Syllabus for BUA 300 - Career Management
All Sections
ASU at the Polytechnic campus
Morrison School of Management & Agribusiness
Instructor: Otis J. White
Contact: (Please contact me through the Bb site by e-mail)
Office Hours: My office is in the Wanner Hall (the blue building across from Sutton Hall)
on the 1st floor … Room: 101L. I will hold office hours 1 hour before class.
Text: There is no required text for this course. We will be reading and using checklists from the Career Development eManual (http://www.cdm.uwaterloo.ca/index.asp), used with permission from Career Services, University of Waterloo, and the DiSC Personal Profile® System from Inscape Publishing.
Course Overview:
This class is intended to provide professional program business administration students with help in their professional development, goal setting, job research and self-assessment, as well as with information on ASU business-related courses, interviewing, job hunting, and résumé writing skills. There are no prerequisites for the course.
The course is designed to help the student identify his or her interests, skills and values as they have developed them at this point in their college career. We will then learn a self-assessment and research process to help you make decisions about your career path, to identify the stills and abilities needed to be successful on that path and to create a plan to help you achieve your goals.
Course Format:
The materials, tools and skills to be mastered are presented primarily through the use of computer assisted learning programs and research projects. Your class time will be spent discussing - with me and with your classmates - the assigned projects and doing group and individual work to practice and master the information gathering and analysis skills presented. Various supplemental materials will be chosen to aid you to better understand the concepts presented.
Our Objectives include (but are not limited to):
Ø Exploring the student’s interests, skills and values through self-assessment.
Ø Researching components of a selected occupation using various methods, including library/online sources and informational interviews.
Ø Integrating and analyzing the self-assessment and career research to identify personal career goals and objectives.
Ø Creating a personal action plan to identify steps to achieve career goals.
I believe that preparation and experience in presenting an excellent first impression are critical skills for all graduates, and I intend to be very demanding in my evaluation of your work in this class. Nevertheless, I hope we will have some fun and acquire a solid basis in the skills you need to help you begin your success in today’s business world. I look forward to your inquiries into the skills, art and procedures of career management.
Course Requirements:
· Attend and actively participate in class. Class will start promptly at noon and attendance will be a significant portion of your grade (20%).
· Complete all assignments and turn them in on time to avoid any loss of credit.
· Work actively and supportively with your groups when assigned.
· If you are going to miss a class or be late, please contact me in advance. Missing more than 2 class sessions will certainly result in your grade being no higher than a “C” and could result in your being asked to drop the class. Absences are absences, whether for good cause, “excused” or not.
Be advised that MORE THAN TWO ABSENCES may result in your being dropped from the class. Your instructor has the option of withdrawing a student who has accumulated absences in excess of the number of times a class meets per week. A grade of "W" will be assigned through the 7th week if a student finds they must drop the course. After the 7th week a grade of “E” or "Z” will be assigned; unless the student can demonstrate a true and compelling need to drop the course.
Assignments:
During this course you will create a portfolio of work leading to a final action plan. The action plan is intended to be an effective tool to help you with the management of your education, career and professional goals. The more attention and effort you put into completing the projects that will comprise your assessments and research, the more you will benefit from the plan.
Some of the documents for the portfolio will be started and completed in class. Some will be completed as homework outside of class. During the second week you will be assigned a partner with whom you will work for the remainder of the semester. You will be responsible for helping each other complete the checklists, worksheets and action plan for your portfolios.
All work must be typed and proofread in professional form. Handwritten work will not be accepted. Please treat the work in this class as you would work in an office and make sure it is neat, well organized, mistake free, and written in proper grammar. A guideline for the requirements of the work in this class can be found in APA or MLA writing guide books. Failures in this area will cost you points on the assignment.
Grading: I intend to assign work to reach approximately the following values:
Portfolio 80 points
Attendance and participation 20 points
Total 100 points
Your final grade will be based upon your accomplishment toward the total points possible for all work assigned and graded during the semester generally as follows:
A’s 90%-100%
B’s 80% - 89%
C’s 70% - 79%
D’s 60% - 69%
F below 60%
I use the +/- grading system (A, B+, B, B- …) to effectively show your position within a grade category (A, B, C …). I do not use the A+ category except in exceptional cases. There is no extra credit work available for this course.
General Expectations and Requirements for Course:
Punctual attendance is required for this class. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. Regular attendance is very important since much of what is discussed in the course will come from sources other than the text. This material will make up a substantial part of the learning expectation in the course. Please treat this course as you would a business meeting and be on time and prepared for the night’s work. Punctual attendance is part of the overall grade for the class (20%) and can add to or take away from your final grade. It is my experience that students who are chronically late will receive one letter grade less than they might have earned due to late (or no-show) behavior.
Class preparation is critical, as much of the class time will be spent discussing chapter topics and related material. Students will be called on regularly to participate in class and add to discussions. My experience is that students who are not prepared for each class will do poorly in class group exercises and thus in their assignments, lowering their final grades.
