Freshman Composition I ~ ENC 1101
Fall 2017 ~ Vrhovac ~ 5-251
“All writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem. It may be a problem of where to obtain the facts or how to organize the material. It may be a problem of approach or attitude, tone or style. Whatever it is, it has to be confronted and solved.”
On Writing Well, William Zinsser
Instructor / Professor James V. Vrhovac (Ver-hoe-vak)Office Location / Bldg. 5, Room 260
Office Phone / (407) 582-5811
Email / / email through Blackboard as well
Office Hours / M/W 830-945AM; T/R 1130AM-1PM
Virtual Hours / M-R 8-9:30PM
Steps to Succeed in this Course
1. Read! You cannot contribute to the discussion without an understanding of what is being talked about.
2. Take part in the discussion! The learning process of this class relies heavily on open knowledge creation within the classroom.
3. Blackboard, Blackboard, Blackboard. All of your assignments, resources, and most communication will come to you through Blackboard. Your overall grade is here.
Refund of Fees:
Students withdrawing by Drop/Refund Deadline 5 September, 2017 11:59PM will be eligible to receive back all tuition and refundable fees.
Communication
The most effective way to contact me outside of the classroom is through email, either ATLAS or Blackboard. I check both regularly. I will respond to your email within 48-hours, although it is usually much sooner. Email through ATLAS is fastest.
If you need more immediate contact, you may call my office phone or come to my office (5-260) during my above posted office hours.
Email Policy: I will NOT open emails other than from Valencia accounts or Blackboard.
Catalog Description: 3 Credit Hours
FRESHMAN COMPOSITION I Prerequisites: Score of 103 on writing component of PERT or equivalent score on other state-approved entry test or minimum grade of C in ENC 0025C or EAP 1640C, and a score of 106 on reading component of PERT or equivalent score on other state-approved entry test or minimum grade of C in REA 0017C or EAP 1620C.
Course Outcome
Development of essay form, including documented essay; instruction and practice in expository writing. Emphasis on clarity of central and support ideas, adequate development, logical organization, coherence, appropriate citing of primary and/or secondary sources, and grammatical and mechanical accuracy. Gordon Rule course in which the student is required to demonstrate college-level writing skills through multiple assignments. Minimum grade of C is required if ENC 1101 is used to satisfy Gordon Rule and General Education Requirements.
Course Work Outline
Major Writing Assignments 500
Discussion Boards 150
Short Assignments (Most link to Major Writing) 250
Final Exam (Mandatory) 100
Course Total: 1000
Grading Scale:
The grading scale is done on a 1,000 point/100% scale.
900-1000/90-100 A
800-899/80-99 B
700-799/70-79 C
600-699/60-69 D
599-/59- F
A minimum grade of C is required to pass this course.
Extra Credit
There is no standing extra credit. If interesting events that offer an opportunity to expand upon the learning outcomes of the course come up, I may add in extra credit at those times. Students may have the opportunity to regain lost points on some of the essay assignments.
Late & Make-Up Work:
All assignments must be turned in at the beginning of the class period that they are due. Late essays will be accepted up to one (1) week after it is due. Each day an assignment is late, it will receive one (1) letter grade off. For example one day late=highest possible grade is 90%, 2 days late= highest possible grade is 80%. Make-up work is generally not given except in the event of documented emergencies at the discretion of the instructor. If you know before an assignment is due that you will not be in class that day, you may email the assignment to the instructor. The assignment is still due by the beginning of the scheduled class period.
Assignments on Blackboard (Discussion Boards, Quizzes, and SafeAssign turn-in) all have specific closing dates. It is the student’s responsibility to complete work by these deadlines. Without prior notification or documentation, students will not be able to make-up DBs or quizzes. These are available online at least a week before they are due, so students have plenty of time to complete them.
Communicate with the instructor!!! Life happens, but there is usually an acceptable compromise or accommodation for any situation. I cannot know this though, unless you tell me!
Attendance and Tardy Policy
The Valencia College Attendance policy states that students are expected to attend every class, beginning with the first class meeting. Students whose names appear on my printed class roll on the first day but do not show will be marked with a non-negotiable absence that might lead to withdrawal. Those who do not show or contact me at all during the first week will be withdrawn as ‘no-shows.’ Please read the full policy at this link.
Attendance is directly related to success in this course. After two absences, students will be sent an Excessive Absence notification via your Valencia email account. A fourth absence may result in withdrawal from the course. I reserve the right to withdraw any student with three or more absences before the withdrawal deadline but do not guarantee that I will do so; if a student prefers the withdrawal (W) to the grade of F, he or she is advised to initiate the process or contact me to discuss this. I will not withdraw any student after the withdrawal deadline has elapsed and in that instance will record the final course grade as F.
Students are expected to be on time. Two ‘lates’ count as an absence; if attendance is not also an issue, six ‘lates’ put a student at risk for withdrawal. I may choose to exercise my right to withdraw chronically late students because absent students injure only themselves, but late students injure morale and interfere with the learning of others. If a student is aware that attendance might be a problem, he or she is advised that an online course might be a better option.
