WAC PAPER

HS431, N431PL, N431SD, SW431 Health Policy and Professional Leadership

Effective and Approved Academic Year 2020-2021

METHODIST COLLEGE

Official Course Syllabus

Course

HS431, N431, SW431

Course Title

Health Policy and Professional Leadership

Course Description

This non-clinical course is designed to ensure that the baccalaureate-educated student has a solid understanding of the broader context of health care, including how patient care services are organized and financed, and how reimbursement is structured. The learner will develop an understanding of the identification of healthcare issues, how healthcare policy is both developed and changed, and how that process can be influenced through the efforts of healthcare professionals, government, the laity and special advocacy groups. Emphasis is placed on the professional healthcare role as Member of the Profession.

Course Prerequisites

Health Sciences: HS304

Nursing: N361

Social Work: SW170, SW270

Course Co-requisites

Health Sciences: NA

Nursing: NA

Social Work: NA

Course Credit Hours: Three (3) Credit Hours

Three (3) credits theory (One credit hour includes a minimum of 50 minutes of instruction each week and one to two hours of work outside class for the equivalent of 15 weeks)

Course Student Learning Outcomes and Undergraduate Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student learner will:

Course Student Learning Objectives	Undergraduate Student Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate basic knowledge of healthcare policy, finance, and regulatory environments, including local, state, national, and global healthcare trends.	4. Integrative Learning
2. Examine legislative and regulatory processes relevant to the provision of health care.	3. Inquiry and Analysis 4. Integrative Learning
3. Describe state and national statutes, rules, and regulations that authorize and define professional health care practice.	1. Communication 4. Integrative Learning
4. Explore the impact of socio-cultural, economic, legal, and political factors influencing healthcare delivery and practice.	1. Communication 2. Civic Engagement 4. Integrative Learning
5. Discuss the implications of healthcare policy on issues of access, equity, affordability, and social justice in healthcare delivery.	1. Communication 2. Civic Engagement
6. Articulate, through a Health care perspective, issues concerning healthcare delivery to decision makers within healthcare organizations and other policy arenas.	1. Communication 3. Inquiry and Analysis 4. Integrative Learning
7. Participate as a professional in political processes and grassroots legislative efforts to influence healthcare policy.	2. Civic Engagement 3. Inquiry and Analysis 4. Integrative Learning

Course Student Learning Outcomes and Healthcare Management Program Outcomes

Course Objectives	Healthcare Management Outcomes
1. Demonstrate basic knowledge of healthcare policy, finance, and regulatory environments, including local, state, national, and global healthcare trends.	Evaluate social, political, and legal forces within the healthcare stratosphere Apply evidence-based practices in health care leadership, management, and human resources. Analyze budgetary concepts, financial management strategies, and cost accounting practices in organizational environments.
2. Examine legislative and regulatory processes relevant to the provision of health care.	Evaluate social, political, and legal forces within the healthcare stratosphere
3. Describe state and national statutes, rules, and regulations that authorize and define professional health care practice.	Evaluate social, political, and legal forces within the healthcare stratosphere Apply evidence-based practices in health care leadership, management, and human resources.
4. Explore the impact of socio-cultural, economic, legal, and political factors influencing healthcare delivery and practice.	Evaluate social, political, and legal forces within the healthcare stratosphere Apply evidence-based practices in health care leadership, management, and human resources.
5. Discuss the implications of healthcare policy on issues of access, equity, affordability, and social justice in healthcare delivery.	Evaluate social, political, and legal forces within the healthcare stratosphere Apply evidence-based practices in health care leadership, management, and human resources.
6. Articulate, through a Health care perspective, issues concerning healthcare delivery to decision makers within healthcare organizations and other policy arenas.	Evaluate social, political, and legal forces within the healthcare stratosphere Apply evidence-based practices in health care leadership, management, and human resources. Demonstrate ethical leadership approaches to business and clinical decision making in health care organizations
7. Participate as a professional in political processes and grassroots legislative efforts to influence healthcare policy.	Evaluate social, political, and legal forces within the healthcare stratosphere Apply evidence-based practices in health care leadership, management, and human resources.

