essay

Fall 2019 English 301A & B

Prof. Guzik Sections 1 (A) and 7 (B)

English 301b Conference Sign Up Procedures and Guidelines:

One-on-one conferences can be some of the most valuable time students spend in writing class. They are, however, a big investment of the instructor’s time, and they do require a bit of schedule flexibility on the part of students.

Pedagogically, the improvements to students’ writing make the schedule inconvenience worth it. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when signing up for conferences.

1. When we are cancelling class for conferences, I will ask students to sign up in advance for several different possible times. How many time slots I’ll ask for will vary by conference round.

2. Even when we cancel a full week of class for conferences, not all students in the class can be accommodated in conferences during class time.

3. As a result, I will ask students to sign up for alternative times.

4. Students will be assigned either one of the times that they signed up for or to a time slot during our regular class meeting time. Students will only be assigned one conference time—either at a time selected as a possibility by the student or during our regularly scheduled meeting time.

5. Students may only sign up for a particular conference time once . (One blank per person.)

6. Students who are not available in a particular week during our regular class time should note that on the conference sign up sheet in the space provided for that information.

7. In terms of attendance policies, missing a conference counts the same as missing the number of classes canceled for conferences.

8. Students may (and, in fact, are strongly encouraged to) rank their choices in order. Thus, you would put your first name in the slot you want most with a 1 next to your name. Your second choice time slot would have your name and the number 2, and so on.

9. Once all the blanks listed next to a particular time are filled, NO MORE STUDENTS MAY SIGN UP FOR THAT TIME. If you sign up for a time slot that is already filled, that will not count toward your minimum number of time slots required.

10. You may be assigned a time you don’t like. I will keep track of students who get low ranked choices and will give those students priority scheduling in the next round of conferences, presuming that those students follow the conference sign up guidelines.

11. STUDENTS WHO FAIL TO SIGN UP FOR THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF REQUIRED TIME SLOTS WILL BE SCHEDULED LAST AND MAY HAVE TO SCRAMBLE FOR A CONFERENCE AT A LESS THAN IDEAL TIME.

12. If students have the kinds of obligations that the university considers as valid reasons for missing class when determining whether an absence is excused or not during all the time slots available, alternative arrangements may be made, instructor’s and student’s schedules permitting.

13. Conference times are not permanent. The time you’re assigned for this round of conferences does not determine your assigned time for the next round. Keep that in mind when you’re considering the sacrifices you may need to make to schedule your one-on-one conference.

14. Once the instructor has assigned conference times, they will be posted as a Word document in BeachBoard and/or a news item and/or emailed to you. Be sure to check the schedule in advance of the first conference time.