Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 1 ENGL 207 DEA Introduction to Creative Writing: Multigenre March 2015 Session 14-54 March 23 May 16, 2015 Course Description Writing of fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry, including class criticism of student and professional work. Prerequisite: ENGL 112 Proctored Exams: Midterm Textbooks Burroway, J. Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft. 4 th ed. Longman, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-321-92317-2 Textbooks for the course may be ordered from MBS Direct. You can order online at http://direct.mbsbooks.com/columbia.htm (be sure to select Online Education rather than your home campus before selecting your class) by phone at 800-325-3252 For additional information about the bookstore, visit http://www.mbsbooks.com. Course Overview This course is an introduction to the craft of writing poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. We will discuss elements of craft that are particular to each genre and universal for all three. You should be able to identify the elements of craft and attempt to use them with increasing proficiency as your writing evolves throughout the session. We will do peer reviews but most of our critique in this course will be of professional work of contemporary writers. We will engage in craft analysis, locating different elements like character, significant details, and many more to figure out why each is successful. Because great writing can only come from those who are great readers, this is a reading intensive course. At the midterm, in lieu of a final oral presentation, you will take a proctored exam that analyzes your knowledge of craft and the readings we ve covered up to that point to ready you for workshop. In this course, you will not be graded on your creativity but rather your attempts at employing the craft skills we have learned each week as well as your responses to the readings and your peers.
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 2 Technology Requirements Participation in this course will require the basic technology for all online classes at Columbia College: a computer with reliable Internet access, a web browser, Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office or another word processor such as Open Office. You can find more details about standard technical requirements for our courses on our site. Course Objectives To practice the craft of poetry, story and essay writing, through a process that includes workshop, revision, and drafting To analyze the work of professional writers, paying special attention to the elements of craft Measurable Learning Outcomes Use the terminology of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry Assess readings through the discussion and study of several dozen works by professional writers Demonstrate an understanding of the process and value of writing, critiquing not only his/her work but the work of others Assess other students' writing by workshopping at least two pieces per student Demonstrate thorough revision through a drafting process that ends with turning in a final portfolio Become familiar with contemporary literary publications Write a critical essay in the form of a "defense" of the student's writing Learn about the process of publishing in magazines and journals Complete course work with a final examination, usually an oral presentation
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 3 Grading Grading Scale GRADE POINTS PERCENT A 900-1000 90-100 B 800-899 80-89 C 700-799 70-79 D 600-699 60-69 F 0-599 0-59 Grade Weights ASSIGNMENT POINTS PERCENT Discussions 200 20% Midterm Exam (Proctored) 100 10% Writing Exercises 100 10% Unit Assignments 150 15% Writing Workshops 200 20% Portfolio 250 25% Total 1000 100% Schedule of Due Dates WEEK ASSIGNMENT POINTS DUE DATE Introduction 0 Wednesday 1 Discussion 1: Imagery 20 Dropbox Exercise 1 Riddle Poem 25 Sunday Discussion 2: Poetry 20 Wednesday 2 Discussion 3: Voice 20 Dropbox Exercise 2 Persona Poem 25 Sunday Submit your proctor information -- Discussion 4: Character 20 Wednesday 3 Discussion 5: Setting 20 Unit 1 Dropbox Assignment: Poem 50 Sunday Discussion 6: Fiction and Story 20 Wednesday 4 Midterm (Proctored) 100 Dropbox Exercise 3 The Lake 25 Sunday 5 Discussion 7: Response to Last Night 20 Wednesday Unit 2 Dropbox Assignment: Short Story 50 Sunday Discussion 8: Creative Nonfiction 20 Wednesday 6 Discussion 9: Development and Revision 20 Dropbox Exercise 4 Brevity Magazine CNF 25 Sunday Submit your work for Workshop 1 (Discussions area) -- 7 Discussion 10: Response to Slouching Towards Bethlehem 20 Writer s Workshop 1 100 Wednesday Submit your work for Workshop 2 (Discussions area) -- Unit 3 Dropbox Assignment: Memoir Chapter 50 Sunday 8 Writer s Workshop 2 100 Wednesday Final Portfolio (Dropbox) 250 Saturday Total 1000
