COMM 3913
Communication Technology
Fall 2004 Syllabus (MWF)
Prairie View A&M University
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Languages and Communications
(PDF version of syllabus)
Instructor: Dr. Corinne Weisgerber
Email: cweisgerber@houston.rr.com
Office: 218 Hilliard Hall
Office Phone: 936-857-2229 (email recommended)
Office Hours: MWF: 11:00–2:00, 3:00–4:00, & by
appointment
Course Policies
Attendance
Prairie View A&M University requires regular class attendance. Excessive absenteeism, whether EXCUSED OR UNEXCUSED, will result in your course grade being lowered or in assignment of a grade of “F”. Absences are accumulated beginning with the first day of class.
There is no such thing as an "excused absence" except in the cases of illness (as confirmed with a doctor's note), documented death in the family, or pre-authorized university activity. Extended illnesses will be dealt with on an individual basis but the instructor MUST BE notified as soon as possible of such situations. Please be aware that absences on an exam day CANNOT be made up.
Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. If you are not present when attendance is taken, or if you are late, you will be marked as absent. You are required to be present at the beginning of class and stay until the end. It is your responsibility to make sure that you sign the attendance sheet each class period before leaving class. There are no bonus points given for attending class attendance is expected--you can however lose points for not attending. After three absences, your final grade will be affected in the following way:
Academic Dishonesty/Cheating/Plagiarism
Prairie View A&M University is dedicated to a high standard of academic integrity among its faculty and students. In becoming part of the Prairie View A&M University academic community, you are responsible for honesty and independent effort. Disciplinary action will be taken against any student who alone or with others engages in any act of academic fraud or deceit.
Some examples of academic dishonesty/cheating/plagiarism include, but are not limited to: using another person’s ideas without giving proper credit; making up supporting material by either inventing a source or pretending to have consulted one without actually having done so; making up research results without having conducted the research, etc. Representing someone else’s ideas as your own constitutes plagiarism. You therefore need to give credit to any source of information used as part of an assignment by either orally quoting your source, and/or identifying your source in the body of your paper. Ignorance of plagiarism is no excuse, so be sure to ask me if you suspect you may be bordering on plagiarism for any assignment in this course.
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will automatically result in failure of this course (no second chances given!). It only takes one act of academic dishonesty to fail the entire course.
Courtesy
Since everyone in this section will be encouraged to actively participate in class discussions, it is essential that full courtesy is awarded to your classmates. Intentional class disturbances–which may distract another classmate or a class lecture or discussion—that blatantly disrupt course study or a speaker’s concentration (for example: using the computer to do work not related to our class; distracting discourse, keeping your cell phone on during class, accepting a cell phone call during class, text messaging or listening to personal audio) will result in a penalty of absence from the class being recorded for those involved in the distracting behavior. It is important that you follow along with the lesson as presented by the instructor and not work on projects for other classes, surf the Internet, shop, watch movies, listen to audio, etc. Off-task computer usage while instruction is taking place in the lab distracts others around you and often requires repetition of material you should have been paying attention to. Persistent inattention will result in suspension of your computer privileges. You are welcome to print either before or after class time. However, once class has begun no printing will be allowed unless required by the in-class assignment that day. Any materials that are printed during class time will be confiscated. As a courtesy to your teacher and to your class mates, please make sure at the beginning of each class period that your cell phones are turned off.
Assignments
All assignments must be typed or word-processed and turned in on time. Late or handwritten work will not be accepted.
24-7 Rule and Grade Records
When graded materials are returned, you must wait 24 hours before discussing your grade with me. This is to allow you to think calmly about the grade and your performance and to formulate a rational basis for discussion. You will also only have seven days in which the grade is open for discussion. After these seven days have passed, you can no longer discuss the grade.
You are responsible for keeping all graded work until the end of the semester in case there is any question about grades or whether or not an assignment has been turned in. If you question a grade, or whether your grade has been recorded, you need to be able to provide me with the original, graded assignment.
If you are not doing as well in the course as you had anticipated, please come talk to me so that we can discuss how you might improve your performance on the remaining assignments. Just telling me that you need to make a certain grade doesn’t help—you must do the work to attain the grade. When final grades are submitted at the end of the semester they are indeed final and not up for negotiation. Only errors in grade calculation or record keeping can result in a grade change once grades are submitted.
Student Academic Appeals Process:
Authority and responsibility for assigning grades to students rests with the faculty. However, in those instances where students believe that miscommunication, errors, or unfairness of any kind may have adversely affected the instructor’s assessment of their academic performance, the student has a right to appeal by the procedure listed in the Undergraduate Catalog (pp. 49-51) and by doing so within thirty days of receiving the grade or experiencing any other problematic academic event that prompted the complaint.
American Disabilities Act (ADA)
Students with disabilities who believe they may need an adjustment in this class are encouraged to contact the Office of Disabilities services at (903) 857-2693/2694 as soon as possible. Once you receive a letter of adjustment from the office, please make an appointment with me to discuss appropriate adjustments for this class.
Grades
| Theory Paper | 20% | | 90-100=A | |
| Course Project | 30% | | 80-89=B | |
| Course Project Presentations | 10% | | 70-79=C | |
| Midterm Midterm Exam | 15% | | 60-69=D | |
| Final Exam | 15% | | Below 60=F | |
| Quizzes/In-Class Assignments | 10% | | | |
Class Schedule