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 section II of the 2002-03 Student Handbook, p. 32ff, and p. 41 ff; also this page for resources, more guidance (from WSU Library).

My interpretation: Plagiarism is taking credit for work, ideas, papers, which are not yours. Universities make lots of information available for a nominal fee, the bargain being that if you use the ideas of others, you’ll credit (cite) 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.

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.

Refer to the four 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 into my office to talk about your work. So … just do your own writing. If we don’t want robots replacing us in the workplace, we will have to think for ourselves, and college is a great place to practice and polish.

Attendance

Your active participation will be required to pass the class. I don’t take roll, but there is a pretty strong correlation between doing well, preparing, and engaging in classroom interaction. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what has been covered, get notes from other students, or find out whether there were any announcements. While for parts of the course there will be online lecture material, actual discussions we have in class will vary—you might look at it as the difference between seeing a movie, and reading a review of it. In matters of unavoidable absences, advance notice is always a good idea.

For athletes, artists, musicians, etc.: If you’re going to be missing class because of university-sponsored travel over the course of the term, please provide me with the information/dates when you receive it.

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 dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

The university has plenty of computers and printers, you can carry around a backup file on a flash drive. If you’re having trouble for whatever reason, I can’t help you if you don’t let me know. Please use the submission page in Canvas to turn in the 1984 paper, in one of the specified formats (.doc, .docx, .rtf, .odt).

As for missing an exam date, I expect advance notice. Emergencies dealt with case-by-case. Note: Class schedule and assignments may be revised during the course of the term as needed.

Expectations

I will justify my lecture and reading material, assignments, etc., by showing its relevance to the overall course objectives. I will provide a safe 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. Disparaging of individuals or groups is not okay. Disruptions to the class that distract from course goals or violate the student conduct code could lead to removal from class or a report filed with the Student Affairs Office. Check any personal agendas that might fit the above scenario at the door (link to student conduct code).

In turn I expect students will do their own work, use or develop critical thinking skills and be able to express them on paper or in class discussion, speak up when unclear or in disagreement on a concept, and either exhibit college-level writing skills or seek help to improve them. 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. Students will show respect to each other in class. That is the minimum required for a safe learning environment.

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 the DSO and having a chat if you haven’t yet.

Students requiring assistance or accommodation from me in doing 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. Pamela Fredrick-Williams is our ‘benefits navigator’ and can be very helpful for students who are struggling to make ends meet. 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, 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.
• 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.

Title IX Policy

Title IX refers to federal policies surrounding sexual misconduct and/or harassments. Everyone on campus is entitled to a safe environment, and we are considered ‘responsible parties,’ who will report to the Title IX Office (Colleen Dunne-Cascio, Director) as appropriate. It’s important and serious, and I would encourage you to take the time to read the policy and understand your rights and responsibilities as members of the campus community.  

Smart phones

If we’re not using them explicitly for looking up something, please put them away. In this class, we may have use for phones to look up information. But that’s the only use we’ll make of them in class. And that goes for laptops, too–it’s distracting to people behind you, and just plain bad behavior for a college student. I have nothing against the technology (and this isn’t about my choice to opt out). It is students’ use of their phones in class that creates distraction from my job and yours–teaching and learning. And since my job is not to enable habits that create distractions to learning, I’m trying this approach. Be adult, courteous, and self-aware, something best learned now, not the hard way in a professional workplace.

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 (link to complete policy description).

Grades

Unless I’ve made a math error, all grades are final. If you need the grade, do the work. There’s no dishonor in struggling–that’s evidence of learning. But it is unfair to others to reward minimal effort. Everyone starts with an ‘A’. Being a few points shy of the grade you want is something you’ll want to address during the course, not after your final grade appears in Mountie Hub.