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 4 Assignment Overview Discussion: Discussion postings should be well thought out and well written; they should deepen our understanding of the subject. Once you have posted, you must also respond to at least one other student in the class. I encourage you to respond to a different student for each topic. Everyone in the class should get some peer feedback every week if you are vigilant about responding to a variety of people. The bulk of the learning in the course will happen in this dialogue. The first of two weekly Discussions both post and responses is due Wednesday each week; the second is due Sunday. Writing Exercises and Unit Assignments: You will have two types of writing experiences in this class: short writing exercises and longer, more formal writing in each of the three genres. The exercises are more directive and designed to help you use the tools of creative writing we ve studied and discussed in the class. The longer writing assignments (poem, short story and memoir) give you more leeway for experimentation. I will still be looking for a concerted effort on your part to utilize the tools we ve discussed up to that point and to see that you ve incorporated some of the feedback I ve given you on the shorter exercises. I will respond to all of these written pieces; two of your longer pieces will be used for a writer s workshop, where you will also get the benefit of peer feedback. Which two you workshop is entirely up to you. (Submit these writings to the Dropbox.) Midterm Exam (Proctored): The midterm exam will be composed of multiple-choice and shortanswer questions, testing your knowledge of key words and understanding of concepts in the course. You will also be given a short passage and may be asked to identify a simile or metaphor or another element of craft in the passage. Some questions might ask you to apply what you have learned so far by taking a cliché and making it fresh, changing a passage to make it more sinister, etc. You will have 2 hours to complete the exam. The Content area includes a study guide for the exam. This is not an open-book test. Be prepared, and please submit your proctor information on time (by end of Week 2). Writer s Workshop: In Weeks 6 and 7, you will post a piece (any of the longer assignments poem, short story, or memoir chapter) to workshop with your classmates in the Discussions area. This is your opportunity to have a group of intelligent beings (your peers!) discuss and take seriously your creative work. Be grateful for their time and know that this will make you a stronger writer. An important caveat: Do not defend your work in the workshop Discussions; keep your natural defensiveness in check (Burroway 12). Submitting your work: Do not provide an introduction or epilogue, as your work should not need addendum explanation. If it does, there is likely something not working within it. Let the writing speak for itself. Just let the class know what genre you are submitting in. Responses: For each workshop, you must respond to 5 of your peers pieces. Each response should address at least 3 elements of craft (not I liked but rather This works because ). This is challenging to do well, but I expect you to give it a try. Talk about what works as well as what doesn t. Use specific examples. All responses must be considerate and constructive. The more specific your critique, the easier it is for the writer to hear it. Learning how to be a good reader is an important skill for creative writers and one that takes as much time to develop as learning how to be a good writer. If you can learn to be a sharp and astute critic of the work of others, eventually you will be able to apply it to your own work. Do NOT respond to comments on your work for the entire week that your peers critique your work. AFTER that week, if you have questions about their comments, you may pose them. Do not defend your work. (i.e., Avoid questions like, didn t you see that I was trying to make the vampire a kinder, gentler monster?). Use what you can from the feedback; it may change your way of thinking about a piece and open you up to a new approach. Final Portfolio: Your final portfolio will be submitted in Week 8. It should include: 2 revised Dropbox Exercises (any 2 of riddle poem, persona poem, lake fiction, Brevity CNF) 1 revised Unit Dropbox Assignment (Unit Poem, Unit Short Story or Unit Memoir Chapter) a 1-2 page response to one work we read for class that changed your thinking about creative
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 5 writing or opened you up to new approaches a letter to me (1-2 pages) that details your growth in the class as a writer, what place creative writing holds in your future, and what professional writers, whose works you read in Burroway or in the course environment during this session, you enjoyed the most a 1-2 page explication of your revised Unit Assignment, defending the revision choices you made, explaining what worked and what didn t, and discussing what you might do for this piece in the future Course Schedule Week 1 Craft Target: Image Readings Chapter 1 (entire chapter) Chapter 2 (pp. 15-27, 39-43) Additional readings (links in the course Content area) o Anglo-Saxon Riddles o Sylvia Plath s Metaphors o May Swenson s Living Tenderly Introductory Discussion Introduce yourself to the class and the instructor. Where are you in the world? What do you do when you re not in school? Why