Southern California Campus Policies and Procedures

This information is to be included in your classroom syllabus.

All information (except in orange font) provided in this template must be included in your

final course syllabus.  The information in the orange font indicates faculty instructions. 

Please provide the required information in black font and then delete all information

shown in orange.

AVAILABILITY:     State when you are available.  Note, the instructor is required to be available for the student to contact the faculty at a reasonable time between workshops. We suggest that you put in a statement similar to “I will respond to all voice/emails within 24 to 48 hours.

ATTENDANCE:       Attendance policy is set by the University.  The University of Phoenix’s teaching/learning model includes mandatory class attendance.  The instructor intends to strictly enforce the University’s policy.   Remember that individual participation is required of each student for the successful completion of this course to demonstrate familiarity with the assignments and the ability to transfer theory into practice.   ABSENCE FROM CLASS WILL HAVE A PROFOUND NEGATIVE EFFECT ON YOUR GRADE.  The table shown below, details the University of Phoenix policy regarding absences versus the number of workshops in the class.

                                    We highly recommend that each faculty use 5 points per workshop for participation.

LEARNING

TEAMS:                     Learning Teams are an essential part of the academic experience for students and Learning Team members need to make the necessary commitment to working together to meet the criteria for Learning Team Assignments.  In addition to providing supplemental learning environment for mastery of course content, learning teams provide students with an opportunity to develop and refine teamwork skills.  Learning Teams are comprised of three to five students and will meet weekly outside of class times in person, via teleconference, real-time electronic conferencing, or asynchronous conferencing.  Team grades will be awarded for Learning Team assignments. 

                                    Each week, starting in Workshop Two, each Learning Team must complete a Learning Team Log to be turned in to the faculty member. Teams are still expected to spend between 4.5 – 5.5 hours per week outside of class.

                                    Students are still required to complete a Learning Team Log for each week to document the Learning Team meetings, whether held face-to-face or electronically. Students must turn in the logs to the faculty member.

PARTICIPATION:  Participation in all workshops is required.  An absence for whatever reason will result in the loss of the participation points for participation that night.  If a student is absent, he/she does not gain the benefit of class involvement and is not contributing to the learning of other students in the class.  They will, however, make up all written work for the class missed.

PARTICIPATION    

GRADING                

CRITERIA:               Participation is graded on individual and group contributions to class discussions. The vast majority of managers' interactions with others are oral. They generally spend very little time reading and even less time writing reports. For this reason, the development of oral skills is given a high priority in this course. The classroom should be considered a laboratory in which a student can test their ability to convince their peers of the correctness of their approach.

Some of the characteristics of effective class participation are:

1.      Are the points that are made relevant to the discussion in terms of increasing everyone's understanding, or are they merely regurgitation of case facts?

2.      Do your comments take into consideration the ideas offered by others earlier in the class, or are the points isolated and disjointed?  The best contributions following the lead off tend to be those, which reflect, not only excellent preparation, but good listening, and interpretative and integrative skills as well.

3.      Do your comments show evidence of a thorough reading and analysis of the case?

4.      Does the participant distinguish among different kinds of data; that is, facts, opinions, assumptions, and inferences?

5.      Is there a willingness to test new ideas or are all comments cautious/"safe"?

6.      Is the participant willing to interact with other class members by asking questions or challenging conclusions?

Note:  The method listed below is a way of “calibrating” class participation.  Each syllabus must have some form of explanation of what participation means to you as an instructor. 

Outstanding Contributor:  Contributions in class reflect thorough preparation.  Ideas offered are usually substantive, provide one or more major insights, as well as, direction for the class.  Arguments, when offered, are well substantiated and persuasively presented.  If this person were not a member of the class, the quality of the discussions would be diminished significantly.

Good Contributor:  Contributions in class reflect thorough preparation.  Ideas offered are usually substantive, provide good insights and sometimes direction for the class discussion.  Arguments, when presented, are, generally, well substantiated and are often persuasive.  If this person were not a member of the class, the quality of the discussion would be diminished considerably.