Course Student Learning Outcomes and Nursing Program Student Learning Outcomes

Course Student Learning Objectives	Nursing Program Student Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate basic knowledge of healthcare policy, finance, and regulatory environments, including local, state, national, and global healthcare trends.	3. Understanding the Healthcare Environment
2. Examine legislative and regulatory processes relevant to the provision of health care.	3. Understanding the Healthcare Environment
3. Describe state and national statutes, rules, and regulations that authorize and define professional health care practice.	1. Professional Role Development
4. Explore the impact of socio-cultural, economic, legal, and political factors influencing healthcare delivery and practice.	3. Understanding the Healthcare Environment
5. Discuss the implications of healthcare policy on issues of access, equity, affordability, and social justice in healthcare delivery.	3. Understanding the Healthcare Environment
6. Articulate, through a Health care perspective, issues concerning healthcare delivery to decision makers within healthcare organizations and other policy arenas.	1. Professional Role Development 3. Understanding the Healthcare Environment
7. Participate as a professional in political processes and grassroots legislative efforts to influence healthcare policy.	1. Professional Role Development

Course Student Learning Outcomes and Social Work Program Student Learning Outcomes

Course Student Learning Objectives	Social Work Program Student Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate basic knowledge of healthcare policy, finance, and regulatory environments, including local, state, national, and global healthcare trends.	Integrate research-informed practice in providing culturally-appropriate care to a diverse clientele in a variety of social systems and contexts.
2. Examine legislative and regulatory processes relevant to the provision of health care.	Integrate research-informed practice in providing culturally-appropriate care to a diverse clientele in a variety of social systems and contexts.
3. Describe state and national statutes, rules, and regulations that authorize and define professional health care practice.	Practice integrity and competence in building relationships with persons while respecting dignity and worth of individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
4. Explore the impact of socio-cultural, economic, legal, and political factors influencing healthcare delivery and practice.	Practice professionalism that embodies a commitment to inquiry and community to improve practice and service delivery. Respond to influences and determinants that impact human rights and public policy
5. Discuss the implications of healthcare policy on issues of access, equity, affordability, and social justice in healthcare delivery.	Practice integrity and competence in building relationships with persons while respecting dignity and worth of individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities
6. Articulate, through a Health care perspective, issues concerning healthcare delivery to decision makers within healthcare organizations and other policy arenas.	Practice professionalism that embodies a commitment to inquiry and community to improve practice and service delivery.
7. Participate as a professional in political processes and grassroots legislative efforts to influence healthcare policy.	Practice professionalism that embodies a commitment to inquiry and community to improve practice and service delivery.

Course Lessons or Modules

Unit 1: An overview of health policy and law

i. The role of conceptualizing health policy and law

ii. Policy and the policymaking process

iii. Law and the legal system

iv. An Overview of U.S. Health Care System

v. The Roles of Public health institutions and systems

vi. Health policy and individual rights

Unit 2: Essential Issues in Health Policy and Law

vii. Social determinates

viii. Health insurance

ix. The relationship of health policy to health economics

x. U. S Health reform

xi. U.S. Government Programs: Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare

xii. Healthcare Quality Policy and Law

xiii. Public health preparedness

Unit 3: Basic skills in health policy analysis

xiv. Creating and Writing a Health Policy Analysis

Learning Activities

Required readings

Team Based Learning

Dialogue/discussion

In-Class Activities

Multimedia presentations

On-line Discussions

Case studies Problem based Activities

Evaluation Methods

Reflective Assignments

Journal Club

Discussion Posts

Health Policy Topic Paper

Health Professional Presentation

Quizzes & Exams

Grading Scale

Grading Scale:

A = 90%

B = 80%

C = 70%

D = 60%

F = Below 60%

Note: Desire2Learn/Brightspace® course materials will be closed to student view following completion of course. Students are responsible for retrieving all information from the course prior to final grade posting.

Academic Honesty

As a community of students and professional nurses, the College strives to set and maintain the highest standards of integrity. Any dishonesty related to academic work in the classroom or clinical area will constitute misconduct and, as such, is incompatible with the standards of this College and subject to investigation and disciplinary action. Students are expected to read the policy in their handbook/catalog concerning academic conduct. Recording of a quiz or exam will be considered an attempt to give unauthorized aide and/or to obtain improper acquisition of a copy of a quiz or exam and considered to constitute academic misconduct.

