This information is related to my undergraduate courses. I suggest you review it carefully before your course begins. Policies related to my graduate courses are either included in, or linked from, course specific syllabi.
Performance
I describe my expectations for your performance in my classes in the Deliverables and Engagement pages of this site. If you have not reviewed them yet, please take a moment and review them before proceeding with this section.
I have very high expectations for performance for my students. I expect that you will bring your best efforts to all of your interactions with your classmates, our course and with me. I presume that you are attending college, and our course, because you are interested in your future success.
You are constructing the platform on which you will build your professional, and personal, lives. That should be sufficient incentive to encourage you to invest in the learning environment we are developing, and those involved in that learning environment, to the fullest extent possible.
Please approach this experience accordingly.
Deliverables
All of my deliverables have hard deadlines. If you miss a deadline you will receive no credit for that assignment. The excuse of “my dog ate my homework” or its 21st century equivalent “my computer crashed” are not acceptable. “I forgot” or “I didn’t calendar the deliverable” or “I didn’t set a reminder” or “I had other assignments due” do not work for me … nor will they work for you.
It is important that you provide your analysis of the issues presented by any deliverable … whether that is a discussion board, journal post, blog comment or POV. Simply regurgitating the content of the question or article is not acceptable … think back to your first book report in elementary school … since I already know what happened in the book you do not really need to tell me again. It is infinitely more important that you demonstrate your understanding of the issues presented and their relevance in context.
My assessment of your submissions will also be based upon the extent to which you meet the minimum requirements of the deliverable. Most deliverables will be described with minimum word and source counts. Page counts are irrelevant when working in digital platforms so the minimum word and source counts will provide you with an expectation framework. You can improve your prospects for a strong outcome by exceeding the minimum requirements of the assignment. And remember that simply meeting the minimum requirements will result in an average grade.
OMG … Technophobia!!!
PLEASE do not tell me that you “are not a technology person” … we are clearly past the point where a lack of familiarity with technology is a good idea. Since 
we rely on these devices and platforms you should be certain that your mobile device is connected to your SHU email and calendar accounts as well as Slack, Skype and the Google application suite.
This site and Blackboard are not optimized to play well with Internet Explorer. I suggest that you use either Firefox or Chrome as your browser.
That said, mine are not IT courses … they are courses that examine different areas of law. It happens that we will use a variety of different technology platforms to support our work … much the same as you will in your personal and professional lives.
I may be able to assist you with a hardware or software issue. However, it is your responsibility to be sure that both are in good working order. Be certain that your computer’s operating system, browser(s) and the variety of software installed is up-to-date, If something isn’t working … get it fixed … in a timely manner. That’s why we have PC Support Services and a Help Desk.
You are responsible for “figuring it out” when it comes to the “how to” aspects of a project. If you don’t know how to do something … “Google it!”
In fact, many of my past students have told me that mastering the art of “figuring it out” was both an unexpected and beneficial experience and a critical learning outcome in my courses.
Grading
Remember, as I noted above, that I have very high expectations for performance for my students. I expect that you will bring your best efforts to all of your interactions with your classmates, our course and with me. That will require you to do your best work in our course.
As I note in the Deliverables page, my assessment of your submissions will be based upon the extent to which you meet the deliverable’s minimum requirements as to content and form. You can improve your prospects for a strong outcome by exceeding the minimum requirements for that deliverable, i.e., expanding the scope of your content and analysis, including addressing potential ethics issues, of the question posed, broadening the scope of the sources used to support that content and analysis, and meeting the form requirements outlined above.
It is important to remember, though, that if you simply meet the minimum requirements the result will be an average grade.
If you fail to participate at all, or do not meet the deliverable’s deadline, you will receive zero points and a grade of “F” for that deliverable. If you only partially meet the deliverable’s requirements you will earn a maximum grade of “D”. If you meet the deliverable’s requirements your submission will be evaluated and assigned a grade subject to the Grade Ranges described below.
I generally do not accept late submissions for credit unless you have experienced a real emergency. I will consider your reasons for missing a deadline if you submit them for my consideration in a timely manner via a Slack DM. That said, a real emergency does not arise if you miss the assignment or deadline because you did not calendar it, or you experienced a conflict that was avoidable or you simply forgot the deadline.
Grade Ranges
This table describes the range of points assigned to a particular grade.
Ranges |
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A |
95% – 100% | C+ |
77% – 79.9% |
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A- |
90% – 94.9% | C |
73% – 76.9% |
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B+ |
87% – 89.9% | C- | 70% – 72.9% |
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B |
83% – 86.9% | D+ |
65% – 69.9% |
| B- | 80% – 83.9% | D |
60% – 64.9% |
| F |
< 59.9% |
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