Adequate Contributor:  Contributions in class reflect satisfactory preparation.  Ideas offered are sometimes substantive, provide generally useful insights, but seldom offer a major new direction for the discussion.  Arguments are sometimes presented, and are fairly well substantiated and sometimes persuasive.  If this person were not a member of the class, the quality of the discussions would be diminished somewhat.

Non-participant:  This person has said little or nothing in this workshop or class.  Hence, there is no adequate basis for evaluation.  If this person were not a member of the class, the quality of the discussions would not be changed. 

Unsatisfactory Contributor:  Contribution in class reflects inadequate or non-existent preparation.  Ideas offered are seldom substantive; provide few, if any, insights; and rarely provide a constructive direction for the class discussion.  Integrative comments and effective arguments are completely absent.  Class contributions are, at best, “time fillers” efforts to make isolated, obvious, or confusing points.  If this person were not a member of the class, valuable class time would be saved.

Example of things that cause one not to earn the full amount of participation points:

Doing homework in class

Not reading assigned material

Being disruptive

Arriving late, leaving early

Cell phone/pagers going off during class

CELL PHONES

AND PAGERS:        Out of consideration for others, please turn your cell phone and pagers to the silent mode.   If they do not have a silent or vibratory mode, please turn them off.   These items tend to distract the other students when they ring during class discussions or learning team activities.

USE OF LAPTOP     

COMPUTERS

IN THE

CLASSROOM:         University of Phoenix encourages students to use their laptops computers in our Learning Centers for classroom research support.  However, laptop computers should only be used in the classroom with the permission of the instructor.

LATE ARRIVAL

EARLY

DEPARTURE:          Late arrival and early departure may constitute loss of participation points at the discretion of the instructor.

COURSE

STANDARDS:          The Teaching/Learning Model used at the University of Phoenix is based on the assumption that in preparation for every course, students will satisfy all prerequisites.  During the course itself, students will achieve certain learning outcomes.  All performance assessment will depend upon the accomplishment of these outcomes.  Students are graded on achievement rather than effort.  It is the responsibility of the student to be prepared for each workshop. 

                                    The University trusts each student to maintain high standards of honesty, ethical behavior, and academic integrity.  It is assumed that students will perform professionally in preparing work required for this class.  All assignments submitted in fulfillment of course requirements must be the student’s own work.  All assignments, except those designated as “group,” are meant to represent the effort of each individual student.  Group projects and assignments should represent equal efforts by all group members.  While the University’s Teaching/Learning Model emphasizes the sharing of professional experiences in the context of analyzing relevant course materials, it is against the policy of the University of Phoenix for students or faculty members to share information in class about present or past employers that would be considered proprietary, confidential, company sensitive, or a trade secret.

PLAGIARISM:         PLAGIARISM POLICY, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CAMPUS

Plagiarism or academic dishonesty, whether accidental or deliberate, is a serious violation of the Student Code of Conduct. The faculty member has the option of using classroom sanctions or elevating the case to campus level. Students are advised that written assignments may be submitted by the faculty member to an online plagiarism detection service.

It is plagiarism to go to the Internet, find an article, copy it to the clipboard and then drop it into your word processor.  Listing the article as a reference on the last page will not cover you.  This is plagiarism.

There are a few things that you can do that will help you to avoid being charged with academic dishonesty. Please note the following: 

1)      Anytime that you use the words or ideas of another person without giving credit, it  is considered plagiarism, WHETHER YOUR ACTIONS ARE INTENTIONAL OR NOT!

2)      Differences between direct and indirect quotes:

a)      Direct Quotes: Includes the exact wording from the source.

b)      Indirect Quotes: Summarizes or paraphrases the content from the source.

