Course Syllabus

 

English 201

Fall 2016

Instructor:  Patricia A Mesch, MA

Office hours: MW 2-3 BY APPOINTMENT IN R230

Office Location: R230

Required Textbook and Materials Due by End of First Week:

• Access to a computer that is able to connect to Canvas and Turnitin.com.
• Writing and Revising: A Portable Guide 2^nd Edition(X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, an Marcia F. Muth)
  • ISBN: Check with the BC Bookstore. The publisher keeps changing them.
• For hybrid classes, printed copies of all handouts posted on Canvas.
• For hybrid classes, bringing your laptop to class would be helpful, but is not required.

Campus Phone:  (425) 564-2244 (messages only). Send an e-mail with your message as well.

Class e-mail:  Canvas e-mail tool. Only if Canvas is not working: kpeterso@bellevuecollege.eduAfter completing this class, students should be able to produce:

• An objective summary of college-level material which identifies primary and supporting assertions
• An evaluation of different types of evidence (i.e., tone/diction, logical reasoning)
• A synthesis of source material with own writing
• An original and clearly supported thesis
• Proper in-text citations and works-cited page
• A breadth of varied primary sources which demonstrates a familiarity with library research skills

 

 

Grading

 

 Grades will be based upon:

1. Written Assignments plus 3 short papers and 1 research paper
2. Class Participation on the Discussion Board
3. Pre-writing assignments

GRADES: A = 93% and higher; A- = 90% and higher; B+ = 87% and higher; B = 83% and higher; B- = 80% and higher; C+ = 77% and higher; C = 73% and higher; C- = 70% and higher; D+ = 67% and higher; D = 60% and higher; F = 59% and below

Rubrics and Grading Standards for Assignments

There are two types of rubrics for major essays: argument and informational.

Class participation, both online and on Canvas, and small point assignments (e.g. pre-writing assignments) will be graded according to these standards:

• Does it look like you are trying to learn? Does it look like you put good effort and time into the assignment? Yes = 100% credit
• Does it look like you put some effort and time in, but you didn't put your best effort to learn in? Yes = 70% credit
• Does it look like you put little effort and time in? Does it look like you don't want to learn, but just want to "get this over with"? Yes = 30%
• Failure to submit an assignment = 0%

Rewrites: You may choose to rewrite one (1) written assignment that received a C- or lower grade.  Submit the revision within one week of receiving the graded assignment back. The assignment must have been submitted on time.  The scores will be averaged. No assignment submitted during the last two weeks of the quarter may be rewritten.

Late assignments automatically lose 5 points each day late.

Extra credit is not an option for this course.

Course evaluation: You are required to provide proof that you have completed the online course evaluation (a screenshot of the page showing you have completed the evaluation) before I will grade your final exam. It is extremely important for you to do the evaluation; this is like voting. You need to let me and the campus know how we are doing in meeting your needs.

Honesty and plagiarism are defined in the Student Code of Conduct. They are also defined in the Student Procedures and Expectations for Arts and Humanities Division.

If I believe that you have accidentally plagiarized, I will give your paper a zero and ask you to revise it to correct the accidental plagiarism. If you plagiarize a second time, I will assume the plagiarism is not accidental and give a zero for the assignment. I may also report dishonesty to the Dean of Student Success for further action.

For general information on grading, you may wish to review the College Grading Policy is located at.

Process for Appealing Grades

If you feel that you have been unfairly graded or if there is a mistake in your score you should e-mail me immediately with the following information:

1. What assignment and grade you wish me to review. Most grade appeals are a result of an error I make in entering the score OR an electronic issue with the grading tool. Therefore, most students should expect that I will, upon notification, promptly correct these errors.
2. If the appeal is based upon your belief that the score I gave you is not justified under the grading standards, you should explain why you believe that score is not justified. I will need to know how long you spent doing the assignment, what (if any) help you sought out from the Writing or Reading Labs, and an explanation as to why you did not contact me for assistance (if you were confused) in advance of the due deadline (students who get my help regularly always do well). I will consider your request fully, respectfully, and give you a written response within two business days.
3. If you do not agree with my decision, you are entitled to contact the English department chair. You can get contact information on who the current chair person is by calling (425) 564 -2341.

Values Conflicts

 

Open-minded tolerance for ideas and methods of communication that may offend you or make you feel uncomfortable is necessary for a liberal arts education. Being exposed to these ideas does not mean that you are required to agree with, endorse, or accept these ideas. What is important is that you understand that conflicting opinions are part of the free flow of information and a vital part of the right to free speech that a rich and varied education depends on.

Therefore, if you choose not engage with the required materials, you are still required to do the work of the course to get credit. Contact me immediately to discuss this situation.

