VCS Summary - Financial Management

VCS Alternative Assignment Requirements and Instructions – Online Students

All students are expected to attend the live online sessions each week for the entire two-hour class time. We understand that this is not always possible, as life has a way of interfering with our carefully laid out plans.

When this occurs, you are allowed to submit a VCS Alternative Assignment (VCSA) in lieu of attendance and participation. Please note that this is not a substitute for actually attending the class sessions, as you lose the ability to directly ask questions and receive important information, plus more is gained from engaging in the discussions than from simply listening to those. Check with your professor to discuss if they would like you to complete an alternative task in place of the VCSA.

To submit the VCSA (or alternative task), you must complete ALL steps listed below:

1. You must watch the entire VCS recording of the class session you missed. These videos are generally available within 48 hours of the class session, and are found in GAP as displayed below:

2. After watching the entire VCS video, you must write a comprehensive alternative assignment of the missed class session using the VCSA_Assignment_Template or Alternative Task Template (as directed). This should not only review the content presented by your faculty member, it must also include:

a. Responses to each question asked during the VCS, based upon the requirements for your course level:

i. For Integrative Studies courses, the required number of paragraphs and key points to include is 2. ii. For Bachelor’s classes (non-IS), the required number is 3. iii. For Master’s classes, the required number is 4. iv. For Doctoral classes, the required number is 5.

These responses must contain your original thoughts on the matter, plus outside material (direct quotes or paraphrases) that support your viewpoints and/or contentions. The supporting material must be properly cited and referenced as per APA standards.

i. Your responses must meet the 80% originality requirement, meaning that 80% of what you write must be in your own words. A maximum of 20% of the content can come from quoted material. Remember that quotes and paraphrases can only be used as supporting material, and can never replace your own thoughts and words.

3. When finished, your completed summary must be a minimum of 2 pages, but more likely should be 5+ pages.

4. The VCSA must follow standard APA-formatting requirements (Times New Roman 12-point font, double-line spaced, first line indents, title and reference pages, etc.). 5. Your VCSA must contain the number of academic resources, as shown below: a. General Education/Integrated Studies courses = 2

b. Bachelor’s programs = 3 c. Master’s programs = 5 d. Doctoral programs = 7

6. The VCSA must be edited and spell/grammar-checked to ensure academic quality. 7. Upload the VCSA to the appropriate place on GAP before the start of your next live class.

a. For example, if your class meets on Mondays at 6:30 p.m Pacific Time, your VCSA is due on Monday evenings by 6:29 p.m.

8. Once uploaded, email your professor to notify them. 9. Your professor will check in the system to confirm that you watched the recording. a. Please note: If you watched the recording with a classmate (did not use your own login) please let your professor know that student’s name in order to confirm.