did you sign up for a creative writing class? Who are some of your favorite authors? Favorite books? Post anything else you think is appropriate to share with the class. This is our first impression of you. Make a good one! Discussion 1: Imagery Select one of the assigned poems that you read this week. What is the subject of the poem? In other words, what is literally going on? Pick three of your favorite images from that poem. Remember, in writing, imagery is not simply about sight. What sense impressions does each image try to relate to other than sight? Why might this writer have chosen each of these images? Does each image contribute to an overall mood? What is that mood? Dropbox Exercise 1: Riddle Write a poem about yourself. Who are you? Where are you from? What qualities best define you? What relationships define you? What images best convey you? The form of this poem is a riddle in the tradition of the Anglo-Saxon riddles we ve read. Write your poem as if the reader had to guess the answer. The answer to the riddle should be: you! Just dive in here. Follow assignment guidelines and I ll grade with the assumption that we haven t learned all the rules of poetry yet, just the necessity of imagery. Your poem should be at least 10 lines long (and may be as many more as you like). Use concrete images, including at least two metaphors, and at least two similes. Ask at least one question in the poem. Otherwise, the form is open: rhyme or don t rhyme, make the lines themselves as long or as short as you would like. Strive to make your language fresh and surprising (Look at the contemporary poem by Sylvia Plath for an example of some just-picked, super-fresh diction.) Riddles are traditionally playful (see the Anglo-Saxon Riddles), so feel free to be funny as well as serious. Week 2 Craft Target: Voice Readings Chapter 3 (pp. 47-61, 85-89)
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 6 Chapter 10 (entire chapter) Additional readings (links in the course Content area) o Seamus Heaney s Bog Queen o Cate Marvin s A Windmill Makes a Statement o Melissa Range s The Rope, The Harpoon and The Warhorse o Sylvia Plath s Mirror Discussion 2: Poetry How did you define poetry before reading Chapter 10? Has your definition changed or expanded? Explain and give concrete examples from the readings (show that you ve read Burroway). Discussion 3: Voice This discussion is intended to be a warm-up for the workshops later in the session. This may be the first time you are posting creative work for someone other than your instructor. Although these are not meant to be revised works, you may wish to consult the guidelines for providing feedback in workshops (See Course Documents at the top of the course Content area). Consider this a mini-workshop. Remember writers, don t defend your work, but be grateful that someone is giving you feedback! 1. Select and complete ONE of the following Try this Exercises 3.1 (pp. 49-50), 3.2 (p. 52), 3.3 (p. 53) or 3.6 (p. 58). These are meant to be quick exercises (Spend about 15 minutes writing and then stop, even if you don t get to a conclusion). Don t worry about revision, but you should proofread and use spellcheck. Post what you come up with. 2. For the exercise you selected, discuss how you attempted to apply what Burroway discusses in the corresponding chapter section. For example, if I chose 3.6, then I would discuss how I tried to work with point of view (POV) and the first/second person POV. Dropbox Exercise 2: Persona (Character Voice) Poem For this assignment, you ll write a poem from the point of view of another person (or a thing). You might choose someone you know, like a family member or a friend; you might choose to imagine the life and thoughts of a historical, literary, or mythological character, like Zeus, Jimi Hendrix, Keats or Cleopatra. You might also write from the point of view of a celebrity or a TV character (even a cartoon or Muppets character). You could even choose to personify an inanimate object or something in nature, like a weapon, a car, an animal, a computer or a tree. The possibilities are endless! Writing a persona poem allows you to imagine the thoughts and feelings of another person (or thing). To do this, you need, first of all, to be able to empathize with the experiences of someone/something very different from you and to look for commonalities. You might, in some cases, need to do some research in order to understand the person s/thing s historical and cultural contexts. This kind of poem also allows you to experiment with diction, style, and voice, since you will be writing in another person s/thing s voice instead of your own. Submit your poem to the Dropbox by Sunday night. Formal requirements: Each poem must be at least 16 lines long (and may be longer if you like). Write this one in multiple stanzas. Make sure there are spaces between each. Think of the function of a stanza as a section or paragraph of the greater whole of the poem. (Caveat: Published poets invariably do not center their poems; they left justify them.) Enjamb at least 2 lines (Burroway 306-307). Persona poems should be written in the first person POV (the I voice).