Affirmation of Inclusion

 

Bellevue College is committed to maintaining an environment in which every member of the campus community feels welcome to participate in the life of the college, free from harassment and discrimination. We value our different backgrounds at Bellevue College, and students, faculty, staff members, and administrators are to treat one another with dignity and respect.

 

Links for BC Email, Access to MyBC, and Computer Labs

 

All students registered for classes at Bellevue College receive a network and e-mail account.  Your student network account can be used to access your student e-mail, log in to computers in labs and classrooms, connect to the BC wireless network, and log in to MyBC. To create your account, go to NetID Management. BC offers a wide variety of computer and learning labs to enhance learning and student success. Find current campus locations for all student labs by visiting the Technology Helpdesk .

 

Disability Resource Center and Autism Spectrum Navigator Program

 

The Disability Resource Center serves students with learning challenges and disabilities. If you have a documented disability or learning challenge, or if you have seen someone for treatment, and feel you may need accommodations to be successful in college, contact us. 

The DRC office is located in B132 or you can call our reception desk at 425.564.2498. Deaf students can reach us by video phone at 425-440-2025 or by TTY at 425-564-4110. Visit our website for application information into our program and other helpful links.

The Autism Spectrum Navigator Program serves students with documented autism spectrum disorders. We are located in the Library Media Center in D125, or you can call our reception desk at 425.564.2764 or e-mail us at asn@bellevuecollege.edu. Deaf students can reach us by video phone at (425) 440-2025 to by TTY at (425) 564-4110. For more information, visit our website.

 

Building Evacuation Assistance: If you require assistance in case of an emergency situation (fire, earthquake, etc.), ask your individual instructors to develop a safety plan within the first week of the quarter.

 

Public Safety and Emergencies

 

Public Safety is located in the K building and can be reached at 425-564-2400. You should call us if you have safety questions or concerns at any time. We provide:

• Parking Permits
• Lost and Found
• Emergency Notification
• After dark escort services

 

Emergency Notification System - Sign up to receive alerts through our campus alerting system by registering at the RAV ALERT Notification System.

 

What Students Can Do to Help During an Emergency

Familiarize yourself with the emergency reminder sheets posted by the door of every classroom, so you know where to go in the event of an evacuation.  After a building evacuation, your instructor will be asked to account for students, so it is important for you to check in with your instructor after an evacuation. The reason for this is that emergency responders will search for anyone unaccounted for.

If a major emergency occurs, follow these two rules:

1) Take directions from those in charge of the response.

2) Do not get in your car and leave campus (unless directed to). Doing so will clog streets and prevent emergency vehicles from entering the scene.

 

 

After Dark Escort - If you are on campus during dark hours or are uneasy about going to your car, Public Safety will escort you to your vehicle. To coordinate this, phone ahead and let Public Safety know when and where you need an escort.

 

 

Confidentiality and Mandatory Reporting

As an instructor, one of my responsibilities is to help create a safe learning environment on our campus. It is my goal that you feel able to share information related to your life experiences in classroom discussions, in your written work, and in our one-on-one meetings. I will seek to keep information you share private to the greatest extent possible. However, I am required to share information regarding sexual assault and other forms of sexual misconduct (e.g. dating violence, domestic violence, stalking) that may have occurred on campus or that may impact someone on campus with the Title IX Coordinator. Students may speak to someone confidentially by contacting the BC Counseling Center at (425) 564-2212. The Title IX Office can be contacted at 425-564-2441 and more information can be found at www.bellevuecollege.edu/titleix/.

 

 STUDENT PROCEDURES AND EXPECTATIONS  Arts and Humanities Division
 
Students in all Arts and Humanities courses should be aware of the following:
 
1. ATTENDANCE EXPECTATIONS FOR HYBRID AND IN-PERSON CLASSES:
Students are expected to attend all scheduled class meetings whenever possible. While attendance requirements are up to individual faculty members in the Arts & Humanities Division, active participation and regular attendance are essential to students’ success.  
Unless students have accommodations regarding attendance that have been approved through the Disability Resource Center, they should not be absent more than 20% of the total class time scheduled. When absences go beyond 20%, instructors’ policies may result in one of the following:
 Students may earn a grade of "F" for the course.  Students may earn a lower final grade.
Students should carefully review each instructor’s syllabus to make sure they understand the attendance policy and the consequences for missing class. In some classes, even a small number of absences (less than 20%) can affect students’ grades, undermine their progress, and make it difficult to catch up. In cases of legitimate hardship, students may also request that instructors grant a “HW” (hardship withdrawal), which is a non-credit grade.  
Students with accommodations regarding attendance must actively communicate with the instructor (and consult with the DRC) about each absence to determine if the accommodation applies. 
PARTICIPATION IN ONLINE COURSES:
Students taking online courses should carefully review each instructor’s syllabus regarding expectations for course participation.  Most online courses require regular, meaningful participation from students, starting on the first day of each quarter.  
2.  DROPPING A COURSE: If you decide to drop a course, you are responsible for doing the required paperwork at the Student Services Center. Should you fail to do so, your name will appear on the final roster and your instructor will be required to assign a grade for you—in most cases, that will be an "F." Many instructors, in fact, feel strongly that students who take up seats in this unproductive way are keeping more serious students from getting an education, so they use "F" grades for "phantoms."
 
3. CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT: The college's "Affirmation of Inclusion” is posted in each classroom and sets forth the expectation that we will all treat one another with respect and dignity regardless of whether or not we agree philosophically. This expectation is in line with the principle of free speech in a free society: we have the right to express unpopular ideas as long as we don't show disrespect for reasonable people who might believe otherwise. In an on-line course, you will be expressing ideas through the medium of the course site rather than face to face in the classroom. In that case, these expectations refer to the courtesy with which you communicate with one another through e-mails and e-discussions.
Part of this respect involves professional behavior toward the instructor, colleagues, and the class itself. Disruptive behavior is disrespectful behavior. The Arts and Humanities Division honors the right of its faculty to define "disruptive behavior," which often involves such things as arriving late, leaving early, leaving class and then returning, talking while others are trying to hear the instructor or their group members, doing other homework in class, wearing earphones in class, bringing activated beepers, alarm watches, or cellular phones into class, inappropriate comments or gestures, etc. In on-line courses, “flaming’ anyone in the class is also considered disruptive behavior. Such behavior interrupts the educational process. When you are in doubt about any behavior, consult your instructor during office hours: we recognize the judgment of the instructor as the final authority in these matters. When disruptive behavior occurs, instructors will speak to or e-mail the students concerned. Those students are then responsible for ending the disruptions at once. Failure to do so may result in removal of the students from class.
 
4. VALUES CONFLICTS:  Essential to a liberal arts education is an open-minded tolerance for ideas and modes of expression which might conflict with one’s personal values. By being exposed to such ideas or expressions, students are not expected to endorse or adopt them but rather to understand that they are part of the free flow of information upon which higher education depends.
 
TO THIS END, you may find that class requirements may include engaging certain materials, such as books, films, and art work, which may, in whole or in part, offend you. These materials are equivalent to required texts and are essential to the course content. If you decline to engage the required material by not reading, viewing, or performing material you consider offensive, you will still be required to meet class requirements in order to earn credit. This may require responding to the content of the material, and you may not be able to fully participate in required class discussions, exams, or assignments. Consult the syllabus and discuss such issues with the instructor.
 
5.  ACADEMIC HONESTY: The principle of academic honesty underlies all that we do and applies to all courses at Bellevue College. One kind of academic dishonesty is plagiarism, which may take many forms, including, but not limited to, using a paper written by someone else, using printed sources word-for-word without proper documentation, and paraphrasing or summarizing the ideas of others without acknowledging the source. Plagiarism can also occur when non-written ideas are taken without documentation--using someone else's design or performance idea, for example. In short, plagiarism is passing off someone else's ideas, words, or images as your own; it amounts to intellectual theft--whether or not it was your intention to steal. Bellevue College instructors have access to commercial plagiarism detection software, so please be advised that any work you submit may be tested for plagiarism.
 
Participating in academic dishonesty in any way, including writing a paper or taking a test for someone else, may result in severe penalties. Dishonestly produced papers automatically receive a grade of "F" without the possibility of make-up. The Dean of Student Services will also be notified of such conduct, and repetition of the behavior will result in progressively more serious disciplinary action (for example, an instructor may recommend that the student fail the course for a second offense or even that a student be expelled for a serious offense, such as stealing an exam). Grades lowered for plagiarism or other forms of dishonesty may be appealed through the regular channels, and any further disciplinary action taken by the Dean may also be appealed through existing processes.
 
STUDENTS IN ENGLISH 201 should note that documentation is a major objective of that course, so failure to scrupulously document supporting material in your papers may result in a failing grade for that entire course. Students in all courses requiring research papers should also note that matters of documentation form go beyond editing; they are closely related to the content of the paper. Improper form in research papers is grounds for failing the paper. Individual instructors will clarify documentation requirements for specific assignments. If you have any doubts as to whether you are documenting properly, do not hesitate to consult your instructor.
 
