Policy guidelines

Some rules are required for any organized learning situation. Consider the following as guidelines. However, for students who show a lack of initiative, engagement, or effort, these policies will become rigidly enforced rules very briskly.

Attendance
Please be on time and attend as many classes as possible. You begin the semester with 75 attendance points (out of 50). You lose ten points for each absence and five for each lateness. So, you can be late and/or absent a few times without hurting your grade, but repeated absence will lower your grade considerably. Missing class causes a “double dip”—your class participation points suffer too.

Class participation
Everyone should participate actively in class activities and discussions. If you aren’t asking to speak in every class, you aren’t participating enough. I’ll evaluate your participation in writing twice: at midterm and the end of the semester.

Ethical conduct
We will discuss the ethical demands of writing during the course. I expect every student to follow the highest professional standards for ethical behavior, especially regarding respect for other students. Criticism and enthusiasm are great; rudeness or aggressiveness is unacceptable.

I also expect academic honesty. Plagiarism (use of another's ideas, data, and statements with little or no acknowledgment), collusion (unauthorized or undocumented collaboration), or re-submission (presenting an assignment previously completed for course credit) are not permissible. Suspected lapses of academic integrity will be reported in accordance with the University's Academic Dishonesty Policy.

Extra credit
You can earn extra points, raising your chances of achieving the coveted “A” grade:

• You can receive more than the allocated number of points for any assignment. Extremely high quality work can earn a grade as high as 110% of the total number of available points.

• Your points from all quizzes are counted in your quiz point total. If you take most quizzes and score well, you can earn extra points.

• Students who are regularly present and on time will earn up to 25 extra points.

Feedback
My instructional goals are lofty: I want to be among the teachers you remember when you leave Western—for good reasons. Please help me be a better teacher by letting me know when you really enjoy a class or get a lot out of an assignment—I’ll keep it up. On the other hand, if something doesn’t seem to work well for you or other students, I’d also like to know. Grades, assignments, and other facets of the course can change!

If you wish to remain anonymous, I suggest placing a printed note in my mailbox. Alternately, contact my supervisor, Dr. David Boocker, Chair of the Department of English & Journalism. (Feel free to tell him when I’m doing good things, too.)

Grading
You earn points for each completed assignment. A ten percent per letter grade scale is used for all assignments and final grades, and since there are 1,000 points in the semester, it’s pretty easy to figure out where you stand at any time.

Please keep track of your grades and keep all graded assignments.

Help!
I want to help you achieve success in this class and all your studies at Western. Help me help you by asking me when you need some assistance! If you have a question or concern others might share, please ask it in class, or send an email to our class list. This is a communication course, after all...

For tutoring or other assistance, come to my office hours. I would like to see everyone in my office sometime during the semester. Feel free to stop by any time you are in Simpkins Hall—I’m there quite often, and if the door is open, I’m happy to see you. Please keep in mind I share my office with another professor.

Students with special learning needs requiring pedagogical accommodation should speak with me as soon as possible.

Late work
Avoid late work. If you would like to turn in an assignment after the due date, contact me at least 48 hours in advance, or you may suffer a point penalty. If you are sick and need extra time, contact me as soon as possible. Unless you have permission from me, late work will not be accepted after one calendar week.

Grades of incomplete will only be given in the case of documented medical emergency (e. g. your arm fell off, and your doctor can prove it).

Privacy
There is no need to put your social security number or WIU ID number on any work turned in to me; your printed name will suffice.

By law (20 USC § 1232g, commonly called the “Buckley Amendment”), educational records must be kept confidential. So: I will only discuss your progress in the course with you in my office, where your privacy can be ensured. I will only email grades or progress reports to wiu.edu accounts. I will never post such information in public. Ever.

We will be using computers at WIU and in other locations. I will make every effort to ensure your privacy while using these systems. You can help by choosing good passwords, keeping your passwords secret, and logging out of any lab computers after you use them. Should you ever suspect your privacy has been compromised in any way because of a computer system used in the course, contact me immediately by telephone.

If you have a problem with computers, please ask me or the WIU helpdesk for help—but never email me or any other WIU staff member a password. Passwords should never be emailed.

WIU brings you the following announcements
In accordance with University policy and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), academic accommodations may be made for any student who notifies the instructor of the need for an accommodation. It is imperative that you take the initiative to bring such needs to the instructor's attention, as he/she is not legally permitted to inquire about such particular needs of students. Students who may require special assistance in emergency evacuations should contact the instructor as to the most appropriate procedures to follow in such an emergency. Contact Disability Support Services at 298-2515 for additional services.

It is the responsibility of the student to comply with the prerequisites/corequisites for a course that he/she plans to take. Instructors who place the appropriate information on the syllabus and emphasize it during the first three class periods may exclude a student from the class who does not meet the prerequisites/corequisites by sending a note to the student with a copy to the registrar within the first two weeks of the term.