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 7 Use your persona s name in your title (look at the readings for examples) so your readers know who is speaking in the poem. Proctor Information: Be sure to submit your proctor information to the Dropbox by the end of the week. Please use the Student Proctor Information Form to do this (found in Proctoring Information module in the Content area. Remember to Save the form, before placing it in Dropbox). Week 3 Craft Targets: Character and Setting Readings Chapter 4 (pp. 94-109, 127-130) Chapter 5 (pp. 135-148,154-158) Discussion 4: Character Select one of the poems from the end of Chapter 4 and discuss how it demonstrates some or all of the lessons of character presentation discussed by Burroway earlier in the chapter (i.e., character as desire, image, voice, action, thought, presented by the author, conflict, and stock and flat characters). Discussion 5: Setting Select one of the poems at the end of Chapter 5. How many ways does the poem conform to Burroway s definition of setting as the world, as a camera, as mood and symbol and/or as action? Poetry Dropbox Assignment This assignment has very few formal requirements. The subject and type of poem you choose to write are entirely up to you. You must attempt to use the skills we ve been working on (please don t submit poems you ve written prior to this class). For those who would like more constraints check out some of the Try this exercises in the chapters we ve read. If you would rather try something formal, try out a sonnet (make sure you look up the formal requirements of a sonnet, if you do so). Another option would be to write a place poem. Check out Chapter 5 for ideas. Spend a lot of time in revision with this piece and work to polish this into a gem of imagery and double-meaning that can still be ascertained by the reader. Strive for clarity over obscurity, showing over telling, and concrete over abstract. Remember, good poetry is grammatical. Submit your poem to the Dropbox by Sunday night. Formal requirements: Week 4 Craft Target: Story Readings The poem must be at least 14 lines long but no more than 40. You must apply skills we ve already started working on up to this point: figurative language, imagery, details, voice, avoiding cliché where appropriate, interesting line breaking (enjambment), etc. Because you ve only turned in 1 st person writing up to this point, you may NOT use 1 st person for this assignment only 2 nd (in which the reader is the you) or 3 rd (you can choose what distance). Make sure your poem is formatted correctly. (A title is absolutely essential.) Chapter 6 (pp. 166-175, 179-186) Chapter 9 (entire chapter)
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 8 Discussion 6: Fiction and Story This post is intended to be another warm-up for the workshops later in the session. Keep in mind the guidelines for providing feedback. From Chapter 9, spend no more than 15 minutes attempting Try This 9.8 (p. 270). The point is not to produce something polished but to dive into story writing. Spellcheck your work, then post what you wrote. Then sketch out the rest of the story. Make a chronological list of major events of the story. Rearrange this list for a plot, which should suggest not only the order of events as they are told but also cause and effect. Post both lists! Dropbox Exercise 3: The Lake Although you re now working in a new genre, fiction, the writing still needs to account for the craft tools we ve discussed so far. This one, especially, focuses on character and setting. Just as in poetry, feel free to make stuff up. It s fiction, after all. Story is important for your understanding of character but this exercise does not want you to reveal too much of it. The following exercise is from John Gardner s The Art of Fiction. Write a 1-3 page description of a lake as viewed by a young man who has just committed murder. Do NOT mention the murder. Do NOT focus mainly on the character; focus mainly on the lake. Submit your description to the Dropbox by Sunday night. Midterm (Proctored) You must take your midterm exam between Monday and Sunday this week. You will have 2 hours to complete the exam; it must be taken in a proctored setting. See the information below and in the Content area of the course about locating an approved proctor. Week 5 More about Fiction Reading: Salter s Last Night (link in the course Content area) Discussion 7: In response to Last Night 1. From what point of view is the story told? 1 st person, 2 nd or 3 rd? Limited or omniscient? Something else? What is the effect of this point of view on the story? 2. Where does the first instance of conflict appear in the story? 