Cuyahoga Community College
/Joseph P. DeMarco, Instructor
Course Syllabus / Professor EmeritusPhilosophy 2050 13307 / Department of Philosophy
Bioethics / Cleveland State University
Spring Semester, 2012, B Session / Web Course
Three Credits
/ Blackboard Course Site
email:
Note: Please see Instructor Contact listed in Section VII of this Syllabus for more information on how to contact the instructor. Please also refer to the document listed under "Faculty Information" on the Blackboard web home page of the course for more information on the background of the instructor.
I. Texts:
Bioscope: A Multimedia Exploration of Bioethics, by DeMarco, Ford, and Jones, Seed Publishing, 2010. This material is in CD-ROM format at the College Book Centers. If you cannot come to campus, the College Book Centers can arrange to mail a copy of the CD-ROM to you. The website for textbook ordering is http://www.tri-c.edu/books/docs/order.htm
II.Course Description:
Study and analysis of moral philosophy as applied to issues in health and life sciences with emphasis on developing students’ abilities to correctly identify moral problems and defend their moral judgments. Note: The Performance Objectives and Topical Outline for this course have been provided in the final two sections of this syllabus.
III. Goals and Objectives:
There are four main goals of this course. The first is to provide an understanding of contemporary ethical theory. The second is to use this understanding as a foundation for analysis and application of bioethical issues and case studies. The third is to provide an overview and analysis of the most significant issues underlying the field of bioethics. Fourth and finally, it is hoped that this kind of exposure will enable the student to make more critically effective and enlightened judgments regarding issues of bioethics as a patient, a citizen, and a health care practitioner if applicable.
IV.Prerequisites: Eligibility for ENG-1010 College Composition I
V. Evaluation Procedure:
The course is divided into three main modules. For each module of the course the student will be complete the following assessments:
· One unit exam worth 80 points
· One case study analysis worth 40 points
The final unit exam will not be comprehensive, but will only cover material from that module of the course. The total number of points possible for all assessments is 360:
· 240 from the three unit exams
· 120 from the three case study analyses
More information on each assessment is provided below. Note: All assessments, except case study analyses which will be available on the Discussion Board, will be available on the Blackboard site under the Assignments link with specific availability dates and times listed in Section VI of this syllabus.
A. Unit Exams
Unit exams will cover material for each module of the course and as such will not be cumulative. These exams will be comprised of two types of questions, objective and essay. Objective questions will be either multiple choice or true/false. There will be thirty objective questions in each exam. Each question will be worth one point making for a total of 30 points for this section of the exam. In order to properly prepare for the objective exam questions the student should have read all of the assignments and reviewed all of the documents that pertain to that module of the course. Practice quizzes and exams will be provided to allow the student a chance to see what kinds of objective questions will asked and what content they will cover.
Essay exam questions will be used in conjunction with objective exam questions to better gauge the student's overall mastery of the material. The essay portion of the unit exam will be worth 50 points. Students should be able to express themselves in these essays in a way that establishes a clear and intelligent understanding of the material. The student may also be called on to justify his/her opinion on various philosophical issues within the essay question. This is a very important skill in that the ability to support one's own opinion is what separates the profound from the mundane. To assist the student in preparing for essay exams practice essay questions will be available for each main issue we cover. The student should attempt to write answers to these practice questions before proceeding with the essay exam.
Please note that all exams must be taken during the week designated according to the schedule listed below in section VI of this syllabus.Finally, the student will only be permitted to take each essay exam once. More information will be posted on the Blackboard course site with further instructions for successfully completing these exams.
B. Case Study Analyses
Each module of the term will include one case study analysis worth forty points. Questions will be inspired from the cases available on the Bioscope CD ROM. Responses will be judged by the students’ ability to resolve the ethical dilemmas inherent in each case by applying one or more of the moral theories covered in the course. Students should also be able to critically analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each commentator associated with the case. Lastly, part of the score for each assignment will include students’ critiques of each other. Case study analyses will be posted on the Discussion Board of the Blackboard course site and will contain more specific instructions for successfully completing each assignment. Students should respond directly on the Discussion Board by the specified due date for each assignment.
C. Extra Credit Issues
Should the student receive below a 60% on a discussion question or unit exam except the Module III case study analysis and unit exams/he may apply for extra credit work. This work will allow the student to raise his/her grade up to, but not exceeding, a 60% for that assignment. The student must have completed all previous assignments to date and be in good standing in the course in order to be eligible for extra credit. Also, please note that the deadline to apply for extra credit is one week from the original due date of the assignment. No extra credit requests will be granted unless they are made within this time frame.
D. Computation of the Final Grade
All of the points earned throughout the term will be totaled and the final grade will be based on the following scale:
324-360 points / A / 90-100% average288-323 points / B / 80-89.9% average
252-287 points / C / 70-79.9% average7
216-251 points / D / 60-69.9% average
0-215 points / F / 0-59.9% average
VI. Schedule of Reading Assignments and Exams
IMPORTANT NOTES:
· A more detailed assignment schedule with specific dates pertaining to reading and writing assignments and exams will be available in a separate document on the course web site under Start Here > Course Information and the Modules link. It is the student's responsibility to keep up with the readings and due dates for assignments so as to avoid late penalties. For a fuller explanation oflate penalties, please see Section XII. For a fuller explanation of the amount of time you should devote to this class, please see section XV labeled "Academic Credit."
