Course Expectations

Tips for Success

The following expectations will help you be successful in this course. Please carefully review these expectations and follow them.

1. You should have regular access to the internet and plan on logging into the course at least twice each week, or students should plan on at least five hours’ worth of homework each week. 
2. Keep up with the weekly readings and assignments. Students who keep up with the weekly reading and assignments tend to do much better in an online course than those who do not.
3. Please do not miss an assignment deadline. Refer to the course schedule/calendar to ensure that you submit assignments on time.
4. Remember that academic integrity will be appraised according to the student academic behavior standards outlined in The Golden Rule of the University of Central Florida’s Student Handbook.

 

Notifications

Each semester, review your Notification settings to make sure you receive course information in a timely manner. Use this notification guide to make adjustments. I will be posting weekly announcements to inform you of upcoming course content and assignment deadlines. 

 

Instructor Communication

We don't meet face-to-face in this course, but I am available at anytime to help if you encounter issues with any materials or navigating the online course. Please contact me at (amyerson@knights.ucf.edu). You may also contact me via the Conversation tool here in Webcourses (located in the "Inbox" icon). Please keep in mind that if you post a comment on an assignment, I will not see it immediately, so you may want to just send me a message instead.

It is each student's responsibility to reach out to me if expectations or instructions in this course are unclear. I cannot help if I don’t know you need it!

PLEASE NOTE: I won’t talk to any of you about our class on social media or through non-Knightsmail emails, as it violates your right to privacy as a UCF student. Be advised that it is also against the law for me to speak to your parents, family members, roommate, best friend, etc. about the status of your grades in this course.

My online office hours for Spring 2022 are Monday to Wednesday 10am to 3pm by appointment only. If you need to make an appointment outside these times, please notify me.

 

Conversations

Conversations will be an integral part of this course. Make sure you:

1. Check your inbox at least twice per week (more often is better).
2. Be patient. Don’t expect an immediate response when you send a message. Generally, two days is considered reasonable amount of time to receive a reply.
3. Be courteous and considerate. Being honest and expressing yourself freely is very important but being considerate of others online is just as important as in the classroom.
4. Make every effort to be clear. Online communication lacks the nonverbal cues that fill in much of the meaning in face-to-face communication.
5. Do not use all caps. This makes the message very hard to read and is considered "shouting." Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation (you may want to compose in a word processor, then cut and paste the message into the discussion or message).
6. Break up large blocks of text into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs.

 

Interaction Guidelines

Many of the "rules of the road" that apply to conversations also apply to the use of interactive tools used in this course. Use the following conventions when interacting with the instructor and fellow students:

1. If you want to send a personal message to the instructor or to another student, use conversations rather than the discussions or assignment comments.
2. Be patient. Don’t expect an immediate response when you post to a discussion.
3. Respect each other’s ideas, feelings and experience.
4. Be courteous and considerate. It is important to be honest and to express yourself freely, but being considerate of others is just as important and expected online, as it is in the classroom.
5. Explore disagreements and support assertions with data and evidence.
6. Be sure to post discussions in the appropriate discussion topic.
7. Do not use postings such as "I agree," "I don’t know either," "Who cares," or "ditto." They do not add to the discussion, take up space on the Discussions, and will not be counted for assignment credit.
8. Avoid posting large blocks of text. If you must, break them into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs.
9. During a discussion assignment, deadlines for posting to and replying will be specified with each assignment. It is a good practice to always check the discussions tool multiple times during the week.

 

Participation

You are expected to participate weekly by reading module materials, reading assigned textbook pages, watching the films and completing assignments.  Don't get behind. Pay attention to due dates.

Participation & Make-up Policies

This will be a challenging course and to do well, you must participate every week, reading module materials, reading the textbooks, watching the films, and completing assignments. Don't get behind. Pay attention to due dates. Assignments will remain open to accommodate students dealing with pandemic-related setbacks. Please do not abuse this safety net!

 

Content Warning

Some of the films that will be screened and discussed may express adult or controversial themes, violence, nudity and strong language that some may find offensive. Content warnings will be provided when necessary. If I fail to warn you about anything offensive in a film, please know it was not my intention and I welcome the feedback to do better!

