This is your online syllabus. Read it completely in order to have the information you need for a successful semester.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: History 1302 surveys American history from the late nineteenth century to the present. For a full catalogue description, go to the history department web site, which is accessible from my web page.
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 2. ISBN 0-312-45293-4.
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. If you use the 3rd edition, be aware that chapters 17 and 18 are reversed from the 4th edition.
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 publisher's 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 course 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 are 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. 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. Retest grades are capped at 80%. Retests must be taken within three (3) days following the date you take the initial test. Testing Center regulations do not allow you to retest the same day you take the initial test.
You may take any or all tests early, but you may NOT take any tests before the official beginning of the session which is March 22, 2010.
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: There are different requirements for achieving an A, B, or C.
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%. No paper or book review is necessary.
For a D: Test average between 60% and 70%.
For an F: Test average below 60%.
NOTE: You are not required to submit both a paper and a book review.
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 F for 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 if you have successfully completed at least 50% of the course work and 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 given 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 May 10, 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.