Mr. Sewell's Class Policies:
Satisfactory Academic Performance Policy - Students are automatically dropped from this course for unsatisfactory academic performance. Half of the course modules must be completed by the mid-point of the quarter. This includes all assignments, projects, and exams or any other gradable item in the respective modules. Access to those modules is removed at mid-quarter. Students who are dropped and receive financial aid may fall short of their qualitative or quantitative requirements. Refer to the student handbook for more information on these policies.
Correspondence - Students must put their name on all correspondence. This includes voice mail, email, and electronic documents. Students are strongly encouraged to use the West Central Student Email account rather than any other email account. Email that comes from student.westcentraltech.edu receives top priority attention. Email coming from other sources often lands in the junk inbox and receives the lowest priority.
Grading Methodology - Exams are given top priority for grading. New modules only become available until after the exam from the previous module has been graded. For this reason your instructor may grade your exam before grading your homework. Discussion based grades are not posted until after the discussion has closed. This is because students are posting messages at different times. Please be patient and allow some time for your instructor to grade your work.
Assignments and Projects – All assignments and projects must be uploaded to the Angel system. Angel can be found on the internet at the following URL: http://gvtc.angellearning.com. Student user id and password information is available from the West Central website at this URL: http://www.westcentraltech.edu/. You should not email, fax, mail, or hand deliver your assignments unless you are specifically asked to do so. You are not directly penalized for poor grammar or spelling, however, answers with poor grammar or spelling are difficult to properly understand. MS Word puts a squiggly line under spelling and grammar errors. Take advantage of this feature. Please do your best to make your answers easy for your instructor to read and to understand. It will help your grade.
Electronic formats – Microsoft Office Documents are the recommended electronic format. This includes: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher. Other formats may be accepted. Please go to the Computer Helper page for more information.
Exams – All exams are to be taken on the Angel website. Exams consist of multiple choice, true/false, matching, ordering, or essay questions. Students should take their exam whenever they feel best prepared. Students may use their books and notes on exams. Students may not seek or accept assistance from any other person (other than your instructor or proctor) when taking an exam.
Sample Exams - Sample exams are available to help students prepare for regular exams. These sample exams do not count toward the final grade and are intended to help students identify areas of deficiency. Students may repeat sample exams as often as they like. Students may use sample exams to test their knowledge or computer equipment.
No class time is given for exams - It is permissible to take your exams either on or off campus. Students are responsible for using a reliable computer and internet connection when taking an exam. Incomplete exam attempts may be cleared upon request. The requesting student will be issued an entirely new exam with completely different questions. Student Work Days are offered in place of exam days.
Student Work Days - Instead of having exam days, Student Work Days are offered in this course. On these days, students can receive individual assistance with exams, projects, discussions, and assignments. Attendance is optional on Student Work Days. Students who need help catching up are strongly encouraged to attend.
Computer or Connection problems – It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that a reliable computer and internet connection is used. This is especially important when you are taking an exam. Students should have the latest updates for their operating system, application software, antivirus software, and anti-spyware software. Links to free versions of all required software is provided in the course. If you have any doubts about the reliability of your computer equipment or internet connection, it is recommended that you take your exam on one of the library computers.
Assignment Manager - The assignment manager is a Angel based storage area where you can upload and download your files. It is as easy as attaching files to email. Be sure to properly submit your work and do not disconnect from the internet during a document upload. An OK button will appear after the upload has completed.
Verifying Your Upload - You can easily verify that your assignment file uploaded properly by returning to the assignment and clicking on your file. Another way to return to your assignment is to click on your assignment score in your grade book from the Tools menu. This will command the assignment manager to download your file back to you. Also, please do not put your answers in the Comment box. The Comment box is to be used for your annotations. Make sure to click the "Send File" button to begin the upload and wait for an OK button to appear before clicking anything else.
Click on the Learning Modules Button
Locate the assignment and click on the "View/Complete Assignment" hyperlink.
Download any files provided by your instructor.
Complete your assignment using a word processor, spreadsheet, or presentation program and save your file or files.
When you have completed your assignment click the "Browse" button in the Assignment Manager to locate and attach your file or files. (Important - do not send any executable files such as .com .exe or auto macros - Because these files could contain viruses, I will not open them).
Click "Save" if you would like to continue working on this assignment later.
Click "Submit" to turn in your assignment to your instructor.
Receiving Assignment Feedback - Your instructor often gives you feedback for improving your assignment work. You can view assignment feedback by opening a graded assignment. You can open a graded assignment by clicking on your score in your grade book.
Receiving Exam Feedback - Your instructor may give you feedback on exam essay questions. This feedback appears below the correct answer. You can open a graded exam by clicking on your score in your grade book.
Protect your work! – To avoid losing your work, your assignments should be copied to a safe and reliable removable media (flash drive, CD, zip disk, floppy disk, etc.). In addition you should print your assignments that you turn in and keep them in a folder. Delete any files that you may have stored on a school or public computer. Finally, you should keep your Microsoft software and your internet security (i.e. antivirus, firewall, and anti-spyware) software up to date. This offers the best protection against computer viruses.
Proctored Exams (Online Students only) - College policies require that the identification of online students be verified. This is done by taking one of the exams in the presence of a proctor. Students may select any exam to be their proctored exam. They may also choose any qualified educational professional to be their proctor. A proctor form must be submitted before taking the proctored exam. Students who do not properly submit the proctor form will receive a zero on their highest exam score.
Excessive Absences (Non-Online Students only) - It is recognized that some students may miss class for reasons beyond their control. If an absence is not listed in the student handbook as an excused absence, it is counted as unexcused. Students are allowed to have a maximum of 6 unexcused absences. Students are dropped from the class after exceeding this limit. Students are still responsible for all material and assignments whether their absence is excused or not.
Getting Your Final Grade - State privacy regulations prohibit instructors from disclosing grades by phone, fax, or email. Instructors may discuss grades in person or in an approved password protected environment. Angel and Banner Web are the only approved password protected environments. You can monitor your grade throughout the quarter on the Angel system by clicking on the Tools button then click on View Grades.
Work Ethics Grade - All students will receive a Work Ethics Grade for this class. Complete work ethics information is in the student handbook. The work ethics program is designed to promote positive work behaviors and to prepare students to be better, more productive members of the workforce. Every student's work ethics evaluation begins with the status of "Meets Expectations." This equates to two points for each of the ten work ethics traits for a total of twenty points. The final work ethics grade will appear next to the course grade on the student's transcript. Student work ethics are observed during the quarter and are rated as follows:
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Classroom Accommodations
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West Central Technical College provides equal educational opportunities to
qualified students with disabilities. To request reasonable classroom
accommodations based on valid documentation, students should contact Ely
Elefante
eelefant@westcentraltech.edu, the Director of Counseling and Special
Services, in the office of Student Services at (770)537-5727 Murphy Campus
Room 1150, during the first two weeks of the course.