Class withdrawals will be handled per the ASU rules and guidelines. Absence policies of Arizona State University will be followed as well. See your general catalogue for these guidelines. As a general rule I will give a “W” grade to any student who finds they must drop the class anytime during the semester and who has made an effort to attend class regularly and complete assignments but for some reason is struggling. Students are responsible for contacting the college and withdrawing from class. Failure to file an official withdrawal form may result in failing grade on your record. This can really louse up your GPA.
Late assignments will not be accepted unless there is a doctors note accompanying them or the student can present a cogent reason why he/she should be granted extra time to complete an assignment. If an assignment is accepted late it will be docked one full letter grade for each class period it is late.
Special needs students should contact me immediately. Help is available in many forms and across many special needs at ASU. As your instructor I fully support your use of these resources and will help all I can to make them available to you. I welcome all forms of diversity in my classes including learning or physical disabilities. The ASU Disability Resource Center in the Office of Student Life can be reached at www.asu.edu/drs or at 480-965-1234 (V) and 480-965-9000 (TTY).
Honesty and integrity are expected from each and every student. Any form of dishonesty, cheating, fabrication, the facilitation of academic dishonesty or plagiarism may make you subject to disciplinary action. This includes copying of other student’s data or work files turned in as your own work. Disciplinary action can include a failing grade on a paper or for the class, dismissal from class, and/or dismissal from the college. Please refer to the Student Academic Integrity Policy at www.asu.edu/studentlife/judicial/integrity.html regarding student rights, responsibilities and obligations.
Plagiarism is presenting the work of another as one's own, no matter what the source. More than four consecutive words or any complete thought from a source other than the writer constitutes plagiarism when the source is not clearly identified in appropriate documentation/citation format. Each student is required to complete his/her own work and to properly cite the work of others.
Transmitting, storing, or receiving data, or otherwise using computer resources in a manner that would constitute a violation of state or federal law, including (but not limited to) obscenity, defamation, threats, harassment, and theft will be considered an honor offence.
Sexual Harassment: The policy of Arizona State University is to provide an educational, employment and business environment free of unwelcome sexual harassment as defined and otherwise prohibited by state, local and federal law. Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including suspension or expulsion for students. I expect all students to treat each other with respect and dignity and listen to all points of view whether you agree with them or not.
Crime Reports & Awareness: Any suspected crime should be reported as soon as discovered to the Campus Safety Office.
Interruptions & Disruptions: Some things do interrupt and can disrupt teaching and learning. Please avoid absences, late arrivals to and early departures from class, incomplete or late work. Pagers, beepers, cellular phones, etc. should always be on silent mode during class. Notebook computers must be kept closed during class.
Syllabus Copyright information: This syllabus was developed from a spring 2005 BUA300 class syllabus written by Professor David L. Forsyth. Much of the content of this syllabus was taken directly from his work with permission of the author. I wish to thank Professor Forsyth for his generosity and excellent material.
This syllabus is a class guide only and may be changed at any time to meet course, student or instructor needs. Changes in the syllabus will be announced in class. Unless changes have been announced this syllabus should be used as the student’s central guide to class assignments and topics of discussion for each class.
Syllabus for BUA 300 - Career Management
Spring 2007 – All Sections
ASU at the Polytechnic campus
Morrison School of Management & Agribusiness
Instructor: Otis J. White
This class is intended as a “skill development” class. That means you will work to develop certain self-analysis skills, a good resume and a plan of action that helps you decide what additional skills you need in order to interview for and get the type of job that will set you on the career path you really want.
Grading will involve you communicating to me as your evaluator that you have read the guidance materials and assignment sheet, that you have understood the materials and assignment sheet and asked any questions that you may have, and that you have developed a portfolio of materials which is designed to aid you in your career preparation. As you may guess, this means that attendance will be a significant portion of your grade and that the quality and completeness of your portfolio will be the other critical factor.
Beginning about week 6, I will start collecting random portfolios for review and comment. I hope to review and give feedback on all the portfolios before the final due date as scheduled.
You will also be assigned a partner with whom to work this semester. As a team, you are responsible for keeping each other on track, checking each other’s work, providing constructive feedback and asking questions during classes. I believe that having a partner will help you avoid procrastination and assist you to focus your efforts on completing your development in this course. I also know that having an outside pair of eyes looking at your written work helps the editing process immensely.
Required Materials: A plasticized two-pocket report folder. The folder should not have a 3-hole spine.
Partner Responsibilities: Each student’s Partner is responsible to ensure that assignments are prepared on time, that each assignment is as complete as possible and maintained in the folder and that each student brings their DISC report on the date scheduled for review. Failure by a student to meet the course requirements on time will lower the student’s grade AND WILL LOWER THE PARTNER’S GRADE by ½ of the points lost by the student. I recommend you take these duties seriously, work actively with your partner and back up your materials.
Portfolio Requirements and grades: Your portfolio must contain the following on the dates assigned:
Points Assignment
50 % Homework Assignments from Waterloo Site (Approx 16)
10 % First Draft Resume
10 % Functional\Final Resume
10 % Goal / Action plan forms / final essay
20 % Attendance & Punctuality
100 Total