ENG 480G: Policies
Attendance & class participation
Please be on time and attend as many classes as possible. Come to class ready to participate actively in class activities and discussions. Bring your textbooks, notes, and writing materials to class daily. Read all the material assigned and be prepared to discuss it. If you aren’t speaking in every class, you aren’t participating enough. You don’t need to say something profound to make a contribution—your questions are valuable too.
I will lower your class participation grade if you miss more than two classes. If you must miss a class, ask another student for notes, and come to my office hours if you have questions about the activities you missed.
I’ll evaluate your class participation twice: at midterm and the end of the semester.
Ethical conduct
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 antagonism is unacceptable. Please show respect and concern for your classmates both in class and on our email discussion list or in electronic environments.
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. These types of academic dishonesty will be reported in accordance with WIU’s Academic Dishonesty Policy.
Feedback
I always shape courses through student suggestions—I’m willing to change almost anything about the course to help you learn more effectively. To that end, I will ask you to evaluate the class at midterm and the end of the semester. But I encourage you to speak up before that if you enjoy a class or benefit from an assignment. On the other hand, if something doesn’t work well, I’d also like to know’your feedback will help me be a better teacher.
If you prefer to remain anonymous, put a printed note in my mailbox, or contact me through Ellen Poulter, adviser for the Department of English & Journalism, or your academic adviser.
Grading
You earn points for each completed assignment. Since there are 1,000 points in the semester, and the grading scale I use is based on powers of 10, it’s easy to figure out where you stand at any time, or to determine the percentage of your grade represented by a given assignment.
Please keep track of your grades and keep all graded assignments.
| assignment | points |
|---|---|
| Writing online | 250 |
| Conceptualizing C&W | 350 |
| Weblogs | |
| Class participation | |
| Glossolalia | |
| Experiments | |
| Total points | 1000 |
Help!
I want to help you achieve success in this class and all your studies at Western. I hope you’ll come to my office hours at least once this semester—for help with our class, advice about other classes in English & Journalism, or just to touch base. 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.
Students with special learning needs requiring pedagogical accommodation should speak with me as soon as possible.
Late work
Late work is allowed only under extreme circumstances, and only with prior permission. If you can’t attend class the day an assignment is due, email it to me, or turn it in early. To request an extension on an assignment, speak with me at least two days in advance.
Course 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 FERPA or the “Buckley Amendment”), educational records must be kept confidential. Therefore, I will only discuss your progress in the course with you in my office, where your privacy can be ensured, and I will not post grades in public.
We will be using computers at WIU and in other locations. Help protect system security and your privacy 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.
Never email me or any other WIU staff member a password. Passwords should not 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.