Course Home Page Your instructor will communicate course requirements, grades, and other important information via the course home page on Blackboard. You may access Blackboard from the link in Campus Pipeline. Your instructor will demonstrate the use of Blackboard during the first week of class; should you have additional questions, contact him during his office hours or via e-mail. You should check the course home page frequently to ensure that you receive this information in a timely manner. Your instructor is not responsible for miscommunication caused by your failure to consult Blackboard on a regular basis.
Work The requirements for this course as enumerated in the syllabus are non-negotiable. You are expected to complete all assignments and examinations by their deadlines regardless of other obligations unless excusable conditions apply. You are responsible for ensuring that your schedule allows enough time to satisfy the course requirements. Work scheduling is not considered sufficient grounds for failing to submit assignments on time or being absent during an examination. Examinations are due promptly at the end of the designated time regardless of arrival time.
Saving Files Lab computers are used for various classes throughout each day, so you are not guaranteed that any files saved on a given computer will remain there in the future. Additionally, you are not guaranteed to be sitting at the same computer during each class meeting. You should save your files to a USB flash drive to protect them from loss and from academic misconduct. Under no circumstances should you share your flash drive with another student.
Attendance Attending class will be one of the key factors in determining your success in this course. Although the textbook and lecture notes will provide most of the information you need to perform well on assignments and examinations, your instructor will hold you responsible for additional information provided in class. Attendance will be taken promptly at the beginning of each class.
Official Policy: Students are expected to attend all classes for which they are registered. Students who are unable to attend class regularly, regardless of the reason or circumstance, should withdraw from that class before poor attendance interferes with the student's ability to achieve the objectives required in the course. Withdrawal from class can affect eligibility for federal financial aid.
Absences In general, you are not required to bring an excuse for missing a course meeting during which no graded activities took place. However, you are advised to contact your instructor at your earliest convenience to notify him of the nature of your absence and to inquire about any missed material. Students with excessive consecutive absences who fail to communicate with the instructor will be assumed to have abandoned the course and may not be afforded the opportunity to make up missed assignments or examinations. If you are unable to contact your instructor yourself, have a relative or friend contact him or the college in general.
Missed Examinations The syllabus for each course will state whether a student may have the opportunity to make up an examination or to drop an examination grade. If allowed, a make-up examination will only be offered for those with documentation of significant grounds for missing the exam (illness, family emergency, an automobile accident that occurs on the way to class, etc.). Make-up examinations must be completed within one week of the exam date; if logistics prevent this from occurring, your instructor may substitute your final exam grade for the missed examination. If a student schedules a make-up examination and fails to appear at the appointed time, the student will receive a zero for the examination. Each student is limited to one make-up examination per course.
Course Withdrawal A student who wishes to withdraw from a course after the official Schedule Adjustment period and prior to the official start of final exams may do so by completing a "Withdrawal from Course" form. Students who withdraw before the beginning of the twelfth (12th) week of the fall or spring semester or seventh (7th) week of the summer term will receive a grade of "W" for any course withdrawn. After this time, the student will receive a grade of "WP" if doing satisfactory work at the time of withdrawal or "WF" if doing unsatisfactory work at the time of withdrawal.
The deadline for withdrawal with an automatic "W" for regular term classes during the Spring Semester 2012 is April 7. After this date, your instructor will assign a "WP" only if your performance through the date of withdrawal was satisfactory or if extreme unforeseen circumstances hampered your ability to perform satisfactorily. Students with excessive absences, especially those who miss exams or assignment deadlines, will not be assigned a "WP" and should withdraw before the automatic "W" deadline. A student who takes the final examination is considered to have completed the course and will not be allowed to withdraw. Your instructor cannot withdraw you from the course; you must complete the withdrawal form yourself.
Assistance Your instructor is available in his office at set times for student assistance and can be reached promptly during these office hours. Additionally, you may send an e-mail message should you have any questions. Your instructor does not check the e-mail tool in Blackboard; send any messages to the address shown in the syllabus from your Pipeline, ISP, or other e-mail account. Include the course and a brief summary of your message in the Subject line. You will receive a better response if you seek assistance as soon as you experience trouble with an assignment. Your instructor does not guarantee an expedient response to e-mail messages outside of office hours. You are discouraged from seeking assistance from or giving notice to your instructor between classes -- it is much better to do so when your instructor can focus on you without distraction. Do not expect your instructor to recall conversations with implications on your grade; if what you are saying is important, you should communicate it in writing or via e-mail.
