The breakdown of the course requirements is as follows:
 

Semester grades will be earned as follows:

Graded Activities

Assignments (25% of semester grade)

The biggest single percentage of points for this course comes from completing regular assignments and quizzes. These assignments will vary—they include, for example, reflections, time management plans, exam debriefs, and goal-setting outlines—and they will offer many opportunities for you to apply what we are studying in class immediately. Completing these assignments on time and thoroughly will earn you full credit.

Participation (15% of your final semester grade)

Your participation grade will be based on your informed contributions to forum and VoiceThread discussions and exercises. You will participate in graded activities in every lesson. Some of these might take place outside of the designated classroom (e.g., in the computer lab or the library).

Participation grades will be based on the following:

•  Level of engagement/listening skills: You (almost always, sometimes, rarely, almost never, OR never or very, very rarely) engage with VoiceThread lectures, discussion board forum, and activities and makes thoughtful contributions.
  
• Behavior: You (almost always, sometimes, rarely, almost never, OR never or very, very rarely) behave appropriately in the online environment.
  
•    Preparation: You (almost always, sometimes, rarely, almost never, OR never or very, very rarely) participate in forum/VoiceThread discussions, communicate with group members for group projects or discussions and read necessary information to provide informed comments to course discussions and activities.
• Collaboration: You (almost always, sometimes, rarely, almost never, OR never or  very, very rarely) collaborate (or work in groups) in appropriate and fair ways.
  
•  There will be a total of 150 participation points during the semester that will be awarded in 50 point increments along with notes explaining any points deducted.

A special note about attendance:

Attendance is mandatory. You are expected to attend every class, to arrive on time, and to remain the entire period. You need to be here in order to participate in in-class activities! It is your responsibility to find out what you missed in the case of an absence. In college there is no such thing as an “excused absence.” For classes meeting two times per week, five points will be deducted for each absence. For classes meeting one time per week, ten points will be deducted for each absence. For online classes, attendance will be checked weekly on Monday mornings. To be counted present, the student must have logged in to the course and turned in an assignment each week.

Absentee Policy

Texarkana College’s absentee policy allows instructors to withdraw a student from a course due to excessive absences. For online classes, you may be dropped after you exceed one week of absence.

Faculty members are not obligated to provide opportunities for students to make-up missed assignments and tests as a result of a student’s absence from class. The institution is not required to take attendance with the exception of workforce/vocational areas, where certification requirements require taking attendance. However, experience demonstrates that regular attendance enhances academic success. As such, students are expected to attend each meeting of their registered courses.

A student should not stop attending a class without formally withdrawing from the course by the Institution’s published Last Day for Students to Drop. If a student stops attending class after the published Last Day for Students to Drop, the student may receive a grade of “F” in the class. The instructor will submit the last date of attendance for students receiving a grade of “F” or “W”.

Withdrawal from a course(s) may affect a student’s current or future financial aid eligibility. Students should consult the Financial Aid Office to learn both short and long term consequences of a withdrawal.

Attendance is so crucial for success that if you miss no more than one class, you will receive an extra 5% on your final grade. This means that if your final course average is 85% (B), your final grade could be increased to 90% (A).

Projects (both projects combined are worth 30% of your final semester grade)

You will complete two projects this semester: an individual career project and a group presentation project. More details about each project will be given in class at the appropriate time.

Exams (each exam is worth 15% of your final semester grade)

You will complete two exams this semester, a midterm and a final exam. More details will be given in class at the appropriate time, including how to prepare to ace these exams.

Forums

Each unit will have one or more Disscussion Forums. Each student is required to respond with an original post by the end of the day on Sunday (11:59 p.m.) of that week. This post can include the student’s personal opinion, as well as researched and documented information. At least one full paragraph should be included in the response, and the question should be investigated thoroughly. If outside sources are used, they should be properly cited at the end of the response. Each student is then required to respond to two (2) other students’ postings in order to facilitate learning and discussion. These posts will be due by the end of the day on Sunday (11:59 p.m. in your time zone).  Make sure to proofread all of your posts. It is recommended that you type your post in a word processor such as Microsoft Word and after proofreading it paste it into Moodle.

Forum Grading Rubric:

Guidelines for written work

Written assignments must have one-inch margins on all four sides, be double spaced, and be done in the Times New Roman font, size 12. Please note that correct spelling and grammar and a clear, easy-to-read writing style all count toward your grade. Use professional, formal, college English (i.e., no text-message language, contractions, clichés, or slang, for example).  More details about each assignment will be given in class at the appropriate time.

 Grading Rubric for Written Assignments:

Late work policy

Since a core focus of this course is to prepare you for experiences in higher education and/or your future in the workplace, completing work on time, in accordance with the good time- management skills you will learn in this course, is considered highly desirable and an important habit to develop. For this reason, points can be deducted for late work. If you are having trouble completing an assignment on time, please contact me as soon as possible. If possible, I want to work with you so you can submit the assignment without losing points.

Academic honesty

This college assumes that students eligible to perform on the college level are familiar with the ordinary rules governing proper conduct, including academic honesty. The principle of academic honesty is that all work presented by you is yours alone. Academic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating, plagiarism, and collusion, shall be treated appropriately. Please refer to the Texarkana College 2016-2017 Catalog and Student Handbook for more information. Texarkana College will utilize as necessary, technology programs/software to ensure academic honesty.

You must complete all work independently unless otherwise instructed. Plagiarism, cheating, or any related offensives will result in an automatic zero for that assignment—no exceptions, no excuses!

Withdrawals

If for any reason you need to drop the course, it is your responsibility to inform me officially either in person or in writing, in a timely manner. If you are considering dropping, please try to meet with me to discuss your options. I may be able to help you find solutions to some of the challenges that may be affecting your progress in class. If I can help, I would like to! Ultimately the decision is yours; therefore, I will not drop students for any reason. All students who remain in the course will receive a grade based on their performance.