 

Academic Honesty/Golden Rule

I assume all students will be courteous to me and to their fellow students. In this course all students will abide by any and all of the rules as outlined in the Golden Rule. These include but are not limited to:

 

 

Disregarding these expectations may result in a reduction of your grade at the instructor's discretion. See link for more information: The UCF Golden Rule

 

Alternative Access

The University of Central Florida is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with disabilities. This syllabus is available in alternate formats upon request. Students who need accommodations must be registered with Student Accessibility Services, Ferrell Commons Room 185, phone (407) 823-2371, TTY/ TDD only phone (407) 823-2116, before requesting accommodations from the professor.

 

UCF Cares

During your UCF career, you may experience challenges including struggles with academics, finances, or your personal well-being. UCF has a multitude of resources available to all students.

Please visit UCFCares.com Links to an external site. if you are seeking resources and support, or if you are worried about a friend or classmate. Free services and information are included for a variety of student concerns, including but not limited to alcohol use, bias incidents, mental health concerns, and financial challenges.

You can also e-mail ucfcares@ucf.edu with questions or for additional assistance.

You can reach a UCF Cares staff member between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. by calling 407-823-5607.

If you are in immediate distress, please call Counseling and Psychological Services to speak directly with a counselor 24/7 at 407-823-2811, or please call 911.

 

Deployed Active Duty Military Students

If you are a deployed active duty military student and feel that you may need a special accommodation due to that unique status, please contact your instructor to discuss your circumstances.

 

Religious Observances

Students are expected to notify their instructor in advance if they intend to miss a deadline to observe a holy day of their religious faith. If an assignment has been available for a period of time prior to the holiday, students are expected to work early in anticipation of their religious observances.

 

Campus Safety Statement

Though most emergency situations are primarily relevant to courses that meet in person, such incidents can also impact online students, either when they are on or near campus to participate in other courses or activities or when their course work is affected by off-campus emergencies. The following policies apply to courses in online modalities.

To stay informed about emergency situations, students can sign up to receive UCF text alerts by going to MyUCF and logging in. Click on “Student Self Service” > scroll down to “Personal Information” > click on “UCF Alert”, fill out the information, including e-mail address, cell phone number, and cell phone provider, click “Apply” to save the changes, and then click “OK.”

 

Viruses and Redundancy

A virus can spell disaster. Your use of a reputable anti-virus program is a requirement for participation in this course. AVG is a great, free antivirus program. Malwarebytes is a great anti-malware program.

Back up your files using OneDrive in Office365. Technical issues can and will happen. These problems do occur and are really inconvenient; however, they are not a valid excuse for failing to get your work in on time. Store your documents using OneDrive to minimize the impact of such events.

 

Technical Resources

• Webcourses@UCF Support: Technical support for students taking online courses at UCF.
• Knights Online: Resources specific for online students including Webcourses@UCF tutorials.

 

Spring 2022 UCF COVID POLICIES

 

University-Wide Face Covering Policy for Common Spaces and Face-to-Face Classes

With the highly transmissible Delta variant present in Central Florida, we expect that that all members of our campus community will get vaccinated and we expect that you will wear a mask indoors in accordance with the latest CDC guidelines Links to an external site.. UCF expects all students, faculty and staff members, and visitors to follow CDC guidelines on our campuses and everywhere you go. It is on each of us to take the personal precautions necessary to protect our campus community.

Notifications in Case of Changes to Course Modality

Depending on the course of the pandemic during the semester, the university may make changes to the way classes are offered. If that happens, please look for announcements or messages in Webcourses@UCF or Knights email about changes specific to this course.

 

COVID-19 and Illness Notification

Students who believe they may have a COVID-19 diagnosis should contact UCF Student Health Services (407-823-2509) so proper contact tracing procedures can take place.

Students should not come to campus if they are ill, are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, have tested positive for COVID, or if anyone living in their residence has tested positive or is sick with COVID-19 symptoms. CDC guidance for COVID-19 symptoms is located here: (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html Links to an external site.)

Students should contact their instructor(s) as soon as possible if they miss class for any illness reason to discuss reasonable adjustments that might need to be made. When possible, students should contact their instructor(s) before missing class.

 

In Case of Faculty Illness

If the instructor falls ill during the semester, there may be changes to this course, including having a backup instructor take over the course. Please look for announcements or mail in Webcourses@UCF or Knights email for any alterations to this course.

 

Course Accessibility and Disability COVID-19 Statement

Accommodations may need to be added or adjusted should this course shift from an on-campus to a remote format. Students with disabilities should speak with their instructor and should contact sas@ucf.edu to discuss specific accommodations for this or other courses.