Table of Contents
Registration Policies
First Week Rule
I often have a number of students hoping to add the class during the first week or two of the semester. So, to make sure that those students have time to join — and to be sure that registered students don’t delay getting started — I require you to do two things before the end of the first week.
Specifically, I’ll need to drop any registered student who does not complete both the Syllabus Quiz and the Canvas Message Assignment by 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 30.
If that creates a problem for you, please contact me in advance. We can make another arrangement, if needed. But I do need you to contact me before Sunday.
Drop Dates
This semester, the deadlines for dropping the course are as follows:
- February 4, to be eligible for a refund and to avoid a “W” on your permanent record;
- April 29, to receive a “W” on your permanent record.
Dropping after the April 29 deadline will almost certainly earn you an “F,” which can only be overturned in the most extreme circumstances.
NOTE: The state of California (which funds community colleges) no longer distinguishes between a “W” (Withdraw) and a non-passing grade (in ENGL 1A, a “D” or “F”) in determining the number of times a student may attempt a class; students are now limited to three attempts total within a district. If you decide you need to drop, I recommend that you see a counselor to discuss what effect that might have on your educational plans. (As we approach that “W” date, I’ll send an announcement that discusses this in more detail.)
Student Responsibility to Drop
Every term, a fair number of students disappear from the course for a variety of reasons—often without a word. Though I do try to drop such students before the last drop date (I am not a fan of putting an “F” on students’ transcripts), I am not always able to tell if a student has really left or has decided to prioritize her time differently. Therefore, I cannot be responsible to make sure students meet their drop deadlines.
It is the student’s responsibility to drop by the appropriate deadlines. If you decide you need to drop, please be sure you follow through with the Admissions Office.
More important, though: If you find yourself tempted to quit, I encourage you to contact me first. I might be able to help you get back on track.
Disability Statement
If you need special arrangements for a physical or learning disability, I recommend you work with our Disabled Students Programs and Services. That isn’t a requirement, but they offer helpful support for both you and me.
Please visit the DSPS page to see what kind of help is officially available to you.
Communications Policies
Notifications
Canvas has an incredibly flexible communications system. Indeed, at times, it can even be too flexible, and communications can get lost in the range of possible channels.
If you haven’t yet done so, I recommend that you go to your Canvas Settings and set up Notifications in a way that is comfortable for you. (Here’s a tutorial for setting up Notifications.)
Announcements
Two or three times a week, I will post announcements for the class. There will basically be two kinds of announcements:
- Reminders for upcoming assignments, changes to due dates, corrections, and other announcements related to the logistics of the course
- Instructional material, clarifications, spontaneous “lessons” about issues that come up in student work, and other items related to the content of the course
Both kinds of announcements are important, so I recommend that you log in to the course and look for announcements at least three times each week—or, even better, consider setting up a “Notification” to inform you (via email or message “pushed” to a mobile device) whenever an announcement appears. (Again, here’s a tutorial for setting up Notifications.)
Canvas Messages (“Conversations”) and Personal Email
Messages to individuals (to your classmates, or to me)—Canvas calls these “Conversations”— should generally be used only for private communications. If you have any comments or questions that might be of interest to the class, please post them in an appropriate Discussion thread so others may benefit from the conversation.
For example, if you want to let me know that your essay will be late (a private issue that the rest of the class doesn’t need to know about), it would be appropriate to send me an individual Canvas message. If you are confused about the instructions on a writing assignment, though, it would be appropriate to ask that question in the Discussions area. You may be a little nervous about that, but try not to be. While you may fear that your question is obvious, it’s likely that others have a similar question — and sometimes students’ answers to such questions are clearer than my response.
For class-related issues, please contact me through Canvas; it’s much easier to keep track of conversations that way. For issues not related to the class, or in case you have trouble with Canvas (if you have trouble logging into Canvas, for example), you may contact me at my personal email address (gkemble@yccd.edu).
I will respond within two business days (though I’m usually much quicker than that).
Discussions
A good portion of our class will involve discussions about your writing and research. Indeed, 15% of your final grade rests on your posts and responses to specific Discussion Group Assignments (DGAs) found throughout the various modules. Ideally, these posts will be thoughtful and thorough.