6.  READING LEVEL: Reading skills are absolutely essential for your success in any college program. The following reading levels are recommended for our courses.
 
most 100 level courses: high developmental , or college level 200 level courses: 106 or college level Our experience shows that students reading three levels below the level of a course text can expect to fail the course. 
7.  WRITING LEVEL Writing skills are equally essential for your success in any college program. The following writing levels are recommended for our courses.
 
most 100 level courses: ENGL& 101 placement 200 level courses: ENGL& 101 completion
 
Our experience shows that students writing below the level of a course text can expect to work much harder than prepared students and may even still perform poorly on exams and papers.
 
8.  THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES: It is important to attend classes from the very beginning. If you cannot do so, you are responsible for notifying your instructor. Your instructor is in no way responsible for re-teaching material that you missed because of your failure to attend the first classes. Indeed, missing crucial introductory material may affect your performance during the remainder of the course.
 
9.  CLASSROOM MATERIALS: Students are responsible for consulting the course syllabus daily and bringing to class the appropriate texts and materials. Failure to do so does not constitute an exception from the daily work.
 
10.  LATE WORK: Individual instructors make their own rules on accepting or grading late work. The Arts and Humanities Division believes strongly that honoring deadlines is essential for student success. Consult your instructor regarding any late work. In general, late work may be a) downgraded as severely as the instructor chooses, b) given no credit, but still be required for passing the course, or c) not accepted at all. The extent to which late work affects grades is up to the instructor. Instructors may also elect not to give feedback to works in progress if required drafts or plans are not turned in on time.
 
Failure to attend class on the day a paper is due does not constitute an excuse for lateness. Similarly, missing an exam does not oblige the instructor to give a make-up. Your instructors will inform you about their individual penalties for late papers and missed exams.
 
All lateness or absence on due days or exam days should be arranged with the instructor well in advance.
 
11.  AUDITING: Auditing a course does not excuse students from doing the work of the course. All auditors need to meet with the instructor during the first week to sign a contract specifying the level of participation that is expected.
 
12.  WAITING LISTS: Bellevue College uses an automated waitlist process that offers students a fair and consistent method of being enrolled in a full class if openings occur. If a class is full, you can choose to be put on the waitlist; you will automatically be enrolled in the class when a space becomes available and you are first on the list. Students move up on the list as others are enrolled. It is your responsibility to check your schedule daily to find out if you have been enrolled into the class.
After the open enrollment period ends, instructors may admit students using blue “Special Permit to Enroll” cards, at their sole discretion.  
13.  RETAINING STUDENT WORK: Your instructor is free to destroy any student work not picked up during the first week of the quarter immediately after your course was offered. If you want work held longer for pick up, you must make arrangements in advance with your instructor.
 
14.  STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY: Instructors may, at their discretion, agree to accept student work that is submitted in various ways, including in person, to the division office, or via e-mail. It is the student’s responsibility to verify that all assignments are actually received by the instructor, whether they are submitted in person or electronically.
 
It is the student's responsibility, not the instructor's, to initiate communication about progress or concerns with the course. Instructors are under no obligation to inform students that work is overdue, to nag students to complete assignments, or to call students who fail to attend class. Similarly, students need to keep themselves informed about syllabus changes that may have been made in class. We suggest finding a partner the first week of classes and keeping each other up to date if one is absent.
 
15. STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:
 
Please click here to see information at the Disability Resource Center web site
 
16. STUDENTS OBSERVING RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS:  Students who expect to miss classes, examinations, or any other assignments as a consequence of their religious observance should be provided with a reasonable alternative opportunity to complete such academic responsibilities. It is the obligation of students to provide faculty with reasonable notice of the dates of religious holidays on which they will be absent, preferably at the
beginning of the term. Students who are absent on days of examinations or class assignments should be offered an opportunity to make up the work without penalty (if they have previously arranged to be absent), unless it can be demonstrated that a makeup opportunity would constitute an unreasonable burden on a member of the faculty. Should disagreement arise over what constitutes an unreasonable burden or any element of this policy, parties involved should consult the department chair, or Dean.
 
 
 
 
 
revised: March 22, 2016  
 

Final Exam Schedule

 

We have no final exam. If you wish to find out when finals are scheduled, go to the Finals Schedule.

Academic Calendars

 

The Bellevue College Academic Calendar is separated into two calendars. They provide information about holidays, closures and important enrollment dates such as the finals schedule.

• Enrollment Calendar - On this calendar you will find admissions and registration dates and important dates for withdrawing and receiving tuition refunds.
• College Calendar - This calendar gives you the year at a glance and includes college holidays, scheduled closures, quarter end and start dates, and final exam dates