· Documents posted on the site under the Modules link contain lecture material and correspond to the assignment schedule.
· All exams as well as instructions for completing exams can be found on the Blackboard site under the Modules link.
Links to all assessments will be activated at 5:00 a.m. on the first day the assessment becomes available and will expire at 11:00 p.m. on the last day the assessment is available
Module I:
Week Number 1, Moral Theory.
Week Number 2, Medical Futility.
Week Number 3, Exam Week for Module I.
Module II:
Week Number 4, Informed Consent
Week Number 5, Assessing Capacity
Week Number 6, Exam Week for Module II.
Module III:
Week Number 7, Clinical Trials
Week Number 8, Part I, Justice and Access to Health Care
Week Number 8, Part II, Exam Week for Module III.
VII. Instructor Contact:Office Telephone / Office: 216-752-2584
Office Email Address: /
Office Hours: / by appointment M-F
VIII. Disabilities Act
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information you need to make the instructor aware of, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please contact the instructor by making a personal appointment or by using the above information regarding instructor contact. For specific information pertaining to accommodations, contact the ACCESS office, 216-987-5079, TDD 216-987-5117.
IX. Conduct Policies
Be advised that rules for student conduct apply in the on-line environment. Any use of electronic communication on CCC’s network (which includes Web-based courses and Blackboard communication features) for flaming or other kinds of harassment will be treated as a student conduct violation. Please review the document entitled "Conduct Policies" posted under "Course Information" for a detailed description of the conduct policies for this course. It is your responsibility to be aware of these policies and to adhere to them.
X. Intellectual Dishonesty:
To plagiarize is defined by the American Heritage College Dictionary as “to use and pass off as one’s own work (the ideas or writings of another).” This means that all academic work will be done by the student to whom it is assigned, without unauthorized aid of any kind. Any acts of academic dishonesty including plagiarism that are detected by the instructor may result in any or all of the following actions:
· Penalty points deducted from the assignment.
· Zero points allowed for the assignment.
· A letter grade penalty from the final grade in the course.
· A failing grade for the course.
Students should refer to College Policy 40 040 045 for more details.
XI. Make-up Procedures:
Case Study Assignments
You will be permitted to make up ONE Case Study assignment in the course. Your make-up work will be subjected to a 10% penalty and must be submitted within one week of the original due date. All makeup work not completed within one week of the original due will receive a score of 0. All other work not turned by the assigned due date after makeup work has been submitted will receive a score of 0.
Exams
· You will be permitted to make up ONE Unit Exam in the course.
· All exam make-ups will be penalized ten percent and must be completed within one week of the original due date.
· All makeup exams not completed within one week of the original due will receive a score of 0.
· All other exams not completed by the assigned due date after a makeup exam has been submitted will receive a score of 0.
· No extra credit will be available for assessments completed through the make-up procedure.
· Exams can be submitted after time limit, but a 5% penalty will be applied for every five minutes the time limit is exceeded.
(One second over the time limit will be penalized 5%, an exam that is five minutes and one second over the time limit will be penalized 10%, etc.)
· Ten percent penalty will be added for Exams that need to be reset. Follow the Blackboard Test Taking tips to ensure you will not need a reset (see the Help area).
Notes:
Exceptions to penalties will be left to the discretion of the instructor.
XII. Withdrawal:
Students may withdraw for any reason from any semester course prior to 80 percent of any instructional part of the term. Specific withdrawal dates are available by term in the
Campus Admissions and Records Offices or published in the schedule of courses. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of these dates and to comply with them.
All transactions involving withdrawal from courses shall be done in writing, on forms provided by the college, and submitted by the deadline posted in the course schedule booklet for this term.
XIII. Incomplete (I) Grades:
If at any time throughout the term an incomplete grade is desired by a student it is the student’s responsibility to contact the instructor regarding this matter before the term ends. The college policy will be enforced for this course regarding the incomplete procedure and it is stated as follows: A notation of “I” indicates that a student has not completed all course requirements as a result of circumstances judged by the instructor to be beyond the student’s control. A student must complete all course requirements no later than the end of the sixth week of the academic term in which the “I” was noted. Failure to complete such requirements will result in an “F” (failing) grade. Please refer to the course schedule booklet to determine the last day an incomplete grade change can be completed for the previous term. Also, please note that no grade of Incomplete (I) will be awarded to any student unless all assessments except the final examare completed. If assessments besides the final objective and essay exams are not completed a grade of "F" will be given rather than the grade of "I". This is to help insure the integrity of the incomplete grade.
XIV. Academic Credit:
In order to award one (1) semester hour of college credit, the Ohio Board of Regents requires two hours of significant study outside of class for each one hour in class for the equivalent of an academic semester (16 weeks). Since this is a three credit hour class with no in class lecture hours, the required course load requirement would be an average of nine hours of effective student effort per week for the entire semester. This per week average increases as courses are accelerated. Since this is an eight week course the weekly average would be approximately 18 hours.