Accessing Your Courses
From your“My Workspace” page, you can access your courses in two ways.
If the course you wish to access is shown in the “Quicklinks” list of
courses at the top of the screen, you can simply click on the course
title.
OR
Click on the “My Sites” drop-down menu.
Figure 1-4: Accessing Your Workspace
You will see a listing of all courses that you have access to. Click on
the course that you would like to access.
Figure 1-5: List of Your Courses
To close the list of courses, click on the “My Sites” drop-down button
again.
Assessments
Downloading Assignments
To download your assignments, login to your student account and access the
“Assignments” tab. Begin by clicking on the selected Assignment Title.
Figure 1-11: Assignment Titles
For some assignments, the questions will be visible on the “viewing
assignment” screen.
Figure 1-12: Assignment Question on Screen
For others you must open a document file to view the assignment.
Locate the link to the assignment document.
Click on the link to open the assignment as an MS Word document.
Figure 1-13: Assignment Question as Document Link
You will be asked if you wish to open or save the file.
Figure 1-14: Assignment Document Download
You may choose to save the document to your computer at this time.
Uploading Assignments for Grading
To upload your assignments to be graded, log in to your student account
and access the “Assignments” tab.
Click on the selected Assignment Title (see Figure 1-11).
Scroll down to the section entitled “Submissions” (see Figure 1-15
below).
Figure 1-15: Submitting and Assignment
You may submit an assignment as text using the “Assignment Text” box.
This area is also used to include a message when submitting an
assignment as an attachment (See Figure 16 below).
To submit an assignment as an attachment (MS Word document, PowerPoint
presentation, or Excel spreadsheet), place the cursor in the box in
front of “Browse” and click on the “Browse” button. Search and select
the file to upload. Click the “Submit” button (See Figure 16 below).
Figure 1-16: Assignment Text or Document Submission
Exams & Quizzes
Exams are located under the “Exams & Quizzes” tab. Students are able to
access, submit, receive feedback, and view grades on exams in this area.
If there is no link to “Exams & Quizzes” showing on the navigation bar on
the left of the screen, that means that there are no online exams required
for the course you are in.
Gradebook
Students can view their grades on all graded items in the Gradebook.
Navigating Through a Course
Navigation Bar
Once you are in a course, use the navigation bar on the left of the screen
to access the different areas of the course.
Figure 1-6: Course Home
Course Home
The information under the Course Home tab provides general instructions
and information on completing the course. Included will be the Syllabus, a
Note from Your Professor, the Lesson Plan, the Course Guide, and
Supplemental Materials. The Student Handbook is also located here.
Figure 1-7: Course Information
Course Guide
Under the Course Guide tab you will find a vast array of information,
focused on how to complete each course requirement. The following is an
example:
Figure 1-8: Course Guide
Lesson Tabs
The lesson tabs contain the learning objectives, reading assignments, and
review exercises. To view the lesson contents:
Click on the lesson tab that you would like to open.
Click on the link to the item that you would like to view.
Figure 1-9: Lesson Tabs
Assignments
Written assignments are located under the “Assignments” tab. Students are
able to access, submit, receive feedback, and view grades on assignments
in this area. If the message “There are currently no assignments at this
location.” is displayed when you click on the “Assignments” tab, that
means that there are no assignments required in the course you are in.
Figure 1-10: Assignments
Plagiarism
Using others’ work without attribution, even though unintentional, could
very well be interpreted as cheating. It can result in charges of
plagiarism, copyright infringement, and loss of your credibility. As a
graduate student you will often need to present the ideas and opinions of
professionals in your own responses. Sometimes you will be directly
instructed to conduct ProQuest research that will need to be cited, and,
at other times, without being instructed to do so, you will turn to the
textbook or the Lecture Notes to review ideas to present. It is imperative
in either case that you cite your sources correctly and consistently.
The Penalty for Plagiarism
Ashworth College’s policy on plagiarism and cheating is as follows:
Students are not permitted to receive, attempt to receive, knowingly
give, or attempt to give any unauthorized assistance in the preparation
of any work required to be submitted for credit as part of a course
(including examinations, Discussion Question answers, projects, reports,
essays, themes, term papers, etc.). When students use direct quotations,
they should use quotation marks and properly cite the relevant
source(s). Students must also cite sources for any use of others’
language, ideas, theories, data, figures, graphs, programs, and
electronic information or illustrations.
