Guidelines & Expectations --- Terrell L. Elam, Ph.D.
This course will be a very meaningful to you personally and professionally. In order to earn the grade you desire, it is essential to carefully follow the directions and attached rubrics. ALL ASSIGNMENTS FOLLOW APA #6. If you do not have a copy, you may want to purchase one today. Please print out and post your due dates and assignments. This is a doctoral class that requires attention to detail and time commitment. Dr. Sattler (n.d.) once stated, "Salvation is a function of God's grace and mercy. Your grade, however, is a function of your work and discipline.” I agree with him completely. Here are just a few suggestions that you may find helpful.
Before you begin class:
Your experience and the knowledge you gain will be strengthened by keeping informed about the requirements of this course. Please read and understand the following helpful resources:
1. The Course “Announcements”
2. The “Course Content” – Syllabus, Course Schedule, Assignment Instructions
3. The assignment documents – Discussion Board and assignment instructions
If you are not familiar with Blackboard, or need technical or academic support, please review the resources available under “Services/Support.” Helpful Blackboard tutorials are under this link.
Plagiarism:
PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL: I ACTIVELY WATCH FOR PLAGIARISM IN ALL ASSIGNMENTS INCLUDING DISCUSSION BOARD POSTS. I ALSO USE ADVANCED TECHNICAL TOOLS TO FIND PLAGIARISM IN ADDITION TO SAFE ASSIGN. STUDENTS WHO COMMIT PLAGIARISM ARE SUBJECT TO FAILURE OF THE ASSIGNMENT, FAILURE OF THE COURSE, AND/OR ADDITIONAL ACTIONS.
Plagiarism can take many forms including:
· Copy-and-pasting content from the internet into discussion boards, papers, templates or other assignments.
· Omitting quotation marks around material quoted from any printed or audio source
· Paraphrasing a specific passage from a specific source without properly referencing the source
· Replicating another student's work or parts thereof and submitting it as an original
Even though several assignments are in a template format, the student’s original written work in the template is expected in every case.
Also, do not copy an assignment from a previous section of the course (if you are repeating this course). If you are quoting a portion of work that you wrote previously, please cite yourself and include your work in the reference list.
Communication Guidelines:
Consistent and clear communication is essential between faculty and students in an online setting. Please stay informed in the following five ways:
1) Review the “Announcements” on the front page of the course each time you access the course.
2) Review the “Course Community Center” for any new posts. This forum provides a place for questions and answers, prayer requests and praises.
3) Check your LU email at a minimum of every other day. In your email, you will see feedback that I provide to the class and/or specific feedback to you as needed.
4) If you have a specific question for me, I prefer that you email me. Additionally, I have provided my office phone and office hours below as well. For our students far outside the Eastern Time Zone, I am open to arranging an appointment by phone up to 10 pm ET.
5) All assignments should be posted in Blackboard (not emailed). In the event of a rare emergency – if Blackboard is inaccessible due to an outage – you may email me your assignment. However, the deadline for each assignment remains the same and I expect that you will also post the same assignment to Blackboard at the next possible opportunity.
Graduate-Level Writing:
Please note my expectations for graduate-level writing below.
· Do not use Wikipedia, other encyclopedia-type sources, or other weak secondary internet-based sources. These are considered weak secondary sources and are not appropriate for graduate-level writing. They will lower your assignment grade every time.
· Seek primary sources or peer-reviewed journal sources whenever possible. Using them will strengthen your assignment grade.
Grading Assignments and SOE Late Assignment Policy:
All assignments will be graded within seven calendar days of the assignment deadline.
The nature of this course requires that the candidate interact with the material, professor and other studentson a weekly basis. Because of this, it is difficult to achieve the fullest experience in this learning environment when assignments are late.
If unable to complete an assignment on time, the candidate must contact the instructor immediately by email to make arrangements for the completion of that assignment. Assignments that are submitted after the due date without appropriate excuse and pre-approval will receivethe following deductions:
· Assignments submitted after the due date will receive a 10% deduction.
· Assignments submitted more than one week late receives a 20% deduction.
· Assignments submitted after two weeks late or after the final due date of the class will not be accepted without documentation of extenuating circumstances.
Students experiencing scheduling conflicts are to submit assignments early. It is expected that you will build time into your assignment work so that even an emergency does not affect your ability to be timely. However, if an extreme emergency comes up and you need more time, please email a request to me well in advance. Approvals for late submissions will be rare.
Feedback in General:
I view feedback as an important dialogue – especially in an online course. Therefore, if you have an assignment where I have inserted numerous detailed comments throughout the written work, this does not necessarily mean that your work was deficient. Rather, I often use this dialogue to suggest new areas of research, related thoughts, and encouragement. Beyond grading, this feedback is designed to help you develop as a professional.
Invest quality time into this course and enjoy your learning experience.
Sincerely,
Terrell L. Elam, Ph.D.
Adjunct Faculty, School of Education
Liberty University
434-592-3966 Office
Office Hours 8:00am-5:00pm (EST) Mon-Fri.
Updated: 6/19/13
Adopted from Dr. Robert Ritz