3. What is the climax or turning point of the story? Why? 4. Although the resolution of this story doesn t resolve all of the characters issues, why does the story feel complete? What is the resolution? Short Story Unit Assignment (Dropbox) For this assignment, you must write a short story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end and is at least 6 pages in length. Your subject is entirely up to you, but you should attempt to use what we ve been working on in class. Sketch out a plot chart to help you get started. Think about the main character and what he/she wants more than anything. What s standing in the protagonist s way? Make sure you spend some time revising. Read through to make sure you have fully realized scenes and not all summary. The climactic point of the story should be a scene. Are there enough details about the setting to make it a real atmosphere for your characters? Do you have too many details that slow down the narrative or not enough to paint the setting? For anyone who wishes to have further help getting started, check out any of the Try This exercises. Let your imagination guide you but remember interesting fiction often comes from some element of truth. Perhaps you are nothing like your main character but at some point you ve both felt betrayed, for example. Think about how that felt, what you did in response,
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 9 etc. You probably have moved on by now, but does your character? As always, make sure the work is as clean and grammatically sound as possible. Submit your story to the Dropbox by Sunday night. Week 6 Creative Nonfiction: Development and Revision Readings Chapter 7 (entire chapter) Chapter 8 (entire chapter) Workshop Guidelines (links in the course Content) Discussion 8: Creative Nonfiction Select one of the readings at the end of the chapter. How does it conform to the rules of creative nonfiction? How is the piece similar to fiction? Discussion 9: Development and Revision After reading Chapter 7, develop a revision plan for the unit piece you are likely to include in your portfolio. Do you need to outline or make a quilt? What are the major weaknesses with the piece and how do you intend to address them? Dropbox Exercise 4 - The Brevity Magazine Exercise After familiarizing yourself with Brevity Magazine, try to produce a piece that focuses on anyone or anything but you that the editors might consider publishing. For example, write a profile of someone who is well-known where you live or write about a local issue or place. The longest pieces Brevity accepts are 750 words and all submissions must be nonfiction. As a result, this exercise only requires 750 words. Brevity looks for clear, concise, vivid prose. Still, don t be afraid to use images like a poet. Make sure each is important. Try to focus on one incident or character. Put a lot of work into significant details and consider where the essay takes the reader. Look at how published writers in Brevity end their essays. You can write this in first person, if you wish, but remember, this should not be about you. This is an attempt at literary journalism. You can move beyond who, what, when, where and why (although those should be registered, too) to a greater place of understanding and making sense of an incident or a person, so long as the person isn t you! This means some form of research will be necessary for this piece. You may need to interview a subject, look up information about the topic you are interested in, or observe the goings on of a place that fascinates you. Writer s Workshop 1 Post the first piece you want your classmates to workshop in the Writer s Workshop 1 Discussion forum: your choice either your poem or your short story. Course Evaluation: Please evaluate the course. You will be able to submit your course evaluation between Sunday of Week 5 and Thursday of Week 7. A link will be sent to your CougarMail that will allow you to access the evaluation. The evaluation is anonymous. I will not see the results until after the grades are posted. Week 7 Creative Nonfiction (continued) Readings: Didion s Slouching Towards Bethlehem (link in the course Content area; be patient when the PDF is loading it can take several minutes before you will be able to scroll beyond page 1.) Discussion 10: Response to Slouching What craft techniques does Didion employ throughout the essay? Draw on all our craft targets over the last 6 weeks to help you answer. How would you characterize the voice of
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 10 the essay? How do the craft techniques Didion employs help create this voice or set this tone? Memoir Chapter Unit Assignment (Dropbox) Imagine you intend to write a memoir about your life story up to this point. Perhaps you d have a couple sections on childhood or one on college. It may help to initially sketch out all the sections of your memoir. Then select one and write it. Imagine it is one chapter in your longer life story. The more focused it is, perhaps on one major life event, the better. This will help you to create scene over summary and develop characters. The writing must be in the 1 st person, a typical feature of contemporary memoir. The sound of the piece should almost be fictional, in that a story is developing, as are characters and scenes another convention of the genre. However, everything must be true or at the very least true to your memory of what you are writing about. If you need to, call/write to friends and family members who could help fill in any blanks. Research is important even when you write about yourself. Write at least 6 pages for the assignment. As always, make sure the work is as clean and grammatically sound as possible. Submit your memoir chapter to the Dropbox by Sunday night. Writer s Workshop (Discussions area) Responses to Workshop 1: Respond to 5 pieces offered in the Workshop. Try to engage at least 3 bullet points on the appropriate workshop guideline sheet. Posting work for Workshop 2: Post the second piece you want your classmates to workshop: your choice your poem, short story, or memoir chapter. Week 8 The Business of Creative Writing Readings: Life after Intro to Creative Writing (link in the course Content area) Writer s Workshop 2 Respond to 5 pieces (people you didn t workshop previously). Try to engage at least 3 bullet points on the appropriate workshop guideline sheet. Final Portfolio (Dropbox) Course Policies Student Conduct The final portfolio should include revisions: 2 revised Dropbox Exercises (any 2 of riddle poem, persona poem, lake fiction, Brevity CNF) and 1 revised Unit Dropbox Assignment (Unit Poem, Unit Short Story or Unit Memoir Chapter). Also, include a 1-2 page response to one work we read for class that changed your thinking about creative writing or opened you up to new approaches here you can talk about the impact on your own work as well. Also, include a letter to me (1-2 pages) that details your growth in the class as a writer, what place creative writing holds in your future, and what professional writers whose works you read in the course and enjoyed the most. Finally, include a 1-2 page explication of your revised Unit Assignment. In it, you will defend the revision choices you made, explain what worked and what didn t, and discuss what you might do for this piece in the future. All Columbia College students, whether enrolled in a land-based or online course, are responsible for behaving in a manner consistent with Columbia College's Student Conduct Code and Acceptable Use Policy. Students violating these policies will be referred to the office of Student Affairs and/or the office of Academic Affairs for possible disciplinary action. The Student Code of Conduct and the Computer Use Policy for students can be found in the Columbia College Student Handbook. The
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 11 Plagiarism Handbook is available online; you can also obtain a copy by calling the Student Affairs office (Campus Life) at 573-875-7400. The teacher maintains the right to manage a positive learning environment, and all students must adhere to the conventions of online etiquette. Your grade will be based in large part on the originality of your ideas and your written presentation of these ideas. Presenting the words, ideas, or expression of another in any form as your own is plagiarism. Students who fail to properly give credit for information contained in their written work (papers, journals, exams, etc.) are violating the intellectual property rights of the original author. For proper citation of the original authors, you should reference the appropriate publication manual for your degree program or course (APA, MLA, etc.). Violations are taken seriously in higher education and may result in a failing grade on the assignment, a grade of "F" for the course, or dismissal from the College. Collaboration conducted between students without prior permission from the instructor is considered plagiarism and will be treated as such. Spouses and roommates taking the same course should be particularly careful. All required papers may be submitted for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers may be included in the Turnitin.com reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. This service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site. Non-Discrimination There will be no discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, ideology, political affiliation, veteran status, age, physical handicap, or marital status. Disability Services Students with documented disabilities who may need academic services for this course are required to register with the Coordinator for Disability Services at (573) 875-7626. Until the student has been cleared through the disability services office, accommodations do not have to be granted. If you are a student who has a documented disability, it is important for you to read the entire syllabus before enrolling in the course. The structure or the content of the course may make an accommodation not feasible. Online Participation You are expected to read