While students accused of academic dishonesty will have access to due
process procedures, any student found guilty of academic dishonesty will
be permanently dismissed from the college.
Failure to cite sources is plagiarism, whether or not it is intentional.
Failure to either cite sources or to cite them correctly, when considered
infrequent or an oversight, could result in a deduction of up to 10% of
your grade on an individual assignment; blatant, repetitive, or excessive
violations will result in dismissal from the program. Your grader will
assess your work for correct APA format and will report plagiarism.
Plagiarism Defined
Plagiarism is using another person’s ideas, opinions, words, or work
without properly crediting/citing that person. The following are examples
of plagiarism (iParadigms, 2004):
Passing off another’s work as one’s own in any fashion
Failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without
giving credit
Copying or paraphrasing words or ideas from someone else without giving
credit
Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation or making
up sources for information
Using facts that are derived from the original research without
crediting the source
Copying so many words/ideas that it makes up the majority of the work,
whether credit is given or not
The information below must always be properly cited (ISS, 2004; Purdue
2004):
Another person’s idea, opinion, or theory regardless of the medium
(magazine, book, newspaper, journal, song, e-mail, lecture, TV program,
movie, Web page, letter, advertisement, interview)
Any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings—any pieces of information—that
are not common knowledge
Quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words
The following information does NOT have to be cited (Purdue, 2004):
Generally accepted facts
One’s own experimental results
One’s own experiences, observations, insights, thoughts, or conclusions
about a subject
Common knowledge, including folklore, common-sense observations, and
shared information within your field of study or cultural group
How to Avoid Plagiarism
Your grader expects you to use the work of others in your responses; there
is no way to avoid this. To avoid plagiarism, however, simply cite the
work of others correctly in APA format every time. You should refer often
to the APA Guidelines as well as to a printed or online APA style manual.
You may also find the following suggestions helpful in preparing your
responses (Purdue, 2004):
As you take notes, mark the material that is directly copied,
summarized, or paraphrased in a significant way, perhaps by using a
different-colored font or by changing the background color of the
information (highlighting the information). When you finalize your
paper, you can easily check to be sure that you have cited this
information.
When you are paraphrasing or summarizing information, read the
information and then write it down from memory. This will help you to
avoid using the sentence structure and words of others. Remember that a
paraphrase must still be cited.
When quoting directly, write down the exact words into your notes, and
write the name of the person whom you are quoting next to the quote, and
put quotation marks around the exact words that you copied. Use very few
quotes in your papers, quoting only when the exact phrasing of the
information is as important as the information itself.
Preparing Your Assignments for Grading
When you prepare a response for submission (discussion questions,
activities, and stand-alone projects), it is important that you format and
name the document correctly, in accordance with the standards described
below. Not following these instructions could cause you to lose points on
your responses. Note: If you are required to use industry or
document-specific formats, these will be identified in the instructions
for each assignment.
Format Requirements
Use the following format requirements on all submissions (discussion
questions, activities, and stand-alone projects). If you do not use these
format requirements, your submission may be returned to you or you may
have points deducted from your grade.
Writing StyleAPA (American Psychological Association)
To find detailed information on APA manuscript style guidelines on
the Internet, go to or for a printable guide,
click here.
Margins1” all sides
ParagraphsSingle-space within paragraph (Discussion Questions and
Activities)
Double-space within paragraph (Stand-Alone Project)
Double-space between paragraphs
Indent first line of each paragraph
HeadingsBold
Type Style and SizeTimes New Roman, 12 point
SoftwareMS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or software provided with
textbook
Assignment Cover SheetThe Assignment Cover Sheet should be the first
page of each posted file (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and must
include the following information in the format provided below.
Student Name
Student Identification Number
Student Mailing Address
Student E-mail Address
Student Phone Numbers
Day
Evening
Cell
Fax
Course Number and Title
Assignment Number and Title
Date of Submission
Grammar and MechanicsAll submissions should be written in a clear
and concise manner utilizing proper grammar, spelling, and
punctuation.
Response FormatFormat all submissions in the same fashion as the
discussion questions, activities, and stand-alone project. If there
is a Part A, your response should identify a Part A, etc.
NOTE: Unless the assignment specifically instructs you to use software
that is provided with your course or textbook, you MUST use MS Word,
Excel, or PowerPoint software.
Naming and Saving the Document
Name Your File Correctly: Your file name should be your student number,
course number, assignment number, and task type as shown below.