Plagiarism is the representation of someone else’s written work as the student’s independent work. To discourage plagiarism, students are advised the College may submit written work to an online detection service for evaluation of originality and proper use and attribution of sources. Turnitin® is available to students through the Learning Management System D2L Brightspace®.

Books and Resources

Wilensky, S & Tetelbaum, J. (2017). Essentials of Health Policy and Law 4th ed. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning. ISBN-13: 978-1-2841-51619

Each student entering Methodist College is required to own a laptop. The reasons behind the policy are many but-- just like textbooks, attendance in class, and appropriate study time--a laptop has been deemed to be critical to a student's success. Since Methodist College may offer computer checks to help ensure your laptop/notebook meets the minimum specifications, watch college communication resources for times and places.

Minimum Laptop Requirements

Please make sure all drivers are up to date prior to any exam. Prior to updating any operating system (OS) be sure to verify that Examsoft has a software release supporting the new OS. Surface Pro, Surface Books, and Surface Laptop devices are supported (Non-pro Surface devices are NOT supported). No Chrome Books are supported.

Laptop/Notebook	Specifications
CPU	Intel Core i5 or better
RAM	4 GB (8GB or more preferred)
Hard Drive Space	256 GB or greater
Display	11 inches or larger
Screen Resolution	1024x768 or higher
Wireless	802.11 g/n/ac
Operating System	Windows 10 is supported. Mac OS X 10.11, 10.12, 10.13, 10.14 are supported.
For Support	Working USB, newer devices may require an adaptor
Adobe Reader	Version 9, 11, or DC
MS Office 365 can be attained, free of charge through the college. Please submit a student IT support ticket for directions on how to acquire your free copy.	Additional programs are also required: Shockwave plug-in http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/ Flash plug-in http://get.adobe.com/flash player/ Adobe Acrobat plug-in http://get.adobe.com/reader Flash plug-in http://get.adobe.com/flash player/ Adobe Acrobat plug-in http://get.adobe.com/reader

Students are required to purchase a subscription to Examsoft® and to download such exams as are required by the faculty member for assessment of student learning.]

All exams are delivered via Examsoft® and students are required to download the exam prior to the testing date as specified by the faculty member. The password to open the exam will be announced in class. Students’ laptops must be charged and able to sustain a charge for a minimum of three hours. Students are recommended to bring a charged back-up battery or second laptop to assure testing success.

A student who is not able to complete an exam due to failure to bring a device will receive a zero for the examination. If a device fails during an exam, the faculty member will determine the appropriate course of action for completing the examination.

Disability Statement

Methodist College complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended states in part under section 7(20) that “no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance.” A disability is defined as a “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.”

Reasonable accommodations will be made for qualified students with disabilities unless they impose an undue hardship on the College. Accommodation requests can be made by completing the Request for Accommodations form which can be accessed via the Methodist College website at http://www.methodistcol.edu/disability-services.aspx. Paper copies are available in the office of the Director of the OASIS (W160).

Methodist College encourages students to access all resources available for consistent support and access to programs and is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities to students with documented disabilities (e.g. mental health, attentional, learning, chronic health, sensory, or physical).

To ensure access to this class and program, please contact the Director of the OASIS for a confidential conversation about the process for requesting accommodations in classroom and/or clinical settings.

Director of the OASIS Office: W160 | Phone: 309-282-8451

Please note that accommodations are not provided retroactively, so students are encouraged to register with the Director of the OASIS as soon as they begin their semester and/or program.

Inquiries may be addressed to the appropriate program Chair or Dean.

Client Confidentiality Policy

Through the various educational experiences, nursing students are privileged to confidential information. As pre-professional nurses, students must adhere to the professional behaviors as directed by the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements which includes maintenance of confidentiality and requirements documented in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

MC students may not disclose any information regarding clients, their families or information pertaining to clinical agencies outside of that specific care giving experience.

Every MC student will be required to sign the “Student Confidentiality Form” at the beginning of the first clinical course. The Confidentiality policy will be re-emphasized in each subsequent clinical course.

The signed “Student Confidentiality Form” will be kept on file in the office of the Registrar.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."

· Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.

· Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.

· Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

School officials with legitimate educational interest;

Other schools to which a student is transferring;

Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;

Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;

Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;

Accrediting organizations;

To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;

Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and

State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

For additional information, you may call 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327) (voice). Individuals who use TDD may use the Federal Relay Service.