ONLINE ATTENDANCE
Yes, you still must “attend” as an online student. Each week there will either be a graded or checking in assignment due. If an online student fails to check in and complete these assignments more than three weeks throughout the semester, that student may be subject to being withdrawn from the course. To purpose of this is to keep students from falling behind. The most challenging aspect of an online class is keeping up with the work. If anything comes up and you need time, please email me.
Participation is a necessary and expected part of this course. This means taking part in class discussions, in-class writing, and group activities. If you do not participate, you will be considered absent for the day.
Withdrawal Deadline and Policy
This last day to withdraw from the course and receive a grade of “W” is 10 November, 2017 by 11:59PM .
Important Dates
Labor Day- Monday, September 4 (COLLEGE CLOSED)
Refund Deadline – Tuesday, September 5 (11:59PM)
Withdrawal/Receive “W” Deadline – Friday, November 10 (11:59PM)
College Night – Thursday, October 12 (COLLEGE CLOSED)
Thanksgiving Holiday – Wed/Thurs., November 22 - 24 (COLLEGE CLOSED)
Final Exam Date & Location:
CRN 11772 Monday, 11 December 10am-12:30pm
CRN 11134 Wednesday, 13 December 10am-12:30pm
CRN 13166 Thursday, 14 December Completed by 2:30pm
Valencia College Core Competencies
Think
Think clearly, critically, and creatively; Analyze, synthesize, integrate, and evaluate in many domains of human inquiry.
Value
Make reasoned value judgments and responsible commitments.
Communicate
Communicate with different audiences using varied means.
Act
Act purposefully, reflectively, and responsibly.
You can learn more about these competencies here.
Academic Dishonesty
All work submitted for credit in this class must be the product of the individual student’s own original thoughts supported and informed by appropriately documented and credited sources. Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s words, ideas, pictures, design, and/or intellectual property without the correct documentation and punctuation.
To avoid this serious academic offence, properly document any direct quotations or ideas that you find and use in your papers. Follow the MLA guidelines [R-4] on pages 82-92 of your Little Seagull Handbook
An instance of academic dishonesty—any kind of cheating or fraudby the registered student—will result in a zero for the assignment. A second instance will result in a grade of Ffor the class. If at any point I can prove that someoneother than the registered studenthas done any of the course work, I will immediately assign anF—retroactively if the semester has already ended.
Make note of these three important policies concerningplagiarism:
- First, you must submitoriginalessays for ENC 1101, not essays you submitted in any other course during any other semester, not even a previous attempt at ENC 1101. Turning in the same essay for two different courses is consideredself-plagiarismand will result in a zero for the paper. You may legitimately wonder how would anyone ever know; this is one of the purposes of the SafeAssign plagiarism scan (see below).
- Second, copying and pasting from Internet sources without providing correct documentation isnotcollege-level work. The first instance—even if it is a single sentence—will result in a grade of zero for the assignment.
- Third, a second instance of plagiarism will result in your immediate withdrawal from the course with a grade ofF.
Valencia College subscribes toSafeAssign. ThisBlackboardfeature allows faculty to upload student writing so that software can compare the papers to every available electronic resource in the world, looking for parts that match up with previously published sources. Any assignment, even the online discussions, is subject to plagiarism analysis atSafeAssign.
Caveat: Before you upload your document, confirm that you have attached the right file. A discrepancy will raise a red flag and prevent me from grading the piece on time.
Print and keep hardcopies of all of your assignments for your own files.
Baycare Behavioral Health’s Student Assistance Program
Valencia is committed to making sure all our students have a rewarding and successful college experience. To that purpose, Valencia students can get immediate help that may assist them with psychological issues dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, adjustment difficulties, substance abuse, time management as well as relationship problems dealing with school, home or work. Students have 24 hour unlimited access to the Baycare Behavioral Health’s confidential student assistance program phone counseling services by calling (800) 878-5470. Three free confidential face-to-face counseling sessions are also available to students.
Students with Special Needs:
Students with disabilities who qualify for academic accommodations must provide a letter from the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) and discuss specific needs with the instructor during the first two weeks of class. The OSD determines accommodations based on appropriate documentation of disabilities (West Campus, SSB-102, ext. 1523).
Learning Support Services
There are a number of support facilities and services outside of the classroom to help students succeed in all courses. For further information about the support available to currently enrolled Valencia students, check out here.
Additional Resources
College Catalog/Student Handbook/Policy Manual
- A full description of all College policies can be found in the College Catalog at http://www.valenciacollege.edu/catalog/
- The Student Handbook can be found at: http://valenciacollege.edu/studentdev/CampusInformationServices.cfm
- The Policy Manual can be found at http://www.valenciacollege.edu/generalcounsel/
- The college calendar can be found at http://valenciacollege.edu/calendar/ for important dates.
Grammar Bytes – This is an excellent, free resource to help you with some common grammar issues you may have difficulties with. It was created and is maintained by Valencia Prof. Robin Simmons.
Valencia Library – This has an excellent MLA guide, as well as a wonderful staff. And books!
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) – An excellent, comprehensive source for academic writing; it is rather a benchmark for college students. This a great source for all types of writing, even beyond college.
This document is subject to change at any time; if changes are made, the instructor will inform the class within 24 hours of any change.
James V. Vrhovac Copyright 2015 4