TCOM 2010 – Technical Writing Course Policies
The purpose of the following policies is to help you succeed in the course. Please read this information carefully. Submission of your first assignment in this course means you have read and understood what these policies mean.
Add/Drop
Students will only be added to the course during the official Add/Drop period. Students adding the class will be solely responsible for knowing all information they have missed and submitting all previously due assignments.
Students may withdraw from the class for a grade of "W" after the official Drop/Add period if they complete a Drop Form in the Registrar's Office before the midpoint of the semester and are currently passing the course. Students who wish to withdraw but who do not meet these requirements will recieve an F.
If you drop the class, please email me (lpalmer2@spsu.edu) and let me know.
Attendance Policy
You need to be attending this class for every scheduled meeting. Attendance is taken via placing your signature on the roll sheet. If you miss class, you're missing content. My courses are highly interactive and involve more than just lectures and reviews of the textbook. I take roll and there are consequences if you're not in class.
- If you are absent, you are entirely responsible for knowing the material covered on that day.
- Quizzes and any other in-class work where points are given CAN NOT BE MADE UP. If you're not there, you receive a zero (0). There are no make-up quizzes, do-overs, or manipulations to the space-time continuum.
- Attendance is mandatory on days involving student presentations. Your absence will result in a grade penalty to be determined by me.
- More than 3 absences can result in your grade being reduced by 5% at the end of the semester.
- Any student who accumulates 7 absences (roughly 25% of the class meetings) during the semester, no matter what the reason, will receive an F for the course. If you've missed 7 classes, you haven't covered enough of the content to successfully meet the defined goals and objectives for the course.
If you are going to miss class, you need to email me and let me know. This action doesn't excuse you nor does it allow you to make up any missed work. Emailing me lets me know you haven't dropped the class.
Athletes need to provide me with documentation at the beginning of the semester regarding their schedules.
If you will be gone for multiple days in a row or will be absent on a day involving student presentations, you must contact me.
Plagiarism
I take the issue of plagiarism very seriously and will enforce SPSU's plagiarism policies to their fullest extent.
Plagiarism includes any use of text, pictures, ideas, and/or designs of another individual that would allow readers unfamiliar with the source to assume that the material originated with you. If I find in your work
- another writer's language inserted without quotation marks and acknowledgment,
- a close, unacknowledged paraphrase of someone else's writing,
- another writer's research or analysis presented without acknowledgment,
- visual materials downloaded from the Web and presented without citation, or
- a page design or information design created by another person or corporate entity,
then I will treat it like a plagiarized assignment and deal with it appropriately. Penalties can range from a zero on the assignment to suspension or expulsion from the university.
Plagiarized assignments cannot be resubmitted for a passing grade.
Program templates (e.g., MS Word templates) or online document generators may not be used to create or format any of your documents; these don't encourage you to learn the course material or computer programs, and they generally result in dull documents. Documents created from templates or document generators will count as plagiarized documents and will receive a zero (0).
Personal Conduct
Computer Use
Although we are meeting in a computer classroom, the computers are not available for personal use during class. The purpose of meeting in class is so that discussions will occur in the classroom; consequently, it is important to be respectful and listen to the instructor and your classmates.
Listening
"Listening" does not include texting, answering a cell phone, chatting to your neighbor, checking email, using Facebook or MySpace, looking at pictures of cars, checking the scores on ESPN, or reading the campus newspaper, USA Today, Sports Illustrated supplement, or any other media. Students who elect to do any of these activities rather than work on a class assignment or listen to the instructor/classmate will be asked to leave class and will be treated as absent for that day.
Cell Phones
If your cell phone rings, I get to answer it. If my cell phone rings, you get to answer it.
Computer-Related Issues
Network Accounts
In order to access the SPSU network, use your SPSU email name and password. If you do not have an SPSU address, bring your student ID to IT (Room H-240); they will immediately activate your account. If you have questions you can call IT @ 915-678-4357.
Important dates and deadlines for SPSU are found on the online calendar; this calendar is accessed via your Zimbra account.
Document Storage
Save early, save often, save everything.
You may be required to resubmit selected assignments at the semester's end. If you do not save your work, you will need to re-create the assignments from scratch.