Or you may contact us at the following address:

Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20202-8520

Student Responsibility Statement

It is the student’s responsibility to engage in professional and ethical behavior and to know the requirements to complete his or her degree, including—but not limited to—required courses, prerequisites courses, policies, procedures, payment and payment arrangements, awarding of financial aid, and catalog and handbook requirements. Methodist College faculty and staff will partner with students to support their success and their efforts to complete their degrees in a timely manner. All policies and procedures can be found in the student handbook or college catalog available on the Methodist College website.

Please note: There are no children allowed in the classroom during a class period.

______________________________________________________________________________

Testing Services

Testing Services provides an environment that supports testing for students with ADA accommodations and students with the need to make up an examination. If you miss an exam, review the syllabus for specific course policy and contact the instructor for an opportunity to make up the exam through the Testing Services office. After making arrangements with the instructor, contact the Testing Services office by email at [email protected] or in person in W182 to schedule a specific testing time. Students are responsible for scheduling testing times and be proactive when working with Testing Services.

Course Number –N431/HS431/SW431

Term : Fall 2020

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Instructor Name: Phoebe Maholovich MSN, RN

Location: Online Methodist College Course via D2L

Institution provided faculty email: [email protected]

Office Number: E121

My email is accessible via my smart phone so I will check this frequently and at least once after 5 pm daily and on weekends. I will respond to your email within 24 hours.

Office hours: Tuesdays 1pm-4pm Virtual office hours by appointment.

COURSE MATERIALS

As an enrolled student, it is solely your responsibility to make sure that you have access to all required course materials by the start of the term.

Required Textbooks

Wilensky, S & Teitelbaum, J. (2020). Essentials of health policy and law. [4th ed.] Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett

Recommended, not required:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. ISBN: 978-1-4338

BASIC ONLINE COURSE EXPECTATIONS

Email:

· Students are required to use their official COLLEGE issued email account

Computer and Internet:

· Students are responsible for ensuring that their own computer is in good working order and they have reliable Internet access to complete course activities. Students are expected to have alternate arrangements in case of unexpected computer problems or Internet service outages (e.g., family, friends, campus lab, public library, etc.) especially on Exam/quiz weeks. Please be sure that your computer battery is FULLY CHARGED and that the software programs are up to date. If your computer ‘dies’ during an exam, you may not be able to complete it.

· In addition, I recommend having 2 browsers loaded so that if one freezes up, you can get into an exam through another browser. Top choices: Mozilla Firefox and Chrome.

· As a best practice, regularly backup computer files and maintain at least two copies of important files in two separate locations (e.g., USB drive, cloud storage, personal computer) to avoid data loss in the event of hardware failure or user error.

Credit and Time Commitment:

· Students should expect to spend approximately 9-12 hours per week on course-related matters (per three-credit course). A four-credit course and courses with a clinical component will require proportionately more hours. Students should consider this when deciding how many credits to register for each term.

NETIQUeTtE

Communication and postings in discussions should be professional in an online course as it is considered to be the online classroom. Remember that your body language and tone will not be communicated in an online environment. So, anything that is sent in an email or posted in discussion areas are read by real people. Please address all peers by name in any discussion or communications.

Respect others using formal language with courtesy.

Use of the following expressions are unacceptable in this course:

· emoticons

· abbreviations

· slang

· instant message acronyms

QUESTIONS

General Course Questions: To ensure efficient student-instructor communication and to assist others who may share your thoughts, please post all general course-related questions to the General Questions Forum [GQF] found in the discussions tab. This will allow the instructor to answer your questions and others who may have a similar question to see the answer. In addition, students may feel free to answer peer questions in this area if the answer is known. By this method, we all support each other in sharing information.

This forum will be checked frequently to give you timely feedback to your questions.

To be sure all students’ needs are addressed, you must start a new thread for each question and format the subject line as follows: Last name_subject or topic. *Only those inquiries of a confidential nature should be submitted to the instructor using email.

