COM 380: Health Communication
COM 380: Health Communication
Thursdays: 7:00 – 9:40 pm
115 Talbert Hall
Contact Information:
Instructor: Ashley Anker
Office: 204 Baldy Hall
Office Hours: Thursday 6:00 – 6:50 pm or by appointment
E-mail:
** Please use the subject line of “COM 380” for all e-mails**
Course Objectives:
1)To learn about health communication in organizational, interpersonal, and mass mediated contexts.
2)To understand how research and theory are applied to health communication.
3)Understand and evaluate health campaigns/interventions at the interpersonal and mass mediated levels.
4)Gain knowledge of current issues in health care and understand the role of health communication in addressing such issues.
5)Learn about and evaluate the ethical issues facing health communicators.
6)Improve writing, speaking, listening, and group interaction skills.
Required Text:
duPre, A. (2005). Communicating about Health: Current Issues and Perspectives (2nd Ed). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Tentative Assignments and Grading:
Grading in this course will be based on four factors: student participation, test performance, a group project and presentation, and an individual paper with group discussion. Specific guidelines for the projects will be presented in class at a later date. Assignments may be added and/or changed at the discretion of the instructor. Each of these requirements will be assigned a point value, as follows:
Test 1:100 points
Test 2:100 points
Participation:70 points
Individual Project (Written & In-class presentation)100 points
Group Written Project:100 points
Group Presentation:80 points
Total550 points
Final grades will be calculated by dividing the total points you have received for the semester by the total points available, resulting in a percentage. As a rule, I will not curve your grades. Final grades will adhere to the following scale:
A 93 – 100C 73 – 76.99
A- 90 – 92.99C- 70 – 72.99
B+ 87 – 89.99D+ 67 – 69.99
B 83 – 86.99D- 60 – 66.99
B- 80 – 82.99
C+ 77 – 79.99F Below 60
Class Participation and Attendance:
Generally, each class is worth 5 participation points, totaling to 70 points for the semester. Class participation will typically be measured in the form of a group activity or short in-class assignment, which is turned in for receipt of participation points. However, class participation is more than merely attending class and turning in the work. As this is an upper division course, I expect you to complete the readings, actively participate in class discussions, and come to class. Having said that, I retain the right to adjust your participation grade based on these additional factors.
Attendance in class is considered to be mandatory. Please do not schedule appointments or other meetings during class time. Generally, participation points cannot be regained for a class that has been missed. However, in the case of documented illness, religious holiday, death in the family, or UB-allowed sports absence, arrangements can be made for a make-up of the in-class participation points. However, you must contact me prior to the class in question, and receive my approval, in order to receive these points.
I realize that sometimes commitments outside of the above-given reasons occur that require a student to miss class. These situations will be handled on an individual basis, however, I expect you to discuss this absence with me before the absence occurs. While I may make exceptions for you if you discuss the situation with me early-on, I will not be sympathetic after the class has been missed.
Late Assignments:
I do not accept late assignments. All of the assignments in this class are assigned well before their due date. As such, I expect that you will have no problems with turning them in on time. If you are going to miss the class in which they are due, please speak to me prior to that class, and we may be able to make arrangements for you to turn the assignment in early.
Make-up Exams and Pop Quizzes:
I would prefer not to give make-up exams, but realize that at times students must miss class. I will be willing to arrange a make-up exam with you in the case of 1) a documented emergency (e.g. illness, death in the family, etc.), or 2) if you discuss your absence with me at least one week prior to the exam, and I agree that this is a situation where a make-up is appropriate. Any missed exams will result in the assignment of a zero for your grade.
I also retain the right to give you unscheduled “pop” quizzes. While I have no intention of doing this, I will start having quizzes if it becomes clear that you are not completing your reading as assigned.
Disabilities:
If you have a disability that will affect your performance in this class, please be sure to let me know of your situation. The Office of Disability Services (25 Capen Hall) is able to assist you with your various needs. They can be reached at 645-2608. I will be happy to help you with any special needs in this class (e.g. taking tests at disability services, etc.) but request that you let me know of your situation and how we can best accommodate your needs within the first two weeks of the class.
Incompletes:
Incompletes are discouraged and will be given at my discretion only for serious, documented reasons. The incomplete will be given for only one semester, and the student must be passing the class at the time that the incomplete is requested.
Expectations:
Students – I want this class to be exciting and interesting. However, I’ll need your help to do that. The best classes are those in which the students are interested, enthusiastic, and participate. Please come to class having completed the readings, be prepared to join in class discussions, and be ready to apply what we are learning. I expect you to respect the others involved in this course as they share their ideas as well.
Instructor – I will do my best to make this an interesting class by finding creative ways to present the class material. We will do lots of different activities in this class, and I want you to learn a lot about health communication as we complete them. I promise to return class materials in a timely manner, come to class organized and prepared, and help you to succeed in this course.
Final Notes:
If you have concerns about this course, please address them with me early on in the semester. I want to see you succeed, and will do my best to help you to do well in this course. I will be sympathetic early on in the semester, but do not want to hear sudden excuses for the quality of your work at the end of the semester. Please do not hesitate to talk to me early on if you have a problem, and I will do my best to help you resolve the matter.
If you must miss a class, I would prefer that you contact me before the absence occurs. As I do not post my notes online, you will have to get any missed work from a fellow student.
Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism and cheating are taken very seriously by the Department of Communication and the University of Buffalo. Plagiarism occurs when you use someone else’s work without proper attribution. Cheating also occurs if you impersonate, or sign in, another student for attendance purposes. If you use someone’s work, you have the responsibility of properly citing that work, whether it is a printed, electronic, or another form of source material. If you use a direct phrase from someone’s work, you must place these words in quotation marks and cite the source. Avoiding academic dishonesty also means that you agree to turn in your own original work for all assignments, and to present your own original work on all examinations. You will also follow all rules set forth by the instructor for examinations. Furthermore, you agree that you will not turn in work that has been completed for another class without explicit permission from the instructor. Plagiarism, or any other form of cheating or academic dishonesty, even if unintentional, will result in consequences for the student. This may include a grade of an “F” for the course and a notation on your academic record. Furthermore, the instructor may present this issue at the University level, which could result in such consequences as expulsion of the student from the University. Finally, if you are aware of another student who is being academically dishonest, and do not alert the instructor, you are also subject to sanctions.
If you ever have questions about what constitutes plagiarism, please feel free to ask me! I want you to be successful in this class, and will be happy to answer questions about what does and does not constitute academic dishonesty. If you have other questions, or for good resources on how to properly cite sources, please see the following:
**This statement was adapted from the UB Statement on academic integrity**:
Plagiarism Defined:
Using Sources: