Academic integrity

The university’s official position: Eastern Oregon University places a high value upon the integrity of its student scholars. Any student found guilty of academic misconduct (including, but not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, or theft of an examination or supplies) may be subject to having his or her grade reduced in the course in question, being placed on probation or suspended from the university, or being expelled from the university–or a combination of these. (see Academic Honesty Code). More guidance at the Online Writing Lab.

My interpretation: Plagiarism is taking credit for work, ideas, papers, which are not yours. Universities make lots of literature available for a nominal fee, the bargain being that if you use the ideas of others, you’ll credit them. So, it isn’t just wholesale theft, but as the above says, deception, misrepresentation, etc. Be sure you’re familiar with what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it. I recommend you check out some library resources (they can be web-based) before you turn in papers in this class or others. If you’re caught plagiarizing, you’ll receive an ‘F’ on the assignment and possibly for the course, and a couple of those can lead to academic probation or suspension. Doing your own work turns out to be more rewarding in the long term.

Attendance

Your participation in the discussion is an important part of the class and the learning. Chronic unexplained or unexcused absences from Canvas will harm your chances of passing. If you will be missing, let me know in advance if possible, as soon as possible if not.

A note on AI

Generative AI (like ChatGPT) produces new data (such as text, images, or video) that is based on prompts provided by the user, and available information data (e.g., from the Internet). Generative AI does not include spelling and grammar checking tools. Checking … not writing.

Refer to the course outcomes on page 1—none of them emphasizes ‘learning to use AI.’ Write your own paper. AI can be a useful tool, but representing work generated by machine learning as one’s own work falls under academic dishonesty. If your paper was written using generative AI and I catch it, you will receive a ‘0’. Same for any written assignment—obviously it’s out there and I’m not going to police that. And it can be useful as a tool. But like any other source that is outside of your head, if you use it, you need to cite it. Properly. And describe how you used it—what prompt(s) did you use? Which AI application? At what URL? Submitting AI-generated work without properly citing it will be considered like any other work you submit that includes unattributed sources—it violates the academic honesty code.

If I suspect a student has used generative AI on the 1984 paper without acknowledging it, I will contact them before assigning a grade.  If I suspect use of AI to write a paper, you may be invited to a Zoom session to talk about your work. And as it’s  often end-of-term, just know you’ll receive an incomplete while this is happening (and likely not on students’ time frames–Spring break isn’t much of a break, but it is a week away from the grind). 

So … just do your own writing, because it’s not that hard to identify the use of AI in such a writing-intensive course. If we don’t want robots replacing us in the workplace, we will have to think for ourselves, and college is an ideal place to practice, polish and learn how to learn.

Due dates and late assignments

Posted due dates are firm. If they change over the course of the term, they’ll change for everyone. Turning in an assignment late will lead to a deduction. If you notify me on the due date that it will be late, and get it in the next day, the deduction is one letter grade (the total number of points you can get is 10% less than the total possible). Later notifications or assignments turned in will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Please use the submission page in Canvas to turn in written assignments, in one of the specified formats (.doc, .docx, .rtf, .odt, .pdf). Word files are best for feedback.

Note: Class schedule and assignments may be revised during the course of the term as needed.

Expectations

I will justify my online lecture and reading material, assignments, etc., by showing their relevance to the overall course objectives. I will provide a friendly environment for discussion of ideas, try to make you think, impart personal experiences relevant to course material, and be generally accessible, approachable, and clear and precise about course expectations. With respect to coverage of content, I tend to emphasize depth over breadth—I would rather cover less points thoroughly, at a reasonable and engaging pace, than pledge strict allegiance to a course schedule.

In turn I expect students are in class and in college to learn, will do their own work, show effort to learn the material, use or develop critical thinking skills and be able to express them on paper or in class discussion, either exhibit college-level writing skills or seek help to improve them. I’ll look for developing abstract thinking skills and students’ abilities to focus on the “big picture”—key concepts delivered in class, their relevance to course material, the real world, etc. Discussion in class will focus on ideas—we can debate people’s ideas in a respectful way, but personal attacks on people will not be tolerated. You’re expected to show respect to everyone in the class. I don’t anticipate that to be a problem.

Disabilities and Accommodations

If you have any kind of disability, whether apparent or non-apparent, learning, emotional, physical, or cognitive, and you need some accommodations or alternatives to assignments, please contact me to discuss reasonable accommodations for your access needs. We work closely with the Disabilities Services Office. If you struggle with any learning process, or even test-taking, it’s worth visiting with the DSO and having a chat.

Any student requiring assistance or accommodation from me in performing course-related work should make their needs known to me in a timely manner. Obviously, any time during the term is better than not letting me know, though. If you have a documented disability or suspect that you have a learning problem, you are entitled to reasonable and appropriate accommodations. But you must work with the Disabilities Services Office (Taylor Smith, Director, tksmith@eou.edu, or contact disabsvc@eou.edu). The office is located in Loso Hall 234 (phone 541-962-3235).

Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing or other basic needs and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the Office of Student Affairs for support. Or please notify me if you are uncomfortable in doing so. I will help any way I can. Our program also runs an emergency food bank, phone 541.786.3663 (FOOD).

Diversity and Inclusion

I would like to create a learning environment for students that supports a diversity of perspectives and experiences, and that honors your identities (including race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, ability, etc). As a person with privileges simply because of my race and gender (white male), I know I have blind spots. But am trying to learn and be more mindful in the classroom setting.

• If you have a name and/or set of pronouns you use that are different from your official records, let me/us know.
• If you feel like your performance in the class is being impacted by your experiences outside of class, I hope you’ll feel comfortable in contacting me if I can be a resource. Remember that you can also submit anonymous feedback.
• If something was expressed in our class (by anyone) that made you feel uncomfortable, please let me know. Back to the blind spots : ) We’re all here to learn and we all deserve the same access to resources to do so.

Drop Policy

A student may drop from a course for any reason with no record on the student’s transcript before the end of the 4th week of the term. Thereafter, a student must withdraw from the course (see withdrawal policy). A student may withdraw from the 5th week of the term through the 7th week with a grade of “W” indicated on the transcript.

No withdrawals will be issued after the 7th week of the term. Instructors will issue a letter grade (A-F, or I) for all students enrolled after 7th week. A student making adequate academic progress during the term and needing to withdraw after 7th week may request an incomplete from the instructor.

Grades

Unless I’ve made a math error, all grades are final. If you need the grade, simply do the work. It’s unfair to others to do otherwise. So being a few points shy of the grade you want is something you’ll want to address during the course, not after you see your grade in Mountie Hub.

Class schedule

Readings schedule in Canvas modules and on course website.