Methods of instruction

This course will be taught in a fully online format. Student engagement in active learning will be encouraged. Discussions, group and individual work such as case studies, research papers, concept maps and presentations, quizzes, tests and peer evaluation are examples of learning activities that may be utilized. A 16-week tracker/calendar providing a weekly outline of topics, assignments and learning activities is provided in course. Any changes made will be announced and highlighted on the updated tracker. The verification of the most recent version can be viewed in the footer of the tracker. [Example: 08.10.18v3]

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING CRITERIA

Use of Turnitin

Turnitin is an educational tool for evaluating and improving your writing skills. It will find matching text and provide the percentage of similarity with other sources – websites, student papers, articles, journals, periodicals & books.

Grading Criteria

Graded assignments will have specific expectations and due dates posted in the course. Grading rubrics are used for most of the course assignments. Your grade will be determined using these guidelines and rubrics. I will begin grading submissions after the due date, as it is preferable to post the scores for all student submissions at the same time. Please note: As with all nursing courses, there is no rounding.

POLICY ON LATE WORK DURING THE TERM

Deadlines are important to help you plan your work and to allow adequate time to receive instructor feedback. Exceptions can be made for unusual circumstances, if the request is handled proactively and in a professional manner. There is a limit to the number of extensions that will be granted and will be based upon the circumstances.

Anytime you feel that you might be falling behind in the course, it is best to contact me to discuss your situation. I am here to help. Unless you have received instructor approval for an extension before the date an assignment is due, assignments submitted one minute after the time due will be considered late.

Without prior approval, late assignments will lose 10% of the points for each day late. Assignments will typically not be accepted after the 7th day past deadline and will receive a score of zero.

POLICY ON LATE WORK AFTER THE TERM

Work cannot be accepted after the term ends unless arrangements have been made for an incomplete grade according to established COLLEGE policy. Please refer to the student handbook.

COURSE ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

The course week begins on Monday and ends the following Sunday at 2355. To successfully complete an online course, students must exercise good time management skills and be diligent in keeping up with course activities and due dates. Devote regular blocks of time to work on the course just as if the class were meeting face-to-face.

Online participation policies

Attendance, Participation, and Etiquette:

Attendance and participation is important for an online class. It is expected that all students will treat their peers and instructor with the utmost respect and exhibit professional behavior online the same as in a regular classroom. Class discussions are valuable in this course and the most frequent point of participation. Students should plan to check in and read or contribute to the discussion at least 3 times per week. Participation is part of the learning process and includes being prepared for the class. Meaningful participation involves consistent contribution to class discussions and group work.

· Students are expected to contribute to discussions online according to directions set up in the discussion tab. Participation means providing substantive comments, questions and contributions that advance the learning process for you and/or other learners in the course.

· Attainment of the minimum expected participation is representative of an average learner. Participation more than the minimum is expected of superior learners. For grading purposes, the faculty member will determine the number and quality of postings for on-line participation.

· To a greater degree, the course will involve interactive group discussions; individual and group exercises; and review of assigned readings, homework, or quizzes. There may also be student presentations. During each week, students are expected to: participate in activities; always demonstrating respect to classmates, and the instructor.

· Students will be expected to check the D2L course site daily for instructor announcements . Students will be informed of important announcements that are posted on D2L via e-mail messages using the Methodist College e-mail system. Faculty announcements that include changes to assignments; for example; due dates or submission instructions, will supersede prior posted dates or instructions.

Validation of Enrollment/Non-Attendance

· Registration for each course must be validated by participation in a class activity during the first week of the term. Failure to validate enrollment when courses begin will result in a grade of NA (never attended) and removal from the course. An NA will be recorded on your transcript and financial aid funding may be affected.

Online Program Course Work Expectations and Guidelines

· Students will use D2L for interactions required for this course except for email for personal matters. Any course issues or questions are to be posted in the GCF, NOT emailed to the instructor.

· All students are to follow directions for submission of assignments or discussion. Please note: submissions to the drop box are in the form of an upload/attachment. Submissions for all Discussions are 1) best developed in a word document. 2) Saved to your computer-to avoid sudden loss of work within D2L. 3)Then copy and paste from the word document into the discussion post dialogue box. Under NO circumstances should any discussion posts be submitted as an attachment. This will result in a zero for that submission with no recourse.

· Meeting the participation requirement does not automatically equal full points for the assignment. On-line course work requires perseverance. Writing content should reveal to the instructor that the student is learning, understanding, applying and producing new knowledge. Students should produce a level of work equal to the point values given on the various rubrics provided. Rubrics are provided for writing assignments, projects and discussions. Please read them carefully.

