COM 100 Fall 2017–Pg.1
Section 001 ●TR 9:35 am● 10:25 am ●Fell 180
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Instructor: Kristen Smederovac, Academic Advisor & Lecturer
Office: Fell 460
Office Hours: By appointment only. To schedule an appointment visit my appointment manager link:
Email:
RECOMMENDED READINGS:
Academic & Career Strategies for Communication Students: COM 100/101 Professional Development Guide. 4th Edition. Normal, IL: Illinois State University.
Please note, this book is not available for purchase in bookstores; you will need to purchase an electronic copy from the School of Communication. Books can be purchased online at:bit.ly/COM_100. The book will be delivered 24 hours or more after receiving your order, so you must order a couple of days in advance of the start of class.
ALSO REQUIRED:
- A working email account that you check regularly (assignments may be sent via email)
- Active checking of your ISU email address. I will only communicate with you via your assigned ilstu email.
- Access to ReggieNet(through My Illinois State or
- A LinkedIn profile
COURSE GOALS:
- Student will create and define goals for academic and professional growth
- Student will align goals to current and future opportunities
- Student will assess goal progress
- Student will demonstrate proof of progress toward goals by completing a goals pyramid
MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY:
My goal as an instructor is to do all I can to create an environment in which we all can learn from each other safely, productively, and enthusiastically while having FUN!!! Every person in this class will contribute to this environment, and together we have the power to determine whether or not we live up to that goal.
Please remember that I am here to help you succeed. Do not hesitate to ask questions or ask for help, in or out of class (Unless there is a privacy issue at stake, in-class is often best, since your classmates may have the same questions or concerns that you do, and then you are helping them too!). If you have any special needs that it would help or me to be aware of, please do let me know. I am committed to helping every student attain the best quality of education he or she can.
Ultimately, I believe that the quality of each student’s education is largely dependent on his or her own efforts, attitudes, and behaviors. It is important for you to know that I will guide and assist you in any way that I can, but the knowledge, experience, and grade you take away are entirely within your control.
On a final note, one aspect of college is to prepare us to be productive and respectful members of society and the professional world. As your instructor,it is my responsibility to help you obtain this ability. Therefore, my teaching and classroom environment mirror common expectations, experiences, and emphasize skills which are necessary for success in both in academia and the professional world.
COURSE POLICIES:
ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION
Just like the professional working world, regular attendance is expected. Think of this class’ attendance policy as a preparatory lesson for earning Paid Time Off (PTO) in your future career. Just like in the professional setting, when you do not have time accrued and you take a day off, you lose money from your paycheck. This class operates in a similar manner. You will start the semester with 30 points (your PTO). For every class you miss, you will lose2.5 points from your 30 pointattendance total. At the end of the semester, if you have perfect attendance, you will receive 5 extra credit points toward your grade.
Being absent or late will deprive you of valuable class discussions and will also prevent you from fulfilling certain graded in-class activities which cannot be made up. Excessive absences or tardiness will affect your grade in this class. You are responsible for all material distributed in your absence. Also note, any/all materials are handed out (or emailed) only once. If you are not in class to receive them (or delete/lose them), you will need to obtain the information from a fellow classmate.
An absence can only be excused if you contact me in advance with a legitimate reason for being absent (i.e., religious holidays, family emergencies, university sanctioned events, extended illness, etc.) and sufficient documentation is provided if necessary. I will not excuse absences if you do not get in touch with me within a week of the absence nor will I accept notes after one month from the absence or after the final exam period.
Since participation is a function of attendance, regular attendance is expected. Being absent will deprive you of valuable class discussions and activities and will also cause you to lose participation points. If you are not in class, you cannot earn participation points and participation cannot be made up. Understanding that personal circumstances do arise, you will be allowed one “free” absence this semester. This excludes guest speaker/panel days. Unless you have a personal circumstance, you are required to attend all guest speaker events. After your “free” absence, any additional absences will affect your grade in this class and be subject to the PTO policy stated above. You are always responsible for all materials distributed in your absence. Also note any/all materials are handed out or emailed only once. If you are not in class to receive them (or delete/lose them), you should obtain the information from a fellow student.
TARDINESS
As I mentioned in my teaching philosophy, it is part of my job to prepare students for the professional world, being late regularly to your job is not permitted in the “real world,” so it will not be a thing in my class. Attendance will be taken during each class session. Be on time. When individuals arrive late to class they disrupt learning and show disrespect to their classmates and the instructor. Two (2) tardy marks will be equal to one absence. The lesson here? Be on time, every time. Please note: arriving 10 or more minutes late will count as an absence for the day and signing the attendance sheet at the end of class will count as a tardy.
ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES
All presentations, assignments and exams must be completed on the due date. NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. You cannot tell your boss “I forgot” or “the technology isn’t working”. In the professional world, it is your responsibility to be prepared for all circumstances and foresee potential issues. If you are unprepared to turn in an assignment or deliver a presentation on your assigned day, you will receive a ZERO for that assignment unless an alternate due date has been previous approved or documentation has been provided for extreme circumstances. Further, technical problems such as power outages, erased/lost disks, downed systems, malfunctioning printers, or email glitches are not legitimate excuses for late or missing work. Always make a backup copy of your work (and carry it with you on the due date) and make use of University computer labs if necessary. You may want to consider purchasing a flash drive or using online storage (like DropBox). In emergencies, I will make other arrangements with individual students, but such cases are relatively rare. Also, give yourself ample time to complete assignments. Please note: it is not my responsibility to track down your late or missing work. You must take responsibility and ownership of your assignments. All that being said, I do understand that things happen-so, you will be allowed to turn in one assignment late during the semester. This assignment must be turned in within 24-hours of the due date.
PROFESSIONAL COURTESY
Professional courtesy includes respecting others’ opinions, not interrupting in class, being respectful to those who are speaking, and working together in a spirit of cooperation. I expect you to demonstrate these behaviors at all times in this class. With that in mind, sleeping, reading, materials irrelevant to class purposes (sorry no Twitter or Facebook), and disrupting the class will not be tolerated and will result in you being considered absent for that particular period. Also, please turn off all cell phones, iPods, laptops, etc. before class starts and keep all electronic devices in your bag during class time. While it should go without saying, professional courtesy extends to the instructor of the course, as well. Should you behave in a disrespectful manner towards me, you will be asked to leave class and will forfeit any attendance/participation for the day.
EMAIL POLICY
While I encourage you to email me with questions, don’t let email replace good communication between us. I encourage you to visit my office or arrange to meet with me in person. If you do email me, please be aware that I will not respond to email after 6:00 p.m. While a quick response is likely, please keep in mind that I am not always on email, and therefore I will do my best to get back to you within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends.Note: emails without professionalism may not be answered.
FORMAT OF ASSIGNMENTS
All work should be typed and double-spaced unless otherwise noted. Essays and papers should follow APA style, have one inch margins, and use a standard 12 point font (Times New Roman or Calibri). Please proofread your work for spelling and grammatical errors (Hint; read it aloud to yourself). Points will be deducted for excessive grammatical or spelling errors. Please staple all assignments if there is more than one page. Please also staple any rubrics required to your assignment. Note: three (3) points will be taken off if your papers are not stapled together.
GRADE DISCUSSIONS
You are welcome to consult with me at any time during the semester about your grade. I am more than happy to discuss grades on particular assignments on an individual basis; however, you must wait at least 24 hours after an assignment has been returned before asking me questions pertaining to your assignment grade. This allows you to thoroughly read through the feedback given and process why the grade was earned based on the criteria for that particular assignment. Grade discussions should NOT take place before, after, or during class for confidentiality reasons. Please also keep in mind that I CANNOT communicate with you about grades via email for confidentiality reasons. If you would like to discuss your grade, please make an appointment to meet with me in person. You will have two weeks after an assignment is returned to challenge or discuss your grade with me.
ROUGH DRAFTS
While I am always willing to read through rough drafts of any assignments for this class, all rough drafts must be submitted no later than one week before the assignment is due and in electronic form (email). This allows me to provide you with constructive feedback on the assignment and gives you time to synthesize and incorporate my feedback as well. Any rough drafts submitted less than a week before the due date are not guaranteed to be read, unless previous arrangements have been made with individual students. In this case, I would encourage students to seek assistance from the Visor Academic Center (012 Vrooman Hall, 309-438-7100).
CHEATING/PLAGIARISM
Students are expected to be honest in all academic work, consistent with the academic integrity policy as outlined in the Codeof Student Conduct. All work is to be appropriately cited when it is borrowed, directly or indirectly, from another source. Unauthorized and unacknowledged collaboration on or presentation of someone else’s work warrants plagiarism.
Students found to inadvertently commit acts of dishonesty will receive appropriate penalties specific to the assignment in question. Students found to commit intentional acts of dishonestly will receive a failing grade in the course and will be referred for appropriate disciplinary action through Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution. All work submitted in this course must be your own original work.
UNIVERSITY BEREAVEMENT POLICY
Students who experience the death of an immediate family member or relative as defined in the University Student Bereavement Policy will be excused from class for funeral leave, subsequent bereavement, and/or travel considerations.Students are responsible for providing appropriate documentation to the Dean of Students office and for contacting the instructor as soon as possible to make arrangements for completing missed work.More information is available in the Student Bereavement Policy at
MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
Life at college can get very complicated. Students sometimes feel overwhelmed, lost, experience anxiety or depression, struggle with relationship difficulties or diminished self-esteem. However, many of these issues can be effectively addressed with a little help. Student Counseling Services (SCS) helps students cope with difficult emotions and life stressors. Experienced, professional psychologists and counselors, who are attuned to the needs of college students, staff student Counseling Services. The services are FREE and completely confidential. Find out more at Counseling.IllinoisState.edu or by calling (309) 438-3655.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability and/or medical/mental health condition should contact Student Access and Accommodation Services at 350 Fell Hall, (309) 438-5853, or visit the StudentAccess.IllinoisState.edu.
MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS:
Detailed descriptions of each assignment will be posted on ReggieNetand discussed in class.
CAREER EXPLORATION
The objective of this assignment is to have students identify their lifestyle goals and explore subsequent career opportunities. Students will also identify specific academic and involvement opportunities at ISU that, if taken advantage of, will prepare them for their professional and life goals. Through the development of this assignment, students will identify lifestyle goals, career goals, career options, necessary skills for careers, and determine what opportunities they can utilize to develop the necessary skills and abilities needed to achieve their lifestyle aspirations. Upon completion, students will have a clear understanding of steps they can take to prepare themselves for their long-term goals during their time at ISU.
RESUME CRITIQUE
The Career Center will host a day of class to discuss this very important piece of career readiness. After drafting your resume, you will be required to meet with a Career Advisor to review. More details regarding the logistics of this meeting will be discussed in class. The Communication Career Advisor is Mark Fauble and he can be reached at or (309) 438-5825. You can meet with any Career Advisor by visiting the Career Center during their posted walk-in hours (
INTERNSHIP FAIR REFLECTION
Illinois State’s Internship Fair will be hosted on September 19th from 4:00 – 7:00pm in the Bone Student Center. All students will be required to participate in the fair and complete a reflection assignment detailing what companies and organizations you spoke to, who reviewed your resume and what you learned from the experience. In addition, you will be discussing your experiences in small groups, and then providing the class with a summary of your learning outcomes.
LINKEDIN PROFILE
You will develop a complete, professional LinkedIn profile that can be used as a networking tool and an online portfolio of your work. The Career Center will host a day of class to discuss how to create a LinkedIn profile and how to leverage and build your professional network and search for jobs. A rubric will be provided on ReggieNet with more details about what should be included on your LinkedIn profile to fulfill this assignment.
EVALUATION:
*Remember, I don’t give grades – you earn the grades you receive!
Career Exploration / 60 pts.Resume Critique / 20 pts.
Internship Fair Assignment / 20 pts.
30 Second Pitch Activity / 10 pts.
Mock Interview Activity / 10 pts.
LinkedIn Profile / 50 pts.
Attendance (PTO earned) / 30 pts.
TOTAL POINTS / 200 pts.
The grading scale is a standard ten percentage point scale:
90 - 100% = A; 80% - 89% = B; 70% - 79% = C; 60 - 69% = D; below 60% = F
In this course, simply doing an assignment does not result in an “A.” Failure to follow directions or meet criteria will result in a loss of points. Students should note the definition of each letter grade:
“A” is reserved for work that is exceptional
“B” is reserved for work that is above average
“C” is reserved for work that is average (meets all criteria)
“D” is reserved for work that is below average
“F” is reserved for work that is failing, late, or not submitted for evaluation
Please be aware of the fact that a “bad” grade is not a reflection upon you as a person or student. A lower grade is merely a challenge to do better. I would be doing you a huge disservice if I did not expect you to live up to your fullest potential.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
**All assignments will be submitted via ReggieNet unless otherwise noted.**
DATE / TOPIC / ASSIGNMENT DUEWeek 1
Tuesday, August 22 / Course Orientation
Syllabus / Read Syllabus
Thursday, August 24 / Exploring the Value of your Degree
Career Exploration Assignment / Syllabus Contract (hardcopy)
Week 2
Tuesday, August 29 / Marketing Yourself
Study Abroad, Internships & RSOs
Thursday, August 31 / 30 Second Pitches
Employees vs.Employers
In-Class Activity / Tier #1
Attend Festival ISU for 5 extra
credit points
Week 3
Tuesday, September 5 / MEET IN CVA 149
Guest Speaker: Resumes
Mark Fauble, Career Center
Thursday, September 7 / Resume Debrief
Resume Workday
Sign up for one-on-one reviews / Draft of Resume (hardcopy)
Tier #2
Week 4
Tuesday, September 12 / MEET IN CVA 149
Guest Speaker: LinkedIn
Mark Fauble, Career Center
Thursday, September 14 / MEET IN CVA 149
Guest Speaker: Interviewing
Mark Fauble, Career Center / Tier #3
Week 5
Tuesday, September 19 / Interviewing Debrief
Mock Interview In-Class Activity / Attend the Internship Fair
between 4:00 – 7:00PM
in the Bone Student Center
Thursday, September 21 / Internship Fair Discussion / Internship Fair Assignment
Tier #4
Week 6
Tuesday, September 26 / MEET IN CVA 149
Guest Speaker: Marketing Yourself
Career Panel
Thursday, September 28 / Catch-up/work day
LinkedIn & Resumes
Informal Evaluations / Tier #5
Week 7
Tuesday, October 3 / MEET IN CVA 149
Guest Speaker: The Job Search
Career Panel
Thursday, October 5 / MEET IN CVA 149
Guest Speaker: Graduate School
Dr. Kevin Meyer / LinkedIn Profile PDF
Final Resume
Week 8
Tuesday, October 10 / MEET IN CVA 149
Guest Speaker: Capstone Transition
Dr. Lance Lippert
Week 8
Thursday, October 12 / Course Synthesis
Course Evaluations / Tier #6
***The above schedule, procedures and policies in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances. The instructor will notify students in a timely manner of all changes related to the course schedule. In addition, the instructor reserves the right to handle situations with students on a case-by-case basis.