Sample File Names:GA0600123 MX600 Asgn 1 DQ 1 (for Discussion
Question 1)
GA0600123 MX600 Asgn 1 DQ 2 (for Discussion Question 2)
GA0600123 MX600 Asgn 2 ACT (for an Activity)
GA0600123 MX620 Asgn 7 SAP (for a Stand Alone Project)
Save Your File before Uploading It: Always maintain an electronic file
and a hard copy of all of your submissions in the event of loss during
transmission. Saving your file can save you a great deal of time. For
example, if something happens while you are uploading the file and your
computer locks up, you will want to have saved the latest copy of your
work. It is very rare that anything would happen to your file once it is
on our Web site; however, in case there are any technical issues, you
will want to have a back-up copy of your work.
Responding to Discussion Questions, Activities, and Stand-Alone Projects
In your courses, you will be required to submit three (3) types of
responses: Discussion Questions, Activities, and Stand-Alone Projects. The
following guidelines will help you in formulating your responses.
That the Questions and Activities Are Quantified: For example, the
question may ask you to locate three (3) journal articles discussing a
particular topic and propose four (4) solutions for problems identified
in the articles. Thus, to receive full credit for your response, you
must ensure that your submission meets the quantified requirements.
Break the Question into Parts: Notice how the question is divided.
Sometimes the question will be divided into parts (such as a., b., c.,
etc., or Part A, Part B, Part C, etc.). Whether or not the division is
labeled specifically, most questions have more than one part. For
example, a question may ask you to “define the following terms, giving
an example of each and applying each term to a specific situation.” For
each of the terms, then, there are three (3) required parts (definition,
example, and application). Your grader will look for your response to
each of these parts for each term, and you will lose points for any
parts of the response that are missing. Carefully reading the
instructions will help to ensure that you have responded to all parts of
the instructions.
Organize the Response by Parts: If the question is divided specifically
into parts using labels (Part A, etc.), organize your response by
labeling it in the same manner as the question. If parts are not
specifically listed for you, you should still organize your response by
answering in the same order as the question is written. When you
organize your response in such a way that it matches the question, you
are more likely to include the required content in your response and
receive credit for it.
Submit Narrative (Discussion) Responses: All of your responses (unless
they are specifically required to be submitted in a chart, table, graph,
slideshow, etc.) should be in narrative form. As a graduate student,
your professors assume that you are prepared to discuss all answers. A
simple “yes” or “no” will NOT suffice as an answer to a Discussion
Question or an Activity.
Use APA Format: When a response requires documentation of sources or
other specialized formatting, always use APA format (more on APA later
in this assignment).
Proofread and Spell Check Your Document: All responses should be written
using standard English grammar and mechanics. Use the tools available to
you in Microsoft Word (spell check, grammar and style check, synonym
suggestions, dictionary, etc.) to proofread your work before submission.
The grader may reject a response or deduct points from work that is
substandard in grammar, punctuation, and organization.
NOTE: Remember, the response starts on the second page of your Word
document, following the cover sheet.
Setting Goals and Listing Tasks for Completion
This program is self-paced and does not have deadlines; however, you will
probably find that managing your time is a critical component in
completing each course and making progress toward your goal of earning an
advanced degree. There are many products on the market that make time
management easier, and you may want to take advantage of these. In fact,
you may already have a system that works for you. However, we will briefly
discuss a few basics that you should keep in mind as you manage your time
and work towards the completion of your program.
If you were not serious about getting a master’s degree, you would not
have enrolled in this program. Since we all tend to make time for the
things that are important to us, you just need to remind yourself
periodically that earning your degree is important to you. Because there
are no specific deadlines to meet, sometimes you may find it easy to put
off doing the coursework, and after a while, you may be surprised at how
long it has been since you last worked on your course. The following
suggestions may help you stay “on track.”
Set goals for progress and completion; put them on your calendar and
schedule time for studying.
Break the assignments into tasks and check them off as you complete
them.
Keep a calendar and/or task list of your progress. This will give you a
sense of accomplishment as you finish assignments. It will also give you
a sense of purpose in moving forward.
Be realistic in setting your progress goals. Take stock of your
responsibilities to determine how much time you can spend each week on
your courses.
Make it a habit to study for a certain amount of time each week.
If you get behind, don’t stress yourself trying to make up the time that
you lost; instead, readjust your schedule and move forward.
If you would like to review additional information on setting goals,