Your instructor is happy to assist you during his office hours, but he must divide his time fairly between students seeking assistance, class preparation, and grading. Please use the other resources available to you (textbook, lecture notes) before coming to see your instructor! The limited availability of the instructor should not be seen as a license to violate the Academic Honesty Code.
Americans with Disabilities The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 state that qualified students with disabilities who meet the essential function and academic requirements are entitled to reasonable accommodations. It is the student's responsibility to provide appropriate disability documentation to the College.
Please note that requests for accommodations must be placed with the ADA Office on campus. Additionally, accommodations should be brought up with the instructor on a case-by-case basis (that is, as each assignment or examination requiring accommodations arises during the semester). Receiving ADA accommodations does not relieve a student of the responsibility to attend class on a regular basis and to meet deadlines given by the instructor.
From the ADA Student Handbook: An instructor is not obliged to provide accommodations to a student with a disability until he/she receives the ADA Office accommodation letter from the student. In addition, it is the student's responsibility to discuss scheduling and details of the requested accommodations with his/her instructor(s). If a student delivers an accommodation letter to an instructor within a few days of an assignment or exam, the instructor may not be able to provide the optimal accommodation requested.
Grading Guidelines Grade ranges will follow the traditional pattern (900 points or more out of 1000 for an A, 800 to 899 points for a B, 700 to 799 points for a C, 600 to 699 points for a D, and 599 points or less for an F). There is no rounding. Each course offers several opportunities for bonus points that can be used to increase a student's total points to the desired level.
Grades will be released via Blackboard. A description of the deductions taken will accompany each grade. Grade disputes must be submitted via e-mail within one week of a grade's release. Your instructor will not respond to general inquiries about grades -- you must consult the instructor's comments (either on Blackboard or on the paper returned to you) and ask specific questions about the point deductions. Please let your instructor know if you have difficulties accessing grades via Blackboard -- it is very easy for him to overlook a setting required for you to be able to see your grades.
Assignment submissions are not viewed or graded until after the assignment deadline; please do not send urgent messages in the comments with your assignments. Your instructor cannot guarantee a specific turnaround for grades, as other demands (course preparation, student assistance, and other faculty duties) take precedence over grading and may prevent the use of office hours for expedient grading. He will endeavor to release grades in a timely manner and to provide sufficient feedback to improve your understanding of concepts whenever possible.
Incomplete An instructor has the option of assigning a grade of Incomplete and allowing a student to finish the coursework by the withdrawal deadline of the next semester. However, this is reserved for students who have a catastrophic event occur late in the semester after completing the majority of the semester's work. Your instructor reserves the right to enforce individual deadlines earlier in the succeeding semester and to restrict his availability for assistance with material missed during the original semester.
Submitting Assignments You will use Blackboard as the primary means for submitting assignments. Deadlines are strictly enforced by Blackboard, so be sure to take into account any clock differences that might occur between your computer and the Blackboard server. Submissions will not be accepted via any means other than that specified for the assignment: you must use the submission tool set up for the particular assignment you are submitting. You are responsible for sending the correct file; you will not have the opportunity to resubmit an assignment should you discover that you submitted the wrong file. You are also responsible for ensuring that the submission process succeeds (you should receive a confirmation message after a successful submission).
Although assignments are available via Blackboard and can be submitted from any computer, your instructor cannot guarantee the ability to complete and / or submit assignments on any computer other than those on campus. You should ensure that the computer from which you plan to work has the software you need to complete the assignments. If your computer lacks the software or functionality to complete a given assignment, you are expected to complete it in a campus computer lab (either on the first floor of the General Studies Building or in room 451 of the Health Sciences Building). Deadlines will not be extended for computer malfunction unless the problem is related to a campus computer (Blackboard / campus network outage, lab computer issues, etc.).
Your instructor does not accept late assignment submissions. If you miss an assignment, you have the opportunity to recover the lost points by completing the additional assignments that count as bonus points throughout the semester.
