Frequently Asked Questions About the Online Courses
STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO KEEP COPIES OF ALL ASSIGNMENTS
Everything we are doing here is "virtual" and it is possible that an email might get lost or a server would go down somewhere along the way. Remember, even if everything is up and running at your end and ours, an email message may have to go through multiple servers (even satellites) before it gets to us. It is your responsibility to keep a copy at your end. It doesn't have to be a hard copy, it can be just a stored email or text file on your hard drive. That way if it gets to grading time and we show that you haven't completed something, you can simply go to your records and re-email it to us without having redo the assignment.
DO I HAVE TO READ EVERY WORD OF EVERY LINK?
Yes and No.
- You must follow all the primary links on the main course web pages. You don't have to read every sublink of every sublink. That would be a never-ending task.
- You must familiarize yourself with the primary content and concepts. If you can do this without reading every word, that is fine. Sometimes skimming and reading briefly is sufficient. If it has to do with an online book, just familiarize yourself with the overall theme. If you like the content, by all means read closely every word.
- You must understand the basic content and concepts enough to be able to formulate your own thoughts and then go out and do research on the topics that you have been introduced to in your readings.
SEND ALL ASSIGNMENTS DIRECTLY TO YOUR FACULTY MEMBER. ONLY USE THE DIGITAL DROP BOX IN BLACKBOARD IF THE FACULTY MEMBER INSTRUCTS YOU TO DO SO.
24-48 HOUR TURN AROUND ON GRADING ASSIGNMENTS
Our goal in the online program is to grade assignments within 24-48 hours of receiving them. Please be aware of the following items in relation to the 24-48 hour turnaround time:
- Weekend grading is optional for faculty
- If you turn your assignment in on the last day that part is due, please do not expect a 24-48 hour turnaround
- Turning in assignments during the week makes a better time management situation for both faculty and students.
- There will not be a 24-48 hour turnaround on final projects as they are longer papers and take more time to evaluate.
- Faculty members may choose to grade on just certain days of the week. They will notify you by email if that is the case.
SEND EACH ASSIGNMENT AS ONE EMAIL
Please send each assignment as one email. For example, on the links assignment, do not send 10 different emails containing 1 link each. Send all 10 links in the body of 1 email message. Likewise, do the same for the writing assignments. Sending attachments is up to each individual faculty member. Some faculty members don't like attachments and some do.
THERE ARE QUESTIONS ON MY COURSE WEB SITE IN THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COURSE. DO I NEED TO ANSWER ALL OF THOSE QUESTIONS THAT ARE LISTED ON THE WEB SITE IN THE ASSIGNMENTS?
Depending on what course you are in, you may or may not have some guiding questions on your web site. NO, those questions do not need to be answered one by one in the course of doing the journal and links assignments. They are primarily there to give you ideas, but you should read them carefully. They are designed to help you understand what the faculty members intend for you to learn in this part of the course.
HELP US TRACK YOUR ASSIGNMENTS (be specific on the subject line)
It helps the faculty if you can identify your assignment by the "subject" area of your email. For example in Part I of the Interdisciplinary Inquiry course, you should identify the subject area of your assignments as follows:
Part I-LSTD 3503 Definitions Assignment
Part I-LSTD 3503 Writing Assignment
Please use the same format in the other classes respectively
SHOULD I SEND MY ASSIGNMENTS AS ATTACHMENTS IN AN EMAIL?
This is up to the individual faculty member. Some like attachments, some do not. Others may ask you to deposit all assignments in the digital drop box. Please contact your faculty member to find out their individual preference
PLEASE READ!! VERY IMPORTANT!!
The College of Liberal Studies emphasizes the importance of student time management and encourages all the students to adhere to their schedule and timeline for completion of this course. The College expects everyone to finish on time, although we will allow an extension if sufficiently extenuating circumstances develop. Please do not put yourself, the faculty member, and the College staff in the awkward position of asking the faculty member to approve an extension to cover procrastination on your part.
Click here for these very important refund and grading policies
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