As mentioned above, please use the Discussions area for general questions, too. Again, if you have a personal issue (you just want to let me know why an assignment is late, for example) then send me an individual Canvas message. But if you have a general question about an assignment, or if something really cool happened while researching, etc., please post it in the Discussions area so that others can benefit as well.
It is important that everyone feel comfortable participating in Discussions. For this reason, be respectful of your peers. You will, at times, disagree, but please do so thoughtfully and politely, not with sarcasm or derogatory remarks directed at any person or group of persons. Please remember that there is a feeling human being on the other end of the computer connection. There is a lot of room for debate, but not for flame wars.
On the other side of the coin: please don’t take criticism or advice personally. Love-fests don’t help anyone improve; honest suggestions do. When they’re right, we learn something new. But even when they’re wrong, we strengthen our own position by articulating why we think they’re wrong.
In short: strive both to give and to receive feedback, criticism, or advice with grace.
Dead Links
Every term, I work to improve the course, which sometimes causes unintended glitches. If you find any “dead” links (or other mistakes—inconsistent due dates, typos, whatever), please let me know so I can fix them.
I am also open to feedback, so if you have any suggestions for improvement to the presentation, or you can identify areas that were confusing or not intuitive, please feel free to let me know that as well.
Standards
Using Modules
As modules are released, the assignments associated with the modules will also become available, in the course’s Assignments section. However, you should go directly to an assignment only as a convenience, after you have worked through the module leading up to the assignment.
Occasionally students try to skip straight to the assignment without working through the modules. This is a recipe for disaster, for a number of reasons. Please work through the modules thoroughly and in order, so that you will benefit from the explanations and preparatory writing assignments.
Formatting
Your three main essays should be formatted using MLA style format. We’ll talk about this during the course, but here’s a short version:
Essays should:
- be typed, using a standard 12-point font (e.g., Times or Times New Roman);
- be double-spaced (never single-spaced; never triple-spaced);
- have one-inch margins;
- have a correctly formatted header, title, and pagination
- document sources correctly, using both in-text citation and a Works Cited page.
Essays that do not follow MLA format may have their grades lowered from one-third to one-full letter grade, with the penalty increasing as the class proceeds.
Final drafts of essays, especially, should be edited, proofread, and spell-checked.
And please give each essay a clever and informative title (“Essay 1” is neither clever nor informative….)
Submitting Essays
Unless specified otherwise in the instructions, please submit assignments as a file upload through the Assignments section in Canvas. (The most notable exception: Discussion Group Assignments.)
Please don’t submit work to my personal email unless it is absolutely necessary. It’s hard to keep track of work that is not submitted as instructed—especially work submitted outside Canvas.
If possible, please upload essays in Microsoft Word format (.doc, or .docx), as this format allows me to respond to your work most effectively. (Note that Google Docs can save a in Word format, under “File | Download.”)
If you do not have access to Word (or Google Docs), then please save and upload your essay as a PDF file. Though this is harder for me to work with, it’s much better than other formats (e.g., .pages or .wks files), which I often cannot even open.
Retrieving Graded Essays
I get feedback on working drafts back as soon as possible–usually within two or three days–and on final drafts within two weeks or so.
When I’ve graded an assignment, you will be able to find your letter grade in the Canvas Gradebook.
However, for most assignments, I will also upload a PDF of your graded essay with my comments, which is where I offer the specific, personalized response to your work. (Note: If you would prefer a Word document, please let me know. However, unless you need it in Word—for example, screen readers handle Word documents better than PDFs—I recommend staying with the PDF, as that format more consistently displays comments.)
You’ll find this document in the same place you submitted the original work—usually, in the Assignments section—and should be able to download it and then either read it on screen or print it out.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as using another person’s words or ideas without proper acknowledgment. This may take many forms: cutting and pasting from the Internet, using others’ ideas without proper citation, buying a paper, having a friend or family member do an assignment, and so on.
Please don’t.
Plagiarism is serious, and it carries serious consequences. At the very least, a plagiarized paper will receive a “0” on the assignment. But plagiarism may also result in disciplinary probation or suspension, or even expulsion. (See the Student Code of Conduct).
Most cases of plagiarism that I have encountered — and I have encountered many — have arisen from desperation. If you find yourself growing desperate, please contact me as early as possible so that we can discuss strategies for success on the assignment.
Next up: Grading
The next section is about my Grading policies.