The Lab Environment When using a lab computer, guard your information thoroughly. Log out of any personal accounts (e-mail, Pipeline, Blackboard) before you leave a lab computer. Delete any assignment-related files you have saved to the Desktop, the Documents folder, or any other location on the computer's hard disk (files on a flash drive do not have to be deleted). If another student obtains and submits your file as his / her own, you may be subject to penalties for violating the Academic Honesty Code.
Students are expected to maintain a clean classroom environment. Dispose of any trash (papers, bottles, wrappers, etc.) before you leave the classroom.
In order to protect classroom equipment from vandalism and theft, all classrooms will be locked when not in use. If you need to use a computer beyond class time, please use the open computer lab (HSB 451).
Academic Honesty Students are expected to complete their own work regardless of circumstances. Unless otherwise specified, all assignments are individual exercises, not group work. Do not share your assignment-related files or work with any other student, and do not obtain or look at any other student's files, whether in the classroom, on a home computer, or via electronic means! Peer assistance (whether from current students, former students, or those otherwise knowledgeable of the course material) should be limited to the concepts discussed in class and should never include the specifics of an assignment; contact your instructor if there is a question as to how much assistance can be offered.
Under no circumstances should you post the details of any assignment on a public discussion board, forum, or newsgroup. Likewise, you should not post any portion of your solution to any assignment, even in progress, on such a public resource. Making such information available on the Internet will be considered academic misconduct.
During an examination, all hats, caps, and visors must be removed unless required for ADA accommodations; additionally, no portable electronic devices (cell phones, media players, etc.) may be used unless required for ADA accommodations.
Your instructor will follow the procedures outlined in the Academic Honesty Code section of the Catalog and Student Handbook should he perceive a violation of the Code. Unless there is evidence that the violation was not due to any action on the part of a specific student, each student involved in the violation will be penalized.
Respect While in the classroom you are expected to show respect both to your instructor and to your classmates. Harassing, threatening, or otherwise disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated. Students who engage in such behavior will be asked to leave the classroom and may suffer grade penalties. We all have different perspectives on what is "in good fun" and what "crosses the line", so keep in mind the diverse makeup of the class as you interact with your classmates.
Statement on Discrimination / Harassment: The college and the Alabama State Board of Education are committed to provide both employment and educational environments free of harassment or discrimination related to an individual's race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, or disability. Such harassment is a violation of State Board of Education policy. Any practice or behavior that constitutes harassment or discrimination will not be tolerated.
Disturbances During lectures, students are expected to remain silent unless recognized by the instructor for a question or comment. Students who arrive late to a lecture must take their seats quietly; they may not disrupt the instructor or their classmates with conversations, printing, or other distracting activity. When allowed time to complete assignments, conversations are allowed so long as they do not reach a disruptive volume. However, students should not carry on loud and / or sensitive personal conversations in the classroom during class time. Lab computers should be used to complete assignments or to follow the lectures, not for personal entertainment that may distract adjacent students. Cell phones and pagers should not make any noises in the classroom (ringtones, message indicators, etc.), and calls should be answered outside the classroom. In addition to sound, students should avoid causing sight-based (clothing) or smell-based (cologne, perfume, etc.) distractions. Causing a disturbance shall be considered disrespectful behavior and will be treated as such.
Printing The Department of Business and Information Systems maintains the lab printers, including the addition of paper and toner when necessary. The department has a limited budget with which to purchase additional toner and paper. When students abuse the privilege of unrestricted printing, supplies may run out before the department is able to order replacements. Please use our print supplies in a responsible manner. If you would like assistance in reducing the number of pages required to print a document (especially PowerPoint slides), please let an instructor or lab assistant know.
Schedule A tentative schedule is available with the syllabus and course policy documents. Changes to this schedule will also be communicated on Blackboard. Reasons for schedule changes may include, but are not limited to, instructor illness, inclement weather, or classroom unavailability. Students are responsible for following the schedule and any posted changes regardless of prior class meeting attendance.
Overall, my advice to you is to do your best! If something unforeseen comes up during the semester, I'm much more likely to work with you if you've proven to be a trustworthy student. Don't hesitate to ask questions on any topic relevant to the course.