Grande, Northridge, Pinnacle, Cypress, Eastview, South Austin Campus, Round Rock Center, San Marcos Center, Fredericksburg Center. For complete Testing Center rules and regulations, go to http://www.austincc.edu/testctr.
After you test or retest, the Testing Center will give you a "feedback" form with your score recorded on it. 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!!!!!
RETESTING: You may retest any or all of the five tests. The higher grade is recorded; however, retest grades are capped at 80%. Retests must be taken within three (3) days following the date you take the initial test. The three days include Saturday and Sunday. Testing Center regulations do not allow you to retest the same day you take the initial test.
DEADLINES FOR TESTING:
Test #1: Monday, February 22, 2010
Test #2: Monday, March 8, 2010
Test #3: Monday, March 29, 2010
Test #4: Monday, April 12, 2010
Test #5: Monday, April 26, 2010
You may take any or all tests early, but you may NOT take any tests before the official beginning of the 12-week session,
which is February 15, 2010 (anniversary of Susan B. Anthony's birth).
SOME WORDS OF CAUTION WITH REGARD TO TESTING:
1. Please be sure to mark the Testing Center "Student Test Request Form" for "Distance Learning." If you use the South Austin Campus Testing Center and fail to mark the request form correctly, you may receive my classroom test that is different from the test you are prepared to take. Please make sure that you take the distance learning test (30 multiple choice questions).
2. Be aware that the Testing Centers (especially RVS, RGC and NRG) become exceptionally busy in the last few weeks of the semester. Therefore, you may have to wait an hour or MORE from the time you arrive before you can be seated and take the test. So please plan ahead.
3. Please use your official name--as it appears on your ACC record--on the test scantrons and do not use nicknames or variations of your proper name.
DETERMINATION OF GRADE:
For an A:
Test average of 80% AND a formal research paper. (See information below.)
For a B:
80% on each of the five tests
OR
an overall test average of 80% AND a book review. (See information below.)
For a C:
Test average of at least 70%. There is no writing requirement.
For a D: Test average between 60 and 69%.
For an F: Test average below 60%.
NOTE: You are not required to submit both a research paper and a book review.
FORMAL RESEARCH PAPER:
**See paragraph below headed "Scholastic Dishonesty."**
Rationale: This term paper provides an opportunity for the student to examine, in depth, one specific event, topic, or person in American History. It will enable you to research an area of interest to you, define a specific sub-area of particular interest for further research, and then present the results in a well-written term paper.
General Requirements:
1. The topic will have something to do with United States history up to 1877. Instructor approval of topic is required. Try to find a topic that you are interested in. For example, someone planning to become a teacher may want to research 19th century education reform. A student interested in literature might focus on an American writer.
You get the idea.
2. The paper will be approximately 1750 to 2000 words long. This translates into seven or eight double-spaced, typed pages. Exceptions to these limits must be approved by the instructor before the paper is submitted.
3. The term paper must include at least THREE PRIMARY sources and FOUR SECONDARY sources. A primary source is something written by an individual who lived at the time and took part in the event that he or she is describing. Primary sources usually take the form of letters, diaries, journals, newspapers, government documents, and autobiographies.
Secondary sources are books, articles, and scholarly documentaries produced at a later time, usually by historians who were not participants in the event.
Electronic sources must be carefully evaluated for scholarly merit and may make up no more than 25% of your sources. Electronic databases are helpful in finding primary sources. Your textbook, other survey textbooks, and general encyclopedias (including Wikipedia) are NOT ACCEPTABLE SOURCES because they cannot go into great detail. No term paper will be accepted unless it contains the requisite number of primary and secondary sources that are properly documented. If you have any questions about a source, ask the instructor.
You are required to use the following style manual:
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed.
New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
It is available in libraries and bookstores. This manual will instruct you on the correct way to format the paper, the Works Cited page, and internal documentation. It also has example pages of what the very first page of the paper and what the Works Cited page should look like.
4. Austin has numerous libraries and depositories including The University of Texas General Libraries, the Benson Latin American Collection, the Barker Texas History Center, the Travis County Collection of the Austin Public Library, the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, and many others in addition to the resources available at ACC.
5. This term paper will be graded "ACCEPTED" or "NOT ACCEPTED." If you submit your term paper before the deadline date in the syllabus and it is graded "NOT ACCEPTED," you may revise it and resubmit it prior to the deadline date.
DATES TO KEEP IN MIND:-- SUBMIT YOUR TOPIC TO ME VIA E-MAIL ON OR BEFORE MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2010.
-- SUBMIT YOUR PAPER TO ME VIA E-MAIL ON OR BEFORE MONDAY, MAY 3, 2010.
BOOK REVIEW:
**See paragraph below headed "Scholastic Dishonesty."**
Rationale: Writing a book review helps exercise and enhance critical thinking skills.
1. A book review is NOT a book report. A review contains an analysis of the author as well as a summary of content. The review will be 4-5 pages in length (typed, double-spaced) and contain the following three elements: a) summary of content; b) analysis of author's ability to demonstrate her or his thesis; c) insight gained from reading the book.
2. The book must be chosen from the list provided in this syllabus. Let me know via e-mail what book you choose. Click here to go to the book list.
3. The BOOK REVIEW will be graded "ACCEPTED" or "NOT ACCEPTED." If you submit your book review before the deadline date in the syllabus and it is graded "NOT ACCEPTED," you may revise it and resubmit it prior to the deadline date.
DATES TO KEEP IN MIND:
-- SUBMIT YOUR TOPIC TO ME VIA E-MAIL ON OR BEFORE MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2010.
-- SUBMIT YOUR PAPER TO ME VIA E-MAIL ON OR BEFORE MONDAY, MAY 3, 2010.
SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY: From the ACC Student Handbook: "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."
If cheating or plagiarizing occurs, the penalty is an Ffor the course.
Definition of 'to plagiarize': "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source" -- definition from Merriam-Webster at http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarizing.
COURSE CONTACTS: Part of the course requirement is that you contact me after the third and fifth tests. This ensures that we stay "on the same page" with regard to your progress. The contacts can be done by e-mail, phone, or personal visit. Most students fulfill this requirement via e-mail.
GRANTING OF INCOMPLETES: An Incomplete will be given only in the most extreme cases and only if you have successfully completed at least 50% of the course work and you have at least a C average at the time of the request. Once an Incomplete is recorded, it is your responsibility to finish the work within a specified amount of time; otherwise, the Incomplete automatically changes to an F on your transcript.
WITHDRAWING FROM THE COURSE: It is your responsibility to withdraw from the class if you cannot meet the requirements. I retain the right to initiate withdrawal based on lack of progress or as a disciplinary measure. The last day to withdraw is April 26, 2010.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES POLICY: From the ACC Student Handbook: "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."
PRIVACY POLICY: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects confidentiality of your educational records. Grades cannot be given over the phone, posted, over e-mail, or through a fellow student.
STUDENTS' ACC E-MAIL ACCOUNTS: All ACC students have a g.mail account. You need to check for mail here even if it is not your primary or preferred e-mail account. Any mass mailing I do will be to this g.mail address.
BLACKBOARD: I utilize Blackboard for the following tasks: posting announcements, sending class-wide e-mails, posting grades.
YOU ARE NOW READY TO PROCEED TO THE STUDY GUIDE.
DON'T FORGET TO FILL OUT THE STUDENT INFORMATION FORM AT THE END OF THE STUDY GUIDE!