3)      APA in-text requirements:

a)      Direct Quote: Author’s last name, publication date, and page number.

b)      Indirect Quote: Author’s last name, publication date.

4)      Punctuation requirements:  ALL word-for-word quotations MUST be placed in quotation marks.

5)      Exception to the rule:  Common Knowledge – if the same information can be found in three or more sources and those sources do not cite an earlier source, the information is considered common knowledge.  Also, commonly known facts  (e.g., Washington, D.C. is the capital of the U.S.) do not need a citation, even if you had to look them up. When in doubt, CITE.

 

Avoiding Plagiarism

It is highly recommended that each student complete the Avoiding Plagiarism tutorial located at the University of Phoenix Student and Faculty website (http://mycampus.phoenix.edu). Look under tutorials in the lower left hand corner. 

WRITTEN WORK: Students are encouraged to use the Plagiarism Checker at the Center for Writing Excellence to check each written paper before submitting it to the instructor. All papers are to be typed, spell‑checked and grammar checked, well written with a logical flow of thought. Submit double‑spaced with 1" margins, and prepared in the APA format found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Papers should be in 12-pitch font, using a serifed font such as Courier or Times Roman.  Indent paragraphs five spaces to indicate a new paragraph.  Please include a title page on all papers.  Although numbered, the title page does not count toward the required number of content pages.

Students should submit all written work to Write Point in the Center for Writing Excellence, and make corrections, before submitting it for a grade. Please staple your papers together in the upper left hand corner.  Do not put them into a folder, binder, or plastic cover. 

The official writing guide for the University of Phoenix is the Gregg Reference Manual. To accommodate faculty and students in making APA more user friendly, a highly useful 21 page complementary document has been prepared for ease in learning and applying the APA style.  This document is titled, APA Style Quick Reference Guide (undated but released on March 1, 2000).  Accompanying the APA Style Quick Reference Guide are two other useful tools: APA Grading Tool and APA Sample Paper.  Students may download each of these three invaluable resources from the mycampus student web site.

The choice of an abstract or executive summary requirement for business reports, major projects, or research papers is at the discretion of the faculty.  However, a short paper, one or two-page assignment should not normally require an abstract or executive summary.  It is up to the instructor to define the format in the syllabus following the APA guidelines.

LATE WORK:          Note: Some instructors have a more stringent late policy and that is fine.  The above “25%” shown below is just an example.

                                    Late work will not earn the full points possible.  Work turned in up to one week late will earn 25 percent less per week.  For example, an assignment worth 20 points maximum that is turned in one week late will earn only 15 points maximum; two weeks late will only earn 10 points, etc.  ALL work MUST be turned in by the last workshop to earn any points.   In addition, the instructor reserves the right to reduce the student’s grade one full letter grade if the course is not completed by the originally scheduled end date.

INCOMPLETE:        An Incomplete will be considered only if the request for an Incomplete is submitted before the end date and all assignments from a minimum of three workshops are completed with a passing grade prior to the course end date. Incompletes are given at the discretion of the faculty member.

University of Phoenix policy on Incompletes states, “If a student is granted an Incomplete grade, the student’s final grade will be reduced one full letter grade by the faculty member, regardless of the circumstances under which the Incomplete was granted.”

 STUDENT

ASSIGNMENTS       In order to receive graded final workshop written assignment(s) the student is responsible for providing the faculty member with a self-addressed envelope. Envelopes are provided free of charge in the SRC.  The University will pay postage to mail back to the student the envelope with the assignment feedback and assignment points.  Students must provide their own envelopes in all off-site (non learning center) locations.  Postage will be paid by the University.  The faculty member will deliver the envelope to the SRC.   

GRADING

SCALE:                      This is the place where the faculty member provides the grade scale.   The below is provided as an example only:  

CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES

GRADING POINTS

Each faculty member must provide in their syllabus detailed rubrics for the assessment of written work and oral presentations. The material provided below is presented as a bare minimum example only.