NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SCIENCE HLS 497 M70 Senior Seminar in Community Health Education Black Board-Based Online Class COURSE SYLLABUS Fall 2011 INSTRUCTOR: Dr. James Robinson OFFICE: HSS 303A PHONE: 646-7431 E-MAIL: jrobins3@nmsu.edu OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday, Thursday 9 11:30 AM and by appointment GRADUATE ASSISTANT: Ms. Rasha Arabyat 646-1639 rasha@nmsu.edu COURSE DESCRIPTION Critical analysis of professional issues in Community Health Education. Readings focus on social, economic, cultural, and political issues as they affect the profession and practice. Emphasis on future, local, national, and international health trends. Prerequisite: HLS 475 or consent of instructor. THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS COURSE: This is an upper division course that satisfies one of your degree requirement. To be eligible to take this seminar, you must be in your graduation year, i.e., graduating December 2011 or May 2012. In order for you to be successful, here are some tips you need to know in order to manage your time and progress successfully: 1. Read everything on the course home page. The syllabus will guide you through the course activities and timeline. I will be happy to answer any questions you have, but I prefer not to respond if your question relates to something that has already been posted. 2. Keep up with the work. The semester will be over before you know it. 3. Check your e-mail and the course calendar EVERY day. Assignment/ Discussion due dates and messages will be posted. Don t miss your deadlines. 4. When you are submitting assignments, Blackboard s acceptance of those submissions is timed. If the assignment is due at 10 PM, that is Blackboard time NOT your time. If you are 30 seconds late for Blackboard time, your submission will be rejected. Plan accordingly. 5. Do NOT send me any assignments through my NMSU e-mail account. Everything must go through Blackboard. If you try to submit a paper and the assignment drop box is closed, send the paper via Blackboard e-mail. 6. Be sure you know how to use the NMSU Library, especially the electronic resources. You will need to use the electronic access to obtain the sources for your written assignments.
2 REQUIREMENTS: You are advised that because this is an online course, you should have a reliable PC with a high speed internet connection (cable or fiber optic). Materials in this course will come to you in three media formats MS Word, MS Power Point and PFD files. There may also be occasion where you will have the opportunity to view MPG or AVI files as well. In that regard, you should have access to Windows Media Player or some other compatible player. COURSE OBJECTIVES At the completion of this course, the student should have an understanding of the personal, political, and professional issues associated with community health practice. In addition, the student will develop some knowledge and skills that affect the management of health promotion programs. At the conclusion of this course, you should be able to: 1. Access sources of employment in health education. 2. Prepare a well written application package for a health education position. 3. Access and interpret valid health education/promotion program information from reliable electronic or hard copy sources. 4. Discuss pertinent issues impacting the practice of health education. 5. List and discuss factors contributing to health disparities in the U.S. 6. List and describe current trends and opportunities in professional service. 7. Develop basic grant writing skills. 8. Explain the importance of a professional network. 9. Identify and discuss new issues and skills necessary to be an effective leader in public health. 10. Identify today s public health agenda in regards to the changing public health system. 11. Discuss diverse health behavior attitudes and behaviors among diverse populations. REQUIRED TEXT: There is no required text for this course. Readings will be assigned by the instructor as needed. You will be assigned opportunities to bring literature to class. RECOMMENDED TEXTS: National Cancer Institute. (2005). Theory at a Glance: A Guide for Health Promotion Practice. National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH Pub. No. 05-3896. Washington, DC: NIH. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/cancerlibrary/theory.pdf Maxwell, J. C. (1998). The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville, TN: Nelson Business.
3 TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE: Week Topic Presenter/Activity 8/22/11 Introduction Robinson 8/29/11 Resume Writing, Cover Letter Robinson Resume due 9/05/11 Vacancy Announcements Robinson 9/12/11 Interviewing Robinson Application Package 9/19/11 Axioms for Grant Writing Robinson 9/26/11 Grant Writing, Continued Robinson 10/03/11 Public Health Issues Managerial Functions Robinson Grant writing paper due 10/10/11 Graduate School Opportunities TBA 10/17/11 Public Health Leadership Pruitt 10/24/11 Management in PH Programs Robinson 10/31/11 The Public Health Workforce Robinson 11/7/11 Professional Associations 11/14/11 Technology and Public Health TBA Professional Association report due 11/21/11 Thanksgiving Holiday 11/28/11 Future of Public Health TBA 12/05/11 Final Examination BLACK BOARD SUPPORT This course is supported by Blackboard technology. I will post Power Point Presentations and Readings to Blackboard. And all your grades will be posted to the site as well. If you have not taken Blackboard training, you will find tutorial for students on the NMSU Blackboard website at https://learn.nmsu.edu
4 COURSE REQUIREMENTS Resume (20 points) Submit a copy of your current resume for evaluation. You may choose to review some electronic sources to uncover a suitable format and reporting structure. Application Package (50 points) Using any number of sources, locate a vacancy announcement you can use to write a cover letter as you apply for the job. You will need to submit your vacancy announcement, along with the application package and resume. One two pages. Grant Writing Paper (50 points) You will need to search library or internet sources and prepare a four-page paper that lists, describes and justifies at least five new grant writing principles that will be useful in your future grant writing activities. The paper must include a reference list in APA format. Your findings will also be presented to your colleagues. Professional Association Assessment (30 points) Select a professional association that matches your career goals in community health. Visit the association website or write for information to learn about the purpose, structure, and function of the professional association. Explain the value of the association to your professional practice and the manner whereby you could serve the association as a public health educator. Final Examination (100 points) The final examination will consist of two essay questions written during the final examination time period. Please consult the NMSU schedule of classes for the final examination date and time for this section. Discussion. (Points will vary with each discussion)students are expected to participate in the e- discussions during the semester. Students need to post and respond to other posts. A simple I agree and Me too are not sufficient, posts must be substantial and thoughtful. Good participation in discussions will be rewarded which might be significant when your final grade for the course is at a borderline situation. PROJECTS POINTS 1. Resume 20 2. Application Package 50 3. Grant Writing Assignment- Paper and presentation 50 4. Professional Association Assessment 30 5. Final Examination 100 TOTAL 250 GRADING: Your grade for this course will be derived based on the number of points accumulated. A = 225 250 Points B = 200 249 Points C = 175 199 Points D = 150 174 Points F = <150 points
5 Attendance Policy Since this is an online class, attendance per se Is not a factor, but your participation in discussion will make up your attendance score. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Any student accused of a specific act stated in the previous paragraph is subject to NMSU academic procedures relating or pertaining to violations of the student code of conduct for academic integrity. You are encouraged to read the policies and procedures for academic misconduct in the NMSU Undergraduate Catalog. ADA STATEMENT The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal antidiscrimination statue that provides comprehensive civil protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities, Corbett Center, Room 244, 575.646.6840. E-MAIL CONTACT All communications associated with this course will be via your official NMSU Blackboard e-mail account. Please be sure to check that account at least once day for important messages, handouts, etc.