Policies
Attendance
Each student is allowed two absences without penalty. Consider these your “sick days.” These days are yours to use as you wish, but be aware that you are responsible for any information that you miss. After two absences, your final grade will be reduced one third letter grade for each absence. For example, If your final grade is an “A” and you have three absences (one over the limit) your final grade will be an “A minus”; if you have four absences, your final grade will be “B plus,” etc.
Exceptions to the above attendance policy will be made in emergency cases. That is, in cases of a death in the family or severe illness, etc. In such cases, students should contact me as soon as possible to determine a plan for completing missed course work.
Academic Integrity
Be aware that the following constitutes plagiarism and is grounds for failure of this class and disciplinary action by the university: submitting someone else’s paper as your own; using a phrase without acknowledging its source; using a source without citing it correctly; “padding” a bibliography by making up sources or citing a source you didn’t use in your research. Please see the student handbook section on Academic Integrity for further details. In cases of suspected academic dishonesty, all instructors at CSU are required to forward documentary evidence to the Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct Services. The Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct Services will ensure due process and advise instructors regarding appropriate disposition of the case.
The composing of multimodal and digital texts presents special challenges in determining what is plagiarism. For example, if a student obtains a photograph taken by another photographer and alters it in Photoshop in order to use it in a poster or web site of the student’s own design, how should the student properly give credit to the original photographer? We will discuss these issues extensively in class. If you are ever unsure of how to properly cite a source please see me for advice. It is possible to plagiarize unknowingly, so it is part of the goals of this course to discuss how to cite sources in multimodal compositions.
Accommodations
Any student eligible for academic adjustments because of a learning disability or medical condition should contact the Office of Resources for Disabled Students for development of appropriate accommodations. I can only make accommodations after receiving appropriate documentation from the Office of Resources for Disabled Students.