the assigned texts and participate in the discussions and other course activities each week. Assignments should be posted by the due dates stated on the grading schedule in your syllabus. If an emergency arises that prevents you from participating in class, please let your instructor know as soon as possible. Attendance Policy Attendance for a week will be counted as having submitted a course assignment for which points have been earned during that week of the session or if the proctoring information has been submitted or the plagiarism quiz taken if there is no other assignment due that week. A class week is defined as the period of time between Monday and Sunday (except for Week 8, when the week and the course will end on Saturday at midnight). The course and system deadlines are all based on the Central Time Zone. Cougar E-mail All students are provided a CougarMail account when they enroll in classes at Columbia College. You are responsible for monitoring e-mail from that account for important messages from the College and from your instructor. You may forward your Cougar e-mail account to another account; however, the
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 12 College cannot be held responsible for breaches in security or service interruptions with other e-mail providers. Students should use e-mail for private messages to the instructor and other students. The class discussions are for public messages so the class members can each see what others have to say about any given topic and respond. Late Assignment Policy An online class requires regular participation and a commitment to your instructor and your classmates to regularly engage in the reading, discussion and writing assignments. Although most of the online communication for this course is asynchronous, you must be able to commit to the schedule of work for the class for the next eight weeks. You must keep up with the schedule of reading and writing to successfully complete the class. No late work will be accepted. No exceptions. Please read through the course schedule to determine if these assignment due dates will be an issue for you. There may be times when I will take assignments early due to extenuating circumstances. If this is the case for you, please email me privately at least a week prior to the assignment due date. Course Evaluation You will have an opportunity to evaluate the course near the end of the session. Course evaluations will open on Sunday of Week 5 and will remain open until Thursday of Week 7. A link will be sent to your CougarMail that will allow you to access the evaluation. Be assured that the evaluations are anonymous and that your instructor will not be able to see them until after final grades are submitted. Proctor Policy Students taking courses that require proctored exams must submit their completed proctor request forms to their instructors by the end of the second week of the session. Proctors located at Columbia College campuses are automatically approved. The use of Proctor U services is also automatically approved. The instructor of each course will consider any other choice of proctor for approval or denial. Additional proctor choices the instructor will consider include: public librarians, high school or college instructors, high school or college counseling services, commanding officers, education service officers, and other proctoring services. Personal friends, family members, athletic coaches and direct supervisors are not acceptable. Additional Resources Orientation for New Students This course is offered online, using course management software provided by Desire2Learn and Columbia College. The Student Manual provides details about taking an online course at Columbia College. You may also want to visit the course demonstration to view a sample course before this one opens. Technical Support If you have problems accessing the course or posting your assignments, contact your instructor, the Columbia College Helpdesk, or the D2L Helpdesk for assistance. Contact information is also available within the online course environment. CCHelpDesk@ccis.edu 800-231-2391 ex. 4357 helpdesk@desire2learn.com 877-325-7778
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 13 Online Tutoring Smarthinking is a free online tutoring service available to all Columbia College students. Smarthinking provides real-time online tutoring and homework help for Math, English, and Writing. The Writing Center can be used for writing assistance in any course. Smarthinking also provides access to live tutorials in writing and math, as well as a full range of study resources, including writing manuals, sample problems, and study skills manuals. You can access the service from wherever you have a connection to the Internet. I encourage you to take advantage of this free service provided by the college. Access Smarthinking through CougarTrack under Students->Academics->Academic Resources.