A corrupted file, crashed hard drive, or burned-out laptop screen does not constitute an excuse for late or unsubmitted work. I strongly recommend you bring a USB drive with you to each class meeting. There is no hard-drive space on the classroom computers, so you can only save your work on a USB drive, the university's Z drive, or email it to yourself. Using a USB drive is faster, and often a better option.
I strongly recommend you archive all your work in multiple locations (e.g.: your computer's hard drive, a portable hard drive, a USB drive, a CD-R/W, remote online backup services [I recommend www.mozy.com].
Software Requirement
This class will use MS Office Suite products. While you may want to avoid the products of monolithic corporate entities, other software, regardless of its kinder but less dominant status in the world, is not suitable.
Document Formats
Due to the issues involved in opening documents on different platforms (e.g., PC vs. Mac, Office 2003 vs. Office 2007), I recommend saving all documents in MS Office 2003 format.
You will be required to bring computer files to class and open them on the school's computers. If you bring an incorrectly formatted file to class and cannot open it, the assignment will be treated as if it were not submitted.
Email Requirement
Professional communication requires you to clearly identify yourself. As such, Zimbra addresses or addresses with professional-appearing addresses are the only email addresses accepted in this course. Addresses such as "hornyhornet420@gmail.com" are generally used to transmit viruses and messages from them will be deleted unread.
I will send out class emails to notify you of important events or, sometimes, to post assignments. It is your responsibility to check your email on a regular basis, empty your Deleted Items box, and keep yourself up-to-date with what is going on in our class.
Professional communication also requires you to clearly identify your subject matter. When sending email to me, your instructor, or to your classmates, please use this subject line format, including the spaces:
TCOM-SectionNumber – message topic
Emails not using this subject line format will be deleted unread.
Social Networking Sites
I cannot accept "friend me" requests from students on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Plaxo, or myYearbook. While I appreciate the invitations and do not wish to be rude, accepting friend requests from students opens the door to potential ethical problems.
Grading Policy
I do not give grades—you earn them. That is why I do not bump grades at semester's end. An 89.49% is a B+. As SPSU isn't on a +/- system with grades and GPAs, this B+ posts as a B to the Banner system.
Grading Criteria
I will evaluate each assignment on maturity of approach, purpose, and adequacy of presentation. In evaluating each submission, I will point out, either by a grading sheet or by written comments on the document, the basis for the grade. Possible criteria will include:
- Logic of organization
- Clarity and readability
- Use of supporting data
- Technical accuracy
- Style and diction
- Grammar and mechanics
- Conciseness and completeness
- Attention to instructions for assignment
Grammar and Mechanics
You are in college, so I assume you know and can apply rules of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. You will not pass this course unless I think you know and can apply those rules. If you need to brush up on your skills, talk to me and make arrangements. You should also visit the Learning Resources Center (LRC) for help. I will certainly let you know if you need to be taking advantage of this resource.
Group Assignments
Group assignments receive grades based on the deliverables and individual effort within work groups. You will be called upon to evaluate your own and your team members' performance on group assignments.
Assignment Submission
You must submit all major assignments in order to pass TCOM 2010. You (or your group) will submit only paper (hard copy) versions for grading.
Hard Copy Versions
All multiple-page assignments in hard copy must have:
- a running header;
- page numbers in the upper-right corner;
- a staple in the upper-left hand corner.
Do not fold the corners instead of using a staple.
Late Penalties
If you submit an assignment late, 10% of the total grade will be deducted for each calendar day it is late.
One calendar week after the due date, an overdue assignment will receive a zero (0). However, you can still submit it for passing the course, and I will count it for be happy to look over the document and offer constructive commentary.
You will have assignments ready to submit when you enter the classroom. If you print a document during class, print a docunent after class, or have to leave class to print a document, that assignment will be considered late.
Assignments received by email, unless previously approved by the instructor, are not accepted.
In-class exercises given on a day when you are absent will result in a grade of zero (0) and may not be made up. Please see my attendance policies.
ADA Statement
If you have a disability and think you may need accommodations in this class, discuss them with me before the first major assignment is due and contact the ATTIC for documentation. A counselor for students with disabilities is available at (770) 915–7244.