Course Exam Policy

· Punctuality is expected for all quizzes/exams/assessments scheduled for this online course. Each assessment will be listed on the tracker/schedule. The assessment will be open for a full 5 days in D2L. It is student responsibility to plan ahead to take the assessment. Assessments will not be reopened for reasons of missing, forgetting or for technological failures. Upon entering an assessment/quiz, it must be completed entirely as there is no option to ‘pause’. If a student exits an exam the students will not be allowed re-access or a retake.

· If you must miss a scheduled exam due to unforeseen circumstances, you MUST notify your instructor PRIOR to the start of the exam and provide written documentation to support your absence (example/doctor’s note, etc.).

· Any approved make up exam must completed within 7 days of the original assessment due date.

· If you miss an examination and are approved to make up an examination there is every possibility that the exam will be in the essay format.

Withdrawal (W):

· Institutional Withdrawal is the withdrawal or discontinuation of all courses in which the student is enrolled. The last day to withdraw without a grade assigned to the course(s) is published in the Academic Calendar for each term. A grade of “W” will be posted to the student’s academic record for each course in which the student has withdrawn. To officially withdraw from the institution, the student must complete and submit an Institutional Withdrawal form, obtainable from the Office of the Registrar, on or before the Last Day to Withdraw with a “W”. Failure to attend classes does not constitute official Institutional Withdrawal from the College. Failure to complete the Institutional Withdrawal process in the Registrar’s Office on or before the Last Day to Withdraw with a “W” may result in failure of all course work. “Administrative Withdrawal” and the date will be posted on the student’s academic record.

LIBRARY RESOURCES

See the Student Resources tab in the online classroom course home. This will provide

a link.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

There is a link at the bottom of the course home page to the IT help ticket or the [email protected] There is also a link to contact the D2L support team if you are having difficulties with your web based learning course/application.

writing assignments/resources

· Composition, spelling, grammar, word choice and other indicators of writing quality are part of the grade for written assignments. The weight given to writing skills will be indicated for each assignment via the assignment rubric or directions.

· Written assignments are to be completed using Microsoft Word with the following guidelines: Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point font, 1 inch margins, and double-spaced.

· Students are required to use the APA format. Please refer to the recommended reference book above. All sources used in papers must be cited where appropriate in the text of your work and in a reference list at the end of your work.

· See writing rubric and online/classroom rubrics for expectations and more information.

· A sample APA formatted paper is provided on the Student Resources page under Course Home in the online classroom.

· See the Student Resources page under Course Home in the D2L classroom for additional information and links to instructions.

· Citations: Encyclopedias of any kind, including the very popular Wikipedia, can be useful to help gather background information and to point the way to more reliable sources. However, they are not considered appropriate sources for papers at the undergraduate level.

CHEATING, ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AND PLAGIARISM

Cheating includes, but is not limited to: 

The use of unauthorized books, notes or other sources in the giving or securing of help in an examination or other course assignments. 

The copying of other students’ work or allowing others to copy your work. The submission of work that is not your own or allowing others to submit your work as theirs.

The submission of the same work for two or more classes without the approval of any instructors involved. For this course, students are expected to complete their own work and not work in groups or pairs.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: 

· Sharing academic materials knowing they will be used inappropriately.

· Accessing another person’s work without permission.

· Providing false or incomplete information on an academic document, 

· Changing student records without approval.

· Obtaining and using texts or other materials intended for instructor use only.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: 

· The presentation of another’s published or unpublished work as one’s own.

· Taking words or ideas of another and either copying them or paraphrasing them without proper citation of the source.

· Using charts, graphs, statistics or tables without proper citation.

Detected cheating or plagiarism will result in consequences that may, at the professor’s discretion, include course failure. In addition, an offender can be reported to the Faculty/Student Conduct Board for possible further disciplinary action.

Refer to the Student Handbook at http://www.methodistcol.edu/handbooks.html .

COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

In recognition of the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), Methodist College reminds both faculty members and learners that a willful infringement of the law may result in disciplinary action. The college library has available materials discussing the "fair use" concept, along with criteria and guidelines for reproduction and use of copyrighted